The challenge. Play 26 games from the SNES library, one game title for each letter in the Alphabet. Play each one for 10 minutes, and provide some feedback. Sounds simple enough? I strived to avoid sports games, and games that are considered mainstream, or popular. I limited myself to games that I had never heard of, or that I was not familiar with, when possible. What follows is the results of this challenge.Enjoy,
Arcana:
Game one is an RPG. The graphics and music are decent, but this game really fails to captivate me. There was a lot of reading, and the battles are boring. The first temple reminded me of Wolfenstein. Nothing special here. If you want a good RPG on the SNES go with Final Fantasy. Not a bad game, but not a good one either. 2/10.
Bio Metal:
This game opens up with a remake of "Y'all Ready For This?" as an intro song. Yes that song. God this could be a bad sign. Ok, so this is actually a decent side-scrolling shooter, very similar to Gradius. The worst things about this game is the rediculous scrolling speed, and the repetetive music. The music from the title screen repeats all the way through the first stage. Took me 10 minutes to figure out the weapons upgrades, and what not, but over all not to bad. I
will play this one again, but will probably play with the sound off. 7/10.
Carrier Aces:
That was the most painful 10 minutes ever, even compared to the agony of gym class in jr. high school. This is a very detailed World War II game, from the standpoint of the battle in the Pacific. I should have just played 1942. Easier, and far less complicated than this mess. I couldn't even get through the trining exercises. 1/10.
Demolition Man:
Kick ass rock anthem to open the title screen. Having only seen the movie this game was based off of once a long time ago, I don't really know if this game follows it too closely. Not a bad side-scrolling shoot 'em up, I may give this one another go. 5/10.
Eek! The Cat:
One I have heard of, but never played before. And after 10 minutes I can see why. This game blows furballs. The controls are ok, but there's a little too much touchey-feely with the old lady. I thought I might like a game where you kick granny in the ass, but no. Eek! This game was awful. 3/10.
Faceball 2000:
God what have I gotten myself in to? This one sounds like baseball, and I said I wouldn't play any sports games...This is NOT a sports game, unless you count lazer tag as a sport. This one is bizarre. It's all about shooting smiley faces in a maze-like environment. It's like Doom meets Pac-Man, only not as cool. 1/10.
Gemfire:
Ever wonder what it would be like to play the board game 'Risk' on a video game console? Well Gemfire allows this to happen. This game is very boring. I had to push myself to make it through 10 minutes. That's a lie...I shut this shit off after 6. And I didn't even have the satisfaction of being able to throw the boardgame against the wall in anger. This game fucking sucks. 0/10.
Harley's Humongous Adventure:
Green Lantern got shrunk while wearing pajamas! Actually this game reminds me a lot of Cool Spot on the SNES. The game really got better when I found out I could shoot the fly that was puking on me. Yes this game has puking flies. Not a bad game. I will try this one again sometime. 8/10.
Inindo - Way of the Ninja:
This game is basically the ninja version of Final Fantasy or Breath of Fire, only with crappier music, and slower controls. If I wanted a decent RPG I would play one of the ones mentioned. Not the worst game ever made however. 5/10.
Joe & Mac:
That was a quick 10 minutes. Caveman beat-em-up. Great graphics, good gameplay, decent music. I will be playing this one again. I liked it, plus I got kissed by a blonde cavelady. 9/10.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase:
They kan't even spell 'clown' korrektly. This sounds like a sack of sweaty balls waiting to be unleashed upon me. In all reality this game isn't bad. The controls are annoying, as is the fact that everything you encounter stuns you, and the 'klown' himself is a big whiney whimp. 4/10.
Lester The Unlikely:
It's unlikely that anyone likes this game. It's like a wussier version of Prince of Persia on the SNES. This kid sucks. His posture is bad, and he whines like a little bitch. I am surprised he didn't piss his pants in this game. I have played worse games, but not many. 2/10.
Mr. Nutz:
With a name like this....anything is possible. The graphics are definitely good. I like. This takes some getting used to, but once you do, it's actually quite fun. Reminds me a little bit of Donkey Kong Country, only a little easier. This is one I will probably play again. 8/10.
Ninja Warriors:
Not bad. The controls are decent, but without an owners manual I am not sure what special moves I have. I seemed to do them at random. I like that the first boss I came to had his head explode when defeated. I am going to play this one again, but only after finding some instructions about the controls. 9/10.
Obitus:
Ugh this game is awful. I managed to make it out of the castle or whatever I was in to begin with, then came the forest. Everything looked the same no matter where I was. This sure as shit makes it difficult to know where you are going, and where you have already been. Too bad. This had some potential, but it reminds me of Friday The 13th on NES, but with no map screen. NEXT! 2/10.
Pac-In-Time:
Sounds like a Pac Man game....and oh look, it is. Pac Man goes back in time because of some witch. Nothing spectacular, but a decent game. Would help if I had an owners manual to learn more about what I can do, and what's supposed to happen. Found the 'exit' to the first level, but couldn't figure out how to open it. Maybe it has something to do with the spinning rings? Will try again after reading more about it online. 7/10.
Q-bert 3:
The only "Q" titled game in the SNES library? So I guess it wins by default. I have at least heard of Q-bert, and recall playing it as a kid, but I dont remember much, aside from the cameo he made in the movie 'Wreck It Ralph" Well....wish me luck.... This is about what I remember about Q-bert. This game is nothing more than nostalgia for the original game. Updated graphics, but the same old crap. 3/10.
Run Saber:
I knew nothing about this game. I though it might be like 3D World Runner from the NES. Boy was I ever wrong. This game is actually quite good. Reminds me of Hagane on the SNES. You can climb on walls and ceilings, like Spiderman. This game is very nice, and easy to play. I will definitely be playing this one again. 10/10.
Sonic Blast Man:
Another side-scrolling beat-em-up. Only not as good. Graphics are ok, and music is decent. The special moves are random, and the 'hero' seems to be a bit of a whimp, as is evidenced by him getting 'dizzy' when he performs a certain basic spin move. That's right, he spins, gets dizzy, and just sits there while stars circle his head. Captain America was a lot better. 4/10.
Thunder Spirits:
Well, this is another side-scrolling shooter like Gradius. This is not much different than any other game in this genre. The powerups are cool, and there are loads of enemies available to blast you away.....just like Gradius. Cool game over all, and one that I will probably play again a few more times. 8/10.
Ultraman - Towards The Future:
Who knew that 'The Rocketeer' had his own fighting game? I have never been a big fan of fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, but this one is definitely the worst fighting game I have ever played. The controls feel laggy, and its just a crappy game. 1/10.
Vortex:
Polygonal hell. Thats the only way to describe this game. Remember StarFox? This is basically StarFox, only slower, and instead of flying, you are clomping around in a shitty slow robot shooting space ships. No thanks! 1/10.
Wild Guns:
Well.....this game is like a fine wine...the more it ages the better it gets. At first I thought this game sucked. I couldn't figure out how to shoot, and I didnt know what buttons did what, and the controls were confusing (controlling both your aim and your chatachter at the same time). But the more I played the more I got accustomed to how this game plays, and I was finally able to get past the first level boss. This is quite a fun little game. I will be playing this again soon. 9/10.
Xardion:
This is a strange one. I kinda like though. It seems to be a side scrolling shoot-em-up, but some of the opening scenes make me think it may also have some flying elements, like Gradius. I will have to play this one again to find out. The controls seem to respond sluggishly, but it's playable. I like the upgrade system, its like an RPG, in that the the more experience you get the more you
level up. This one will be played again. 7/10.
Ys III - Wanderers from Ys:
What the fuck? This is definitely a strage title. But, since I am familiar with Yoshi, this is the game that will fill the "Y" requirement for this alphabet challenge. After 10 minutes....Well, this is an RPG game. I don't really think it's all that great. It reminds me of Zelda II a little, in that its all side-scrolling. I think an owner's manual would be helpful with this game, but probably not. I hated the fact that the first enemies I encountered, when I was finally able to encounter them killed me in 3 seconds. I was able to try and avoid them, but it seems like it's the fighting of the enemies that kills you, even though there doesn't seem to be any contact from them. 2/10.
Zool:
No, not to be confused with Zuul from Ghostbusters, Zool is a SNES game from 1994, and the last on in this SNES Alphabet challenge. I don't really know what to say about this game. This is someone's bad trip. You are essentially some guy running around in a world of candy and fruitcake, shooting bee's, and blobs, and collecting little sweet things like candy canes, and other assorted treats. This game is fast, and the controls seemed to be backwards, so I had a difficult time adusting to jumping and shooting. Even after somewhat getting used to the controls, this game still basically sucked. I don't think I will try this one again. It's too strange. 3/10.
