Super Smash TV

"Finally a game that NEVER gets stale!"

I rented Super Smash TV once innocently enough, looking for something to kill the weekend, over the years i returned a rented it many times over. In effect this game killed many of my weekends! When i finally bought it i put it many many more hours into it... when it occured to me. Even after 10 years this game is still fresh, you can bring it out for a 2 player contest or a simple test of skills anytime you want! I wish more games were this intense.

Plot 10(for humour value alone)
The year is 1999 and the gameshow is once again the most popular form of television(hmmm maybe). To satisfy the viewing publics bloodthirsty urges the top rated shows resort to tests of strength and bloody violence(yeah, i wish)! The show with the highest ratings, Smash TV. Where contestants face off against hoards of mutants, robots and deadly traps for huge amounts of cash and prizes and, the most valuable prize of all, their lives.

Play Control 10
Its going to take you a few minutes to get used to, but once you do you'll be splattering mutants by the thousands. The four main buttons on the snes pad are used as a second control pad for you direction of fire.. X being up for instance, B being down. Perfect control for weaving between the oncoming traffic which floods you at all sides. You will amaze yourself when you see a 1-up sitting on the other side of the screen just as the doors open and the enemies flood in... the sheer willpower and concentration required to make yourself a lane thru the seemingly unending swarm is an unbelievable rush. Its simple, its perfect... the controls will never let you down!

Graphics 9
Ok the sprites are laughably small, but theres literally 50 to 100 of then onscreen at once and they all animate nicely enough, its mayhem! I hear some people say 'graphics dont matter, its the gameplay' well this is a case of the graphics serving the gameplay. It all looks good enough, but everything is tiny to make room for more more MORE on the screen at once, its truely awesome in those regards. I chopped off a point for the title screen picture.. ugh!

Music/Sound 10
Great tunes for you to hum along to, the 1st and 3rd stages in particular rule! The sound effects are all good quality from the satisfying crunch of the mutants exploding to the awesome blast of your guns, it all sounds great. Add some wonderful amusing catchy voices and you have a game that DESERVES a 10 for sound. The voices deserve special mention because they are well acted and you are going to have phrases like 'big money, big prizes, i love it' 'good luck, you'll need it' and 'id buy that for a dollar' working their way into your daily conversation.

2 Player Mode
DAMN this is fun. How would you like to have a game where it is always easy to get a friend to play 2 player with you?
Look no further, its all right here! The competitive spirit of seeing who can collect more cash and prizes cant be beat.

Things i would like to see...
A body count meter.. oh man.. that would be the best!
Final Word
Other than that last little bit about not having a body count, this game is so great on all levels. I hightly recommend a purchase, rental is no longer an option. You need this game. It doesnt look like much, but for the reasons outlined above it's my favorite game ever, it just never gets old!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/01/01, Updated 04/01/01