SUPER PLAY CORNER - FEBRUARY / MARCH 1993

Welcome back, one and all.

 

Let's see what the news was in February / March of 1993.

First up, an interview with the creator of Bubsy, a supposedly amazing new game franchise that was getting close to its release.

 

(Click the image to see it full-size)

It's interesting that the creators had massive ideas for Bubsy. They clearly wanted him to be as big a star as Mario or Sonic, and for a while the gaming press began to think that perhaps this was an achievable goal for the wise-cracking bobcat. As we know in hindsight, Skeel's plan of an entire Bubsy universe didn't exactly pan out how he wanted it to. I'll be checking the game out in a few weeks to see how it plays in this modern day.

(Click the image to see it full-size)

The Super Nintendo C.D. R.O.M. saga continues... I think it was clear by this point that Nintendo and Sony were unlikely to regain a good enough working relationship to make this peripheral a reality. Even if it did eventually get released, it would have been way behind the MegaCD and very late in the Super Nintendo's lifespan. It was a wise decision to ultimately scrap it, but even still, I can't help but wonder what the games would have been like...

I'm almost finished Super Star Wars, so look for the next video hopefully in the next few days.

EPISODE 28

Lotsa games this week. How I play them all and maintain a full-time job, I'll never know. <_<

Here's the interview with James Higgins from Ocean that I referred to in the video. (It's a big picture, click it to view full-size)

And here's the results for this week's games:

 

ActRaiser definitely rates up there with Blaster Master and Faxanadu as excellent games that I've only discovered this year during my massive game-a-thon. Really enjoyed it. With the realisation that the year is more than half-over and I'm not half-way through my list yet, it's not looking very likely that I will actually play everything this year. (sigh) Oh well, I'll keep on keeping on. Hope you're enjoying reliving all these old games as much as I am!

SUPER PLAY CORNER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 1993 (cont.)

 

Welcome once again to the Super Play Corner. While I play through this week's games (only got ActRaiser to play through now... and I'm trying to figure it out... it's a strange one, that's for sure!) here's some news that was brewing around about the same time.

 

Here's all you need to know about the different "chips" that enhanced the graphics of Super Nintendo games, including the brand new (but mostly unknown) "Super FX Chip."

(These are big scans. Click on the picture to view it full-size)

It's interesting that before anyone even knew about Star Fox, the Argonaut guys were talking about using the chip to morph and scale sprites, which was eventually what it was used for in Yoshi's Island.

So how's your retro knowledge? Eight games were released with the Super FX (or Super FX2) chip in the cartridge. How many can you name?

EPISODE 27

A bit quicker than last time, no? ;-p

A bit of everything this week!... No one was actually expecting Home Alone 2 to stand the test of time, were they...? It was crap even when it first came out!

I've also been playing Ocarina of Time on 3DS, which is still as awesome as it ever was, but now it's 3Delicious! I'd also forgotten how non-linear the second half of the game is! I did things in a completely different order to what I usually do.

School holidays are almost over (boo!) so it's almost time to go back to the "real world." But I'll keep on gaming, 'cause that's what I do.

LINK GETS THE PORTAL GUN!

Amazing!!  :-D

EPISODE 26

It's here at last! Hope you enjoy it, and perhaps it might bring back some memories for people who've played through Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, Faris and Krile's adventure in the past.

And of course...

It's a great game. It's just not a great FINAL FANTASY game. Thanks for your patience. I might go have a lie down before starting the next wave of games...  <_<

SUPER PLAY CORNER - JANUARY / FEBRUARY 1993

Good news, everyone!!

I (finally!) finished Final Fantasy V tonight! I am genuinely sorry it took so long to play through, but I am such a fan of the series, I wanted to play it properly. (Which in this game's case, means quite a lot of level-grinding) So give me a couple of days and a new episode should be up. As much as I've enjoyed the adventure with Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, Faris and Krile, I'm looking forward to playing some different games!

In the meantime...

Let's see what was happening in Issue #4 of Super Play.

 

Interesting... I never realised that Konami went into the hardware business. Looks like they were a bit ahead of their time with the whole "wireless controller" thing. The WaveBird was the first one to really get wireless gaming right. Cables seem like a pain in the butt now.

Ah, those wacky Japs and their obsessive gaming. It's interesting that Dragon Quest V and Final Fantasy V came out very close to each other.

P.S. Amazing news! I'm in the process of planning a round-the-world trip next year (mainly the U.S. and U.K.) and it looks like I'll be able to make a stopover in Japan on the way home! Can't wait to finally see this amazing country with my own eyes and soak up its bizarre and awesome culture!

This little report is awesome for so many reasons. Firstly, that must be the first ever screenshot of Star Fox. Secondly, they haven't even got the name right! In the next couple of weeks I'll post the article that Super Play did on the different types of specialty chips that were put into Super Nintendo cartridges. It's an interesting read!

So there you have it. I love looking back at this "news of the past." Now I'm off to edit together a video. Hopefully it'll be up before long! Ciao!