• Tag Archives Super Nintendo

  • GamePro (December 1997)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – December 1997

    While I always preferred Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro was almost as popular though it seemed to be aimed at a slightly younger audience. At about 250 pages, the December 1997 issue had to be pretty much at its peak. It includes:

    Features

    • Star Wars: The Masters of Teras Kasi – An exclusive, hands-on look at this new Star Wars themed fighting game.
    • GamePro’s Holiday Shopper’s Guide – A list of the best games, peripherals and other gaming items for the holiday season according to GamePro.
    • Metal Gear Solid! – Metal Gear Solid was the first Metal Gear game since the NES days and also transitioned the series to 3D. It came out in 1998 but was set in 2005.

    Spotlight On!

    • Messiah: Rising Shiny – A visit to Shiny Entertainment to look at the upcoming Messiah for the PlayStation and PC.
    • SEAL Squad 2040: A Special Force To Be Reckoned With – A preview of SEAL Squad 2040 for the PlayStation, described here as Wave Race 64 with guns.
    • WCW Nitro: Of Kingpins and Pin Kings – A talk with Diamond Dallas Page, the Giant, Curt Hennig, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall about WCW Nitro and games in general.

    SWATPro Strategy Section

    • Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter – A detailed strategy guide for this classic arcade fighter, featuring basic strategies, special movies, and more.
    • Star Fox 64 – A strategy guide for Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64 featuring secret areas, alternate skill routes, how to defeat the bosses and much more.
    • The Fighter’s Edge: Street Fighter EX Plus – Combos and strategies for Street fighter EX Plus for the PlayStation.
    • How to Master Madden – Strategy guide for Madden football for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
    • Final Fantasy VII – Part 3 of a massive Final Fantasy VII strategy guide.

    ProReviews

    • PC GamePro – Reviews of Jedi Knight, Hexen II, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Dark Reign, Total Annihilation, Take No Prisoners, Half-Life, and Wing Commander: Prophecy.
    • Nintendo 64 – Reviews of Diddy Kong Racing, WCW vs. NWO World Tour, Duke Nukem 64, San Francisco Rush, Bomberman 64, and Extreme G.
    • PlayStation – Reviews of MDK, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Resident Evil Director’s Cut, Moto Racer, Test Drive 4, Shipwreckers, Marvel Super Heroes, Dragon Ball GT Final Bout, Jet Moto 2, Pandemonium 2, Red Asphalt, Vs., Frogger, Rampage, Mass Destruction, and Reel Fishing.
    • Saturn – Reviews of Duke Nukem 3D, Resident Evil, Last Bronx, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Mega Man X4, Bust-A-Move 3, and Ten Pin Alley.
    • Sports Pages – Reviews of NBA Live ’98 (PlayStation), Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey ’98 (Nintendo 64), NHL Face Off ’98 (PlayStation), NFL Quarterback Club ’98 (Nintendo 64), Cool Boarders 2 (PlayStation), and Formula 1 Championship Edition (PlayStation). Previews of NCAA Football GameBreaker ’98 (PlayStation), NBA Shoot Out ’98 (PlayStation), Tennis Arena (PlayStation), NHL All-Star Hockey ’98 (Saturn), and Sega Touring Car Championship (Saturn).
    • Role-Player’s Realm – Previews of Tactics Ogre (PlayStation) and Quest 64 (Nintendo 64).

    Departments

    • Head-2-Head – Video games, violence and ESRB ratings.
    • Buyers Beware – OEM vs. 3rd party RF adapters for the Nintendo 64, missing animation in Saturn version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and Rumble Pak battery life.
    • ProNews – Microsoft and Sega in 128-bit console discussions (this would become the Dreamcast), Blasto for Nintendo 64 delayed until early ’98, console game sales exceed PC game sales, and much more.
    • NetPro – A look at Saturn’s NetLink and the games that support it.
    • Overseas Prospects – Capcom, Square, Sega, Konami, Namco and others reveal their game lineups for 1998 at the 1997 Tokyo Game Show. Plus, highlights of the European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) in London.
    • Sneak Previews – Early looks at Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown (PlayStation), F-Zero 64 (Nintendo 64), Quake (Saturn), Cardinal Syn (PlayStation), Burning Rangers (Saturn), Crime Killers (PlayStation), Yoshi’s Story (Nintendo 64), Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PlayStation), Auto Destruct (PlayStation), Sonic R (Saturn), Enemy Zero (Saturn), Need for Speed V-Rally (PlayStation), Powerboat Racing (PlayStation), Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle (PlayStation), Rascal (PlayStation), Lode Runner (PlayStation), Monster Rancher (PlayStation), Arcade’s Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2 (PlayStation), Riven: The Sequel to Myst (PlayStation), and Forsaken (Nintendo 64, PlayStation).
    • Hot at the Arcades – A look at some of the latest arcade games, including Mortal Kombat 4, The Lost World, and Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Nintendo Power (July 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – Nintendo Power – Issue Number 50 – July 1993

    If you were a Nintendo fan it was hard not to appreciate Nintendo Power, Nintendo’s official publication. While I don’t know that I would trust its impartiality, if there was a Nintendo game you could at least find info about it in Nintendo Power. In 1993 the Super NES was relatively new and the original NES and Game Boy were still going strong. The July 1993 issue includes:

    Super NES

    • WWF Royal Rumble – A great game for WWF fans. A look at the various characters and moves.
    • Run Saber – I never played this one but it’s a platform game that reminds me a bit of games like Strider. All the levels are shown here and it appears the game is fairly short.
    • E.V.O. Search for Eden – A game from Enix in which you must create creatures that survive the evolutionary process.
    • Edutainment – A look at several different educational games broken down by category, including Learning (Mario Is Missing, Miracle Keyboard), Fact Recall (Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?, Jeopardy), Strateg simulation and creativity (SimCity, SimEarth, Aerobiz, and Mario Paint). Not sure some of those are really “educational”.
    • Bubsy: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind – Excellent platform game featuring the comical feline Bubsy.

    Game Boy

    • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – The cover story this month is the release of Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy. Includes tons of maps.
    • Gargoyle’s Quest II – Quite similar to the NES version of this game, it reminds me of a cross between Castlevania and Zelda.
    • T2: The Arcade Game – What should be a light-gun game…on the Game Boy.

    NES

    • The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt – An ok platform game. Though the naming convention for these games on the NES vs. the SNES is rather confusing.
    • Mighty Final Fight – A beat-em-up for those looking for yet another one on the NES.
    • Bubble Bobble Part 2 – 80 levels of this action/puzzle game will keep you busy for a while. It has different levels and bosses than the Game Boy version. Plus being in color on a bigger screen is nice.

    Tips from the Pros

    • Nester’s Adventures – A comic strip but I’m not sure why it’s listed under the ‘Tips From The Pros’ category.
    • Classified Information – Secret codes for MechWarrior, Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally, Super Bases Loaded, Wayne’s World, Cybernator, Prince of Persia, Tiny Toon Adventures, Bases Loaded, Super Conflict, and Mega Man V.
    • Counselors’ Corner – How to obtain the Lone Star Badge and where to get the credstick in Shadowrun; how to help Hamton collect apples and how to jump of the train in stage 2-D in Tiny Toon Adventures; how to put out the fire in level 6, room 9 plus the solution to level 9-22 in Fire & Ice; where to get the lantern and how to get out of the well in Milon’s Secret Castle.

    The Info Zone

    • Next Issue – Next month’s issue features Street Fighter II Turbo, Alien 3, Jurassic Park and Star Trek The Next Generation.

    Video Updates

    • Now Playing – Brief reviews of new games including Ultima: The False Prophet, Troddlers, Super Turrican, Dungeon Master, WWF Royal Rumble, Run Saber, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Mario Is Missing, Bubsy, Alien 3, Tuff E Nuff, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, Super Widget, P.T.O., Mighty Final Fight, The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt, Bubble Bobble Part II, Gargoyle’s Quest II, T2: The Arcade Game, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
    • PAK Watch – Previews of upcoming games including Street Fighter II Turbo, Mortal Kombat, Jurassic Park, TMNT Tournament Fighter, NHL Stanley Cup, Ken Griffey Jr. Major League Baseball, Mega Man X, Wayne’s World, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Beauty and the Beast, Felix the Cat, FX Trax, Super Off-Road, Cool Spot, Family Feud, Pinball Dreams, Goof Troop, Super Tecmo Bowl (one of the few sports games I really liked), and more.

    Player’s Forum

    • Player’s Pulse – Letters from readers about Super NES button lettering and Mario Paint, envelope art, Simpsons contest winner and more.
    • Power Player’s Challenge – Player accomplishments in Street Fighter II, Pilotwings, Desert Strike, Wave Race, NES Open Tournament Golf, Top Gear, F-1 Race, Prince of Persia, and Super Mario Kart.
    • Player’s Poll Contest – A contest in which you can win a game for a week for 50 weeks, 5 Game Boys each with 5 games (not sure why you would need 5 Game Boys), a $500 gift certificate, a party for 50 friends at your local arcade, or 50 pounds of quarters. If you couldn’t tell, this was to celebrate the 50th issue of Nintendo Power. Incidentally, 50 pounds of quarters is a much better prize than the $500 gift certificate. According to the internet and my calculations a pound of quarters is about 80 quarters so 50 pounds would be $1000.
    • Top 20 – Top games this month include Star Fox for the Super NES, Super Mario Land 2 for the Game Boy, and Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES.

    Comics

    • Star Fox – A comic based on Star Fox. Somehow I feel that Nester should have been here as well but that’s not where the table of contents has it.

    Video Updates

    • 50th Issue Special – A look back at the last 5 years of Nintendo Power. Includes things like best cover, worst cover, issue with the highest circulation, biggest mistake, worst contest, biggest giveaway, most popular strategy guide, highest power meter rating, and much more.
    • Super Power Shop – Buy the first 50 issues of Nintendo Power for $50 plus t-shirts, hats and other stuff.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Game Boy Nintendo (NES) Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/694797560930598912/notobscurevideogames-teenage-mutant-ninja

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, A.K.A. Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV: Turtles in Time was released in arcades in 1991 and then on the Super Nintendo the following year. By the way, does anyone know why they are referred to as the Teenage Mutant “Hero” Turtles in Europe? It seems like an odd name change…

    Anyway, this game was primarily a side-scrolling beat-’em-up featuring the famous turtles, whether heroes or ninjas. Game play is pretty straightforward and there are a variety of unique levels. Basic controls include a joystick or joypad for movement, a jump button and an attack button. The Super Nintendo added additional buttons for special attacks. While I owned the Super Nintendo version (and still do) I don’t think I ever played the arcade version. I understand that there are some significant differences for various reasons. Changes in graphics and sound for technical reasons (the Super NES wasn’t as powerful as an arcade machine) but other improvements for the home version including additional modes of play. Another difference is that some arcade cabinets supported up to four players while the Super NES version only supported up to two players.

    Overall, TMNT 4 received very positive review. I enjoyed it and thought it had a great atmosphere. It is also one of only a few games of this type that I made it to the end of. My only real criticism would be that the game really seemed too short. There just weren’t enough levels and the end just left you wanting more. It has multiple difficulty levels so there is some replayability added because of that.

    If you are a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja (Hero) Turtles or the Super Nintendo then I definitely recommend giving this game at ry. The arcade version and the Super NES version are different enough that it is probably worth trying them both. The best way to try is probably with an original cartridge or via emulation. however, there was also an emulated version of the arcade original that was part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (a later game despite the numbering) for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Both the arcade version and the Super Nintendo version were released as part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (along with numerous other TMNT games) for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S that was released just a couple of months ago. For those not owning an original arcade machine and Super Nintendo system this is probably the best way to play it along with all the other great Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Games. There was also a remake of TMNT 4 in 2009 called Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. It was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It uses 3D graphics so it has a much different look to it. Personally, I’m partial to the original.

    Screen shots above are from the Super Nintendo version of the game.


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged