SNEScapades Chase Keys

Hey everyone! We're revisiting two games today. One we really liked the first time we reviewed, and another that we didn't like much at all from the outset, then maybe, kinda softened on it a bit? It's complicated.

Actraiser is one of the few games Chase finished for the first time while playing it for the show. Do he and Emmy still like it as much as they once did? And where will they ultimately land on Super Ghouls N Ghosts? Listen and find out.

We decided that there were four games worth talking about from November of 1991, so we've broken them down into two pairs. Today we're talking about Darius Twin and Final Fantasy II.

Darius Twin is a pretty solid shooter that lets you play co-op. We really liked it the first time around. Are we going to be as generous to it this time?

Okay, but seriously, we're mostly here to talk about Final Fantasy II, right? Known as Final Fantasy IV today, this is the Final Fantasy game with Cid in it. Oh, and Cecil, and Kain, and Rydia, and all those other folks. We like this one a whole lot and will break down a lot of elements we think are great (and a few that are less great) on today's episode of SNEScapades.

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have Stopless Power?*

Well imagine no more, cuz we're diving into the pages of yet another
issue of Nintendo Power to tell you what all that power felt like back
in the early 90s. We've got a lot to discuss here, like Final Fantasy II
(and the somewhat dubious art NP made for it), Tom and Jerry (and
they're amazing 90s garb), Nester's more sociopathic tenancies, The
Flintstones, Freddy Krueger, Faceball, and more. So come join us, won't
you?

*Of course you haven't. "Stopless" isn't a word. I know it isn't because
my note app is putting red squiggles under it.

It's time for another edition of Playing with Power. We've covered a lot of really exciting magazines with interesting features. This isn't exactly one of the more exciting magazines we've covered. The most interesting part of this magazine is a cool feature on Metroid (which was a pretty old game by that point) and a celebrity profile for a cast member from Murphy Brown who doesn't actually seem all that interested in video games (not more than the average adult at that time). They can't all be winners, but we're going to try to make the most of it anyway.

It’s perhaps never been more dire than it is today folks. January 1994 was a pretty light month to kick off what will end up being the most packed year of the SNES’s lifespan. And while we had two absolute bangers to talk about this month, we’ve reached the end and it’s time to talk about everything else that released, and sadly, it’s a lot of sports titles, cops, military, and a game that even Nintendo Power suggested was a poor investment considering how cheap it would be to buy a deck of playing cards.

We don’t have a lot of nice things to say about this group of games, so this one’s a little on the short side.

We’re discussing Riddick Bowe Boxing, Brett Hull Hockey, Super Battletank 2, Super Solitaire, Lethal Enforcers (barf), and Choplifter III. Um… yeah. That’s it. Sorry.

The hits keep on coming as we venture further into January 1994. But first, we gotta talk a little bit about British Candy.

On this week’s episode of SNEScapdes, we’re talking about quirky British platformer Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension. It’s about a ninja, it had Chupa Chup branding in the UK, that’s pretty much all you need to know.

We’re also talking about Lester the Unlikely. This is a game with a bit of a reputation. Will Chase and Emmy find this one to be as bad as that reputation would suggest or is there anything redeeming about it?

And finally, we’re talking about Skyblazer. This is a game that was not on Chase’s or Emmy’s radars before, but they both really loved it. Did you know about this one from back in the day?

All of this and a deep(ish) dive on Gremlin Graphics on today’s SNEScapades.