• Tag Archives SNK
  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (September 1992)

    Source: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment – September 1992

    VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was my favorite gaming magazine during most of its life. It went through a couple of transitions later on, eventually giving birth to Tips & Tricks but I never really cared for that one. The September 1992 issue of VG&CE includes:

    Features

    • Tokyo Toy Show Report – Some highlights of items shown at this show include a RAM backup card for the Turbo Duo, the Wondermega Genesis/Sega CD combo unit, the Teradrive which is a combo 286-based PC and Sega Genesis, Street Fighter II for the Super NES, Afterburner III for the Mega Drive/Mega CD, Lunar: The Silver Star for the Sega Mega CD, Soldier Blade for the PC Engine, Dodge Ball for the PC Engine, Musashi for the Mega Drive, Snatcher for the PC-Engine CD-ROM, Cosmic Fantasy 3 for the PC-Engine CD-ROM, and lots more.
    • Searching for the Dark World: A Player’s Guide to Zelda III, Part I – The first part of a detailed guide for A Link to the Past.
    • The 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics Show Recap – Highlights of the show include Super Star Wars (Super NES), Street Fighter II (Super NES), Dracula (Atari Lynx), Bart’s Nightmare (Super NES), Shadowrun (Super NES), TTI’s Turbo Duo, Centipede (Game Boy), Betrayal at Krondor (PC), Maximum Overkill (PC), Battletank 2000 (PC), Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (PC), and lots more.
    • Getting Into the Game: An Exclusive Look at Nick Arcade – Nick Arcade was a game show in Nickelodeon that featured virtual reality by putting players inside arcade games.

    Reviews & Previews

    • Video-Game Reviews
      • Dungeon Master – The classic 3D adventure game for the Super NES.
      • Taz-Mania – A platform game for the Genesis featuring the classic Warner Bros. character.
      • Danny Sullivan’s Indy Heat – A racing game for the NES featuring nine courses across the U.S.
      • Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu – Side scrolling beat-em-up featuring Jackie Chan before he became a household name.
      • King Salmon – Another fishing game, this one for the Genesis. I don’t like fishing games anyway and this isn’t one of the best.
      • DinoCity – A platform game for the Super NES in which you team up with a dinosaur to defeat some evil Neanderthals.
      • Andro Dunos – A side-scrolling shooter for the Neo Geo.
      • Side Pocket – Classic pool game for the Genesis.
      • WWF Wrestelmania Steel Cage – The last WWF wrestling game for the NES.
      • Ka-Blooey – A puzzle game for the Super NES in which you must set off all the bombs on a level without blowing yourself up.
      • The Terminator – An action adventure game based on the movie of the same name for the Genesis.
      • Adventure Island III – The latest iteration of this platform game for the NES.
      • Splash Lake – A puzzle game for the TurboGrafx-CD that bears more than a passing resemblance to a classic board game called Don’t Break the Ice.
      • King of the Monsters 2 – Fighting game featuring various monsters for the Neo Geo.
    • Gaming on the Go
      • Roger Clemens MVP Baseball – A reasonably fun baseball game for the Game Boy.
      • R.C. Grand Prix – A fun R.C. racing game. I never played this one but have fond memories of R.C. Pro Am on the NES and Re-Volt on the Dreamcast.
      • Tom & Jerry – A platform featuring the famous cartoon duo on the Game Boy.
      • Marble Madness – Conversion of the arcade classic for the Game Gear.
      • Steel Talons – Conversion of the helicopter coin-op game for the Atari Lynx.
    • Seven’s The Charm: A VG&CE Exclusive Preview of Wizardry VII – Eleven years after the original Wizardry was released, the seventh game in this classic RPG series, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, makes its debut.
    • Computer Game Reviews
      • Darkseed – An H.P. Lovecraft/H.R. Geiger inspired adventure game for the PC.
      • Mutant Beach – A puzzle/adventure game for the Macintosh.
      • Pinball Dreams – A pinball game featuring four different tables for the PC and Amiga.
      • Global Effect – A world building sim for the Amiga and PC featuring 14 different scenarios.
      • Aquaventure – An action game that plays like a 3D version of Defender for the Amiga.
      • Crisis in the Kremlin – A strategy game for the PC based on the Tom Clancy book of the same name.
      • Road & Track Presents Grand Prix Unlimited – A Formula One racing sim for the PC.
      • Gateway – A sci-fi game based on the Frederik Pohl book of the same name.
      • Gods – A run and shoot platform game. Think Contra.
      • Hong Kong Mahjong Pro – An actual Mahjong game for the PC, not the tile matching game that is usually associated with that name.
      • Wolfenstein 3-D – The granddaddy of all first person shooters. Welcome Id software to the scene…

    Departments

    • Editor’s Letter – A preview of this issue as well as a little about the upcoming October issue.
    • Reader Mail – Readers write in about game incompatibility with the new version of the Genesis, rumors of a new Super NES pack-in, controllers and Street Fighter 2, Neo Geo coverage, and more.
    • Tip Sheet – Game tips for Terminator 2 (arcade), Mission: Impossible (NES), and The Immortal (Genesis).
    • News Bits – Atari drops price of Lynx software, Galoob wins legal battle to keep making Game Genie, Nintendo and Sega lower 16-bit system prices, Sunsoft to release Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally and Tazmania for the Super NES, TTI lowers hardware prices, and lots more.
    • Easter Egg Hunt – Hidden secrets revealed in Street Fighter II (Super NES), Mike Ditka Power Football (Genesis), Awesome Golf (Lynx), The Guardian Legend (NES), Q*Bert (Game Boy), Sengoku (Neo Geo), MLBPA Sports Talk Baseball (Genesis), It Came From the Desert (TurboGrafx-16), OutRun (Genesis), and Steel Empire (Genesis).
    • Inside Gaming – A look at the near future of multiplayer gaming.
    • Q & A – Questions answered about unlicensed NES carts, software for the Apple IIgs, technical details of the Atari Lynx, the maximum number of Genesis controllers, the ext. port on the Genesis, the future of Sega CD, and more.

    …and more!


  • Fatal Fury Special (Sega CD)

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/662817718636101632/oldgamemags-diehard-gamefan-april-1995

    Fatal Fury Special is a 2D fighting game that was released for both the home and arcade versions of the Neo Geo hardware in 1993. The original Fatal Fury was perhaps the earliest competitor to Street Fighter II though it was actually developed at the same time by the original creator of the first Street Fighter game. Fatal Fury Special was the third game in the series though not really a true sequel.

    To make an analogy, Fatal Fury Special is to Fatal Fury 2 what Street Fighter II Turbo is to Street Fighter II. It’s an enhancement more than a sequel. There are also parallels in the sense that one of the changes made to Fatal Fury Special was to speed up the game play. In addition to speeding up the game play, Fatal Fury Special tweaked the play mechanics allowing combo attacks among other things. Also, the characters that were only computer controlled in Fatal Fury 2 could now be selectable by the player.

    Fatal Fury 2 was well received by both players and critics and was quite popular. In addition to the original Neo Geo versions, it was also ported to a variety of other systems including the Super Nintendo, Sega CD (a review of which appears at the top of this post), Game Gear and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. These ports received more mixed reviews but were generally positive. The main criticisms typically had to do with graphics and sound compromises that had to be made on less powerful hardware. At the time, Neo Geo hardware was certainly expensive but nothing else gave you true arcade power in your home.

    There would continue to be Fatal Fury games released throughout the rest of the decade for the Neo Geo. In addition, the inclusion of a hidden character from Art of Fighting in Fatal Fury Special was the inspiration for the King of Fighters game series. Most fans of 2D fighting games are probably already well familiar with the Neo Geo and the various fighting games available for it. If not, then this game, along with most of the other Fatal Fury games, are definitely ones you should try. While other ports are ok, you probably want to stick to the Neo Geo version or an emulation of it (there was one available via Xbox Live Arcade for example).

    Screen shots above are from the Sega CD version of the game.


  • Maximum: The Video Game Magazine – Issue Number 4 – 1996

    Source: Maximum – Issue Number 4 – 1996

    You can think of Maximum as Next Generation’s sister magazine in the U.K. Much of the content of Next Generation came from Maximum and the magazines were very similar. Next Generation was one of my favorite magazines though I wasn’t really aware of Maximum until much later and being in the U.S., I was unlikely to ever see it anyway. Maximum targeted an older demographic than GamePro or even EGM. Issue Number 4 of Maximum from 1996 includes:

    Maxiumum Extended Play

    • Soul Edge – The cover game of Maximum issue #4 is a true showcase of arcade fighting titles, based on the PlayStation technology System 11 board. Soul Edge is graphically breathtaking, and features a technical level to the gameplay that’s quite outstanding.
    • Space Hulk – A firm hit on the 3DO, Electronic Arts have been busy bringing their top-rated game onto the PC CD-ROM, Saturn and PlayStation systems. In this triple-format Extended Play, Maximum brings forth huge amounts of info on this involving game.
    • Heretic – The first third party game to use the Doom engine was Raven’s Heretic, which has since been superseded by the excellent Hexen. However, the first game never received a general review and the boys at GT Interactive have just put out the latest version with extra levels. Maximum investigates..
    • Real Bout Fatal Fury – Some have been saying that the latest Fatal Furty is (get this) better than Street Fighter Alpha! Is this true, or is Real Bout just another outing for Geese Howard and a pair of outrageous trousers? Perhaps both, maybe neither. Full details later on.
    • Guardian Heroes – When Treasure produce a new video game, true game fanatics tend to sit up and take notice – especially when the game is on as powerful a system as Sega Saturn. True to form, Treasure have performed miracles with this game.
    • Street Fighter Alpha – First revealed in Maxiumum issue #3, Capcom have handed in a truly arcade-perfect conversion of their monster arcade game which Virgin are handling in Europe. We’eve already covered the coin-op, so this Extended Play covers the art of Street Fighting, from throwing your very first punch to pulling off incredible 19 hit Super Combo finishes.
    • Magic Carpet – Bullfrog scored a bit of an own-goal with their last action game translation to the super consoles. Yes, although Hi-Octane was a bit poor, the conversions of Magic Carpet are absolutely spot-on, and for any Saturn or PlayStation owner, it should be considered an essential purchase.
    • Virtua Fighter 2 – The final part of our unrivaled Virtua Fighter 2 coverage gives our valued readership an in-depth examination of the combination system in the game. Hugely damaging multi-hit strikes are revealed, along with basic techniques on improving your play.

    Maximum Close Up

    • Virtua Cop – Now that the game is a couple of months old, Maximum is pleased to announce the full range of hidden options found in this excellent blasting game.
    • X-Men: Children of the Atom – Well, many apologies for the lack of Magneto action, but this single page of mutant mayhem should clue you in to the true power of the unstoppable Juggernaut!
    • Battle Arena Toshinden 2 – Well, to be frank we think this game is pretty bad – however, it seems to have attracted its own legion of fans on PlayStation and in the arcades, so we reveal all of the boss-related secrets.
    • Doom – The third and final installment of Maximum’s coverage reveals the five secret levels in Doom, including the celebrated “Club Doom”.

    Maximum Regulars

    • New Games…Places…Events… – Well, Maximum’s coverage of the places and events is probably a bit lacking this month, since we’eve been enslaved to Lord EMAP and super-glued to our desks to meet an impossible deadline. Again. Still, the coverage of hot games remains pretty decent regardless, with Saturn WipeOut, Formula One and of course PlayStation Tekken 2 taking pride of place in the Maximum line-up. Also worth checking out are the first pictures of Street Fighter Alpha 2 along with Virtua Fighter Kids and more on the Sonic Fighting Game.
    • Maximum Response – After finally being swayed by popular opinion, Maximum unveils its first letters page. For intelligent debate on gaming in general plus a slagging off for Killer Instinct 2, look no further.
    • Reviews – Despite the lean times in terms of software, Maximum retains its enormous 23 page reviewing section where we tell you in plain English whether selected software is worth buying or not. No useless “ratings” and suchlike here – just our informed opinions on the latest wares.
    • Next Edition – For full details on the forthcoming Namco Special Edition of Maximum, it could well be worth your while checking out this page. It’s going to be big…

    …and more!