Tag: super nintendo

Chrono Trigger surprisingly releases on Steam! But…

DavidLeave a comment

I would be saying hooray! …But, this may not be the exact release you want. So, how could you release Chrono Trigger and mess it up? Well, maybe it has some annoying load times like the US PlayStation release?

Let’s not start with the negatives out right, but the good things the Steam version does.

  • It’s out on the PC, for everybody!
  • Extra dungeons from the DS port (arguably the best version right now)
  • Gamepad support
  • Autosaves
  • Other Steam goodies like trading cards, if you’re into that

So no, the load times aren’t an issue. But probably the main gripe everyone is going to have is this:

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I mean, look at it! This is not the Chrono Trigger I remember. Sure, the interface is not my favorite, in fact I could probably deal with the new menus and be fine. However, two other things stand out. The font is ugly. It straight up does not fit the feel of the game. It’s huge, plain and out of place. Like the font itself is too modern looking for its own good.

Second is the graphics filter. You can tell the graphics are smoothed out in the Steam release, which initially isn’t a turn off, but the more I played it, the more it felt like I was looking at a blurry painting. The Steam release has some different colors, objects and a few other noticeable changes. For comparison, here’s a screenshot of what it should look like on the Super Nintendo.

Chrono_Trigger_Gato_Fight_Intro[1]

At the very least, we got Chrono Trigger, again. Not exactly in the best form, but at least we got it. And I can’t not recommend this game to someone who hasn’t played it or doesn’t have another medium to play it on.

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The Mega Man X stage select theme is amazing

DavidLeave a comment

You probably already know that it is. I was actually trying to compile a list of some of my favorite character/stage select themes and I could only come up with a few that I really liked. For example, the Street Fighter II and Mega Man 8 are pretty great, but nothing matched the affinity I had for the X1 theme.

But, let’s start with the ones I do like. Street Fighter II. It progresses nicely, doesn’t get on your nerves when it repeats and prepares you mentally for the fight, as all character select music should do.

 

 

And the aforementioned Mega Man 8 stage select song is decent too. It pulses with a great dance beat and synths that are easy going. It’s also kinda upbeat and doesn’t over do itself by being too complicated.

 

 

Street Fighter III: Third Strike definitely goes for something different. It’s hip-hop, funky and just down right cool sounding. It might be the only video game rap song that doesn’t sound dumb as you listen to it. It’s straight dope!

 

 

Nothing hits harder than the Mega Man X stage select theme. And I mean nothing. Just listen to the guitar riff, the snare drum and driving bass… it gets you pumped and ready for battle.

 

 

This song is just begging for a great hard rock or heavy metal cover. And I found a few that are actually pretty good. What actually surprised me the most was how good it could sound remixed on a Sega Genesis. Still, not as good as the Super Nintendo original.

 

 

Basically, we’ve learned that Capcom makes the best character and stage select music, ever.

Super Famicom left on for 20 years to keep save data

DavidLeave a comment

Cartridges from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras of consoles had a battery to maintain the save data. Aside from passwords, this was pretty much the only way to keep your progress. But, like all batteries, they eventually loose power and can no longer retain the memory of the RAM.

Batteries on a chipset can be replaced in some cases, but once the console is turned off, the data would be lost without a viable way to save it internally. Twitter user Wanikun found the option of losing the save data to Umihara Kawase unacceptable and left the Super Famicom powered on for 20 years to do so.

Even after moving, it seems that the Famicom is again plugged in, the save data still intact.