The arrival of the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System ushered in one of the greatest bouts in video game
history: the competition between Nintendo and Sega for control of the 16
bit home gaming market. The Super NES was launched with hardware that was
clearly superior to the Sega Genesis, with far better graphical capabilities
and sound quality. However, Sega's Genesis clearly held the upper hand
in the beginning, since the Genesis had been around a lot longer and had
already accumulated a solid lineup of games, whereas the Super Nintendo
only had a handful of titles to offer at its launch - making it a far less
appealing option to most hard core gamers of the time.
But the few games that were initially offered for the Super Nintendo were outstanding, and it didn't take long for the system to catch on. Amongst the early titles offered for the SNES are some of my all-time favourites, including Super Mario World, F-Zero, SimCity, Pilotwings, and Actraiser. The launches of other classic Super NES games - such as Final Fantasy II and Zelda: A Link to the Past - were not long in following, and SNES fever spread. In the early months of the system's existence there was some doubt as to whether or not the SNES could acquire a large enough user base to survive, but as the SNES grew more popular, more third party developers began working on Super Nintendo games.
The Super Nintendo's growth did not let up, eventually putting the Super Nintendo in a decidedly superior position to the Genesis. Nintendo's blockbuster games kept on coming, and with each release, the Super Nintendo grew more and more popular. One game which really stands out in my mind is Street Fighter II, which was such a phenomenon in its time that prices for the cart soared well above the $100 mark. Even though Street Fighter II was available for the Genesis, the SNES version was markedly superior, and the Genesis version seemed to be available merely for the sake of providing consolation for the gamers that owned a Genesis instead of a SNES. Games like this made it painfully obvious that the Genesis could barely compete with the Super Nintendo's capabilities.
Sega made some attempts to out do the SNES, but they mostly ended in disaster. The Sega CD was a remarkable concept which loomed as a grave threat to the Super Nintendo and even caused Nintendo to seriously consider the production of their own CD hardware, but it ultimately failed because it was too expensive and didn't deliver the incredible advances in game quality that it promised. The 32X also promised to radically increase the power of Sega's hardware, but it failed so completely as to have become a painful memory for Sega's loyal fans. At a time when Sega could not afford any major screw ups, they seemed incapable of making any good decisions. The Super Nintendo rose to rule the console gaming market absolutely.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Super Nintendo is its incredibly long career record. Compared to the popularity of Nintendo's other hardware, the only system which has lived longer than the SNES is Nintendo's Game Boy, and the Super Nintendo isn't completely dead yet, even after six years. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System deserves to be hailed as one of the greatest pieces of gaming hardware ever conceived and the undisputed king of the 16 bit consoles.
Jason Estey
Editor in Chief for Jason
Estey's Game Revue
ACTRAISER (Enix/Quintet)
As an early addition to the
SNES lineup, Actraiser impressed Nintendo fans with its 16 bit graphics
and sound, but the real strengths of the game lie in its powerful atmosphere
and originality. The play control is definitely the game's biggest shortcoming,
but even this aspect of the game was on par with the other games of the
time.
Graphics: 85%
Sound: 80%
Gameplay: 72%
Originality: 89%
Replay Value: 85%
Overall: 82% (Jason Estey)
BUBSY (Accolade)
Bubsy might have come across
as a sort of Sonic the Hedgehog clone, but the game was still refreshing
and very professionally done. Definitely amongst the best games of its
kind.
Graphics: 85%
Sound: 85%
Gameplay: 92%
Originality: 82%
Replay Value: 85%
Overall: 86% (Jason Estey)
CHRONO TRIGGER (Squaresoft)
Chrono Trigger represents
one of Squaresoft's most original and polished productions. The game engine
is nothing less than squeaky clean, and the incredible 16 bit graphics
and artwork (by none other than manga artist Akira Toriyama) puts some
32 bit games to shame. An involving storyline with multiple possible outcomes
ensures that RPG fans will want to play this game several times over, although
there is an unfortunate lack of challenge that will dismay some of the
more hard core Squaresoft fans.
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 98%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 92%
Replay Value: 96%
Overall: 97% (Jason Estey)
CONTRA III: THE ALIEN WARS
(Konami)
As a fan of Konami and the
Contra series, I regard this as one of the best Contra games ever made,
if not THE best Contra game ever made. The atmosphere is petrifying, the
graphics are astounding, the level design is masterful, and the overall
theme is just plain wicked. Contra III is an adrenaline pumper through
and through, and two play simultaneous play allows you to team up with
a partner to tackle the challenge.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 96%
Gameplay: 92%
Originality: 92%
Replay Value: 88%
Overall: 93% (Jason Estey)
FINAL FANTASY II (Squaresoft)
Final Fantasy II is quite
dated by today's standards, but if you're a real Squaresoft fan, you'll
be able to overlook the shortcomings and appreciate this remarkable Squaresoft
classic. As the first in the Final Fantasy series to implement the "active
time" battle system, this game represents a revolution in console RPG sophistication.
Graphics: 85%
Sound: 80%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 100%
Replay Value: 90%
Overall: 91% (Jason Estey)
FINAL FANTASY III (Squaresoft)
This is the greatest game
of all time, no questions asked. Perhaps I'm not fit to rate this game
because I hold it so dear, but I'm goina put my two cents in anyway: Final
Fantasy III has the best music, artwork, storyline, gameplay, and game
design that is humanly possible for a game of its type. The 16 bit graphics
are amongst the best I have ever seen, and amongst the best that the SNES
is capable of handling. The only thing restricting the ingenious musical
composition is the 16 bit sound quality, and it manages to perfectly compliment
the game's artwork to craft the most deeply involving atmosphere I've ever
seen in any RPG. Perhaps the only shortcoming I could possibly have with
this game would be with the storyline, which might somehow have managed
to be an even greater masterpiece, but as it stands, it still ranks as
the best story ever written for a video game, as far as I'm concerned.
Final Fantasy III also excels as an RPG game, utilizing the addictive,
fast paced, and highly strategic battle system that has made the Final
Fantasy series such a success. If you consider yourself an RPG fan, you
must give this game a chance to win you over.
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 100%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 100%
Replay Value: 100%
Overall: 100% (Jason Estey)
F-ZERO (Nintendo)
The first SNES game I ever
played was also one of the most impressive. F-Zero introduced the world
to Nintendo's Mode 7 graphics, and the result was a futuristic console
racing game with a simulation style to it. F-Zero is incredibly fast paced,
challenging, and addictive, all thanks to its masterful design. It also
handily shows off some of the SNES's most impressive abilities, and I sometimes
find myself wondering if this game was written for the Super Nintendo or
if the actual hardware was built around the game.
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 96%
Gameplay: 98%
Originality: 98%
Replay Value: 98%
Overall: 98% (Jason Estey)
LEGEND OF THE MYSTICAL NINJA
(Konami)
As a relatively early SNES
game, Legend of the Mystical Ninja has exceptionally impressive graphics,
sound, and play control. Not only does this game provide lots of raw arcade
action, but it also has a surprising amount of depth, with lots of exploration
style puzzles to solve and plenty of sub-games hidden within the game itself
(including a little bit of Gradius!) This is one of my favourite Konami
games of all time, and it stands as a remarkable classic for the Super
Nintendo.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 100%
Gameplay: 86%
Originality: 90%
Replay Value: 90%
Overall: 93% (Jason Estey)
LUFIA AND THE FORTRESS OF DOOM
(Taito)
Many RPG fans will remember
this classic. Taito is hardly a brand name that one looks for when considering
the greatest RPGs of all time, but Lufia was a ground breaking title that
did a lot to advance the popularity of the console RPG genre. The only
aspect of the game that I could never appreciate was the poorly designed
battle system which makes the game unappealing to many gamers.
Graphics: 82%
Sound: 85%
Gameplay: 80%
Originality: 86%
Replay Value: 82%
Overall: 83% (Jason Estey)
MEGA MAN X (Capcom)
When I first laid eyes on
this game, I was absolutely blown away. The graphics and sound clearly
push the SNES to its limits, and that masterful Mega Man level design is
there all the way even though the atmosphere has been altered to create
this popular spin off on the Mega Man series.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 98%
Gameplay: 96%
Originality: 92%
Replay Value: 88%
Overall: 94% (Jason Estey)
OGRE BATTLE: MARCH OF THE BLACK
QUEEN (Quest)
I will never understand why
this game didn't catch on in America; when I played it, I was blown away.
Ogre Battle provides plenty of sophisticated and addictive game play with
amazing graphics and artwork to boot. Strategy war gamers and RPG fans
alike will find things to love about this game. It isn't a wonder that
it became so popular in Japan, but I have to wonder why so few people bought
it on this side of the Pacific.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 94%
Gameplay: 96%
Originality: 96%
Replay Value: 92%
Overall: 95% (Jason Estey)
SECRET OF MANA (Squaresoft)
This game is a masterful classic
that brings back a lot of fond memories for me. As far as action RPGs go,
it's difficult to top Squaresoft's Seiken Densetsu series (Secret of Mana
is Seiken Densetsu 2), and this game clearly proves the point. Secret of
Mana had the best graphics I'd ever seen in a game at the time of its release,
and it also sports masterfully composed music which contributes to the
unique and appealing atmosphere for the game. The storyline is really cool
and loaded with drama, but it lacks depth and is presented in a confusing
manner (some people actually prefer it this way - including myself). Secret
of Mana holds its own as a worthy Squaresoft classic.
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 98%
Gameplay: 94%
Originality: 98%
Replay Value: 90%
Overall: 96% (Jason Estey)
SIMCITY (Maxis/Nintendo)
In order to prove just how
sophisticated the next generation of Nintendo games would be, Nintendo
decided to try and port a PC classic simulation game for the opening lineup
of SNES games. SimCity was an excellent choice and it blew away most console
gamers of the time, but the game suffers from some serious performance
issues. If you have a PC with enough processor power to surf the web, you
certainly don't need to be buying SimCity for your SNES when you can get
it to run better on your computer. One advantage that the SNES version
does carry is that it is more polished and professional looking than any
PC version I've ever seen, and it also has several features to help ease
the learning curve for gamers that are new to SimCity.
Graphics: 94%
Sound: 86%
Gameplay: 94%
Originality: 86%
Replay Value: 100%
Overall: 92% (Jason Estey)
STAR FOX (Nintendo)
This game introduced the legendary
FX Chip, a piece of hardware that Nintendo hoped would usher in a new age
of 3D Super Nintendo games. The results were mixed, but Star Fox was an
undisputed success - and one of my all time personal favourites. The graphics
are unacceptably bad by today's standards, but they were quite an impressive
effort at the time, and the game's design is really good overall despite
some obvious faults and problems. I can't see any newbie gamers being able
to ever appreciate this game, but some of us die hards still remember it
as a really cool game.
Graphics: 96%
Sound: 94%
Gameplay: 86%
Originality: 98%
Replay Value: 89%
Overall: 92% (Jason Estey)
STREET FIGHTER II (Capcom)
All hail the SNES version
of the greatest fighting game ever conceived! The Super Nintendo version
of Street Fighter II is an excellent port of the arcade version, although
the play control isn't perfectly faithful since you won't have a control
stick like the sort that you find in the arcade. Other than that, the only
complaints I have with this game are that you need to enter a secret code
in order to allow both players to use the same character (press in order
when the Capcom logo appears: down, R, up, L, Y, B), and that there is
no way to play as the boss characters (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and Bison).
That always kinda burned me because I think that the coolest match up in
Street Fighter history has got to be Ryu vs Sagat (well... maybe Ryu vs
Ken is better). In any case, Street Fighter II is one of those earth shattering
games that I still play to this day.
Graphics: 96%
Sound: 92%
Gameplay: 96%
Originality: 100%
Replay Value: 100%
Overall: 97% (Jason Estey)
SUPER MARIO KART (Nintendo)
Could this be the greatest
racing game ever made? Certainly it ranks as the best of its kind, having
some of the most impressive play control and best game design I've ever
seen in any game; I'd even say that this game is better than its 64 bit
sequel, Mario Kart 64. If you have a Super Nintendo, then you have no excuse
not to try this game out.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 94%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 96%
Replay Value: 100%
Overall: 98% (Jason Estey)
SUPER MARIO WORLD (Nintendo)
In my opinion, the title for
the best Mario game of all time is nearly evenly split between this game
and Super Mario Brothers 3. Nintendo poured a lot of effort into making
this a worthwhile game to be packaged with their new gaming hardware, and
they certainly did the best possible job. The graphics and sound blew everyone
away, and the game design itself is nothing short of perfection. Super
Mario World is addictive, provides a wide range of challenge, and is thoroughly
impressive overall.
Graphics: 100%
Sound: 98%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 98%
Replay Value: 96%
Overall: 98% (Jason Estey)
ZELDA, THE LEGEND OF: A LINK
TO THE PAST (Nintendo)
In my opinion, this is the
single greatest Zelda game ever made, and it had some pretty damned stiff
competition. At the very least, Zelda III can be called an absolute masterpiece
created by Nintendo's greatest master artist himself, Shigeru Miyamoto.
The game's greatest strengths are in the superb level and puzzle design,
coupled with a unique atmosphere, a dramatic storyline, and some really
impressive 16 bit graphics and sound. This game almost manages to hold
its own even by today's standards.
Graphics: 98%
Sound: 96%
Gameplay: 100%
Originality: 100%
Replay Value: 94%
Overall: 98% (Jason Estey)
