Steve's Obscure Super Famicom Games Thread

Yeag, was a good read. When do you consider to continue with your great works, steve?

 

Wow, I just logged in today for the first time in a little over two years. I found I had an unread PM from Wilo May 2009, lol. Color me shocked that this topic got bump summer of 2010. Sorry for another late bump, but figure I poke my head in here to answer a question.

I've been back at it. Recently, I posted three new SFC game reviews on my website (RVGFANATIC.com). The unusual Pocky & Rocky clone "Deae Tonosama Appare Ichiban" and the BEST SNES wrestling game ever, "Zen Nippon Pro Wrestling Budokan."

The third is...

This was posted in this topic December 2006. I've since replayed Clock Tower more in-depth, and I must rescind my original comment. It's been reviewed on my site, and long story short: I LOVE IT.

Over the past four years, I've been focusing more on the US side of things SNES, but it's good to be back reviewing the "obscure SFC games" It's always been a popular hit with retro gamers because there's a lot less exposure for these games than the American SNES games, and people always love to discover new gems. In fact, I won't give it away, but you'll want to see my next review. I don't want to overhype it but I'll say it could well be THE best SNES game you've NEVER heard of before (hyperbole, but I'm excited to spread the word on this "hidden gem")

Should be out no later than by the end of this month.

 

I ended up buying Sutte Hakkun because of this thread. Good stuff.

 

Keep the reviews coming Steve. Nice to see you posting after a 2 year break :thumbsup:

 

Great reviews of games I've never even heard of well I have now thanks Steve. Lookin at that maayjouun game it went on eBay for like 123 pounds man that's some expensive game cib?

 

Hey Steve … Very impressive thread .
Great info and a very interesting read. Looking forward to see you write more posts … Just a quick question. What are you thoughts about gunmans proof ?

Cheers
-RC

 

I only found this awesome thread because of the late bumping. Thanks for bumping it.

I had no idea that Namco released an Valkyrie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_no_Densetsu) series game for the Super Famicom (Whirlo/Sandra no Daibokuen) and figuring that out from this thread was PRICELESS/awesome. :thumbsup:

 

Always love reading your reviews Steve. I loved your one story about the local mom & pop game video/game rental shop. Reminds me of the same excitement of going to the rental store and discovering some new gem you've been dying to play (which I seldom ever feel these days).

Even though I've already played a majority of the games you cover, your enthusiasm usually inspires me to want to dig out what I have just to relive those same good old memories from those great glory days gone by.

 

I've only played GP for a bit, and I walked away satisfied by its simple fun gameplay. I can't wait to sit down with this one and see it through to the end. It really does remind me of Zelda with a wild west theme to it. Definitely a quality game.

Thanks man. I love to share my thoughts and hear gamers like you reminisce about the good old days. Your post says it perfectly. I can't believe I started this thread over 5 years ago now. It was such a blast playing all those SFC games, doing write-up's, taking pics and putting up the mini-reviews every other day almost. A great time.

The beat continues on at RVGFANATIC.com, although my focus is now mostly on sharing my thoughts of the US SNES library. In fact, my site turned 5 years old last weekend, and next week will see 6 year anniversary since I got back into all things Super Nintendo. Will be looking to launch another review so keep your eyes peeled late next week possibly.

I hear ya about the mom n pop rental thing. Those were definitely the glory days, brother. We will never forget 'em, and we will always cherish the memories.

 

I would also like to say a big Thank You! I just ordered a Super Famicom and was searching for some good games to buy for it. Now, I have quite a list going.

And yeah, I know I could have removed the tabs in my SNES, but that's just not as fun as owning an actual SFC. I mean, they're just so cool looking! lol

 

I used to have a SNES with removed tabs, but anymore I just use my Super Famicom + Satellaview setup, myself.

Anyway, reading the backlog of this. I do need some serious SNES game suggestions, heh.

 

Today marks 10 years since I started this topic. 10 years ago I set out to post my impressions on obscure Super Famicom imports. Japanese gaming has intrigued me ever since the the early-mid '90s. Back then there was sort of this mythical aura regarding video games that were released only in Japan. I would gawk at the semi-blurry blurbs in the pages of EGM and GameFan. Looking back, it's amazing what a few paragraphs and low-res screenshots did for us. Without the internet all we had was our imagination. How times have changed. With the 10 year anniversary being today I'm definitely feeling nostalgic. It's a good time to resurrect this thread for one final run, 10 years later.

To commemorate the anniversary, I will be posting my top 50 favorite Super Famicom games over the next 50 days. Along the way I may include a few surprises outside of the top 50 list... such as brand new impressions and various nostalgic ramblings.

Game #50 will be posted tomorrow (Friday, September 9). For old times' sake, here is a new write-up on an obscure-ish Super Famicom game I meant to write about 10 years ago, but never did.

---

I grew up loving fighting games. I ate up the Street Fighter II clones left and right. One of my most favorite clones was Data East's Fighter's History.



The first time I saw its colorful, comic-book like cabinet, it was instant love. The game has gotten a mixed bag rep but I've always liked it.

One of my fondest gaming memories involves the summer of 1994. I called it...



It's a true story that was featured in Rob Strangman's 2014 book "Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman." (which can be found on Amazon.com, cheap plug)

On one epic June morning, my old best friend Nelson and I came across three imports in the flesh that were months away from their US release. It was, in a word, glorious.



I have fond memories of playing SFC Fighter's History that hot summer day at Nelson's. We would switch off and it was an awesome time to be a carefree kid growing up in suburbia.

This image is seared into my memory bank even 22 years later:



Takes me right back to Nelson's living room on a hot June afternoon of 1994. Such nostalgic memories. On a side note, the SNES Fighter's History port doesn't get enough credit. It's one of the best arcade-to-SNES translations I have played. Really well done by Data East.

Fighter's History Dynamite came out in arcades in 1994. It is also known as Karnov's Revenge.

But did you know there was a THIRD Fighter's History game? And believe it or not, of all systems it was released ONLY on the Super Famicom February of 1995. Its full name is Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!!

It's a fascinating little footnote in Data East history. It included the two new characters of Fighter's History Dynamite (Yungmie and Zazie) but unfortunately did away completely with these cats:


Ray


Jean


Samchay


Marstorius


Matlok

Of course, those guys happen to be my personal favorites of the series. Instead, here is your roster:



Stripped down to 8, it seems like a massive step back. Especially considering the 1993 original had 9 characters to begin with, and the 1994 sequel had 13 characters. To go down to 8 in 1995 seems like a waste. Therefore, it feels like a weird mix of the first two games. Had it included all the characters, this would easily have been the definitive Fighter's History game.



The game opens with a nice intro, at least. We're (re)introduced to Data East's Chelnov character, who appeared in Atomic Runner.

We're also treated to the titular star's special moves





Of all people, why bring back Lee? Why? I miss Ray and his "BAKED POTATO!"



The game introduces mostly new backgrounds. Sadly, they're not as memorable as the ones found in the first game. I always enjoyed the first game's backgrounds. They weren't flashy, but had a quiet solid quality backing them. By comparison here is Ryoko's stage from the first game:


I love the basic simplicity of the first game's backgrounds



Back are the weak points. Knock these weak points off and the characters become dizzy. I remember as kids we were all curious and excited wondering what Fei-Lin would look like after their top came off. Oh how we were disappointed. A sign of the times it was indeed. 1993, oh I miss thee.


Some stages transition, which is always a nice touch


Ugh, Clown's stage music is so, SO bad

I loved Clown from the first game. There was a sinister element to him from the first game that is missing in this game. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he doesn't feel the same. Almost like it's an imposter of the first Clown. Huh. Maybe it's just me being weird. Good bet.

 

Zazie is one of two new fighters from Fighter's History Dynamite. I never liked him much.



And Yungmie is the other one. Never liked her either. It's a shame these two characters made the cut here but that the same cannot be said for Ray, Matlok, Samchay, Jean and Marstorius.



Karnov's stage from FH Dynamite is recycled. Not bad. I've always liked his FHD background. A rare instance in where I prefer the sequel's background to the original version. Here's Karnov's bare bones boring stage from the original game:





The trophy is mine!



Not so damn fast!



I have to admit, Chelnov looks pretty badass there!



Here's the cheat code to use him in certain modes:

Press Down, Down, Up, Up, Right, Left, L, R at the title screen after the opening intro



The two warriors battle all night long until...



Yes, the goofy announcer is back. "MIZOGUCHI... LOSES!"



It's a battle of the 'Novs!

TAG MODE!



The game's most interesting feature is undoubtedly its FOUR player tag mode. Yes, up to four human players can plug up and play. Not at once, mind you, but it's pretty impressive for an early 1995 fighting game. Early shades of Capcom vs. SNK and the like!



As far as I know, it's the only "4 player" fighting game on the SNES. For that alone, it's gotta be considered at the very least, "noteworthy." Also throw in the fact that this is the only "sequel" to an arcade game that came out exclusively on the SNES. Data East breaking all sorts of ground with this game.



See the touch sign there? Simply hit select at those points to switch out to your tag partner. There is a slight half second delay but all things considered not bad, especially for 1995 16-bit standards.



That's gonna leave a mark.



Two different practice modes are also available. In addition, a survival mode rounds out the extra bonuses.

CLOSING THOUGHTS



I have mixed feelings about this game. The sound is pretty dang awful, but it's nice to hear that wacky announcer return. The tag mode is an awesome feature, but on the flip side cutting those 5 characters really drag it down. Also, being a big fan of the original Fighter's History translation on SNES, this game doesn't quite possess the same physics as that game did. I can't quite describe it but play it and you'll notice the difference(s). I much prefer the gameplay of the original.

As much as I want to like this quirky fascinating footnote of a game, there is just too much about it that I don't particularly like that I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. If it had the entire Fighter's History crew I wouldn't hesitate to call this a definite "hidden gem."

As is, it's only for the hardcore fighting game fans or those of you who are fascinated by the idea of playing a Super Nintendo fighting game with three buds at the "same time."

See y'all tomorrow for the Top 50 Super Famicom countdown!

 

Loving this stuff... Remember me one of the reasons i joined the place years ago... WOuld be perfect with a shortish youtube video added, but keep those up!

 

Hey Karsten! I do kinda remember your handle. It's a trip to be back posting in this topic which was created just over 10 years ago now

A few notes before I kick off the top 50 countdown.

1. This is not a list of what I feel are the top 50 *BEST* Super Famicom games. It's simply a list ranking my personal favorites

2. There will be no (action) RPGs on this list. There are just too many quality SFC games from those genres that I am going to avoid altogether. Besides, as best as I can, I want to keep this list restricted to games any non-Japanese reading gamer can enjoy.

3. To qualify for this list, the game cannot have an official American release.

Now to the fun stuff -- let's begin the Top 50 countdown!

#50: BATTLE CROSS



Battle Cross is a 6-player single screen racer. At first glance, it appears to be something of a mix between Mario Kart and Bomberman. I remember seeing the blurb of it in EGM back in the day and wanting badly to play it. When I finally did in 2006, I found I enjoyed it quite a bit but the hype of a Mario Kart/Bomberman hybrid is awfully hard to fully live up to. Battle Cross doesn't have the smooth and excellent gameplay of Mario Kart or Bomberman, but it is a hoot playing it multi-player. (Oddly though, it only allows up to 5 human players, and the 6th can be a computer controlled opponent or turned off. No idea why they didn't let up to six humans play).

There is a bit of a learning curve due to the perspective of the track courses. To aid beginners, there is an option to help you (or younger gamers) do some form of auto-steering, ensuring that anyone can pick up and play this game. I like the weapons strewn about the courses. Nothing satisfies like tossing a missile at someone or dropping a mine underneath an overpass that conceals the explosive. To be honest though, as the years have gone on and the novelty of this game wore off, my overall impressions on Battle Cross have dropped a bit. I used to consider it a hidden gem and originally rated it as an 8.5 out of 10. It's more of a 7.0-7.5 these days in my opinion. Battle Cross is a funky example of a game that's both "worthy" yet somehow "Somewhat disappointing, considering." Still, the game possesses a certain charm in multi-player settings, and that's good enough to sneak it into my top 50.

 

Whoa, Battle Cross looks great.

 

Remembers me of that Arcade games of the early 90s with those flying wheels with ZERo ffb that people would throw from one side to another

 

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet since I haven't read the whole thread but I have an obscure(?) game for the Super Famicom: Mario's Super Picross (was called "マリオのスーパーピクロス, Mario no Sūpā Pikurosu" in Japan according to Wikipedia). It was only released in Japan on SFC but it did get a release on the PAL Wii and Wii U Virtual Console where it was retitled as "Mario's Super Picross".

It's a fun game if you enjoy Picross. It is also supports the SNES Mouse but I've only played it with a controller. I don't really see people talking about it much. People tend to talk about the internationally released "Mario's Picross" on Game Boy and the DS Picross games more than this one in my experience.

 

Nelson and I were best buds from Kindergarten-7th grade. That's when I moved. We reconnected in the 2000s. Over the years we've kept in touch and although we're no longer best friends, we have history of over 25 years. It's one of those things where we may go weeks or even months without contact, but whenever we get back in touch it's like we never left.

Last month I decided to visit ole Nelly for the weekend so we could catch up and hang out. We set out to visit Disneyland since it was about 30 minutes away from his place. Yup, Weekend at Nelly's.

Driving on the way to Nelson's, my heart stopped when I saw a striking neighborhood that rang some serious deja vu bells in my head. As I drove by I stared in the rear view mirror trying to steal a glimpse at what I just passed by. Was it, could it be? No way... I passed a few traffic lights before pulling over. I just had to find out before heading to Nelson's. Busted out my phone and typed into Google:

"HALLOWEEN 1978 FILMING LOCATIONS"

A website came up, and an address in South Pasadena was given. My palms were shaking as I punched said address into Google Maps.

HOLY SHIT.

"1.8 miles away."

I had just drove by one of the iconic Halloween filming locations! HADDONFIELD IN THE FLESH! The Halloween super geek in me was coming out big time. What were the odds that my childhood best friend (who also loved the Halloween franchise) would turn out to live 3 miles away from "Haddonfield" ? It was a moment of true serendipity. I texted Nelson and said I'd be coming 30 minutes late. It was a personal pilgrimage I simply had to brave for myself solo first.




Holy crap, there I stood, at the very precise location nearly 40 years later!

After geeking out (and possibly even vlogging the moment), I drove the 3 miles over to Nelson's. I showed him the pictures (and possibly video) I took. He was marking out too. He moved to LA about 7 months ago, but had no idea he lived 3 miles away from "Haddonfield." Next thing you know, we're on an impromptu trip down memory lane as we drove all over South Pasadena looking for a ton of Halloween nostalgia live in the flesh.

This is what we found that day.





Michael Myers' house was demolished and moved to a new location. It now serves as an office. Despite the disappointment of that, Nelson and I still sat there in awe. Reminiscing and laughing about the good old days, that's when we noticed a DirecTv satellite dish on the side of the house. We also could hear the loud humming of an air conditioner. It was a hot August day in Haddonfield... the dog days of summer, indeed. That's when the line of the day was uttered by yours truly. "What the hell, Michael Myers watching Game of Thrones with the AC on? DUDE IS GETTING SOFT!" Nelson added in, "What's Michael Myers doing browsing PornHub!?"

We probably shouldn't have cracked up so hard, but we did. For some reason, right moment right time right circumstances. Nelson and I laughed up a storm. Sad but yeah, we laughed until we nearly became teary eyed. Man, I hadn't laugh that good in quite a while. A mere hour prior to this, we both just assumed we'd catch up a bit and find Mickey. Little did we know! Instead, we found ourselves reconnecting and hunting a boogeyman who has haunted us both since childhood. Suddenly, we were chasing a ghost from our past. A ghost with no face. "And the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes." (Rest in Peace, Donald Pleasence)

Each filming location foray brought me and Nelson closer to the edge of a bygone era. An age we both thought had all but disappeared. It was like slipping through the back door of a time machine. Suddenly, we were wide-eyed kids again. Unjaded and uncorrupted by the foul orders of life and growing up.





Wow. Standing there taking this pic sent goosebumps up and down my spine. The best part about this whole ordeal was the complete random unplanned nature of it all. We didn't even know Haddonfield was right in Nelson's backyard! It's true -- sometimes the best things in life are completely unexpected.

We eventually hit up Disneyland that weekend, rode Space Mountain 3 times, crushed some turkey legs like a boss, cooled down with some Dole Whip and ended up talking with one of the park's assistant directors who happened to be taking his grand daughter on his off day for her very first time through Indiana Jones. All the while a coworker of mine was texting me a manuscript of Disneyland tips throughout the day. Everything from ride order to how the left or right side of a line affects a given ride. Let's just say, she's something of a Disneyland guru.

We ended the evening as most guys do in LA on a Saturday night...



Yep, nothing says fun like heading down to the ole laundromat for real life errands.

But believe it or not, it was a fitting end to what turned out to be a very nostalgic day. Tucked away in the corner I spotted a true real life time machine. The real McCoy itself.


"GREAT SCOTTS!"

As corny as this may sound, it was truly a magical weekend. The kind that stays with you long after the twilight of Sunday fades. Hunting Michael and Mickey all within 24 hours? Good stuff indeed.

And speaking of Mickey... that brings me to #49 in the countdown.

#49: MICKEY TOKYO DISNEYLAND



Everyone knows about the Capcom Mickey games on the Super Nintendo. The first one in particular, The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, is an early SNES "classic" that many have fond memories playing way back in 1992. But did you know there was a non-Capcom Mickey game released only on the Super Famicom, and that it's not too shabby either? Developed by GRC (who also made Trouble Shooter for the Genesis), Mickey Tokyo Disneyland presents a more traditional looking Mickey Mouse. Navigate your way through various sections of the famous Disneyland theme park. Mickey's offense comes in the form of balloons. There are two types. Red balloons allow Mickey to zip around a level (which is a necessity in certain parts). The blue balloons allow Mickey to dispose of his enemies by flicking it at them (or drop on unsuspecting suckers). It can also be set down as a paperweight or as an added jumping boost for Mickey.

I'm a big fan of the game's overall look. The color scheme, the classic Mickey look, it's just gorgeous. And I've found it's the perfect sort of game to play on a lazy, rainy Fall afternoon. There's something about the graphics, sound and overall aesthetics that make it ideal to play on a rainy day. It is quite challenging, however, unlike the Capcom Mickey games. This is due in part to its somewhat rigid controls, but it's not anything you can't overcome with a little practice and skill. Mickey Tokyo Disneyland is a fun little platformer you may not have known about that's definitely worth a look.