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Could Mother 3 have been more successful on the SNES?

Mother 3 was an underrated JRPG from the mid 00’s that may have been released a lot sooner than it should of been. As many people know the legendary Earthbound series began in the late 80’s on the NES with the most high profile entry being released for the SNES back in 1994. Although, Earthbound/Mother 2 failed to be a huge success in terms of sales the game is still considered to be a cult classic while being recognized as one of the greatest RPG’s from the 16-bit era. While the world never got to see an N64 sequel to Mother 2 years following its release Mother 3 eventually appeared on Game Boy Advance exclusively in Japan back in 2006. While Mother 3 is also considered to be a critically acclaimed JRPG its often overlooked especially since it came out during a time period where people were turning away from the Game Boy Advance and began sinking their teeth into the Nintendo DS which came out in 2004. Some wonder whether or not Mother 3 could have been a bigger attraction during the 90’s for the SNES considering the fact that the game looked like it belonged in the 16-bit era of gaming.

However, Mother 2 was not much of an attraction as other RPG’s that appeared on the SNES during the 90’s and its highly unlikely that Mother 3 would have been any different. If Mother 3 was released for the SNES back in the 90’s it would of been too late since ’94 was the same year that more superior consoles such as PS1 and Sega Saturn were released. During the mid to late 90’s the Super NES was no longer the main attraction within the gaming world and 16-bit RPG’s were beginning to decline in popularity by that time. While there is no question that Mother 3 could have definitely worked on SNES during the 90’s its unlikely that it would have been more successful than Mother 2 from ’94. Earthbound 64 was the game that the gaming world was waiting to see following Mother 2 and the world never got to see it since development had ended abruptly around 1999. If anything Mother 3 could have been a slightly bigger attraction on Game Boy Advance anytime between ’02-’04 outside of Japan despite how popular the PokeMon series was within that country and places like America during that time period.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Marvel Super Heroes: (1995)

When we think about some of the most popular arcade games to come from the 90’s one of the few titles that instantly comes to mind is the 2D fighting game developed and published by Capcom known as Marvel Super Heroes. For those who are unaware Marvel Super Heroes was released back in ’95 and was basically the arcade sequel to Capcom’s X-Men Children Of The Atom game from ’94. The gameplay & visuals presentation of Marvel Super Heroes were among the game’s strong points while including popular larger than life superhero & supervillain characters for players to choose from. Marvel Super Heroes included characters such as: Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Psylocke, Spider-Man and others. It should also be noted that Thanos was the final boss and main antagonist for Marvel Super Heroes considering the fact that he wanted to utilize the Infinity Stones in order to take over the universe. The idea of using different stones such as: Time, Power, Space, Soul and Reality to battle opponents throughout the game was very intriguing. As far as gameplay was concerned many people would argue that the Sega Saturn port was more superior than the PS1 version of the game; the Sega Saturn port of Marvel Super Heroes came much closer to the arcade version of the game despite the console itself not being nearly as popular as the PS1.

The gameplay for Marvel Super Heroes is considered to be legendary by most gamers because it seeming pushed 2D fighting gameplay to its limit prior to the releases of X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom in arcade centers between ’96-’99. As a 2D head to head fighting game Marvel Super Heroes was very basic yet very impressive due to its art design and addictive gameplay which was a unique improvement from its spiritual successor X-Men: Children Of The Atom from ’94. Despite, the fact that Marvel Super Heroes was released about 25 years ago the game itself has aged very well and looks as fresh as it did back in 1995. Marvel Super Heroes was arguably one greatest CPS-2 video games of all-time and is a game that does not get talked about nearly as much as it should. As far as 2D fighting games are concerned it seemed like almost everything Capcom produced during the 90’s was special and had lasting appeal them; Marvel Super Heroes just so happen to be one of those timeless classics that the world got to see from the arcade era of gaming.

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Was Revelations: Persona overlooked on the PS1 in ‘96-‘97?

As many might know by now the very first game from the Persona series began back in ’96 for the PS1. Since its release the very first Persona game was eventually ported to the PSP back in 2009. While the original Persona game received mainly good reviews in regards to its plot and setting its an RPG title from the 90’s that does not get talked about as much as it should. When it comes down to high profile RPG games from the mid to late 90’s games such as Square Enix’s FFVII & FFVIII comes to mind considering how successful both games were on the PS1. While FFVII went on to sell over 10 million copies on the 32-bit console FFVII reached close to 9 million in sales. Despite, Persona 1 being a solid RPG from the mid 90’s the game failed to reach at least one million in worldwide sales mostly due to stiff competition from other high profile games that appeared on the PS1. Also, the original Persona game pales in popularity to some of the later games within the series such as P4: Golden from 2012 and most recently Persona 5 from 2016.

In fact, many people would argue that some of Atlus best work in relation to the Persona series came from the 00’s & 10’s decade considering the fact that the series in general was more popular during that time period. While Revelations: Persona had a dark and intriguing plot the storyline was not quite as memorable as Persona 4 or 5. While the original Persona game was eventually ported as a Japanese exclusive for Microsoft Windows in ’99 the game was never released for any other game console other than PS1 & PSP since ’96. Since the PlayStation Vita is known for being one of the most unsuccessful game systems in recent memory it did not make too much sense for Atlus to not release Revelations: Persona for any console since ’09. If P4: Golden was released on the PS3 or even saved for the PS4 in 2013 it could have possibly sold more than it did. While Revelations: Persona is considered to be a sleeper hit in the eyes of many its mainly because the series in general became very popular during the late 00’s along with the 10’s decade. Despite, Revelations: Persona being a solid 3D JRPG for the PS1 it would be an understatement to say that the game was overlooked on the 32-bit console back in the 90’s in countries like America.

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Was the final level of Super Mario Land 2 unfair?

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is quite possibly the best Mario game to have appeared on Game Boy back in the 90’s. Not only was Super Mario Land 2 one of the easiest Mario installments within the series but the world got to see the debut of Wario who appeared game as the main antagonist back in ’92. Despite, how successful Super Mario Land 2 became following its initial release the game has often been the subject of criticism as it pertains to its final level inside Wario’s Castle. As we all know a majority of Mario games back in the day had Bowser’s Castle as the final level but they were not nearly as difficult to complete as Wario’s Castle was in Super Mario Land 2. There were countless obstacles thrown at the player who controlled Mario included moving spikes along with statues that spit fire along with the entire stage being filled with lava. The absence of save checkpoints in Wario’s Castle made the level unbearable to some people; while the final boss battle with Wario himself was interesting yet more complex than anything you would see Bowser in some of the older NES/SNES Mario games.

If players screwed up once in Wario’s Castle they had to start all the way from the beginning making this level very unforgiving for such an easy game in Super Mario Land 2. While many people around the world have made more difficult levels using Super Mario Maker 1 & 2 since 2015 Wario’s Castle was by far one of the most difficult video game levels in history during Nintendo’s Game Boy era. For such a difficult level in Wario’s Castle the ending seemed underwhelming considering all of the trouble players had to go through in order to complete the entire game. To say that the final level of Super Mario Land 2 would be an understatement at this point; but seeing that Wario became more popular as a anti-hero from Super Mario Land 3 onwards its not a big deal for so many people who were fans of the series.

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Retro Gaming 10’s- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (2013)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 was one of the most high profile fighting games of the early 10’s along the likes of Super Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur V, Persona 4: Arena and Mortal Kombat IX. In fact, many people in general would argue that the Naruto Shippuden series in general was very popular during the first half of the 10’s decade especially the English dub of the anime began airing in America since ’09 and has been running on Cartoon Network ever since. Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 was considered to be the fourth installment within its series and was developed by CyberConnect2 and published Namco Bandi Games. The story for Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 revolved around the conflict between all of the ninja villages and the Akatsuki with Madara Uchiha & Sasuke Uchiha serving as two of the main antagonists. The death match between Naruto & Sasuke was something that American fans of the series have been waiting to see since their first encounter prior to the start of Shippūden series. The fourth ninja world war saw the involvement of the Five Kages as they eventually confronted Madara Uchiha. Also, players learn about Sasuke’s decision to become apart of the fourth ninja after joining his brother Itachi Uchiha; who was reanimated after death following their battle earlier on within the series.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Storm 3 was ported for multiple game systems such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows following its units release and looked like a very fun fighting game. The optimal quality of the visuals along with the amazing the cinematic cutscenes added life to Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. The game featured at least 80 different characters where players can choose two different assistants each with their own health bar to aid them during battle. A strong positive in relation to the gameplay of Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 included the addition of Awakening Mode along with the modification of the item system which was helpful in combat. The hack n slash gameplay during mob battles was also a unique feature which contributed to the overall fun factor of Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. Even though, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 3 was great fighting game from the early 10’s the game did not have the type of success that titles such as Mortal Kombat IX or Super Street Fighter IV did on a mainstream level following their initial releases. However, it should noted that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 reached over one million copies in sales worldwide sales; despite not being quite as popular as the original game within the trilogy which came out in 2008.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Marvel Super Heroes In War Of The Gems: (1996)

When it comes down to underrated beat em games from the 90’s that may have been overlooked on the SNES Marvel Super Heroes In War Of The Gems is one that comes to mind. Marvel Super Heroes War Of The Gems was initially released in October ’96 and was a game that looked like it should have been released between ’89-’94 seeing how popular the beat em up genre of gaming was during that time period. The cool thing about Marvel Super Heroes War Of The Gems is that the visuals and gameplay looked somewhat reminiscent of X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse from ’94; after all both games were developed by Capcom and included 2D platform gameplay as well. MSH: War Of The Gems was a single-player game that allowed players to choose one of five characters to complete various missions while trying to achieve the Infinity Gems. Superheroes that player could choose from included: Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America and the Hulk as they battled various super-villains throughout the game with Thanos being the final boss. Collecting Infinity Gems in certain parts of the MSH: War Of The Gems gave players certain advantages that would help them complete the game depending on which stone they obtained.

Players could gain to access to different Infinity Gems such as: Power, Soul, Reality, Space, Time and would have to make it towards end of the game to obtain the Mind stone after defeating Thanos. As far as gameplay creativity was concerned in relation to the Infinity Stones this game added a layer of complexity rarely seen 16-bit beat em ups which contributed to its overall appeal. While MSH: In War Of The Gems was considered to be a solid 2D beat em up game from the mid 90’s that particular genre began to decline in popularity by that time. Seeing how MSH: War Of The Gems came out in ’96 the game may have been overshadowed because the SNES was starting to decline in popularity as well; despite all the great games that appeared on the 16-bit console within 1996. Marvel Super Heroes: In War Of The Gems could have possibly worked on the 32-bit Game Boy Advance in the early 00’s seeing how popular the game system was during the time. Even though, Capcom has never re-released MSH: War Of The Gems for any other game system than the SNES its still one of the coolest beat em up titles to come from Nintendo’s 16-bit console during the 90’s.

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Should Star Ocean have been released in America during 1996?

One of the few JRPG’s for the Super NES that may have her overlooked back in the mid ’90s was Star Ocean from ’96. For those who do not know Star Ocean was developed by video game company tri-Ace and published by Square Enix and was released exclusively in Japan during the summer of 1996. Unlike, some of the previous JRPG’s that Square Enix has published between the early to mid 90’s Star Ocean had features that made it stand out more on the SNES. Unlike games such as Secret Of Mana & Chrono Trigger it should be noted that Star Ocean was one of the few JRPG’s in the SNES that included voice samples. By the mid 90’s video games were able to push the limits of the 16-bit SNES and being able to do things that was previously thought to be impossible when the console was first released in 1990. The visual aspect of Star Ocean was also very impressive along with the plot which emphasized time travel. Star Ocean was a game that could have been very successful in the early 90’s especially since 2D JRPG’s were more popular during that time period.

In fact, some people might of have been surprised that Star Ocean was released exclusively in Japan for the SNES especially considering the fact that the 16-bit console was starting to decline in popularity by the mid 90’s. Many have probably questioned why Star Ocean was not ported for the PS1 during the mid 90’s seeing popular Sony’s 32-bit console was during the time. Either way, despite how adventurous the plot for Star Ocean along with how polished it looked on the SNES it still may not have been a huge attraction in America back in 1996. American gamers were more fixated on 3D gaming along with titles such as Mortal Kombat & Killer Instinct that emphasized blood, gore and violence. While it made sense to keep Star Ocean as a Japanese exclusive during the mid 90’s the game still should have been released in America much sooner than it was. Star Ocean was not officially released in America until October 2008 before it appeared worldwide on PlayStation 4 & Nintendo in December 2019. If the original Star Ocean game appeared on the Game Boy Advance back in the early 00’s it could have been somewhat of an attraction on the 32-but handheld console seeing how successful it ended up becoming during that decade.

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Could Alundra have worked on the SNES during the early 90’s?

Alundra was arguably one of the most underrated JRPG’s of the 90’s. For those who do not know Alundra was developed by Matrix Software and was released as a PS1 exclusive back in 1997. Since ’97 Alundra has looked back on favorably by many critics as one of the best RPG’s to have never appear on the SNES. The cool thing about Alundra is the fact that it was a game that looked like it belonged on a 16-bit console such as the Super NES; some speculate that Alundra could have been a bigger attraction than it was during the early 90’s since 2D JRPG’s were very popular during that time period. One of the most surprising things about Alundra was the fact that it was a high quality critically acclaimed 2D JRPG that was created by a video game developer other than Square Enix. It should also be noted that Alundra was released the same year as Square Enix’s legendary Final Fantasy VII game came out. Its quite possible that FFVII overshadowed Alundra on the PS1 especially considering the fact that it was the second best selling game for 32-bit console behind Gran Turismo.

Even though, the PS1 was very popular by the mid 90’s some would agree that Alundra was a game released a few years too late; to be honest Alundra was better suited for the Super NES or Sega Genesis back in the early 90’s. The art design, storyline and puzzles games included in Alundra were very impressive to a point where it surpassed the quality of 2D RPG games such as LandStalkers & Secret Of Evermore. There is no doubt that Alundra could have been a best seller on the Sega Genesis since the 16-bit console was lacking in high profile JRPG’s outside of the Shinning and Phantasy Star series. However, a Genesis version of Alundra would not have been on par with the PS1 release that we got in ’97 since the 32-bit console was far more superior. If anything Alundra could have been a bigger attraction than it was on the PS1 during ’95-’96 since FFVII had yet to appear on the 32-bit console. Its kinda strange that Alundra was never ported or remastered for any other game system outside of the PS1 since its release over 20 years ago. Either way, Alundra is still a legendary JRPG nonetheless that deserved more credit than it got since it had the potential to be more popular than it actually was.

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Retro Gaming 10’s- WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011: (2010)

When it comes down to some of the most popular pro wrestling games of all-time Smackdown vs Raw 2011 may not be in everyone’s top ten list; but there is no question that SvR 2011 was without a doubt one of the best pro wrestling video games of the 10’s decade. In fact, Smackdown vs Raw 2010 was the final entry within the SvR series before the WWE 2K series began in 2011. Smackdown vs Raw 2011 was published by THQ the same company that took the same role with a majority of WWE games since ’00 and was released back in 2010. As far as SvR ’11 was concerned critics were fond of the certain features such as graphical improvements over its predecessor along with the inclusion of the brand new “Universe Mode”. The Universe Mode in SvR ’11 allowed players to choose as any character they wanted in pre-set matches while being able to select title holders, create feuds while being able to watch unpredictable cutscenes take place in various matches. Also, in Universe Mode players also got to witness the formation of various alliances & stables by various wrestlers while watching others dissolve which was very intriguing.

Another, big offline game mode featured in SvR ’11 was Road To Wrestlemania which also appeared in the game’s predecessor SvR ’10 back in 2009. The Road To Wrestlemania mode in SvR ’11 was noticeably different than the one included its previous entries since new features were added. The Road To Wrestlemania mode in SvR ’11 saw players roam around backstage areas with wrestlers such as John Cena, Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio in order to interact with certain characters progress through the main story along with completing various side quests. Additional offline game modes included were Create-A-SuperStar, Create-A-Finisher and the brand new Match Creator mode making things a little more interesting for those who enjoyed SvR ’10. It was also pretty cool to see the return of Story Designer mode as well along with some new cutscenes opposed to recycling the same animations from SvR ’10. Smackdown vs Raw 2011 also had countless offline match types that players could have with either a friend or the CPU such as single, tag-team, triple threat, fatal 4 way, handicap, six man, royal rumble along with the championship scramble.

Also, players can choose from a variety of stipulations for their matches including Inferno, Iron Man, Steel Cage, Hell In A Cell, Last Man Standing, Ladder, Backstage Brawl and TLC. The amount of offline gameplay that people could get from SvR ’11 was unbelievable especially considering the fact that online multiplayer gameplay was also included in this game as well. While SvR ’11 might not be a game that appeals to casual fans of pro-wrestling its definitely one that long time followers would appreciate. There many people who wished that the SvR series continued longer than it did especially considering how popular it was during the mid to late 00’s.

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Retro Gaming 90’s- Duke Nukem 3D: (1996)

When it comes down to popular first person shooter games from the 90’s one of the few titles that people think aside from Doom ’93 and GoldenEye 007 is Duke Nukem 3D from 1996. As many people already know the Duke Nukem series began back in ’91 on MS-DOS and was followed by a sequel entitled Duke Nukem II released in ’93. The first two Duke Nukem games ended up becoming solid first person shooter titles in a era of gaming were the genre itself was not too popular. Following the release of Duke Nukem II we got Duke Nukem 3D created by video game developer 3D Realms. Duke Nukem 3D had multiple publishers since it was released on various game consoles such as MacSoft, GT Interactive Software, Piko Interactive and others depending on system it was ported to. The initial publisher for Duke Nukem 3D was MacSoft when it first appeared on the MS-DOS during ’96 and was a game that was critically acclaimed by many fans of the series. In Duke Nukem 3D players were responsible for destroying various types of enemies such as aliens & mutants while having access to a variety of weapons.

The type of weapons that players could acquire included pipe bombs, landmines, shotguns, pistols and even shrink rays while plowing through enemies in consecutive non-linear levels; each with ending with boss battles at the end of each episode. Similar to the Doom game from ’93 Duke Nukem 3D consisted of episodes that contained a set of levels such as: LA Meltdown, Lunar Apocalypse and Shrapnel City; for those who had access to the Atomic version of Duke Nukem 3D they could also The Birth episode as well. Aside from the gameplay one of the aspects of Duke Nukem 3D that people found intriguing was how the setting of the game was constantly changing. Players had travel to many places such as: space stations, military bases, cities and deserts to complete their missions while appreciating how some of the in-game level designs reflected real-life locations within the world. In addition, to having a variety of weapons to choose from players also had numerous accessories they could utilize that would help them complete each level with ease. Accessories featured in Duke Nukem 3D included jet packs, steroids, portable medkits, night vision goggles and even scuba gear in order to breathe underwater. In terms of quality Duke Nukem 3D was arguably a better game than Doom ’93 but not necessarily more popular.

Similar to the Doom game from ’93 Duke Nukem 3D had a basic plot that involved saving the earth. However, opposed to fighting off demons from the underworld players had to deal hordes homicidal aliens which made for a great science-fictional first person shooter game. Since its initial release on MS-DOS during the mid 90’s Duke Nukem 3D has appeared on various game console including the PS1, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Xbox 360 along with Android Mobile devices which is a testament to how popular the was. While its debatable on which version of Duke Nukem 3D was the best everyone can definitely agree that it was one of the few first shooters games from the 90’s that helped put the genre itself on the map going into the 00’s decade.