Retro Corner Super Smash TV

Another Retro Corner coming your way and I’m looking at Super Smash TV, the SNES version to be more exact. Now I’m not going to lie to you, this game isn’t really all that great but it’s still something I remember fondly from the old days and that’s basically what Retro Corner is all about so it’s worth talking about.

Super Smash TV is the twin stick shooter of the SNES era, okay cool thanks for coming everyone. See you at the next Retro Corner where we will be taking a look at…
Ah you were expecting more huh, well let’s dive a little further but don’t expect the most in depth Retro Corner ever, this one will be short and sweet just like the game we are talking about.

Smash TV is an arcade game released in 1990 and subsequently ported over to just about anything that could run a version of it, I’m looking at the SNES version which goes by the name of Super Smash TV and as far as I can tell is a faithful port of the arcade original. The last thing I want to do with these Retro Corners is take a look at a bad port that isn’t a good representation of the original unless of course I’m doing it intentionally.

As I’ve already said Super Smash TV was the twin stick shooter of it’s day though obviously it does not play as smoothly as today’s offerings due to the SNES controller lacking any analogue sticks. Instead you move your character around using the D-Pad and the direction of your shots is controlled via the face buttons which on the SNES somewhat resemble a D-Pad anyway. It sounds pretty bad but it’s actually really playable and I never find myself complaining about the controls whenever I get hit.

The premise of Super Smash TV is that you are a contestant on a game show, your goal is simply to make it through a series of rooms until you make it to the end where mechanical boss awaits. There’s actually a small amount of text during the start up that explains the “story” and according to the developers Smash TV is basically what TV game shows would be like in the year 1999. It’s rather amusing seeing the year 1999 being mentioned, originally the game was set in the future but as of 2012 you’re playing a game from the distant past that takes place in a less distant past.

By today’s standards Super Smash TV is about as bare bones as it gets, after the title screen you are presented with three different options. One player, two players and a difficulty select option but that’s about it. To be fair to the game that’s all you really needed anyway, perhaps a survival mode would of been nice but it’s an arcade game at it’s core so it’s expected. Being an arcade game also means that you can finish it in half an hour if you want to but during those days it was all about re-playability and high scores.

The game’s main theme was the best, in fact it was me randomly coming across it on YouTube that made me want to do a Retro Corner on Super Smash TV. That theme is just stuck in my head until the day I die but there are other themes in the game though nothing else is nearly as catchy or memorable. What is memorable however was the game show host with lines such as “Good luck, you’ll need it” and “I’d buy that for a dollar”. You didn’t get many voice samples in the early 90′s so pretty much anything that came out of your SNES became a classic line.

Super Smash TV isn’t a game about depth, within 10 seconds you already know what you’re supposed to do, shoot everything on screen until the game let’s you proceed to the next room. If possible always bring a friend over because that makes the game easier and it’s always fun to work with a someone rather than compete against them, at least in my opinion.

You’ll come across a number of different power ups throughout the game as such a spreader that widens the range of your shots and a rocket launcher that is great for crowd control purposes. In addition to those a few collectible are scattered around for bonus points but some straight up clear the screen of enemies but that’s not to suggest everything in the room is designed to help you. Mines are usually placed around the floor meaning you have to be careful in terms of movement and no, enemies don’t get hurt if they walk over it.

Shorts bursts every once in a while is the best way to enjoy Super Smash TV, pop the game in and clear a few rooms or the whole game is you can. It’s a classic no doubt about it but it’s not a classic in the way that a Super Mario World was, it’s a classic more in terms of nostalgia then game quality but it was still loads of fun. That’s something that games these days seem to ignore, they take themselves too seriously and forget that in it’s purest form games are supposed to be fun.

Super Smash TV in 2012

Since the release of the original Smash TV in arcades we’ve seen numerous ports to different systems over the years, the SNES version was my favourite because the controller was the most suitable at the time for the type of game Smash TV was. The most recent version of Smash TV that you can get your hands on is via the recently released Midway Arcade Origins on Xbox 360 and PS3 as pointed out by ListenToTeacher via the comments. There was a stand alone version of Smash TV on XBLA released a few years ago but after Midway went bankrupt the game was removed from the store which sucks for everyone.

So what lies in the future for Smash TV? Well someone somewhere needs to work out some kind of deal and bring Smash TV back as a digital download for XBLA, PSN & Wii U. In terms of a sequel the original developers did mention in the past that a Smash TV 2 game had been contemplated but nothing ever came of it, now that digital downloads are all the rage you’d think it would be the perfect time to bring it back.

I have no idea who even owns the rights to Smash TV as of 2012, probably no one if you can believe that. I’d like to see something worked out to bring the original Smash TV as a digital download for today’s systems or better yet, a HD remake much like how Super Stardust HD was to the original on the Amiga. If a HD remake is too much hassle then just bring back the original because I’d totally buy that for a dollar.