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Index H-L |
It frustrates me to no end how there are so many home versions of Hit the Ice and none of them are any good. This wacky, arcade-style hockey game deserved better. The Turbografx edition offered fluid graphics but lacked options and speed. The Genesis game had the speed and options, but poor graphics and audio. This SNES version boasts the best audio-visual quality by a mile. The players have reflections and the arena looks so razor sharp you can make out the fans' facial expressions. But as my friend Brent lamented "the players look terrific... until they start moving." The animation is erratic and I can't recall ever seeing so much graphic break-up in a 16-bit title. The puck is hard to follow as it blinks from one spot to the next. Once the oversized players crowd up you'll have no idea what the [expletive] is going on. On a positive note the audio is crystal clear and you can actually understand the voices. I love the sound of the puck clanking off the "pipe" (which happens all the time by the way). It's hard to score in this game! The action zooms in close during the one-on-one fights, which are a little more sophisticated than other versions. There are two types of punches but the uppercut never seems to land. This version does have a coop mode which I don't recall seeing in the others. If I could take the best parts of all three games we might have something. As it is, Hit the Ice fans really can't win. © Copyright 2017 The Video Game Critic.
This SNES version of Home Alone is much different than its Genesis counterpart, but no less enjoyable. Playing the role of little Kevin McCallister, the idea is to scamper around a spacious mansion while collecting valuables and eluding thieves. The treasure hunting aspect of the game is a heck of a lot of fun. You just push up while standing in front of a piece of furniture (like a chest or desk) and if there's an item inside it will pop out. Certain items replenish your health (like pizza) while others serve as weapons (slingshot). Valuables include cash, jewels, and candlesticks. In subsequent stages you'll collect different items like toys, electronics, and pets. You can only carry six in your backpack, so you'll periodically want to empty it into chutes that deposit the items in the basement. A handy count-down at the top of the screen keeps you posted on the number of items remaining. After collecting enough you trek down to the basement to face a push-over boss. Unlike the NES edition of Home Alone, the crooks are slow so most of the time you can just hop over them. Defeating crooks is done by luring them into traps (tacks and bowling balls) that are in plain view. Exploring the house is fun as you scale shelves and jump on beds. Each room has a theme and the attention to detail (wallpaper, pictures, etc) is commendable. The cut-scenes incorporate digitized stills from the movie. The controls are crisp, but I really wish they had assigned "jump" to the lower button as most games do. It's easy to get confused. The audio effects are pretty sensational! Digitized sounds are sprinkled throughout and Christmas music gives the game a very festive atmosphere. Much like the movie, Home Alone for the SNES is a light-hearted romp that will bring out the kid in you. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
It won't win any awards, but this SNES version of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is certainly a step up from the abysmal NES game. The graphics are remarkably rich with luxurious furnishings and decorations (plants, sofas) that look photo-realistic. The cut-scenes incorporate digitized images from the film. The controls are responsive as you guide Kevin McCallister through the Grand Plaza Hotel, Central Park, and other New York City destinations. Kevin uses toy guys to subdue enemies, and can also elude them with a nifty knee slide. There are plenty of people to avoid including the concierge, maids, and a woman with an umbrella who looks really creepy (She's a witch! Burn her!). Then the game goes off the deep end by incorporating nonsensical hazards like hopping suitcases and runaway vacuum cleaners. Home Alone 2 suffers from gameplay mediocrity and "what do I do now" syndrome. The collision detection is fishy, and sometimes you'll walk into a room and be grabbed before you can even react. In the hotel stage, you're forced to run to the end of dead-end hallways for no particular reason. And why in the heck is it necessary to hit the elevator button five times? The weapons are easy to come by, but you quickly run out of ammo. Home Alone 2 successfully recreates the look of the film, but frustrating design flaws spoil the fun. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
Based on the critically-disparaged film starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, Hook offers beautiful graphics but exasperating gameplay. You play the role of Peter Pan in this side-scrolling, hack-n-slash platform game. You'll sword-fight your way through scenic mountains, forests, and pirate ships. You can even fly for short distances. Hook's production values are beyond reproach. Its bright graphics are bursting with color, and the detail in the scenery is amazing. As Peter leaps into the air his sleeves actually flutter in the wind. The outstanding visuals are paired with a rollicking musical score that really whets your appetite for adventure. My enthusiasm was dampened however when I realized how frustrating and unforgiving Hook is to play. The controls are responsive enough, but you move slowly, so although the stages are modest in size, traversing them is time-consuming. Worse yet, losing a life forces you to restart the stage all the way from the beginning, and you'll be losing your share of lives thanks to the unavoidable projectiles that appear without warning as you navigate tight spaces. Also annoying is how you can "overlap" an enemy - an unfortunate predicament that usually spells instant death. In some sections of the game you'll execute a jump that appears perfectly safe, only to watch Peter plummet to his death. Hook offers unlimited continues, and I think I went through about half of them trying to review this [expletive] game. The lack of a password feature was the final straw. I really wanted to like Hook, but a strong presentation amounts to very little without solid gameplay to back it up. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.
An unremarkable shooter with mediocre graphics and rampant slowdown, Imperium was one of those early SNES duds that gave the system a bad rap. Imperium's intro looks fairly heinous (that city looks like a rug!) but the music is one of those catchy 16-bit tunes that you can't get out of your head. In terms of gameplay, Imperium is a somewhat engaging vertical shooter with four types of rapid-fire weapons. Instead of racking up a score, you earn "experience points" which augment your weapons and firepower. It's cool how the top of the screen keeps you posted on how many experience points are needed to reach the next level. The first stage offers some seriously uninspired foes (pods and such), but later you encounter more imaginative enemies, including octopus-shaped beasts and robotic lobsters that detach from their tails. The static background scenery is totally unconvincing, with "water" that looks more like blue silly putty. Those tiny white sea gulls in stage two are a nice touch though. Imperium's biggest flaw is its failure to maintain a steady framerate - the action slows to a crawl when things get crazy. Other issues include indestructible cannons (damn it!), inexplicable lulls in the action, and pods that "sneak up" from behind (cheap!). And why is there no audible noise when your ship takes a hit? Despite these ills however, I did enjoy Imperium's frenetic action and considerable challenge. You'll want to set the difficulty to "easy" if you hope to reach the later stages. Casual SNES players can safely pass on Imperium, but 2D shooter fanatics may find this worth their while. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.
Having watched the Indiana Jones trilogy about a dozen times, I was pretty psyched about a game that recreates all three of the films. The stages inspired by the first film include the famous boulder sequence, the streets of Cairo, and the snake-infested Well of Souls. From the second movie there's the Chinese Club, the Indian Palace, and even that rickety rope bridge. In the Last Crusade you'll explore catacombs, sneak through a German castle, and even ride a Zeppelin. The high-quality look and feel is similar to LucasArt's Super Star Wars games for the SNES. The characters are well animated, and the lush multi-layered stages look terrific. The crystal-clear background music is lifted straight from the movies, and it really lends weight to the action. There are some nice voice samples, like creepy chanting in the Temple of Doom, and Indy saying "Let's go" at the start of each stage. The side-scrolling action is typical as you leap between platforms, dodge traps, and whip enemies. Unfortunately, an endless army of small, annoying animals constantly nip at your heels and interrupt your jumps. These irritating creatures are present on every level, in the form of birds, bats, rats, and even jumping fish! In one stage you even have to contend with rock-dropping birds! C'mon now! You'll also deal with cheap hits like falling stalactites and spikes that rise from the ground, although you can often anticipate these. The difficulty is sky high, even on the so-called "easy" difficulty. Three cool 3D sequences provide a welcome respite from the side-scrolling mayhem. These manage to convey an amazing sense of speed while effectively recreating harrowing raft, mine cart, and biplane scenes. Between levels you're treated to photo-quality stills from the movies and presented with a password. It doesn't play nearly as well as it looks, but for gamers with enough skill and patience, Indiana Jones offers a lot of adventure for the money. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
I always got a kick out of watching Itchy and Scratchy as the "show within a show" during the Simpsons. Its cartoon violence was so over the top, it made the people who crusade against that kind of thing look silly. I was stoked about playing this game but should have known Acclaim would find a way to screw it up. First of all, the game is one-player only, which is ludicrous considering the premise is a cat and mouse beating the living [expletive] out of each other. Itchy and Scratchy is a series of one-on-one battles in uninspired side-scrolling stages. You control Itchy the mouse and the CPU is Scratchy the cat. Your default weapon - the mallet - does minimal damage, so you'll want to scour the landscape for better weapons like a cutlass, pistol, grenades, and flaming arrows. The graphics aren't bad but the themes (dinosaurs, medieval times, pirates, wild west) suffer from an extreme lack of creativity. It's mildly amusing to watch Scratchy get sliced in half or have his head blown off, but the novelty wears thin in a hurry. After delivering one good hit your weapon goes away, which is bogus. There are other enemies wandering around like pirates and dinosaurs, but they serve no purpose. The characters are large but tend to enter the screen without warning and exit before you can even get off an attack. You'll need to hit Scratchy at least a dozen times to defeat him, and he's always jumping around and usually off the screen. It's annoying how you can't hit him when he's too close, or worse yet right on top of you. The game doesn't make a lot of sense. Collecting cheese lets you run fast, but how is that supposed to help? Certain items you collect (like bones and cannonballs) are completely useless until you reach the boss stage. And why do I get a free life by touching a Scratchy icon? The game has no score and I hate that. Itchy and Scratchy should have been a hilarious beat-em-up, but after just a few minutes it feels like a pointless waste of time. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
I can play golf games all day but I'm not especially keen on this one. Jack Nicklaus Golf begins on a promising note with some great digitized images and Jack providing friendly advice. The crisp, colorful overhead preview of the upcoming hole looks great, but I wish it remained on the screen as a point of reference. On the tee-off screen you'll have to wait for layered scenery to render, which can easily take a full 10 seconds! That's twice as long as the Genesis version, and the extra time really adds up over the course of a round. The three-press swing meter works well, but the wind indicator is confusing. Upon reaching the green, the game doesn't always line you up with the hole. What's that all about?! At least the game is forgiving - any putt that goes near the hole gets sucked right in. There's some music between holes but the game itself is played uncomfortable silence. Couldn't the programmers have at least tossed in some obligatory bird tweets? Jack Nicklaus Golf isn't terrible but there are far better alternatives out there. © Copyright 2016 The Video Game Critic.
This video game edition of the popular game show is designed for one to three players. All the segments of the actual show are present, including Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy, and Final Jeopardy. Alex Trebek appears in the game, but only to pop up before each question just to say "The answer is..." Oh well, at least those distinctive music and sound effects are included. The first time I played Jeopardy I had an awful first round, earning a score in the negatives. During the second round however I started getting into a groove, and it was fun. The topics make all the difference in the world, so I really appreciate the option to choose a new set of topics if you don't like the ones given. Your answers must be entered letter by letter, but the interface is well designed and will tolerate some degree of spelling errors. If you've seen the show on television, you know the questions tend to be very hard, but the game gives you an advantage by making the CPU-controlled opponents slow to hit the buzzer. It takes a while to play an entire game, but if you enjoy the TV show, you will like this. © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.
For a guy who travels through various dimensions Jim Power is an awfully fragile dude. Touching just about anything causes the man to instantly disintegrate! Save the planet? I'm surprised he can survive lacing up his shoes in the morning! The stage designs in this game aren't helping his cause. Hop up to the very first platform there's some dude running at you 100 miles per hour, and it takes about five shots to bring him down! And beware of the drops of water that destroy Jim on contact! Also keep your distance from dropping pots, because even the ensuing "shatter" animation will kill you! This game tries to screw over the player in every conceivable manner. As if the difficulty wasn't high enough, each stage is timed! Who felt this was necessary?! Technically the game is pretty solid, with crisp graphics, nice music, and tight controls. It's a shame so few gamers will survive the long, harrowing opening level, because subsequent stages boast side-scrolling shooting action and even overhead shooting with a hefty dose of scaling and rotation. But even those levels are saddled with the same annoying issues as the side-scrolling ones. The 3D aspect (described on the box as "virtual reality") is a bit of a joke. The game came with cardboard glasses meant to emphasize the parallax scrolling of the backgrounds. I guess they add a little depth but that's offset by the lack of clarity and general discomfort involved in wearing those things. You'll take them off after two minutes and never put them on again. I'm not sure exactly why Jim Power is traveling through dimensions, but I suspect he's looking for a worthwhile video game. Keep looking Jim! © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.
I've enjoyed my share of prehistoric platformers over the years, including Chuck Rock (Genesis, 1991) and Bonk's Adventure (Turbografx-16, 1990). Joe & Mac boasts the same arcade graphics and light-hearted style. You play a club-wielding caveman jumping his way over mountains, across rivers, and through icy caverns. The cartoonish characters are stylishly rendered but the animation is a little stiff. When you "swing" your club the animation is about two frames. It's a good thing you can aim upwards, because enemies tend to attack from above. The jumping controls could be better and the collision detection could be tighter. That said, Joe & Mac is a heck of a lot of fun. I was impressed with the variety of prehistoric animals. In addition to the usual suspects (T-Rexes, Pterodactyls) you'll face a Brachiosaurus, a mammoth, and some interesting sea creatures. You'll also battle goofy-looking cavemen and man-eating plants. The bosses are so large that many can't even fit on the screen. Power-ups let you toss bones, fireballs, and boomerangs in a rapid-fire manner. I love the "clink" sound of pterodactyls being plucked out of the sky, and it's satisfying to watch them fall around you. The two-player coop mode sounds good on paper, but it tends to be confusing and slow. As a single-player game however Joe and Mac is addictive. You get unlimited continues but the game displays the high score so you always have something to strive towards. The pacing is good, the bosses are reasonable, and when you die you don't even lose your weapon! The scenery is bright and pleasant, and the steel drum music adds a nice summer vibe. Joe & Mac is just plain fun, and its easy difficulty helps you overlook its flaws. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.
Madden football was an institution on the 16-bit video game consoles, but its first SNES appearance was rough! Released around the same time as Madden '92 for the Genesis, this game would appear to have an edge with its sharp players and clear sound effects. After watching a play or two however, you'll clutch your Genesis game like grim death. John Madden Football is marred by horrible animation that renders the game borderline unplayable. The field scrolls in a jerky manner, making it very hard to tell what the hell is going on. When calling a play, you need to select "player groups", characterized by terms like "hands", "big", and "fast". Waiting for the appropriate players to run on and off the field easily adds 5-10 seconds to every play. Switching players on defense before the snap is also annoying, because you can only cycle in one direction. Longtime Madden vets will not-so-fondly recall the three "passing windows" that line the top of the screen. These provide a very limited view of your receivers, giving no indication of their location on the field. You might see a receiver who appears to be wide open, but after throwing you realize he was standing right next to you! The runningbacks tend to bounce off defenders, and sometimes appear to be on roller skates. There's no NFL license, so the teams are named after cities and there are no logos or player names. One thing this game does have is chain measurements. Hell, even Madden 09 doesn't have that! John Madden Football for the SNES has all the features of the Genesis edition. The only difference is, you won't want to play this one. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.
Jungle Book gets off on the right foot with a superb piano rendition of "Bear Necessities". This catchy tune really gets me in the mood for some lighthearted fun, and the opening stage looks great with its layers of lush vegetation. Mowgli is a lanky kid that runs, leaps, and swings from vines in fluid motion. He'll jump, climb, and collect items on his way to the end of the stage where one of his animal friends is waiting for him. Jungle Book isn't terrible, but after playing the superior Genesis version this is a disappointment. The characters are large and the audio is clear, but the gameplay is marginal. It feels like somebody took a perfectly good platformer and made a concerted effort to suck every last bit of fun out of it. As in the Genesis version, each stage challenges you to obtain gems while fending off various wildlife like monkeys, birds, and snakes. The stages are somewhat linear and the controls feel stiff. Instead of automatically grabbing a vine, you must press up on the directional pad precisely when you're over the end of it. Why make it so hard?! Normally you can throw bananas in a rapid-fire manner, but in some situations Mowgli refuses to throw, which is frustrating. There are too many annoying hazards like prickly plants that sprout from underfoot or plants that shoot thorns upward as you leap over them. And then there are these deadly flies buzzing around that can barely see. Half the time when you die you'll wonder what the heck just happened. The fact that you can't look downward to preview lower areas means you'll need to take many leaps of faith. There's no score so the gems are only good for earning continues or bonus rounds. In the end, playing this version of The Jungle Book left me feeling kind of empty inside © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
This sequel to Desert Strike sends you on a series of "surgical strike" missions in a well-armed helicopter. The 45-degree view of the action nicely conveys the illusion of 3D graphics while providing the best angle of the action. The first few missions involve protecting Washington DC from terrorists, but for some reason downtown DC has no traffic - just acres of green meadows! Apparently none of the programmers have ever actually been to DC. Eventually you'll attack a snow fortress in Siberia before finally starting on the jungle-based scenarios. Your copter is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of missiles. Jungle Strike is hard and the action is intense. You need to proceed cautiously, because getting caught in crossfire can mean instant death. In some stages you ride a motorcycle, stealth bomber, or hovercraft, but I found these to be difficult to control and less fun than the helicopter. The SNES edition of Jungle Strike looks more polished than the original Genesis game, with cleaner graphics and smoother animation (less jerky). The explosions look much improved and the tiny terrorists actually scream when shot. On the down side, the music sounds dull and muffled, and your helicopter looks like it's only hovering about ten feet in the air! Jungle Strike is a decent sequel, but you can tell that the series was starting to spread itself a little thin. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.
It's hard to imagine a more kick-ass video game license than Jurassic Park, so what the [expletive] happened here? This doesn't feel like a Jurassic Park game at all! The theme music is missing and your pudgy character looks nothing like Dr. Grant from the movie. The game has a cartoonish appearance which tends to understate the sense of awe. Even the intro voice "Welcome to Jurassic Park" sounds like it was uttered by a disinterested programmer. You view the action from a tilted overhead perspective as you explore an endless jungle maze with dinosaurs on the loose. Initially armed with an electricity gun, you'll pick up additional weapons like shotguns, bolas, and rocket launchers. Yes, there are raptors and T-Rexes, but you'll spend a lot of time dealing with annoying pint-sized dinosaurs and pesky dragonflies. Exploring the park is unsatisfying. There are signs all over the place, but you can't read any of them! The first mission is to collect raptor eggs, and it took me about a half hour to find the first one. And when I read "17 more to go", I wept openly. There's no map and it always feels like you're on a wild goose chase. When you enter an enclosed facility things go from bad to worse as an ill-advised first-person perspective kicks in. It may have been novel for its time, but the rough animation, clunky controls, and stilted frame-rate will give you a splitting headache. The idea of exploring the visitor center sounds intriguing until you realize it's just a maze of mostly-empty rooms. Expect to see a lot of "you can't go here" messages because you don't have the proper ID card or night vision goggles. Failing miserably to capture the spirit and charm of the film, Jurassic Park is one colossal disappointment. © Copyright 2012 The Video Game Critic.
After botching the original Jurassic Park SNES game something awful, Ocean tried a whole new approach. This sequel is more in line with the side-scrolling Genesis version - which was pretty good! "This is a side-scroller. I know this!" It's interesting to note that this game is not related to the second film. Its cheesy animated intro tells of a diabolical dictator who sends in an army to take over the island. Jurassic Park Part 2 better than the first game, mainly because it can't possibly be any worse. You can select from a half-dozen missions which typically involve running through jungles, jumping over electric wires, climbing hand-over-hand across vines, and shooting dinosaurs. The graphics aren't bad but the gameplay is hurting. You have a split second to react to approaching raptors (if you're lucky), and even when spraying bullets with a machine gun you're still going to take a lot of damage. These raptors can absorb more than a dozen bullets! The controls include a "dodge" button, but in my experience it's worthless. You can toggle between several weapons but most are ineffective. It's only possible to pick up ammo for the weapon you're currently using, which makes no sense. Jurassic Park 2 is playable with the easy difficulty, but it feels unoriginal and often frustrating. In one mission you mow down soldiers like Contra - except without the tight controls or fun. The ability to play with a friend simultaneously looks good on paper but it's not practical. Failing to redeem the original game, Jurassic Park Part 2 is just another burial plot in the graveyard of squandered movie licenses. © Copyright 2012 The Video Game Critic.
Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge is an overhead motorcycle racer with an option to race jet-skis! What's not to like about that!? Quite a bit, as it turns out. You first select from various Ninja motorcycles and Jet Ski watercraft, and then compete in a series of races. The cool selection screen features digitized photos, and reggae-inspired tunes put you in the mood for summer fun. The races are viewed directly from overhead, with your vehicle centered on the screen. This gives you minimal view of the road ahead, so learning the track layouts is imperative. A small map in the corner shows your position on the map, and it's easier to drive while staring at that! Your motorcycle looks like a big blob, and the scenery is totally lame. I was hoping for a tropical paradise, but all I got was a few bales of hay. The jet-ski races play exactly the same, but the tracks are so wide you can't see the boundaries! Trying to figure out where to go is no fun at all. The water looks fake, and the pixelated sunbathers look like something from an Atari 5200 game. The horrible engine noise sounds like a swarm of bees! Could this game get any worse? Yes. Would you believe you actually have to run a qualifying lap just to gain entrance into each race?! Qualifying laps always suck, but in this game, they're just insulting. Frankly, it's hard to find any redeeming qualities in Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
This game gave the SNES a legitimately baseball title - finally! This is a polished, arcade-style game featuring all of the major league teams and stadiums. Unfortunately, it does not contain any of the major league players - except Ken Griffey of course. In theory you could modify and save the rosters to reflect the real players, but this would be a lot of tedious work. The graphics look crisp and colorful, although the players look cartoonish with their exaggerated physiques. The scrolling and animation is smooth, and the detailed stadiums look terrific. I remember by friend Eric and I playing this game on a display at Toys R Us and being extremely impressed that the outfield wall at Wrigley Field was actually covered with ivy! Ken Griffey's controls are simple and responsive, and this has to be one of the fastest baseball games I've ever played. It's really too bad there's no instant replay feature. It may come up a bit short on realism, but Ken Griffey Major League Baseball is undeniably fun and entertaining. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
This phenomenal baseball game is even better than the first Ken Griffey game, and that's saying a lot. The pitcher/batter view is now angled low enough so you can see the stadiums in the background, and they look fantastic. Once the ball is hit, you view the field from a much higher angle. This makes the fielders appear small but makes it easy to track down the fly balls. The players look more realistic than they did in the first Ken Griffey game, although Ken himself looks ridiculously buff on the title screen. Winning Run preserves the fast-paced gameplay of the first Ken Griffey, and the crowd and umpire sound effects are noticeably improved. The only faults I could determine are the lack of major league players and no instant replay. Otherwise, this is the best baseball game I've played on the SNES. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.
I wasn't a big fan of this 2D fighter "back in the day", but in retrospect Killer Instinct isn't bad at all. Released at the height of fighting-game mania (1995), Instinct sold millions of copies the day it was released, but never reached the level of popularity of a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Besides being a damn good-looking game, Killer Instinct's claim to fame is it's highly touted combo system. The idea of stringing together attacks began with Street Fighter II, but Killer Instinct takes the concept to the extreme. Thus, with a lot of practice (or a little luck) you can pull off 15-hit combos while your opponent stands there like a chump. Since the combos are not listed in the manual, a lot of research and practice is required to become truly proficient at them, although button mashing can occasionally achieve positive results as well. I'm not a big fan of the whole combo thing, but I do appreciate the easy-to-execute special moves with their Street Fighter-like controls. The game is fun and the one-player mode has a "one-more-time" addictive quality. Visually, Killer Instinct is a knockout. The fighters are probably the most interesting bunch I've ever seen in a fighting game. There's a skeleton, a werewolf, a boxer, a Native American, a ninja, a robot soldier, and a raptor, just to name a few. The single female fighter is a black woman named Orchid. The action is not as fluid as the arcade, but still commendable. I love the imaginative "dizzy" animations, such as the robot short-circuiting or the Indian coughing. But while the fighters look great, the backgrounds are uninspired, featuring dull, static ruins, temples, and city skylines. Before each match, a slick intro screen depicts both combatants up close in impressive 3D. And as sharp as the visuals are, the audio is even better. The digitized voices and effects are crystal clear, and the background music rocks! Just hearing those tunes again brings back fond memories of having my buddies over when still living at home. A CD of music ("Killer Kuts") was included with the game, but the songs aren't nearly as impressive outside of the game. Killer Instinct comes in a jet-black cartridge, and stands as one of the better fighting games for the SNES. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.
One of the strangest characters in Nintendo's stable, Kirby is a big fat pink ghost with power to literally inhale his enemies. His platform games are easy to play, and possess whimsical graphics along the lines of Super Mario Bros. Kirby Super Star actually contains eight Kirby games, but two need to be unlocked, and two others are so minor they probably shouldn't even count. Still, six games is a lot of action for your money, especially when they dish out the quality gameplay you would expect from Nintendo. Inhaling enemies not only fun, but it allows Kirby to absorb their powers. This changes his appearance slightly and gives him the ability to execute moves like throwing fire or swinging a sword. Kirby also has the option of converting enemies into "friends" who will fight along side of him. These friends can even be controlled by a second player! These Kirby games are truly goofy yet oddly compelling. The graphics tend to be simple but have a clean, colorful appearance that's easy on the eyes. The controls are dead-on, and the cartridge includes a battery to save your progress. In you can look past Kirby's cutsey appearance, I think you'll find this compilation to be well worth your time. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
This obscure side-scrolling beat-em-up is a sentimental favorite of mine. It plays like a classy Golden Axe with no monsters but better visuals. The beautiful graphics feature majestic castles and picturesque medieval landscapes, and a lavishly orchestrated musical score perfectly complements the theme. You select from one of three legendary characters, including King Author, Lancelot, and Perceval. You accumulate experience levels as you slay knights, barbarians, jesters, and magicians. Money and food fall from enemies you strike down, providing points and health. I have to admit it looks pretty funny when you kill a knight and a big bowl of salad falls out of him. Naturally each stage ends with the obligatory boss battle. Knights of the Round is a fine looking title, but it suffers from repetitive gameplay. You only have two attacks - a standard hack and a "mega crush" attack (which you'll want to save for tight situations). There's a guard move, but it's practically useless. Hacking up endless bad guys gets monotonous, and there's not much diversity between the three playable characters. By far the coolest feature is the ability to knock a knight off of his horse and mount the horse yourself. Unfortunately, there's only two or three opportunities to do this trick in the entire game. The two player simultaneous action is fun enough, but slowdown runs rampant at times. And while the music is excellent, the sound effects are horribly muffled. Knights of the Round is no classic, but fighting fans with an appreciation for 16-bit graphics should take a look. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.
Legend feels a lot like Golden Axe (Genesis, 1989)... only running at half the speed! You'll methodically forge across a scenic countryside while hacking at barbarians, archers, swamp creatures, and animated trees. This is a fine-looking game with pleasant renaissance-style music complimenting the medieval scenery. Your sword is your primary attack but swinging is time-consuming and your attacks are often blocked. This is a problem when enemies converge from both sides. Your special attack lets you hurl projectiles which can slice through several enemies a time. The shoulder buttons let you block, but I always forget I have this move! Magic is your ace-in-the-hole but you'll want to save that for when the screen is crowded with enemies (or a boss). Defeated foes drop sacks of coins and loaves of bread, but your slow-ass often can't reach them before they flicker and disappear. The jump-kick move looks cheesy as hell but it's the only thing I'd characterize as quick in the entire game. It lets you escape tight situations and strike several enemies at a time. The problem is it's too effective! If you jump-kick repeatedly enemies will take forever to defeat but they'll rarely lay a hand on you. Legend is generally slow and repetitive, and it doesn't help that the very first stage forces you to trudge through a swamp. The two-player action just further degrades the already-plodding pace. The boss encounters are strange. Why would a boss begin with a half-filled life meter? Legend offers continues but you'll need to restart the entire level if you die at the hands of a boss. I usually enjoy side-scrolling brawlers but I would not recommend breaking your piggy bank for this one. © Copyright 2018 The Video Game Critic.
How many superlatives can the Video Game Critic use in one review? As it turns out, quite a few! If Legend of Zelda Link to the Past isn't the best video game ever made, then it's easily in the top 10. Even the acclaimed Nintendo 64 incarnations of Zelda couldn't improve upon this perfect blend of exploration, action, and puzzle solving. I've never been a huge fan of role-playing games, but Zelda has always managed to straddle the line between role-playing and arcade action. Although your character "Link" develops skills and manages an inventory much like an RPG, all of the action is played out in real time. Despite the game's cartoonish appearance, each object is meticulously crafted and cleanly animated. The gameplay is strictly 2D, but overlapping areas convey the illusion of multi-tiered castles and dungeons. The enemies are extremely imaginative, and each has its own distinct personality and attack patterns. Skeletons leap away from your attacks, soldiers block with shields, and one-eyed crab monsters fall asleep and wake up unpredictably. The battles are challenging but never repetitive, and the puzzles tend to be on the easy side, eliminating the frustration factor. Zelda's audio is fantastic, with crystal clear sound effects and a sweeping musical score. But what really makes Link to the Past shine is its superior gameplay. The pacing is steady and new areas open gradually, never allowing you to become bored. The carefully designed "world" is perfectly sized, so there's always plenty of room to explore, yet you never feel lost or overwhelmed. The difficulty is ideal, and you can save your progress even after you die. Brilliantly conceived and expertly programmed, Zelda: A Link to the Past is a captivating experience that will appeal to gamers of all ages. It simply doesn't get much better than this. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.
One astute reader pointed out my failure to review one of the most famous video games of all time! I vaguely recall playing Lemmings on a PC in the early 90's. At the time multitasking was a novelty, so the idea of issuing orders to a bunch of independent creatures was a big deal. Fast-forward to 2019 and game still has a certain charm. If nothing else its puzzles will make you think. Each level begins by slowly dropping up to 50 Lemmings onto the screen, usually into some sort of cave. These lovable little creatures wander forward by default, and without guidance they'll walk off cliffs and into fire. By assigning them abilities to block, dig, climb, build, or float, you can guide them safely to the exit. The difficulty ramps in a hurry but the stage titles offer not-so-subtle hints ("tailor-made for blockers"). The thing that irritates me about Lemmings is its arbitrary rules. You can reassign certain abilities but not others, and often a few of the poor schmucks need to be sacrificed at the end of each level. The "nuclear" option exterminates all remaining Lemmings on the screen, blowing them to smithereens. The game was expressly designed for mouse control and moving a square cursor around with a digital pad is clumsy. I dug out my dusty SNES mouse but would you believe it's not even supported? Also problematic is how the game doesn't identify the ability types with text, employing ambiguous symbols instead. The musical score offers a collection of happy-go-lucky tunes that got on my nerves after a while. I hate how it keeps playing when I pause the game! A two-player split-screen mode is available but not much of a selling point. The game remains a challenge after all these years, but if you want to the true Lemmings experience this SNES edition is probably not the way to go. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.
Readers love to recommend bad games just to see me play judge, jury, and executioner. Lester the Unlikely? More like Lester the Unlikeable! This lazy platformer puts you control a bumbling nerd in a tropical paradise. Lester slouches when he walks, runs with flailing arms, and throws like a girl. The action is slow and methodical, and you'll occasionally lose all control as Lester performs one of his zany "scaredy cat" animations. Is he really trembling in terror at the sight of a crab? The game does offer some inviting tropical scenery - I'll give it that much. The opening level takes place on a sunny beach with bright blue skies, fluffy clouds, and shimmering waters. It's a shame the stage designs are so repetitive, forcing you to climb up and down the same rocks over and over. As in Flashback (Genesis, 1993) you can run, leap, and hang onto ledges. I hate how you must be lined up perfectly beneath a ledge in order to jump and grab it. In some cases the ledge is clearly within reach yet you can only grab it with a running start. Lester's attacks are weak, and the game appears to advocate kicking endangered sea turtles in the face. That ain't right. The simple act of picking up an item can be so difficult I often just give up and move on. Sometimes an eagle will swoop in and carry you way back, negating much of your progress! Who could possible think this was a good idea? Green slime in caves is not only fatal if it drips on you, but also if you walk over it. It would be hard to design a worse platformer than this. This game is so cheap you'll incur damage even for successful leaps! The vine swinging seemed like fun until I passed through a vine like a ghost. The sad part is, Lester the Unlikely had all the makings of a fun summertime romp: jungle, water, pirates, monkeys - you name it. Instead we get improbable jungle shenanigans that will have you rolling your eyes and shaking your head in disgust. © Copyright 2016 The Video Game Critic.
After playing Lethal Enforcers on the Genesis I couldn't help but notice this SNES edition looks considerably better. Instead of grainy, washed-out graphics, the digitized scenery looks colorful and bright. Likewise the crisp music and sounds effects are more on par with the Sega CD version. I love it when a robber yells "you missed me!" just before I shoot that rotten bastard in the face! You can also shoot out windows, and during chase scenes there can be multiple cars on the screen. But the best feature of this SNES version is the stage select. Getting to the later stages in the Genesis was like pulling teeth, but now it's more like pulling a trigger. This sounds like the best home version of Lethal Enforcers by far, but not so fast. While the game is fun, I couldn't help but notice that the violence was less gratifying. The animation is less smooth, making the criminals look like cardboard cut-outs. During car shootouts bad guys don't roll out onto the road like they do on the Genesis. When shot, a thug will yell "ugh!" but there's no "I've been shot" animation. Worst of all, shooting a civilian only triggers a buzz sound and green "caution" indicator. Lame!! The difficulty is lower too and you get eight continues. In two player mode you can use either two guns or two controllers, but you can't mix and match as you could on the Genesis. The good news is, if you own a pink player two gun it will work for any system. Lethal Enforcers for the SNES have a lot going for it, but I think there's a valuable lesson to be learned here, and that's violence matters. © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.
This is one of the best-looking SNES titles you'll ever find. Each stage in Lion King's world is bursting with vivid, colorful background scenery and well-animated animals of all sizes. You can interact with many of the animals, and many will help you in your quest. The game closely follows the storyline of the film. You begin as a baby Simba, but eventually grow into a mature lion. One unique feature is your ability to roar, which has different effects depending on what you direct it at. Also included is an exciting 3D stampede stage and some fun bonus rounds that let you play as Timon and Pumbaa. Lion King is a high quality title, but it does stumble here and there. Certain stages require far too much jumping between ledges, and it's very easy to become lost in the cave stages. There's a bit of frustration to be had, but fans will love how this great-looking game remains so faithful to the movie. © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.
Like Zelda, Lord of the Rings mixes live action with RPG elements, but its mediocre gameplay isn't even in the same league. You begin by controlling Frodo, but other characters gradually join your party as you progress. The fantasy world looks like something from a child's storybook, and classical background music complements the majestic visuals. The animation is fluid, and the sound effects are some of the best I've ever heard in a video game. The echoes and sound of water drops in the caves are nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, it's not always clear where you can or can't go, and you'll often find yourself stuck on invisible obstacles. As good as the game looks, its programming was sloppy. You characters can't move diagonally (!) which severely limits your control, and the collision detection is awful. Sometimes a bat will fly right through you, or your sword will kill a snake far out of its range. Issues like these make fighting even the smallest enemies a monumental pain, gradually depleting your will to forge ahead. Controlling multiple characters is even worse, as you need to use the R button to switch between them. Apparently the game was designed to support up to five players (via the adapter), but I imagine that would be a complete mess. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.More reviews: [Previous] [Next]
Super Nintendo Listing of Games
Screen shots courtesy of Video Game Museum
