The Video Game Critic's
Super Nintendo Reviews N-R

When my friend Eric and I saw the first screen shots of NBA Jam in a magazine back in 1993, we thought it was the dumbest game ever. The players were soaring ten feet over the rim and performing preposterous slam-dunks. After reading several enthusiastic reviews however, I broke down and bought the game anyway. That turned out to be a major milestone in my game-playing career, because NBA Jam quickly became the premiere sports game of its time. On the very first day I bought this my friends Eric and Tuan played it for six hours straight. This SNES version is an impressive translation of the popular arcade game, with the same crisp graphics, fluid animation, responsive controls, catchy music, and clear sound effects. Jam offered a degree of speed and non-stop action you didn't often see in sports games of the time. At its core, NBA Jam is a two-on-two dunk-fest with no rules. On offense you can shoot, throw elbows to keep defenders at bay, execute bullet passes. and easily perform death-defying dunks. On defense you can steal and block, but the gameplay definitely favors the offense. It's so easy to score that games tend to be back-and-forth affairs, although executing a key steal or block can really effectively turn the tide. One effective maneuver is to fake a jumper to draw in the defense, and then pass the ball to the open man under the basket at the last second. Each player has a certain amount of "turbo power" that adds speed and enhances the dunks. Players that sink three shots in a row become "on fire" and are nearly unstoppable until the opposing team scores again. NBA Jam does have a few minor flaws. The turbo is so plentiful that you can practically use it during the entire game, and blocking shots is nearly impossible. Non-dunking players such as John Stockton can slam, destroying what little realism there is. Lastly, the computer has the annoying habit of making full court, last second shots at the end of each half. Two marquee players represent each NBA team, and since the game was made during NBA's "golden age", you get many all-time greats like David Robinson, Karl Malone, Scotty Pippen, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, and Clyde Drexler (sorry, no Michael Jordan). Records are saved using a password system. NBA Jam enjoyed a string of sequels, and its frantic, smash-mouth style of play singlehandedly created a new genre of "extreme" sports games. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.

Capitalizing on the unbridled success of the first NBA Jam, Acclaim released this fine sequel which retains the gameplay of the original while spicing things up with interesting new options. Each team now has three players to choose from instead of two, and you can substitute between quarters. Tournament Edition's gameplay places more emphasis on defense, so you can expect to see more steals and blocked shots. The expanded options menu lets you customize more aspects of the game, as well as enabling "hot spots" on the floor (worth up to ten points), power-up icons, and a "juice mode" that speeds up the action to extreme levels. But the most valuable new addition is the inclusion of a much-need four-player mode. Statistics are now saved via battery backup instead of a long password. This is a worthy sequel, and fans of the original would be wise to pick this one up. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.

The NBA Live series got its start on the Genesis, but the SNES edition of NBA Live 96 is clearly better, thanks to sharper graphics and clear sound effects. In addition, holding in the shoulder buttons to initiate turbo is much more convenient than the awkward Genesis controller scheme. In terms of gameplay, NBA Live 96 offers nonstop action and realistic gameplay. It's a huge step up from NBA Showdown. With the five-player multitap, you and four friends can even control an entire team! The only thing I don't like about the game are its terribly pixelated hardwood floors. Otherwise NBA Live 96 is a slam dunk. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

NBA Showdown is a step up from Bulls vs. Blazers (EA's previous basketball game), with smooth graphics and more realistic gameplay. Unfortunately, it still uses the same slow engine, which bogs down the action. With no turbo button, the pace is slow and deliberate with no possibility for fast breaks. There are less unstoppable dunks, and it's more difficult to penetrate on the dribble. On a positive note, the court looks terrific, and I love how the coaches pace back and forth in front of their benches on the sidelines. The crowd sounds are muffled, but occasionally a fan will yell like "put it up!". Showdown is interesting to look back on, but this basketball series has seen better days. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

This one took me by surprise. The first time I laid eyes on its rotating court and choppy graphics, I thought for sure it would be a dog, but the more I played, the more I appreciated the game. NCAA Basketball features all the big-name college teams, but no actual players. Its scaling, rotating courts provide a good view of the action, but it doesn't allow for a sideline or a crowd, so the court appears to be floating in space. The players scale nicely, but sometimes become pixelated and hard to tell apart. The camera follows the ball closely, making three point bombs look awesome. Simple controls make it easy to pass, steal, and shoot. Unfortunately, there's no turbo button, and you can't pass on the run, killing any fast break opportunities. Special low-post moves and thundering dunks bring a feeling of satisfaction, and I love how the players automatically crash the boards. The game is well balanced and the CPU provides a worthy challenge. Occasionally its non-aggressive style can lull you into a false sense of security just before it finds an open man under the hoop. NCAA Basketball's sound effects are sparse, limited to marching band music and the occasional referee call like "Foul on point guard!" It's not realistic like NBA Live or flashy like NBA Jam, but if you're looking for college hoops on your SNES, this isn't half bad. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

On the Genesis, NHL 94 was an instant classic, and this SNES edition is nearly as good. Some EA sports games suffer from choppy animation on the SNES, but that's not a problem here. The players move with speed and grace, and you can apply some ferocious body checks that send unsuspecting opponents flipping head over heels. The graphics are basically the same as the Genesis version, but the system's superior video quality makes the players and rink look remarkably sharp and clean. You may even notice some minor details and animations you couldn't make out in the Genesis game. The tunes are much clearer as well. Unfortunately, the crowd noise is understated to the extreme. Contests tend to be weirdly quiet, and there are times when you can hear a puck drop! This SNES version also comes up a little short in the gameplay department. Shots tend to be very weak, so you need to be very opportunistic to score goals. The fact that the scoring is so tight compromises the game's arcade style. I lean towards the Genesis edition, but on the SNES at least, you may have a hard time finding a better hockey game than this. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

Playing this hockey game today is a nauseating experience, and I can't imagine it was much better in 1993. Stanley Cup utilizes the Super Nintendo's trademark "mode 7" rotation and scaling effects to create a constantly shifting view of the action. It looks like the entire rink is spinning in outer space. The effect worked well in Nintendo's NCAA basketball game (1992), but it's not a good fit with hockey. Why? It has a lot to do with hockey's breakneck pace and constant possession changes. At least in basketball you can control the tempo to some degree and play at a more deliberate pace. In Stanley Cup, the stilted animation, pixelated sprites, and constant rotation make it hard to find the puck, much less execute a crisp pass or target the corner of the goal. You can only pass to the player with the icon over his head, and switching players on defense is maddening. The special moves look horrific, and when you perform a "hip check" it looks like you're trying to rub your butt on an opponent! That really stinks! Stanley Cup's sound effects are equally weak, with the same constipated "grunt" sounds over and over again. The lone highlight of the game is the intro, which shows an over-the-shoulder cinematic of a player approaching the goal on a fast break. Too bad you won't see anything that impressive in the actual game. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.

Nosferatu tries to mimic the gameplay of a Castlevania title, but lacks style and seems generic in comparison. The word "Nosferatu" means vampire, and this platform adventure challenges you to save your girlfriend from the original bloodsucker himself, Vlad the Impaler (the real Dracula). Most levels are a maze of castle ledges and walkways, but bosses are fought outside where there's more room. Your vampire hunter has plenty of fighting moves at his disposal, including a flying round-house, upper cut, and charge. There's a nice variety of monsters to beat up, ranging from the traditional movie monsters (Frankenstein, Mummy, etc) to some truly bizarre original creations. Inexplicably, the second boss is pair of gorillas! The game lacks tension, although there are occassional surprises like falling corpses and hands that grab you from under the floor. Too many traps litter the later levels, and if you don't fall into a spiked pit on your own, you're likely to be pushed into one. In terms of graphics, the creatures look great but the castle walls start to get boring after a few levels. The controls are less than responsive, making it difficult to enter certain doorways or get off a punch in time. The audio is weak, with sparse sound effects and music that's uneven in quality. A few of the tunes have an edgy Nine Inch Nails flavor, but others just sound goofy. Nosferatu not a terrible game, but it fails to distinguish itself in any way, making it a thoroughly forgettable experience. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

The original Paperboy arcade game was terrific, but this sequel comes off a bit flat. Controlling a boy or girl on a bike, you travel up the screen while avoiding obstacles and tossing newspapers at mailboxes and other targets. It's humorous to see what kind of chaos you can unleash, whether it's by hitting a guy working on a car (causing it to fall on him), knocking an old man off his rocker, or smacking an armed robber in the back of the head. Unlike the original game, the side of the street you deliver to alternates, and each street ends with an obstacle course of ramps and targets. Paperboy 2 is undeniably fun but very rough around the edges. Especially for the SNES, the visuals look awfully chunky and the animation is rough. It's hard to judge your position with respect to obstacles and ramps, and it doesn't help that the collision detection is extremely unforgiving. It's next-to-impossible to execute tight turns, and you'll have to contend with cheap shots from cannons and fireball-spewing gargoyles. In many cases the houses are so far off the street that you can't even see if the newspaper made it to the mailbox, and have to rely on audio cues instead. Paperboy 2 has a likeable, whimsical style that will appeal to arcade gamers, but it's not the blockbuster sequel I was expecting. © Copyright 2007 The Video Game Critic.

As one of the first SNES titles, Pilotwings probably served as much a technical demonstration as it did an actual game. It serves that purpose well, effectively showing off the system's impressive scaling capabilities. When a helicopter lifts your skydiver thousands of feet in the air, the illusion is remarkably convincing! The game offers four single-player challenges in the form of "flight areas". Each area is a flat island with a set of runways and landing pads. Some of the landing pads even move to provide extra challenge. Graduating to the next area involves completing a set of challenges and earning enough points in the process. Activities include light plane (bi-plane), skydiving, hang gliding, rocket-belt (jet-pack), and helicopter. Each has a unique feel, but they all require making fine-tuned adjustments and properly judging the landing location. At first the challenges are limited to simply flying through three rings and landing, but the more advanced levels are longer and more complex. Good luck getting past the third area! Practice makes perfect, but the game can be frustrating. I really hate when you come in for a perfect landing with the plane, only to have it bounce off the runway. Likewise in the jet-pack there are times when you are hovering right next to a ring, yet can't seem to fly through it. Pilotwings features a lot of happy, upbeat music, but some tunes are irritating, like the "blah blah blah" song in the jet-pack stage. A six-digit password is provided between areas. Pilotwings is technically impressive and mildly addictive, but I can't imagine ever wanting to play it again once you beat it. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

The Mayan Adventure was Activision's attempt to recapture the magic of the original Pitfall (Atari 2600, 1982). Graphically, this game looks beautiful, with lavish Indiana Jones-inspired jungles and underground settings. The wild animals are fluidly animated, making this look like a more realistic version of Disney's Jungle Book game. Crisp sound effects also contribute to the exotic atmosphere. The uninspired gameplay is your standard platform-jumping fare, with each level ending with a boss. You can swing on vines and climb ropes, but there isn't anything here that we haven't seen before, including "leaps of faith" you're sometimes forced to take. Most of your adversaries are tiny, annoying creatures like bats and monkeys which regenerate as fast as you can kill them off. The control are erratic, and too often I found myself slipping off ledges. But instead of plunging to your doom, you're sent way back to repeat the last section (I'm not sure which is worse!) Mayan Adventure's confusing level design necessitates the use of gold idols scattered throughout the game which literally point you in the right direction. There is no save function, just a few continues. Perhaps the coolest feature is the Atari 2600 Pitfall hidden somewhere in the game. Despite its fancy graphics and sound, Mayan Adventure really only succeeded in making me want to go back and play the original Pitfall. © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.

This shooter/adventure hybrid features anime graphics, rapid-fire shooting, and two-player simultaneous action. Pocky and Rocky (P&R) sounds like a classic gamer's dream, but boy is this game hard! I'm glad you can set the difficulty to easy, because at least that gives you a fighting chance! The game stars two cute, chubby characters: a karate chick named Pocky and her raccoon friend Rocky. The long, boring intro only displays about two words at a time, so don't feel bad about skipping that. P&R's overhead perspective is much like Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1992), and the graphics are pleasing to the eye. Whether you're wandering through a haunted temple or enchanted forest, the colors stand out and the degree of detail in the scenery is commendable. Nicely animated enemies include playful monkeys, bone-tossing skeletons, hopping fish, sea chickens (huh?), and bouncing umbrellas. Tapping the fire button lets you toss magic cards (or leaves) rapidly. You can use you stick (or tail) for close range attacks, and this move is also useful (critical really) for swiping away projectiles. The game is clearly designed for two players, but that introduces slow-down and higher difficulty, so I prefer playing solo. As with most anime titles, the tone is always whimsical and sometimes just plain weird. I find it amusing how the first boss greets you with the text "Ha Ha. I am your adversary." The background music has an oriental flair that's appealing. Pocky and Rocky is a little boss-heavy, with several appearing in each stage. It's no walk in the park, but its inviting visuals and non-stop action make this adventure enjoyable enough. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

I remember being so excited about getting this game, mainly because it looked so cool. Released when one-on-one fighting mania was at its peak, this dinosaur brawler made a pretty big splash. I remember seeing this at a local sub shop (Mr. G's), and I could not take my eyes off of it! Besides a variety of dinosaurs, you can also play as one of two big apes, who look freakin' awesome. Although the creatures are actually 2D, they have a 3D, stop-motion look to them. The jaw-dropped backgrounds give the game a surreal atmosphere, ranging from exotic waterfalls to post-apocalyptic cities to gigantic glaciers. The sound effects and jungle music are outstanding as well. If only this game played as well as it looked! But especially in this SNES version, the animation is so choppy that it's hard to tell what's going on. Worse yet, the collision detection will often register hits that never occurred. And while cool in concept, the ability to eat spectators to gain life is simply too difficult to execute to be a factor. Primal Rage is probably worth trying for its presentation alone, but don't expect much replay value. © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.

It was a fairly presumptuous of Motown Games to place "Volume 1" in the title of this, as if they were certain it would be a runaway success. It wasn't. The idea behind Rap Jam Volume 1 is that you could play basketball as your favorite rap stars (circa 1994). There are some big names here, including Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo, and Coolio. Unfortunately, the players on the court look nothing like the rappers they're meant to portray. Queen Latifah in particular has never been as tiny or skinny as that mini-skirted babe running around the court! Rap Jam's gameplay isn't bad because it's modeled after the fast-paced NBA Jam. There are plenty of rim-rattling dunks and a handy shot meter that makes it fun to sink jumpers. Up to four players can complete, and there's a nice selection of outdoor courts. It's the controls that hold this game back. There's simply no way to rebound the ball, so you'll have to wait for the ball to come down after a missed shot. Lame! The passing controls are confusing, and the "Xtra" button is a poor substitute for turbo. There are no three-pointers in the game, despite having a three-point line. And since when is double dribbling legal? It had a few things going for it, but don't hold your breath for Rap Jam Volume 2. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

I'll be the first to admit that my original review of Rival Turf was entirely too harsh. Evidently my bias for Streets of Rage got the best of me. Rival Turf may be a poor man's Streets of Rage, but hey - it's at least as good as the Final Fight games. The unintentionally hilarious box cover shows two young teenagers trying hard to look tough. The game itself is a generic side-scrolling brawler that lets you clash with criminal clones in different colored outfits. The predictable cast includes martial artists, skinny freaks, and the obligatory fat guys who attack with a belly flop. There's also a muscleman named Arnold who looks a lot like your favorite Terminator. You can choose between two playable characters - the brawny Oozie Nelson and the more agile Jack Flak. I would definitely recommend Jack because Oozie is just too damn slow (his bodyslams feel like slow-motion!). There aren't many weapons lying around, but occasionally you'll find a brick or rock to throw. Some enemies toss sticks of dynamite, but their explosions are awfully wimpy. Rival Turf's gameplay is uninspired but still fun thanks to responsive controls that let you easily dish out the whup-ass. Throwing one enemy into others is especially effective, and I like how they all land with an emphatic thud. Holding a shoulder button is supposed to let you run, but instead it looks like you're walking really fast. Pretty cheesy! Another odd (and annoying) aspect of the game is the pronounced delay between the time you hit an enemy and when the damage is reflected in his life meter. It can be confusing. I enjoyed most of the urban scenery (like the bus ride), but a few areas are boring (like the locker room and parking garage). You'll see some nice city skylines, but in later stages the action moves south of the border where the scenery is exceptionally bland. The mediocre audio features repetitive tunes and muffled sound effects. The two-player mode exhibits some slow-down, but the single player action is highly playable. Rival Turf is as derivative as they come, but if you're okay with that, you'll have a good time. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

Robocop Vs. Terminator is a well-crafted blend of simple, old-school gameplay and cutting-edge 16-bit graphics. I was also intrigued by the cartridge's black molded plastic case, which looks pretty awesome (from the front anyway - the back is cardboard). The game's unlikely premise has Robocop's mind being used to make the Skynet computer "self-aware". After the ensuing nuclear holocaust, Robocop reconstructs himself with the purpose of destroying Skynet. It's far-fetched as hell, but I like how the story is conveyed using comic-book style cells (the text is a little slow though). You're in control of Robocop throughout the game, and he's a hulking figure with a clanking walk that conveys a sense of mass. Your oversized weapons include plasma guns and rocket launchers, and thankfully you can't run out of ammo! Fine-tuned controls let you jump onto ladders, fire while climbing, and move hand-over-hand with ease. The action begins on the mean streets of Detroit as you blast stereotypical thugs and females in sexy outfits. It seems strange to mow down so many women and hear their bloodcurdling screams. Terminators make their first appearance about two stages into the game, and these things can absorb an incredible number of shots! The game adds a few wrinkles to the run-and-gun formula with bad guys that take cover and distant figures that launch rockets into the foreground. Enemy projectiles move very slowly (almost comically so), so even if you can't shoot them down, you can usually outrun them. You'll blast your way through a construction site, a research facility, an abandoned building, a Terminator factory, and a downtown area with a killer skyline. Breaking up the monotony is a first-person shooting sequence not unlike the sandspeeder stage in Super Star Wars (SNES, 1992). For bosses you'll face a massive terminator "tank" and an amazing hologram face composed of electrical charges. The game's ominous, bass-heavy soundtrack is appropraite but not particularly memorable. Robocop Vs. Terminator's main flaw is the preponderance of cheap hits, including falling girders at the construction site and twirly-bird things that emerge from the floors of the factory stage. Robocop Vs. Terminator is a terrific way to let off some steam, and a handy four-letter password lets you save your progress. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.