Newsgroups: rec.games.video
From: tmartin@dpw.com (Thomas Martin)
Subject: SNES reviews
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 21:15:44 +0000

Big Tom's Super Nintendo Game Ratings -

Tired of those lists that you have to search endlessly through.  Forget
them, here is a simple rating system to see how good a cartridge is.  If
you want to vote, see the paragraph at the end of this article.

    *      -  Dreck, yak, bleck, hack, gleck (Horrible beyond words).
    **     -  OK, playable, still dreck, although someone might like.
    ***    -  Decent game that will appeal to some (But not everyone).
    ****   -  Pretty good, a fun game that almost everyone will like.
    *****  -  Damn good, a real winner, every game should be this good.

New entries since last post:

    Space Megaforce

============================================================================
			  # of  | Game   | Hours | # of |Votes|
Name of Game             Players| Rating |of Play|Voters|Tally| Description
============================================================================
Act Raiser                   1    *** 2/3     15     6    22    Adventure
Addams Family                1    ** 5/7             7    19    Platform
Adventure Island             1    **          20     1     2    Adventure
Amazing Tennis               2    *                  2     2    Tennis
Arcana                       1    ** 1/2             2     5    Role-play
Axelay                       1    *** 2/3            3    11    Shooter
Baseball Simulator 2000      2    ** 1/2       #     2     5    Baseball
Battle Clash                 1    *            3     1     1    Light Gun
Blaze-On                     1    *                  2     2    Shooter
Bulls vs. Blazers            2    ** 1/2       #     2     5    Basketball
Contra III                   2    *** 1/7     15     7    22    Fight & Jump
Death Valley Ralley          1    ****        20     4    16    Platform
Desert Strike                1    **** 2/3           3    14    Copter Sim
Dino City                    1    * 1/2              2     3    Platform
Drakken                      1    *                  3     3    Role-play
F1 Roc                       1    * 1/2        #     2     3    Racing
Faceball 2000                2    **                 1     2    Maze Sim
Final Fantasy II             1    **** 3/4    45     8    38    Role-play
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest  1    *** 2/3     27     3    11    Easy R.P.G.
Final Fight                  2    *** 1/4     20     4    13    Fighting
F-Zero                       1    **** 1/9     #     9    37    Racing
Gradius III                  1    *** 4/7     50     7    25    Shooter
Hook                         1    ** 1/3       5     3     7    Platform
Joe & Mac                    2    **                 6    12    Platform
John Madden '93 Football     2    ****         #     4    16    Football
King of the Monsters         2    **           #     4     8    Fighting
Legend o/t Mystical Ninja    2    *** 1/3      6     3    10    Adventure
Lemmings                     1    *** 2/11    90    11    35    Strategy
Magic Sword                  1    ** 1/2      12     4    10    Platform
NCAA Basketball              2    *** 2/5      #     5    17    Basketball
NHLPA '93 Hockey             2    *** 1/4      #     4    13    Hockey
Nolan Ryan Baseball          2    *            #     1     1    Baseball
On the Ball                  1    ***                1     3    Maze Game
PGA Tour Golf                1    ***                3     9    Golfing
Pilot Wings                  1    ** 4/5            10    28    Flight Sim
Populous                     1    *** 1/3      #     3    10    Strategy
Prince of Persia             1    ****               1     4    Platform
Rampart                      2    *** 1/5     25     5    16    Strategy
Ranma 1/2 [SFC]              2    **** 1/2           2     9    Fighting
Rival Turf                   2    ** 2/4             4    10    Fighting
Robocop 3                    1    *                  1     1    Platform
Roger Clemens Baseball       2    **                 2     4    Baseball
R.P.M. Racing                2    ***          #     4    12    Racing
Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare   1    *** 5/7     20     7    26    Multiple
Sim City                     1    *** 5/6      #     6    23    Strategy
Skuljagger                   2    * 1/3        5     3     4    Adventure
Smartball                    1    * 1/2              2     3    Platform
Soul Blazer                  1    *** 1/4     20     4    13    Adventure
Space Football               2    **                 1     2    Football
Space Megaforce              1    *****       10     1     1    Shooter
Spider-Man and the X-Men     1    * 1/3        5     3     4    Platform
Street Fighter 2             2    **** 1/2    40    18    81    Fighting
Super Battletank             1    * 4/9        5     9    13    Tank Sim
Super Castlevania IV         1    *** 5/9     30     9    32    Platform
Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts       1    ***         50     6    18    Fight & Jump
Super Mario Kart             2    **** 1/14    #    14    57    Racing
Super Mario World            1    **** 3/19   34    19    79    Platform
Super Off Road               2    ** 4/5       #     5    14    Racing
Super Play Action Football   2    *** 1/4      #     4    13    Football
Super R-Type                 1    ** 3/5      15     5    13    Shooter
Super Scope 6                1    *                  1     1    Light Gun
Super Smash T.V.             2    *** 5/12     #    12    41    Shooter
Super Star Wars              1    **** 1/5    12    10    42    Multiple
Test Drive 2                 1    ** 1/2       #     2     5    Racing
Top Gear                     2    *** 1/3     20     6    20    Racing
Turtles IV: Turtles in Time  2    *** 2/3      4     9    33    Fight & Jump
Ultraman                     1    *           15     3     3    Fighting
U.N. Squadron                1    *** 3/4            4    15    Shooter
Wanderers from Y's III       1    ** 1/2      20     2     5    Role-play
Wing Commander               1    *** 1/3            3    10    Shooter
Wings 2 - Aces High          1    * 1/2              4     6    Air Combat
W.W.F. Wrestlemania          2    ** 2/3       3     3     8    Fighting
Zardion                      1    *           10     1     1    Platform
Zelda III (Link to the Past) 1    **** 8/13   58    13    60    Adventure
===========================================================================
74 games reviewed                      # Means can be played over and over

***************************************************************************

Here are the games with a 3 star rating or more:
============================================================================
 Game                                 # of   Votes   Game
Rating      Name of Game             Voters  Tally  Rating     Company
============================================================================
*****       Space Megaforce              1      5     5
**** 3/4    Final Fantasy II             8     38     4.75
**** 2/3    Desert Strike                3     14     4.66   Electronic Arts
**** 8/13   Zelda III (Link t/t Past)   13     60     4.62
**** 1/2    Ranma 1/2 [SFC]              2      9     4.5
**** 1/2    Street Fighter II           18     81     4.5
**** 1/5    Super Star Wars             10     42     4.2
**** 3/19   Super Mario World           19     79     4.16   Nintendo
**** 1/9    F-Zero                       9     37     4.11
**** 1/14   Super Mario Kart            14     57     4.07   Nintendo
****        Death Valley Rally           4     16     4
****        John Madden '93 Football     4     16     4
****        Prince of Persia             1      4     4
*** 5/6     Sim City                     6     23     3.83
*** 3/4     U.N. Squadron                3     11     3.75
*** 5/7     Simpsons:Bart's Nightmare    7     26     3.71
*** 2/3     Turtles IV: Turtles in Time  9     33     3.66
*** 2/3     Act Raiser                   6     22     3.66
*** 2/3     Axelay                       3     11     3.66
*** 2/3     Final Fantasy:Mystic Quest   3     11     3.66
*** 4/7     Gradius III                  7     25     3.57
*** 5/9     Super Castlevania IV         9     32     3.55
*** 5/12    Super Smash T.V.            12     41     3.42
*** 2/5     NCAA Basketball              5     17     3.4
*** 1/3     Top Gear                     6     20     3.33
*** 1/3     Legend o/t Mystical Ninja    3     10     3.33
*** 1/3     Populous                     3     10     3.33
*** 1/3     Wing Commander               3     10     3.33
*** 1/4     Final Fight                  4     13     3.25
*** 1/4     NHLPA '93 Hockey             4     13     3.25
*** 1/4     Soul Blazer                  4     13     3.25
*** 1/4     Super Play Action Football   3     11     3.25
*** 1/5     Rampart                      5     16     3.2
*** 2/11    Lemmings                    11     35     3.18
*** 1/7     Contra III                   7     22     3.14
***         Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts      6     18     3
***         R.P.M. Racing                4     12     3
***         PGA Tour Golf                3      9     3
***         On the Ball                  1      3     3
============================================================================
39 games out of 74 with a 3 stars or better rating.  (52.7% of rated games)

****************************************************************************

Here's how to vote:

     Simply E-mail me (tmartin@dpw.com) with your votes.  You certainly can
vote for games that are not on this meager list and they will be added.
Please make your vote an even number of stars (1-5) or we will not include
it in our list.  Also, the number of players (available on the screen at
once) should be included, as well as as short description similar to those
listed above, how many hours of play you think the average game player can
reasonably expect to beat or play out the game, and for new games or games
that don't list it, the company name.

     Thanks for participating.

===========================================================================
  KIRK - Khan you bloodsucker...
  KHAN - Kirk, you're still alive my old friend.
  KIRK - Still! Old! Friend!  You've managed to kill just about everyone
	  else, but like a poor marksman you keep missing the target!

  Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan                   Big Tom Martin
===========================================================================