Unholy Night (SNES)
Categories:
[blog]
Tags:
[video games],
[review],
[super nintendo]
Release Date: July 2017
Can you believe it? A fighting game for the Super Nintendo released in 2017. I sure can't, and I've got a copy. Why can't I believe it? Because it's totally unfit for release. Look past the choppy gameplay, unfinished UI (2 player mode dumps you back to the main menu after every match, there's no button config, the manual's move list isn't even correct), and woeful choice of 2 background music playlist when playing with a friend. That stuff is icing.
The game is broken.
'Oh right, that's a "gamer term" right? Broken as in the gameplay is poorly balanced and some characters dominate so hard the game becomes a farce?'
Well, that too, but it's actually BROKEN. The second player can't even reliably perform charge special moves. Luckily only HALF the cast have them. Oh, the second player can't perform quick rises either. What? Basic system mechanics should have been tested in versus mode? In a versus fighting game? Madness. Some win quote screens can cause a soft lock of the game, too. Magic.
It's a shame, too, because despite how unfair and busted the game is (oh, I mean in the balancing sense this time), there's a decent depth to the engine and system. It's actually pretty fun to mess around with and come up with combos, except that then performing them is a painful exercise due to the aforementioned choppiness of the gameplay.
It is hard to look past the 'default' character pick having a single button infinite though..
After 30 years, you'd hope the 'Ex-SNK' staff would produce a celebratory, awe-inspiring game which made people look back at the SNES with wide eyes and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, it's a sad reminder of some of the poorest fighting games released on the system.