F-Zero- 11/21/90

F-ZERO

エフセロ

Released November 21, 1990

Published by Nintendo

Developed by Nintendo EAD

Introduction:

F-Zero and Super Mario World made the perfect duo launch titles for the Super Famicom. One was a sequel to a much beloved Nintendo platformer, and the other was a fast-paced futuristic racer, a new standard for futuristic racing games disguised as a Mode 7 tech demo. Mode 7 allowed for raster graphic plane scaling, which provides the illusion of the 3D racing track in F-Zero. The "Pseudo 3D" holds up really well, never once did I feel like I wasn't in a 3D racing game. Although Captain Falcon was better introduced in Super Smash Bros and F-Zero X on the N64, he does actually get an introduction, not in the game but in the manual. Overall, F-Zero is a fast-paced adventure in frustration, euphoria, and bad memories about being stuck in the middle of a bunch of bumper cars operated by 8-year olds (who probably kicked dirt in your face on several occassions). 

Origin and Development:

F-Zero is named after Formula One Racing because in the future there is no need to go forward, only backwards on numerical scales. Shigeru Miyamoto as producer and Takaya Imamura as Character and Graphic Designer. Imamura is best known for his work on Star Fox, the F-Zero series, and, most recently, Steel Diver. He was also a supervisor on the subsequent F-Zero anime. Many ties to Star Fox can be found throughout the F-Zero series, most notably James McCloud in F-Zero X (basically Fox McCloud out of his furry costume). I guess Imamura's love for recycling has leaked into his professional life, though I really love the idea of multiverses. The composers of the soundtrack, Yumiko Kanki and Naoto Ishida, created an amazing, atmospheric soundtrack yet only composed for a handful of other SNES soundtracks, Star Fox 2 and Super Scope 6, respectively. 

Story:

It takes place in the future, there's hovercars and stuff, rich people pay to see hover car races blah blah blah. Here's the comic that was in the back of the manual, it'll clear things up.

 Gameplay:

F-Zero is a short, but brutal racing game. You get to choose between three leagues in grand prix mode: Knight, Queen, and King, ranging in difficulty respectively. Before you enter the race, your choice of vehicle determines your destiny for the league. Do you want to go really fast but then explode right before you finish in first? Pick the Golden Fox! Withstand heavy damage but finish in 4th every lap? Pick the Pico! The Fire Stingray (Pink) is the best vehicle by far, able to withstand plenty of damage, maintain consistent speed, and navigate through tricky corners. The Blue Falcon is said to be for beginners, but I found it to be a good vehicle throughout most of the King League. 

The goal of each stage is to finish in 3rd place or higher on the final lap. The first three have qualifications too (15th, 7th, 5th). If you place below the threshold, its game over man. Once you finish a league, you go to a records board. There really isn't a credits screen, unless you beat a league on Master level, which you unlock by beating a league in Expert level. I finished each league on beginner and even that took me several hours. Sorry, but I don't have a credit screen for you. 

Controls are very fine tuned, but difficult to master. Using the L and R buttons, you can make sharp turns easier. It's not just the shoulder buttons, you must find the right time to accelerate so you don't skid out of control. After each completed lap, a turbo boost is given allowing you to maximize speed for a brief time. Using this at the wrong time can cause you to crash, or, even worse, turn the whole game into a round of bumper cars. The most frustrating levels have magnets which will pull your vehicle towards the bumpers if you do not steer away. The very last stage of King League, Fire Field, is very brutal, mostly because of its ridiculous turns. 

Overall, I enjoyed every bit of F-Zero. Even when I continued to crash on a hard level, I didn't mind going back to the beginning of the league and starting over. In a way, repeating the stages is the best practice for harder stages. The Mode 7 never seems gimmicky or overbearing, it still lures you into the illusion that this is a 3D racing game. I was a bit disappointed that after finishing King League, there was no credit screen, no real payoff for that torture. 

Super Mario World- 11/21/90

Super Mario World

スーパーマリオワールド

November 20, 1990

August 23, 1991 (US)

Published by Nintendo

Developed by Nintendo EAD

Introduction:

Released only 18 months after Super Mario Bros. 3 (It is subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 in Japan), Super Mario World gained momentum from its predecessor to  become the most quintessential game of the system selling 20 million copies worldwide.

Background and Development:

Super Mario World was developed by Nintendo EAD (Entertainment Analysis and Development) with Shigeru Miyamoto as producer and Takashi Tezuka as director. I'm sure you all know about Miyamoto, but Tezuka has been the game designer behind Devil World, Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros 1-3. As director, he was involved in Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and Yoshi's Island. \

Riding on the dinosaur craze of the early 90's, T. Yoshisaurus Munchakoopas was introduced as Mario's trusty steed. Miyamoto wanted to introduce a dinosaur companion on the SMB3, but the hardware limitations of the system prevented this. Tezuka designed the raccoon tail and the frog suit as a replacement. 

All of the koopa bosses are named after musicians like Iggy Pop and Trent Reznor. I find it interesting that these references made it into a game designed to be kid-friendly, when the musicians referenced have not-so kid friendly songs. 

Koji Kondo, original composer for the Super Mario Bros series and The Legend of Zelda. Nearly all of the music is a variation upon the main theme except for Bowser's level, the credits, the title screen, and maps. It is a great theme, but it becomes a bit overbearing hearing the same variation for the entirety of the game. 

Regional Differences:

I would say the differences are not that great. I haven't had a chance to play completely through the SFC version, but according to MarioWiki, there are quite a few changes. You can find  them here. The most amusing difference is that Yoshi can eat dolphins in the Japanese version. What did those dolphins do to you Yoshi?

Review:

Everyone reading this has probably played Super Mario World, so I won't go to in depth into the gameplay. I will confess, this was my first playthrough of Super Mario World, so this review will be from my perspective as a new player. I had Super Mario World when I was about 6 years old, but I don't remember playing much of it, I may have found it too hard. Having the system in 1995 allowed me to choose Donkey Kong Country over Super Mario World. Had it been 1990, I may have had more nostalgia for Super Mario World. I did a 101-103 playthrough of the DKC games recently, so moving from that to the Mario series is quite challenging. 

Unlike DKC, you can't rush through a level without playing it a few times. You have to respect the level design and strategize your platforming. I could not stop myself from rushing through levels like I did in DKC, but it was nearly impossible at times since many enemies had random attacks and Mario's jumps had to be very precise. The key to finishing each level is to utilize power ups and memorization. Of course, if you have the cape, speeding through a level is a piece of cake!

Mario can get the fire flower, cape, and yoshi as his power ups. I rarely used the fire flower, but I used the cape regularly. Sadly, it wasn't until I beat the game that I realized I can press "back" to keep flying. 

Levels were frustrating, but I never felt anything was unfair. Full exploration of each level is expected of each player. Levels with red dots on the map always have secret exits which link to more levels, fortresses and the star world. In a way, Super Mario World had two storylines. Finishing each secret level leads to a Fortress where you will defeat Reznor, a group of triceratops. Each fortress has the same boss, but the end of the alternate route leads to Bowser's back door, where you fight Bowser again at a harder difficulty (I didn't think it was much different, it seemed faster though). Completing secret levels leads to the Star World, which is basically a warp zone for the main world. Star world leads you to four stages with multi-colored baby yoshis. Getting the purple yoshi makes levels so much easier since this yoshi can fly when he eats any koopa shell. Finishing all the Star stages leads to the Special World, where the most difficult levels are contained. I loved the Special World, especially the names of each stage: Gnarly, Tubuluar, Awesome, Groovy, etc. The Japanese names are equally as awesome; Way Cool is called "Mario's staff is just as surprised" in Japanese. 

Overall, Super Mario World is an amazingly complex platformer, guiding players through secret areas and providing incredibly diverse levels. Having this as a pack-in game is like packing Skyrim with the Xbox360 or PS3. I imagine many Super Nintendo buyers were satisfied with just the game and didn't bother to buy other games for a time. Super Mario World cemented Nintendo's dedication to the console platformer. Super Mario World didn't play like an arcade game like its predecessors; it allowed a save feature to encourage the player to explore each level, much like you would in Metroid or Legend of Zelda. It was a difficult game to get accustomed to as a non-Mario player, many cheap deaths were had.