System Review: SNES Classic Edition/Super Famicom Mini

This review was originally posted on the McMurray Internet Channel website on February 8, 2019.

Nintendo followed up its popular NES Classic Edition with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition, based on the SNES, a system that is arguably even better than the former.

The system runs on the same Allwinner R16 system on a chip as the NES Classic Edition, which has a 1.2 gigahertz quad-core Cortex-A7 central processing unit, a 500 megahertz dual-core Mali-400 ARM graphics processing unit, 256 megabytes of random access memory, and 512 megabytes of Flash storage.

This time, however, the system comes with two controllers. Although, the cables are still quite short. It also comes with twenty of what are arguably the most classic games for the SNES system, including Contra III: The Alien Wars (known in Japan as Contra Spirits), Donkey Kong Country (known in Japan as Super Donkey Kong), Earthbound, Final Fantasy III (known as Final Fantasy VI in Japan), F-Zero, Kirby’s Dream Course, Kirby Super Star (known as Kirby of the Stars Super Deluxe in Japan and as Kirby's Fun Pak in Europe and Oceania), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (known as The Legend of Zelda: The Triforce of the Gods in Japan), Mega Man X (known as Rockman X in Japan), Secret of Mana (known as Legend of the Holy Sword 2 in Japan), Star Fox, Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super Castlevania IV, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (known as Super Demon World Village in Japan), Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario World (known as Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World in Japan), Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (known as Super Mario: Yoshi Island in Japan) Super Metroid, Super Punch Out!!, and Star Fox 2. The latter was completed and canceled in the 1990s, and is available for the first time on the Super NES Classic Edition.

The Japanese version of the system, the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom, also contains two controllers and twenty classic games, however, the game list is slightly different. It comes with Contra Spirits (known outside of Japan as Contra III: The Alien Wars), Final Fantasy VI (known outside of Japan as Final Fantasy III), F-Zero, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, Kirby of the Stars Deluxe (known as Kirby Super Star in North America and as Kirby's Fun Pak in Europe and Oceania), Legend of the Holy Sword 2 (known as Secret of Mana outside of Japan), The Legend of Zelda: The Triforce of the Gods (known as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past outside of Japan), Panel de Pon, Rockman X (known as Mega Man X outside of Japan), Star Fox, Star Fox 2, Super Donkey Kong (known outside of Japan as Donkey Kong Country), Super Demon World Village (known as Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts outside of Japan), Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG, Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World (known simply as Super Mario World outside Japan), Super Mario: Yoshi Island (known as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island outside of Japan), Super Metroid, and Super Street Fighter: The New Challengers.

As with the NES Classic Edition, I’ll be looking in depth at the above games in the future, and the links will be updated accordingly. But, suffice to say, no matter which version you pick up, it is a real bargain, especially considering how much some of these cartridges go for on eBay. The system is already discontinued, but at the time of this review, it is not hard to find at a reasonable price.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5

Maze Game Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition

Pac-Man Championship Edition takes the well-known formula of Pac-Man and turns it on its head with a game focused on racking up the points rather than focusing on completing multiple stages.

Pac-Man is a veritable classic. It defined the maze game genre and became the king of arcades. Its formula has been copied and refined multiple times throughout the lifetime of the Pac-Man series, with my personal favorite remaining the ever-excellent Ms. Pac-Man.

The character has also been reinvented over the years, appearing in everything from adventure games, platformers, and kart-racing games, to name a few. However, Pac-Man is always at his best when he is eating pellets around a maze while keeping away from the pesky ghosts. It's a tried and true formula, and the formula of the maze games hasn't really changed much over the years. Pac-Man gets larger in Super Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr.'s mazes scroll rather than remaining on a single screen. However, the way that the games are presented is largely the same.

Pac-Man Championship Edition changes the formula while maintaining the basic gameplay that made Pac-Man so popular in the first place. The maze stages are gone, and so too are the cutscenes. In their place are a timer and fantastic use of the fruit. The goal here is to eat all of the pellets on one end of the maze. Doing this causes fruit to appear on the other end of the maze. Eating that fruit causes the pellets on the other end to be replenished. This continues until the timer runs out or until Pac-Man has lost all of his remaining lives.

There is also an extra mode, which is my personal favorite. In this mode, the pellet gameplay remains the same, however eating all of the pellets on one side of the maze not only makes fruit appear but eating the fruit causes the entire layout of the other side of the maze to change as well. Pac-Man also quickly picks up speed in this mode, and so do the ghosts, making it much more exciting.

Pac-Man Championship Edition was originally released on Xbox 360 in 2007, so it has some modern flair. The mazes are presented in neon colors that light up when a ghost or Pac-Man comes near them. This happens while a pulsing bass line plays as the game's soundtrack. The game was successful for Namco, so it has since appeared on other systems, including the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, iOS, and Android, among others.

An even more interesting port, however, is the official Famicom (the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System) version created by M2 and a Japanese coder known as Coke774. This version uses the Namco 163 chip, which gives the Famicom additional RAM as well as additional sound capabilities. The Famicom version of Pac-Man Championship Edition uses this chip to present a game that contains the same gameplay complete with a booming soundtrack, mixed with visuals that both mimic the ports on modern systems yet contain graphics from the original Famicom version of Pac-Man as well. This is pulled off excellently and is, by far, my favorite version of the game.

With a booming soundtrack, fantastic visuals, and addicting gameplay, Pac-Man Championship Edition is the best maze game in years. Any version is well worth your time, but I'd recommend the Famicom version over the rest. It has a great blend of classic and modern visuals and makes use of the Namco 163 chip to give the game the booming soundtrack that makes the presentation so special. The Famicom version is available in Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 and is well worth the purchase price for just Pac-Man Championship Edition alone.

Final Verdict:
5 out of 5

Happy New Year

2020 was an awful year, but it did bring some surprises. We got a Sam & Max Save the World (aka Sam & Max Season One) high-definition remaster from Skunkape Games (a company registered to Dan Connors and staffed by many early Telltale developers) for Windows and Switch.

I'll be updating the reviews on the season to Mega Reviews shortly, but I'll just say now that the Switch version is awesome. It's so much fun playing Sam & Max on the go.

On the subject of Sam & Max, 2020 also brought the announcement that a virtual reality game starring the titular duo will be coming from Happy Giant in 2021. Titled Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual, the game will finally bring to life the virtual reality Sam & Max environment that was first teased in Sam & Max Hit the Road way back in the halcyon year of 1993.

Skunkape Games also hinted at a high-definition remaster of Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space (aka Sam & Max Season Two) as well, so 2021 should prove to be a very good year indeed for the dog and hyperkinetic rabbity thing.

Hopefully it's a very good year for the rest of us as well.

A Sad Update

My stepsister contracted COVID-19 from her mother-in-law who contracted it, unknowingly, during Thanksgiving. My step-sister has type-1 diabetes, her kidneys were failing, and she was taken to the hospital and was put on dialysis. 

She was in the hospital for two days, but she is now home and her kidneys are functioning again, but it's still going to be a fight. 

Unfortunately, her husband's dad died of COVID-19 a day after she got out of the hospital. So, it's going to be a bittersweet Christmas this year. 

 Please, everyone, wear a mask, stay at home this holiday season, and be safe.

Delores - A free Thimbleweed Park game and source released

Another tidbit that I missed while I was away was an awesome small Thimbleweed Park game titled Delores.

The game is available for free at GOG.com, Steam, and Epic.

The source code of the game (but not the engine) is also free to tinker with at Github.

Beyond a Steel Sky released

Beyond a Steel Sky, the sequel to Revolution's cult hit 1990s adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky, is now available for Windows.

 It is currently available to purchase for 20% off at Steam.

Visual Novel Review - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - The First Turnabout

The first Ace Attorney game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, was released way back in 2001 in Japan for the Game Boy Advance. Its later Nintendo DS remake was released outside of Japan and gave the visual novel genre a moderate fanbase outside of Japan for the first time. It has since been re-released on many more devices over the intervening years, but it still remains one of the best games in the genre.

The game was split up into episodes and was released episodically for Windows and Wii. It works well for this style of game, as each episode contains a new case that is taken on by Phoenix Wright, a young defense attorney. The game is set within a semi-fictional Japanese law system, where each case has to be dealt with quickly and can only last three days. As this game was released in the early 2000s, the official English translation tries to remove the Japanese references as much as possible and sets it in the United States instead. This leads to some disconnect with Japan-exclusive concepts such as attorney badges being used in the United States. Thankfully, however, it's not too distracting even if you do know about Japanese culture, as these can be chalked up as being part of the game's then-futuristic setting of 2016.

The first case was created specifically to give the player an introduction to the game's mechanics. Phoenix Wright handles a case where his childhood friend, Larry Butz, is accused of murder. Luckily, Wright's mentor, Mia Fey, is with him every step of the way as he works to clear his friend of any wrongdoing. In this game's judicial system, it is up to the attorneys to discover all the evidence they can, so Phoenix will need to look around crime scenes and talk to the defendant and witnesses to discover everything they can about the case.

The main crux of the gameplay comes in the courtroom, however, where the goal is to listen to witness testimony and pick apart any contradictions through previous testimony and collected evidence.  The witnesses will attempt to give new testimony that explains these contradictions, but after picking apart their testimony several times, they will eventually crack and admit to the truth.

The first episode of Ace Attorney is a great way to start the game. Phoenix Wright's mentor Mia Fey is invaluable, as she will help Phoenix through each step of the process. Larry Butz is also a fun character to start off with, as he is completely over-the-top and especially silly.  The later episodes will pack a more emotional punch, but this lighthearted first case is a fantastic place to start.

Final Verdict:
4 out of 5