Games in this post:
-Super Soccer-
-Super Wagyan Land-
-Lemmings-
-D-Force-
Well, it's time to get back on the horse. I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season and the new year is starting off well. I'm going to try and change things up a bit, by covering fewer games per post, but covering at least some of them in more detail. I'm hoping this will translate into more frequent, and hopefully more interesting, posts. Anyway, we're still in December, 1991 on our timeline so let's get to it, shall we?
Super Soccer - Bend it like Nintendo
Developer:
Human Ent.
Publisher:
Human Ent. (JP)
Nintendo (US)
Released:
12/13/1991(JP)
May 1992(US)
I will probably start every soccer game review by saying I know next to nothing about soccer. I do know a bit about video games though, and as far as that goes, This is the better of the two soccer games released on the SNES. World League soccer might have been a good sim on PC's back then, but Super Soccer is much better suited to the console crowd. The Mode 7 ability of the SNES is put to good use, allowing an on-the-field viewpoint rather than a birds eye view so high you might see the Goodyear blimp go by underneath. The lower view also means larger and more detailed players. They all look the same aside from different uniforms, but the sprites and animations look good.
The actions you can do cover the basics. on offense you can pass or shoot, or pass to a selected player. It takes some getting used to and having pass and shoot be the same button can be annoying, but it works. Defensive options are a body check or slide tackle. You can play an exhibition game with one or two players, or play a tournament mode. There are no official teams or real player names, which was probably a bigger deal in other countries than it was in the US, since soccer was just starting to gain in popularity at the time. The different teams have skill ratings that give you an idea of how difficult the team will be to play against. Apparently the developers didn't think very highly of Belgium's team in 1991. Overall it's a pretty good effort for the first SNES dedicated Soccer game.
More info, and buying options:
My Grade: B
Worth Playing Today: If you want a playable SNES soccer game
Super Wagyan Land - Simple action with mini-game bosses
Developer:
Namco(JP)
Publisher:
Namco(JP)
Released:
12/13/1991(JP)
So here we have another game that never came to the states. Super Wagyan Land is an action platformer with a twist. You play as a little dinosaur/dragon that can jump and shout Japanese characters to attack and stun enemies. Rather than having to fight bosses though, the player must beat them in a variety of minigames. Since they all require the ability to read Japanese, I wasn't able to get very far. The game must have seen a fair amount of sales in Japan, as it's available for both the Wii and Wii U virtual consoles. The graphics are bright and colorful, and the more complex courses look like they would have a variety of challenge. Oddly, most listings online call it Wagyan Land even though in the game it is Wagan.
More info:
My Grade: N/A
Worth Playing Today: N/A
Lemmings - Mindlessly walking straight into your heart
Developer: Sunsoft
Publisher: Sunsoft
Released:
12/18/1991(JP)
March, 1992(US)
Lemmings is an addictive action puzzle game where the goal is get as many of the games titular creatures to the exit of each level as possible. One their own, the little blue-haired fellows won't do much. If left alone they'll just walk until they hit a wall, or fall off a ledge into the water, or into a furnace to be burned to a crisp, or under a weight where they'll get squished, until you've got none left. Your job is to keep as many safe as possible while assigning a variety of jobs to some of them in order to create a safe path to the exit. Jobs range from diggers and miners, to climbers, builders, floaters, and blockers.
These are your tools, use them wisely.
Levels come in a variety of environments, each with their own hazards. Most levels also have more than one solution. You could, for example have a lemming dig down and then tunnel through a hill, or have him build a ramp so the others can go over the top. Levels start at a rating of Fun, and then go on to Tricky and Taxing, basically the Lemmings version of easy, normal, and hard. Thankfully there are passwords for each level, as it is very easy to miss an ability placement and lose a level. The game gets progressively more complex, allowing fewer and fewer mistakes. Of course, that also means levels get more rewarding to complete. This does bring up my only real gripe with the game. A precision is required that is sometimes hard to get with the D-pad. Lemmings was originally for the Amiga PC and designed for the mouse. If only Mario Paint had come out first, then the SNES mouse would have been perfect for this.
Considering how few pixels make up a single lemming, there is a surprising amount of character to these little guys. Green hair flips up and down as they walk. Builders shrug their shoulders when they are out of bricks. Lemmings grab their heads before they pop when you unfortunately have to make one an exploder, or even more unfortunately, when you have to nuke a level. These little details serve to make you really want to save as many lemmings as possible. I always hate having to lose those brave lemmings that get stuck being blockers.
Overall, if you can't already tell, I found Lemmings to still be an impressive game. The levels force you to continually change your strategies and the developers really nailed that "just one more level" feeling. The only thing keeping me from saying it's a must buy for SNES owners is the fact that PC versions exist, and are much easier to control.
More info, and buying options:
My Grade: A+
Worth Playing Today: Yes, this puzzler holds up exceptionally well
D-Force - Because using a helicopter makes it totally different
Scrolling Shooter
Developer: ISCO
Publisher: Asmik
Released:
12/20/1991(JP)
Dec. 1991(US)
D-Force is a vertical scrolling shooter where you pilot a high tech helicopter against a variety of enemy vehicles and monsters. The full name of the game as it was released in Japan is Dimension Force. I'm not sure why they shortened Dimension to just D for the US version. It certainly makes more sense the original way. If you just play the normal mode you play a level with enemy planes and tanks, then the next one has dinosaurs. Apparently your chopper has dimension-hopping abilities, or maybe it's time travel but T-Force didn't sound as nice.
From a gameplay perspective, D-Force is an odd mix. The levels under the "Exploration Mode" set have a nicely done mechanic of going up or down in altitude. You can use it to avoid danger, or go for more kills and a higher score. The mixture of level types is also refreshing. That's where the new ideas end though, which wouldn't normally be bad for a shooter like D-Force, but there are some issues that keep it at an OK shooter instead of a good one.
The biggest problem is that there is no weapon variety at all. There are upgrades to collect but it's always the same progression. Pair that with no special bombs or anything else to collect, and the game becomes monotonous pretty quickly. The other issue is that the hit box on your chopper seems to be the wrong size. Games like this require a lot of precision movement, and seeing your vehicle blow up from something that is still ten pixels away can be very frustrating. Graphics and sound-wise the game is good enough, there are just too many basic mistakes for the fresh ideas to make up for.
More info, and buying options:
My Grade: C
Worth Playing Today: No
Thanks for checking back in after such a long break. I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know either way in the comments. Happy gaming, and God Bless!
