What I’d like to see in a SNES Mini 2

So, if Nintendo was to make a SNES Mini 2, I’d like it to be pretty much the same as before with a bunch of classic SNES digital titles pre-installed, although maybe with the SNES Jr. model this time to easily differentiate it from the first one (I guess):

Along with one major addition, which would be a working [mini] cartridge slot that actually takes [mini] compilation carts of classic SNES games in a similar vain to the Evercade VS: https://evercade.co.uk/vs/

This would mean publishers like Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix, Namco, Atari, etc, could release their own compilation carts of classic SNES games in modern times and possibly even make some brand new games for it too.

And, in an ideal world, Nintendo would actually release proper development documentation, finally, and maybe even some kind of simple and very user-friendly software developement tools to go along with this, so indie developers could also build their own SNES Mini titles relatively easily too, which could be via a website or even built into the system directly in a similar vain to the Pico-8: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php

At the bare minimun though, just having a working [mini] cartridge slot allowing additional physical [mini] games to be plugged in could be a game-changer in the Mini category imo.

I think that could take a new SNES Mini 2 from being another cool little stocking filler to something potentially very special, and maybe even give birth to a modern SNES Mini console/game market category in its own right.

Note: An important caveat here is that I think any new games made for the SNES Mini 2 would have to be designed to work to/within the original SNES’ technical limitations, purely so these new SNES Mini 2 games could also be released in large cartridge size for the normal SNES as well. That way there’s an instant larger potential market base without any need to design and create totally different versions of the game (outside of the different cartridges).

SNES Mode 3 images can look gorgeous

The images below are doing nothing other than using what is possible in Mode 3 on SNES with its 8bpp and 256-colours total onscreen from the 32,768 colour palette. And this is even before any HDMA or colour math or any raster tricks and the like are applied. There’s even enough VRAM spare to maybe have a little scrolling and stuff too, along with a simple second background layer for some parallax and maybe even some sprites in there also. But, even just as static images and nothing else, they can look beautiful, and far beyond anything I’ve ever seen in any commercial SNES titles or even modern SNES indie games to date:

Impressive SNES Graphics

It’s just a bunch of cool examples of the stock SNES doing some rather impressive stuff graphically, be it purely visual/aesthetic or maybe how much it’s pushing around onscreen without slowdown, and so on.

So, here we go. . . .

A great use of SNES’ background Mode 3 for 8bpp, 256-colour, palette cycled visuals, which would be perfect in some kind of Choose Your Own Adventure graphic novel type of game experience.

SNES Background Modes

Did you know that some people still aren’t aware that the SNES has a whopping eight different background modes to play around with, not just the infamous Mode 7 that everyone has heard a load about already?

Well, the video below by Retro Game Mechanics Explained covers the first six of the SNES’ background modes in great detail and is well worth viewing (he has a whole separate video dedicated to Mode 7 too):

In this video, you’ll find a great overview of the SNES background modes 1-6

Despite being the best resource for how backgrounds work on SNES that I’ve found [that laymen can actually understand], there were a few things that still weren’t entirely clear to me when I first watched the video above, such as the actual amounts of colours per layer and overall for the backgrounds in Mode 0 for example, or that the amount of colours onscreen can be increased well beyond the standard 256-ish total [for background and sprites combined] using thing like direct colour in some background modes, HDMA on the backdrop colour, and colour math for transparency effects. So I’ll detail some of those things more below.

The 16-bit War

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The Real Console Wars

Nintendo vs SEGA: This was the golden era of gaming for me, and one of the all-time great battles between two giants of the industry.

I need the unofficial SNES/Super Famicom: a visual compendium

Man, Bitmap Books is knocking it out the part with these compendiums. If I had the money, I’d buy all of them. Here’s the link to the Kickstarter if you’re interested in backing the project.

“The Complete SNES – Collector’s Book & Ultimate Guide” is well worth checking out

If you love all things SNES I’d highly recommend giving it a read if you can get your lucky mitts on it.

Check out this SNES made entirely from wood

Very cool.

You can view the original post here.

Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection

“‘Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection’ is a brand new 250 page hardback book featuring stunning photography, information and features of original Super Famicom game/box art! The Super Famicom was the Japanese version of the classic Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and featured glorious imagery on the packaging that the western PAL versions missed out on.” – www.funstockretro.co.uk

Now that is a book I’d love to have in my collection. 😀

The book, titled “Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection” by Bitmap Books is available for pre-order now, exclusively at www.funstockretro.co.uk