From: v089l3s3@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (JER HORWITZ)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: FAQ: SNES All Games [Horwitz] 2/3
Date: 3 Jan 93 20:07:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

Kablooey                Kemco                       4
[Puzzle game. Walk in a maze setting off bombs in a certain order. Concept is
OK. Feels like what it is - one of the first 5 SNES games programmed. 6/10.]
        * Doesn't make great use of SNES, very repetitive very quickly.
Kikikaikai Ninja        Natsume/Taito               8
[Cute walking shooter that moves from 3/4 overhead up/down to overhead side
scrolling. 8-directional firing, 2 pl. sim, neat powerups, Japanese feel.
8/10.]
        * 2-pl. feature is neat. A cool game overall, like Parodius in ways.
King of Rally, The      Meldac                      8
[Surprisingly good 3-D driving game - third person view 3/4 perspective, neat
and original. The Paris-Moscow-Beijing Rally, very controllable and fun. 8/10.]
        * It's a better version of RC Pro AM type games with more driving emph.
King of the Monsters    Takara/SNK                  8
[Graphics and sound are 75% of the Neo-Geo game. Play is 90%, 2 chars missing.
A generally repetitive wrestling action game, nothing special. 7/10.]
        * It's not fun except for kids who like monsters and button pressing.
Krusty's Funhouse       Acclaim/LJN                 4
[Good puzzle game. Mix between Lemmings and the Simpsons. Not graphic/sound
showcase, but the gameplay is pretty good. Few Simpsons uses. OK action. 7/10.]
        * Good for a few-days rental if you like puzzle games. License sells
it.
Lagoon                  Kemco                       8 + Battery
[Early RPG. Solid plot and music, okay graphics. Tries to be like a Zelda type
thing, action overtones aren't as well done but the plot is strong. 7/10.]
        * Don't buy it for the action or a challenge. It's easy, so rent it.
Last Fighter Twin       Banpresto [Japan]           8 
[Jap. piece of crap fighting game. Banpresto: QED. 2-player simul. 5.5/10.]
        * The good backgrounds are the only thing saving this game from 4-dom.
Legend of Myst. Ninja   Konami                      8
[Based on Japanese "Charge! Goemon" series. Very Japanese style, 2-pl. action
simul. Small sprites. Nice bosses later in game, good for its time. 7.5/10.]
        * Has a funny plot and some good insider jokes. Not mindblowing.
Lemmings                Sunsoft                     8
[Big 2-pl. sim. PC/Amiga fun strategy game. Very original play and concepts, OK
graphics, good sounds. Has tons of levels + difficulty settings. 8/10.]
        * Play is the strong suit, didn't addict me as it did computer gamers.
Magic Sword             Capcom                      8
[Arcade translation, graphics reasonably like arcade, music not. Gameplay OK. 1
player only. Action with RPG style - walk through castle and meet allies.
7/10.]
        * Many of the levels play the same, bosses look the same. Rental.
Magical Quest w/ Mickey Capcom                      8
[One of Capcom's overall best. Great graphics, action, music, story. Awesome.
Mickey Mouse animations are top notch. It whips the Genesis' first game. 9/10.]
        * The feel is perfect. Amount of attention to detail totally amazing.
Mario Paint             Nintendo                    8 + Battery
[A kids' type paint/music program w/ crappy "squash the bug" game. Tools are
generally good and easy to use. Lack of on-screen colors... but it saves.
8/10.]
        * Music editor is too limited but graphic editor is classy. Game's
dumb.
Metal Jack              Atlus                       8
[One of the worst games. An E-SWAT pretender w/ weak everything 'cept opening.
Unbelievably repetitive, horrible graphics. Gets a three line description
because I hate it so much. The programmers: "Execute them!" Ugh! 4/10.]
        * Play mechanics are just plain poor. "Jack On!" half right.
NBA All-Star Challenge  Acclaim/LJN                 8
[Neat visual effects like a reflective floor, graphics are OK otherwise. Sounds
are OK and the game's really boring. Has each team's real star player. 6.5/10.]
        * Wouldn't buy it by any means. 2/4 game types OK, 2 bad. 
NBA Pro Basketball      Tecmo                       8
[Plays like EA's first Lakers v. Celtics with some NES quality cinemas. Real 
players. Charging calls ALL the time, unrealistic shots often. No NCAA. 7/10.]
        * Fast pace is good, but it's hard to put the moves on people.
NCAA Basketball         Nintendo/HAL Labs           8 + Battery
[An excellent basketball game. Great animation, play, graphics and sounds.
Awesome 3-D rotation of the court during play, very fun and realistic. 9/10.]
        * Another dynamic-feel game. The "We Will Rock You" makes the game.
NHLPA Hockey '93        Electronic Arts             4
[Real players, OK sounds, OK graphics. Better than NHL for Genesis, not NHLPA.
A lot of players disappeared. Where's Rob Ray? Goaltenders are flawed. 7/10.]
        * Not half as good as it should have been. Jittery graphics hurt.
On the Ball             Taito                       8
[Very excellent Taito innovation. Spin a maze to manuever a ball through. Many
levels, neat hidden codes. Taito put in some unique twists, too. 8.5/10.]
        * Codes: plain cool. Different control in later levels: great idea.
Out of this World       Interplay/Delphine          8
[Excellent action game done entirely with polygons. One of the 5 best. Roto-
scoped animation in play, neat sounds and music, too. Mental challenge. 9/10.]
        * Has some totally great cinematic ideas. Play may frustrate some.
Pachinko Wars           Coconuts Japan [Japan]      8
[Jap. RPG based on Pachinko, a Japanese game with balls (ha), not good.
6.5/10.]
        * You like Pachinko? Secret agents wandering parlors? Like real life.
Paperboy 2              Mindscape                   4
[Sequel to OK arcade game, point of which is to toss newspapers. Not diverse,
has bad graphics and sounds, relies on jokes. Looks like an NES game. 5/10.]
        * No attempt is made to use the SNES' resolution/graphics. Play is OK.
Parodius!, It's         Konami [Japan]              8
[Comical arcade shooter for Japanese release only. Best side-scrolling shooter
out there, damn funny graphics, 12 levels, 4 ships, great music + play. 9/10.]
        * Amazing amount of action w/o slowdown, totally funny Gradius mockery.
PGA Tour Golf           Electronic Arts             8 + Battery
[A step up from Nicklaus but down from Irem Skins. Has scaling and nice hole
preview, but play is not designed too well; nothing special. Not great.
6.5/10.]
        * Doesn't really look or feel right. Too many good choices out there.
Phalanx                 Kemco                       8
[Shooter. Small sprites, non-intense, mediocre computer translation. 6.5/10.]
        * Not original enough. Things aren't interesting or unique.
Pilotwings              Nintendo                    4
[Nintendo's flight sim. display piece uses many nice 3-D effects and has great
gameplay. Many tough missions and great choice of diverse flying craft. 9/10.]
        * A good purchase for the system. Transcends "flying", just fun.
Pit Fighter             T*HQ                        4
[Poor translation of digitized graphic arcade fighting game. Primitive program
work takes OK arcade game and makes it bad in graphics, sounds, control. 5/10.]
        * Don't expect the arcade game. Play is OK, but not as good as
original.
Populous                Acclaim/Imagineer           4
[Famous IBM PC strategy game, includes expanded levels, still sucks. 5.5/10.]
        * If you like computer games, give it a 8.5. If not, see Madden
comment.
Power Athlete           Kaneko                      8
[SF2-alike, but real good. Backgrounds are neat, cool characters and good play.
They actually made good use of 3-D movement, and also some great music.
8.5/10.]
        * Love Thailand and Japan especially. Game is cool... not SF2, tho.
Prince of Persia        Konami/Masiya/NCS           8
[Famous IBM action game. Best version out there, excellent gameplay. Has 8
levels not found in the original plus training levels. Great graphics. 9/10.]
        * If you like puzzles and action games, it's a must have.
Pro Quarterback         Tradewest                   8
[Best football game visually, good sounds too, play is equal to Ult. Football
a little worse in some ways, better in others. Too few plays. 8.5/10.]
        * Totally feels like football. Options are nice. Hard to find
receivers.
        * Missing "season" option angers other people more than it does me.
Pushover                Ocean                       8
[Puzzle game where you use an ant to place and knock down dominoes. Original
idea, pretty fun with good graphics and sounds. Lots of levels, tough. 7.5/10.]
        * Will please Lemmings fans intensely. Not my type of game, but good.
Q-Bert 3                NTVIC                       4
[Really great background graphics make this much more enjoyable than I guessed.
It's the old game with some new enemies and new "grabable" items. 8/10.]
        * I was surprised at how much I liked it. Great control option menu.
Race Drivin'            T*HQ                        4
[Translation of Atari real driving game. Visual effects and resolution don't
really compare to arcade, but generally a good translation. Not bad. 6.5/10.]
        * Not much long term play in it, but 3 tracks are diverse enough.
R.P.M. Racing           Interplay                   4
[2-pl. sim. track racing game with limited weapon use. Not really too fun or
unique, feels like RC Pro AM but more cramped. Graphics and sounds OK. 7/10.]
        * Has some good ideas, but it's little more than Off Road with big
cars.
Raiden Trad             Electro Brain / Toho        8
[Worst SNES game. Pitiful translation of arcade shooter which was the same as 
every other overhead out there. 2-pl. sim, but no fun. Any good stuff from the 
arcade -- graphics, sounds, etc. has been totally ruined. Slow, too. 3/10.]
        * Just looks like crap. 2-player option saves it from a 1 or 2.
Rampart                 Electronic Arts/Atari       4
[Very excellent. Conversion of the arcade game. Also has a Super Rampart mode
with great bosses and new levels, as well as new weapons and defenses. 8.5/10.]
        * A good game for Tetris lovers who also like shooters. Neat combo.
Rival Turf              Jaleco                      8
[2-pl. sim. action game in same vein as Final Fight. Programming is shoddy;
graphics and play aren't 100% right. Sound is OK. Some good options. 6.5/10.]
        * The game needed more playtesting. An okay 2 player game, though.
Rival Turf II           Jaleco                      12
[2-pl. sim. fighting game. Programming is much improved from original RT, much
better animation and play. 5 characters to pick. Too repetitive/easy. 7.5/10.]
        * It's much more of a "game" than the original, some good stuff.
Road Riot 4WD           T*HQ                        4
[2-pl. sim. driving game. Based on arcade game. Graphics are nothing close to 
the arcade, sounds are OK and the little music is good. Play is weak. 6/10.]
        * 2-player mode is the only redeeming feature. Programming is faulty.
        * A late '92 game still scrolls wrong? Sometimes you're off screen!
Robocop 3               Ocean                       8
[Action/shooting game somewhat adapted from Robocop arcade game. Character
moves
worse than arcade, plays same, graphics + sounds are mostly better. 7.5/10.]
        * Control is lacking enough to cut the game from 8+. Good otherwise.
Rocketeer, the          I.G.S.                      8
[Among the worst games for the SNES. Everyone hates it. Action, barely. 4/10.]
        * Amazingly boring game but has some nice digitized graphics.
R. Clemens MVP Baseball Acclaim/LJN/Sculptured      8
[A baseball game with better camera angles but nothing special play. 6.5/10.]
        * Some may think the camera angles compensate for the OK play. 
Romance of 3 Kingdoms   Koei                        8 + Battery
[Famous IBM PC strategy/RPG, based on ancient Asian history. Snore. 6.5/10.]
        * Asthetically flat. The opening is the best part of the game.
Sandla's Adventure      Namco [Japan]               8
[Japanese action game, a little green guy with a pitchfork. Nothing great,
but would be very fun for kids if it came out here. 7/10.]
        * Adults will never take it seriously but it has some cool ideas.
SD Battle Dodgeball     Banpresto [Japan]           8
[Really, really bad dodgeball game with Japanese art. By Banpresto. See above
comments re: Banpresto. Dodgeball doesn't work as a video game yet. 5/10.]
        * The overused Gundam characters from every Banpresto game don't help.
Sim City                Nintendo/Maxis              4
[Successful IBM PC game where you build and maintain a city. Graphics and
sounds are acceptable, the play is either like it or hate it. 7/10.]
        * It's not exactly my type of game. If you like strategy or
edutainment,
        it gets a higher score. It has lots of assets but I personally didn't
        find it "fun". PC game likers will, similarly, like this one.
Skuljagger              American Softworks          4
[Action game. Good gameplay, not great graphics. Sounds OK. Looks like 4 megs.
Pirate theme interesting, use the manual to find secrets (good idea). 7.5/10.]
        * Some impressive powerups make this a better than average game..
Smart Ball              Sony Imagesoft              4 
[An action game designed for kids. Play mechanics, graphics and sounds seem
set to a younger level than the SNES' main users. For what it is, OK. 6.5/10.]
        * Nothing impressive. For young kids, an 8.5 or 9 - difficulty good.
Sonic Blast Man         Taito                       8
[Good Final Fight-type game, with lots of good animation and sound, etc. Levels
are long and somewhat difficult. Great hero, too! Based on arcade game. 8/10.]
        * A sci-fi Final Fight - Bonus levels and bosses make it better.
Soul Blazer             Enix                        8 + Battery 
[Mix of action/RPG. Good plot, small graphics, OK animation and OK sound. Don't
expect Actraiser from it although it tries albeit with overhead view. 7.5/10.]
        * Koshiro's music couldn't have helped. Action is just weak.
Space Football 1-on-1   Triffix                     4
[Reincarnation of old Atari Ballblazer with better scaling and more obstacles,
reasonable music and gameplay. Lots of levels, 2-pl. sim. also. 7.5/10.]
        * 3-D isn't always perfect, finding goal hard, "football" misleading.
Space Megaforce         Toho/Compile                8
[12 level overhead shooter, sequel to TG-16 Blazing Lazers series. Very good
music, great graphics and graphic effects, great gameplay. Among best. 9/10.]
        * If you like shooters, it's a must buy. A lot of game for the buck.
Spiderman and the X-Men Acclaim/LJN/Sculptured      8
[Best mix of action game types around, small characters but great backgrounds
music. Ignore the magazines - if you buy it and beat level 1, it's great.
9/10.]
        * Best use of these characters thus far. Only level 1 is boring.
Street Fighter II       Capcom                      16
[The name says it all. A 92% conversion of the arcade game. 2-pl sim. 10/10.]
        * Closest to perfect thus far. Challenging fighting game with replay.
Strike Gunner STG       NTVIC                       8
[Really bad shooter, gameplay not bad but backgrounds are all the same. The
enemies are super repetitive and 1942-ish. 2-pl simultaneous. 5.5/10.]
        * Nice weapons and 2-pl feature, but all levels look and feel the same.
Super Adventure Island  Hudson Soft                 8
[Bad gameplay, very good music (Yuzo Koshiro), OK graphics, jump/shoot/jump. 
Difficulty to Hudson means slipping off the edge of a step. 6.5/10.]
        * Only for lovers of tedium. Not very fun, but is sonically good.
Super B-ball Sim. 1.000 Culture Brain               4 + Battery
[Baseball game, badly refined graphics and sounds typical of Culture Brain but
good gameplay and concepts. Ultra league lets you have "super" players. 7/10.]
        * Special players can use neat disappearing balls or missile bats,
good.
Super Bases Loaded      Jaleco                      8
[Baseball game with more visual punch than most others, takes a Japanese camera
angle. Sounds are average, gameplay is OK, but lacks season + options. 6.5/10.]
        * Major failing is lack of standard features of most baseball games.
Super Bowling           Tradewest/Technos/Athena    4
[Bowling. Not Neo-Geo quality, but not bad. 4-player, neat options. 7.5/10.]
        * It's not bad but unfortunately doesn't have long term value.
Super Buster Brothers   Capcom                      4
[Shooter/action arcade game where you shoot balls falling from the sky. Good
art and music, challenge is good, a little repetitive but not bad. 8/10.]
        * Would have been great if it had arcade's 2-pl. sim. option.
        * Looks easy and stupid, really is fun with variety of powerups.
Super Double Dragon     Tradewest/Technos           8
[Fighting game with use of all 6 buttons. REAL good for a fighting game. Nice 
gameplay and neat moves, "block" idea great. Good 2-pl. sim. action. 8/10.]
        * Gets a thumbs up for moves, thumbs down for repetitivity.
        * Japanese version has better options and better opening, too. Music
          is rematched to different levels, not as good as US matches.
Super EDF               Jaleco                      8
[An arcade shooter. Good graphics and sounds. Underrated. Good weapons.
7.5/10.]
        * Has good feel and some neat stuff going for it. Try renting it first.
Super F1 Circus         Nihon Bussan/Lotus [Japan]  8 + Battery 
[Overhead driving game with rotation, licensed by Lotus (car company), good but
not great. Options are confusing. I wouldn't buy it, but i'd try it. 7.5/10.]
        * Rotation is good, many tracks. If it was 2-players, it'd be great.
Super F1 Circus Limited Nihon Bussan [Japan]        8 + Battery
[Same as above with new driving teams which may be actual F1 teams. Same as
above in play value. 7.5/10.]
        * Almost the same as above game. Same complaints.
Super F1 Hero           Varie Soft [Japan]          8
[A really good 3-D driving game. Good options, play is good for a racer. Large
sprites, too (relatively). Sounds are OK, graphics are good. Solid 8/10.]
        * Better than other drivers (not F-Zero). SNES Super Monaco GP. 
Super Ghouls and Ghosts Capcom                      8
[One of my faves. Ultimate difficulty action game, sequel to arcade game. Has
great backgrounds, animation and good music, good play. Slowdown hurts. 9/10.]
        * It gets a 9 primarily because of challenge. A great game, though!
Super Mario Kart        Nintendo                    4 + Battery
[Slower F-Zero go-karting game with Mario characters. 2-pl. sim. Lots of
options
and modes, perfect for kids. Mix of Mario + driving. Not for speeders. 8.5/10.]
        * For kids, it gets a 9.5 or more. Fun for people who like SMB play.
        * Sprite psuedo-scaling has problems in battle mode. Not as intense
        as F-Zero, which was F-Zero's strongest quality.
Super Mario World       Nintendo                    4 + Battery
[Sequel in SMB series. Action and puzzle game with 96 levels, mix of difficulty
levels with good animation but basic graphics, OK music and strong play. 9/10.]
        * If you like the style of Mario games, this is excellent. If not...
Super Off-Road          Tradewest                   4
[Arcade title with snazzed up SNES graphics, 2-pl. simul., neat music. 7.5/10.]
        * Has some good enhancements to the arcade game. Could use new cars.
Super R-Type            Irem                        8
[Strategic shooter. Mix of oft-duplicated arcade game and its successor, adds
better graphics, powerups and great music. Play is great but slows down. 8/10.]
        * Would be the premier shooter for SNES if there was no slowdown. Hard.
Super Scope 6           Nintendo                    8
[Peripheral bazooka gun comes with six in one cartridge. Games are reasonably
diverse; graphics and sounds are OK. Peripheral: 7/10. Game: 7.5/10.]
        * Gun itself has two problems. First, the gun itself is huge, requiring
        lots of space between you and the TV. Second, the sighting in some of
        the games is done with a scope on the gun which forces you to squint:
        just uncomfortable. Luckily, some games now have on-screen cursors.
        * 6-in-1 cart is far better than a "Duck Hunt" cart would have been. 
        * Gun seems to be made well, feels right. Many good games = good gun. 
Super Smash T.V.        Acclaim/LJN/Beam            4
[Arcade shoot/action, missing levels but retains most. Has awesome voices
from the arcade, bosses and graphics are nearly perfect. 2-pl. sim. 8.5/10.]
        * Shooter lovers must try it. Totally challenging and semi-dynamic.
Super Star Wars         JVC/Sculptured              8
[System selling action/shooting/driving/flying game. Overall excellent. Has
levels with Landspeeder, X-Wings AND Luke/Han/Chewy. Great cinemas, too. 9/10.]
        * A lot of diversity. Any game player should like it. Uses SNES 100%.
Super Tennis            Nintendo/Tonkin House       4
[First SNES tennis, best doubles matches, OK graphics + good sounds. 7.5/10.]
        * Fun game, preferred choice for doubles games. Not visually great.
Super Tetris + Bombliss Bullet Proof Software       8 + Battery
[One of Jer's faves. 2-pl. simultaneous. A very nice version of the Nintendo
Tetris license with new modes and a new Tetris with bombs. GREAT! 9.5/10.]
        * Tetris can only be improved upon at this point by adding more
variants
        like Bombliss and better graphics. If the graphics were mindblowing, it
        would get a 10. As it is, it has options and great long-term value.
        * Bombliss Puzzle Mode: Could be a game all by itself. Totally great.
Super Wrestlemania      Acclaim/LJN                 8
[WWF licensed wrestling game, has digitized graphics (impressive) and sounds.
Play is good for a wrestling game, but each character has same moves. 7.5/10.]
        * Everything is good except lack of moves. A good rental.
Syvalion                Toshiba EMI [Japan]         8
[Player is a metallic dragon in mazes, has flame-breath. Interesting, 7.5/10]
        * Somewhat original ideas but isn't a purchasable title in my mind.
T.M.N.T. IV             Konami                      8
[2-pl. sim. conversion of super TMNT II arcade game. 10 levels. A little easy, 
but has dynamic animation and sounds, great backgrounds too. 8.5/10.]
        * Two button fighting games don't get much better. Great rental.
Thunder Spirits         Toshiba EMI                 8
[Horrible copy of Technosoft's Genesis Thunder Force 3 shooter. Awesome
graphics
and sounds reduced to trash by bad programming. Play is only OK. 5/10.]
        * Loved the original, hated the copy. Not good enough to rent.
Tiny Toons Adventure    Konami                      8
[Probably the best kids' action game around (if you hack the passwords). Good
graphics, sounds and play - difficulty spotty (some parts frustrating). 8/10.]
        * Easy password feature = auto level select. Skip frustrating levels.
        * Very cute and makes good use of Warner Brothers licensed cartoons.
TKO Super Champ Boxing  Sofel                       4
[Early SFC boxing effort came out too late in U.S. to be even average. Very
few moves, so-so graphics + sounds (better before game began), plays bad.
6/10.]
        * There seems to be no point to it. OK options have no place here.
Top Gear                Kemco                       4
[2-pl. sim. driving game which uses no scaling. Graphics are good but animation
is a little jerky, sounds and options are good. 2-pl. feature great! 7.5/10.]
        * Choice not to use scaling helped make it unique. Can't wait for pt.
2.
True Golf: Pebble Beach T&E Soft                    8 + Battery
[Very nice golf game with mix of polygons and bitmaps. Good music, nice play
mechanics for a golf game, good options. Second best golf on system. 8/10.]
        * It feels right, but isn't all that dynamic. Real golf course, tho.
Ultimate Fighter        Culture Brain               12
[Fighting game with mix of 1-on-1 and plain street brawl modes, reflex game and
RPG also. Graphics have big problems but are large, sound OK, play OK. 5.5/10.]
        * Play hurt by bad control, many concepts but none properly done.
        * Pictures deceiving, animation and scrolling done improperly.
Ultimate Football       Sammy [Japan]               8
[Arguably best football game for SNES, uses rotation and scaling, neat. Nice
to play up the field on receiving kickoffs, across it in normal play. 8/10.]
        * Lacks plays. Not as dynamic as Pro QB but side-view is nice.
Ultraman                Bandai                      4
[Bad 1-player 1-on-1 fighting. Banpresto made it in Japan. I hate Banpresto.
Figure that one out yet? The game is slow and enemies are dopes. 6/10.]
        * Ultraman's moves are almost childish. Not for anyone over 12.
U.N. Squadron           Capcom                      8
[Based on arcade shooter, good graphic conversion, tries to add choices to the 
arcade game by allowing player to select levels. Nice options. 7.5/10.]
        * Plagued by early SNES game "low-intensity" problem. Good otherwise.
Volleyball Twin         Tonkin House [Japan]        8 + Battery
[An excellent 3-D volleyball game - takes skill and is not boring like the 
others. Lots of technique and varying places and types of opponents. 8.5/10.]
        * Totally well conceived. Has technique, even lets you train. Like it.
Warpspeed               Ballistic                   8
[Should be called Wing Commander Jr. Space flight sim with scaling enemy craft
and multiple missions. Better enemies than WC but 1 at a time. OK music. 7/10.]
        * Should be used as a trainer for W.C. All ships fly the same.
        * Doesn't have the cinemas of Wing Commander, nor the atmosphere.
Wing Commander          Mindscape/Origin            8
[IBM PC port, space flight/battle sim with plot. Good for a computer game,
but control mechanism takes some time to adapt to. Well conceived. 8/10.]
        * Many long missions and good play. Good 3-D shooter with great
cinemas.
Wings II: Aces High     Namco                       4
[Flight sim with strong action overtones. Nice graphics + music, good gameplay.
Has WWI feeling throughout, a favorite of renters but could be a "buy". 8/10.] 
        * WWI buffs will go nuts. Only problem: the "powerup meters" do
nothing.
X-Zone                  Kemco                       4
[Super Scope shooter, uses rotation and scaling. Intense, quality effort with
neat effects and an on-screen crosshair. Fight your way into enemy bases.
8/10.]
        * Reminds me a little of Subroc-3D arcade game, good for a gun game.
Xardion                 Asmik                       8 + Battery
[Sci-fi action game with multi. characters, OK gameplay. Bad graphic work (esp.
animation) and poor music/sound, control not right. Has a plot, tho. 6.5/10.]
        * Doesn't feel right, wouldn't rent it. Don't be fooled by ads or box.
Y's III: Wanderers...   American Sammy              8 + Battery
[RPG Followup to PC/TG-CD Y's 1 & 2. Cinema screens are nice, music is good but
can be annoying. Good plot w/ quests, but play + graphics are outdated.
6.5/10.]
        * Play is a rehash of Zelda II action scenes with graphics appropriate
        more for the TurboGrafx than SNES. Backgrounds are notably lax.
        * Sprites on the SNES don't get much smaller than this.
Zelda III               Nintendo                    8 + Battery
[Best RPG game with action overtones. Graphics, music and play are near perfect
but graphics don't use enough SNES special effects. Great items + areas. 9/10.]
        * It's a must buy. It transcends the RPG genre with cool puzzles.

Continued in part three with grading explanations, lookup tables and company
scoring.

[ -> Jer Horwitz ] [INTERnet Game Consultant]