SNES Classic Edition Purchased!

Ermagersh it's so cute!

I actually found an SNES Classic Edition yesterday!!! Surprisingly, it wasn't really that hard, suggesting that Nintendo has done a much better job of supplying than in the case of the embarrassing NES Classic, for which I'm still looking. Luckily 2018 will see a rerelease, as I refuse to pay scalpers on principle.

Unfortunately, the Cubs were on last night, so I didn't get to play it before bed. I say unfortunately because they got spanked. But hopefully tonight will be better, and I'll have a few hours of time before the game to play some.

So this will be a two part review, one posted today, and one posted tomorrow. This part will be on the purchasing experience, and the list of games posted.

The purchasing experience was actually excellent. I saw a notice that physical Gamestop locations were getting some this week, so I called two stores, and the second one had one left. I'm sure others in the area had some as well. I managed to get there in time to get the last one, but it was 3:45 in the afternoon, so it wasn't like I had to camp out to get one. So nice job Nintendo on shipping enough! The guy at Gamestop got me in and out for retail value, no stupid bundles involved, and also gave me a few Marshadow Pokemon cards to get on my copy of Pokemon Sun to boot.

I still haven't even opened it yet, so the first part will just be a review of my choice of games included in the system. I'll be rating games on a scale of 1-10, with half of the score dedicated to quality of the game, and half dedicated to necessity of inclusion. I haven't played all 21, so some of these will feature disclaimers that I haven't played them yet. This is a seat of the pants estimation rather than a purely critical analysis.

Contra III: The Alien Wars: I haven't played it, but I've heard it's good, but not great. Contra is a critical part of Nintendo's history, but I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of must haves. I'll rate this one a 6/10. It probably could have been dropped.

Donkey Kong Country: It's critical to get at least one DKC game, and this one makes sense. It's a top 5 seller on the SNES, and a superb game. I might have gone with the superior DKC 2, though, just as the NES classic had Mega Man 2. 9/10.

EarthBound: I'm a huge EarthBound fan, but this really didn't need to be included. I appreciate the love to the fans, but I'd appreciate Mother 3 more. 7/10

 

Final Fantasy III (really VI): You have to have either IV or VI here, and VI is the better game. Must include. 10/10

F-Zero: It's an iconic launch title, fun, has a great soundtrack, looks great, and fills a gap in the racing genre with Super Mario Kart. It's not perfect, but it's a solid choice no one will disagree with. 9/10.

Kirby's Dream Course: A Kirby minigolf game?!?! I haven't played it before, but it seems like Super Star is enough Kirby here. I know you're short of sports games, but there are other options. 5/10.

Kirby Super Star: I have not played this game a ton, but you need a Kirby game, and this seems the logical choice. 9/10.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: One of a few must-have-no-argument games here. 10/10

Mega Man X: Absolutely must have, no argument. 10/10

Secret of Mana: Excellent game, and fills a niche in that there are very few co-op games on the system, and no other co-op RPGs. With that being said, I could see it being cut due to its fringe appeal. 8/10.

Star Fox: An iconic Nintendo franchise's first and best outing. Must have. 10/10.

Star Fox 2: Absolutely brilliant marketing ploy appealing to true retro fans. Genius. 10/10.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts: Garbage that absolutely everyone hates. I hope Nintendo got a "buy Mega Man X get Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts free" deal on this one from Capcom. No one was asking for this, and no one wanted it. 1/10.

 

Super Mario Kart: The progenitor of a beloved series that holds up remarkably well to today. Must have. 10/10.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: A bit of a fringe candidate, but an excellent game that uses Nintendo's IP, which is why it's here. 9/10.

Super Mario World: This is the best game on the system, and the most iconic SNES game. If they didn't include it, I'd have been extremely puzzled. 10/10 (would give 11/10 if possible).

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: An average game that's worse than it's originator in every way. But they had the IP, and it's well loved by others, even if I can't really understand it. 8/10.

Super Metroid: Nintendo IP? Check. Genre defining game? Check. Absolutely beloved? Check. 10/10.

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting: An excellent port of an excellent game, although I wish they would have included Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. It's more puzzling as they got the license for New Challengers for the Super Famicom Classic, but decided to include Turbo here. Regardless, this will be more than enough, as Turbo is the one most people remember, at least here in the states. 9.9/10.

Super Castlevania IV: I haven't played this, but I've heard it's good, and you need a Castlevania game, I think. 9/10.

 

Super Punch-Out!!: I haven't played this, but the thing does need some sports games, it is a classic Nintendo IP, and is apparently quite good. 9/10.

So let's just say for argument's sake that we can cut anything below 8.0 with impunity, replace SF II Turbo w/ New Challengers, and replace DKC with DKC 2. What would be the most logical replacements for Ghouls, Earthbound, Kirby golf, and Contra? This is just purely hypothetical, not taking into account the challenge of getting any of these licenses.

Earthbound could be easily cut for Chrono Trigger, the best RPG of all time, bar none. It would have wider appeal, and is just better. They also have 3 other Square games on here, although I don't know if they needed to pay for Mario RPG.

Kirby golf goes for NBA Jam: TE. I know licensing is a nightmare with these sports games, but it's better than Ken Griffey Jr. baseball, and BOOMSHAKALAKA.

Ghouls could easily be replace with the excellent port of Turtles in Time, and also set up another excellent co-op game to go with Secret of Mana.

I can't really think of another good run 'n gun shooter on the SNES, but that's also not my genre, so I could go with my gut and replace Contra with Breath of Fire II. SNES is the greatest RPG system of all time, with apologies to the PS1, so deal with it if you think there are too many RPGs. But I honestly think EarthBound is much better than Breath of Fire II, so let's just tack Earthbound back on to improve the quality of the games.

Sneaky guilty pleasure as a secret unlock? Aerofighters! It's not just a super rare and expensive cart, it's also an excellent shooter with a bizarre visual ethos that is a joy each and every time I play it. There also are no vertical or horizontal shooters on it, as the Genesis generally had much better selection in that department.

Anyway, on the whole it's an excellent selection of games with only two headscratchers (Kiby golf and Ghouls). If you're missing even a few of these games, you'll get your money's worth on the quality games alone. Next time I'll review the actual play experience of the system itself!

-TRO