California Games II for SNES

Review #92

California Games II

Wii Sports minus motion controls or any other controls for that matter

SNES 1992 DTMC Minigame Minigame › N/a
California Games II screenshot for SNES
Screenshot used for review/reference purposes.
1 / 5

Gameplay

Controls are a mixed bag - movement is responsive but executing moves for points is horrendous. I just mash the B button and hope that sometimes it will produce something. I don't feel like I have much control over what happens onscreen.

1 / 5

Level Design

Hanggliding - WTH. I guess the objective is to score points and then land but I can't figure out how to score a meaningful amount of points. I had time to do a couple of circles for 500 points each (by mindlessly mashing buttons, mind you) and then I landed which scored me 100K. So...what am I supposed to do here? An explanation would be nice.
Jetski - The most boring lap of Wave Race you've ever seen, but at least it's playable. The objective isn't entirely clear - is there a finish line? There are no other racers so it's just you steering around a curvy course. Fun while it lasts.
Snowboarding - Remember that SkiFree game for MS DOS? Now imagine it being isometric where you only have 10-30% of the right side of the screen to work with. That's this minigame. The halfpipe in the middle of mountain is a nice change of pace but it's pretty simple. Just press B each time you reach the side of the halfpipe.
Bodyboarding - another pretty boring event.
Skateboarding - riding down a never-ending halfpipe. Fun for a few seconds but quickly becomes boring. Finally ends when you wipe out

3 / 5

Theme

Definitely some wish fulfillment.

2 / 5

Art Style

Looks and feels like a PC game that was ported to the SNES. Previous gen graphics to be sure. But there's heavy use of pleasant colors. It looks and feels like a sunny SoCal day.

2 / 5

Audio

Extremely short, repetitive music. Not terrible but I was frankly happy to turn the game off.

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