So 1990 is done. Japanese gamers are busy rebuilding the world in ActRaiser and beating up gang members in Final Fight. Meanwhile in the States everyone is still stuck playing their NES and slobbering over Nintendo Power screenshots. This was pre-internet, remember? On a side note, I've heard that Nintendo Power is shutting down. I'd like to thank the staff for putting out such a good magazine all those years and wish them all the best in finding new jobs. RIP NP, you were a great memory from my childhood.
Anyway, I'm covering a whole four month span with this post. Only six games came out and it seems odd for such a long drought so early. I had never realized that it was such a slow start to the system in the East since the US launch was so full of games. I think I'm going to start something new and give these games an arbitrary and probably unfair grade, trying to factor in the time period. I'll also throw in if I think the game is still worth playing by today's standards.
Hole in One Golf - Par for the Course
Developer:
HAL Laboratory
Publisher:
HAL Laboratory
Released:
2/23/1991 (JP)
9/1/1991 (US)
Hole in one Golf is a very standard golf game. There's nothing flashy about it at all. It was also the first one on the SNES so it didn't have much else to draw inspiration from. There are a few different modes, and you can customize what clubs to take. The swing mechanic can be very touchy though, and low-power approach shots are difficult to pull off. It probably scratched an itch for some people and it did make it to the states, although I don't know why this would have been localized but not the superior golf game you'll see farther down.
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: C-
Worth Playing: No
Jaleco Rally: Big Run - It's Like Rad Racer, With More Colors
Developer: Jaleco
Publisher: Jaleco
Released:
3/20/1991 (JP)
It's kind of tough For me to give this game credit. I've never been a fan of the "time limit" racing games where you have to get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time. You could be 5 or 6 levels in and miss it by a few seconds and it's a game over screen. This game goes a step farther by requiring repairs for your car mid race. Basically though, if you need to do this there is no way you can finish in time, so the feature, while an interesting idea, breaks the game. F-Zero set the bar very high for racing games, and this one just can't reach it. That's probably why it was never released outside of Japan.
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: D+
Worth Playing: No
Darius Twin - Fighting Giant Space Fish, Co-op Style
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Released:
3/29/1991 (JP)
Nov 1991 (US)
This is a game I've never played before, and it does a lot of things really well. The easiest way to look at it is a comparison to Gradius, since most everyone knows that game. First off, Darius has brighter colors and bigger, better, graphics. It also has very strange giant fish enemies that shoot at you. I also thought it was a bit harder, especially considering that you don't lose your power-ups when you die. The only real disadvantage is that there aren't any choices for weapons or upgrades. Darius also has two player co-op. I'm assuming this is where the twin comes from in the name. It's available on the Virtual Console if you're looking for an old school shmup, especially one with co-op. Darius Twin on the Virtual Console
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: B
Worth Playing: Yes, if with a friend
Harukanaru Augusta - Golf on an American Course That Never Came to America
Developer: T&E Soft
Publisher: T&E Soft
Released:
4/5/1991 (JP)
This is a Golf game that couldn't have been done on 8-bit hardware. Harukanaru Augusta is the first game of a series of golf simulators. We did eventually see one in the US under the True Golf Classics Label. It's very well done and a better game than Hole in One golf from two months prior. I'm not sure about the menu options because of the language, but they are laid out nicely and I was able to play a few holes. You start with a nice on-the-ground view along with an overview of the hole. Instead of a double tap swing system you have a power meter and then a graphic of the ball with a dot that moves around on it to get your accuracy. It's a great system that I think works better than the usual double tap version. You get a grid preview of the green to adjust your putt, and the power meter slows down to give you better control. I was actually very impressed with how this game played.
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: A
Worth Playing: It's very good for it's time but probably not.
Ultraman - A Power Ranger Before They Were Cool
Developer: Bandai
Publisher: Bandai
Released:
4/6/1991 (JP)
8/13/1991 (US)
A Fighting game staring an Asian styled super hero no one in the US knows, where he fights against monsters from his Japanese show that no one in the US can watch. Apparently someone thought this game screamed localization back in '91. How we got this and then missed out on so many great games is a mystery to me. From a purely technical standpoint I suppose it isn't horrible. You can only be Ultraman, though, and it's only a one player game. There's a punch, kick, jump, and special button. A meter fills up automatically to use different special moves. The dumbest thing about the game is that once the monster's health is gone, you have to wait and use the highest special move to actually win. This single aspect of the game makes it infuriating to play. I'm not familiar with Ultraman so maybe that's how he had to defeat monsters on the show. One odd bit of trivia is that this is the second game to feature Ultraman as a playable character, the other being SD, the great battle. That would make him the first character to be in two games on the SNES.
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: C-
Worth Playing: No
SimCity - The Most Damage Bowser's Ever Done in a Game
Developer:
Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Released:
4/26/1991 (JP)
8/13/1991 (US)
I was wondering how this version would play now that we'll soon be into the fifth game in the series, along with all the other spin-offs and copycats that have come out, and it's just as fun as it was back then. It's a much simpler SimCity, with power being the only thing to connect, and only having fire and police to worry about services wise. With the classic doughnut block shape it's easy to set up a nice city and get it going. Plus this version has Bowser as a disaster to unleash on your city.
Game info and shopping options:
My Grade: A
Worth Playing: Yes, especially to introduce someone to SimCity
Only six games in four months? Things certainly pick up after this as Japan is about to get a rush of games coming out leading up to the US launch. Thanks as always for reading and I hope you're enjoying this little journey as much as I am.
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