Steve's Obscure Super Famicom Impressions Thread

[NeoZeedeater]

Zeedeater,
All brown nosing aside I really enjoy reading your retro threads you post here. It makes the work days go by easier and it's nice seeing not only some good game history which I grew up in but you bringing some good content to the boards.

Thanks. I'm glad you like them.

[rezo]

It'd be pretty funny if he said that because he mistakenly thought you'd made this thread.

Ganbare Daiku No Gensan is one of the games on my small list of super famicom games I still mean to pick up at some time.

[Melf]

We moved them over to TNL's main page so that we could advertise a slew of new, fresh content.

Fixed.

[GaijinPunch]

I popped this in the other day and chessed it out. Not bad. Very nice bitmaps, but I found the controls to be a bit clunky. Not bad for an old game, but I had just finished Magical Pop'n which is one of the best platformers for the system.

[Steve]

In the early-mid 90's few games matched the fun Bomberman and Mario Kart provided.

Ever wonder if you could take them both and kinda... smush 'em together?

Imagineer of Japan did.

BATTLE CROSS is a 6-player fixed screen racer and does a good job of cramming bits of Bomberman and Mario Kart in a blender. The airbike is easy to control and once you get in the zone, you'll be screaming past tight corners, taking out racers left and right and scorching toward the finish line.

Like Mario Kart, there are weapons and powerups. They're randomly strewn across the course at any given time. There's nothing better than dropping a land mine under a hidden overpass... *evil grin*

Here are the weapons and powerup's

1. Laser (press R to shoot)
Unlimited usage. You could be on one side of the track and hit someone on the other. It's weak though; only stuns the opponent for a split second (but enough to piss the tar outta 'em)

2. Speed Up (automatic)
Increases your speed for that entire race. Collect a couple of these and you'll leave the competition in the dust.

3. Matchless (automatic, like the Star from SMK)
You zip around the track flashing at break-neck speed, and anyone you touch will flip out. Very cheap, but all's fair in love and Battle Cross.

4. Land Mine (Y)
My favorite. The more land mine icons you collect the more you can lay at one time. If you can collect 3 or 4 as I once did, you will OWN that race.

5. Missile (R)
A 1-shot deal, when released, flies around the track until it finds someone or burns out.

6. Nitro (X)
Speed burst. If you're on one of the stages with steep hills, activate it at the bottom of one and watch your guy FLY!

7. Weight (R)
Like the missile, a 1-shot deal that when released sends a blue skeleton disc zipping around the track til it finds someone or passes out. This will slow down the infected driver.

8. Turn Over (R)
Evil in its purest form. Sends a yellow skeleton disc zipping around the track. Will reverse their controls for a while. On basic stages the transition is A-OK. On the stages with lots of turns, it's a TRUE BITCH. Luckily, when infected, a fairy (!!) will appear randomly carrying a first-aid kit, touch her and be cured.

The reason for different buttons is because the game allows you to drop a land mine WHILE shooting your lasers. As NBA Hall-of-Famer turned commentator BILL WALTON would say... "Now HOW cool is THAT?"

There are 3 game modes. Battle, Grand Prix and Practice.

In Battle you pick from 1-30 races to win a course. 15 is the default; I like playing on 10 laps just to keep things fresh and moving. 1-5 match wins to win it all. The great thing is, you can pick a new stage after a course is over. In Bomberman you are restricted to the SAME field until one player can win the designated amount. Battle Cross doesn't do that. It made me wish the BM games operated the same way.

Up to 5 human players can play, with a total of 6 maximum racers. You can pick a 1-on-1 race, or have 4 instead of 6. You can race 7 laps or 27. You can change the AI from 1 to 5. It's very customable.

The Grand Prix follows a storyline, but like Bomberman the meat of Battle Cross is playing the Battle mode.

There are 9 initial courses available, with 1 unlockable. (to see the courses in action, just click on the course links for footage)

Course #1

Just your basic 1st stage that helps you ease into things. The course itself has no special features. A volcano rests peacefully in the middle and a friendly chap in the ocean enjoys fishing while observing the race. Oh and UM... a Godzilla-like creature plays in the sand pit there... wacky Japanese at it again...

Course #2

A couple puddles atop and a grumpy pirate who doesn't like you trespassing fires cannonballs across the screen every 15 or so. If you find yourself in the line of fire like I did (red racer), JUMP! (press L)

Course #3

The orange arrows give you a quick speed burst. Also the first stage to use high and low drops. I really like the curve there before the finish line -- it allows you to smoothly turn the corner and accelerate through. Lovely grass too, just lovely

Course #4

This course rocks. Leap over the wooden spikes there and watch out for the rocket that comes screaming out of the hole. A little gate next to the totem pole will open periodically to allow for a sweet advantageous short cut. But if you go for it and the gate closes, you can do nothing but watch in grief as the competition zooms far ahead. The bottom left hand corner shrubbery obstructs the playing view. Watch out for racers who will lay mines there. Overall this stage has a good deal of strategy which is why it's one of my faves

Course #5

Check out the wolf peering over the cliff. That is ACE! It's the little things that makes video games so awesome I've always said, and that's definitely a good example. Here the slopes get very steep and if you got Nitro use it at that bottom hill there -- you will rocket on past the finish line with your momentum!

Course #6

Twice the hidden overpasses, twice the destruction of land mines. This course isn't one of my faves but I do love that corner there where my red racing guy is at -- making that smooth turn and having that long raceway to steam forward

Course #7

Love this devious little stage. It's wide open... til you get to the two red pillars that move randomly. It's a short stage but very fun because of the chaos the red pillars cause. Blue and yellow there did OK -- green and purple is a different story, haha. As for me, red, oh you know.. you know... uh... overlapping them. *cough* Nothing is better than screaming straight pass those red pillars! Not only will you probably be in the lead but you'll look real cool too oh yeah

Course #8

Nothing more to say than WTF at that huge white bunny...

Course #9

Pinball-mania. Madness I tells ya. The 3 yellow things move and are hard to avoid. Hit the bumpers as I did here, and you'll be bouncing back and forth for a few. He here who minimizes mistakes, will win

misc. notes
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-I have an extra loose copy that I will be eBaying at 99 cents this Saturday or Sunday

-Graphics are nothing to write home about but as you can see are quite serviceable and for this type of game works

-Sound is OK, but I love the catchy course tunes

-Like Bomberman, it's still fun to play alone, but the real treat is getting 4 other people to play... one of those games that's perfect to play after a night out drinking. Come home a bit buzzed and turn the game on for kicks

-Even your little brother or sister can play -- there's an option in BATTLE mode for "human-CPU" mode. Think of it like.... auto-defense in baseball video games

-You won't need to understand JP to enjoy this game, though the storyline in Grand Prix will fly over your head... but no biggie

-Never a hint of slowdown

-The back cover of the manual has the best Engrish I've seen in some time:


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CLOSING THOUGHTS
Battle Cross is a fun party racer that I'd recommend to gamers who are fans of multi-player games. The game possesses a unique charm. As mentioned, little things like the wolf and the open-and-close gate make the game even cooler. The more I played the more I liked it. Give it a shot, especially if you have like-minded gaming friends. (I bet if my old gaming group knew about this back in '94... it would have been right up there with NBA Jam/Bomberman)

Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 8.5
Replay: 9

Overall: 8.5

[Metal_slime]

Looks pretty fun.

[NeoZeedeater]

I have only played Battle Cross single player and it was decent. I imagine it's pretty sweet multiplayer though. I love its look too. Most similar racing games are kind of generic. Battle Cross has lots of colour and little details.

[animegirl]

I really enjoyed reading this thread, keep it up!

[kingoffighters]

Battlecross looks fun. Time to emulate.

[Compass]

Yeah, that Battle Cross stuff looks fun as hell. Reminds me of the monster truck one where you raced on dirt... name escapes me. Music was great, too. SNES game... I'm sure everybody's played it. Damn it, I'm blank.

The wolf is neat. I'm a huge fan of little details like that as well, in life in general actually, not just in games.