Super Play Issue 47

Introduction

The last issue of Super Play continued the ongoing coverage of the N64 with the USA launch finally upon us. Mario and Pilotwings (the two launch games) took up a joint cover, and as usual gorgeous artwork from Wil depicted the two games. 

Wil also put together a review of Mario 64, showcasing the stars in the  first world, as well as some of the other big aspects of the game, finally giving it 97% with heavy praise across the board. Pilotwings 64 also got a big preview showcasing the different apparatus in the game, although there was no score given for this one. A further feature explored the N64’s innovative controller, as Nintendo USA’s president Howard Lincoln explained how it could be used in games. 

The news this month was again centred around the N64 with the UK launch pencilled in for Easter 1997. Donkey Kong Country 3 was also revealed, with promise of further coverage in Total! Of course the biggest news was that Super Play was due to close, but more about that later. The final Anime World spoke to legendary producer Taro Maki who was responsible for many Japanese productions.

The latest genre defining guide “what do you mean you don't know anything about…” looked at platform games, with a full rundown of each of the SNES’s platformers. The sheer scale of which covered a full 10 pages of the mag. Another feature showcased the top 50 cheesiest (i.e worst) games they had ever reviewed on the SNES, including 7 duds that scored less than 20%!

There were only 4 SNES reviews this month, a couple of which would have fitted into the previously mentioned cheesiest games section. The biggest scorer however was fishing game Jimmy Heustons Bass Tournament USA, scoring 76%, with fighter Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension scoring a similar 71%. With SNES releases drying up, it was telling that there wasn't much need for a dedicated SNES magazine any more. 

Tony opened the Gamefreak lines for the final time to answer readers' questions, and Zy had tips for some of the latest games as well as classics like Super Metroid and Zombies ate my Neighbours. A final player's guide looked at A Link to the Past, and how to get every item in the game. The final feature of the issue gave some of the key members of staff the chance to reminisce about their dearly departed magazine and their fondest memories.