SNES Game Impressions from CES (Really LONG!)
Larry J Brackney
This posting contains listings of many of the new games which
were displayed at the CES for the Super NES. I attempt to provide
a brief description, and any first impressions I may have developed.
Due to the sheer number of SNES stuff to review (I spent one
day w/ SNES, and one day w/ Genesis and Turbo) I was not able to
evaluate these as carefully as I would have liked. Still, I hope
you will find my comments useful and interesting.
Battle Clash - The first "real" Superscope game. You go head to
head against a variety of mechs from around the world. (Mech Fighter
II?) Basically you shoot the enemy, and anything he tosses at you.
The mechs can also move around and evade shots to some degree.
A flashy game with not a great deal of substance to it.
Mario Paint - A mouse/pad peripheral bundled w/ a painting and music
program for the SNES! I was pleasantly suprised to see this item at the
show. Basically, you get a color painting program and a music construction
program in one cartridge. A battery back up lets you save your work.
(A distinct improvement over Art Alive.) I believe you can do some limited
animation work w/ the paint program. The music program gives you multiple
voices, and sound effects to work with. All in all, a nice package. I'm
anxious to see if the Mouse will get additional software support.
Mario Kart Race - Imagine F-Zero with two player split screen and
goofy looking cars, and you get the idea with this one. Definitely
aimed at a younger audience, you drive around the track picking up
coins and such. Not something I think I'll add to my collection,
but little ones should enjoy it.
NCAA Basketball - One of many basketball sims for the SNES. This
game was graphically impressive - the entire court rotates around the
action as you play. The characters themselves moved a little roughly.
This one struck me as a gimmick game (So James H will hate it! ;-)).
There are better basketball sims to be had for the system.
Street Fighter II (Capcom) - Now we cut to the chase. First, I should
say that I had never played SFII before the show, nor do I have any
particular love for the game or its genre. Overall, I thought it was
a decent conversion. You're not likely to get any closer to the
real McCoy, short of buying the real thing. The graphics were nearly
identical, no slow-down to speak of, the voice effects were there, and
believe it or not - the game controlled well from the standard pad!
The button placement was not a problem for me, or any of the die-hard
fans I spoke with. The difference between a pad and a stick was a
bit nettlesome for players though. (Rotation was difficult sometimes.)
The custom controller seemed pretty rugged - but I was unable to try
it out for myself. The people I spoke with who had used it seemed to
like it pretty well. (Amusing story: I didn't try the Capcom controller,
because an SFII god was taking on all challengers on that system, and
I wouldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds!)
Magic Sword (Capcom) - Graphically and play-wise this one was
pretty good. The lack of a two player mode was unforgivable IMO.
Didn't they learn after Final Fight? If you've not played the
original, you probably won't miss the two player mode. If you
have, you'll be disappointed, but probably enjoy the game anyway.
Mystical Quest (Capcom) - I may have the title wrong on this new
Mickey Mouse game from Capcom, but I definitely remember how much I
liked it! It's a shame that Capcom showed this, perhaps one of the
best games of the show, right next to SFII. Yes, it's another run
and jump game, but it's so cute! Lush backgrounds and animations,
plus a Kid-Camelion play mechanic. Mickey is a mouse of many hats,
and has several to choose from e.g. Fireman, Magician, Archer, etc.
The Disney quality control people are really on the ball. All the
Disney Licenses I saw were nicely done.
Super Star Was (JVC/Lucas) - This one was graphically impressive.
A lot of attention to detail, and well animated. Nothing new in the
game play department, but it was neat to look at, and played well.
From what I could tell, this is a suped-up version of the NES cart.
Expect to see Super Empire and Super Return as well...
Arcana (Hal) - I was amazed at how much this one reminded me of
Shining in the Darkness. I guess it must have been the backgrounds
in the dungeon scenes. (The tunnel scenes are nearly identical.)
This is a standard multi-character RPG w/ emphasis on fighting.
I think I prefer Sammy's Might and Magic offerings to Arcana, as
they are slicker looking, and more involved.
King of the Monsters (Takara) - Yes! A wonderful adaptation of
one of my favorite titles. A Genesis version is also in the works,
but this one was terrific. It played well, looked good, and sounded
terrific. The quality of the backgrounds seems to have suffered only
slightly, everything else is there. Takara is also working on a
port of Fatal Fury for the SNES.
Ultima ? (FCI) - I think this was Ultima 5 or 6, someone correct
me. Graphically, this was nearly identical to the PC version, an
overhead view multi-character RPG. Not spectacular, but adequate.
Soul Blazer (Enix) - This was not I expected from the sequel to
Actraiser. Soul Blazer seems to be much more involved, something
Actraiser players will appreciate. I didn't care for the presentation
much though, as the action is set in an overhead view w/ slightly
undersized characters.
Faceball 2000 (Bulletproof) - It looks nice, but only two players?
Running through a maze, shooting at opponents gets old in a hurry.
Even faster if you can only have two humans in the maze! This title
is not well suited to the SNES. Now I WOULD like to play a Lynx version!
Hermetica (Bulletproof) - A new puzzle game that reminded me a bit
of columns. The folks at Bulletproof are trying to break free of the
Tetris mold though. In this game, you have a matrix of jewel-like
things. You have to shift rows and columns to line up colors and
eliminate them. Time pressure is a critical factor, as new rows and
columns are added periodically. I like puzzle games, and this one
entertained me.
Turtles IV (Konami) - Wow! I had heard bad things about this one:
jerky control, jerky animation, etc. I was pleasantly suprised. The
SNES version even holds up under direct comparison with the coin-op
(which has just been released). They both play the same, and look
more or less the same. (The coin-op has 4 players, and the graphics
are a bit more refined.) If you're a Turtles fan, you'll not be
disappointed w/ this one. Can Konami do no wrong?
Cybernator (Konami) - I fired this game up, and was shocked to find
that it is more or less a sequel to... Target Earth! The dialog boxes
are there, the clunky mech is there, the choice of firepower is there.
Fortunately, the frustration level that plagued Target Earth is absent.
The graphics are well animated, and the game controls pretty well.
(The mech does walk slowly) A solid shooter/action game for Konami.
Prince of Persia (Konami) - Simply gorgeous. The animation is
really flawless. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much as I kept
falling into spike pits! (Either I'm slipping or PoP is tough. Any
one want to humor me and say it's hard?) This wonderful action game
with an emphasis on puzzle solving also made an appearance in the
Turbo Technologies booth on SCD.
Batman Returns (Konami) - This was only a demo, but it looked
pretty sharp. An opening screen, and about 30 seconds of Batman
walking down a street were it - we'll see what happens. Anyone
taking bets on whether or not EGM proclaims this one a "hit" at this
early stage?
Aliens vs Predator (Activision) - You play the Predator in this
side-scrolling, action/fighting game. Basically you go around whacking
aliens. I thought the graphics were pretty nice, and the characters
moved smoothly. I liked the segmented tails on the aliens. Ouch!
This title is still a ways off.
Shanghai II (Activision) - Suped-up Shanghai, with a large set
of tiles to choose from. Cute sound effects too. What can I say?
You either like Shanghai or you don't...
Ultrabots (Data East) - Good stuff! If you've seen screenshots
from the Battletech center in Chicago, you have some idea about what
this one looks like. Neat ray-traced robots, lots of weapons, and
a selection of mechs to fight in. I fooled around with this one
a bit, and enjoyed it.
Shadowrun (Data East) - This is a three-quarter perspective RPG
with a Cyberpunk motiv. My wife fiddled with it a bit, and seemed
to like it well enough. I can't say much more than that.
Might and Magic II (Sammy) - Basically the same as the
Genesis version w/ superior graphics and sound. As long as the
battery back up is more reliable than the Genesis version I'll
be delighted! I believe they were also showing MM3 as well.
Pilot Wings II (Namco) - Much nicer than the original. You
alternately fly dogfight and bomber missions in a Sopwith Camel.
The graphics are beautiful, and the plane controlled well. I'm
probably still more fond of Warbirds w/ multiple players though.
Space Warp (Accolade) - This should tide space jockeys over
until Wing Commander shows up. (There was a WC demo at the show)
This game makes effective use of Mode-7 as you dog-fight with other
ships. I believe there are strategic considerations as well, ala
Star Control. Incidentally, Star Control II was there for the PC.
Could a Genesis or SNES version be in the offing?
X-Men (Acclaim) - This was only a demo, with only a few
characters to choose from. It is NOT like the arcade game,
but looked pretty neat. There is much work to be done on the
game, but it looks promising.
Crusty's Fun House (Acclaim) - Also out for the Genesis, even
as we speak, this one was fair. Basically run and jump fair,
nothing spectacular. I'll probably give it a miss, as it is
so "average."
Desert Strike (EA) - Yup, it's coming out for the SNES too!
The game is pretty much the same, with some gratuitous Mode-7
stuff thrown in for good measure. Still it's a pretty solid title,
if not a little on the easy side.
NHL Hockey (EA) - This one plays the same as the Genesis
version, that is, very well. The players seemed a bit larger,
but nothing has changed. btw - I think this is the 2nd edition
with new stats. The Genesis 2nd edition is also available.
Bulls vs Lakers (EA) - A nice alternative to NCAA basketball.
The players were large, but maybe a little choppy. Lot's of stats,
shots, and the like.
Ramparts (EA) - It's Ramparts w/ gratuitous Mode-7 effects! After
a while, they just get in the way, and you find yourself waiting to
place cannons, fire, or what not. Overall, my wife and I prefered
Tengen's version for the Genesis. If you don't have a choice, though,
you could do a lot worse than trying EA's version of this unique
game.
- larry
--
/ Larry J. Brackney | E-Mail: brac...@mn.ecn.purdue.edu \
|-------------------------| S-Mail: 3116 Hilltop Dr. W. Lafayette IN 47906 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Phone : (317)-463-1602 (Home) |
\ Purdue University | (317)-494-6552 (Office) /
Galen Tatsuo Komatsu
> Hermetica (Bulletproof) - A new puzzle game that reminded me a bit
>of columns. The folks at Bulletproof are trying to break free of the
>Tetris mold though. In this game, you have a matrix of jewel-like
>things. You have to shift rows and columns to line up colors and
>eliminate them. Time pressure is a critical factor, as new rows and
>columns are added periodically. I like puzzle games, and this one
>entertained me.
...hmm, the Nintendo answer to Megapanel? =^) (on the MegaDrive)
Definitely sounds like it! Will have to check this one out when it
makes its appearance. Even if it's not like Megapanel... I tend to like
most Puzzle games.
--
Galen Komatsu
gkom...@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
ar...@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu