Review of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Model No. 2 (Snes) by Protomario
45One of my favorite gaming systems of all time. I really enjoyed this as a kid and appreciated it.
Somone please donate Earthbound and Chronotrigger? ~_~
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (also known as the Super NES, SNES[cn 2] or Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia (Oceania), and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the Super Famicom (スーパーファミコン?, officially adopting the abbreviated name of its predecessor, the Family Computer), or SFC for short. In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy (슈퍼 컴보이) and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent the different versions from being compatible with one another.
The Super NES and Super Famicom launched with only a few games, but these games were well-received in the marketplace. In Japan, only two games were initially available: Super Mario World and F-Zero.[22] In North America, Super Mario World shipped with the console, and other initial titles included F-Zero, Pilotwings (which demonstrated the console's "Mode 7" pseudo-3D rendering capability), SimCity, and Gradius III.[23]
The rivalry between Nintendo and Sega resulted in one of the fiercest console wars in video game history,[24] in which Sega positioned the Genesis as the "cool" console, with edgy advertisements occasionally attacking the competition and more mature titles aimed at older gamers.[25] Nintendo however, scored an early PR coup by securing the first console conversion of Capcom's arcade classic Street Fighter II for Super NES, which took over a year to make the transition to Genesis. Despite the Genesis' head start, much larger library of games, and lower price point,[26] market share between the SNES and the Genesis was about even in April 1992,[27] and neither console could maintain a definitive lead for several years. The Super NES eventually prevailed in the American 16-bit console market,[28] and would even remain popular well into the 32-bit generation.[29]
Nintendo of America also maintained a strict censorship policy that, among other things, limited the amount of violence in the games on its systems. One game, Mortal Kombat, would challenge this policy. A surprise hit in arcades in 1992, Mortal Kombat features splashes of blood and finishing moves that often depict one character dismembering the other. Because the Sega Genesis version retained the gore while the SNES version did not,[31] it outsold the SNES version by a ratio of three- or four-to-one.[32][33][34]
While other companies were moving on to 32-bit systems, Rare and Nintendo proved that the Super NES was still a strong contender in the market. In November 1994, Rare released Donkey Kong Country, a platform game featuring 3D models and textures pre-rendered on SGI workstations. With its detailed graphics and high-quality music, Donkey Kong Country rivaled the aesthetic quality of games that were being released on newer 32-bit CD-based consoles. In the last 45 days of 1994, the game sold 6.1 million units, making it the fastest-selling video game in history to that date. This game sent a message that early 32-bit systems had little to offer over the Super NES, and helped make way for the more advanced consoles on the horizon.[35][36]
In October 1997, Nintendo released a redesigned model of the SNES (the SNS-101 model) in North America for US$99, which included the pack-in game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.[37] Like the earlier redesign of the NES (the NES-101 model), the new model was slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, but it lacked S-Video and RGB output, and it was among the last major SNES-related releases in the region. A similarly redesigned Super Famicom Jr. was released in Japan at around the same time.[38]
Nintendo of America ceased production of the SNES in 1999,[2] about two years after releasing Kirby's Dream Land 3 (its last first-party game for the system) on November 27, 1997. In Japan, Nintendo continued production of the Super Famicom until September 2003,[1] and new games were produced until the year 2000, ending with the release of Metal Slader Glory Director's Cut on December 1, 2000.[39]
Many popular SNES titles have since been ported to the Game Boy Advance, which has similar video capabilities. In 2005, Nintendo announced that SNES titles would be made available for download via the Wii's Virtual Console service.[40] In 2007, Nintendo of Japan announced that it would no longer repair Family Computer or Super Famicom systems due to an increasing shortage of the necessary parts
Reference-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System