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[hotcyder]

I've seen that thrown around a lot as of late but, I'll be honest, I still think the original game is a blast to play. It has a very simple charm and is quite fast paced.

Honestly, and I'm sure I'm along on this, I think it's more fun on a minute to minute basis than Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 64.

...I know they say you're first Mario Kart is the best, of course, but I think MK8 takes that crown for me. The first and the last are my favorites.

Yeah, I don't know why SMK gets such a bad rap - compared to Super Circuit the controls feel really good, and the chunky graphics are a lot more readable then the gba's pre-rendered sprites.

Only thing I miss is DS' Mission Mode and richer single player content. Every Mario Kart since has been a substantial improvement - and 8DX is the best the series has ever been, no questions asked.

 

[MrCunningham]

F-Zero might be debatable, but SMK is definitely primitive. And I don't even mean primitive because it's an SNES game. After all, most SNES games looked great. SMK sadly, seems incredibly flat and basic. Probably due to it being a pseudo 3D game and thus making it difficult to allow for complex graphics.

All the Super Nintendo can really do in hardware (without the aid of an additional chips like the SuperFX co-processor) is render a single flat 3D playing field. The SNES doesn't even have sprite scaling hardware and uses faux scaling effects by swapping through different sized sprites, which is why the landscape is barren. Though SMK does use an addition math co-processor called the DSP-1 that does allow the SNES's mode 7 to rotate the playing field in a few additional ways.

The game itself still runs at a pretty smooth 60fps, which makes it very playable IMO. I always felt that the original Super Mario Kart is one of the best balanced games in the series, especially with the coin speed/ damage system. I think this harder game for some to go back and play if they didn't grow up with this game. For me, it was one of the better console racers of the 16bit generation.

 

[BassForever]

Once you've played the game, go to town. But how can you possibly call out a review for something you yourself haven't played yet? There's specific cases where, say, a reviewer complains that a game has too few characters when they didn't realize there were four unlockable characters announced. But I can't really say that's the case most of the time.

You misunderstood what I was trying to say so intensely that it's hilarious.

You do realize that star fox 2's rom has been leaked online for years right? Yes I understand this is the finished build vs a 99% build but it sounds like not much changed for the final product.

Also the problem with f-zero is that it's single player only.

 

[VARIA]

Any comparisons of this version with the leaked roms?

Just wondering if there's any substantial changes to performance or gameplay. Asking for a friend.

Just saw a brief comparison video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc1bPhSMRyU

Seems like everything is pretty much identical. The only main difference is that charge shots no longer locks on to targets. This is pretty huge and makes the game much more difficult.

Not sure how I feel about that.

 

[Celine]

Any comparisons of this version with the leaked roms?

Just wondering if there's any substantial changes to performance or gameplay. Asking for a friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xvcm4sOJE&feature=youtu.be&t=3m41s

The guy also missed the randomization of the events in the map.

Basically the final version has:
- Different title screen from the beta.
- randomized events on the map that depend on the difficulty level.
- No homing charge shot by default.
- Collecting the General Pepper medals actually unlock something...
- ... if you get all the General Pepper medals you unlock a secret base in which you obtain a homing power up and you unlock a different title screen (with Fox's big face).
- Bombs actually works in the final version.
- Camera tweaks to improve visibility.
- Expert mode is locked at the beginning.
- In general more challenging game.
- Star Wolf team member's AI is improved, and will reflect your shots often.
- Health power up recover two units instead of just one as in the beta.
- Different font used.
- Of course professional english translation.

Am I missing something?

 

[Neo-Alec]

You do realize that star fox 2's rom has been leaked online for years right? Yes I understand this is the finished build vs a 99% build but it sounds like not much changed for the final product.

Also the problem with f-zero is that it's single player only.

Actually, a TON has changed! Check here:
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Star_Fox_2/June_22,_1995_Build#Differences_from_Final_Version

And here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xvcm4sOJE

 

[Geno Breaker]

Actually, a TON has changed! Check here:
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Star_Fox_2/June_22,_1995_Build#Differences_from_Final_Version

And here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xvcm4sOJE

Thanks for posting this. Really nice to see.

 

[BassForever]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xvcm4sOJE&feature=youtu.be&t=3m41s

The guy also missed the randomization of the events in the map.

Basically the final version has:
- Different title screen from the beta.
- randomized events on the map that depend on the difficulty level.
- No homing charge shot by default.
- Collecting the General Pepper medals actually unlock something...
- ... if you get all the General Pepper medals you unlock a secret base in which you obtain a homing power up and you unlock a different title screen (with Fox's big face).
- Bombs actually works in the final version.
- Camera tweaks to improve visibility.
- Expert mode is locked at the beginning.
- In general more challenging game.
- Star Wolf team member's AI is improved, and will reflect your shots often.
- Health power up recover two units instead of just one as in the beta.
- Different font used.
- Of course professional english translation.

Am I missing something?

Actually, a TON has changed! Check here:
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Star_Fox_2/June_22,_1995_Build#Differences_from_Final_Version

And here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xvcm4sOJE

Glad to know the differences have been figured out. Though if anything it further proves my point that "this game has been leaked for years" in that the final version is actually a much better game then the leak. So someone calling out a reviewer getting something wrong (minus the lock on blaster) before the SNES classic launched is valid.

 

[Nottle]

Is Star Fox 2 the 2nd best star fox game? 64 of course is number one.

 

[katsubento]

I'm guessing the IGN crew that reviewed Super Mario Kart and F Zero are morons.

 

[Classicblunder]

A 9 lol. Yeah okay guys.

Why does the IGN score stick out? Maybe it's the fact a bunch of Nintendo fanboy sites are not actually reviewing the title with the current era in mind or any era.

I have severe doubts this is a 9/10 game from what I have seen. That 5/10 seems really accurate.



Honestly, the game is mediocre at best to be honest. The graphics are terrible. The controls are alright. The game itself has long been kicked to the curb. Rating that Mario Kart say an 8 would do severe injustice to Mario Kart 8 or Transformed, which are games that are so much better it's not even funny.

Do people honestly think their nostalgia warrants a game that was cool twenty or 30 years ago to have the same exact score now? I'm actually really tired of people thinking that every classic 20 to 30 years ago holds up with the best of the genre now. That was a game in its absolute infancy. It's not that cool anymore IMO.

Isn't this exactly how many indies are scored? To me game reviews should take into consideration platform and team size. SF2 is a SNES game. surely we can't hold it to modern big budget game standards. It's not like anyone is expecting a modern looking game in SF2. we know it's a very old game. so to rate it a 5 is to basically say ALL SNES games shouldn't be above a 6, and no PS4 game should be above a 9 since high end PC games look better.

Actually, the best measuring stick might be money spent. Lets say the SNESC hardware is worth $40, and the other $40 is for games. So you're looking at $1.90 for each game. So SF2 is costing about $2, was developed decades ago for SNES hardware and is very impressive by that standard, and is a big piece of Nintendo history never before released. I would give that a 10 TBH.