About this Site

Hi everyone. I’ve played, reviewed, and documented my thoughts about every game that was released in North America during the 16-bit era. That’s 716 Super Nintendo, 704 Sega Genesis, and 95 TurboGrafx-16 games, for a grand total of 1,515 fourth-generation titles.

My goal in reviewing all these games was to create an ordinally ranked, best-to-worst list of every 16-bit game.

The reviews are full of typos and incomplete sentences, but I don't care. The notes are simply gravy on top of the scores assigned to each game.

Some Background

Project Scope - This page explains the scope of the project, including a breakdown of all noteworthy games that were included or excluded. 

Methodology - Here's an explanation about the methodology I employed when reviewing and grading each game and how I assigned each game an overall score.

Who Am I? - In case you want to know more about the author.

Sortable Lists

You can explore the reviews in three different ways: by scrolling down on this page (not recommended), via the labels in the right nav, or by viewing the three pages linked below. Each page includes a table where you can sort or filter the list of games by Title, Score, Publisher, and Year.

All SNES Games
All Genesis Games
All TurboGrafx-16 Games

Please enjoy one man's fully formed opinion of the fourth-generation of video game console libraries.

Zico Soccer for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zico Soccer

RTS soccer

Genre: sports - soccer

Publisher: Electronic Arts Victor

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

This is ostensibly a simulation game, but rather than picking strategies or doing anything like a turn-based game, this one has you using a cursor to play some sort of RTS gameplay. Whoever has the ball obeys your command (more on that later) and will otherwise do absolutely nothing. So yeah, your job is to micromange the guy with the ball using a mouse cursor. Instead of, yaknow, micromanaging the guy with the ball using the d-pad like every other normal soccer video game. This would all be tolerable if pressing buttons actually did something but alas that isn't the case. It's impossible to make your guy do what you want to. It's truly awful.

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Fine, it's got the modes, but the gameplay is so awful that I can't give it any credit here. If there was some configuration to change the controls then fine, but this is terrible.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Looks and feels like a FIFA title with all the licenses to boot.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

Looks ok, but the viewport is so tiny.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Some rocking menu tunes

Overall Score: 18

Review ID: 1967

Zero4 Champ RR-Z for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zero4 Champ RR-Z

Another 9 seconds of gameplay

Genre: racing - simulation

Publisher: Media Rings

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 17

Review ID: 1966

Zero4 Champ RR for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zero4 Champ RR

9 seconds of gameplay

Genre: racing - simulation

Publisher: Media Rings

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

It's a drag race, so the gameplay loop is less than 10 seconds long. The controls are awkward because you have to hold down on A for the gas and simultaneously push in the clutch with Y, shift with the d-pad in the gearbox, and never let up on the gas. Whoever has the bigger engine and better dexterity will win, and of course the computer will destroy you every single time. So... yeah that's the game.

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Two modes: Story and VS. Story is unplayable unless you know Japanese, so thankfully the verses mode can be played by one player. However, there's not much to the mode. You just play one race and it ends.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Ok presentation

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 17

Review ID: 1965

Zenkoku Koukou Soccer 2 for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zenkoku Koukou Soccer 2

Plays better but still not readable

Genre: sports - soccer

Publisher: Yojigen

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Significant improvement over the original. You can run around, pass the ball, play defense, and score a goal every now and then. Good stuff.

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Just like the original, there's so much Japanese to read that you'll have no idea how to navigate the many, many menus.

Theme Score: 1

Theme Notes:

Less arcadey than the first game. More stuffy

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

Tall, small, spindly sprites. Again, terrible menus.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Ok music

Overall Score: 44

Review ID: 1964

Zenkoku Koukou Soccer for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zenkoku Koukou Soccer

I hope you know Japanese

Genre: sports - soccer

Publisher: Yojigen

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 1

Gameplay Notes:

Good luck getting the ball to the other side of the pitch. Ugh, yeah it's one of those games. Utterly impossible, which is a shame because it actually controls well. But the opponents swarm you and run circles around your slow players.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

It's got the modes, but since everything in Japanese they're hard to find.

Theme Score: 1

Theme Notes:

Way too much Japanese. Still, the game looks very arcadey.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Nice chunky sprites with good animation. The menus look awful, but the game looks good in motion.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Great music and sound effects

Overall Score: 33

Review ID: 1963

Zen Nihon GT Senshuken: Hyper Battle Game for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Zen Nihon GT Senshuken: Hyper Battle Game

Turn here. Here? HERE!

Genre: racing - overhead

Publisher: Banpresto

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

As good as it gets with an overhead racer. Fast acceleration, responsive movement that doesn't require too much correction, a weighty feel to the controls, nice arrows indicating what upcoming turns look like, and good physics for bumping the walls and driving offroad. It's all very forgiving, but rewarding to get good at. The only thing missing is a HUD with a map.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

Only two modes - Story/GT and Time Trial. Unfortunately, the only way to race against other racers is in GT and it's hidden behind multiple warm up races and layers upon layers of menus. I played for 30 minutes and never did get to play an actual race. I only know it exists because of the demo video from the title screen. There are only 4 tracks! Four!! I don't see this game having much replayability.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Lots of Japanese text. It's hard to recommend this as a competitive racing game since you need to know Japanese to play the GT/Story mode. But this works well as a time trial only, driving simulator. There are real-world drivers and realistic headshots of people all over the menus. It has an authentic, real-world feel to it.

Art Style Score: 5

Art Style Notes:

WOW! I'm shocked that this is running on an SNES. It looks simply incredible. The framerate, in particular, is blazing fast and helps to convey a tremendous sense of speed. The car sprites and are detailed and feature amazing animation. This is easily one fo the best looking 16-bit racing games ever and beats a lot of the next generation's titles as well. Simply stunning.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Terrible music. It's high-pitched and shrill. The menu theme drove me absolutely nuts. No music plays while racing, and thankfully the sound effects are perfect. Mute the game while in menus and then unmute while racing.

Overall Score: 66

Review ID: 1962

Yuu Yuu Hakusho Final: Makai Saikyou Retsuden for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Yuu Yuu Hakusho Final: Makai Saikyou Retsuden

What is this? A fighting game for ants?

Genre: fighting - 1v1

Publisher: Namco

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Thirteen fighters. Fast movement but short reach because your sprites are so tiny. I could only find one special move per fighter and the balance was awful. A few fighters are so OP it's not even funny. Still, the movement is decent so it's not a terrible game. Just a boring, by the numbers SF2 clone.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Story, tourney, and 2P VS modes.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

I don't know anything about Yuu Yuu as a manga or anime, so it's just bunch of angry looking teens and some big hair rock band baddies. I guess there's a demonic look, almost like Ninja Garden, but with no English translation I don't know what's going on. And there's a lot of text and menus.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

Embarrassing graphics. This looks like a 1991 title rather than a late 1995 release. The sprites are miniscule! Sure they animate decently well but they're like bugs jumping around the screen. They've got so little detail! Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but this is some awful pixel artwork. The backgrounds fare much better tho they again don't compare to games of the same era. Even the cutscenes look more like an NES title than, say, Metal Warriors. Poor work all around.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Ok music that won't win any awards. All tracks have the same fast beat but also have this weird pipe organ spooky sort of sound interspersed, along with what I can only describe as an underwater xylophone. It's not a terrible soundtrack by any stretch but the sample sounds used leave much to be desired.

Overall Score: 57

Review ID: 1961

Yuu Yuu Hakusho 2: Kakutou no Shou for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Yuu Yuu Hakusho 2: Kakutou no Shou

Yu Two?

Genre: fighting - 1v1

Publisher: Namco

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

At this point I feel like a broken record. This game features a roster of 10 fighters and fairly standard SF2-style gameplay. As with most of these games I struggled to figure out how to perform special moves. A few of the SF inputs work but I couldn't find more than one per fighter. I know there's more because the opponents spam them like crazy. Movement feels ok, although your jumps are mostly vertical. They have less horizontal movement thatn I feel they should. Unfortunately there's no difficulty levels and only four buttons. Also, a lot of slowdown hampers the experience.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Has your standard modes, minus a tournament mode. Again, the lack of difficulty settings is a drawback.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

I don't know much about Yu Yu. It's a bunch of spiky haired people. There's some variety in the character designs and the menus and players select screens look ok.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Nice sprites with ok animation. The special moves don't look very good, due to the less-than-ideal animation. The sprites aren't huge but are nice and chunky. Clean, colorful artwork with a consistent look and feel. I really like the screen shake effect when landing a powerful attack. Some slowdown

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

Good music and sound effects

Overall Score: 64

Review ID: 1960

Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ys V: Kefin, The Lost City of Sand

Zelda clone #62

Genre: adventure - overhead

Publisher: Nihon Falcom

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

Falcom finally ditched the awful bump-based combat from the previous games, but the combat here is still a bit awkward. The chief problem is that, while you can move in eight directions, you can only attack in four. This, combined with a sword that only hits directly in front of you, makes combat a struggle to line yourself up just right. You eventually gain magic projectiles, but this only introduces further problems because you must hold down on R to keep your magic meter full. This will give you carpal tunnel after a few minutes. Much better than a lot of games in the genre, but with only a couple of tweaks this game could've been amazing.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Pretty standard stuff for games at the top end of this genre, however it's easy to miss required items, plus the mostly-linear areas don't give you a lot of visual clues about where to go. I recommend a walkthrough.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Again, pretty standard stuff. You're a "chosen one" silent protagonist who's arrival has been foretold for generations, blah blah blah. Still, the NPCs have unique personalities and plotlines. I got about three hours in and didn't really connect with anything, but it's decent enough.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Lovely backgrounds and ok sprites. A lot of nice touches, including transparencies and foreground elements. The color pallete is a bit drab, however. It looks a bit like a Genesis game. It's not far off from the best games in the genre, like Zelda or Terranigma, but it lacks something. It's nice, but boring.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

A lot of nice songs, although nothing you'll be humming afterward. There's a "battle area" song that plays way too much, though. Again, it's good, but not amazing.

Overall Score: 75

Review ID: 1959

Ys IV: Mask of the Sun for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ys IV: Mask of the Sun

This Ys not a great game

Genre: adventure - overhead

Publisher: Tonkin House

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Classic Ys gameplay, for better or worse. Mostly worse, in my book. The super weird combat is the main downside here. You walk into enemies but can't walk straight into them. Instead, you have to catch them from the side, but they swarm to you so there's no way to actually flank them, especially since the controls are only four directional. So, you have to walk into them and wildly move in all four directions and hope that you'll score a hit. It's completely random. Movement is fast, inventory management is overly simple. It plays like a very early adventure title. It's hard to believe this came out two years after Link to the Past. Still, it's nto without its charms. There's an RPG-like leveling system and a lot of grinding, but enemeis respawn constantly so it's not a big deal.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

Extremely linear, but also confusing areas. I had to use a walkthrough and even then I was getting lost.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Pretty generic stuff, with a naive king guy being misled by evil mages who help him conquer villages, blah blah blah. It's not bad, and there are a lot of NPCs to talk to, but they all look the same so it feels very generic.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

Looks like an early gen title. Maybe even a previous gen title. Basely a step up from Ys III.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

Ys is known for its music, and this one is no exception. It has some terrible tracks, like the Shop song, but most of it is easy on the ears.

Overall Score: 55

Review ID: 1958

Youkai Buster: Ruka no Daibouken for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Youkai Buster: Ruka no Daibouken

aka Jetsons

Genre: action - platform

Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

Level Design Score: 4

Level Design Notes:

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Sprites and environments from the Jetsons game are swapped out for a vaguely Japanese folklore-in-modern day setting. George Jetson and a vacuum are replaced by generic red-haired anime girl with a severed demon head. It's weird for sure, and nowhere near as appealing as the licensed US version.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 74

Review ID: 1957

YamYam for SFC

Image: MobyGames

YamYam

Star Fox meets My Neighbor Totoro

Genre: shooter - corridor

Publisher: Bandai

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 1

Gameplay Notes:

This is the most simple Space Harrier clone I've ever encountered. Enemies scale in from the distance and fire one or two shots at you. You stay on the ground unless you press up on the d-pad and enemies fire at where you are or where you're headed. The area you cane move around in is rather small, but enemies have generous hit boxes so all you need to do is mash A or B while continuously rotating the d-pad. The controls are responsive, but it's absolutely braindead gameplay.

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Every "level" is identical. It's just a stright-forward corridor with only enemies to kill and a handful of pickups to collect on the ground. There's zero variety. Even the towns are all identical, with only cosmetic differences. They wach have four huts to select, which initiates a short NPC encounter. In a few towns, one of the huts is a shop selling who knows what.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

You play as a kid riding in the pouch of a big duck that looks a lot like Totoro. There's a lot of dialogue but it's all in Japanese so I don't know what's going on. It feels like a lived-in world, and I wish I knew more about it, but eihtout a translation I'm at a complete loss.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

The mode 7 effect in the corridor is ok, but the environment is so boring and repetitive. There's nothing to look at. The towns look like a late 80's DOS adventure title, complete with NPC sprites that have two frames of animation.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Ok music and sound effects. It's chirpy and pleasant

Overall Score: 27

Review ID: 1956

Xandra no Daibouken: Valkyrie to no Deai for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Xandra no Daibouken: Valkyrie to no Deai

aka Whirlo

Genre: action - platform

Publisher: Namco

Year: 1992

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

This is an odd one. The main gimmick in Whirlo's gameplay is a set of jump mechanics. It took me a little while to figure out how they work, as they are different than any other platformer I've ever played. Hey go something like this: B = jump A = nothing A (charged for under 3 secs, then released) = jump A (charged for more than 3 secs, then released) = long "tired" animation D-pad right or left, plus A (charged for under 3 secs, the released) = High jump! D-pad right or left, plus A (barely tapped) = Long jump! Weird, right? To compound the problem, there's also a flying dash attack you can perform by pressing and holding X, but only if you first are moving to the right or left. This movement and charging tech is both unintutive and hard to execute consistently. And ultimately, it's not much fun. A few other complaints: - Fall damage (not damage per-se, but you're stunned for a long time) - One hit deaths - Simple combat - Enemies take multiple hits and are stunned for a long time - Platforming is the primary obstacle, enemies are barely an inconvenience. - Momentum based movement - landing any jump causes an almost complete stop of your momentum Despite all that, the controls are otherwise responsive, hit detection is good, and your attacks have a decent range. So it's not all bad news.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

The levels are all one big flat plane. There's very little proper platforming. Most of the platforming that is here involves repetitive and boring use of the various jumping mechanics. It's not terrible, just boring.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Cutscenes introduce and advance the story. I'm intrigued by the animal kingdom setting for the plot.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

On one hand, the sprites look fine and everything has a clean look to it, but it also feels lifeless. There's a jungle and a cave but they don't feel lived in. There's no details in the back or foregrounds. Your sprite is well animated, but annoyingly so, as you musst endure excessively long animations when stunned or killed.

Audio Score: 5

Audio Notes:

Wow, what an amazing soundtrack! It's orchestral and wouldn't feel out of place in your favorite RPG.

Overall Score: 65

Review ID: 1955

Xak: The Art of Visual Stage for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Xak: The Art of Visual Stage

LagoonYs

Genre: adventure - overhead

Publisher: Sunsoft

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 2

Gameplay Notes:

What a weird game. It plays like a very early adventure title, like one that released in 1988 (post Zelda) rather than in 1993, a full two to three years after Zelda 3. My guess is that it's a port. In any case, it looks and plays like Ys 1 & 2, or Lagoon. Movement is way too fast for both you and enemies. And the hit detection is atrocious! Your weapon's reach is also bad, so the trick is to position yourself below and just to the left of center to the enemy you're attacking. Visually this makes no sense because your weapon has a wide arch the moves from left-to-right, so you would think that the hitbox covers that full area. Instead, it's only at the tip of your sword and again, just to the right. Attacking to the left, right, or down are not advisable as the hit boxes are even weirder and harder to find. Oh, and the enemies get too many i-frames after taking damage and don't stop moving, so you have to attack, back away, attack, back away, and so on. Naturally, you get no i-frames after taking damage, but oddly, the enemy who hit you does! It's the weirdest thing ever. Suffice it to say, enemies can absolutely body you. Only play this with save states so you can avoid getting killed every few minutes by a lowly slime. There's a leveling system that requires an insane amount of grinding. It's honestly not the worst thing ever, but man is it rough around the edges.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

Classic Zelda design, but with terrible visual cues as to where to head. Instead, the game just stops you with a text wall when you try to go to an area that you're not ready for. It's poorly designed, in my book.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Typical "chosen one with a famous dead father" narrative. The NPCs give the game some welcome character.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

A step below Lagoon and a country mile below Zelda and comparable topdown adverntures. The only thing that looks "good" are the avatar profile pictures of the NPCs. These look like those in the Shining series.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Much of the music is fast-paced, which gets annoying while grinding in the same area for a long time. I like that the tracks are long, but their composition isn't great.

Overall Score: 41

Review ID: 1954

Wrecking Crew '98 for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Wrecking Crew '98

Panel de Pon the Platformer

Genre: puzzle - blocks

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 1998

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 1

Gameplay Notes:

Match 3 where you can move rows horizontally. However, the blocks are walls of bricks. In order to use them you must smash them with a hammer, which requires you to run around, jump, and smash them like any good platformer. This takes forever! And moving the rows is just as cumbersome because you have to platform your way to the left side of that row and move it to the right until you're done. You can't move it to the left. In other words, it's Panel de Pon, but with platformer gameplay. Ugh. It's terrible!

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

I played the first stage for 15 minutes before getting so bored of the monotony than I let the match end. It's impossible! But hey, there's a 2P option, so that's neat.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Mario is a demolition man and some weird creatures are angry. Or whatever. Still, the presentation is decent.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

The Mario sprite and artwork seems just a bit off. It looks ok.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 35

Review ID: 1953

Wonder Project J for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Wonder Project J

I've got no strings on me

Genre: adventure - point n click

Publisher: Enix

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

The gameplay, such as it is, is a standard point and click interface. Mouse over an item to send Pino over to interact with it. The robot will react randomly to the item and you must teach it by giving praise or punishment. This is new and novel and even funny at times, but also somewhat frustrating. I liked it, but I generally don't care for point and click adventures.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Solving puzzles follows this pattern: raise Pino's stats in Strength, Thought, Imagination, and Feeling to a certain level, find the item that it needs and train it to use that item, and then go to the place, give Pino the item, and watch your robot solve the puzzle. I played three of the ten chapters and found the puzzles to be a bit obtuse but doable. I enjoyed the journey.

Theme Score: 5

Theme Notes:

The story is Pinocchio. Straight up. The translation makes this abundantly clear by naming the robot Pino and his creator Geppetto. The world Pino loves in looks straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie.

Art Style Score: 5

Art Style Notes:

Again this looks like a Studio Ghibli cartoon. It's a fully believable, lived in world. The animations and artwork are incredible. There's a lot of slowdown but I have to give this props for looking so good.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

The music is pleasant and fits the theme perfectly.

Overall Score: 68

Review ID: 1952

Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur

10% of 1080

Genre: racing - vehicle combat

Publisher: Human Entertainment

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 2

Gameplay Notes:

It's not a total trainwreck, but the sum of its parts don't add up to much. It's a Mode 7 racer in the mold of Mario Kart due to a few powerups which theoretically can be used to attack or defend. However, the unbelievably floaty controls negate any ability to collect these or any way to effectively use them. This game objectively impossible on anything but the lowest difficulty setting. And even then you'll be wiping out, crashing, and struggling to stay on the track the entire time. Your opponents never mess up, naturally. The best you can hope for is a track with no turns because making a turn is a mess. There's no button press to help make tight turn either. You simply have ot lay off the gas and hope that your dude will eventually go far enough in that direction. It's not a complete trainwreck, but I'll never come back to this oddity.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

There are 12 tracks and their designs aren't terrible. There are a bunch of hazards, most which knock you on your butt or make you fall into a pit. Some have branching paths which only last for a few seconds. Each track is about 60 seconds long, if you can get to the bottom, that is. There are only three modes: your standard Cup with three races per cup and 8 racers. Then there's a one-on-one race, and finally a trial mode.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

I like the cute racers. About half are humans while the others are robots, rabbits, and star people. It looks like a Sunsoft roster.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Again, the best word I can use for the graphics is cute. There's your typical mode 7 floor, but the backgrounds are huge and well drawn. It looks like a Dr Seuss book. However, you cna only see a very short distance in front of you, making the gameplay even more difficult to deal with. And the enemies don't scale well as you approach them.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

Some nice tunes which again give me Sunsoft vibes

Overall Score: 52

Review ID: 1951

Wagyan Paradise for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Wagyan Paradise

Same old, but with slightly longer platforming levels

Genre: action - platform

Publisher: Namco

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

Same gameplay as the other two

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

The platforming levels are considerably longer and more interesting. Not good, mind you.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Lovely graphics

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 25

Review ID: 1950

Ushio to Tora for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ushio to Tora

Splatterhouse + Musya + Alien Soldier

Genre: action - hack n slash

Publisher: Yutaka

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 1

Gameplay Notes:

You've got a weak straight-forward attack with ok reach, but a tiny hitbox. You can double jump and perform a sweeping attack, but only if you're moving forwardwhile jumping. This opens you up to taking damage so it's a risk-reward gamble that you'll lose pretty much every time. Enemies float around and their elevation changes constantly which makes it incredibly difficult to hit them. And they hurt you, even when they've just been hit, so you're constantly being hurt by them. It's the standard i-frame, stun lock issue. Enemies take SO many hits!! Thankfully, the bosses have a health bar, but even small enemies (there aren't many of them) take 15-20 hits and don't have a health bar. Health pickups are few and far between, even on Easy, and your health doesn't replenish between battles. Enemies swarm after you, putting you on the defensive at all times.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

A never-ending series of boss fights. Reminds me of Alien Soldier

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Another proper horror title on the SFC. It's a dark, foreboding setting with ghosts and ghouls spawning. The language barrier makes it tough to know what's going on, although the cutscenes do an ok job of showing that demons are here to possess people.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Some really nice, gothic artwork reminiscent of Splatterhous. The monsters all have nice designs, although some of the sprites and projectiles look silly. Overall it's not visually arresting, but unique on the system.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

The music doesn't fit the theme. It's too upbeat and lightweight. I want a slower, more haunting vibe. And the sound effects are generic and not as blood soaked as they ought to be.

Overall Score: 40

Review ID: 1949

Undercover Cops for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Undercover Cops

How did this not come out in USA?

Genre: action - beat em up

Publisher: Varie

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 4

Gameplay Notes:

Fast movement. Great hit detection. Accessible due to difficulty levels that are true to their names - easy is easy. Three playable characters - martial artist, blond bruiser, fast girl. Satisfying combat with lots of grab and throw attacks.

Level Design Score: 4

Level Design Notes:

Mostly standard fare, but good for the genre. A few interesting elements like a level on a collapsing bridge which you can throw bad guys off Double Dragon style.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Excellent presentation. Level intro and outro screens. Has a Mad Max vibe in the character models.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Has that Irem look. Looks like Weaponlord or an early Neo Geo game. Great animation and interesting character models. Tons of animated background elements.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

Upbeat music and crunchy, satisfying sounds.

Overall Score: 79

Review ID: 1948

Undake 30 Same Game Daisakusen - Mario Version for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Undake 30 Same Game Daisakusen - Mario Version

Same Game with Mario and only one mode

Genre: puzzle - blocks

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 0

Gameplay Notes:

This is a branded version of "Same Game" with any bells and whistles removed. What's left is only the main mode with a huge screen of tiles and the same frustrating, impossible gameplay. No thanks.

Level Design Score: 0

Level Design Notes:

There's only one mode. Choose a randomly generated puzzle with the Select button and Start to begin playing.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

The tiles are Mario characters and items but otherwise it's a blank slate with music, sounds, and menus that doesn't match.

Art Style Score: 2

Art Style Notes:

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 8

Review ID: 1947

Umihara Kawase for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Umihara Kawase

Bionic Commando meets Dora the Explorer

Genre: action - platform

Publisher: TNN

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Quite possibly the most original movement tech in a platformer. You have a short jump, thankfully, and can ledge grab and climb cliffs, but the real innovation is a grappling hook that's equal parts Bionic Commando and Getting over it with Bennett Foddy. That is, it's an awesome idea with amazing physics, but man is it frustrating to use! You can do some impressive things with your hook, like swinging across the screen, bouncing up to higher ledges, and hooking the far side of an edge to slingshot yourself up-and-over, or down-and-under the various platforms. And by "you" I mean someone who dedicates a ton of time to figure out the nuanced mechanics of bouncing, swinging, and reeling the line in or out. It's more art than science, and I struggled to make it work in my little brain. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that enemies appear which kill in one hit. They can be caught and reeled in to destroy them but they respawn quickly, often, and in random locations. It's quite annoying, to be honest. I'm not sure whey they were even included as the game would be better without them or their randomness.

Level Design Score: 5

Level Design Notes:

The goal is to get to the open door before the generous time runs out. The levels are expertly crafted to train, and then test your ability to use the game's core mechanic. Aside from the annoying enemies, this game is very well made.

Theme Score: 2

Theme Notes:

Your character looks like Dora the Explorer. Your grappling hook is a fishing rod, and the enemies are varoius forms of ugly fish and eels. Weird, and ugly. Oh and the presentation is not good either.

Art Style Score: 1

Art Style Notes:

Who's the monster who created the backgrounds and platforms in this game? They're hideous! The backgrounds, in particular, are monochrome, low-res landscape images. The tiles and platforms you move around on are primarily made up of checkerboard patterns. It looks more like a bad Tetris knockoff than a platformer. They don't fit the the theme at all. And to top it all off, the HUD is alwauys on screen and occupies the middle third of the screen. Right where you are. Seriously, who designed this UI?!

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

The same annoying song plays in every level, and even on the Pause screen. It's not the worst thing int the world, but I recommend muting it and playing your own soundtrack.

Overall Score: 63

Review ID: 1946

Ultra Seven for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ultra Seven

Ultra dull

Genre: fighting - 1v1

Publisher: Bandai

Year: 1993

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 1

Gameplay Notes:

Embarrassing. The first game was a pre-SF2 fighter and a launch title to boot. It was terrible, but at least it had excuses. This game has none. It plays no better than that first game and is as baffling as could be. The only effective attack I found was a jump kick that consistently connects and does decent damange, but once the opponent is down to no health their health bar is replaced by the word "FINISH". Try as I might, I could not figure out what to do after that. Consequently, they stayed alive and eventually ended the fight by getting my health all the way down. Uggh

Level Design Score: 1

Level Design Notes:

Same as the original - a story and vs mode. Fourteen playable characters in the VS mode, although they all have such a limited moveset that only a handful of them are worth using.

Theme Score: 1

Theme Notes:

Ultra who?

Art Style Score: 1

Art Style Notes:

Terrible character models. 8-bit quality artwork. Bland backgrounds with no details. The only saving grace is an excellent framerate.

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

The soundtrack sounds like a junior high trumpet player's continuous solo. Horrible in every way possible. Sound effects are minimal and barely noticeable.

Overall Score: 20

Review ID: 1945

Ultra League: Moero! Soccer Daikessen!! for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ultra League: Moero! Soccer Daikessen!!

Mega Man Soccer with quality of life improvements

Genre: sports - soccer

Publisher: Yutaka

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

So many QoL features! A directional arrow indicates where the closest teammate is and therefore where the ball will be passed. Aiming your shot works as expected, and tackling works amazingly well for both you and your opponent. The exaggerated motions make each tackle and kick hit hard. Love it. The pace is slow which makes it easier than most soccer titles.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Story, tournament, and 2P VS modes. It's easy enough to find your way around. Not quite pick up and play, but as close as these soccer games get.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Looks a lot like Mega Man Soccer or the Mario Strikers games. Your team has a couple of recognizable characters who are bigger and faster than the rest of your pawns. It's a fun, light-hearted atmosphere. Plus, there's enough English to find your way around all menus.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Cute

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

Elevator music. Yuck. It's a pipe organ with only a single layer. The sound effects are fine but muted.

Overall Score: 59

Review ID: 1944

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban 3 for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban 3

Pro Yakyuu Star, with Ultra teams

Genre: sports - baseball

Publisher: Culture Brain

Year: 1995

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

This title is a mashup of the gameplay from Pro Yakyuu Star, combined with the Ultra teams and their abilities from this Ultra series, know as Super Baseball Simulator in the US. Read my review of Pro Yakyuu Star for my thoughts.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

The inclusion of the Ultra teams bumps this up a notch.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

Overall Score: 57

Review ID: 1943

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban 2 for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban 2

aka Super Baseball Simulator 1.2

Genre: sports - baseball

Publisher: Culture Brain

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 2

Gameplay Notes:

Same as the previous game. Dumb AI, bad fielding and ptiching, ok hitting and running. And silly Ultra abilities, but only when playing as the overpowered teams.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Vast improvement in the graphics during pitching/hitting, but still poor graphics during fielding.

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

Annoying music and an announcer who won't shut up

Overall Score: 48

Review ID: 1942

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Ultra Baseball Jitsumeiban

aka Super Baseball Simulator 1.1

Genre: sports - baseball

Publisher: Culture Brain

Year: 1992

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 2

Gameplay Notes:

Fielding is a chore due to no shadow or other indicator of the ball's trajectory. Good luck catching a popup or even fielding a grounder. Hitting and movement on the base paths is fine. Pitching is pretty standard fare also. Stupid AI. The pause menu suggests that there are extra abilities, like a Hyper Throw or Rocket Jump, but I couldn't figure out how to do these. And there's no equivalent when batting or running, except when using the Ultra teams. Those Ultra teams are this game's only saving grace. The abilities make for a few fun laughs and their upgraded stats make them horribly overpowered which is also fun for a few minutes. But the core gameplay is still bad.

Level Design Score: 3

Level Design Notes:

Exhibition and Season. You can pick the number of innings right from the start. And while in game you can put the shift on.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

Licensed by the Japanese League but you also get Ultra teams with special abilities. Love that mix of real and OP.

Art Style Score: 1

Art Style Notes:

Truly awful graphics, especially while fielding. Avert your eyes.

Audio Score: 1

Audio Notes:

The music gets old quickly but the real problem here is a drum line that plays every 30 seconds or so with an ear piercing cymbals sound.

Overall Score: 43

Review ID: 1941

UFO Kamen Yakisoban: Kettler no Kuroi Inbō for SFC

Image: MobyGames

UFO Kamen Yakisoban: Kettler no Kuroi Inbō

The Noodle Man cometh

Genre: action - beat em up

Publisher: Den'Z

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 2

Gameplay Notes:

Super repetitive. Only three moves - punch, dash kick, and jump kick. Enemies run around so quickly that the jump kick is completely useless. The dash is effective but weak. Besides, the enemies are so braindead that punching is the best way to dispatch them. They rarely even attack making the game painfully easy. Movement is fast enough.

Level Design Score: 2

Level Design Notes:

Standard stuff. Very long levels with a quick boss fight at the end. The locales change frequently which is fun but the levels have no actual variety.

Theme Score: 3

Theme Notes:

One long meme. You're a mascot for a ramen noodle company called UFO. The world you're walking around is full of normal people who watch you beat up foot soldiers who look like the Blues Brothers and a variety of food related characters. The game doesn't lean into it's obviously silliness as much as I expected it to, or as much as Pepsiman did, but it's still unique.

Art Style Score: 3

Art Style Notes:

Surprisingly good. But the backgrounds look much better than the sprites which are repetitive and lack detail and animation. There's a huge and mostly useless HUD that takes about 20% of the screen.

Audio Score: 2

Audio Notes:

The music is goofy, but definitely not something I want to listen to for long. Muted sounds.

Overall Score: 43

Review ID: 1940

Uchuu Race: Astro Go! Go! for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Uchuu Race: Astro Go! Go!

F-Zero on the back of a dolphin

Genre: racing - arcade

Publisher: Meldac

Year: 1994

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Mode 7 racer similar to F-Zero. At first I thought it was a Mario Kart clone but no, it's F-Zero. The name of game is to avoid hitting the walls at all costs, as losing your momentum will absolutely end your race. As such the difficulty is very high, despite having decent controls. It plays more like RC Pro-Am than F-Zero, where the camera is fixed behind you. Here the camera is fixed so turns and even loops are achieved while the camera remains in a fixed position. This means it's critical to memorize the tracks and watch carefully for the arrows that are thankfully on the ground. Overall it's good but a bit awkward of a control scheme.

Level Design Score: 4

Level Design Notes:

Stages exhibit a ton of variety. Each has a different challenge and adds a mechanic like speed boost pads, endless pits, escalators, jump pads, etc. It's good stuff, for the most part.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

An eclectic set of playable characters, including a dolphin, a robot, a skeleton, or a bat, with a female and male version of each.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Impressive graphics, although the camera is kind of high-centered ratehr than down low like in F-Zero and most racing games. This makes some turns come up on you fast. You get used to it, but I wish I could toggle between this and a lower view. But yeah, great framerate, bizarre but well drawn sprites, and very pastel, colorful backgrounds.

Audio Score: 3

Audio Notes:

Ok music that I wouldn't be caught dead listening to outside of the game. It fits the theme but is kind of kitschy, like something you'd hear in an episode of Scooby Doo. I actually like it enough to give it a 4 but the engine noise is so loud that it almost completely drowns out the music and other sound effects.

Overall Score: 68

Review ID: 1939