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SUPER
NES |
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The
supercharged
sequel to
Nintendo's
Entertainment
System. | |
HISTORY
Developed by Nintendo with a little assistance
from Sony, the highly anticipated and technologically
advanced Super Famicom was an instant hit in
Japan. However, victory would not come so easily
in America thanks to Sega's own 16-bit console, the
Genesis. The Super Nintendo lagged far
behind its rival at first, only to catch up
years later, bolstered by killer apps like Street
Fighter II and exclusives such as Donkey Kong
Country. |
TECH SPECS
| PROCESSOR |
Ricoh 5A22 (65c816 CPU) |
| CLOCK
SPEED |
3.58MHz |
| SYSTEM
RAM |
128K |
| MEDIA
FORMAT |
cartridges,
max 48Mb |
| SOUND |
Sony
SPC700, 8 channels |
| GRAPHICS |
64K |
| RESOLUTION |
max 512x478
(interlaced) |
| COLORS |
256 out of
32768 |
| MAX
SPRITES |
128 (32 per
scanline) |
| MAX
POLYS |
varies
depending on cart |
| I/O PORTS |
1 video, 1 AC
adapter, 2 joypads, 1
cartridge |
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FINAL FANTASY
II: Double the pleasure, double the
fun... this RPG's twice as good as the first
one. It's got a stronger storyline and a
marvelous soundtrack. |
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MORTAL KOMBAT
II: Even if you're not a Mortal Kombat
fan, you'll still find something to like about
this perfect translation of the best game in the
series. |
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ROCKMAN &
BASS (JPN): Mega Man 7 was a bit of a
letdown, but this Japanese exclusive, loaded with
great artwork and animation, more than makes
up for it. |
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SECRET OF
MANA: If you liked Zelda but wish you
could play it with a friend,
Squaresoft's charming action-adventure game
will be like manna from the
heavens. |
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SMASH
TV: The home version of
Midway's steroid-drenched shooter loses some of
the graphic luster of the arcade game, but
absolutely none of the intensity. |
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SPACE
MEGAFORCE: The Super NES extension of the
always fantastic Aleste series is
more sterile than other versions, but its
level designs and weapons are
superb. |
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SUPER MARIO
WORLD: Mario's
16-bit adventure is both faithful to the
first three games and very impressive, proving
that the Super NES deserved its
title. |
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SUPER MARIO
WORLD 2: It's quite a departure from your
typical Super Mario Bros. game, but the changes
are welcome and refreshing. It's just soooo
cute, too! |
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SUPER
METROID: The third Metroid game offers
all the exploration of the first two and ups the
ante with improved graphics and a haunting
soundtrack. |
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TEENAGE MUTANT
NINJA TURTLES: TOURNAMENT FIGHTERS: This
arcade quality fighting game was a dream come true
for fans of the heroes in a half
shell. |
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BILL LAIMBEER'S
COMBAT BASKETBALL: Back in the early
90's, the Pistons reserved their sucking for video
games rather than the basketball
court. |
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BRANDISH: Falcom
took a boring adventure game and made it even
worse by shifting the screen every time your
character turns. Mmm...
disorienting. |
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CALIFORNIA
GAMES 2: I wish they all could
be... a lot better than this.
This alleged sequel to the Epyx sports sim
should be put behind bars for mode seven
abuse. |
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HOME
ALONE: This was T*HQ's first game on the
Super NES... and the reason they earned a lousy
reputation with gamers, which haunts them to this
day. |
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PIT
FIGHTER: Hey, this is kind of impressive
for an NES game! Oh wait, this is a
Super NES game. Uh, let's just
forget that I said that, then. |
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RISE OF THE
ROBOTS: You won't get a rise out of this
impotent fighting game. Sure, the rendered
graphics are pretty, but the gameplay is pretty
damned awful. |
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SPACE
ACE: People didn't think it was possible,
but they crammed all the frustration of the arcade
game into a Super NES cart. Oh, and some of
the video, too. |
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STREET
COMBAT: People mistakenly believe this
fighter was better when it was called Ranma
1/2. The sad fact is, it sucks with or
without the anime license. |
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TOM AND
JERRY: Perhaps the worst thing to happen
to the famous cartoon duo since those weird
Czechoslovakian episodes. It's a very dull,
very ugly platformer. |
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VIRTUAL
BART: This contains everything you'd
expect from an Acclaim game... a popular license,
trendy buzzwords, and above all, abysmal
gameplay. |
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BIKER MICE FROM
MARS |
 
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KONAMI |
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ACTION/RACING |
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SUPER NES |
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As humiliating as it is
to say so, I have to admit that I like this game.
Back in the early 1990's, Konami had a habit of buying
the rights to the most ridiculous cartoons and turning
them into surprisingly good games. I'm not sure if
they do it for the challenge, or because their marketing
division is as clueless as their programmers are
talented. Whatever's the case, I'll have to live
with the shame of openly enjoying a game based on one of
the most shameless Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rip-offs
ever made. Thanks, guys.
Anyway, Biker Mice From Mars is a racing game, very
similar to Super Mario Kart but with an isometric
perspective that's more reminescent of Interplay's Rock
'n Roll Racing. Its blandly colored, repetitive
scenery isn't as impressive as the more realistic
visuals of Super Mario Kart, but Biker Mice does offer
the advantage of a wider range of vision, allowing you
to better anticipate road hazards as well as the racers
behind you. There's no way you're going to get
clipped by an unseen turtle shell in this game... if
someone's about to attack you, you'll be able to see
them line up the shot before firing. This gives
you the chance to, as they might say in biker circles,
get out of the way if you want to lead and not
follow.
Generally speaking, Biker Mice is very logically
designed, with great ideas that haven't even been
implemented in the most recent Super Mario Kart
games. Each character has their own special attack
which replenishes every time they finish a lap... you're
given just enough of them to keep the game from being
frustrating but not so many that you're given an unfair
advantage or are tempted to waste shots. Players
also get a random prize as a reward for completing a
lap... if you're ahead, you'll generally get a sack of
money for your efforts, but if you desperately need to
catch up with the other racers, the computer will
usually give you a nitro boost or even a star that makes
you deadly to the touch. Simply put, Biker Mice
rewards you for top performance but gives lagging
players a chance to get back into the game, keeping each
race very close and very intense.
After every race, you'll get the chance to spend your
prize money on accessories for your bike... or floating
orb, or insect mech, or whatever you happen to
have. Each item noticably improves your ride,
unlike a lot of these games where upgrades are
negligable at best. For instance, buying armor
gives your vehicle another hit point (extremely
important in the battle mode) and picking up missiles
increases your stock of special attacks. You can
also improve your engine and tires, and as usual, it's a
good idea to keep your traction and top speed well
balanced... this isn't Drag Racing Mice From Mars, after
all.
The graphics aren't exceptional, but they're faithful
to the cartoon, and as usual, Konami put in a lot of
little details that help add variety to the repetitive
tracks. Fireworks will go off at the last lap of
any track sponsored by the game's shop Last Chance, and
little crabs will fall out of any trees you bump into
while racing in the tropics. The special attacks
are well animated, too... Grease Pit's mines reduce you
to a melted pile of sludge on contact, and Karbunkle's
mutant ray is pretty amusing... it's fun to watch one of
the racers transform into a three eyed dwarf and
desperately try to catch up with everyone else, with a
pair of tentacles trailing behind him as he runs.
The best looking scene in the game is when a set of five
races has concluded and the mice are literally seperated
from the men. All six racers are set on a long,
straight track and all kinds of nasty things happen to
the losers. The best players manage to survive
every catastrophe, and even outrace the track itself as
it crumbles, reaching the winner's circle a split second
before tumbling into the wreckage.
The artwork's only occasionally impressive, but the
soundtrack is, like most Konami games of the time,
exceptional. It's got the same infusion of intense
rock and familiar cartoon riffs that the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles games had, and although I could have done
without the Biker Mice theme, everything else sounds
great. If you liked the cartoon, then
everything will sound great to you, even cornball
catchphrases like "Let's Rock... and Ride."
Yes, I'm willing to admit that I like this
game. I'm even willing to recommend it to everyone
else. But please, PLEASE, Konami, watch your
licensing department a little more closely from now
on. I don't want to have to put my seal of
approval on a Mega Babies
game...
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KRUSTY'S SUPER FUN
HOUSE |
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ACCLAIM |
FOX
WILLIAMS |
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PUZZLE |
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SUPER NES |
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The Simpsons
have been one of the hottest licenses back in the day
and still possess amazing staying power after all this
time. However, their games have definitely been
hit or miss. Fortunately, Krusty's Super Fun House
is one of the better titles based on the exploits of
America's favorite animated family.
In an odd yet refreshing twist, you are cast as one
of the supporting characters, Krusty the Klown, who must
rid his latest attraction of the mice (possibly rats… I
don’t have the instruction booklet!) that have infested
every room. For reasons that don’t really matter, Krusty
eschews calling the pest exterminators and takes it upon
himself to get the job done. Not only are there rats to
contend with, but certain items must be collected before
each area can be cleared, including but were not limited
to flyers announcing the Fun House’s opening. All of
this is basically an excuse to use elements from Tetris,
Lemmings, Gussun Oyoyo, and other classic puzzlers in a
Simpsons game, and the result is more or less
positive.
Krusty traverses each room and must use blocks or
other moveable objects to manipulate the rats into traps
operated by other Simpsons characters. There are
enemies including aliens and snakes which must be
dispatched using pies or bouncing balls. Only one object
may be carried at a time, and each block must be
precisely placed at the right time to achieve your
objective. The mice climb one square at a time, and will
turn and walk away if more than one block is on top of
each other and directly in their path. Fortunately,
blocks may be turned into makeshift staircases, and
there are a variety of other helpful items... tubes and
elbow joint pipes may be interconnected, creating a
pathway which leads the rats to their doom, and wind
blowers force the rodents into otherwise impossible to
reach places.
The game's level design is well done and creative.
KSFH start out simplistic and straightforward, but once
the beginning levels get the player accustomed to
its play mechanics, a daunting challenge awaits.
Sometimes crossing the fine line between challenging and
frustrating, this game is very rewarding once you
finally do figure out just how the hell to get those
damn mice to their sadistic, well-deserved demise. Like
Lode Runner, this is one game that needs a suicide
button, as sometimes you will inevitably make mistakes
that leave you with no means of escape or victory. If
this weren’t aggravating enough, sometimes you will
successfully rid a long, pain-in-the-ass level of all
the mice only to be required to go back again because
you didn’t pick up the prizes or flyer or whatever the
hell needs to be done before the door will be secured
with a padlock. Your reward for all this hard work is a
trip to an even more difficult funhouse.
In this type of puzzler, audiovisuals are not as
important as gameplay. Here, the graphics and sounds are
adequate but not outstanding. One nice touch is
that the circusy music can be turned on or off during
gameplay. The soundtrack is actually cute and
appropriate, but I do find myself electing to play
without a background score as this game requires
a large investment of time and carnival tunes
played ad nauseum will sooner or later drive me as mad
as the title character. Posters and inside jokes are
visible in just about every room, and instead of a
health bar, Krusty’s energy level is depicted by a
charicature which grows more tired whenever the
clown is injured.
Krusty’s Super Fun House is one of those neat little
games that slips through the cracks. Maybe Acclaim
should stick to puzzle/strategy games, as this is one of
the few winners in their lineup.
Recommended.
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MEGA MAN
7 |
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CAPCOM |
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ACTION/SHOOTER |
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SUPER NES |
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Here we go again... Capcom knows damned
well that there's no need for another one of these
games, and yet slapped together Mega Man 7 in a rather
obvious attempt to pander to the few but obnoxiously
loud fans of the all too familiar series. I'm not saying
that I didn't enjoy the first few games: in fact, I
still consider the first Mega Man to be a revolution in
NES game design, but that was nearly ten years ago. It's
1996 now (er, well, it was...), and Mega Man 7 shows no
improvement over the NES games which spawned it. The
graphics for instance are incredibly ugly, with gaudy
purple backgrounds and milky fore- ground pastels which
don't even scratch the surface of the SNES' extensive
color palatte. Music? It's a cross between the jaunty
NES tunes and the new, anime' inspired themes in Mega
Man X (and Mega Man X2, and Mega Man X3, and... uh, you
get the point...), so there's nothing new here either.
And finally, we have the control. It's pretty good, but
that means nothing when the game itself so unforgivably
retread... some rounds are nearly identical to those in
the second NES game, and surprise, surprise, you're
forced to deal with the infamous chamber 'o bosses in
Dr. Wiley's castle as well. It's like paying for a
second copy of a game you already own! If you own any,
and I mean ANY, other Mega Man game, you've already seen
all there is to see in this one, so pass it
by. | |
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