Other Systems: Jul.-Sep. 1990


Nintendo Shoshinkai 1990

On August 28 and 29, 1990, Nintendo held their own game show, having shunned June's Tokyo Toy Show (as usual?).  Attendees came, of course, to witness the public launch of the Super Famicom and its games after a long wait.  Marukatsu Famicom magazine held a prize draw to allow 10 of its readers to attend the show and report their opinions on all the games.  First up are...

Booth Pictures

The final version of the Super Famicom was unveiled to the public at this show.
SFC, Famicom, and Game Boy games were on display in areas that Nintendo called "Symbolic Zones".
"Symbolic" is really just Engrish for "geometric" or "polygonal" in Japanese, usually.
"Hey, why don't they have a 2nd controller attached...?"
The HAL booth: notice the stuffed Lolo and Lala in her hand?
Juvei Quest at the Namco Booth

The excitement in the magazines prior to the SFC's launch was palpable.  All of them drummed up an understandable fervour with titles like "Count Down SFC" and "Help! I need Super Famicom," when its launch was still 3-4 months away!  Marukatsu Famicom's reporters were there to comment on the system and games, and so were the band of 14-to-17-year-old readers who gave their own opinions (tellingly) from a youngster's perspective.

Games at Shoshinkai

Readers' Review: Editors' Review:
Actraiser:
"The background rotation with moving characters is amazing!", "The nice graphics are like an arcade game.", "It's well made, but looks difficult.", "The graphics are beautiful, but I don't think the SFC was pushed to its limit."
"Rotation and scaling are used in abundance, and the level of presentation is amazing.  The music quality is unbelievable.  Through an ingenious mixing of action and simulation modes, we can feel the depth of this mythical world."
Readers' Review: Editors' Review:
Super Mario World:
"The movement is wonderful.", "They thought of everything."
F-Zero:
"It was fast!", "A feeling of speed like nothing before.", "The whine from your engines is cool.", "The backgrounds are beautiful."
Sim City:
"There aren't many games like this on consoles, so I'm looking forward to it.", "The screen's just a jumble."
Pilotwings:
"I don't understand it.", "There are no enemies, so it's no fun.", "I quite like it."
Super Mario World:
"Fun with no complaints.  The SFC's future looks bright!"
F-Zero:
"Never mind that you have to contend with such speed, the exciting part is jostling with rivals as your cars collide." 
Sim City:
"From the contents of the game, it looks like it will be a hit with adults.  We'll be addicted to the satisfaction of seeing our city plans succeed."
Pilotwings:
"Fully uses scaling and rotation capabilities.  For people who want to take a carefree trip in the sky."
Readers' Review: Editors' Review:
Final Fight:
"Difficult but fun.", "I'm saddened by the lack of 2P mode.", "I felt it lacking compared to the arcade.", "I like the bold graphics!"
Gradius III:
"The enemies are tougher than in part II.", "The huge characters are cool!", "This version adds an edit mode, but is missing the 3-D stages of the arcade, unfortunately.", "It's difficult.", "I died in 2 seconds..."
R-Type II:
"It looked fun.", "Of course, the graphics are great."
Big Run:
"The car is huge!", "It lacks a feeling of speed.", "Well-made."
Darius Special:
"The last boss was cool!", "I prefer the PCE-CD version."
Final Fight:
"Even action game veterans will be surprised by this one's realism.  It's a shame there's no 2-player mode."
Gradius III:
"With quick scene changes and thrilling stage design, Gradius III will make you look twice thanks to its appeal.  It feels great once you get 4 options going."
R-Type II:
"Even at this early stage of development, the game was already dripping with atmosphere."
Big Run:
"I hope they add more liveliness to the driving feel.  The system has a lot of depth."
Darius Special:
"We can relish doing battle with giant, vivid characters."
Readers' Review: Editors' Review:
Ultraman:
"Even with huge characters, they move well.", "The opening was cool."
SD Great Battle:
"I liked the fact that the music changes when you change characters."
Gdleen:
"The sound was really impressive.", "I wanted to spend more time playing it.", "All the scenes transitioned quickly, and the enemy graphics are cool."
Hole in One:
"The minute graphics that don't exist on the Famicom were amazing.", "The rolling hills of the course seemed real.", "I want to play this again soon."
 Ultraman:
"Nostalgic, showy, cool, and unrestrained play.  Maybe a little too unrestrained."
SD Great Battle:
"The characters might be comical, but the gameplay is authentic."
Gdleen:
"At the start of development, every event was planned to have animations.  While we didn't see this in the demonstration, the beautiful anime scenes attracted us."
Hole in One:
"The rich greens build atmosphere and put you in the mood.  At release, it looks like rotation and other functions will come into play when you make your shot."
Readers' Review: Editors' Review:
Populous:
"I liked the graphics, which were just like the PC version."
Bombuzal:
"It's easy to understand. He's cute when he talks."
Drakkhen:
"I think it's a skilled conversion from the computer.", "I was surprised by the 360-degree scrolling."
Populous:
"A complete conversion from the computer.  I'm glad there's a vs. mode as well."
Bombuzal:
"Quite a tricky action-puzzler.  The graphics are simple."
Drakkhen:
"A compelling new type of 3-D RPG.  Looks difficult."

Summer CES 1990

Here is Famicom Magazine's coverage of the Summer CES.

And Gekkan PC-Engine is back with their SCES and Tokyo Toy Show reports.  The Tokyo Toy Show ran from June 7 to June 10, 1990, with only the final day open to the general public.

Famimaga covered just the toys in their Toy Show report!


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