Golden age of video gaming (Nintendo Super NES)

Member Name: shuttlex

Product:	Nintendo Super NES
Date:	02/01/08 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 2D gaming at its best

Disadvantages: Old, extinct, UK console 17% slower

Originally released in Japan under the name Super Famicom [short for family computer] in 1990, the Super Nintendo was later released in the US and Europe.

My first interaction was with the original Super Famicom, compared to the original Nintendo Entertainment System, the Famicom enabled improved graphics and sound.

This improvement was immediately noticeable in early release titles such as Street Fighter 2, Super Mario World, Final Fight and F Zero X. Such games benefited from the system's improved ability to scale and render 2D graphics at an impressive pace.

Compared to the Mega Drive, the Super Famicom was perhaps slightly slower. This difference could be seen when comparing the Famicom with Mega Drive games such as Strider and Sonic the Hedgehog. On one hand while the Mega Drive was faster, it couldn't handle large 2D sprites in the same manner as the Super Famicom, neither could it match the Super Famicom's colour palette.

While the Super Famicom and Super NES are essentially the same console with the exception of region locking, the European released Super Nintendo suffered from a major flaw. While US and Japanese television systems were designed to run in 60hz, PAL systems were set to 50hz. Therefore to match the speed of European television systems, the Super Nintendo suffered from a reduction in approx 17.5% speed and boarders to compensate for the extra line resolution of the PAL television system.

In terms of hardware, the build quality and design of the SNES was slightly better than the Mega Drive system. The SNES seemed far more solid and less likely to break. The SNES pads were also composed of a better construction.

The SNES was released at a time when 2D gaming was at its peak. Unfortunately such games have now become extinct in the latest generation.

Many SNES games such as Super Mario World and Yoshi's island are still enjoyable and no worse than many present day DS games. However, make sure you get the original Famicom system that runs in 60hz otherwise there is little point.

Summary: Worth taking a look