2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

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2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 28th, 2019, 1:56 pm

Here are two new SNES reviews for you to chew on.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby C64_Critic » July 28th, 2019, 4:50 pm

I feel like we played Lemmings at your place a couple of years back, because I remember specifically the issue of NOT using the mouse and I was sure that would affect your grade. This isn't a re-review? I played Lemmings quite a bit back in the day (and actually, fairly recently as I discovered the Christmas Lemmings demo playable on your web browser at https://classicreload.com/holiday-lemmings-94.html), and knew that without the use of a mouse your chances of making much progress were slim to nil. Anyway, great game - at least on the PC - and good to see the review!

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 28th, 2019, 4:57 pm

Nope - this is that same review! Turns out I have a HUGE backlog of SNES reviews. I think I must have 20+ reviews in various states of completion going back for years. I really need to clear out some of those old ones.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby MSR1701 » July 29th, 2019, 8:49 am

Lemmings is a series that I have only really gotten into in recent years. I've enjoyed the GBC, PSX and Genesis versions, though the SNES version was one that I have to say I didn't go back to. Still, once you get the gist of what is going on, it is hard to mess it up.

Xardion is a game I never got far in, but I *LOVE* the lore/translation, which makes no sense but is all the more fun for it. Also is another underrated SNES soundtrack. :-)

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby Retro STrife » July 29th, 2019, 11:37 am

Love seeing this Lemmings review. I played Lemmings a ton on my PC in the early 90s and I have good memories of it. Never played the SNES version.

It's too bad about the lack of mouse support. Among your consoles, I believe just two have Lemmings with mouse support -- CD-i and 3DO. I own a CD-i mouse and Lemmings on the CD-i. I actually played it several months back for the first time since the early 90s. The game was just how I remembered and the mouse worked well. It is not as great fun as it was in the 90s, but it still holds up as a solid game.

That said, the main problem with the mouse options is the cost. A CD-i or 3DO mouse can easily run you $50 or more, and then the cost of the game (CD-i version is a little cheaper). But the CD-i mouse is great to own anyway, because so many CD-i games are point and click style. The mouse works like a normal controller, so it is compatible with *every* game on the CD-i. (i.e., Will you want to use the mouse for platformers? No. But technically you can.) The mouse works really well with light gun games - precise shooting and you don't even need a CRT TV. I think it's a great accessory and might be worth the cost; it was for me.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby MSR1701 » July 29th, 2019, 12:05 pm

Retro STrife wrote: Among the consoles you review for, I think just two have Lemmings with mouse support -- CD-i and 3DO. I own a CD-i mouse and Lemmings on the CD-i. I actually played it several months back for the first time since the early 90s. The game was just how I remembered and the mouse worked well. It is not as great fun as it was in the 90s, but it still holds up as a solid game.


Didn't the Sega Genesis have a Sega Mouse peripheral? If so, was it supported? And on the subject of consoles with mice, did the Amiga CD32 or Commodore CDTV have mouse support on their version?

The only other system that I think had a mouse released for it might have been the PSX/PS1, though that may have only been in certain markets. No other console I know of had mouse support that also had Lemmings, though the PS2 version (a revision of the PSP release) had EyeToy support.

Amusingly, it might be easier to list the systems that did NOT have a version of Lemmings released at some point... ;-)

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby Retro STrife » July 29th, 2019, 12:15 pm

MSR1701 wrote:Didn't the Sega Genesis have a Sega Mouse peripheral? If so, was it supported? And on the subject of consoles with mice, did the Amiga CD32 or Commodore CDTV have mouse support on their version?

The only other system that I think had a mouse released for it might have been the PSX/PS1, though that may have only been in certain markets.


The Genesis did have a mouse, but when I googled that before, people on other forums were saying it wasn't compatible with Lemmings. There's a good chance that the CD32 or CDTV had mouse support, but I didn't check since the VGC doesn't review those.

Good point about the PS1 version! I didn't think of that version, which also included the More Lemmings expansion. The Wikipedia page for the PS1 mouse says that it supports Lemmings, so I guess that would be another option to look into.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby Sonicx9 » July 29th, 2019, 9:49 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Here are two new SNES reviews for you to chew on.


Rather late critic, but my two cents is you may want to review Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings on the PS1 version as it has native mouse support and is a much higher quality port of the PC original given the 32bit CD-Rom tech that was around the time period.

Man porting games back then and now sure was different, heck we did not even have motion controls or touch screen handhelds back then which where both better suited for games like Lemmings in the control department.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby MSR1701 » July 30th, 2019, 5:41 am

Sonicx9 wrote:
VideoGameCritic wrote:Here are two new SNES reviews for you to chew on.


Rather late critic, but my two cents is you may want to review Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings on the PS1 version as it has native mouse support and is a much higher quality port of the PC original given the 32bit CD-Rom tech that was around the time period.

Man porting games back then and now sure was different, heck we did not even have motion controls or touch screen handhelds back then which where both better suited for games like Lemmings in the control department.


I would say that having to overcome control issues and to do so successfully is an achievement. In Lemmings case, many versions (PSX, GBC, Genesis, for example) are still quite playable without the native mouse support that the Amiga original was designed with. Contrast with, say, an RTS like Command and Conquer on the PSX, where the lack of mouse support was really felt.

I do agree that Mouse support is better for a game like Lemmings, though I still applaud the programming skills to make it work without the native controls. Many developers and programmers today would struggle to adapt to a game to a different control setup.

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Re: 2019/7/28: Super Nintendo: Lemmings, Xardion

Postby Sonicx9 » July 30th, 2019, 5:02 pm

MSR1701 wrote:
Sonicx9 wrote:
VideoGameCritic wrote:Here are two new SNES reviews for you to chew on.


Rather late critic, but my two cents is you may want to review Lemmings & Oh No! More Lemmings on the PS1 version as it has native mouse support and is a much higher quality port of the PC original given the 32bit CD-Rom tech that was around the time period.

Man porting games back then and now sure was different, heck we did not even have motion controls or touch screen handhelds back then which where both better suited for games like Lemmings in the control department.


I would say that having to overcome control issues and to do so successfully is an achievement. In Lemmings case, many versions (PSX, GBC, Genesis, for example) are still quite playable without the native mouse support that the Amiga original was designed with. Contrast with, say, an RTS like Command and Conquer on the PSX, where the lack of mouse support was really felt.

I do agree that Mouse support is better for a game like Lemmings, though I still applaud the programming skills to make it work without the native controls. Many developers and programmers today would struggle to adapt to a game to a different control setup.


You have good points about that, but even then things like touch screen handhelds/motion controls have become good alternative for porting PC games without a mouse house porting times change, :lol:!


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