The SNES Thread

[WyattSheepMask]

1 hour ago, FelatioLips said:

The plan was to only do games I have the cartridges for but i’ll gets roms if anyone wants a specific game!

Don’t get messing around with ROMs if that wasn’t your plan, it’s just because The Firemen is one of those games that every should know about. It’s tremendous fun with a fair difficulty curve

[FLips]

The Chaos Engine

What is it?

Widely regarded as one of the Bitmap Brother's finest games, The Chaos Engine is a co-op shooter set in a steampunk dystopian England where the titular Chaos Engine has became sentient and twisted time and space; creating mutants and resurrecting prehistoric beasts. With the choice of six characters, all with unique stats and abilities, it is up to either you and another player or you and an AI controlled player to stop the machine.

How is it?

I ranked the Amiga version of The Chaos Engine at different points as my 1st and 5th best Amiga game back when I did write-ups of them. The SNES version suffers from a few things that wouldn't have it touch my top 10 on the SNES, but that doesn't mean it's bad at all.
Firstly as unfair as it might be, it doesn't look or sound as good as the Amiga version and even by SNES standards is a bit washed, with a new and less impressive UI and lacking some of the bells and whistles of the Amiga version too.
Secondly and more crucially, the SNES library is largely more impressive than the Amiga's, so whereas Chaos Engine on there is a Top 5 game, it doesn't have much competition. Here it's against some real gaming powerhouses and all-time best games ever.

That being said, it stills holds up really well as a run and gun co-op game with not many games like it on the SNES. Closest you'll get is maybe Smash TV.
The graphics are good but not a high standard for the SNES, but the soundtrack is still banging despite the lower sound quality. It handles smoothly with the SNES controller and most importantly is still just as fun to play, personally for me even moreso as it's much easier to get 2 players on the SNES than it was on the Amiga emulator I had.
It also still has the voiceover in-game which though a small thing gives it so much character. NODE ACTIVATED. EXIT OPEN.

Alone I still can't make it that far but with co-op being easier now I was hoping to get some help. Unfortunately when my mate came over the other day we ended up spending it all playing Pokemon Blue on the Super Gameboy. Maybe next time.

Compare it to the Amiga and it's a lesser version, but stand it on it's own merits and it's still an exciting, tough and unique co-op game that works really well on the SNES. You'd be hard pressed to find anything else like it on the console. Later games like LOADED on the PS1 tried to recreate the formula but never really came close.
Highly recommend but it's not the definitive edition!

Edited January 10, 2023 by FelatioLips

[Keith Houchen]

I hope Ratatouille has a SNES port. 

[patiirc]

8 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Looking forward to @FelatioLips’s review of The Firemen. 

Haven't posted for ages, but it was played as part of the retro league thing 12 years ago.

 

Blackthorne/Blackhawk is really good.

The SNES has loads of belters not called Wild Guns and Hagane.

May have to bust mine out as not played it in aeons 

[RedRooster]

I had no idea that The Chaos Engine came out on SNES! I've been playing the shit out of that game on my A500 mini, it's such a great game, and so much fun multiplayer. I don't think I'll ever be good enough to complete it though, even with the option of save states available. 

[westlondonmist]

I have the SNES version in my evercade (cheaper thsn buying original carts) and even being able to save it every 30 seconds doesn't stop the game being rock hard. Good game and definitely worth a play though. 

[garynysmon]

I stumbled across an emulator for the firestick recently, having not used one for a decade or so previously.

As a kid I had a NES but not a SNES, having milked the NES to death until the N64 arrived. So other than playing it at my cousin's house the SNES doesn't spark the same nostalgia as the NES did.

That said, having gone back to playing these old games I find the NES to be a little *too* retro in terms of the graphics and the "music" being incredibly grating, while the SNES represents a massive jump forward in terms of both.

Been playing a lot of Super Mario World over Christmas and it really is unbelievable that such a game, graphics and colour wise, was on the market in 1990/91.

[FLips]

14 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

I stumbled across an emulator for the firestick recently, having not used one for a decade or so previously.

As a kid I had a NES but not a SNES, having milked the NES to death until the N64 arrived. So other than playing it at my cousin's house the SNES doesn't spark the same nostalgia as the NES did.

That said, having gone back to playing these old games I find the NES to be a little *too* retro in terms of the graphics and the "music" being incredibly grating, while the SNES represents a massive jump forward in terms of both.

Been playing a lot of Super Mario World over Christmas and it really is unbelievable that such a game, graphics and colour wise, was on the market in 1990/91.

The timeline for Super Mario Allstars and Super Mario World baffles me as an adult. I was always under the assumption that Allstars came first, then World came after, then Allstars + World came after that but it’s not. World came first, then they did Allstars in the World engine, then did the bundle of both.

It’s a testament to World that even though it predated Allstars by a few years, it always looked and felt brand new even as a kid that owned the NES originals. World is probably still my favourite Mario game.

[Twatters]

Has anyone got one of those RetroN 5 HD consoles. They play several different cartridges including Megadrive and SNES but into HD TVs. Currently debating whether to splash out on one or just get an original SNES. 

I have my Wii modded to play all the games but fancy collecting some boxed SNES games.

[Devon Malcolm]

8 hours ago, FelatioLips said:

World is probably still my favourite Mario game.

Until you get to Tubular and you want to quit video games forever.

[Surf Digby]

I can still remember the first time I saw a SNES. There was a computer shop with some arcade machines in that I passed on the way home from school, so I'd end up in there regularly spending tomorrow's dinner money. 
This sounds bizarre remembering how big a deal we made of it now, but there'd been talk of Nintendo releasing a Super version of the NES, and then it was confirmed in magazines, and suddenly word was going round school that this place had one. 

Well, of course they'd have one, they were a computer shop, but we were actually going up to each other and going, "Hey, have you heard.....?"

So on the way home, I went in, and all the kids were crowded round the furthest corner from the door. I squeezed through, and there it was, all sleek and surprisingly smalla, nd above it, on a 14" portable, was Super Mario World, and it looked incredible with all the colours and shading. 

[FLips]

Super Mario All Stars

What is it?

Super Mario Allstars is the second best selling SNES game of all time and is an updated port of Super Mario Bros 1, 2 3 and Lost Levels (unreleased in Europe!) using the Super Mario World Engine.

How is it?

Oh boy. Let's go through the games eh?

Super Mario Bros

The one that started it all!
There's not a lot that can be said about SMB that hasn't already been said. At the time it was groundbreaking and set a very high standard on the NES, and the All Stars version is more or less the same thing with a new lick of paint.
There's no doubt the whole thing looks and sounds nicer but the core gameplay is still the same. Mario is stiff and heavy and a few worlds in it becomes clear this is the same old SMB you've played on nearly every Nintendo console ever.

The soundtrack is still as iconic and running across the top of the underground stages to get the warp rooms still feels naughty.

It is what it is. It gave us Mario and everything that came after it so I can't be too hard on it, and i'm sure to some this is still the essential Mario game.
Great for the time but not so much now, and not so much even compared to the other Mario games on this cartridge.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels

What Japan got as Super Mario Bros 2 (they had 2 named as Super Mario USA) we got as The Lost Levels exclusively as part of the All Stars pack.
It's Super Mario Bros but substantially harder (I got game over on 1-2) and was deemed so hard by Westerners they chose to just not bother releasing it on the NES, instead doing SMB2.

Forget everything you knew about SMB because this game chucks it out the window. New Poison Mushrooms hurt you, enemy placement is way harder and the level layouts are fucked up. Pits everywhere, blocks low enough to bang your head on and drop you into said pits, and actual enemy piranha plants in the Warp Rooms! It's brutal.

It has actually aged a lot better than the original SMB due to the difficulty, I would say. SMB gets hard in places but for the most part is easy enough to run through and due to the amount it's been ported, it's stale. This is rock hard but if you want to play the original SMB and want a new approach to it, this does well. They offset some of the difficulty by allowing you to save exact levels rather than just worlds so progress is a lot fairer.

Overall, I can see why this wasn't released at the time because even as a kid growing up on Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man 2 I would have found this impossible. Holds up well now though if you want a challenge.

Super Mario Bros 2

A somewhat difficult one to fairly rank as a Mario game because technically it's not. It's a reskin of a Japan-only game called Doki Doki Panic but the Mario games adopted so much from this game into future games and lore than it would be unfair to dismiss it.
Common enemies like Shy Guys, Bob-ombs and Birdo are from this game, as are all the unique skills Luigi, Toad and Peach have in later games like Super Mario 3D World.
The music is this game is really good too, but again, it's not Nintendo's so it feels like misplaced praise.

The game is just bursting with unique features and character. You can play as Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach. Mario is balanced, Luigi can jump higher and further but handles like spaghetti, Toad is the fastest at running and picking up items but can barely jump an inch off the ground, and Peach is slow but can float mid-jump making her a good choice for kids who struggle with the difficulty.
The mechanics are totally different in this as jumping on enemies does nothing. Instead you have a pick and throw mechanic where you pick enemies up and throw them, or pick items out of the ground to throw them at enemies. It's very fun and having things like secret doors and powerups hid in the ground too mean it encourages exploration. The first level alone has 3 different paths to the end you can take.
At the end of every level now is a mini-boss (usually Birdo) and then at the end of every 3rd level is the main boss which include bomb throwing rats, hydras, the sun and the best one, the exit gate coming to life just before the last boss!

No Bowser in this one, instead it's the underappreciated King Wart. A big bubble belching toad who won't eat his vegetables. Appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening under a different name and then nowhere else before or since.

It's fun, unique and short. Know what you're doing, especially some of the easy shortcuts and warps, and you can have this game done in a morning (as I did this morning). An unsung hero of the Mario series that despite giving so much to future games, wasn't made by Nintendo so it's hard to highlight it as a proper Mario.

Super Mario Bros 3

What ranks as the best Mario game for a lot of people, and I can see why, SMB3 is the proper sequel to SMB and the amount it adds and the improvements it makes are quite honestly astounding.
Another game that established a lot of things into the Mario series, including the Tanooki Mario, Airships, the Koopa Kids, and a World Map. Despite not being my personal favourite this is definitely the one I played the most as a kid.

The most essential improvement this one makes is that it controls brilliantly now. No longer is Mario heavy, you move light on your feet and the new P-Bar encourages fast paced gameplay as a full P-Bar means you can now fly with the Tanooki suit and changes what symbol you get in the end of level gate.

Levels are wide open for the most part encouraging you to check every nook and cranny for a hidden pipe or area. The levels themselves are hugely varied too, with Desert levels where the sun chases you, levels where everything is giant, and the usual water and snow ones in there too. The world map is full of multiple choice paths, bonus levels and hidden secrets.
Fun easter eggs; the Warp Whistle tune in this is the same as the Flute in The Legend of Zelda and eventually reused for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's theme music. The theme for World 3 in this (the water one) eventually became the Fairy Fountain/File Select music in the Zelda games from Link To The Past onwards.

The Airship levels followed by fighting each Koopa Kid at the end of each world keeps the whole thing feeling fresh throughout. The music in this one is also world class, with the overworld, water and airship themes all being fantastic.

Having a Mario game with so much variety in worlds, items and secrets and so much choice in how to play it too makes it clear to see why this one is held to such a high standard. To think it was a NES game is even more impressive.
A true innovator and all time great, despite not being my personal favourite, it's the best of the games on All Stars.

---

Overall this is a very generous package that gains more than it loses from being ported to the SNES. There are probably thousands of changes between the NES and SNES versions but the graphics are the main one so I'll focus on that.
All the games graphically look better there's no doubt, but they do lose some of their identity if you're a purist because especially in the cases of 1 and LL the sprites are changed significantly. 2 and 3 look better overall but still look like 2 and 3. All of them sound better due to the improved SNES sound, again 1 and LL benefit most from this.

If I'm ranking them personally, it's 2, 3, LL, 1 but I would imagine for most people it starts with 3 and the rest of the order is dependent on how much you like 2.

It's one of the very few (good) games I had on the SNES and I still have the NES originals so I do have a soft spot for All Stars. The opening curtain with the mumbled voices probably doesn't mean much to most players but I get a wave of nostalgia every time I see it. 2 reminds me of my Mum, 3 my Aunt and LL my Uncle and cousins so I have a lot of fond memories of playing this.

If you have a SNES then this one is essential.

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by FelatioLips

[Jazzy G]

I can't remember where I read or saw it, but I'm sure I heard they started developing Doki Doki Panic as a Mario game, or were at least in the planning stages when the licence came along. 

Does SNES Chaos Engine do that thing the Megadrive version does where if you play it solo you have to bring an AI buddy along? I agree with you on the Amiga version being the original and best. Had heaps of fun playing that with a friend, usually as Thug and Mercenary. I seem to remember the brigand being pretty good. 

[FLips]

19 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said:

I can't remember where I read or saw it, but I'm sure I heard they started developing Doki Doki Panic as a Mario game, or were at least in the planning stages when the licence came along. 

Does SNES Chaos Engine do that thing the Megadrive version does where if you play it solo you have to bring an AI buddy along? I agree with you on the Amiga version being the original and best. Had heaps of fun playing that with a friend, usually as Thug and Mercenary. I seem to remember the brigand being pretty good. 

Every version of Chaos Engine does that! It’s 2 player by default. Each character has a Wisdom stat that determines how good the AI player will be using them. 
I believe the trade off is the smarter AI are also the weaker characters so you can choose brute strength but unintuitive or less health/firepower but will be better at dodging, aiming and collecting money.

Personally I go for better AI because you can buy upgrades to cancel out the weaknesses.

[westlondonmist]

Never played any of them prior to World. I think Mario 2 is a great game, yeah 3 is probably better but 2 is probably the more fun game. What makes 3 amazing is that if you didn't know better you could believe it was a snes game and it shits on plenty of SNES platformers. I also enjoy 1, a bit clunky but a fun play through. Lost Levels, I haven't played in years but I always just found it too hard and apart from just being tougher doesn't bring much new. An expansion pack essentially.