Tag Archives: 16-bit

Celebration, Nintendo, Super Nintendo

Super Nintendo Week

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The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for short) was first released in Japan as the Super Famicom in 1990.

After the success of the NES, any follow-up console from Nintendo would really have to be “super” to keep the ball rolling, and the SNES certainly was just that.

Countless great video games were released for the Super Nintendo and the system stands out in retro gaming history as something unique and powerful – compared to what had gone before it.

We’re spoiled now. Modern consoles can render a hundred thousand polygons in an instant. But back in 1990 you were lucky if you got hardware sprites and smooth-scrolling backgrounds. Thankfully the Super Nintendo had all of that. And it had “Mode 7” too – a now legendary graphics technique that allowed flat textures to move around in 3D space. Later on it had a special chip, called the Super FX Chip, that gave it more power and better 3D graphics capabilities.

The Super Nintendo played host to thousands of games overall, and a percentage have gone down in video gaming history as some of the best ever. The allure of the Super Nintendo is still strong. Be that in real hardware, which is still quite easy to get hold of, or via the magic of emulation.

This week I’m going to be celebrating the brilliance of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by adding a collection of grabs from great SNES games. Well, ones that we haven’t featured already, anyway. 🙂

Here’s a list of links to what was published that week:

Addams Family Values,
Super Mario Kart,
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe,
Sim Ant,
F-Zero,
Dungeon Master,
E.V.O.: Search For Eden,
The Lost Vikings,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time,
Super Bomberman,
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals,
Krusty’s Super Fun House,
Pocky & Rocky,
Smash TV

Click here to list all the Super Nintendo games we’ve featured so far.

Enjoy!
The King of Grabs

Super Nintendo Week 01

Incentive, Major Developments, MS-DOS, PC

Driller, PC

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American publisher Epyx released UK hit game Driller onto US PC markets under the title of Space Station Oblivion in 1988.

There was no need for a title change really. Driller says it all.

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Atari ST, Incentive, Major Developments

Driller, Atari ST

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Driller and Freescape started life on the ZX Spectrum in 1987 – performing miracles on Sir Clive’s humble little machine. Creating 3D worlds where previously there were none…

And, being more than just a graphics engine, Freescape (and Driller) lived on into the 16-bit realm, and beyond.

Continue reading Driller, Atari ST →

Ape, HAL Laboratory, Nintendo, Super Nintendo

EarthBound, Super Nintendo

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This 1994 cult classic Super Nintendo level-grinder was originally titled “Mother 2” in its native Japan – later changed in English-speaking territories to EarthBound.

This was due to the fact that no one outside of Japan had seen the first Mother (released in 1989 on the NES) and the bigwigs at Nintendo of America worried that it might confuse people.

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Atari ST, Thalion

No Second Prize, Atari ST

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No Second Prize is a 3D motorbike racing game from German developer and publisher Thalion, with mouse controls and an emphasis on fun, rather than realism.

Which suits me, because realism in these games can really become a problem when all you want to do is complete one lap of the course without crashing, but can’t seem to be able to do that.

Continue reading No Second Prize, Atari ST →

Square, Super Nintendo

Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 5]

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Seiken Densetsu 3 was released by Squaresoft in 1995 and an English fan translation came out in 2000. Only five years after the game’s original release there was a fan translation… That’s unheard of. And there are various translations available now, including German and French.

Continue reading Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 5] →

Square, Super Nintendo

Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 4]

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I absolutely love the graphical style of Squaresoft‘s Seiken Densetsu 3. It’s a masterwork of pixel graphics artistry. Everything in it, from the characters, to the buildings, to the items, and to the magic spell effects are all incredibly well presented and thought-out. These are definitely among the most iconic 2D RPG graphics ever made. And the people who made them deserve a round of applause from the rest of the gaming world for creating them. 🙂

Continue reading Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 4] →

Square, Super Nintendo

Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 3]

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One mistake I made when I first played Seiken Densetsu 3 was: I didn’t know where the magic spells were. This is probably a common mistake among first time players.

You have to press ‘down’ from the item menu ring to find and use your magic spells, and I probably played the first twenty levels or so without using my character magic at all. If you’re going to give this great game a try for the first time, don’t make the same mistake that I did. Press down to use your magic (and spirits) when the item ring is visible. Pressing up and down cycles through them. The same system as is used in shops for buying and selling. It does take some getting used to although you can quickly switch characters using the L and R buttons, which is useful in shops and essential in combat.

Continue reading Seiken Densetsu 3, Super Nintendo [Part 3] →