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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 27, 2024 7:32:16 GMT -5
There's a lot of nostalgia around this game but it's not a great fighter. Dial-a-combos are nonsense and this game went all in on them. In arcades this was sold on the graphics which look stunning and the incredible soundtrack. On the SNES the soundtrack is translated really well but the graphics have that flat DKC feel and the lack of animation doesn't sell the effect away the arcade did which genuinely fooled me into thinking they were all real time. Even back in the day on a CRT it didn't look good.
Now while I think KI is a bit of a middling arcade fighting game like mortal Kombat, props have to be given to rate for managing to port the game so accurately to the SNES. The lack of animation frames is a bummer but it does feel like the arcade and a plays very solidly. Skills and tactics can be translated from one to the other.
So it's a fantastic port of a mediocre game let down by the technical limitations of the SNES.
Going to give this a C but a high C.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 27, 2024 8:11:16 GMT -5
Killer Instinct feels like an overcorrection on Nintendo's part for how they treated MK. Blood! Fatalities! Implied nudity! But yeah, the actual game is so-so. I don't think it'd be remembered as much if it wasn't for the Rare involvement. I've never played the arcade game, but from reading about it does seem like the graphics were the real draw. However it does have a practice mode which isn't common in games of this era so I'd go B-.
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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 27, 2024 8:13:59 GMT -5
They did give the soundtrack away with the game which was kind of new at the time. And the soundtrack rocks.
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Post by spanky on Feb 27, 2024 8:14:45 GMT -5
Man! Have not that many people here played the Final Fight sequels?
I like Killer Instinct but it's more interesting to me as a historical oddity or nostalgia bait. I struggle to think of a game that is more representative of where gaming was in terms of tone at the time. KI is a gritty dystopian fighter with plasticky pre-rednered graphics, blood, fatalities...and Nintendo branding slapped all over it. I always think of this era as gaming's bratty adolescence. I received the game for my birthday in 1995 and my neighbor friend started blabbing out Orchid's flashtality in earshot of my parents and that got the game taken away from me until I could convincingly lie to them that this wasn't the case. I played the hell out of it though, staying up late to try and beat Eyedol and see the endings. In particular I remember one Halloween, the first year I was really too old to go trick or treating, I stayed home and handed out candy while working on my combos all night - it's always what I associate the game with. I did get the CD but didn't have a CD player at the time so I gave it to the aforementioned neighbor kid.
I think this is a pretty solid port all things considered. The training mode really needs some more options but the fact it's there at all was huge for the era. Yeah the graphics have been downgraded heavily but the gameplay was retained. I think I've read some fans of the game prefer how the SNES vesrion plays but don't quote me on that. The auto-combo system was pretty cool for it's era but the way it works has never made much sense to me. Once again I even think the long combos are discouraged at high level play as pulling off C-C-C-C-C-OMBO BREAKERs are pretty easy. Character design was never Rare's strong suit and you see that here ("Uhh let's see, we have a ninja guy, a boxer, a fire guy and and ice guy...how about a velociraptor? Those are in right now") but Fulgore and Orchid are pretty cool.
KI as a series always seemed to find itself in weird spot. It wasn't hardcore enough for the SF/KoF crowd and all the casual-friendly "wow" factor of the pre-rendered graphics would soon be eclipsed by polygonal fighters. So it's not surprising it petered out so quickly though I think the revival a few years back was well received.
It's still relatively fun to play but it's hardly my first choice when wanting to play a fighting game. C.
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Post by nightdreamer on Feb 28, 2024 19:37:34 GMT -5
Wow, how long has it been since I posted here last?
So, Final Fight 2 and 3 - they're both games that I played and spent a week with way back from rentals. I think they're ok games but I found that Final Fight 1 (arcade original anyway) to be more viscerally satisfying because each hits felt like they had impact that for whatever reason FF2 and 3 didn't recreate well. I dug the graphics and the special moves from 3 but 2 was too barebones. They both really lose steam by the end and despite having finished them at least twice I don't even remember who the final bosses were. A C and B respectively.
Killer Instinct - I spent an entire Xmas vacation with no other games but this so naturally it held a nostalgic place for me. I played it so much that I experimented, figured out and memorized all the comboes. I don't remember them anymore today of course, but those were fun. I don't think I was able to 1cc'd a lot of characters aside from TJ Combo (who was my favorite) and Fulgore. Good game, great music, fun visuals. Does it hold up? Eh, probably not. An A nonetheless.
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Post by excelsior on Feb 29, 2024 3:37:41 GMT -5
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Post by nightdreamer on Feb 29, 2024 19:19:13 GMT -5
thanks for the warm greeting! SNES is my desert island, all-time favorite console, so of course I love reading this thread! |
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Post by excelsior on Mar 1, 2024 4:45:22 GMT -5
thanks for the warm greeting! SNES is my desert island, all-time favorite console, so of course I love reading this thread! Nice. I'm not sure it's my favourite these days, but certainly the one I have the most nostalgia for. The depth of the library is incredible for the time. |
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Post by retr0gamer on Mar 1, 2024 7:06:55 GMT -5
Kind of been feeling lately that the SNES library isnt that good as when I look through it there's not much to play.
Then I realise it was the first console I emulated and absolutely rinsed the library so there isn't much Ive left to play other than some long RPGs.
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Post by spanky on Mar 1, 2024 8:06:12 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to play a huge chunk of the SNES library in it's day thanks to frequent rentals so I have a lot of generalized love and nostalgia for it. I also think the best games on the system still haven't been topped in many ways. That being said I am kind of sympathetic to the criticisms you see of the library - namely that the quality drops off kind of hard once you get past the top tier games. I've been exploring the Genesis library lately and I'm constantly impressed at these fast paced and fun arcadey action games that no one ever seems to talk about. The SNES slowdown and "hollow" soundchip really stand out more after playing a bunch of Genesis games. It has me rethinking my times in the trenches of the 16 bit wars...  All that being said, I think I would still consider it my favorite system and if I was only restricted to playing the SNES library (not to mention the Super Famicom library which I've barely touched) for the rest of my life I think I would be OK with that. |
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Post by dsparil on Mar 1, 2024 10:00:22 GMT -5
I don't know, there's a lot of junk on the Genesis too and Sega's own games vary so wildly in quality. The SNES just has a larger overall library even looking at only the US (~800 vs ~700) and globally it has double the number of distinct games (~1800 vs ~900). I pulled the ratings for the entire (global) SNES and Genesis libraries from GameFAQs, and the SNES gets an average rating of 3.30 and the Genesis 3.12 at the lowest 5+ vote threshold. At 100+, it's 3.97 and 3.81. I'm tempted to find those averages for every single system, it's very easy to automate, but I'm afraid for being IP blocked to be honest.
I think it just comes down to genre preference really. The SNES doesn't have as many fast action games, but the Genesis has poor representation of certain genres and weirdo games from the smaller Japanese install base.
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Post by excelsior on Mar 1, 2024 10:18:20 GMT -5
MD leaned heavily on arcade style of games, meaning it's great for pick up and play experiences, but I find there to be a real lack of games you can really dig your teeth into. There's not really anything that compares to Super Mario World or Super Metroid for instance. On the RPG side, they have Phantasy Star IV; which I prefer to anything I've played on SNES, but there's not much besides that.
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Post by spanky on Mar 1, 2024 10:19:43 GMT -5
Yeah I think my recent affinity for the Genesis probably comes down to the fact that nowadays I'd rather play a fast action game that I can be done with in an hour over a 30 hour RPG (Please ignore the fact I am playing the FF Pixel Remasters right now...)
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Post by Snake on Mar 4, 2024 20:35:59 GMT -5
Catching up:
Star Fox - Yes, it's dated, and gets slow down with choppy frame rates. But I find the overall feel quite charming, from the blips and bleeps of Zippy and Falco, with actual synthesized voice overs mixed in-between. The soundtrack is my favorite of the series. There was a time when I was really quite good at this game, and could finish it without getting hit. Revisiting it has questioned my gaming ability. But again, the challenge to get the controls and feel down is what I find charming about it. And it so randomly has a slot machine as a hidden boss!!!
Rank: B+
Final Fight 2 - Okay, common, Carlos really just carries that damn sword for show. Maki is a decent playable, and I guess she takes over as a placeholder for Guy. Last boss Kabuki reject is kinda meh in design compared to the awesomeness that is Belger.
Rank: C+
Final Fight 3 - 2 more new characters! But they move and play a bit clunky. And... Dean!!! Apparently a reject Street Fighter, since he hasn't seemed to make it into the mainline series as a playable character. Adding a Super bar in the vein of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is a nice touch. But I would've thought by this point Capcom would've added street fighter special move motions for more attacks, like they did for Alien VS Predator and X-Men:Mutant Apocalypse. I'll stick to Guy and Haggar for this game. Having an AI fighting buddy was a decent touch though, so I wouldn't have to feel so alone on the playthrough.
Rank: B
Killer Instinct - Surprised they manage to pack most of the arcade experience into an SNES cartridge. Though, it still felt largely more impressive in the arcades with larger resolution graphics to really show off the rendered designs. The elaborate emphatic announcements of Master combooooo were always good for a cheap laugh. I still have the box and the pack-in Killer Cuts soundtrack CD, but lost the game after lending it out back in high school, sadly. It was okay to play for a bit, but I never held any particular attachment to the characters and play-style of the game.
Rank: B-
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Post by excelsior on Mar 5, 2024 2:54:29 GMT -5
Catching up: Star Fox - Yes, it's dated, and gets slow down with choppy frame rates. But I find the overall feel quite charming, from the blips and bleeps of Zippy and Falco, with actual synthesized voice overs mixed in-between. The soundtrack is my favorite of the series. There was a time when I was really quite good at this game, and could finish it without getting hit. Revisiting it has questioned my gaming ability. But again, the challenge to get the controls and feel down is what I find charming about it. And it so randomly has a slot machine as a hidden boss!!! Rank: B+ Zippy?!?  Welcome to Star Fox Zippster! The best way to round out the team! (as well as my avatar apparently) |
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