Super Smash TV isn’t a sequel to Midway’s arcade game or the NES game. It was released in 1992 and is a graphical improvement over the NES version. I’ll be looking at the Genesis version of the game for this review.
Acclaim used Flying Edge to publish this game. It is a little odd, but not totally uncommon. Flying Edge was just a shell company used to publish more games, similar to other Acclaim publishing labels like LJN and Arena Entertainment. I’ve yet to figure out why a specific game was handed over to these publishers. It feels very random when going through their libraries.
I’m not expecting much from this game, especially since I’ve already played one version of it. Smash TV is one of those games that doesn’t need much explanation. All I’m hoping for is solid gameplay and controls.
TLDR: A great looking arcade port, and the controls are good enough.
Narrative
The story remains the same as the arcade. Smash TV takes place in a dystopian world and has the player participating in a TV show. I’m just glad there is a story, even if it is paper-thin.
The game takes place in 1999 and has the player participating in an ultra-violent game show. You fight your way from room to room gathering money and prizes. Eventually, you fight a boss character. It has a standard plot structure for an arcade game.
There is nothing wrong with this game’s plot. It doesn’t really need much more than what is here. Smash TV was released at a time when story wasn’t all that important in a video game, but it was expected to be there for a game like this. Most shoot’em ups had something, even if it wasn’t all that elaborate.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty good. There are plenty of power ups, the action is fast-paced, and the controls are decent. While it does have a few things that I don’t like in it, there isn’t anything bad in this game (Link to the Manual).
Super Smash TV throws a lot of power ups and bonus points at you. There are also a lot of extra lives, which helps out in the later levels. Every weapon is useful, and there wasn’t one that I was trying to avoid, which isn’t something I can say about other arcade games. Because they’re all temporary, you don’t feel stuck with one.
I was a little worried about the controls. The arcade used twin joysticks, which isn’t something that translates to the home consoles too well. The controls on the NES were good, and you had the option to use two controllers. The Genesis has a similar approach. I didn’t have an issue with the controls in this game.
Because this is an arcade game, your main goal is to get more points. The game throws a lot at you, and they’re easy to pick up. The game does get harder as you go on, but it never felt unfair. It is easier with two players.
Overall, the gameplay is quite good. Even if it isn’t as good as the arcade version, it is still a lot of fun. If you didn’t have access to the arcade version of the game back in the 1990s, then this would’ve been a nice alternative.
Visuals
Everything in this game looks much better than what was in the NES version. Sprites are more detailed, the rooms look much better, and the enemies are more varied. The Genesis game looks closer to what the arcade was like. I haven’t seen the SNES version, but I’m sure that is either as good or better looking than this.
The sprites look better on the Genesis, which is what you should expect. Enemies are more varied, and they have more detail. To go along with this, they have better death animations, and the explosions look better. Your character also looks better and more detailed. The sprites are much bigger overall compared with the NES version.
The rooms look much better in this version of the game. Each of them is more detailed, things are bigger, and there is more going on. Explosions look much better, the items are better looking, and I like how some of the enemies look compared to what is in the NES.
I really like that there are more enemies and that they look good. Their sprites are bigger and more detailed. There is some palette swapping with the enemies, but this isn’t something that I have a problem with.
The bosses look much better on the Genesis than the NES version. They’re big and well detailed, and I like how smooth their animations are. I didn’t notice any slowdown while I was fighting against them.
The graphics in the Genesis version of the game are very good. Overall, I like the look of this game. It is bright and colorful, there isn’t any noticeable slowdown, and I didn’t notice any unintentional sprite flickering. Super Smash TV is just a good looking game.
Reviews at the Time
The reviews for this version of the game are a little lower than the NES version. They were still good, between 7 and 8/10. The scores did take a noticeable hit in the late 1990s and 2000s, which I’ve come to expect at this point.
In an odd review, Mean Machines gave the game an 88/100. They called it a “flawed conversion,” and a “missed opportunity.”
Computer and Video Games gave Super Smash TV an 83/100. They called the game “a bit too easy,” and echoed what was written in Mean Machines.
MegaTech was a bit harsher, and they gave the game a 70/100. They praised the graphics, but called the controls “infuriating.”
The publications I looked at really liked the game’s graphics. That is something that each of them talked about, but they didn’t like the controls. This was a little odd because some of the same publications praised the controls on the NES. There were a few reviews in the 6/10s, but those were in German. These reviews were on MobyGames.
8/10. This is a great version of a classic arcade game. It isn’t perfect, but the controls, graphics, and gameplay are all good. I like this version of Smash TV more than the NES version.
Conclusion
The graphics in this game are very good. It is a huge step up from the NES game in every way. The developer did an excellent job with the graphics in this game.
I didn’t have any problems with the controls. The developers did a good job of translating the arcade experience to the console. Super Smash TV has good gameplay, and I like how everything works together. It would’ve been better with a second player.
I was a little surprised by the reviews for this game. It isn’t unheard of to see scores vary between the different versions of the game, but this was a little odd. They all agreed that the graphics were better, but they didn’t like the controls. Yes, it is tough to do a conversion of an arcade game with a unique control scheme, but the NES version had good controls.
I was a little worried about this game’s controls, but I thought they were quite good. The Genesis version is better than the NES version of the game. This is one of the times that I don’t really understand where the reviewers were coming from. I think this is a great version of the arcade game.
If you liked this game, check out my other reviews of arcade games. Such as Smash TV on the NES or Paperboy 2 on the Genesis.