Family Feud

"Let's play the Feud - but with other people"

There's something terribly odd and hypnotizing about Family Feud, both in this game and in general - something that forces us to come back to it over and over again to find out how many people wondered who the most famous person named "Grant" was. You know you loved it. You called the contestants "idiots" on the pre-taped shows, knowing full well that they couldn't hear you scream out the answer. You're not so smart when you're in the hot seat yourself, are you?

Family Feud, starring Ray Combs. It's a game show video game, and it gets the aspects of the game right. So what's there to complain about? Well, something to mention right up front - this game was meant for more than one player. It's not worth a dollar bin purchase unless you've got a party full of people and want some SNES survey fun. Unfortunately, the game has a tendency to force the "two-player" fact on you - because if you're playing one-player, the cards are stacked against you. Should you fail to guess every single answer during your turn, the computer will thieve the money pot 95% of the time, no matter how obscure that final survey response is. Oh, and if you lose the game, but want to play again, flip the "reset" button. Otherwise you're forced to watch your computer opponent play the Fast Money Round, certainly a frustrating occurrence if there ever was one. Yeah, two player is probably best.

Unfortunately, another odd aspect is its somewhat arbitrary nature in synonyms for answers - it's incomplete. "Name something that lives a long life." If you answer "human," you get a fat red X. Your opponent answers "people" and wins the round. Enough to result in a thrown controller if you're alone, or a bruised arm if you're playing with a friend.

This game has little more than still pictures for graphics, but if you're looking for complicated animation in a largely text-oriented game, you've got some problems, my friend. On the other hand, music is omnipresent, and the goofy hillbilly "think music" they offer will give you nightmares. The game wisely gives you the option to turn this music off, but without it the game becomes slightly stagnant.

Otherwise, it's a solid title - it's Family Feud, what more do you want? This is probably the last console you'll ever see the Feud played on, so go ahead, get yourself a few friends and have some fun. It's a tad odd to be writing a review about a ten-year-old SNES game based on a classic game show, but here you are reading about it. I guess we're even. Oh, and it was Ulysses S. Grant, by the way.

This review of Family Feud for the SNES is Copyright 2004, Ian Pugh.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/04