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[SNES] - missile toting penguin commandos
Track Nine
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Wikipedia wrote:The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia, Central America, South America and Brazil between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the Super Family Computer, Super Famicom (スーパーファミコン, Sūpā Famikon?), or SFC for short. In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent direct compatibility.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was Nintendo's second home console, following the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The console introduced advanced graphics and sound capabilities that compensated for its relatively slow CPU, compared with other consoles at the time. Additionally, the system's support for numerous enhancement chips (which shipped as part of certain game cartridges) helped to keep it competitive in the marketplace.
The SNES was a global success, becoming the best-selling console of the 16-bit era despite its relatively late start and the fierce competition it faced in North America from Sega's Genesis console. The SNES remained popular well into the 32-bit era, and although Nintendo has dropped all support for the console, it continues to be popular among fans, collectors, and emulation enthusiasts, some of whom are still making "homebrew" ROM images.
So what's the big deal?
The SNES was and is just damn good gaming, born of an era of damn good gaming and one of the two major competitors who fought one of the fiercest and close cut console wars our fair hobby has ever seen. In retrospect, it's still considered by many as one of the best consoles ever made because of the sheer number of quality titles on it, many of which are still frequently played and purchased even today.
Basically - it's a damn fine system with a fantastic library.
Basically - it's a damn fine system with a fantastic library.
Bah, it's old and it's games can't compare to modern gaming - Isn't it just misplaced nostaligia that's giving people a rosy outlook on the system?
Nostalgia does tend to twist people's views of the games they used to play, but that soon wears off when you get to play them again and they don't live up to what you remembered. After this much time since a console's era has passed you tend to start seeing cracks in the general consensus about it as people go back and find out it doesn't measure up - but the SNES remains popular.
Wanna find out for yourself? follow the thread and play a few of the games mentioned. You'll soon form your own opinion of whether the system's games really do still stand up on their own.
Wanna find out for yourself? follow the thread and play a few of the games mentioned. You'll soon form your own opinion of whether the system's games really do still stand up on their own.
Okay, so what's the plan?
Simply - it's a SNES thread. It'll cover all things SNES (within forum guidelines) and will feature regular updates covering different games from the library. Hopefully it'll inspire some to pick up and play the games as we go along, or just answer a few questions and make it easier for people to access and play the library.
..so, just like every other console thread then?
Not quite. Rather than covering just the obvious "greats" like is so often done, I'm hoping to cover a bit more variety in the library and you may find some of the bigger name games don't immediately come up. There's nothing to stop anyone bringing them up, but I'm aiming to cover some of the lesser mentioned titles andeven some of the crap that crept onto the system - nostalgia be damned. Good and bad movie licences. lesser know gems, and anything in between. I certainly won't be ignoring the big hitters, but a little variety can't hurt.
So, onto the main points..
So, onto the main points..
Accessibility:
For anyone who wants to play along, or finds their interest piqued by this thread, I'll be trying to include a number of details about any game or hardware mentioned at the top of a post.
There's only really two ways to play along - Au natural with the hardware, or with a port of the game on another system (GBA, VC).
For ports, I'll state whether and where the game is availible elsewhere
For playing on an actual SNES system, I'll try to include:
Any other details such as problems playing on a converter, I'll include if I'm aware of them and if I remember. If anyone sees I've missed something or can add anything that will help others out, please feel free to do so.
There's only really two ways to play along - Au natural with the hardware, or with a port of the game on another system (GBA, VC).
For ports, I'll state whether and where the game is availible elsewhere
- VC (Wii),
- Other Systems (GBA or even another console e.g. Megadrive/Genesis)
For playing on an actual SNES system, I'll try to include:
- Regional availibility
- A rough idea of how much it'll likely set you back
- How easily availible it is
Any other details such as problems playing on a converter, I'll include if I'm aware of them and if I remember. If anyone sees I've missed something or can add anything that will help others out, please feel free to do so.
Updates:
Games:
-= Courtesy of davidbarry =-
Super Star Wars
Cybernator
Other:
Some awesome old SNES commercials courtesy of BTP
/
Start
Games:
-= Courtesy of davidbarry =-
Super Star Wars
Cybernator
Other:
Some awesome old SNES commercials courtesy of BTP
/
Start
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*Left to right - The US design (NTSC), The Euro (PAL) & Japanese (NTSC-J) design and the SNES Jr. (NTSC/NTSC-J)*
Regions:
- NTSC: Yes
- PAL: Yes
- NTSC-J: Yes
Cost:SNES Jr: Low ($30 - $50, US & Japan only)
Availibility: V.Common (enough to build a fort)
The SNES initially came in 2 different designs after undergoing a redesign for the American market. Whereas both the Japanese (Super famicon, or SFC) and Pal systems maintained a simple sleek design, The American system has a much blockier, clunky appearance, apparently having drawn design inspiration from american car designs at the time (I kid, I kid).
Thankfully the cosmetic change was the only difference for the American system from the original, and it maintained all the technical aspects of it's japanese counterpart - so much so, that with a little modification to the cartridge slot, it can play many Japanese games without a converter.
The Pal system was not so fortunate. Despite it's shared appearance, it runs at a slower speed to the SFC and has a region lock in it which prevents the use of NTSC carts, thereby maintaining the fine tradition of screwing over the PAL market *sigh*
All original versions of the SNES can output either RF, Composite, RGB and S-video with S-video being the best option if possible. The SNES Jr. Lack the S-video output in favor of a smaller, sleeker (and probably cheaper) design, so which model you choose will really come down to design versus functionality and if you don't care about S-video there's not much in it at all.
* Left - the US controller, Right the controller everyone else uses *
Though not so different from their SFC and PAL counterparts as the deck itself, the US pads lose the multi-coloured button design in favor of the use of only two similar colours - Lavendar and Purple. Thankfully this is the only difference and the pads actual layout were left intact.
As far as I'm aware the pad cannot be swapped between systems as the signal layout on the NTSC pads is different to that of the PAL, resulting in.. difficulties. Though I've never had chance to test this myself.
Interestingly, the SNES pad design proved so successful that it has been the basis for most control pads that have followed. Not a bad thing by any means, it's damn comfortable and pretty intuitive to play with.
Should you like the SNES pad and want to put it to use for your PC needs you can also get SNES to USB adapters that will allow you to do so.
Alternatives: The SNES had a ridiculous number of third party controllers, many of which were best avoided, though some did have a number of interesting extra features. There were also a few wireless controllers, but if you're looking for such a thing you'd be best looking into some made fairly recently by a company called Messiah. They're not cheap, but they are comfortable, reliable and won't eat batteries like a gamegear.
For those who prefer a arcade style control interface, particularily for fighters like MK ad SFII, there is also the Super advantage
* The two SNES cart designs. Left - PAL and SFC, Right - US design *
Just like the Decks, the cartridge design for the US market was considerably different from that of the PAL and SFC. Rumour has it that the US cart design was brought about as a result of one too many American consumers using their NES carts as coasters for their beverages. I guess a few too many tech calls for spillages may have pressed the need for a anti-coaster design, but I'm still not sure if it's true.
Rumours aside, the design does have a practical purpose in preventing SFC carts being used on a US system and makes using US carts on any other system even more of a pain.
This is important if, like me, you have an attatchment to your SNES games and plan to hang onto and replay them in the future. Alternatively, you might find yourself picking up a bargain somewhere only to get it home and realize it won't let you save.
Any SNES game that allows you to save contains a battery which will eventually die - even if you haven't used that cart for some time. You'll know when it's happened because either all of your saves will be gone, or you'll find the game save states 9and all your hard won progress) wiping every time you switch off your SNES.
The good news is, SNES cart batteries aren't anything more than your bog standard everyday watch battery (Model CR2032) and with a little care can be replaced. The only tricky parts are getting into the cart and then sticking the battery in there.. which brings a teeny chance of explosion.
It's also worth noting that the average CR2032 has an expected life of around 10 years - so expect to start seeing the odd one or two of your games dropping out at this point.
Nintendo used (and still does use) a special type of security bit to seal their carts and systems and thus prevent their users from getting in. If you look on the cart you'll see these strangely shaped bolts.
To get in you've got two options
Next open the cart by lifting the front up (over the catches) and away, then lift the circuit board carefully out, trying only to touch the edges.
Now, you'll see the battery on the board (large flat round metal disc). It's soldered down, usually by 3 or 4 solder points which you'll have to carefully break. I suggest heating a sharp edge (razor or stanley blade works well) and carefully sliding it's edge against the join until it works through (slowly with several reheats is normal).
NOTE: Applying heat to the battery poses a risk of popping the battery. be very careful and DO NOT allow prolonged heat against the battery.
Once you've broken all the joints, ease the old battery out and slide a new one in. From here you can either simply tape the battery in, or if you're confident, CAREFULLY renew the solder joints you broke onto the new battery.
Now just ease the case back together (remember to slide the front downword upon the catch to make it fit back together) and tighten the bolts until you no longer hear the circuit board rattle in the case.
Now, to check the cart simply play, save, thurn off the SNES wait 2 mins, turn the SNES back on and see if the save is still there. If so, pat yourself on the back - your game now has another 10-15 years in it.
More will be added as/if needed
What else do I need?
The PSU and RF cable should come with the system when you buy it. If you want to use another connection, you'll need to buy the appropriate cable separately. other than that, you just need a game.
Can I use a NTSC system or SFC with a PAL TV?
Yes - if your TV is 60htz compatible then all you'll need is a step down power converter for the SNES itself.
Can I use a PAL system with a NTSC TV?
Not so easily. You'll be a lot better off just getting a NTSC system and using a converter to play PAL games. If you are determined to use a PAL system then you're looking at a expensive PAL to NTSC converter, or a slightly less expensive AV to VGA converter and a VGA monitor.
Basically - use an NTSC system and a converter.
What converter should I use?
There's too many to cover and I can't claim to know or have tried them all. From experience the "Honey Bee" converters, later model Action replays and Datel's all seem to do a good job.
Any other options for playing games from another region?
Modding. It's entirely possible and indeed not too hard to modify a SNES for import use. You'll be looking at installing a 50/60hz switch, and in PAL systems either disabling the region lock or installing a switch to turn it on or off. I've done it before and I'm absolutely useless at that kind of thing, so anyone else shouldn't have too much trouble.
For those in the US, if you want to play Japanese games your modding challenges consist of cutting two strips out of the inside cart slot. It's an easy job and once you're done, you can just plug a SFC game in and play.
I'll think up a list of my favourite games...
Star Fox
Super Mario World 1 and 2 Yoshi's Island
EarthBound (FUCKING EARTHBOUND!)
Super Mario RPG
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI
Breath of Fire 1 and 2
Zombies ate my Neigbors
Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3
Zelda: Link to the Past (or Late to the Party)
Lost Vikings
Mario is Missing
Super Contra
Shadowrun
That's all for now
Also, Zombies Ate My Neighbors was amazing.
The Lion King was also incredible.
The list can just keep going if it wants.
Ahahahaha!
Also, Act Raiser.
TMNT4
Final Fantasy 4, 5 and 6
SNES was my favorite console and solidified video games as a hobby.
2008, 2012, 2014 D&D "Rare With No Sauce" League Fantasy Football Champion!
Aladdin (Don't make me pick between the Mega Drive and Snes version)
Chrono Trigger. Greatest game or Greaterest game?
Contra III: The Alien Wars (well, super Probotector, but no one actually calls it that...)
Earth Defence Force (I know, I know, I need to get the PS2 and Xbox 360 games in the series)
EVO - The Search for Eden is so lovable. I am baffled as to why there havent been more games that play like it.
Final Fantasy VI is pretty much the only Final Fantasy I like, and I really like it. The opening sequence is the perfect alternative to "Oh no I overslept", which I cannot put up with in any game except Chrono Trigger.
F-Zero pretty much started a genre I love. It's not much to play now, but it felt the same back then as GX does today.
Goof Troop was surprisingly enjoyable, especially coop.
Legend of Zelda - Link to the Past. Epic, brilliantly consistent design, really influential, a perfect example of what games should be like. IMO the best entry in one of the best series around.
Mega Man X and X2. X3 is not quite as good, but still great.
Pilotwings
StarFox
Street Fighter II Turbo
Super Bomberman 5
Super Mario RPG is exquisite
Tetris Attack
Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario World 1+2 are basically enough game to make any child love video games for ever. No one makes platformers like Miyamoto.
Super Metroid
U.N. Squadron is a bloody good shmup, and great way of splitting up levels.
That'll do for now.
Both were excellent systems, of course.
Sounds like a fine idea, the SNES is after all, only half the greatness that came from the 16-bit console wars..
Check with a mod first though, just in case they take issue with a couple of these threads popping up.
I'll give it a day or two, first. Unless TSR beats me to it, of course; he'd do an OP better than me anyway.
I skipped the PS1/N64/Saturn generation entirely and ran off a Genesis and SNES until I got my Dreamcast at launch. Those were good times. The games were all used and cheap by that point, the controllers were still awesome; it was really a golden age of video games. I played Street Fighter II against my brother for hours. (And I'm not even going to tell you which console it was on, because it doesn't matter!) Castlevania 4, Streets of Rage II, the best Sonic and Mario games we've ever had, etc. Good times.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
In fact I'm going to play it right now.
BRB with pics.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
DO A BARREL ROLL!
I love Star Fox. It has such great music, and is pretty challenging. Although I don't think I've ever beaten the Hard path. I keep on dying to the Atomic Base II.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Amazing OP, btw.
I was a Genesis man during the 16-bit era (and that's still my favorite console ever, although the Dreamcast and DS give it a run for its money), so the first time I got to play Super Metroid was when it was released on the VC.
Holy shit, is that game amazing. The atmosphere it creates is just unreal.
I also have very fond memories of playing Starfox, Pilotwings, the Super Star Wars games, Jurrasic Park, Donkey Kong Country, and some tank game (Super Battle Tank, I want to say?) at my SNES-owning friend's house back in the day.
Having a good friend with the opposite console as you was the key to being a kid during the 16-bit days.
I'm loving that the VC is giving me the opportunity to catch up on all the SNES games I missed. Now give me Earthbound and Starfox already, dammit.
PSN:Hakira__
I had a Genesis growing up also, but when we first rented an SNES (console renting, those were the days) I picked up Super Metroid. And I would never put it the fuck down. I still think it's the best Metroid game ever conceived. It has a lot to do with how free you are to screw with the linear progress. And the music, fuck yes the music.
I'm also going to give props to Mega Man X and Mega Man X2. I think these two games destroyed my adoration for the little blue dude in the first few Mega Man games.
Cybernator rocked as well. Though I guess the Japanese version had a lot more in depth story. Or so I hear anyway.
Flashback also. Hell, a lot of modern games still don't have as good of animations as that game did.
ActRaiser was also fan-fucking-tastic. The sequel not so much.
TMNT: Turtles in Time. I played and beat that game so many times. Ah the memories.
Super Mario All Stars was an ingenious thing. All the Mario games in one place, with fancied up graphics? Sign me up! This game I actually sent away for and got for free. Back in the day of having to wait 6-8 weeks for delivery. (Now its a sad day when I have to wait 2 days). What a fantastic surprise it was when I got pack from school and saw that box in the mail.
edit- Also it seems like the SNES was the era of the actually good movie-tie in games. At least most all of the Disney games were good. Well, now that I think about it there were a lot of bad movie time in games on the SNES. So I shall rephrase my statement: The SNES was the Era of the good Disney movie tie-in games.
Now with the recent internet and technology I have been able to enjoy SNES games, and I will say that it had stood the test of time.
Did anyone mention E.V.O. yet? Yeah, there's a winner! And no I can't tell if I'm being sarcastic or not. Every time I played that game I felt a sort of guilty pleasure with it.
I'm pretty sure 3 of us have already hailed it for being awesome.
That game is so deserving.
I sucked so bad at that game.
HAHA I have a chainsaw and you have no worthwhile weapons, eat metal death
I was pointing this out to the fella above my post. Not sure if he's aware of it being both on the SNES and Genesis (I played it on the latter).
And yes, the chainsaw guys were really unfair. The furthest I got into the game was some castle level. I really need to go back and play through again whenever I actually can. Is this out on the VC? <.<
EDIT: Also, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers beat-em-up is shockingly good. I still bust it out and play it sometimes.
It took me FIVE GODDAMN YEARS to reach the point that I could beat the final boss. I'm still proud of that, because that fucker is just unfair.
-= Assault suits valken =-
Game Availibility:
Cart:
PAL: Yes
NTSC-J: Yes
Cost:
SFC: Moderate-ish ($10 - $40) Can be pricey on import.
Cart Availibility:
NTSC: V.Common
NTSC-J: Common-ish
Other:
US: Yes
Japan: Yes
Ports:
Despite the cringeworthy marketing drivel tacked onto the game's description, Cybernator is actually as good as the marketing guys try to make it out to be. Tragically, it seldom gets the recognition it deserves and more often than not is curiously absent whenever a SNES post comes up and people come to mention their favorite games. Personally, I bought the game when it was first released based on the strength of it's reviews and absolutely loved it and still go back to it every so often because of it's easy pick up and play factor.
The game puts you in control of a huge robot - a "Cybernator". We know it's huge because one of the game's many unique traits is that you get to swat enemy soldiers during the course of the game as they suicidally attempt to fight you or leap desperately from the shattered wreck of their own prized mech or tank.
Your Cybernator comes equipped with a variety of weaponry, ranging from the standard autocannon-like vulcan and missiles, to a fixed beam laser or, if enemies should happen to get too close, you own mighty metal fist. The suit also has a shield (big metal thing - not energy) which you can raise to deflect the majority of enemy fire and the ability to do a sliding dash should you need a little burst of speed.
What adds to the experience is that you weapons can be permanently upgraded as you progress by picking up up special power item that enemies drop. Each weapon can level up three times, each time getting more powerful and gaining new properties as they go. You never get enough power-ups to upgrade everything to max, so you have to pick and choose which weapons you want to juice up and which you're happy to neglect.
The controls themselves are easy enough to get the hang of and it's nice to play a game where you actually have a range of control of your gun, beyond the usual left, right and up.
Graphically the game looks great, but it's the little touches that set it apart - weapons leave marks on walls and floors, vulcan shells float away on space levels, rather than dropping to the floor. Enemy pilots leap from their vehicles as you blow them up and they and other NPC humans flee in panic around your feet.
The game also features multiple endings (okay, only two) depending on how successful you are in achieving missions during the game. Simply survive and ignore the defense of your ship and you'll find the ending quite different to what it should be.
The Japanese version of the game - Assault Suits Valken - has an edge over it's PAL and US counterpart. Not only did it get far better box art, but the US and PAL versions were censored to remove a scene where the enemy commander, when confronted, commits suicide by blowing his own head off. Why the scene of a tiny pixel man shooting himself is so bad for thewest and not the east, I'm not sure, but I'm sure theres a reason.. O_o
Suicide removal I can understand, but there were also some further unneccesary cuts including significant character dialogue, the ending was cut and lacked the extra story element at the end of ASV, and for who knows what reason, the character portaits that should come up with in-game dialogue were removed
It doesn't detract from Cybernator's overall brilliance, but it's annoying nonetheless. If you want to see more of the changes click the spoiler.
And some kind fellow has uploaded a video showing the difference between the US and SFC versions of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOz3x-YHh4s&feature=related
In the game
I'll be adding in some shots and comments from a playthough of the game in a couple of stages, because, well, it gives me an excuse to play through the game again.
Fairly warned be thee - there will be spoilers..
Intro:
As we'll discover through the game, our noble leader lacks a certain strategic talent. Should probably have launched a few suits before the big gun had a chance to fire. Well at least he'll learn from this..
Ah, now that's the mans way! ram your way into the enemy and unleash your soldiers. Unfortunately, the general's only gone and parked his ship in front of that big old gun who's work we saw in the intro so it's upto us to race through and destroy the generator before it can fire..
Simple enough level and if you want a little something special out of it, run through the level without shooting anything except the boss (not the cannons protecting it either). Real men play without that little extra though ;-)
Okay, so now we've saved the General from his parking predicament, we're sent to shut down the enemy's ore producing facilities.
Due to the lack of parking facilities, the stage begins with the general using that strategic guile of his and launching us into an enemy infested asteroid belt.
The hardest thing about the flying stages is you no longer have your trusty shield to rely upon - not that it would help much when your careering towards big chunks of rock, but the homing enemy energy shots do tend to prove a distraction.
Finally, you'll ditch your pack and have to float your way through the remaining level. Nothing too hard, but be sure to collect the missile weapon from the upper levels and as many power tokens as you can. Also, beware the big energy guns shown in the 4th pic.
Boss:
So, The enemy has a big asteroid base and we're going to make a mess of it. Super.
The level starts you off outside the base, so you have to again contend with the zero gravity floatiness from the last level. Generally, just keep you feet on the floor so you can get your shield up when those nnoying homing beam lazers fire and work your way to the entrance.
Level 3 is where you start to get into the game. Levels become longer, often multi-sectioned and more often than not there's a..
Mini-Boss:
These two strange round turrets circle the room and fire at you while occasionally stopping opposite each other and unleashing a lerge prolonged energy shot. What you need to do is kill the one on the bottom so that the beam breaks through the floor. Simple enough, just sit tight with your shield up and when one comes along the bottom, let 'em have it.
Keep trekking your way down and you'll get a brief encounter with the enemy commander who then, like a true villain, whizzes off in his chair before you can squish him. From there just work your way down through the complex, avoiding the bloody big rockets its firing as you saunter through the launch tubes. Finally, you'll get to watch the enemy commander order that the asteroid be dropped to earth as he whizzes off in a rather large mech of his own.
Boss:
This is one of those fights that will affect the ending you get. You have 2 minutes to destroy the generators and stop the base falling to earth - all while the enemy commander tries to smack you about with his Mech's floaty arm.
Ignore the boss - you get nothing for killing him. Focus on floating up and dropping those generators.
> Super Mario World
> Super Mario All-Stars
> SMW2: Yoshi's Island
> Super Mario RPG
> Mario Is Missing (Gah! They got me!)
> Donkey Kong Country
> Donkey Kong Country 2
> Donkey Kong Country 3
> Mega Man X
> Mega Man 7 (rented repeatedly)
> Kirby's Dream Land 3
> Kirby Superstar (rented repeatedly, not sure why we never bought it, but still played the heck out of it)
> Kirby's Dream Course (rented)
> Jurassic Park
> Alladin (rented)
> Lion King (rented)
> The Jungle Book (rented)
> Math Blaster (yay?)
Also I'm sure I rented plenty of plenty of other games. And plenty of Mega Man games on the NES, though I couldn't beat them.
I need to find my SNES pad now. I now it was here somewhere before the flood... I hope they didn't throw it out or anything.
It only ran at 50hz, so any import games also ran at 50hz, Final Fantasy III USA fucked up due to this, you would play for a while then suddenly the screen would go black or squash up, due to lazy coding by SQUARE.
You had to fit a 50/60hz selector switch to your EURO SNES to play it, also we didn't get full RGB output for SNES because again the internals weren't wired up correctly for it.
So yeah, it sucked.