Cult classics of the SNES – The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is an awesome game but it’s not a very well know game in the United States. The reason for that being is that the story was based on Japanese culture and folklore but I won’t be getting into that today. I came across this game when I was at a used game store with my friend Bobby and he saw the game and told me to pick it up. I did just that and I’m very glad he told me to buy the game because it’s a very fun game. The main characters are Kid Ying and Dr. Yang (Goemon and Ebisumaru in Japan). This is a fun action/adventure RPG-like game. You can get weapon upgrade and everything you get hit your weapon is downgraded. This game has a very unique style and is lots of fun to play. The game is also a 2 player game where the 1st player takes control of Kid Ying and the 2nd player takes control of Dr. Yang. If you would like to try out a different game check out The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and you won’t be disappointed. You can get the cartridge of the game for the SNES. If you can get a hold of a cartridge you can download it for the Wii Virtual Console for 800 Wii points ($8). Roo from the Clan of the Gray Wolf did a great review of this game for his show 16-Bit Gems. Check out his review below.




To see more of Roo and The Clan of the Gray Wolf check out the following links:

Blistered Thumbs – Clan of the Gray Wolf
RetrowareTV – 16-Bit Gems
Clan of the Gray Wolf’s YouTube Channel

5 Reasons Why The Super Nintendo Ruled The 16-Bit Era

In my opinion the Super Nintendo ruled the 16-bit era. I’m not saying all other 16-bit systems were bad because I like the other systems. I’m only saying the SNES is the best from that era. So I decided to make a list of the reasons why the SNES ruled the 16-bit era.


1. Easy to Mod Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom Games – I didn’t find this out until about a year ago but they SNES can easily be modded to play SFC games. Even though it wasn’t talked about when the SNES came out it is still something that makes the SNES awesome. Check out a previous post if you would like to mod your SNES to play SFC games. Click here to Read SNES mod blog post.

2. Great Graphics – The SNES had the best graphics in the 16-bit era. Graphics don’t always make a game good but it’s nice to look at good graphics. The SNES processer was one of the best in the era and if you play the same game on multiple systems the SNES version always seemed to run smoother than any other version.

3. Excellent Sound Quality – The SNES had the best sound card. For example play Doom on the Sega 32x and then play Doom on the SNES. The graphics may be better on the 32x version but the sound on the SNES version make the SNES version of Doom superior to the 32x version.

SNES Doom music compared to 32x Doom Music





4. The Super Game Boy – Nintendo was a genius when they made the Super Game Boy. Nintendo is the only company they made an add-on so that you can play your handheld games on your console. When the Super Game Boy came out it was a very big deal because it was the first time you were able to play Game Boy games in color. After the release of the Super Game Boy Nintendo made 2 player games for Game Boy (Example: King of Fighters ’95) where you could play your friends with one game cartridge on the SNES with the Super Game Boy. The first time I saw the commercial for the Super Game Boy my eye got so big and I ran to tell my Dad that’s what I wanted for my birthday I had to have it.


Super Game Boy Commercial






5. Awesome Game Library – This is the reason the SNES was the best games of the era. Here are a few of the games: Super Mario World, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy II & III (Final Fantasy IV & VI Japan), Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mega Man X and Star For. Those are a few of the games that only came out for the SNES. There are so many awesome games and if a game was released for multiple systems as I said before the SNES version was the superior version. Full list of SNES games.

These are a few of the reason the SNES ruled the 16-bit era. The SNES was the perfect system to carry on the great legacy that the NES created. I love the SNES Hail to the King of the SNES.

Game of the Day: Super Mario World

Today’s game of the day is Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Super Mario World is the first game I ever played and owned for the SNES. This is my favorite vintage Super Mario game in the series (not including Super Mario RPG). This was a great sequel to an already awesome game Super Mario Bros. 3. Super Mario World takes place in Dino Land where as usually the Princess has been kidnapped by Bowser. This game had a very familiar game play style with some new power ups like the feather which game Mario the ability to fly, glide and dive bomb enemies. You also had the ability to perform a spin jump at any time giving you the ability to break certain types of blocks. The best addition to the game was the introduction of Yoshi.

I love Yoshi and I’m not sure who doesn’t love Yoshi (If you don’t love Yoshi I’m sorry but something is wrong with you). Yoshi was a green dinosaur that had a very long tongue used to grab and eat enemies. Green Yoshi was the normal Yoshi and there are three other colors of Yoshis in the game. Along with green Yoshi you had red, yellow, and blue Yoshi. The Yoshis have very few differences Green Yoshi as I said was normal if he ate a red koopa troopa he would spit fire. He ate a green koopa troopa he would just spit out the shell. If he ate a yellow koopa troopa he would just spit the shell out also he would be able to stomp the ground and kill enemies under and nearby with a power stomp as long as he had the koopa troopa in his mouth. If he ate a blue koopa troopa he again would just spit the koopa troopa out he would also gain the ability the fly as long as the koopa troopa was in his mouth. The other Yoshis would do the same thing except red Yoshi always spits fire no matter the color of the koopa troopa. Yellow Yoshi always had the ability to do the power stomp as long at a koopa troopa is in his mouth. Blue Yoshi is probably the best Yoshi for the fact that no matter which type of koopa troopa he has in his mouth he can fly. Yoshi is a very big deal in this game but the game has so much more to offer then just yoshi. You can gather point every time you complete a level you can collect anywhere for 0 – 50 points at a time when you complete a level. Once you hit 100 points you get a bonus level where you can get some 1ups. This game is a big game with 8 main bosses. Just like in the SMB3 you will fight all of Bowser’s kids and then you battle Bowser at the end. You also have mini castles called fortresses. You also had ghost houses which have a lot of tricks and secrets within them. There is also an area called the Star Zone and once you complete that you get to go the Special Zone and when you Defeat the Special Zone the game looks very different when you leave the Special Zone. The first time I saw it I didn’t understand what happened I asked a friend and he said that’s just what happens when you complete all the levels in the Special Zone. This game has a ton of content and I still haven’t covered it all. If you haven’t played this game you need to get it and play it. If you have a SNES and you collect game this is a must own for the system. If you don’t own an SNES but you do own a Nintendo Wii you can download it on the Wii virtual console for 800 Nintendo Wii points ($8). So if you have the means to get this game please do because if you don’t you are missing out on loads of fun.

Happy 20th Anniversary Super Nintendo

August 23, 1991 the Super Nintendo was released in the United States. It was the perfect system to continue to the next generation after the Nintendo Entertainment System. I love the Super Nintendo and it is one of my most favorite systems ever made. So the month of September is going to be dedicated to the Super Nintendo. All my posts will be about the Super Nintendo and its games. Let us celebrate the SNES for all its glory and greatness and I hope you enjoy everything I have to say about the SNES this month.

Check out some of our previous Super Nintendo posts:

Game of the Day: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US SNES)
Modding your Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom games
Evolution of Video Games Epic Medley Made on Mario Paint Composer
My Top 10 SNES Games/Game Series

Game of the Day: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US SNES)

Today’s game of the Day is Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US SNES release). This is one of favorite Final Fantasy games in the series. This game was released as Final Fantasy III in the US on the Super Nintendo and re-released for the PlayStation as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology. Then it was released again on the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy VI advance. The game is the exact same as the version on the SNES. The PlayStation added some nice cinematics. The only difference on Final Fantasy VI Advance is they gave each character a job label. For example Locke is an Adventurer and Sabin is a Monk. The GBA version also has a quick save option which has been added to a lot of RPGs on hand held systems. The version I own in the GBA version. Final Fantasy VI has one of the most unique cast of characters. Each character has his/her own set of special skills. Here are a few examples: Locke can steal, Edgar can use tools and Sabin uses his blitz skills. There is also a character named Shadow who shows up from time to time. You can pay him to fight by your side but he can leave at anytime. You never know how long he will say with you it’s very random. There are also times where your adventure can split off in to different parts. You are also able to pick which part of the story you want to play first. Regardless of your choice of what order you complete the different branches they will always connect at the ends of each branch. This game like most Final Fantasy games has a killer sound track. The boss battle theme is probably one of my most favorite songs in the series. This is an awesome and there are multiple systems so it’s easy to get a hold of. If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy or turn based RPGs and you haven’t played this game you must get this game and play it. You can check out the game play in the video below.

Game Play Video

PlayStation Version Opening Video

FFVI Boss Battle Theme

Video Game Music: Castlevania SOTN, Mega Man X and Final Fantasy VII:

Music in video games in an essential thing to have. The music sets the mood and lets you know what's about to happen and what's going on at the moment. Here are are few songs from games I really like.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Dracula's Castle

Megaman X - Storm Eagle

Final Fantasy VII - Fighting

Modding your Super Nintendo to play Super Famicom games

Ever wanted to play a Super Famicom game but you didn’t have Super Famicom to play it on. Well there is an easy way to mod your Super Nintendo. First I want to compare an SNES cartridge with an SFC cartridge. In the image below you will see the two cartridges.

You will see the SNES cartridge is wider than the SFC cartridge. Now look at the pin connectors in the picture below.

You see that the pin connectors look the same. You show noticed there is something that sets these apart and it’s the slots on the on the SNES cartridge. If you look at the picture below you will see that the SFC cartridge doesn’t have the slots.

If you try to put the SFC cartridge in the SNES it won’t fit because it doesn't have the slots.

Now it’s time to make the SFC cartridge fit into the SNES. To mod you SNES all need is just needle nose pliers just like the pliers below.

Open the slot of the SNES and you will see two tab. Take a look at the picture below and you will see where they are located.

Take the needle nose pliers and brake off the tabs. They should break right off and you will have two tabs like the ones below.

Your SNES should look like this now.

Now the SFC cartridge will fit in the SNES.

Congratulations you have modded your SNES to play Japanese SFC games. You will only be able to play Japanese games. You will not be able to play European SNES games because its PAL not NTSC. This is easy to do and it doesn’t require you to mess with the circuit board on you SNES.

My Top 10 SNES Games/Game Series

In my opinion these are some of the best games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

10. Super Mario All-Stars - this is pretty much a port of all the Super Mario's from the NES, but this one includes Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels which is the actually sequel to the first Super Mario Bros. This is a nice game it has all the Super Mario Games on one cartridge and the games have been given amped up graphics and a save feature, but the games never lose their old school feel.

9. Super Mario Kart - The first Mario kart game which is an awesome game that has never slowed the fun down since the Mario kart games have been

8. Donkey Kong Country - This is such an awesome Donkey Kong game. The first one introduces Diddy Kong. Then the 2nd game came along and introduced Dixie Kong and just like Donkey Kong Jr. you have to rescue Donkey Kong. In the 3rd game you are introduced to Kiddy Kong this time you have to search of Donkey and Diddy Kong who have who have gone missing and just like Donkey Kong 3 it strays from the series but this time only in difficulty its a lot harder then the first 2.

7. Mega Man X - a solid series that started on the SNES. Everyone thought this was Mega Man 10 until Mega Man X2 Came out then we learned that this was a different Mega Man.

6. Super Metroid - This is the best Metroid game every made.

5. Chrono Trigger - This is another awesome RPG made by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) this is a hard game to find cheep for SNES but it has been re-released on the Nintendo DS and I don't think its changed much and Nintendo my re-release it again on the Wii Virtural Console.

4. Super Castlevania IV - This is one of my most favorite Castlevania games. It's pretty much a remake of the first Castlevania on the NES, but the game is very different the controls are the best in any vintage Castlevania game and the best part is you can whip in any direction.

3. Super Mario World - The first game I every played on the SNES and my favorite vintage Super Mario game in the series (not including Super Mario RPG).

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - This is probably the best Zelda game ever it takes everything from the Legend of Zelda on the NES and amps it up with better graphics, more equipment, and more puzzles.

1. Super Mario RPG - This is one of my favorite turn based RPGs and this is the game the got me really into RPGs.

There are many other great games for the SNES. A few games that are on the bubble for me: Stunt Race FX, Tecmo Super Bowl , Final Fantasy II & Final Fantasy III (a.k.a. Final Fantasy IV & Final Fantasy VI which I own on the GBA), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Star Fox, E.V.O.: Search for Eden and Super Bomberman. There were many great games on the SNES that are not listed but it is hard to make a top ten list where there are so many great games out there. There was also the Super Gameboy. When that came out it was the first time you could play Gameboy games in color and the best thing about that is you could select the color. They also released Super gameboy packaged games which has set colors for the game and if the game was a two player game you could play two players with the Super Game Boy and that worked great with fighting games on the Game Boy. The only thing I didn't like was that it wasn't full screen, but that was okay because the super game boy was awesome. The SNES is a great system that will lives on side by side with the NES.