The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by CIT »

Figured since there's a Mega Drive thread we also need one for Nintendo's 16-Bit console.

I've been playing a lot of Super Famicom lately. So much good stuff out there! Anyway, here's what I've beaten (for arcade style games this means on one credit) in the last two months:

Super EDF - Very nice port of the arcade version, with improved weapons system and arranged stages. The soundtrack is unbelievably catchy and among the best on the entire system, if you ask me.

R-Type III - Perfectly balanced and executed, imo it's the best horizontal shooter for Super Famicom. It's also nice how it uses every graphics trick in the book.

Super Metroid - Need I say more?

Axelay - More style over substance, but the horizontal stages are top-tier quality. Love the cavern and the final stage.

Assault Suits Valken (Cybernator) - The perfect synthesis of action and storytelling – the diversity of stages and bosses is incredible. Too bad there were so few games to follow in its footsteps. I guess that's why it's a popular theme for doujin devs to expand on now.

Hagane - Really got into this one. It has a steep curve and requires a trial and error approach, but once you know what you're doing you'll be blazing through the game like a true ninja. The boss designs and some of the backgrounds are truly out of this world.

Final Fight 2 - Basically it's just the Final Fight 1 engine, with different visuals (even the endless combos work). Still had fun with it, but ultimately there are too few different enemies and moves to really keep you excited. This was the weakest of the bunch.

Kiki Kaikai (Pocky & Rocky) - Incredibly cute and well designed, with lots of attention to little details. Probably the most outright fun of all the games here, but it's also rather difficult.

Thinking of tackling Final Fight Tough or Violinist of Hameln next.

What have you been playing?
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Metal Warriors - I like this game, Assault Suits Valken and Super Metroid best played with a DualShock 2. Still can't get over the fact that Nintendo essentially emulated it with Classic Controller Pro and then the games I hoped to play with four triggers didn't come.

I found Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City interesting, but haven't revisited it since then.

Didn't play the SNES Panel de Pon (a.k.a. Tetris Attack), but the GBA version kept me busy alright.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by CIT »

Yeah, Metal Warriors could really use a hold-function like Valken's.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by TransatlanticFoe »

My SNES is pretty neglected these days. It's easier to get Mega Drive games in good condition for a reasonable price. SNES stuff tends to be either battered or OMG NINTENDO super-expensive. I've played about a bit with emulators and not found all that much that's grabbed me.

Rock 'n' Roll Racing was a staple with mates when I was younger. So much fun to be had shooting rockets across the other side of the track and laying mines right before jumps to either trap or send players the wrong way.

Doom is worth a mention too for a) existing on the SNES b) being the least butchered console port c) having awesome music

Cybernator/Valken is just incredible though. Patching Valken to put the portraits and better dialog in is the way to go. I mean, who the hell is called Crea anyway?
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Metal Warriors is MUCH more than Valken clone (it only starts off as one).
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by EmperorIng »

I've been meaning to pick up a real copy of both Super Metroid (only VC...), The Ninja Warriors, and Pocky and Rocky. But my older brother has our SNES so it's more or less out of my reach, and he's never keen on lending it out!

All the same, Super Metroid is the best game ever made, so no matter what it's worth it.

The only real shame is the boxes, which have never survived anywhere, lol. It was cheap at the time, and cheap now.

Great console though- Nintendo's best. It doesn't get much love from the shmup crowd, but man cannot live on shmup alone!

also:
Metal Warriors might not be an Assault Suits Valken clone, but I wish it was: Valken is the far superior game!
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

In before somebody says MD/Genny could do "the action" better, I say Wild Guns.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by opt2not »

Though not an arcadey game:
A couple friends of mine and I are in the middle of a Seiken Densetsu 3 playthrough using the multi-tap. Man, that game is great! The combat is slightly better than Secret of Mana, though not without problems, but it's still a lot of fun! The graphics are probably the best made on the SNES, love all the spell casting artwork, and the level class-changing system was so ahead of it's time. Not to mention the multiple story-lines between characters, for the added replay-ability.

Definitely one of the best games on the SNES/Famicom.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Speaking of fan-made patches, there's one that makes Terranigma 60 Hz.
TransatlanticFoe wrote:Doom is worth a mention too for a) existing on the SNES b) being the least butchered console port c) having awesome music
What does it do better than any of the PSX ports?
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Mortificator »

I hated SNES Doom. It was the first version of Doom I played and it put me off the game for years.
EmperorIng wrote:Metal Warriors might not be an Assault Suits Valken clone, but I wish it was: Valken is the far superior game!
In single-player, probably, but Metal Warriors' multiplayer is huge fun. It also has some of the best mech design work of any game, both in terms of aesthetics and capabilities.

Front Mission: Gun Hazard is also quite good. I appreciate how these three side-scrolling mech games have very different focuses despite looking similar.
Obiwanshinobi wrote:Wild Guns
Definitely my favorite Cabal clone.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by trap15 »

Tetris Attack (also known as Panel de Pon, and the same basic game as Pokemon Puzzle League and Planet Puzzle League) is probably my favorite puzzle game on SNES, one of the games I've played longer than I can remember.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie is a pretty standard beat-em-up, 2 planes with a button to switch between them. Fun as hell though for some reason, and some great sprite work. Natsumeeeeeeeee
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Moniker »

Lately been playing a lot of Umihara Kawase and Rockman & Forte. Both hit the sweet spot, difficulty-wise. I'd also recommend folks to check out the Super Metroid hacking scene. Lots of really great stuff there.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by BIL »

I love the SFC just as much as the MD for action games. Here's what I have one for (seconding a few of yours, CIT!):

Wild Guns
Kiki Kaikai: Nazo no Kuro Mantle (Pocky and Rocky)
Kiki Kaikai: Tsukiyozoshi (P&R2)
The Ninja Warriors Again
I'd still own an SFC if these were the only four action games on it. All marvelous examples of consolised arcade game design from Natsume. Cabal-style shooter, overhead run-and-guns and sidescrolling brawler, respectively, and some of the most fun to be had anywhere in those genres.

Assault Suits Valken essential mecha sidescroller. Absolutely nails the arcadey yet "realistic" mecha feel. Sense of scale and continuity over the game's course is impressive even now, loaded with fantastic setpieces. As with the Natsume four this would sell the system to me on its own.

Hagane ultra-maneuverable ninja sidescroller, easily on a par with the MD's Super Shinobi games.

Actraiser 2 gorgeously produced sidescroller with a surprisingly quality game engine underneath. Honestly, I went into this with low expectations but quickly got hooked and had to have the cart. Exploiting the character's invincible frames is vital.

Demon's Blazon (Demon's Crest) solid-playing and utterly beautiful sidescrolling action RPG, short enough to be comfortably finished in a sitting - I consider that a plus. Last game in the Red Arremer Makaimura spinoff trilogy.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by KAI »

Super Aleste - That music.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Bizzarely, as much as I cherish Compile and like certain console shmups of many buttons (a case in point - R-Type Delta), Super Aleste has never quite kept me busy. The suicide bullets modes are fairly tough, but I'm more inclined to play Gunhed on Hard (less slowdown and fewer buttons). Guess I just don't feel like using more than two buttons in a Compile shmup (Musha Aleste is another one I've been putting aside for years).
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by TransatlanticFoe »

Obiwanshinobi wrote:
TransatlanticFoe wrote:Doom is worth a mention too for a) existing on the SNES b) being the least butchered console port c) having awesome music
What does it do better than any of the PSX ports?
Far as I know the PSX one is based off the Jaguar port (for the Doom levels), so no crushing ceilings and a bunch of altered levels. It seems it tacks Tower of Babel at the end of Inferno so at least the Cyberdemon shows up eventually but Dis (and the Spiderdemon) are missing. The SNES version drops about 4 but leaves the others intact.

Can't imagine it scales up to a reasonably sized TV though.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

I thought the GBA port was the one ported from Jaguar.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by BIL »

Console DOOM ports make decent doorstops and coasters.

I'm planning to pick up Karuraoh / Skyblazer at some point. It's too easy for its own good, but still very enjoyable - the character is one of those Strider Hiryuu acrobatic types who's fun just to move around, and the levels have plenty of avenues for grappling and jumping about. Looks great and has a distinctive, atmospheric soundtrack too.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Jonathan Ingram »

Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons - a fantastic adventure/RPG/strategy game by Koei; it`s got so much content that no matter how many times you`ve played it, there`s always something new to look forward to

P.T.O. 2: Pacific Theater of Operations - another Koei game; by far the best strategy/wargame on consoles(although the Saturn version is slightly better)

Clock Tower - You thought a 16-bit horror-themed adventure game couldn`t be scary and atmospheric? Try Clock Tower.

Shadowrun - A good SNES RPG that`s not Japanese made? Why, yes it is. Different from the Genesis version, but just as good.

Chrono Trigger - not much to say about this one since everybody already knows what a great game it is; Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI signified the beginning of Squaresoft`s golden era which would last until early 2000s

Final Fantasy VI - same as above


BIL wrote:Console DOOM ports make decent doorstops and coasters.
This is, of course, not true. Ultimate Doom for the PSX and Doom 64(not really a port though) are both held in high regard among Doom community. The SNES one is pure trash though. Who cares that it tries to remain faithful to the PC original when it`s barely playable?
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by zinger »

Everything BIL said. You have great taste man.

Septentrion is also a must-try. Totally unique experience!

Nosferatu and Majuu Ou are horror themed action games that both have some super cool moments, though hardly must-haves due to various flaws. I've also always liked Rockman & Forte a lot.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

Some SNES/Super Famicom exclusives give away the makers' infatuation with PoP, Another World and Flashback (a bit like Elevator Action Returns; i.e. "realistic" animations). Hyper Iria comes to mind and some other sidescroller had this trait... Maybe Majyuuou if played as dude (although I think the hunky protagonist just looked the type, not really moved around like that). Then there's Nosferatu, but I didn't play it.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Jonathan Ingram »

Flashback and Another World are Amiga games first and foremost.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by BIL »

Jonathan Ingram wrote:Ultimate Doom for the PSX and Doom 64(not really a port though) are both held in high regard among Doom community.
I'm fond of the PS1 DOOMs' lurid coloured lighting, fierce sound effects and creepy soundtrack, but you can experience all of that with PC controls and performance via the total conversion. Same goes for the N64 game (it looks awful, especially these days, but the combination of jumpy monster encounters and a chilling soundtrack make it worth a play, esp. alone at night). I honestly can't see why anyone would actually pick up a disc or cart of these games today, outside of historic curiosity, when you can get all their good points and none of the bad on PC.
zinger wrote:Majuu Ou
Quite like this one, seems to come and go on my to-get list. It definitely has issues as you mention, but it plays solidly enough for the bizarre cartoony/horrific style to put it over the top. One absolute standout moment - the end of stage 3, when the castle's massive outer wall comes into view as the train hurtles towards the gate. Real sense of scale!
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by zinger »

Yes. That was exactly what I was thinking about when I wrote "super cool moments" (for an example of Nosferatu's awesomeness, just listen to the music in the first stage, or check out the third boss!). That train scene from Majuu Ou basically had me jumping up and down while laughing from excitement. Just marvelous.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Marble »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters/Mutant Warriors
This is an incredibly high quality fighting game in the same vein as SF2, Karnov's Revenge, etc. You can see a LOT of influences form SF in the mechanics and there's only a couple of ways it differs; super meter is built only by hitting the opponent or cause them to block (Which some would say is a great system because at the rate it builds you will only get meter if you're doing a successful job of locking your opponent down, in other words the game rewards you with easy chip damage for maintaining enough pressure) and the turtles have invincible back dashes (which can of course be baited). Also, this game does have a problem where you can actually be thrown in block stun, which is of course retarded but situations where it works do not come up that often in play. The sprite work and most of the backgrounds are extremely top notch but most of the music is pretty bland. The Japanese and western versions do have some differences in balance and aesthetics.

Ranma 1/2: Chougi Ranbu Heb
This is another SF2 styled fighter with an interesting roster. For those who are familiar with the Ranma 1/2 anime series, this game does an incredible job of capturing the show's aesthetic. It's not very complicated but the diversity within the roster and all the silly things that can be done are quite fun to explore. Because of the simplicity (this is only fighter I've played where non-fighting game players can become competent with some characters in a short period of time) it gets old kind of fast but it's still really fun to go back to every now and then. Picking female Ranma and destroying most of the cast by baiting their anti-airs with the double jump then bullying them with dive kicks, or picking Ryoga and killing someone in one combo just because you hit them with a low HP, that stuff is too much fun.

Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension
This game almost has a KoF level of movement with the amount of different jumps that can be done but the movement in the game is kind of sluggish and awkward. Has a complex juggle system by SFC standards, a guard cancel mechanic and a really unique take on life and super meter. Could probably be a really sick game with a little bit of fine tuning. The biggest problem is that by being hit with certain attacks, you can be launched 'into the air' where both characters are constantly flying around. The flying aspect is not nearly as fleshed out as it is in some of the later DBZ fighting games so take it from me, when this happens it is fucking terrible and as far as I'm aware there's no way to turn it off. And you'd think something based on DBZ would have more interesting locations for stages, they are quite bland.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
Natsume was really original here. I guess there weren't too many mech-themed fighting games around this time (were there any?) and as such, the character designs are all quite unique. It's hard to draw obvious inspiration from arcade titles unlike most fighters on the system, and in terms of originality and diversity the cast is top-notch. Pretty much everyone can do insane juggles and it's a lot of fun to work out the optimal combos depending on spacing and meter. Super meter builds by doing a special move once a certain bar is filled up, so if you get a knock down you have to choose between doing a special to build meter or going for the OTG stomp for damage. It's pretty stupid and different for the sake of it, but it doesn't hinder the game too much. Plus, it's a fighting game that lets two Megazords fight each other while playing a 16-bit rendition of the Power Rangers theme. Total jizz.

Gundam Wing: Endless Duel
I haven't played this game enough (none of my friends like it) but I wanna say it's the best fighter on the system. With universal super jumps, double jumps, dashes and something called a block dash, the movement options are quite insane in this game. Jumps can be executed from super jumps and both allow you to control your path of movement a little bit. It also allows you to cancel pretty much everything in the game into a super jump or block dash, similar to FADCs in Street Fighter 4, but without costing meter. If this sounds retarded, it doesn't help you do safe DPs or anything like that because the DPs in this game aren't good for shit, it just helps you to do crazy mix-ups. The speed at which matches play out is pretty mad and it doesn't have any glaring flaws like every other game I've listed. Even for Natsume SFC standards the music is totally fucking amazing.

EDIT: Oh and fucking of course, I look at BIL's posts and I see nothing but a combination of all my favourite SNES games and all the SNES games I really fucking want to play.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

I think that Jordan game has the most realistic animations to ever grace a SNES sidescroller.
I wanted to like Hyper V-Ball (Sonic Wings characters and all), verily I did, but the animations didn't meet my expectations. Maybe it's the ball animation that didn't make the cut. Without scaling, it just didn't look like a game of volleyball (about the only team sport I enjoy watching and, to an extent, playing). I wonder why women's volleyball is more exposed, whereas the men's playing is way more showy.
Oh I like my women fit, athletic even, but for whatever reason women's footy don't get nearly as much exposition, neither does handball; only volleyball does. Doesn't make much sense for me.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by CIT »

What is it with you and that Michael Jordan game!? You should go play some stuff from BIL's list. :lol:
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Obiwanshinobi »

I'm continuing the topic of "cinematic" animations in SNES games. There's a pattern to be seen if you take the whole sentences rather than lists into consideration.
Chaos in the Windy City is a game of few flaws and many virtues (good pre-rendered graphics - how usual is that? - and character animations among the latter).
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by Jonathan Ingram »

BIL wrote:I'm fond of the PS1 DOOMs' lurid coloured lighting, fierce sound effects and creepy soundtrack, but you can experience all of that with PC controls and performance via the total conversion.
A lot of stuff can be experienced on PC - either by means of PC conversions or through emulation, but that`s not what was being discussed. When Ultimate Doom came out on PSX it looked, ran and played extremely well. It featured a new atmospheric soundtrack and even offered graphical improvements over the PC version. It was certainly more than just a decent doorstop.
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Re: The Super Famicom / Super NES Thread

Post by BIL »

I don't think this topic is dealing with the past tense, even if TAF mentioned SNES DOOM in it.
CIT wrote:What have you been playing?
The PS1 games were good at the time, that's not what I'm disputing. My point is they're not worth the wear on the machine's laser mechanism with the total conversions around (I'd never say the same of merely emulating those ports).
Jonathan Ingram wrote:It was certainly more than just a decent doorstop.
It was never a decent doorstop, you need a cartridge for that!
Last edited by BIL on Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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