SNES Game of the Week 118 - Clock Tower

[ommadawnyawn2]

I'm more familiar with R&R Racing as a multiplayer game and I think it's a great one, it deserves an A I think though there could've been a bit more variety in power ups and gimmicks when I compare it in more detail to SMK or RC Pro-AM 2.

I never paid that much attention to SP but I'm playing through it now (I'm at the ice planet) and it's really good as well. I didn't know rookie/easy wasn't the full game at first so that was a bit of a bummer to find out but oh well, could've looked that up. I like being able to jump ahead or stick around for 2x the amount of races on a planet, and the buying and upgrading process is fun if a bit shallow (it would've been interesting to be able to for example have both jump jets and nitros and skip one of the weapons if you wanted to). It's cool that some tracks have shortcuts and that sticking with and upgrading a worse car is generally viable.
The only big issue I have with it is how you can respawn on a slope and your acceleration (unless you really focused on engine upgrades I guess?) is too pathetic to even climb the slope from stand still so you lose a few extra seconds due to bad luck. After owning a car for a while you can counter this with nitros for the most part though. In comparison to Road Rash, the drivers could've had a bit more personality and some choices for your own driver are definitely worse than others - I think for the full game you have the choice between Snake, Jake and Tarquinn unless you want to make the game harder (and Olaf but that's cheating). I guess it is a bit drawn out too, and the somewhat short soundtrack adds to that feeling after a while. What is there is really well done though and you could turn off the music and put on a playlist of similar SNES tracks on YT instead. Such as this one. 

Overall it's easily a B in SP and I'm sticking with A as an overall score.

Edit: I guess when you're at the point of switching to the A division on a planet the game could've let you randomize the order of the tracks for the next one since if you keep skipping ahead about as soon as you have the points you'll never see the later tracks, and it's just better for variety if you play a whole planet in one sitting. But it's also easier for the player to replay the same tracks in the same order, meaning you don't have to be on your toes throughout the whole thing which could be exhausting. 

Edit 2: Well shit, Normal/Veteran isn't the full game either. Showing replay highlights for the ending was cool though. Still going with an A. 

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Squaresoft
• Developer - Squaresoft
• Genre - RPG
• Initial Release - 6 December 1992

Embark on an epic adventure as four heroes driven together by fate: Bartz and his chocobo companion, Princess Lenna of Castle Tycoon, the mysterious Galuf, and the pirate captain Faris. The crystals that bring peace and prosperity to the world earth, water, fire, and wind have lost their power and are on the verge of destruction.

  

  

[excelsior]

Remember Final Fantasy V back on the Super Nintendo? Don't worry, nobody does. It did come to the Super Famicom. Something to bridge the gap between Final Fantasy II and the much awaited Final Fantasy III perhaps? Wait? What? So, for whatever reason, Squaresoft hid the existence of a few games from the US, and well, all of them from Europe back then. Most of us didn't have the internet, although a few magazines might have brought our attention to what we were missing. Now, being from the UK, I didn't experience any of this genre back in the day. I was able to pick up and play the GBA version just when I was ready to play it. No waiting. It was a faithful port, so I don't really have a distinct opinion on the SNES vs that version.

Anyway, this game has a strong focus on combat, so of course it's more up my alley than most SNES RPG's. The job system allows the game to find ways to challenge you. Of course, there's a bit of a double edged sword with this style of system, because even in modern interpretations there always seems to be an optimal setup. Because of that, by the time you reach the end you should be steamrolling the boss. That said, it is pretty fun being able to become so overpowered. Story isn't quite as big a focus as in IV, though there are some nice moments. Generally speaking there's a find the crystals story that Final Fantasy was built on at work here. Unsurprisingly, there's a great soundtrack going on here too. For me, as a gameplay first person, I rank this pretty highly. That said, I think VI edges it out just a little.

Ranking - A

[spanky]

Final Fantasy V - one of those games that only seemed to exists and to tantalize me from the import sections of old game magazines. I've seen a few sources that Square thought about releasing this in the US AFTER Final Fantasy III(VI) under the name Final Fantasy EXTREME! What would have been...

I never had the chance to play this one concurrently with it's release, only playing it years later under the Playstation rerelease and under emulation and I only beat it once I got the GBA port. The main focus of the game is job system it's honestly amazing but as many people have commented on, it breaks the game wide open and once you figure things out, it be comes pretty easy. That's a common issue with FF games of this era though...I think it does say something that the game can be completed by almost any party setup, which is pretty cool. The story and setting is pretty weak compared to the games that surround it. The villain you spend most of the game chasing looks and functions almost exactly like Goblez and chasing around crystals is starting to get old by this point, fortunately they change things up starting with the next game.

I like this game quite a bit but I think it's missing something - I feel like I needed to play it in it's original context to truly enjoy it. Still an A though.

[dsparil]

FF Extreme was only many attempts both inside and outside Square to get the game to the US before the PSX version. My recollection is that a lesser known PC port was actually the closest to happening but the negotiations fell through in the end. Regardless, it was one of the earliest games to get a fan translation so it was one of those games I've absolutely played into the ground. It makes me sad that FFIII derailed my very non-ordered replays of the main FF games right at the last three, the SNES games. It is without question my very favorite SNES games. I'm very tempted to just start playing it again now!

S+

[Snake]

Final Fantasy V

I have a lot of great memories with this one.  A friend bought the import for like, $90.  We'd playthrough it when I visited on the weekend.  Bought like 2 guide books for this one, that I'd review constantly.  This was the game that got me to learn Katakana on my own, just to make sense of the items and spell names.  It was a lot of fun to explore, find all the pianos, come up with strategies to kill the Gil Tortoise, collect all the summons, etc.  While the story may not be as engaging as FF2/IV, I really enjoyed the whole concept of 2 worlds returning to one.  

The gameplay style was what really shined.  I loved having a mage that could bash in monsters with bare-handed monk skills.  Or Ninja dual-wielding Thundaga-enchanted blades. Its an excellent upgrade from FF III's system, and lays the groundwork for Final Fantasy Tactics.   

The music is among Nobuo Uematsu's best work, through and through.  Yoshitaka Amano's monster design is in top form as well.   

Having played through the Super Famicom version, the SNES fan-hack translation, the Playstation re-release with CG, FF Advance, and the recent Pixel Remaster, I would say FF V Advance has the best overall extras with 4 extra jobs and the hidden extra dungeon/labyrinth.  Pixel Remaster has welcome graphic and soundtrack upgrades, and quality-of-life grind-skip features.

Ranking - S

[excelsior]

Snake - what a great story about your time with this game back in the day. That's a great deal of commitment to get the most out of it, bt sounds like it was worth every cent.

[ommadawnyawn2]

If anyone is struggling with getting the v16 hack of Rock 'n Roll Racing for MD/GEN with the CD soundtrack to work you can PM me.

Rebalancing and other new features I didn't see mentioned properly in the readme: Master/very hard mode, Oil slicks disappear sooner, Can buy an acid dispenser weapon (replaces oil weapon), cheaper parts, one ammo power up in most tracks, play as the rivals+3 new drivers, you can pick 4 or 5 cars before beginning if you want, 4 new cars

---
Anyway, FFV is quite good! I'd say it's the first JRPG I found fun to actually play when I played all the standout 16-bit ones, which makes up for the story being a bit silly/shallow (as if 4's wasn't as well). They finally built off of an earlier game, the interface is improved, there's a good balance between the main quest and side quests and combat is actually engaging overall (though IIRC you can break it in the mid-late game pretty easily and excelsior's comment seems to confirm that). I also really like the music and its sound design. This reminds me I should try the GBA version, it's been a long time. That fan translation is so old that it's almost as nostalgic as playing the SNES back in the early '90s.

It's between B+ and A- for me but I'll give it an A- here.

[Snake]

Jan 8, 2024 13:33:54 GMT -5 excelsior said:

Snake - what a great story about your time with this game back in the day. That's a great deal of commitment to get the most out of it, bt sounds like it was worth every cent.

Thanks, it was definitely a good childhood memory.  What a care free time, 1993, pre-internet boom days.  Anything to know about games, I would read and reread through the same magazines multiple times.  That habit carried over from the guide books that I bought from the Asahiya Bookstore in Little Tokyo, from a now defunct mall that was "Yaohan" at the time.  That mall has long been bought by Koreans and renamed Little Tokyo Galleria.  I would constantly look at the maps and character jobs, alongside the cool concept art.  

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Mindscape
• Developer - Realtime Associates
• Genre - Beat-em-up
• Initial Relase - September 1993

Red Skull is back with a sinister mind-control device to command the most evil supervillains on earth against the forces of good. The supervillains want to control the universe!

Captain America and the Avengers are the world's last hope in this battle against evil Join Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision, as they combine their special powers with your skills in a last ditch effort to defeat Red Skill and his evil henchmen. Succeed, and you're a hero. Fail, and we'll revoke your Avengers security clearance!

  

  

[excelsior]

Final Fantasy V managed to exceed my expectations, becoming the third highest ranked game to date. Unfortunately, it fell just shy of the S ranking. Moving onto this week.

Americaaaa... still needs your help! Perhaps not through this rather unfortunate port though. This has to be one of the more sloppily handled transitions from the arcade to SNES there is. It does capture some of the campiness running through the original, but combat is really bland. The two player mode is the only thing saving it from being a complete stinker.

Ranking - D

[ommadawnyawn2]

This one never kept my interest for long enough to beat it, and it looks like something from around 1990 at best, so I'll have to go with a D. The music is overall better on MD too (thanks to Hitoshi Sakimoto).

I'll give it a D+ for the funny voice clips.

[spanky]

For whatever reason, I don't have the problems with the port that most people have but the game overall, while not without it's moments is a bit lackluster. I very distinctly remember The Simpsons arcade game at my local Wal-Mart (closest thing I had to a real arcade around for miles) being replaced by this and it felt like a big step down, especially considering I was never into Marvel stuff as a kid. The voice clips are probably the best part of the arcade game and hearing the hilarious villain laugh sound effect still makes me chuckle - so it's a shame that many of them were cut from the port. I've had fun with this before though so I'll go a bit easier on it. C.

[dsparil]

I gave this a quick spin , and oh boy. I don't think I played enough of it to give it any kind of rating, but bland and dated sounds right. The NES game though seems pretty fun although it is completely different.

[excelsior]

• Publisher - Microprose
• Developer - The Bitmap Brothers
• Genre - Action
• Initial Release - December 1993

Sometime during the last century, an experimenter with time, space and early computers created a bizarre machine. The inventor's name was Baron Fortesque. The machine was... The Chaos Engine. Although primitive, the machine became incredibly powerful and went crazy, turning ordinary humans and household pets into razor-toothed, armor-plated killing machines. Enter 6 hard-nailed mercenaries for hire. These ball-breakers are armed to the teeth with over 25 weapons and a host of special destructive devices specific to their class. Select 2 characters to form your party and enter the World of Chaos. The sprawling adventure covers 4 graphic worlds and 16 levels loaded with fiendish traps, puzzles and secret passages. Get your hands on sawn-off shotguns, molotov cocktails and a huge amount of armament, and buy, blag or blast your way through hordes of different monsters to do battle with the ultimate killing machine, THE CHAOS ENGINE!