Super Smash TV

"A superb arcade-action game"

Introduction:
Super Smash TV was released in 1991 and is the home version of the Arcade game Smash TV (1990). Smash TV is based on the same style of play as the old arcade game Robotron 2084 that was released in 1982.

You play as a participant in an extremely violent TV show in the year 1999. Your task is to shoot yourself through each level, collect prizes, which will give you a bigger score, and to collect power-ups for bigger firearms. When a screen has been cleared -after hoards of enemies have been destroyed- you have the option to go into another room, and finally meet the boss of the area. There are three areas in the game, the first one easy and the later ones tougher.

Gameplay:
The gameplay of Super Smash TV is great, controls are crisp and works excellent thanks to the great SNES joypad. The game is very fun to play because of the non-stop action, further strengthening the games roots to the style of the arcade games. Enemies very rarely comes attacking the player alone, more often they come in masses and if the player relaxes his thumb on the fire buttons, chances are he will lose another life. To be successful in this game the player needs to be able to think logically how to best attack a hoard of enemies while at the same time plan the next attack. If not chances are enemies will surround the player. But that’s not bad because even if 5 enemies where on all sides surround the player there would still be a great possibility for the player to be able to shoot herself out of the situation – that’s only one example why this game is so good.
Super Smash TV supports two players. This game really shines when two players are trying to cover each other and try to play as a team. Initially I had my doubts this game would be fun to play alone since I was raised playing this game with a mate, but after a lot of sessions in singleplayer I came to the conclusion this game rocked even when alone.
As sad as it may sound, I hardly doubt a lot of people will ever be able to finish this game since it is very hard. I think it is possible to finish the game but it would take a lot of practice preferably together with a skilled and trained second player.

Graphic/Sound
The graphics are great but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out what some of the stuff should be on the screen because of the small size. Maybe the graphics could be done even better, I don’t know really. But for a Super Nintendo game of 1991 it’s good. The palette used in the game is colorful and vibrant.
Some of the soundtracks while playing the game are great. They are mostly all very catchy, especially the intro tune. I really liked the sampled speech even though it’s not of the best quality, but it’s a nice touch.

Playtime/Replayability
As said above, Super Smash TV is a hard game, its one of those games influenced by the insanely hard games of the 80’ies. There is no save slot in the game, you only have a couple of credits. Hopefully that will be enough for you to beat it. I haven’t finished this game. At maximum I have came to the boss of the second area. I know I will never beat it but I still come back because it is addictive and fun simple as that. If you want you could play it for a couple of hours or shorter if you only feel for a quick adrenaline rush.

Final recommendations:
Super Smash TV is a great arcade game superbly translated to the SNES. It’s an insane action packed game that is fun to play and is easy to pick up. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes arcade games or game styles from the SNES-era. As with mostly all fast action games Super Smash TV lacks depth (even though there are secret rooms the player can find), that and the fact the game is so insanely hard is reason enough I will not give it a top score. I give this game an 8 out of 10. What a great game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03