SNES Adventure Games

[VenomMacbeth]

As many of you are probably aware, the action RPG/adventure genre is one I favor greatly.  Not at all surprisingly, it's a genre that's well-represented on the SNES.  That is, if you're willing to venture out of LttP territory...

Anyway, some of you may be aware that I also like early 3D graphics very much, be it raycasting, polygons, sprite scaling, or a combination of the three.  Naturally, these criteria lead me to check out Kemco's Dragon View.  I've gotten to the second boss fight & have yet to defeat him, but so far I'm really enjoying the game.  Of course, I really enjoy the 3D overworld segments, but everything else isn't too shabby either. 

This has prompted me to purchase the game's more traditional RPG-ish prequel, Drakkhen.  I know that game seems to be an acquired taste, but something about the atmosphere is very appealing to me.  Hopefully I can get past the crap controls & RPG gameplay style enough to enjoy it...at least it's not turn based.

Also, since I've been in a rather adventurous (but cheap) mood, I decided to also order a copy of Lagoon.  I was turned off at first by the painfully short sword, but the soundtrack is kickass & the game appears to be at least a little enjoyable.  I guess I'll find out when Mister Postman decides it's time...


I just realized these are all Kemco games.  Go figure.  Anyway, what are some of your favorite adventure games for the Stupor Nintend'oh?

[esteban]

Bonk's Adventure.

[VenomMacbeth]

Bonze Adventure.

Fix'd

[VenomMacbeth]

EDIT: accidental double-post due.  Damn phone.  -_-

[ParanoiaDragon]

I LOVE Dragon View!  One of my fav's, however, I hate the 3D.  It's a terrific game, but I feel like the 3D bogs it down.  This is a game I thought would be cool(like so many of my ideas) to bring over to the Turbob, but then change the 3D to a proper world map ala Ys or Legend of Xanadu!

[VenomMacbeth]

I LOVE Dragon View!  One of my fav's, however, I hate the 3D.  It's a terrific game, but I feel like the 3D bogs it down.  This is a game I thought would be cool(like so many of my ideas) to bring over to the Turbob, but then change the 3D to a proper world map ala Ys or Legend of Xanadu!

Is it the way the 3D looks or plays that displeases you?  It gets kinda jittery sometimes & turning is a pain in the ass, but it's playable & looks decent considering the hardware.  I like that they use polygons instead of mode 7.  I also like how enemy encounters are avoidable, and not random like Drakkhen & other RPGs.

[Jason_dicarlo85]

I love terranigma... One of my go too favs...

[ParanoiaDragon]

I think that it's jitteriness & turning like you mentioned.  Ironically, some Jag games don't bother me as much, even though they're probably just as bad!

[VenomMacbeth]

I think that it's jitteriness & turning like you mentioned.  Ironically, some Jag games don't bother me as much, even though they're probably just as bad!

Well, Jaguar games seem to suffer from a low frame rate, whereas Dragon View almost seems glitchy...like the game can't decide what perspective to show you, sometimes, so the pathway graphics just shake violently.

I still enjoy muddling through it, though.  Something about flat shaded polygons captures my imagination much like pixels for many people.

[seieienbu]

I liked Drakken and Lagoon quite a bit as a kid.  I played Lagoon while looking forward to LttP and thought the graphics (at the time) were really good and thought (and still think) that the music was excellent.  Never played Dragon View though I always wanted to give it a shot.

Outside of the obvious choices, a slightly less well known game that I recently I played and enjoyed was Brain Lord by Enix.  Top down adventure game with an emphasis on puzzle solving.  Graphics and sound were nothing amazing but the game was fun enough in its own right to be enjoyable.

[incrediblehark]

Lagoon was fun, but a little frustrating toward the end. I just finally beat the game last winter. I love all of the Quintet games for the SNES, Soulblazer and Actraiser are acouple of my favorites. Still haven't played through Terranigma all the way yet.

I couldn't get into Drakkhen though... Its not polygonal but I enjoyed Arcana from Hal.

[BigusSchmuck]

Eye of the Beholder and of course the Wizardry games. I do recall finishing Lagoon when I was a kid as a rental, but I'd be damned if I can do it now. Drakken I really don't have any problems with. I am curious if the Amiga version is any better than the snes version. Secret of Mana and the awesome sequels on the Super Famicom are definitely in my top list.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Dragon View is the sort of unofficial squeekwal to Drakkhen, so I'm sure you'll like it.

I enjoyed Drakkhen and Lagoon a bit.

Check out- Young Merlin!!

[VenomMacbeth]

I liked Drakken and Lagoon quite a bit as a kid.  I played Lagoon while looking forward to LttP and thought the graphics (at the time) were really good and thought (and still think) that the music was excellent.  Never played Dragon View though I always wanted to give it a shot.

Outside of the obvious choices, a slightly less well known game that I recently I played and enjoyed was Brain Lord by Enix.  Top down adventure game with an emphasis on puzzle solving.  Graphics and sound were nothing amazing but the game was fun enough in its own right to be enjoyable.

I love Brain Lord!  And the music isn't bad.  It's by the same people that did Assault Suits Valken, so if you liked that OST, you'll definitely enjoy Brain Lord's.

[RyuHayabusa]

Soul Blazer was a pretty cool game. Has a bit of an Actraiser feel to it due to the story and it's from Enix. Secret of Mana is definitely up there as well. Great music in both games.

[Gentlegamer]

I really like Brain Lord and Illusion of Gaia.

Far superior to Soul Blazer, and much much cheaper for authentic carts.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I still haven't played Soul Blazer.  I recall hearing it, as well as Brain Lord have some seriously crunching puzzles to do?  Then again, I did play thru the first Alundra BITD, can't quite recall if I used a guide or not.

[RyuHayabusa]

I still haven't played Soul Blazer.  I recall hearing it, as well as Brain Lord have some seriously crunching puzzles to do?  Then again, I did play thru the first Alundra BITD, can't quite recall if I used a guide or not.

Soul Blazer is actually pretty easy. I beat it the first time I rented it back in the day. Been a long time since I played through it but I don't recall any difficult puzzles.

[seieienbu]

Brain Lord has a bunch  of puzzles.  Soul Blazer has, like, one that I can think of.

[VenomMacbeth]

Soul Blazer has been on my to-buy list for awhile.  One of the guys from Godiego did the soundtrack.  Brain Lord can get pretty confusing with the puzzles sometimes, so I haven't picked it up in awhile.

In other news, I just tried Drakkhen for the first time.  I managed to speak with the first prince dude before night fell while I was searching for the other castle & I got promptly killt by monsters.  Still, I could tell as soon as I started making my characters pluck weapons off the castle walls that this game is something very special.  Hopefully I can get good enough at it to see it through!

[ParanoiaDragon]

Found this in Wikpedia in regards to Dragon View:

"While not "True 3D", the overworld engine simulates depth on its own (without the aid of supplementary hardware such as the Super FX chip) using sprite scaling and rudimentary rendering. This system is able to run smoothly on standard SNES hardware because little more than half of the total screen area is ever in use. Since the top and bottom panels are completely static during overworld navigation, all hardware power is focused on rendering the first person view. Even so, framerates can suffer as many sprites are sometimes present on a single screen."

If this is a case, almost makes me wonder if the Turbob could pull this off, not unlike Faceball?  Even still, I'd rather the overworld be like Legend of Xanadu.

[VenomMacbeth]

Found this in Wikpedia in regards to Dragon View:

"While not "True 3D", the overworld engine simulates depth on its own (without the aid of supplementary hardware such as the Super FX chip) using sprite scaling and rudimentary rendering. This system is able to run smoothly on standard SNES hardware because little more than half of the total screen area is ever in use. Since the top and bottom panels are completely static during overworld navigation, all hardware power is focused on rendering the first person view. Even so, framerates can suffer as many sprites are sometimes present on a single screen."

If this is a case, almost makes me wonder if the Turbob could pull this off, not unlike Faceball?  Even still, I'd rather the overworld be like Legend of Xanadu.

I wonder what they mean by "rudimentary rendering".  The sprite scaling they're talking about is all software, of course: IE the sprite is animated in several frames of depth, a la Hyper Zone or Panorama Cotton.  Honestly though, I think the 3D is a little better in Drakkhen.  The frame rate is worse, but there are more objects & everything just seems more vibrant and interesting to explore than in Dragon View.

But that is an interesting idea...I would love to see a Drakkhenesque game on the PCE! ^-^

[technozombie]

Soul Blazer is a good game Brain Lord is an OK game. If Brain Lord released earlier I could have appreciated it more, but it released in 94 and for comparison Secret of Mana released in 93.