Newsgroups: rec.games.video
From: tmartin@dpw.com (Thomas Martin)
Subject: SNES reviews
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 00:21:03 +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:

     Adventure Island
     Baseball Simulator 2000
     Battle Clash
     Bulls vs. Blazers
     Desert Strike
     Faceball 2000
     Nolan Ryan Baseball
     On the Ball
     Smartball
     Space Football
     Super Scope 6
     Zardion

============================================================================
			  # of  | Game   | Hours | # of |Votes|
Name of Game             Players| Rating |of Play|Voters|Tally| Description
============================================================================
Act Raiser                   1    *** 3/5     15     5    18    Adventure
Addams Family                1    ***                6    18    Platform
Adventure Island             1    **          20     1     2    Adventure
Amazing Tennis               2    *                  1     1    Tennis
Arcana                       1    ** 1/2             2     5    Role-play
Axelay                       1    *** 2/3            3    11    Shooter
Baseball Simulator 2000      2    ***          #     1     3    Baseball
Battle Clash                 1    *            3     1     1    Light Gun
Blaze-On                     1    *                  1     1    Shooter
Bulls vs. Blazers            2    ***          #     1     3    Basketball
Contra III                   2    ***         15     5    15    Fight & Jump
Death Valley Ralley          1    ****        20     3    12    Platform
Desert Strike                1    *****              2    10    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    **** 3/5    45     5    23    Role-play
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest  1    *** 2/3     27     3    11    Easy R.P.G.
Final Fight                  2    *** 2/3     20     3    11    Fighting
F-Zero                       1    ****         #     8    32    Racing
Gradius III                  1    *** 3/4     50     4    15    Shooter
Hook                         1    ** 1/2       5     2     5    Platform
Joe & Mac                    2    **                 6    12    Platform
King of the Monsters         2    **           #     3     6    Fighting
Legend o/t Mystical Ninja    2    ***          6     2     6    Adventure
Lemmings                     1    *** 2/5     90    10    34    Strategy
Madden '93 Football          2    **** 2/3     #     3    14    Football
Magic Sword                  1    ** 1/2      12     4    10    Platform
NCAA Basketball              2    *** 1/4      #     4    13    Basketball
NHLPA '93 Hockey             2    *** 2/3      #     3    11    Hockey
Nolan Ryan Baseball          2    *            #     1     1    Baseball
On the Ball                  1    ***                1     3    Maze Game
PGA Tour Golf                1    *** 1/2            2     7    Golfing
Pilot Wings                  1    ** 7/9             9    25    Flight Sim
Populous                     1    *** 1/2      #     2     7    Strategy
Prince of Persia             1    ****               1     4    Platform
Rampart                      2    *** 1/5     25     5    16    Strategy
Ranma 1/2 [SFC]              2    ****               1     4    Fighting
Rival Turf                   2    ** 2/3             3     8    Fighting
Robocop 3                    1    *                  1     1    Platform
Roger Clemens Baseball       2    **                 2     4    Baseball
R.P.M. Racing                2    *** 1/3      #     3    10    Racing
Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare   1    *** 2/3     20     6    22    Multiple
Sim City                     1    ****         #     5    20    Strategy
Skuljagger                   2    * 1/2        5     2     3    Adventure
Smartball                    1    **                 1     2    Platform
Soul Blazer                  1    ***         20     3     9    Adventure
Space Football               2    **                 1     2    Football
Spider-Man and the X-Men     1    * 1/2        5     2     3    Platform
Street Fighter 2             2    **** 9/16   40    16    73    Fighting
Super Battletank             1    * 4/9        5     9    13    Tank Sim
Super Castlevania IV         1    *** 3/7     30     7    24    Platform
Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts       1    ***         50     3     9    Fight & Jump
Super Mario Kart             2    **** 1/6     #    12    50    Racing
Super Mario World            1    **** 1/8    35    16    66    Platform
Super Off Road               2    *** 1/3      #     3    10    Racing
Super Play Action Football   2    *** 2/3      #     3    11    Football
Super R-Type                 1    ** 3/4      15     4    11    Shooter
Super Scope 6                1    *                  1     1    Light Gun
Super Smash T.V.             2    *** 4/11     #    11    37    Shooter
Super Star Wars              1    **** 3/8    12     8    35    Multiple
Test Drive 2                 1    ****         #     1     4    Racing
Top Gear                     2    *** 1/3     20     6    20    Racing
Turtles IV: Turtles in Time  2    ****         5     6    24    Fight & Jump
Ultraman                     1    *           15     3     3    Fighting
U.N. Squadron                1    *** 2/3            3    11    Shooter
Wanderers from Y's III       1    ***         20     1     3    Role-play
Wing Commander               1    ****               2     8    Shooter
Wings 2 - Aces High          1    * 1/2              4     6    Air Combat
W.W.F. Wrestlemania          2    *** 1/2      3     2     7    Fighting
Zardion                      1    *           10     1     1    Platform
Zelda III (Link to the Past) 1    **** 6/11   58    11    50    Adventure
===========================================================================
73 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
============================================================================
     *****        Final Fantasy II                 4       20       5
     *****        Desert Strike                    2       10       5
     **** 2/3     Madden '93 Football              3       14       4.66
     **** 9/16    Street Fighter II               16       73       4.56
     **** 6/11    Zelda III (Link to the Past)    11       50       4.55
     **** 3/8     Super Star Wars                  8       35       4.37
     **** 1/6     Super Mario Kart                12       50       4.18
     **** 1/8     Super Mario World               16       66       4.13
     ****         F-Zero                           8       32       4
     ****         Turtles IV: Turtles in Time      6       24       4
     ****         Sim City                         5       20       4
     ****         Death Valley Rally               3       12       4
     ****         Wing Commander                   2        8       4
     ****         Prince of Persia                 1        4       4
     ****         Ranma 1/2 [SFC]                  1        4       4
     ****         Test Drive 2                     1        4       4
     *** 3/4      Gradius III                      4       15       3.75
     *** 2/3      Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare       6       22       3.66
     *** 2/3      Axelay                           3       11       3.66
     *** 2/3      Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest      3       11       3.66
     *** 2/3      Final Fight                      3       11       3.66
     *** 2/3      NHLPA '93 Hockey                 3       11       3.66
     *** 2/3      Super Play Action Football       3       11       3.66
     *** 2/3      U.N. Squadron                    3       11       3.66
     *** 3/5      Act Raiser                       5       18       3.6
     *** 5/9      Lemmings                         9       32       3.55
     *** 1/2      PGA Tour Golf                    2        7       3.5
     *** 1/2      Populous                         2        7       3.5
     *** 1/2      WWF Wrestlemania                 2        7       3.5
     *** 3/7      Super Castlevania IV             7       24       3.42
     *** 2/5      Lemmings                        10       34       3.4
     *** 4/11     Super Smash T.V.                11       37       3.36
     *** 1/3      Top Gear                         6       20       3.33
     *** 1/3      R.P.M. Racing                    3       10       3.33
     *** 1/3      Super Off Road                   3       10       3.33
     *** 1/4      NCAA Basketball                  4       13       3.25
     *** 1/5      Rampart                          5       16       3.2
     ***          Addams Family                    6       18       3
     ***          Contra III                       5       15       3
     ***          Soul Blazer                      3        9       3
     ***          Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts          3        9       3
     ***          Legend of the Mystical Ninja     2        6       3
     ***          Baseball Simulator 2000          1        3       3
     ***          Bulls vs. Blazers                1        3       3
     ***          Wanderers from Y's III           1        3       3
============================================================================
44 games out of 73 with a 3 stars or better rating.    (60% 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, and if you can, how many hours of play you think the average
game player can reasonably expect to beat or play out the game.

     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
===========================================================================