SNES Retrospective – Late to the Party (Angela’s Picks)

I wasn’t satisfied talking about the Super Nintendo just for last week’s Quarantine Control. I wanted to write a short retrospective for the 30^th anniversary of one of the greatest consoles of all time.

Growing up I was firmly in the Sega Genesis camp. Sure, I had a Nintendo and a GameBoy, but the Genesis was my primary console until my early teens. No one around me on the playground made a fuss about the superiority of the SNES or the Genesis—you either had one or the other. I missed out on gaming magazines until my early 20s and even then I subscribed to GameInformer and Electronic Gaming Monthly. I never read or personally knew anyone in my circle of friends who read Nintendo Power. I knew that I was missing out on great games by not having an SNES and figured I’d never have one of my own. My luck changed when Mom and I took trip from our home in Phoenix back to our hometown of Philadelphia. My half-brother on my father’s side of the family generously gave me his Super Nintendo having moved on to the PlayStation.

 

His collection of gifted games included NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat II, Super Star Wars, Super Empire Strikes Back, and Star Fox. Of those games only Star Fox and Super Star Wars caught my attention. I would later get my hands on all three Donkey Kong Country games and a copy of Chrono Trigger as an adult.

A good friend in high school let me borrow several games that would kick off my love for both the SNES and RPGs as a whole. At the time game cartridges were expensive, some games costing as much as $80 ($143.60 adjusted for inflation). In addition to that, rental stores were always picked clean of JRPGs. I turned to emulation to play some of these classic games.

As I got older, I eventually moved into the 3D era of gaming with a PS1 and a GameCube. Still I held on to the few games I had, including every system except for my original NES. I figured someday in the future, I would enjoy plugging up the systems and revisiting some classic games. Not that I ever really needed to as the most popular games on the SNES often received collections and ports to newer systems. Then the SNES Classic launched a few years ago. Still, I held on to my games. Recently devices like the Hyperkin Retron 5 and the Analogue Super NT caught my eye and suddenly gaming using my original carts was possible.

 

I recently managed to find my old games and consoles while visiting my mother’s house. I’m thankful that I had the insight and ability to hold on to my games even as I moved on to newer consoles. The old hardware isn’t terribly expensive, but some game cartridges now cost hundreds of dollars now. When I bought them in the late 90s and early 2000s, they cost no more than $40 per cart. Nostalgia has become really expensive in the year 2021.

Anyway, let’s talk about some of my favorite SNES games.

 

Star Fox | Developer: Nintendo EAD | Publisher: Nintendo | Release: 1993

Star Fox was a game I remember reading about long before I actually played it. When I was a kid, my mother would often take me shopping with her. While out one day, I managed to browse through an issue of EGM talking about Star Fox 2 and was immediately struck by the character designs of Fox McCloud and crew. When I finally acquired an SNES of my own, I was blessed with a copy of Star Fox. There were two take-aways from this game. One, I had a taste for shoot ‘em ups. Two, I was definitely a furry before I knew I was a furry. As for the game itself, I found it difficult and often got my tail whipped. However, the game was fun and I had the kind of patience (and time) that allowed me to play until I saw the ending credits. I enjoyed the experience, but Star Fox 64 would be the last time I played a game in the series.

 

Donkey Kong Country | Developer: Rare | Publisher: Nintendo | Release: 1994

Donkey Kong Country was one of the coolest games I’d ever seen. The “3D” graphics blew my mind as a child and I felt like the future of gaming was here. Unfortunately, for the longest time my experience with DKC was limited to the time I could play at my cousin’s house. He was the cool kid on the block with a family willing to buy him the latest and greatest consoles. I was that person who hung out with them to mostly play games especially when family gatherings at holidays weren’t involved. To get my Donkey Kong fix at home I largely had to rely on the Donkey Kong Land series on GameBoy until I finally got an SNES. Getting to play the game at my own leisure was worth the wait. Donkey Kong Country is a tough, but an excellent platformer.

 

Secret of Evermore | Developer: SquareSoft USA | Publisher: SquareSoft | Release: 1995

Secret of Evermore was game my high school friend lent me. I actually played this game before I got into Secret of Mana, so the “Secret of” title wasn’t a letdown. This game also came when I was just starting my first job. Between school, homework, and the job I played when I could. I found the story of the boy and his dog being transported to Evermore intriguing enough. The butler playing a villainous role is still hilarious to me. The ring system was different from any game I had ever played and the combat was literally hit or miss. I didn’t think much of it back then, but now I’d consider the game to be very grind heavy. Still, I enjoyed venturing from world to world and I was amused at how the dog changed his appearance in each new world. His poodle and robot forms were hands down the best. I also loved the atmospheric soundtrack– it wasn’t heavy on memorable tunes, but combined with the environment, the music made for a somber and immersive experience.

From what I would later learn, the game was developed by SquareSoft’s USA branch and did not sell well. Nor has it ever been re-released digitally. Copies online aren’t hard to find and they aren’t terribly expensive when compared to other SNES RPGs. I honestly believe Secret of Evermore might be better off occupying a fond space in my teenage memories opposed to revisiting the game 20+ years later.

 

 

Chrono Trigger | Developer: SquareSoft | Publisher: SquareSoft | Release: 1995

Chrono Trigger was easily the game that made me a fan of RPGs. Like I mentioned in our 12-year-old review, it was Akira Toriyama’s art style that captured my attention. In 2000 and 2001, I was a huge fan of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. My teenager-self thought it seemed wild that a game would feature his art. (I had never heard of Dragon Quest in those days.) Unable to find or afford a cartridge, I downloaded an emulator and rom. The story was simple, but timeless. The game play was amazing when it wasn’t kicking my ass. I was fairly new to RPGs, had never played a mainline Final Fantasy, nor was I familiar with the Active Time Battle system. Using save states to save scum, I fought my way to the end of Chrono Trigger. During the final fight with Lavos I was woefully unprepared and stayed up all night on a Friday to finish the game. I had lost several hours of sleep, but seeing the ending was worth it. I even went back and tried a few of the other endings. I’ve long lost my original rom, but since then I’ve gotten an actual cartridge of the game, the 2008 DS port, and the Steam port. Chrono Trigger is just that good.

 

Honorable mentions:

I realize Final Fantasy III (aka VI) should also be here, but I didn’t actually play this Final Fantasy until earlier this year.

 

Secret of Mana | Developer: SquareSoft | Publisher: SquareSoft | Release: 1993

Secret of Mana is another game I played on emulator. I don’t specifically remember anyone recommending it to me. Or maybe a friend in one of my online chatrooms recommended it. I might have even tried the game because of the “Secret of” title. Perhaps I was looking for something to play after beating Chrono Trigger. Of course my memory could just be spotty. Upon booting Secret of Mana up, I was immediately captivated by the opening scene of three characters in front of the Mana Tree and the music. In fact, the beautiful haunting music is what I remember most about the game, besides the ring based menu system and action RPG elements. It was fun going from land to land in my quest to stop the Mana Fortress from manifesting. Imagine my surprise when the Mana Beast ended up looking just like Flammie. Imagine my frustration when I found myself fighting against the beast for possibly hours because I didn’t properly power up the Mana sword. When the Mana Beast finally fell the journey and the game had felt worth the effort.

 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Developer: Nintendo EAD | Publisher: Nintendo | Release: 1991

I have a sorted history with the Legend of Zelda. The series is very cool, but games tend to be hit or miss with me. Back when the original Zelda launched on NES, my mom actually got me a copy of the game for my 7^th birthday. The gold cartridge seemed amazing at the time. I had never played anything like LoZ since most of the games I played were platformers. I also didn’t subscribe to Nintendo Power and I didn’t have friends who played LoZ. The end result was that I had no idea what to do or where to go. I had written off the series until my friend in high school (that same friend) let me borrow his copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

By this time I had the internet, so whenever I got stuck I turned to an online guide to help. Fortunately, I didn’t need a guide often as a Link to the Past was fairly straightforward. I enjoyed making progress through each level by finding the item or power up I needed. The bosses were challenging, but not insurmountable. Beating Ganon and seeing the credits roll made me incredibly happy until I saw that I had died nearly 100 times in the game. Then I was just salty. Still, a win is a win.

 

The impact of the Super Nintendo can’t be understated. It had some of the most influential games ever made. It also showed off what 2D could do before the gaming industry transitioned to 3D. It will forever be one of my all-time favorite gaming consoles.