More tablet/smartphone-based Augmented Reality games based on popular franchise are being made every day for those fans to play. While the technology is still at its infancy (i.e. requiring you to stare at a screen than the world), smart glasses is still not a thing and neuro interfaces are not likely to arrive soon. They are fun diversions to pass the time with. Unless noted, these games are available for both iOS and Android.
This time I’ll look at some of the grandest epics and most jaw-dropping technological innovations of the era. These games are widely loved and played to this day, and still inspire and affect modern game designers.
By Shawn Trommeshauser (Dreaming in Digital)
It’s been a while, but here is the second part of my personal top 25 Super Nintendo games (You can read part 1 here). This time I’ll look at some of the grandest epics and most jaw-dropping technological innovations of the era. These games are widely loved and played to this day, and still inspire and affect modern game designers.
As I mentioned previously, I ended up with FAR too many games to choose from, so I had to give myself some limitations to narrow down the field.
Rule 1: The game must have been released in the North American Market at the time. This eliminates several Super Famicom titles I enjoyed such as Rockman & Forte and The Firemen.
Rule 2: It must be a game I originally played on actual hardware when it was current, not something I discovered in later years through later releases of the game, or fan-translation patches using emulation on PC. A lot of Role Playing Games got bumped due to this—Seiken Densetsu 3, Final Fantasy V, and Front Mission to name a few.
The SNES is tied with the original Sony PlayStation as my favourite systems of all time. I’ve played a good chunk of them. So here’s my thoughts on the best of the best, my personal favourite Super Nintendo games of all time!
By Shawn Trommeshauser (Dreaming in Digital)
As an 80s kid, I grew up right beside video games and have fond memories of every gaming system I’ve played from the Intellivision to the PlayStation 4. Whether you’re shooting ducks with a bright orange light gun to performing in a rock concert with a plastic drum set, video games have always tried to offer a safer and cheaper way to experience any thrills you could imagine. This is the thing I love most about gaming, the advancements and imagination put into using the technology to its fullest. There is always a new gimmick, a new way to play.
My favorite era for gaming was the 90s. The console wars were in full swing with Sega trying everything in their power to chip away at Nintendo’s market share in North America. Meanwhile, Sony was getting ready to take the gaming world by storm with a 3D revolution. It was a time of desperate innovation and cutthroat competition which made the 90s one of the most amazing times to be a gamer. Every new advance in technology was changing what could be done with game design more than ever before, and these advances were arriving faster with each year that passed.
From the mid-80’s to the mid-90’s Nintendo was king. Sega had their loyal fans, but their 8-bit console, the Master System, never took off in North America the way it did in Europe. Nintendo’s first venture into the video game Market revived an industry that had fallen apart under older companies such as Atari in the early 80’s and ended up giving them a virtual monopoly on console gaming in Canada and the US. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) hit the market like a tidal wave and it wasn’t long before everyone was using the name ‘Nintendo’ interchangeably with the term ‘video game’.
Final Fantasy XII (FFXII) was originally released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and it is one of my favourite entries in the legendary series of role-playing games from Japan. It’s getting an update, titled Final Fantasy XII – The Zodiac Age, and the announcement of its availability on the PlayStation 4 was made today. There are currently no mentions of other consoles or the PC — which is unfortunate — but these days Square Enix has had a good track record of PC support so I would say it’s just a matter of time.
This was the first single player game in the series to truly begin moving away from the style that the classic Final Fantasy titles were known for. This shift has become exceptionally controversial with the newer games in the series, but I feel that this game struck a great balance between the older turn based party combat and more modern action RPGs that allow autonomous party members and dynamic movement in battle. This battle system was further refined and anyone who enjoys Final Fantasy XIV (available on Amazon) would be able to see the foundations laid in FFXII.
would be able to see the foundations laid in FFXII.