SNES Favorite 75

[Niku]

my favorite baffling decision about pac-man 2 is still that it is pac-man 2

[nosimpleway]

Let's see your pathetic little Yoshi in go-kart do that shit

well ackchually

When Smash Bros was invented it was a generic "here's some dudes fightin'" game, it took a few iterations before they realized it was 10000% better with Nintendo franchise characters. But since Cap'n Falcon hadn't ever been in a game outside of his hovercar he needed a moveset to fight with hand-to-hand. Devs just shrugged and gave him the moves of one of the original Generic Fightin' Guys.

So basically the Falcon Punch wasn't invented until like nine years after F-Zero came out.

[Friday]

Do I recommend this game:
No. Stay away.

Fuck you, Pacman 2 was the fucking best thing to happen in video games that decade.

yeah, I was doing a bit. The actual answer is "Pac Man 2 is a super unique and weird experience and you should check it out."

the stuff about Pac Man 2 being still around after all the Black Holes have died wasn't a bit though

[Friday]

49. Skyblazer



Remember when I said Ninja Warriors was the game I think of whenever someone says "average SNES game"?

I lied, it's Skyblazer.

But don't let that fool you! Skyblazer is actually a pretty fun action platformer! It's only "average" in the sense that the SNES has so many amazing platformers above it!

In terms of gameplay, think Actraiser (the action parts) but like, amped up and better. It's got that same simple, bright and colorful palette. The movement is fast, you've got karate moves instead of a sword, and magic subweapons that use resource. You collect new magic and powers as you progress through the game, and it's even got a snazzy little world map that pops up between levels, like Super Mario World.

You can cling to walls and jump off them, which creates some interesting jump puzzles, but nothing too hard. We ain't talking ek3 here. There are a few autoscroller flying stages, where our hero Sky grows wings and the game turns into a simple Gradius clone.

There's a plot, and dialog, but I'll be damned if I can remember any of it. It's mostly just sort of there. Evil is bad, go save the world kind of shit.

Do I recommend this game:
I do, actually. I'd even go so far to call it a SNES hidden gem. Well, maybe not a gem, but a really smooth stone that feels good to roll around in your hand. It's quick, breezy, and the difficulty is tuned to the easier side. You can complete the whole game in a few hours. If not a hidden gem, it's certainly underappreciated by modern audiences. You hardly ever see it appear on anyone's lists, though that may just be because of how many other great platformers are available for the SNES. Skyblazer is no Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island, but it's worth a look for sure.

[nosimpleway]

Skyblazer is rated HA-HA-WAH/10

[Friday]

Well, next is another tier up. We've moved beyond the chaff at this point. There's 20 games left to talk about, and all of them are what I'd classify as "worthwhile." And that's not even counting the 28 SNES games that appeared on my top 100 favorite video games of all time, of course. That's right, that means that I think there are actually 48 games for the SNES that are basically all some of the best examples of game design in their genre, for one reason or another.

So, let's get to it.

48. Super Smash TV



BIG MONEY!!!

BIG PRIZES!!!

I LOVE IT!!!

The year is 1999

Television has adapted to the more violent nature of man.

The most popular form of television remains the game show.

One show in particular has dominated the ratings. That show is Smash T.V. The most violent game show of all time.

Welcome to the future. Welcome... to Super Smash TV.

Twinstick shooters are a lost art. I yearn for a simpler time when I could boot up a game and just start blasting shit. There's a famous idiom relating to Zelda about start-to-sword, a timer that basically tracks how Zelda games have become less and less about sword fighting and more and more about whatever the fuck Zelda is now about over time. You could do the same thing with video games as a whole, really. Let's call it "start to fun."

Super Smash Bros has a start to fun of about ten seconds. There's no tutorial to wade through, no forty minutes of cutscenes. You are dropped into an arena and you immediately begin the murder. The controls are so simple and intuitive that you do not need to "practice" them, because they just are. Sure, it's mostly mindless blasting. I don't care. It's still a blast, mindless or not.

And the cherry on top is that actually this game has something to say, in a biting, obvious, Robocop kind of satirical way. It has probably helped this game's legacy that stupid shit like Fear Factor and all the other reality TV bullshit came after. Smash TV is the kind of gameshow that we would all be watching right now if the Nazis had won WW2, or what we'll be watching 20 years from now if Trump gets elected.

Has a two player co-op mode so you can gun down mutants and robots with a friend or your kid. What's not to love?

Do I recommend this game:
Yeah, but be warned it's very difficult. It goes (relatively) easy on the player for the first stage, then the gloves come off. Unlike the arcade, where you have as many lives as you do quarters, here on the SNES you've got limited lives and continues, so beating this monster is actually a pretty herculean task. I've never done it. I can get to stage four and then I am simply overwhelmed by the game's relentless waves of death.

Still, pick it up and give it a go. You don't need to beat Super Smash TV to enjoy playing it. And besides, who couldn't use 34,236 more toasters?

[Friday]

47. Tokimeki Memorial



So, this is the game I alluded to in the first post in this thread, the one I've never actually played but still feel qualified to review, like Suikoden 2 or Persona 4.

And yeah, I watched the whole goddamn 6 hour long video on the game from Tim Rogers.

If you'd rather not watch that, which is a sign that you are a sane human being, let me sum up what Tim says in the video for you real quick:

1. The weirdo science girl is the best girl (duh)
2. Talking to girls is gay
3. Tim went to Japan and lived and worked there for several years

kk you're now caught up.

I don't know if Tokimeki Memorial was the first ever dating sim and I literally don't give enough of a shit to look it up.

sigh fine

Dōkyūsei (1992) is the first result on google. As usual, I'm sure I'm wrong and some turbographix sega master atari 2600 MS-DOS stone cavemen expert is going to come in here and inform me that actually the first Dating Sim was Pitfall.

Let's just say that Tokimeki Memorial (1994) was the first dating sim to really blow up and popularize the genre in Japan. It took a lot longer for this shit to really get popular here in the west, and it's still not nearly as. But I digress.

Tokimeki Memorial asks the player: what if instead of being a fuckin' loser in high school you could go back and date hot girls? and like, talk to them and shit?

"talking to girls? gay" replies everyone from 1994. "the only good game is Doom*."

But they were half wrong. Talking to girls isn't gay.

I'll spare you the in depth look at the form and function of Tokimeki. Tim Roger's video is sitting right there if you want that, and there's probably other videos too. You know what a fucking dating sim is. Grind your stats and balance your time. Pick the right dialog options. And, if you play the game enough times to max out every girl's route, you can date

*thunderclap*

the most boring girl of them all.

Seriously, the final girl is portrayed as pretty and kind. The kindest and prettiest. Yes, I know she's probably supposed to be the ideal Japanese woman, the Yamato nadeshiko. It says a lot about Japan that their "ideal woman" has basically no personality. Wikipedia lists the following traits:

poised, decorous, kind, gentle, graceful, humble, patient, virtuous, respectful, benevolent, honest, charitable, and faithful.

Wow, it's like someone just gathered up all the most boring possible descriptors.

The thing that's funny to me is this isn't unique to Japan. A lot of other countries and cultures basically have this fucking archetype too. Here, let me give some other descriptors for it:

1. seen, not heard
2. subservient
3. passive
4. about as interesting as a fucking stone in a field
5. blowjobs on demand (see 2)

Anyway, enough ragging on a 30 year old game's boring final girl. GOTH PUNK GIRLS FOREVER THROW OFF THE SHACKLES OF MALE EXPECTATION WAIT SHIT NOW MEN ARE INTO GOTH PUNK GIRLS UHHHH PUT THE CHAINS BACK ON

I've been thinking a lot about how I should judge these games as I go through them. It's probably easiest to judge them based on "how they play now" or "does it hold up?" and while that's a valid perspective, I don't think it's the best way to review a piece of media. Games, movies, books, paintings, fuckin' flash mobs, all art, is tied to the time and place. And while some things age better than others (and some things are evergreen) it's okay if you're good then and bad now. Harvest Moon for SNES is an excellent example of that. There have been so many better games of the same type made (including my oft-referenced Stardew Valley) that playing the original Harvest Moon today feels like driving 10 MPH on the freeway. It's so barebones compared to today's sleek farming sims.

So, with that in mind, Tokimeki Memorial is a very important game that blew everyone's minds back in 1994. It doesn't matter that it's kind of clunky or whatever by today's dating sim standards. It might not be a good game now, but that's only because you can play things that just do what it does better.

Do I recommend this game:
On the other hand, this section is specifically about "should I play this now." So, uh, no. But it's an important piece of video game art. A stepping stone to a much larger world, the same way Harvest Moon was. And to be honest, it holds up better than Harvest Moon, so if you're a huge fan of anime waifus and dating sims in general, sure, go ahead and give it a go. Or, you know, watch the Tim Rogers video like I did.






* by today's standards this is wrong, as Duck Game also exists. However at the time it was a true statement

[nosimpleway]

"talking to girls? gay" replies everyone from 1994.

Fellas,

[Friday]

46. Illusion of Gaia



Illusion of Gaia is a game about something. There aren't very many of those this early in video gaming, and hell, there still aren't.

The story follows Will, an everyday boy with a flute and psychic powers. You follow along on his adventures through a fictionalized version of earth, visiting places of historical importance. You go on this journey not alone but with a large cadre of followers, including a selfish brat of a Princess named Kara. Her dad tried to kill you. It's a whole thing.

So what is IoG about, really? Kara goes on a character growth arc and becomes a genuinely nice person once she learns that being a spoiled brat doesn't make anyone happy, including herself. The other kids have similar arcs. It's nothing amazing, but it's something. But IoG isn't really about the characters. And it's not about the historical places and figures you visit, either, though those play a role.

IoG is about the human condition. It's about life, and living.

There's a part in this game where you find a bunch of slaves chained up next to the skeletons of their fellow slaves who died from neglect and abuse. Want all the hidden red gems? Turn in a runaway slave. Feel good about yourself? No? Well then talk to this NPC, who tells you not to worry about the slaves, because that's just life and some people are destined to suffer.

Fun fun fun!

Well at least when you find the starving village where the emaciated few who remain are so hungry they attempt to cook you alive to eat you, you can save them by roasting your pet pig alive!

And yet despite all of this, and a lot more dark shit, IoG manages to be, overall, a game with a positive message! A message that you CAN make a difference in the world, that kindness and compassion aren't worthless, that the ties of friendship and love are things worth fighting for, dying for.

And guess what! These themes, this exploration of what it is to be human? Quintet won't be done exploring them until the final game in the Trilogy comes out, the masterpiece that is Terranigma.

the combat is mediocre at best. It's a step up from the absolute slog of Soul Blazer, but it's still got nothing on the true greats. It's cool that you can turn into a Dark Knight and later a Dark Phoenix, but since you can only do so at designated points, the game feels less like a Castlevania 3 "swap characters for the situation" and more just "turn into Freedan as quickly as possible because he's better, and only go back to Will if you absolutely need one of his special abilities to progress." And you get the final transform, Shadow, so late in the game that it barely has any impact at all. It's cool and super powerful, at least.

It's hard to exactly describe what IoG is. I think Quintet really wanted to explore some very deep themes here, but it almost feels like they were too far ahead of their time, or like the tech wasn't up to par. they made ActRaiser, too, which is another game with something to say. In a time where games were about shooty shooty lasers and rescuing princesses almost exclusively, Quintet was like "nah, we're gonna puts slaves in our games and shit." In retrospect, it was a very ballsy move to do that for what was, at the time, being marketed as a toy for 10 year olds.

Do I recommend this game:
I have mixed feelings about IoG. It's not a super fun game to play (though it isn't terrible or anything) and experiencing what it does have to offer that's good takes a whole playthrough. It's not like some other games I have recommended here where I'm confident a player could pick it up, play for 30 minutes, and have a good time even if they walked away after, never to return.

It's not like watching someone else play it is better, either. The combat is just that boring. So I can't just tell you to youtube it. Ah well.

I suppose I will say this: Terranigma is the better game mechanically and explores similar themes and ideas. Play that.

[nosimpleway]

it doesn't help that iog has the censorship and translation issues endemic to snes games of the time. like, those starving villagers who want to cook and eat you? in english they're just really, really hungry. in the original japanese they're explicitly a tribe of cannibals, and while their food is scarce they're not driven by desperation to cook and eat strangers, they'd be dangerous even if they weren't starving.

as for the translation, at one point early on one of your friends is exposed to the evil evolutionary energy or whatever and turns into a "Riverson". a what now? Oh. He's the mythical Leviathan.

[Thad]

as for the translation, at one point early on one of your friends is exposed to the evil evolutionary energy or whatever and turns into a "Riverson". a what now? Oh. He's the mythical Leviathan.

I'm always kind of amused that they decided to just stick with "Varia Suit" instead of ever correcting it.

[nosimpleway]

another fun detail: 'evolution is a natural force but it's been hijacked by aliens and stuff is evolving into monsters instead' is the main source of external conflict in illusion of gaia, but it also appeared a year earlier in e.v.o. the search for eden. i'm not saying quintet intentionally stole from almanic (e.v.o. came out first, and is an updated rerelease of a pc-9801 game from 1990, but i don't think the first version had the same plot), just that it's kind of funny that the story of evolution gone wrong was developed in two unrelated studios as, itself, a case of covergent evolution.

and let's not forget, you don't decide to sacrifice your pet pig to the cannibal tribe. kara's pig -- completely unrelated to main character will except in the 'all living beings are connected' sense the game sorta-kinda pushes -- decides on its own to jump into the flames and barbecue itself while will, kara, and the others watch helplessly.
then in a bit of video game nonsense the ghost of will's mom pops out of the pig's body and reminds everyone what their quest is before going away.
then you explore angkor wat, which is right over there ->

illusion of gaia is awesome

[sei]

they decided to just stick with "Varia Suit" instead of ever correcting it.

Saving other people the search: Barrier Suit.

[Friday]

45. Gradius 3



Hey guys, did you know that this game suffers from technical problems on the SNES, specifically slowdown as the hardware cannot handle the large amounts of sprites on the screen at the same time?

Gradius 3 is the best shmup on the SNES except that it isn't because of the slowdown. What a shame.

What a rotten way to die.

There's another shmup on the SNES I like more coming up, but it's actually worse than this absolute masterpiece. But, you know, it runs better.

Seriously, this game has it all. The Vic Viper, an awesome soundtrack, a good variety of stages and challenges, Konami's trademark Moai Heads, blistering difficulty (which is ironically lowered quite a bit due to the slowdown, making this game somewhat playable for non-hardcore folks) and the rad as fuck customization powerup bar. Plus, you know, a plague of those fuckers that come from behind and steal your options.

I'm not saying Gradius 3 is the best shmup I've ever played outside of the slowdown issues, because even if you removed them I'd still say that Frying to the Amazon to save the Nature is better. But it's a masterpiece of classic video game design weighed down by technical problems. I still love being able to customize my loadout on the fly.

Do I recommend this game:
Internet says it's available for the PS2 in a collection with Gradius 4. Assuming it doesn't have the same slowdown issues, play it there. Or, you know, the original arcane cabinet or an emulator of such. That being said, if those options are out of reach for you, this is still a worthwhile time for any shmup lover if the slowdown doesn't drive you bonkers. (You might just actually appreciate it, even, since it makes navigating bullet hell when the whole screen is trying to kill you easier.)

[Friday]

44. Tales of Phantasia



The first in the long running "Tales of" series, I played this game a long time ago, and honestly I should give it a replay. My memories of the game are pretty foggy, but I remember being impressed by the graphics and the real time action combat. It also had (as you can hear in the video above) really good voice samples for the time. All around a solid action RPG. It was released in 1995, at the end of the SNES lifetime, and the devs pushed the hardware to the absolute limits.

The plot is also pretty wild, and involves a lot of time travel, both by you and the main villain. There's a lot of twists and turns along the way and I remember thinking that the game didn't really hold to the typical RPG tropes, or at least, I couldn't always predict what was going to happen next.

Other than the graphics and other technical feats, I remember the combat being really fun. ATB and turn based is fine, but I've found that a good action style system will pretty much always win out in my book. You control Cless, the main hero swordsman type, and the rest of your party sort of acts as your healer, your caster, and your other caster or archer. Battles take place on a horizontal line but remind me very strongly of a sort of proto-Star Ocean combat system, with fast movement and special attack spamming. It's chaotic and messy in a way that turn based never is, but it's a lot of fun.

I played the fan translation, which is good, if fairly infamous for lines like "I bet Arche fucks like a tiger", which were added by people who thought that kind of thing was funny. Nowadays you can play official releases that do not include references to how the female cast fucks.

Do I recommend this game:
Yeah, but you should probably play it on a modern re-release. That being said, it's still a good game on the original hardware.

[Friday]

Moving up a tier.

43. Metal Marines



Not to be confused with Metal Warriors, a sidescrolling mecha shooter, Metal Marines is a real time strategy game that puts the player in charge of an island with a smattering of different buildings to utilize. Against you is another island, controlled by the CPU, that has the same tools. The basic gameplay is building up your islands defenses against enemy missile attacks while launching your own missiles to whittle down theirs. Attacks cost energy, a resource that generates over time (and can be increased by building energy plants) and building stuff takes money, a resource that also increases over time (and can be increased with its own expensive building.) The goal is to destroy all of the enemies "base" buildings before yours are destroyed.

And then there's the Mecha, the eponymous Metal Marines. These can be launched like missiles, but require much more energy to do so, in groups of up to three. Much of the game's building options revolve around defenses against these giant robots, including gun pods and land mines. You can also upgrade your mecha to be stronger, and outfit them with specific weapons.

It's a fairly simple set up but it's surprisingly fun. A lot of the gameplay is spent feeling out the enemy island, mapping it with missiles (the enemy island first appears blank and must be "scouted") while the enemy is doing the same to you. Strategic use of missiles can cripple the enemy's ability to counter-attack, but beware, because the same can happen to you. AA batteries exist, but are unreliable, making offense generally the better strategy.

There's some problems with the game's balance that can be exploited by the player (missiles are simply too cheap to launch, Metal Marines are insanely powerful, and defensive options are expensive and if they fail are a huge loss of time and money) but overall it's still a fairly engaging little strategy game.

Do I recommend this game:
It's kind of clunky and weird at times, but yeah, if you like RTS but don't want the game to require you to have 300 apm, it's a solid and simple entry.

[Thad]

Internet says it's available for the PS2 in a collection with Gradius 4. Assuming it doesn't have the same slowdown issues, play it there. Or, you know, the original arcane cabinet or an emulator of such. That being said, if those options are out of reach for you, this is still a worthwhile time for any shmup lover if the slowdown doesn't drive you bonkers. (You might just actually appreciate it, even, since it makes navigating bullet hell when the whole screen is trying to kill you easier.)

There's also a ROM hack that fixes the slowdown by simulating an onboard SA1 chip.

[nosimpleway]

Pac Man 2 is the most insane videogame ever made. I don't care if it's good or bad, because what is even happening? Who made this? Why? Is it fun? Yes? No? Does it matter? Goggle at it. Bow down before it. Dread it, run from it, Pac Man 2 arrives all the same.

Pac-Man 2 is not a very fun video game.

It is, however, almost a perfect encapsulation of executive function disorders.

You're slamming buttons on the controller going LOOK IN FRONT OF YOU, THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM IS OBVIOUS, JUST PICK UP THE BOTTLE / GET ON THE TRAM / LOAD THE DISHWASHER / TAKE A FUCKING SHOWER or whatever, and all you get in response is

"nah, not really feelin' it right now"

[Friday]

42. Goof Troop



"Stop, this is a puzzle."

And with these immortal words, yyler and norondor introduced me to what is perhaps, no meme, the greatest 2 player co-op videogame for the SNES. And like, in the top 10 of all systems.

The reason why I don't rate this game higher (and why it's not on my top 100 single player games list) is because the single player is kinda bad. You can play it alone, and the game accounts for that, but it's so obvious Goof Troop was made with two players in mind it's not even funny. It's a much harder and less forgiving game with only one player, as the enemies will swarm you almost instantly, instead of splitting up. Many of the puzzles are much more tedious (the bell puzzles especially, with two players one can keep the enemies attention while the other goes in and takes care of business, while with only one player, you have to run back and forth yourself, making it take forever) and the combat is a lot less fun. Could they have designed a better single player experience? Yeah, probably, but they didn't.

Goof Troop is a 2 player co-op action puzzle top down game. Think legend of Zelda but you don't have a sword. Enemies can be killed by throwing consumable pots, or stunned with a hookshot, but that's it. You and your partner have to work together to wrangle the baddies as you move from screen to screen, tackling each different challenge as they come. Item management is key, as each player can only carry one item (2 in single player) but the devs did a good job making it so the items you need are usually close-by, minimizing backtracking.

This was one of the first works designed by Shinji Mikami, who would later go on to design the Resident Evil games. That should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the design found here. Seriously, if this was a thread about multi-player SNES games, this game would probably be at the top of the list. The only game that I can think of on the SNES with a multi-player experience even approaching this is Metal Warriors, and that's a head to head vs mode, which is not for everyone.

But as it is, I'm forced to sort of "split the difference" with Goof Troop. If I'm rating this as single player only experience, I'd rate it lower, and the 2p mode higher.

The music and graphics are both bright and colorful. The sprite work is solid and appealing. The boss fights are interesting and fairly challenging. The puzzles are good! They start off pretty simple, but by the end game, you will be standing around going "are we seriously taking this long to solve this in a Disney game for babies?"

Turns out Goof Troop ain't for babies!

Do I recommend this game:
Single player: No. It's overly difficult and tedious.
2p co-op: One of the best games on the system. Maybe even THE best. If you haven't ever played this, find someone who's willing to give it a try and spend an afternoon or two having a blast. Truly good co-op games are as rare as a person on the internet admitting they were wrong. This is one of them.

[Friday]

41. R-Type 3



R-Type is the best shmup on the SNES (that I've played) except that actually Gradius 3 is better. It just runs like shit.

R-Type 3 was made specifically for experts. Know that going in. It's not a game that exists as a nice intro to spaceship carnage, if such a game does exist. Ikaruga with unlimited lives turned on, maybe?

R-Type will kick you in the dick, punch you in the face, then kick you in the ribs while you're down on the ground, groaning and moaning. And just when you think R-type is done abusing you and has left the room, it will come back in with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch and put "Stuck in the Middle with You" on the radio.

It's perfect for a masochistic insane person like me!

That being said, I can remember my playthrough of this game broke me. It demands such utter memorization and perfect execution that it makes Ninja Gaiden's infinite respawning birds look like a nice, sunny day in the park. And you know, your girlfriend is with you, and there's a nice breeze so while it's warm it's not uncomfortable, and there's this cute little food stand and you and her get just the best foodstand food you've had in a long time, and then you go up on this small grassy hill, and there's a nice view of the bay, and the fresh saltwater smell hits your nostrils and your girlfriend laces her fingers through yours, and you look into her eyes and she smiles, and for just an instant you can forget the shitshow of a world we live in and you smile back, and say "Wow I just remembered that life is actually worth living because you're so beautiful and kind and smart and you like video games and anime too."

And then you hit load state and get back to this fucking lava maze.

That's right, I cheated. I used save states to get through this bitch of a game. I'm not proud of it but my god the lava maze was just brutal. I just couldn't take it. Every death (which arrived instantly as a punishment for not having the area you've never been to before memorized) sent you back like 10 whole fucking minutes. And any small mistakes during those 10 minutes would instantly vaporize you.

Oh and when you actually beat the game? It goes "hahaha you thought you really beat the game?" and sends you back to the start Ghosts and Goblins style. No, bitch, this was only a trap and illusion designed by Satan. Do the whole game again but now everything moves 50% faster.

Seriously I've seen other people review this game and talk about the graphics and how well it runs on the SNES and the funfactor and then mention "it's pretty tough" and end the review. MOTHERFUCKER THE WHOLE REVIEW SHOULD BE ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY. This might be the hardest game on the SNES. Like you're not wrong, it's a good shooter with good graphics! Everything about it is great! BUT IT'S ALSO HARDER THAN HOW HARD MY NIPPLES GET WHEN SOMEONE MENTIONS SPIDERGIRLS AROUND ME

There's nothing wrong with designing for the ultra-hardcore crowd, of course. And I understand that back in this era most games were stupidly overtuned because of the rental market or for length or for both. But this isn't that. The devs designed this for shmup masters. And I am not that, so I had to use save states to finish the game. But it should say something about the game that it was good enough despite the difficulty for me to bother with save states rather than just walking away.

The final boss is probably the best shmup final boss I've ever seen. He's just such a little shit that will not die, and I love him.

Do I recommend this game:
Absolutely not. This game will destroy your soul. I wouldn't even recommend this game to Niku, and he did a fucking hologram-less run of ek2. (Because he is insane)