Great Scott! The Critic has never reviewed a Back to the Future game?

[goldenband]

As the subject says, I just noticed that the Critic hasn't reviewed any of the Back to the Future console games, i.e.:

Back to the Future (NES)
Back to the Future II & III (NES)
Back to the Future II (SMS, non-US release)
Back to the Future III (Genesis; also a non-US release for the SMS)
Super Back to the Future II (Super Famicom, translation patch available; wildly overrated game IMHO, but playable)

There's also a more recent multiplatform release for the PS3, etc., but I don't know much about that one.

Will any of these torturous terrors ever get reviewed? Will he help Marty save his family from the machinations of Biff and his ancestors? Will this baby ever hit 88mph, and are we ever gonna see some serious...uh, reviews?

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

My roommate is obsessed with the series. He owns Back to the Future 2 clothing. He's named his business after Marty McFly. He has all the cast signatures, all the merchandise he can grab, he's run a fanclub...

He has promised terrible things will happen if I ever remind him of the NES and Genesis games. I think he has PTSD.

Really, most fans should just stick to the Telltale game, with a quick stop by the Super Famicom for a shallow bit of fun.

[VideoGameCritic]

So where do I begin guys?

[goldenband]

So where do I begin guys?

The most obvious place would be with the original/first NES game, which has the virtue of being quite short. The other NES game (which is basically two games in one) is much, much longer and infamously tedious.

The Genesis version of Back to the Future III is also extremely short, and is famous for a coding error that made the entire game's color palette too dark. The Master System version didn't come out in the US, and looks like it might be a bit better, but the longplay on YouTube takes only 6-7 minutes to clear the game!

Finally, the Master System game Back to the Future II is more or less unknown in the US -- so much so that the Angry Video Game Nerd overlooked it in his episode on the games. He didn't, however, overlook the Super Famicom game Super Back to the Future II, which has gotten a ton of hype because it's the only one of these games that's reasonably competent and playable. An original cart is now fairly expensive, but there's no reason not to just play the translated version on a flash cart.

To be clear, the Back to the Future licensed games are notorious for their poor quality, and playing them isn't going to be a fun romp like the movies. None of the games that came out in the US even rise to the level of "halfway decent", and I don't think any of the European releases are likely to be any better. But the three US-released games are definitely a part of many players' childhoods, especially the first NES game which seems to have sold a lot of copies, but was a huge disappointment.

[Retro STrife]

So where do I begin guys?

I think generally the newest game -- Back to the Future: The Game -- is considered the best BttF game out there. It's a solid adventure game from Telltale Games, that was released on most consoles from last gen and current gen. Received good reviews overall, averaging around a 75% on Metacritic. I played a demo of the first episode and came away impressed.

However, I agree with goldenband that the NES games would seem the best place to start. First, because they were the earliest, and released closer to the movies. And second, because among retro gamers, those are probably the most well known BttF games. If you had to, you could probably skip some of the more obscure import releases; although those reviews would be interesting too.

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

So where do I begin guys?

Go in release order, so we can watch you slowly lose your mind.

These weren't the worst games ever made, but you'll be amazed at the many surprising similarities. Plus a unique twist or two.