Super Play Issue 17

Introduction

Mega Man was the cover star for the March Issue, as Mega Man X was released in Japan. Zy scored it at 88%, with the main issue being that it was only really an upgrade of the NES games, although it did score highly in the graphics and gameplay categories. There was also a brief feature on the history of Mega Man. Legend of the Mystical Ninja 2 scored 90% from Japan, with Jonathan Smith calling it a worthy successor to the first game - which had only hit UK shores 6 months ago. There wasn’t much noteworthy review in the UK this month. Mario’s Time Machine managed to hit our shores, although this was more of an educational piece than a game - and only scored 80%. The best scoring UK game was PC classic Wolfenstein 3D which scored 78%.

In the news this month was the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which was held in January in  Las Vegas, and with it being the biggest gaming show in the world there were plenty of new games on show.  They showcased games from Nintendo’s US developers, Nintendo of America - which were almost ready for the launch of Super Metroid. They also reported on some of the other developers showcasing games at the show such as Capcom and Electronic arts. There was also a look at Mortal Kombat II, Super Bomberman 2, Samurai Spirits amongst others and there was a special feature on unknown developer American Softworks.

In Rik Haynes usual feature Live from Hell City, he looked at various Nintendo oddities available, such as slippers and soft toys. He also reported on several new games coming from Square Soft, including Final Fantasy VI which was extremely close to release and Romancing Sa-Ga 2, as well as news of a Final Fantasy animated Film. There was also an interview with Simon Harris from Ambassadors of Funk, famous for releasing a Super Mario Land themed track in 1992. They explained how the track came about and where their new album was taking their music direction.

There was plenty of space for players guides this month, Solstice II: Equinox got the second part of Zy’s fully mapped guide, Shadowrun got a full walkthrough and Dan Jevons took us through Smash TV sequel Total Carnage, including maps for some of the more complex levels. Despite his visit to CES, Jason had another big session answering questions in his Game Freak section, and Dan Jevon’s Mode 7 section had plenty of tips for plenty of the recently released games.