Table of contents for The NES SNES Book in The NES/SNES Book

The Nintendo Entertainment System was a remarkable success for Nintendo. Redesigned for the Western market – it was known in Japan as the Famicom – it arrived following the great videogame crash and helped to reignite interest in the console market. It wasn’t quite as successful in Europe, but in Japan and America it reigned supreme, and eventually went on to sell over 60 million units-not bad for a machine that many wrote off as a toy when it was first released. Many huge franchises like Metroid, The Legend Of Zelda and Mega Man started off on the NES and it helped turn Nintendo into a huge force in the console market. Indeed, for a long time it was Nintendo’s most successful home console, being only eclipsed by the staggering…

01 DR MARIO02 PARODIUS03 SPY VS. SPY04 DUCK TALES05 IKARI WARRIORS06 ROADBLASTERS07 ARKANOID08 GALAGA09 LODE RUNNER10 SOCCER11 GUN.SMOKE12 BALLOON FIGHT13 MANIAC MANSION14 ROD.LAND15 COBRA TRIANGLE16 KUNG FU17 THE NEW ZEALAND STORY18 MIGHTY FINAL FIGHT19 XEVIOUS20 LEMMINGS21 BLUE SHADOW22 THE GOONIES II23 PUYO PUYO24 SUPER MARIO BROS25 THE LAST NINJA26 DONKEY KONG27 PIRATES!28 SOLOMON’S KEY29 CASTLEVANIA30 KICK OFF31 RAMP AGE32 GAUNTLET II33 BASEBALL34 LIFE FORCE35 ADVENTURE ISLAND36 IMPOSSIBLE MISSION II37 SHATTERHAND38 DOUBLE DRAGON39 LUNAR POOL40 RIVER CITY RANSOM41 TENNIS42 METAL GEAR43 EXCITEBIKE44 MS PAC-MAN45 RENEGADE46 NINJA GAIDEN47 GHOSTS ‘N GOBLINS48 CASTLEVANIA III: DRACULA’S CURSE49 BIONIC COMMANDO50 MEGA MAN51 STAR WARS52 TETRIS 253 DUCK HUNT54 HUANG DI55 GHOSTBUSTERS II56 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA57 ICE HOCKEY58 SUPER MARIO BROS 259 TRACK & FIELD 260 THE ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY61 WARIO’S WOODS62 DEVIL WORLD63…

IN THE KNOW » PUBLISHER: NINTENDO » DEVELOPER: CAPCOM » RELEASED: 1990 » GENRE: PLATFORM Mega Man – he’s an invention, built from machine parts by an old guy in a laboratory. He’s the videogame equivalent of Pinocchio, but with the difference being that the puppet’s rubbish in comparison to Capcom’s titular hero. Why? Because the dummy is wooden, has a nose that prevents him from cheating on his marionette girlfriend and has a cockney, top-hat-wearing cricket for a friend. Now Mega Man, on the other hand, is a cool shade of ice-blue with overtly chunky shins, has a laser cannon where a hand lives, and boasts so much bravado he somehow manages to persuade a robotic dog to be his friend. He also goes by more than one name…

The Wizard is very much a guilty pleasure. When the film was released it was panned by critics and flopped at the box office, yet many people still talk about it in hushed, almost revenant tones over 15 years after its release. Although many critics will tell you that it’s nothing more than a Nintendo advert masquerading as a 100-minute feature film, just as many people will talk excitedly about Power Gloves, Ninja Gaiden and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when asked to give their opinion on this much-maligned popcorn flick. Here at Retro Gamer we fall firmly into the latter camp. The Wizard had a profound effect on us, not only because it was the first place we saw Super Mario Bros 3 in action, but because it’s actually pretty…

IN THE KNOW » PUBLISHER: NINTENDO» DEVELOPER: NINTENDO» RELEASED: 1987» GENRE: SPORT (BOXING)» EXPECT TO PAY: £3+ The 2006 film Rocky Balboa saw the iconic boxer step back in the ring, in a fight that pitted the fibrous veteran against a younger, technically superior opponent. Chicken chasing, meat pounding and inspiring fanfare aside, the film poses the question: if you took two heavyweight fighters, from two different eras, who would prove victorious? So what would happen if you pitted the former Eighties videogame champ Punch-Out!! against a new breed of boxing brawlers? Cue montage. Back in 1984, Nintendo released an innovative arcade boxing game called Punch-Out!!. Its cartoon tale about a transparent pugilist working his way up through a rank of oddball fighters quickly attracted droves of sleeve-scrunching loafer-wearers into…

PLATFORM: NES » RELEASED: 1987 » COST: £39.95 (LAUNCH), £30+ (TODAY, BOXED), £10+ (TODAY, LOOSE) Nintendo’s official joystick for the NES might not seem like much given the standard of arcade-style controllers that would follow, but for the late Eighties it was a trailblazing product. As well as the small joystick and four regular buttons, the NES Advantage had some neat tricks of its own. First of all, the A and B buttons offered a turbo fire option, with individual activation switches and adjustable speed dials to achieve the optimum rate of fire. There was also a switch marked ‘Slow’, which achieved a slow-motion effect by rapidly hitting the start button, pausing and resuming the game in progress. This feature was unheard of at the time, but soon became a…

Signature tune The now-iconic Zelda theme slowly plays and builds up speed as a waterfall pours down the title screen. Koji Kondo’s composition is yet another classic, leading to his involvement in every game in the series up until Ocarina Of Time. Good advice One of the few pieces of dialogue is also the most memorable. Though you can play the whole game without the sword, the old man’s advice is right. You’ll do much better with it, and what’s a Zelda game without a sword? Secret exit Finding secrets is one of Zelda’s greatest pleasures, not to mention one of its inspirations, and here’s one of the earliest. A door without a keyhole is opened by pushing a seemingly ordinary block to the left. Fairy godmother Find an enclosed…

Robotic Operating Buddy If there is anything Nintendo is known for, it’s innovation. The Japanese gaming giant has always known how we want to enjoy our games, years in advance. Although the masterminds there are usually on the money, they have occasionally missed the mark and quietly swept it under the carpet. Sadly, ROB falls into this category of tried and tested gimmicks. The Robotic Operating Buddy was Nintendo’s big idea for 1985. Understanding the limitations of videogames being two-dimensional forms of entertainment, Nintendo released the Family Robot, as it was known in Japan, to break down the fourth wall. Once it was placed somewhere in front of the TV, this unusual character would await commands from the on-screen action. Up, down, left, right, open and close were the motions…

Dragon Warrior IV ▪ In an attempt to shake up the RPG genre, Dragon Warrior IV introduced a handful of disjointed chapters, which would eventually unite for the grand finale. Final Fantasy ▪ With Hironobu Sakaguchi giving everything he had towards one last effort in the games industry, his work paid off as his creation laid down the foundations for many more adventures. The Krion Conquest ▪ What do you get if you sprinkle a dash of magical power upon the Mega Man series? The Krion Conquest. This release was by no means shy in showcasing its admiration for the blue bomber. Crystalis ▪ Although The Legend Of Zelda stole the limelight for the action-adventure genre, SNK’s Crystalis came astonishingly close to taking centre stage away from Link. Bubble Bobble…

01 ACTRAISER 02 SUPER GHOULS ‘N’ GHOSTS 03 THE FIREMEN 04 KILLER INSTINCT 05 DONALD DUCK 06 SUPER BOMBERMAN 07 THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN 08 MAGIC SWORD 09 CONTRA III: THE ALIEN WAR 10 GANBARE GOEMON 2 11 SHADOWRUN 12 TERRANIGMA 13 MEGA MAN X 14 CANNON FODDER 15 SUPER METROID 16 POCKY & ROCKY 17 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 18 JOE & MAC 19 PILOTWINGS 20 TETRIS BATTLE GAIDEN 21 SUPER MARIO ALL€STARS 22 ALADDIN 23 BREATH OF FIRE 24 GOKUJOU PARODIUS 25 STUNT RACE FX 26 EYE OF THE BEHOLDER 27 SIM CITY 28 STARWING 29 FIRST SAMURAI 30 ARKANOID: DOH IT AGAIN 31 BLACK THORNE 32 PRINCE OF PERSIA 33 CACOMA KNIGHT 34 SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2: TURBO’HYPER FIGHTING 35 THE ADDAMS FAMILY 36 FINAL FIGHT…

PLATFORM: SNES »RELEASED: 1990 »COST: £7 (UNBOXED) / £10 (BOXED) Nintendo started the trend towards joypads with the release of the Famicom, and the design for its follow-up proved similarly influential. When the Super Famicom launched In Japan in 1990, it would introduce a variety of now-standard features to the console joypad. The first of these was the addition of shoulder buttons – two long buttons mounted on the top edge of the pad, rather than its face. The L and R buttons were designed for your index fingers to rest on while holding the pad, enabling quick access. The other change was the face button layout – four buttons in a diamond formation, with X and Y joining A and B. The pad also followed in the footsteps of…

When Nintendo finally entered the 16-bit console race in November 1990, it was in the unfamiliar position of having to stake its claim to market leadership against real competition. The company responded in typical fashion, by launching the Super Famicom with possibly the greatest one-two punch in videogame history. The turbo-charged Mode 7 racer F-Zero offered plenty of substance, but its appeal hinged on style and the lure of the unfamiliar. It was Nintendo’s way of demonstrating technological superiority. On the other hand, Super Mario World definitely looked the part, but its main function was to provide substance and familiarity (in fact, the game bore the subtitle Super Mario Bros. 4 in Japan). With it, Nintendo intended to reaffirm its position as the world’s leading developer of videogames – and…

» PLATFORM: SNES » DEVELOPER: FACTOR 5 » RELEASED: 1993 It wasn’t always easy seeing your home computer favourites converted to consoles in the Nineties. Some conversions were just plain bad, and even the best ones tended to miss certain bits – Speedball 2 might have played well on the Mega Drive, but the lack of “ice cream!” shouts left Amiga owners feeling that something was missing. Super Turrican, however, was a rarer beast. Not content with simply porting an existing game to the SNES, the team gathered the best elements of the series so far. When Turrican veterans reached the first boss and a familiar iron fist hovered into view, those worries flared up again. Surely this tiny thing wasn’t the best the developers could do? As it quickly…

Masayuki Uemura, the NES’ creator, gives his head a little shake and laughs. “I thought the NES taking off was impossible,” he admits. “I think Mr. Arakawa, [first president of Nintendo Of America], never thought it would either. But in the entertainment industry, the unexpected happens. I feel so grateful people still play the NES. I can’t believe I’m here!” Professor Uemura is sitting opposite us in the conference room of the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, speaking through his affable interpreter Akinori ‘Aki’ Nakamura. He has been invited by the NVA to give a talk about the creation of the Famicom, renamed the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for its Western release, and seems genuinely surprised with the love that the console still generates three decades after it made…

Curtain Call The intro to Super Mario Bros 3 presents the entire game to the player as though it were a stage production, complete with spotlights and huge curtains. It’s a weird premise that’s never really explained, but it is one of the most memorable and iconic openings to any NES game. Hide And Seek Crouch on any white block for a few seconds and Mario will fall off it and into the background layer of the stage. Sometimes it’s just for fun; other times it can actually lead Mario to a very cool secret. Question Blocked A Question Block sits on the ground in the first stage, befuddling Super Mario Bros players who are only used to hitting the blocks from below. The solution: get a Koopa shell and…

“As with other Nintendo games, it’s a piece of people’s childhoods. Anyone who grew up owning a NES remembers it fondly”Jerry Momoda Most gamers of a certain age will almost certainly have played Duck Hunt, for one simple reason – it was paired on a pack-in cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System along with one of the most popular and groundbreaking console games of all time, Super Mario Bros. But while Shigeru Miyamoto’s platform classic was undoubtedly the more attention-grabbing title of the compilation, Duck Hunt retains the endearing nostalgia of childhood, a cartoon shooting gallery with a sniggering canine companion and the hapless quacks of animated flapping ducks brought down by the simple act of pulling a plastic trigger. The grinning face of Duck Hunt’s dog, fresh from rooting…

Instant Expert The Legend Of Zelda is the most non-linear adventure in the series. You can tackle the dungeons in almost any order you like, and the game can be finished without ever collecting the sword.The Legend Of Zelda was the first NES title to sell over a million copies and went on to sell 6.5 million in total.Though the map for Zelda’s third dungeon resembles a Nazi swastika, it is actually the much more innocuous manji, an ancient religious symbol used by Japanese Buddhists, which is the reverse of the infamous emblem and is common in Eastern philosophy.Link is an unusual hero in that, in the first game and canonically throughout the series, he is lefthanded. Perhaps by coincidence, the word ‘links’ is German for ‘left’.Complete The Legend Of…

» PUBLISHER: NINTEN DO» YEAR: 1986» GENRE: PLATFORM» FEATURED HARDWARE: NES HISTORY There are some who regard Kid Icarus as an unsung hero of the NES. But while I’d be the first to admit that the game looks and sounds pretty – thanks to it running from the same guts as Metroid, and having that sublime Tanaka music. For me, it’s ruined somewhat by some frustrating little design flaws. Kid Icarus still demonstrates that good ol’ Nintendo template; creating a videogame based on three central characters: a good God, a bad God, who’s been turned into an evil medusa by the good God, and an unlikely hero with a stupid name. Essentially trying to cram platform, shooting and RPG elements into one game and, for the most part, succeeding, Kid…

Rodland ▪ Having skipped a release in America, US collectors have since been crossing the ocean to secure this already evasive title, only to further increase both its value and demand. Phantom Air Mission ▪ With a stupidly limited release in Spain, this unplayable and almost laughable attempt at bringing flight simulation to the NES was quickly forgotten. Snowboard Challenge ▪ Also hailing in very limited numbers from Spain, the European localisation of Heavy Shreddin’, titled Snowboard Challenge, made next to no impact on gamers whatsoever. RC Pro-Am II ▪ While many of the rarest videogames often attract flies, RC Pro-Am II stands out as a fantastic Scandinavia-exclusive sequel to one of the best NES racers. The Trolls In Crazyland ▪ Although the popular fluorescent-haired dolls could once be found…

Year Released: Japan: 1990 USA: 1991 UK: 1992 Original Price: Japan: 25,000 Yen USA: $199 UK: £149.99 (INCLUDING SUPER MARIO WORLD) Buy it now for: £25+ ($40+) Associated Magazines: Nintendo Magazine System, Superplay, Total, N-Force, SNES Force Why the SNES was great… Nintendo’s 16 bit powerhouse represents the true “Golden Age” of videogaming as the likes of Konami, Squaresoft and even Nintendo itself have arguably never been on better form than when designing games for this machine. The best SNES releases featured both flawless gameplay and graphics and set a high benchmark for quality entertainment software that, in many cases, endures to this day. With a NES in thirty per cent of American homes and the word ‘Famicom’ synonymous with videogames in Japan, Nintendo was understandably reluctant to release a…

PUBLISHER: CAPCOM RELEASED: 1993 GENRE: BEAT-’EM-UP FEATURED HARDWARE: SNES HISTORY I don’t exactly have a lot of love for Capcom’s seminal brawler. Don’t get me wrong. I’m fully aware of its historical importance and realise that plenty of people still play it on a regular basis but after witnessing the glorious choreography of Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, its older peer really appeared to have nothing new to offer. How wrong I was… Thanks to Capcom, and more importantly, Xbox Live arcade, I’ve been able to re-discover the joy of Street Fighter II, or more specifically, Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting (or Turbo as it’s known to us Brits). While the original Street Fighter II remains a slow, turgid experience (sorry guys, but it’s true) Turbo gives the game a…

IN THE KNOW PUBLISHER: NINTENDO DEVELOPER: R&D1/INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS RELEASED: 1994 GENRE: ADVENTURE Heading back up to ground level as I leave the immaculate subway at Jujo Station in the south of Kyoto, I walk through this remarkably unremarkable suburb until I see the big white block that houses Nintendo’s contemporary headquarters. The gates to NCL are manned by two portly, middle-aged guards who seem to project a faintly threatening presence, which is comically undone as I notice, behind them, in the back of their little booth, a stash of NCL-manufactured toy guns apparently left over from the Seventies and a selection of Nintendo character plushes from the Famicom era. This may not be the original Nintendo HQ site, but it clearly retains the company’s history like a hoarding retro gamer…

» PUBLISHER: ENIX CORPORATION» DEVELOPER: QUINTET» RELEASED: 1990» GENRE: PLATFORMER/GOD SIM Games that straddle genres are always a difficult sell, so it comes as no surprise that Quintet’s outrageously polished ActRaiser didn’t find the fanbase it deserved when first released. Part scrolling slash-’em-up, part God sim, ActRaiser was like nothing else around upon its arrival in 1990, and three years later, when it appeared on UK shelves, it still managed to stand apart from virtually every other available SNES game. Maybe it was the fact that it arrived three years too late, (although aesthetically it still stood head and shoulders over a great many other SNES offerings), or perhaps the mishmash playing styles were too conflicting. Nevertheless, despite receiving praise in numerous magazines at the time, ActRaiser didn’t exactly set…

KARTING KINGS The Nintendo all-stars that we spoke to about Super Mario Kart SHIGERU MIYAMOTO PRODUCER, SUPER MARIO KART HIDEKI KONNO DIRECTOR, SUPER MARIO KART TADASHI SUGIYAMA DIRECTOR, SUPER MARIO KART Videogame spinoffs are a tricky thing to get right. Often, it seems like someone in marketing has asked the question, “Why don’t we take [Property X] and make a [Genre Y] game out of it?” and then left the developers to solve the problem. Sometimes, the idea is sound but hampered by trying to adhere too closely to the original game’s mechanics. On other occasions, the spirit of the original property is lost in the transition to a new genre, or the developer has wandered too far from what it does best and delivered a sub-par product. But the…

» Manufacturer: Nintendo » Models: Super Nintendo/Super Famicom » Launched: 1990 » Country of Origin: Japan WHY IT’S COLLECTABLE Growing up in the Nineties wasn’t easy. From an early age, many gamers found themselves thrown into the epicentre of a digital war between two Japanese forces to be reckoned with. Sega and Nintendo’s conflict controlled the playgrounds and workplace, Sonic against Mario. The battle continues today, as the mention of the Super Nintendo versus the Sega Mega Drive has collectors raising their control pads with pride. Despite hosting fewer games than Sega’s 16-bit offering, the SNES hosts a wealth of blockbuster hits amongst its huge library of over 500 known European releases. With the likes of Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilotwings available from day one, shortly followed by Super…

Super Mario Kart ▪ Was there ever any doubt that this manic multiplayer racer would make the list? The near-perfect kart racer still remains the pinnacle of the series to this day, and has spawned an abundance of clones. Starwing/Star Fox Utilising the powerful Super FX chip Star Fox was arguably one of the most ground-breaking releases during the Super Nintendo’s lifespan, proving 3D was easily done in 16-bit. The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past ▪ Having returned after a four-year hiatus, Link was back in his only outing on the Super Nintendo, proving there was still a plethora of life in the Hyrule legacy. Super Mario World ▪ Following on from the success of the NES hit release Super Mario Bros 3, Mario’s next appearance on…

WORLD 1 World 1 eases the player in gently, the opening level featuring zero hazards and only a couple of fairly docile enemies, but the threats quickly escalate. Before the world is through you’ll have contended with slippery ice slopes toward oblivion, an assault from the pesky Boomerang Bros, and a madcap dash through an airship as cannonballs shoot at you from all directions. Phew! BOSS: Iggy One of Bowser’s seven children known as the Koopalings, Iggy is named after real-life rocker Iggy Pop. But that’s not a microphone in his hand: it’s a deadly magic wand that he wants to shoot at Mario. Thankfully, he’s quite easy to dodge and, a trio of head stomps later, he’ll be out of the game. WORLD 2 World 2’s desert landscapes throw…

ICE CLIMBER SMASH THE SYSTEM NINTENDO, 1985 One of the most interesting characters in the Smash Bros. roster, Ice Climbers were based on the idea of having both co-op clamberers work as a single unit, and it worked brilliantly. Co-op is undoubtedly the best way to enjoy Ice Climber, as you’re able to make far quicker progress through the various floors as a duo than alone. It doesn’t seem tricky at first but as soon as you start slipping around and missing seemingly easy jumps, you’ll realise why this is a game few will be able to beat alone. DONKEY KONG JR. FATHER KNOWS BEST NINTENDO, 1987 In a role reversal of the original Donkey Kong, this acrobatic adventure sends DK’s son off to rescue his old man from the…

» PUBLISHER: NINTENDO » RELEASED: 1984 » GENRE: RACER » FEATURED HARDWARE: NES » EXPECT TO PAY: £5+, 500 POINTS FOR WII VERSION HISTORY You’ve got to hand it to Shigeru Miyamoto, he certainly knows how to make great games. Take the brilliant Excitebike for example. It doesn’t look too special with its just about functional backgrounds, teeny weeny (yet rather cute) motorbike sprites and the sort of sound effects that will cause your ears to shut down in protest, but if you look deeper you’ll find that beneath the rudimentary aesthetics lies that typical Midas, sorry, Miyamoto touch. A simple time attack trial at its pulsing heart, Excitebike requires you to do nothing more then race through a selection of cleverly designed courses as quickly as possible. Sure, you’ll…

Manufacturer: Nintendo » Models: NES/Famicom » Launched: 1983 (Japan, as Famicom), 1985 (US), 1986 (Europe) » Country of origin: Japan Why it’s collectable In 1983, Nintendo unleashed one of Japan’s finest products to date. The Family Computer (Famicom) was the latest 8-bit console to be released, and it would become the bestselling system available by the end of 1984. Upon its US launch, the rebranded Famicom, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), refuelled the country’s dying videogame industry. Homeward bound, however, what did Europeans have to get excited about with the iconic console? It certainly wasn’t the lack of localised releases, nor the fact that Nintendo really took its time delivering what the rest of the world was already talking about… Prior to the console’s European release, gamers had been drowning…

Super Mario Bros 3 ▪ Arguably the greatest Mario game to date, Super Mario Bros 3 raised the bar on previous outings and revolutionised the platform genre. Mr Gimmick ▪ Underestimating the cutesy appeal of Mr Gimmick will be your first mistake in this challenging platformer. Underneath that adorable exterior is one of Sunsoft’s finest yet trickiest creations. The Legend Of Zelda ▪ Link’s first outing paved the way for one of the greatest series of all time, and it also became a benchmark for many other adventure games to follow. Street Gangs ▪ More commonly known today by its American title of River City Ransom, the cast of the Kunio-kun series returned in a no-holds-barred RPG brawler. Mega Man 2 ▪ With a rewired circuit and a host of…

There is a fantastic, diverse range of great games available on the Super Nintendo, which makes putting any selection of games together a near thankless task. We’ll happily do it though, as we love Nintendo’s 16-bit console. So without further ado, here’s our essential choices that deserve to be in every Super Nintendo owner’s collection. If you don’t own them, you clearly don’t love Nintendo’s console as much as we do SUPER MARIO KART RELEASED: 1993 PUBLISHED BY: NINTENDO CREATED BY: NINTENDO BY THE SAME DEVELOPER: SUPER MARIO BROS 01 We’ve been playing the original Super Mario Kart on and off now for a staggering 20 years and it still remains fresher than a baker’s dozen that’s just popped out the oven. Meticulously designed circuits, a well-balanced range of weapons…

When you look back at the history of the series, The Legend Of Zelda occupies a funny space in Nintendo’s planning processes. If a Zelda game arrives in time for a console launch, it’s because the game was heavily delayed on the previous generation of hardware. Yet Zelda is never overlooked when a new Nintendo console is being planned – in fact, it’s often one of the very first things considered for a new machine. Our first look at The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker came before the GameCube had hit the shelves, but the game launched over a year into the life of the machine. A demo of what would eventually become The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time was shown to attendees of Nintendo’s Shoshinkai 1995…

Talk about not easing you in gently! The boss that awaits you at the end of Wild Guns’ first stage is a ridiculous monstrosity that looks like it’s been loaned out by Cyberdyne Systems. Dwarfing your puny-looking player, it alternates its attacks between tearing up the screen with an array of guided rockets and cutting a swathe of destruction with its immense Gatling gun. You frantically dash around, firing off round after round of hot lead with little impact on the metallic monstrosity’s health. And then it hits you. Shoot for the core – all right, its head. With newfound purpose you direct your shots in a deadly hail of gunfire. The feeling of seeing it literally fall apart as you finally defeat it makes all the previous pain worthwhile.…

Contra III: The Alien Wars Best Mode 7 moment: The opening stage Year: 1992 Publisher: Konami Developer: In-house The foremost thing to remember about SNES Mode 7 is that its powers are ineffective on game sprites. However, Mode 7 can rotate and increase the size of background images to give the impression they’re animated; to create a ‘Mode 7 sprite’ (a term we’ve just made up but feel is befitting). Developers are also able to go a step further by adding moving parts made of sprites to really mess with our heads. For two really good examples of this technique in action look no further than the epic first stage of Contra III: The Alien Wars, which is packed with Mode 7 moments. The low-flying plane that turns up midway…

REZNOR 1 This quartet of fire-breathing triceratops stands atop a set of rotating platforms. You’ll need to bump them from underneath, but watch out! Once you’ve knocked a couple of them from their platforms, the ground beneath you will start to give way. If you can’t take out the remaining beasts, you’ll need to hitch a ride on their carousel in order to finish them off. Oh, and if you were wondering, Reznor is named after the Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor. BIG BOO 2 Mario spends most of his time running away from these ghostly baddies, but the Big Boo resident in Donut Secret House is an aggressive sort. Unlike his compatriots elsewhere, he’s capable of disappearing at will and is accompanied by a couple of regular Boos.…

SUPER WILD CARD With cartridges breaking the upper limits of £59.99 in the Nineties, SNES owners often found themselves limited to how many games they can afford. While this did make game rental services a profitable business, the more savvy gamers amongst us looked for other solutions. Piracy and cartridge copiers were no stranger to the games industry. Nintendo had already embraced the illegitimate series of ‘Game Doctors’ for the Famicom, which ironically used the Famicom Disk System’s proprietary medium of unique disks to create counterfeit software. The SNES equivalent, however, used a more accessible method, which effectively made those expensive cartridges a non-issue. The Super Wild Card released by Front Far East was amongst the many different flavours of backup devices which began to surface. Within each unit lay…

Tales Of Phantasia ▪ While this 48 Mbit tale never ventured outside of Japan (before its Game Boy Advance port), fanatical SNES gamers compiled an accessible English translation patch for the Japanese ROM. Earthbound As RPGs continued to stick to their traditional roots, Earthbound broke the mould by creating a humorous, engaging adventure to which just about anybody could relate. Boing! Final Fantasy III/VI Often battling with Chrono Trigger for the title of ‘Best SNES RPG’, Final Fantasy VI (III in the US) pushed the genre’s limits further than ever with its engrossing 60-plus hour expedition. Super Mario RPG ▪ While Europe was lucky enough to get the majority of Mario’s adventures, the unusual combined effort from Squaresoft and Nintendo failed to arrive, much to many PAL gamers disappointment. Battle…

X Zone ▪ Hailing from Scandinavia, this incredibly rare Nordic exclusive was one of the few releases to make use of the under-loved and under-used Super Scope light gun (or should that be light bazooka?) Cool World ▪ Arriving on the Super Nintendo as a tie-in for the (highly forgettable) movie of the same name, the Spanish exclusive of Cool World flopped even harder than the disappointing feature film. Whirlo ▪ Continuing to prove Spain has plenty to offer the rarity hunters, this hard-to-find Namco platformer offers much more than rarity alone, as it’s an adorable and addictive adventure. Brawl Brothers ▪ By the time Jaleco released this sequel to Rival Turf, gamers had grown tired of side-scrolling beat-’em-ups, leaving Brawl Brothers to be fought over in years to come.…