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:

Continue reading SNES Mode 3 images can look gorgeous

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.
Continue reading Impressive SNES Graphics

My Honest Bonelabs Review

I don’t know what low bar most of the VR players out there have set for this medium, particularly on standalone, but I’m not drinking the Kool Aid here.

The controls and interaction in this game are simply terrible, just like Boneworks before it, and it’s immediately getting returned as a result.

When I can’t just jump and climb without getting stuck on scenery, can’t just grab and push/pull things around without it being a clumsy mess, can’t just swing a weapon/item without it getting stuck on my avatar’s body, when I have to overthink every motion/movement just to try to avoid horrible collision and motion-sickness-inducing clankiness, it’s just not good enough.

And, by the way, while the “realistic” physics might be celebrated by many in this game, it’s shocking to me that it still looks worse graphically than RE4 VR, which is a game originally released on GameCube in 2001 that’s been updated brilliantly for Quest 2 and actually looks and plays great on it. And, note, I just played RE4 VR literally mins before trying this to specifically compare the visuals and level of polish, so I’m saying with 100% confidence that RE4 VR simply looks better (less blurry overall, better texture detail, no noticeable foveated rendering, sharper in general, no janky legs and arms on the player, some basic shadows under the characters, etc), and it controls and plays leagues better too. There may be some technical level where Bonelab is beyond RE4 VR graphically (certainly in terms of the physics engine), but if it all just looks a bit uglier across the board, it ultimately means nothing to me. It’s the end visual result that counts and nothing more when it comes to the graphics.

Look, I can live with the visuals, which aren’t the best the Quest 2 is capable of (although are totally fine), but the fundamental controls and interactions simply are not good enough–they’re not even close to passable imo–and, for me, they utterly ruin what other potential might be there in the game.

That’s it.

If you want another similarly brutally honest review, you can check out this one too:

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.

Continue reading SNES Background Modes