SNES Game of the Week #98 - Secret of Mana

[spanky]

A game I haven't played! Exciting! I have played Baseball Stars 2 and it's one of my favorites so I'm looking forward to giving this a shot.

[dsparil]

I really wanted to be nice since there are some positives to this game, but it very well might be the worst baseball game I have ever played. It mainly comes down to the fielding which is just awful. The view is way too zoomed in, and you barely have any control on top of that. Maybe I'm just missing something, but even reading the manual did not help. On the other hand, I'd probably hate Baseball Stars 2 based on some arcade footage, but at least it's very flashy.

I'll go D because this is probably okay as a two player game where both sides have the same disadvantage.

[excelsior]

dsparil - Yes, Baseball Stars 2 is the same. Though, honestly, I found it to be very easy once you got the hang of batting. Fielding is definitely the weaker aspect.

[retr0gamer]

I'll have to bow out of rating this one. As a European I'm genetically inclined to be baffled by baseball.

[dsparil]

With baseball, I feel like you need to have some kind of personal connection to it even if it's just memories of idling away summer days down at the local stadium watching the local minor league team. It loses a lot when you're not there in person. I'm also a little hard on the fielding here because that's what I relate to the most. I always preferred fielding over batting, and it's a lot easier to practice throwing and catching than it is hitting.

[spanky]

Even as an American, I was never a gigantic baseball fan, probably due to my city not having an MLB team but I went to a Cubs game on a warm spring afternoon once with some friends a few years back and my first thought was "oh I get it now."

Let's say this is a C. I don't think it's quite as bad of a port as many of the reviews I've read online say it is. Though I really struggle to hit anything but a pop fly or a foul ball.

[personman]

I too never really got into baseball either and despite some family members efforts I started to dislike it more lol. Even got dragged to a Diamondbacks game at the Bank one stadium and was bored out of my mind. Never liked playing it either,was a nervous wreck at bat and bored out of my skull on the field. Even when the Diamondbacks won the world series that one year I didn't give a damn, hell no one else did either after 3 days,back to only caring about football.(which I hate even more)

Anyways, my brother rented this one with the expectation it may be similar to Base Wars on the NES with the scifi setting and we were pretty disappointed. The fact you couldn't score home runs half the time really stuck in our crawl but even then with out the gimmick of Base Wars having the robot management and fights or say the goofy powerups of Extra Innings, the only other Base ball game I ever played; I just plain don't care for it.

A bit harsh but I'm going with D. I just really don't like the sport what can I say? I only really care for basket ball.

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Capcom
• Developer - Capcom
• Genre - Beat-em-up
• Initial Release - 22 May 1993
  

It's Mad Gear Madness! They're back stronger than ever and they want revenge. With a new mysterious leader they plan to dominate the entire world. This time they've kidnapped Genryusai and his daughter Rena.

Now Haggar must travel around the world to search for Genryusai and Rena. But he's not going alone. Carlos and Rena's sister, Maki, are joining the slam-fest to put the gang away for good. Search for numerous weapons such as knives, nightsticks and 2x4's or find food to recover your strength.

Choose from Haggar, Carlos or Maki, each with their own style of fighting. Or have a friend join in for double the power and crush any punk that stands in your way.

  

  

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Capcom
• Developer - Capcom
• Genre - Beat-em-up
• Initial Release - 22 December 1995

Following the defeat and subsequent disappearance of the Mad Gear Gang, a small group known only as Skull Cross is responsible for a new uprising of vandalism, terrorism and death. The government of Metro City is at a complete loss. Metro Citys mayor, Mike Haggar, and Guy are prepared to take on the new gang, but before they can act, the door bursts open, revealing Lucia, Codys old friend. Metro City is under attack! she shouts, Skull Cross is loose, and theyve got something up their sleeves. But before any of them can move, a mysterious man appears in the doorway. My name is Dean, he says. I know Skull Cross inside-and-out, and I hate them more than anything. I can help you, and you can help me. We must go! All four fighters vow to bring Skull Cross down. It will be a tough assignment, and may even be their final fight!

  

  

[spanky]

The Final Fight SNES sequels in a vacuum are great games but in full context of the series and other beat-em ups, they suffer a bit. Final Fight 2 offers three characters and co-op, which is a nice upgrade from the first SNES game but other than that, it offers zero gameplay innovations. In a universe where the arcade Final Fight does not exist, but the SNES version does, this is a fine upgrade...but in reality, it leaves you wanting a bit more. The world tour idea is kinda unoriginal and outside of the bosses, no one really changes. You're fighting the same thugs whether you're in Hong Kong or Germany. THe music is pretty bad too this time around.

Final Fight 3 fares much better. You've got four characters, Street Figher-esque special moves, SUPER moves, branching paths and even a nifty CPU co-op mode. It's honestly pretty great. However, neither game can really shake comparisons to the Streets of Rage games. This is funny because SoR more or less rips off the general gameplay of Final Fight but does it in a much more stylish, original and honestly fun manner. I have a lot of affection for Final Fight 3 as it was a very late release, and the SNES was the only system I owned and when I saw Capcom was releasing 3 high profile sequels in early 1996, I knew they'd keep me busy for a while. It's also the last game I ever really played with my Dad, as he never was a big gamer past the NES era and games were rapidly becoming too complex for him to care. I remember him excitedly asking if you could knock the tops off the female enemies...oh Dad.

Final Fight 2 is a C. It plays well but it's just missing something.
Final Fight 3 is a B. A big improvement but would have been mindblowing 2 years prior.

[excelsior]

Feb 19, 2024 20:30:15 GMT -5 spanky said:

The Final Fight SNES sequels in a vacuum are great games but in full context of the series and other beat-em ups, they suffer a bit. Final Fight 2 offers three characters and co-op, which is a nice upgrade from the first SNES game but other than that, it offers zero gameplay innovations. In a universe where the arcade Final Fight does not exist, but the SNES version does, this is a fine upgrade...but in reality, it leaves you wanting a bit more. The world tour idea is kinda unoriginal and outside of the bosses, no one really changes. You're fighting the same thugs whether you're in Hong Kong or Germany. THe music is pretty bad too this time around.

Can I just plagiarise you on this game? Just standard beat-em-up fare here and, yep, the music is pretty poor. Gonna also go with a C.

Also, your Dad would love Akiba's Trip.

[dsparil]

I'd go with a C for both. Like I said before, I'm not a huge Final Fight fan probably because I played more Streets of Rage. I want to like 3 based on what spanky said, but performance is consistent not that good which makes it less than enjoyable for me.

[excelsior]

For Final Fight 3, picking up the speed seems like something that should automatically improve the game, but it just kind of has a weightlessness to it that I just don't like. Having specials and a larger arsenal helps to improve combat variety, but it largely comes off as a wannabe Streets of Rage. I'd rather play Final Fight 1 on another platform than either 2 or 3 on SNES. I'm also going to go with a C because it's solid enough, but I think it lacks any real character or standout feature to make it truly interesting.

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Nintendo
• Developer - Rare
• Genre - Fighting
• Initial Release - August 1995

Don't wait in endless arcade lines to play--Killer Instinct comes to Super NES with action, graphics and sound that annihilates all other combat games!

Fulgore, Jago, B.Orchid, Spinal and all your favorite warriors contend in the Ultratech KI Tournament. Each combatant engages in the KI Combo Theory of connected moves and finishing tactics to destroy their opponents. With incredible displays of eyelasers, ice lancers, wind kicks, and laser blades these fearless fighters prove their battle prowess. But remember, if you lose, it's hero to zero!

  

  

[excelsior]

So, obviously we're covering this now due to it's release on NSO. I'm not a subscriber and I'm going to post through pure nostalgia. So my recollection is this kind of built on the Mortal Kombat style of play but really pushed the idea of combos and managed to differentiate itself. There's a good variety of fighters who are fun to use, but as a kid I definitely found it unbalanced. I like the character designs and the music is good. There's even a CD included - anyone remember Killer Cuts? Anyway, this doesn't fare as well as the more fluid play of Street Fighter, but it's a nice alternative for me.

Ranking - B