SNES Game of the Week 118 - Clock Tower

[Snake]

Ys III:Wanderers From Ys

Great soundtrack, though Turbografx CD/PC-Engine does it best.  I rented this one in the early days of the SNES, fresh after beating Soul Blazer as a rental.  The colors, visuals, music and sound effects tugs at my soul with rose-tinged nostalgia. While not much in the way of replay value, it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend while eating a box of OJ Simpson-endorsed Pioneer fried chicken. A combination so good, you could say it fits like a glove. Not being able to overgrind for the last boss but actually beat it with skill definitely left me with a sense of accomplishment.  Revisiting it, it's still simple and early-stage grindy, but like fried chicken, it is pure soul food comfort and familiarity. I wouldn't mind owning a boxed copy, but overall graphical style and redbook audio makes the Turbografx CD version my go-to.  

Rank - B

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Toho
• Developer - Alfa System
• Genre - Fighting
• Initial Release - 9 December 1994

  


  

[spanky]

I had never played this and was pleasantly surprised by it. It's not a super deep fighting game but it's fun and the presentation knocks it out of the park. The monsters are all represented well and there's a decent amount of variety in playstyles. It does have a bit of the trademark SNES slowness...but hey have you seen how fast Godzilla monsters move? It fits. I think this almost came out in the west - I know Nintendo Power actually reviewed it and gave it a score. I would have loved this back in the day. Let's give it a B.

[dsparil]

I can't share spanky's enthusiasm here. I had never heard of this, and I can't say I really liked it either. I don't like the slowness even though it does make thematic. I can see Godzilla fans eating this up, but the series never did much for me despite seeing a lot of them. Mothra is the only monster I have a real affection for since Godzilla vs. Mothra (the 90s one) seemed to be on TV much more than any other Godzilla movie for whatever reason. Maybe it's just my affinity for the character (or realistically the flight), but that was the only character I had any success with. It'd still go with a C but higher for fans.


Here's the review spanky mentioned. The host doesn't like image embedding.

[excelsior]

Firstly, I just love the audio-visual presentation on the battle select screen. It adds a real sense of drama. The in game sprites are so well drawn, with accompanying backgrounds providing the sense of scale, although I'd still like to have the monsters be a little larger. The battle animations are a little inconsistent, with some being a tad simplistic. The combat itself doesn't have a whole lot of depth to it. I generally found myself relying on special moves, although it does feel like a decent enough to struggle to win. I would say the gameplay doesn't have the elegance of a game like Street Fighter and can come off as shallow, but as a licensed game it delivers. Presentation does enough to cover the games weaknesses for me.

Ranking - B

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Konami
• Developer - Konami
• Genre - Run n Gun
• Initial Release - 28 February 1992

In Contra The Alien Wars, take down massive hordes of aliens, robots, and monsters to stop the evil Red Falcon from taking over the world! Featuring all new levels and graphics from the original Super Nintendo hit, Contra's fast paced shooting action will keep you on the edge of your seat!

  

  

[retr0gamer]

I'm going to give it a B+ which might seem a bit low but I'll give my reasons. Firstly I don't think it's as good a game as Hard Corp or Gunstar Heroes. And while there's a lot to like about the game the music, set pieces and visuals are all excellent, there's one thing thats always annoyed me about the game. The top down mode 7 stages aren't that great. That leaves only 4 stages of quality contra action which is a little bit slight no matter how good they are.

One thing I do like about the game is that it has a hard mode that's worth playing kind of like how Gunstar Heroes difficulty levels add boss attack patterns.

[vnisanian2001]

S tier for me.

[dsparil]

I'm pretty much with retr0gamer here, but I also am not hugely fond of Contra in the first place except for Hard Corps and even that is recent. B sounds right to me.

[ommadawnyawn2]

B+

It's overall a better game than the NES ones, with better variety and bosses, more balanced weapons and I appreciate how they added a smart bomb inventory as well as a (very small admittedly) weapon inventory. You can aim while standing still, but I would've also liked an aim lock feature and some other control updates.
Like others, I don't care for the mode 7 levels much. If one or two of those were replaced with good sidescrolling or linear top down levels (Super C) it would've scored higher probably. It's a bit short already so either way it could've had one more. Finally there are some slowdown issues, and I also find the OST a bit weaker than in the other Contras of the time. All in all a very solid game that could be great with some modifications. 

[spanky]

Hey! I just played this. While it is less impressive than Hard Corps overall, this is a VERY solid run and gun. It really showed the SNES was capable of this sort of high octane action game after the a series of somewhat disappointing SHMUPs for the console (Gradius III, Super R Type). There are some bouts of slowdown here and there, but it's not bad. I think it strikes a good balance between over the top of set pieces and straight action. I remember watching the opening level on an in-store demo station with the plane firebombing the city at the halfway mark and being completely blown away I actually don't mind the overhead stages either. It's a A!

[personman]

I played through this once a long while back and wasn't too wild about it mostly due to the top down stages. Recently Retronaughts did a big ranking for the Contra series and had golden praise for this one even with that clunky mode 7 parts and its kind of making me want to go through the series now. Think I'll give it a shot this week, hell maybe I'll just grab the collection on Switch.

[Snake]

Godzilla: Kaijuu Daikessen

Rank: B-

I put this game up there with Clay Fighter, in terms of a fighting game where much of the amusement comes from the theme and showmanship.  The music, presentation, and graphics are very much of the era, and pretty cool.  I'm hardly a diehard Godzilla fan, but seeing all the old monsters with their signature moves is bloody damn bitchen.  



Contra 3: The Alien Wars

Rank: A

I loved it, and had to immediately jump on it when it was available to rent at the local video store.  Loved that the homing gun from Gameboy's Operation C carried over.  Loved that you are able to hold on to 2 different guns, and you weren't left with weakness after one death.  The challenge is just the right amount, without being annoyingly cheap or impossible.  And the homage to bringing back some last bosses from the first 2 mainline Contras are a cool touch.   Though fighting a brain makes me think they ripped of Metroid for a moment. This game gets an emphatic, nostalgic "yes" for me, and great reminder to its other contemporary games of the early SNES years - Simcity, Super Castlevania IV, Uncharted Waters, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Alcahest, Ys 3:Wanderers from Ys, etc. Colorful, bright, and exploring capabilities (Mode 7!) of a newly released console. Contra 3 is a game that I definitely revisit from time to time.

[excelsior]

I'm seeing some B's and it's all opinions of course, but for me I can't think of a better action game on SNES. Moving from set piece to set piece, with no wasted space, always introducing something new is something I always found exhilarating about Super Probotector. Perhaps, though, I've just come across the issue. I listed Contra 3 and we all know that the robots are much cooler than those muscle-bound primadonnas Bill and Lance.

I'm going with an S.

[retr0gamer]

Jul 20, 2024 6:25:11 GMT -5 excelsior said:

I'm seeing some B's and it's all opinions of course, but for me I can't think of a better action game on SNES. Moving from set piece to set piece, with no wasted space, always introducing something new is something I always found exhilarating about Super Probotector. Perhaps, though, I've just come across the issue. I listed Contra 3 and we all know that the robots are much cooler than those muscle-bound primadonnas Bill and Lance.

It needed some blast processing.
I'm going with an S.