Destinations Reviews Index Front Page

SNES Reviews S-Z Sailor Moon Super S - Fuwa-Fuwa Panic Country: Japan Copyright Date: 1995 Developer: Bandai Publisher: Bandai Game Type: Puzzle Number of Players: 2 Size: 1 Megabyte Rating: 70/100 A simple puzzle game that isn't exactly like every other under the sun but seems dang close. If you're fed up with Puyo Puyo, Magical Drop, and all the other color-grouping puzzlers this is not a breath of fresh air. On its own merits, though, the game is okay, with colorful graphics and decent play. SD Ultra Battle Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Depth Movement Fighting Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 50/100 Basically it's King of the Monsters but with super deformed characters and without the fun of trashing a city. Very repetitive and can grow old quick. Seiken Densetsu 3 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: Square Game Type: Overhead-View Adventure Number of Players: 2 Size: N/A Rating: 90/100 If Square'd had the good sense to translate this it would have been the sequel to our Secret of Mana. It's more of the same so if you didn't like Mana you won't like this. There have been a few upgrades, though. You get your choice of six characters (you pick three), each character can be any of several classes, and there are tons of spells available. Nice graphics and beautiful music. May be worth importing. Shinsen Gokuden Country: Japan Copyright Date: 1995 Publisher: Interbec Game Type: RPG/Strategy Number of Players: 1 Size: 1.5 Megabytes Rating: 50/100 A Shining Force-style RPG starring the Gundam characters. Pretty to look at but way too sluggishly paced. The cinematic attack sequences take forever. If you don't read Japanese the vast menus will be difficult to figure out. An okay game but it didn't catch my interest. Slayers Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: Banpresto Game Type: RPG Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 50/100 Apparently Banpresto thought fans would want the same level of quality in this game that they got in the anime series. In other words, poor. The Phantasy Star-like battle scenes are merely okay, and the overhead maps are as ugly and lame as Secret of the Stars'. I'm sure the dialogue is every bit as funny as the anime's but unless you read Japanese this is not worth your time. Super Bomberman 3 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: Hudson Soft Game Type: Overhead-View Action Number of Players: 5 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 What went wrong? The graphics have actually been downgraded. And then there's the bunnies. Don't get me wrong, they're really cute, but when a player's riding one he can only perform one type of action, and the two hits it takes to kill him is one hit too many. At least five people can play now, and the music is incredibly good. SB2 is better, though. Super Bomberman 5 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Overhead-View Action Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 The animation is improved but little else has changed since Super Bomberman 3. Those damn bunnies are still here. The music is original but nowhere near as good. It's a good game but you're better off with SB3 or better yet SB2. Super Bombliss(Super Famicom) Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Puzzle Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 Yet another variation on Tetris. The pieces contain bombs which are detonated by completing a line containing them. They only affect a certain area around them, though, so you need to be careful to position them where they won't leave gaping holes in the stack. More cerebral than most puzzle games but far less addictive. Super Dodgeball Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Depth Movement Action Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 Fans of the NES version will probably have just as much fun with this one, but don't expect exactly the same game. The art style is quite different (not necessarily better) and there are a lot more characters to choose from. Nice anime cinemas. Not perfect, but not bad. Super Nazo Puyo 2 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Puzzle Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 Yet another incarnation of Puyo-Puyo. Sure, it's spiced up by cute cinemas, a puzzle mode with an editor, and a pseudo-adventure game, but it's still just Puyo-Puyo. There are virtually no differences between this and Kirby's Avalanche. Super Trump Collection 2 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Card Games Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 A collection of 10 card games, each accompanied by cool music and backgrounds. All the text is in Japanese, though, and while it is possible to figure out what's going on, it might be easier to just pull out a pack of cards. Super V.G. Country: Japan Copyright Date: 1995 Publisher: Technical Group Laboratory Game Type: 2D Fighting Number of Players: 1 Size: 2 Megabytes Rating: 60/100 If you're still willing to waste your time on a 16-bit Street Fighter clone and want one with an all-girl cast, choose this over Sailor Moon Super S or Pretty Fighter. VG's character designs and gameplay are marginally better than its competition's. That still doesn't mean you won't get bored with it rapidly. Damn, that intro's cool, though. Syonen Ashibe Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Platform Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 50/100 You play as a disgustingly cute baby sea lion that must hunt down all the items hidden in various levels and then get to the exit. Extremely easy; this game was obviously intended for young kids. Pretty artwork and passable gameplay. The music can get annoying, though. Tetris Battle Gaiden Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Puzzle Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 This game was a major influence on TetriNet. The game plays like regular Tetris but some pieces contain crystals. If you clear a line containing a crystal you gain magic points, which allow you to do attacks on your opponent. Cute graphics and lots of characters to play as. Tekkaman Blade Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Side-View Shooter/2D Fighting Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 50/100 You're at the helm of a traditional Japanese giant mech. The shooter portions are pretty enjoyable despite the poor powerup system, but the 2D fighting sequences with the bosses are awful (no better than Heavy Nova). The graphics could be better, too. Tenchi Muyo RPG Country: Japan Copyright Date: 1994 Developer: Banpresto Publisher: Banpresto Game Type: Isometric-View Strategy/RPG Number of Players: 1 Size: 2 Megabyte Rating: 85/100 Even with its limited number of enemy types this game is straining at the limits of its 16MBit cart, thanks to lots of voice samples (by the original voice actors) and character art. The animation could be better but the graphics are otherwise excellent. Perfectly balanced Shining Force-style gameplay. Easy to figure out even with no knowledge of Japanese. A little too short but fans of the series should strongly consider importing it anyway. Tenchi Sozo Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Overhead-View Adventure Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 It's published by Enix, and it's obviously a kindred spirit to SoulBlazer and Illusion of Gaia. The gameplay has been improved substantially since Gaia; your character has quite a few special abilities. The artwork and special effects are great. Well worth a look for any adventure game afficionado. Released as Terranigma in Europe. Terranigma Country: U.K. Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Overhead-View Adventure Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 The English release of Tenchi Sozo only appeared in Europe. Some puzzles that rely heavily on clues are much more easily solved with the text in English, but you're not missing out on much of a story if you play the game in Japanese. Besides, the cart has strong NTSC protection, meaning you'll need a PAL SNES or a converted U.S. model to play it. It's a good game but it's not really worth that much trouble. (European readers, get it!) Tetris Battle Gaiden Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Puzzle Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 Tetris, pure and simple - almost. The only real difference from straight Tetris is that some pieces contain crystals which you can use to attack your opponent. Not the most intense puzzle game out there but one of the most enjoyable. Traverse Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: RPG Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 A decent RPG, but it may not be too enjoyable for those who can't read Japanese due to its heavy emphasis on relationships between the characters. (There are many menu choices to be made during conversations.) The special effects don't stand up to Chrono Trigger's too well but the graphics are nice. Treasure Hunter G Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: RPG Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 90/100 Developed by Sting (no, not that Sting) and published by Square. The battle system is vaguely similar to Shining Force's, but fights move along much, much faster. Beautiful backgrounds, awesome special effects, wonderful music. As good as or better than Chrono Trigger. Square should definitely translate this for the U.S. but there's no way they will with the SNES on its deathbed. Twinbee 2 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Platform Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 80/100 Not exactly what I expected since Twinbee games are usually shooters. Still, it's an excellent platformer, a cross between Rocket Knight and Sonic the Hedgehog (very speedy). Nice art, too, although it's a bit heavy on the pastels. Umihara Kawase Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Platform Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 If you're really, really desperate for something similar to Bionic Commando, this might be worth importing. Be warned, though, that this is much slower-paced, the grappling hook is much harder to get the hang of (no pun intended), the graphics and sound are only average, and the heroine wears a pink backpack. Ushio and Tora Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Platform Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 30/100 Based directly on the OVA series. You can play as either Ushio or his demon pal Tora. Even if you're a fan (and you shouldn't be, the series is lame) you needn't bother. Poorly designed control, floaty jumps, cheap hits galore, and weak graphics. Yadamon Wonderland Dreams Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Mystery Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 A graphic/text adventure with lots of mini-games designed for young kids. A good piece of software, but unless you're trying to teach your five-year-old Japanese, I don't see why anyone outside of Japan would want it. YuYu Hakusho 2 Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: 2D Fighting Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 A passable Street Fighter clone. The moves and characters are fairly cool but I wish the character animation was a bit better. YuYu Hakusho Final Country: Japan Copyright Date: N/A Publisher: N/A Game Type: Cinematic Fighting Number of Players: 1 Size: N/A Rating: 70/100 The only game in this category I have ever played (though perhaps that's not such a bad thing). You have no direct control over your character; moves are executed by charging up a meter, then shown in cool anime-style cinemas. Visually stunning and actually enjoyable for a while at least, but the game does wear thin eventually.

Archaic Ruins is not connected or affiliated with any mentioned company in any way. The opinions of Archaic Ruins do not reflect the views of the various companies mentioned here. Companies and all products pertaining to that company are trademarks of that company. Please contact that company for trademark and copyright information. Reviews © 1997/1998 Jay McGavren. © 1997/1998 Archaic Ruins