SNES Game Review: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

 Nintendo and Square Enix (Then Squaresoft) made a commitment to one of Nintendo's and gaming's biggest characters in the mid 1990's.  What came of it was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.  A game that brought so much for so many people that to this day is beloved.  It inspired the remake in 2023 that also came to much acclaim and universal love.  So what does this game from 1996 do well? Was there anything they could improve on? All that and more below!

Positives:

1. I don't think I need to say graphics are a huge plus here do I when it is Nintendo and Square?

2. I also don't think I need to say soundtrack is also a huge plus when it is Square and Nintendo, do I?

3. Now to the actual analysis, the story is fantastic. The fact that you can get so many new characters involved in one way or another, whether good or evil, through this game is fantastic.  The story is deep enough to be grabbing but light enough to motor through the game easily with enough twists and turns to it to last a lifetime honestly.  It's all around just a job very well done.

4. The new characters are to be highlighted, Geno and Mallow.  They both have a skill set that can do well when needed, or they can just hang out when needed too.  Overall, Geno is the better character but Mallow can be clutch when needed and put into the spotlight with his abilities.  They were terrific additions to the game.  For the opposite side, the Smithy Gang are great villains that provide the evil for the game.  Whether its the bosses or just Smithy himself, it's a good addition to the game that otherwise may have just been another Mario v. Bowser clone.  Speaking of Bowser..

5. How cool is it that he goes from villain to comedic relief to playing hero here? It's an arc that very few characters could lay claim to, and to be honest it was one that I thought wouldn't work but Bowser makes it work here.  The guy is a tank of a character as well, so he really helps get it done for Mario and company.  But what about the Princess?

6. Also another fantastic addition to the party.  Peach's skill set really is as a healer, but she can be a good force when needed to attack as well.  She is a better healer than Mallow, but comes up clutch with her Group Hug attack that also heals the party of status ailments.  She also provides great dialogue between bosses, or Mario/Bowser or with Smithy.

Negatives:

1. Unfortunately there are a couple.  The first is the main one I had with this game.  The isometric platforming in this game left a LOT to be desired. It is the one main game problem that I have with it.  The platforming was a struggle really with most levels and areas overall.  

2. The only other issue I would say is the game played far too easy at times.  Overall, though not a terrible issue. Most other people may or may not say the same.  To me, it's a minor negative but one I thought should be noted.

Rating:

Overall, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars deserves a 9 out of 10.  I would warrant it a 10 even with the difficulty if they figured out the platforming, which is the only major negative of the game.  Definitely play this game if you can get the chance on the SNES, but with the new Switch version doing a lot of great things too, definitely play that game too!

Nintendo 64 Game Review: Pokemon Snap

 The 1990's were full of fads, crazes, and shows with almost cult-like followings.  From track suits, to the dot com bubble (and bust) to shows like Power Rangers developing huge followings, seemingly everything happened in this decade that either touched gold or touched disaster (or in the case of Power Rangers, seemingly both.) One such show that became a phenomenon with a major following became Pokemon, which to this date continues onward with shows, games, and mobile games as well.  One such Pokemon game that came at the probable height of its fandom was Pokemon Snap.  A game that features.. literally.. taking pictures of Pokemon in their 'natural' habitat.  It was popular as a game for Pokemon Gamers, but also Nintendo gamers, and it came back in 2021 with a new game, New Pokemon Snap (yes they could have used Pokemon Snap II but.. I digress.)  How does the original do for the N64? What needed to be improved?

Positives:

1. It's a quick paced game with quick paced levels.  Since the scope of the game is so limited, you can't really attract an audience well with a game that takes forever to complete.  Pokemon Snap can be done in a couple of hours and keep you wanting to complete the game fully as best as possible.  The fact the levels typically only take about 4-5 minutes each is a good thing for the game.

2. The replayability factor of the levels is big here, as you have to replay levels with different items that you get.  It's not a totally great replayable game, but the levels that you have to do are major and needed overall to extend the game's time span.  I feel they did a good job developing the game to have the levels be replayed over and over again.

3. Graphically, the game is fantastic.  Nintendo and the group that made this game did a terrific job with graphics and making this game and its levels look exquisite.

4. Same for the soundtrack, as the soundtrack is beautifully done and is exquisite as well.

5. The controls aren't too jerky, odd or anything while taking pictures.  You won't have too much issue with focusing the camera as it is already auto-focused in so you won't have blurriness like you might have IRL taking photos.

Negatives:

1. The game is very limited in scope with not much more to offer. It's taking pictures of Pokemon, there isn't much else to it.  And you had better take them well because..

2. Professor Oak's grading system has to be about the worst grading system I have ever come across in a game or real life.  if a pokemon is top-middle or bottom-middle by a bunch, you still get credit.  If it is even THE SLIGHTEST bit off center though, you are downgraded horrifically.  His grading system for including other Pokemon is also just terrible.  How did this dude allow Ash, Gary and others to determine Pokemon fate instead of a good professor?

3. With the game limited in scope, it's also limited in Pokemon.  There are only 60 Pokemon to take photos of here, well short of the 151 it would typically manage overall.  It just falls flat to have just some Pokemon and not even a majority of the beginning amount. 

Rating:

Overall, Pokemon Snap is a good-to-very good Pokemon game and a good N64 game.  The negatives definitely prevent it from being great.  However, it's popularity kept it going to the point they got a new game in 2021.  There is no escaping the road this game helped build for the future of Pokemon in America in the peak of its time.  Overall, a 7.5 out of 10 works for Pokemon Snap

SNES Game Review: Shaq Fu

 Shaquille O'Neal is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and one of America's most notable people.  The legend came into the NBA with a force and instantly was one of the biggest megastars in the 90's, helping propel the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers back to greatness.  His story off the court is well known as well, as he was a part of music, movies, and even a video game, Shaq Fu.  This game was very much critically maligned and excoriated for a number of reasons, of which may be discussed today.  However, was this game really, truly the worst game on the SNES (Quick Answer: No.) So what was a positive, if any, for this game? What were the negatives? All that and more below!

Positives:

1. The graphics in this game, even without a graphics card are actually quite good.  EA did a really good job on this aspect.  Unlike a lot of games in the fighting style where graphics were not great, this game actually was done well.

2. The sprite movements, also done quite well.  You can tell when the attack is big, and it's also fluid and well done.  The parries are also done in a good way.  Overall the movements are fluid, not too jerky and the moves and parries are good in this game.

3. If you want a quick to play, get it out of the way, type game, this is for you.  The story is not going to take you long at all, and it is progressively more difficult with all the different modes.  So it's a decent pick up and play quick game, with also a play now mode so you can just play against a different character without really jumping into story mode (Note, the Genesis version of this game has three more stages and five more characters, so it's more in-depth there.)

Negatives:

1. Story mode is just..bad. Just honest, it's bad, and it's deserving of criticism.  It's not done well at all, and done with the purpose of being quick with no good dialogue whatsoever.  It's just go place, trash talk each other, then fight. Which leads me to..

2. The fighting combat controls are just.. so bad. They are all over the place and wonky and it's just not a great thing, especially when the game is made for *checks notes* FIGHTING! Yeah.. as much as the positives brought it out, the main thing of this game is bad.  The controls are all over, it's almost impossible to set them to what you want, and the special moves are meh at best. Definitely not what a good fighting game should be.

3. The characters themselves leave a lot to be desired. They are just.. meh at best and seem to play at stereotypes of them from the 90's (which lets be honest, haven't exactly gone away 30 years later.) But overall, stereotyping aside, they just leave a lot to be desired and its just a let down. 

Rating:

This is at best a below average fighting game with it's main thing just bad.  However, this is not one of the worst SNES games, and it's far from it.  IT's below average at best, bad at worst, but no where near the terrible games like Pit Fighter, Race Drivin, Waialae Country Club and much more. This isn't even in the 100 worst categories, because there are FAR, FAR worse games.  With this game, a 4.5 out of 10 works, and honestly, it would probably rank between 500th-550th in the SNES scale.