DF Retro: SNES Mini Preview - A 16-Bit Tech Showcase!

[@Astfgl]

Ooooh, I can already not wait for the next DF Retro video! The Legacy of Kain remains one of my favorite game series, and Soul Reaver was an absolute technical masterpiece for its time. The Dreamcast version was also the first game that demonstrated Nixxes' prowess in creating high quality ports. This is gonna be good.

[@bombkangaroo]

Kain was deified.

[@Astfgl]

The clans tell tales of him.

[@hector4470]

Astfgl Still have my Dreamcast version such a great game especially that version :).

[@viniciusmaidana2159]

few know the truth...

[@Astfgl]

He was mortal once, as were we all.

[@HansBoopie]

When talking about the SNES audio, I'm surprised that yo didn't mention how Tales of Phanasia used samples in its opening song to create vocals. The SNES was truly a glorious machine.

[@peterguillam3778]

Excellent lighting, no jarring cuts in the middle of on camera dialogue, smooth and unnoticeable editing technique, an extremely clean audio track, not to mention an easy going and likable presenter who knows his stuff and is clear in his delivery. Take note, viewers and KZbinrs. This is the watermark to which all KZbin videos should be produced. Digital Foundry is top of that list!

[@DevinMoney]

Here's the games list Contra III: The Alien Wars Donkey Kong Country EarthBound Final Fantasy III F-ZERO Kirby Super Star Kirby’s Dream Course The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Mega Man X Secret of Mana Star Fox Star Fox 2 Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting Super Castlevania IV Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts Super Mario Kart Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Super Mario World Super Metroid Super Punch-Out!! Yoshi’s Island

[@Isaax]

Devin Money Neat, I can work with that

[@skydragonslashu]

If you can get ahold of a Wii U. You can softmod the wiiware side of it and play your shit over HDMI I did it to mines.

[@DuckAlertBeats]

skydragonslash Hey..what's your recommendation for the most reliable way to sodtmod your wii u? I have modded the original Wii but never messed with Wiiu softmods..quite fancy doing that this afternoon :)

[@charizardoreo]

couldve used DKC 2 and 3, and Chrono Trigger

[@G_GO0NO]

Devin Money so a lil over $4 a game, not bad

[@retrosoul8770]

John you really need to do a df retro on the best Genesis games that really push its hardware. I'm talking about Alien Soldier, Thunder Force IV, Gunstar Heroes, Musha, Adventures of Batman&R, Contra Hard Corps etc. The system deserves the love, it's undeservedly underappreciated.

[@mazimadu]

@24:30 OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!! SOUL REAVER!!!! I'm From Nigeria and we LOVE this GAME!

[@daeldd1524]

which part i lived in oyo some months!!! ASEEE

[@mazimadu]

Lagos!

[@Moshugaani]

If I had to choose *_ONE CONSOLE_* _(and its entire library)_ for the rest of my life, it'd had to be the Super Nintendo. SNES graphics and sound are great, something that many retro-style games today try to replicate, and the library is robust with lots of variety from _almost_ every genre. I usually like simpler games anyway, so I wouldn't miss today's complex and epic games too much.

[@vintatsh]

Great video, I really like the look of the 16-bit games and what they were able to achive with the hardware. Can't wait till mine arrives.

[@SolidTheMighty]

How the holy mother of god did they not get Chrono Trigger in the SNES Mini???

[@christopheryeo8534]

KangarooBeard Than Super Metroid? Really?

[@pacmanweeee]

Nintendo owns super Metriod they don't have to pay anything.

[@mewgiah8057]

ValenKnight Square. Cost too much money. In fact that is why there is only 21 games vs 30. It cost a lot more money for those SNES third party titles. If they got Chrono Trigger it would have been $100+ for the system, or they would have had to cut more titles down to 16-18 total. I’m personally sad we didn’t get Turtles In Time. But I think this is the best they could do overall while keeping the price under $100

[@mulderscully3707]

+Emily Richards Emily stfu.

[@gabrieleriva651]

Super Metroid is Nintendo's: they don't have to pay license to anyone. But Chrono Trigger is Square's, and Square has been VERY reluctant to put any of their game on the Virtual Console or PSN/XBLA, only re-realising at full price on handled (Final Fantasy II at 40$ on the PSP in 2008?? Really???). You can still buy Chrono Trigger DS new at 30$. It's A MIRACLE we get Final Fantasy VI/III, albeit with that choppy original translation.

[@ibraibraibraibraibra]

Genuinely said "this is what I'm looking for" when this turned up in my feed. Haven't even watched yet but I'll know it'll be good. Cheers John.

[@lanasrj]

only DF can make a preview like this, before release, so fun and informative. Thanks John!

[@mbe102]

Damn, Startfox on an OC'd FX chip looks amazing. Like, the way they designed the game.

[@Marcoboyle00]

Stadium ARTs 20fps is "amazing"?

[@mbe102]

Come on now :P, for what it was, back in the day, that would've been awesome to see. I've got a 144hz Monitor, I'm not chomping at the bit for 20fps ;P, don't worry.

[@Marcoboyle00]

Stadium ARTs I was obsessed with virtua racing on the mega drive which has a similar chip to allow 3d images and polygons. I played it till my thumbs blistered and bled. But looking at that now and even the improved 32x version as well as at starfox - in context they were impressive but I personally don't think I can look at any and say they are amazing. everyone's different ofc and entitled to their opinions,, but i think it's important to be objective

[@pegasusdrive12]

I still find it funny that someone overclocked a SNES.

[@finanzberater8669]

Thanks for mentioning Terranigma.

[@samnzdrum]

13:43 - he has reverb on his voice when he says "reverb". Love that detail :)

[@ERMediaOfficial]

Thanks for the Terranigma shoutout. Probably one of my favorite games ever. Everything about it is just amazing^^

[@Gabriel2Silva]

Holy crap, S.S.H. in the background blew me out! DigitalFoundry never ceases to amaze me!

[@tweltery]

Loving the S.S.H. music throughout the video. Excellent work as always, John.

[@TheGaluMoD]

Another awesome episode of DFretro :) Can't wait for the next one. Coincidentally I just finished Soul Reaver on NullDC (with a couple of fairly tolerable visual glitches) a couple of weeks ago.

[@lwouisYT]

Amazing work as usual. The point developed on Megaman X about simultaneous vertical+horizontal scrolling enabling new level design blew my mind. Really impressed to learn so much from your video guys, keep it up!

[@zero2x]

Legacy of Kain! :D! What a nice surprise at the end of the video, Soul Reaver is one of my all time favorites, can't wait to see the full episode, thanks DF.

[@Genkaku]

I called for Actraiser, one of my childhood favourites and favourite games of all time, before the video so I am glad he included it. Good taste my man!

[@toonpik7]

I love the way John talks about this topic. You can tell he's really dedicated to the SNES.

[@kimlima2113]

Hi John! Thanks for the awesome vid! a) As far as I can see, you didn't answer your intro question what Nintendo has learned from the release of the NES Mini. I may miss some points, but I guess they mainly learned that delivering a low stock of a highly sought-after machine is the perfect way to get free buzz and media coverage. So, I am quite sure what we'll see in the future. Thinking of it, I wonder when the first publisher will come up with the idea of a limited digital download or a preorder-only game. Wait and see. b) I actually owned an original Rendering Ranger R2 cartridge some 10 years ago but sold it on eBay, hehe. The price was nothing to write home about though.

[@gabrieleriva651]

4:42 Lagrange Point is an incredible game, and it's been playable on the Everdrive N8 since the last few weeks.

[@PaddyMcMe]

Please do an episode dedicated to the extra chips found in gaming cartridges, you're the only channel that can possibly do a good job of it!

[@nomisastro2000]

Another stellar and great piece of work John, loved every second and so looking forward to Soul Reaver, incredible game.

[@bewsket]

I think one game that everyone misses in the "could've been on snes mini" videos is Earthworm Jim, that game blew my mind as a kid.

[@willgibbins171]

I'm in the UK and I've pre-ordered it already. I'm so excited!!

[@razor000999000]

really looking forwards this been released, I found this really easy to get hold of too, had 3 pre orders with 3 different vendors, and all 3 pre order been confirmed.

[@TremiRodomi]

I know this video is about games on the SNES mini, but i'm surprised that the original Star Ocean and Tales of Phantasia weren't mentioned at the end of the video. Those games pushed the hardware to it's limits with their massive amounts of voice samples, great use of the SNES' sound chip in general, and lots of colorful, well animated graphics.

[@marekvrbka]

Did not mention Chrono Trigger! RIOT! RIOT! W66

[@charizardoreo]

neither did Nintendo when deciding SNES classic games

[@RazorEdge2006]

15:40 What's the name of that Earthbound song?

[@KazeEternal]

really stoked to see DF Retro LoK:SR impatiently waiting.

[@Nukle0n]

But the european SNES also looked like the Super Famicom, isn't this a british show? :P

[@paradoxzee6834]

Nukleon John is American but yea Richard is British

[@charizardoreo]

Eurogamer is from UK (hence the name) but John is american

[@liamedwards2517]

Also, (from UK) we never referred to it as the ‘Super NES’, it was just the SNES.

[@guiomiranda]

I love this series. How they analyse classic games. I aways wanted something like this on youtube

[@allluckyseven]

19:52 - The PCE didn't have multiple background layers, so even if the SNES had 1 level of parallax, it would be more than the PCE.

[@hateWinVista]

Excellent video,love these DF Retro videos!

[@Lukashmfe]

Nice one! I'm glad DF Retro is back. :)

[@SonicSP]

What's the name of the song/which game is the song that played until 4:00 from? Sounds pretty awesome.

[@anthonyreynoza8535]

I just realized I was at digital foundry I was thinking halfway into the video wow this is some in depth stuff let me see what this guys channel is lol

[@A_Player]

23:09 Anyone hear the CRT whine in the background? Should've used a low-pass filter.

[@leeboy2k1]

A Player 69 And you should lower your entitled expectations on free videos.

[@conoraq]

Anyone know the source of the music that starts playing at 22:57 along with the Skyblazer footage through until the end of the video? It's not from Skyblazer as far as I can tell.

[@jaymzx2587]

Yesss!! Can't wait for the Soul Reaver episode man!! Fantastic voice acting and great gameplay, what a gem 💎

[@mastersofurmouth]

First time I heard that Donkey Kong Country underwater music it was the best music I had ever heard in a game!

[@videogameobsession]

I'm also surprised to not see pilot Wings on this as well

[@Arcadiality]

Fantastic vid. I'll definitely be tuning in for the unbox and strip down (of the SNES mini, that is). 😀👍🏻🕹

[@renehoyvik]

I have my original SNES hooked up to my tv with the RGB connector from my N64. Looks great and even scales well enough to widescreen.

[@nico5179]

Super Castlevania IV was and its still my favorite SNES game, it was just amazing!

[@sayresyDevino]

Great video and your knowledge of these platforms is the icing on the cake..

[@pinokotsbeer6453]

DF retro episodes are soooooo good!

[@Bonoman85]

DF: we want a video of Doom ports like the video of Duke Nukem ports you did a few months ago. Many Thanks for your amazing work

[@Xpert74]

Thank you for another amazing video! The Super NES is my favorite console of all time, and I always love seeing stuff focused on it :)

[@ryohazuki3071]

nice vid. btw what that music starting from 4:10 ?

[@Aaronmac404]

What is the song that starts at 2:40?

[@RyuHazuki82]

Another great video and cant wait next week, that surprise really got me. :D

[@Spiegelgeist]

Vapor Trail owned super hard. Also the snes mini should've had The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja, a gorgeous game with a wonderful soundtrack.

[@IAmNeomic]

The reason why the orginal NES sounds "better" is because of the amplifiers in the analog signal. The NES Classic is what the music sounds like without any added coloration to the signal. It's basically the same reason why many people think vinyls sound better; the added analog warmth and coloration of the sound.

[@Anonyminder]

Awesome ep, thx John! And next ep is Legacy of Kain and Soul Reaver, hell yeah!!!!

[@DebugMenu]

Oh my gosh, thanks so much for giving us a look! I already pre-ordered two hahahah

[@S55M3]

Nice Friendly Video Game Zone why do you need two?

[@DebugMenu]

I don't, I need one and my daughters can have the other. They're not touching my one :D

[@OneTwoMark]

Nice Friendly Video Game Zone where did u pre order

[@pulseofme4949]

El Diablo they might not but i pre ordered 5. taking advantage of stupid people rewards me greatly.

[@SBandy]

Terranigma is incredible and I would love the opportunity to play it again!

[@SuperMatthew128]

Thanks for using the correct logo for PC. I think that the Steam logo isn't that wrong (since there are versions of it or Mac and Linux), but it is not the right one as well.

[@Klarden]

Oh neat, next week will be interesting. Time fades even...retro? hope you've enjoyed checking the good ol' Raziel's box pushing adventure :)

[@DarkShadowRage]

that SSH Remix of FF6's boss theme in the background during Yoshi's island and star fox. well done john :D

[@russmawson6744]

Soul Reaver next time, brilliant, I had commented about that on a previous video but I definitely wouldn't have been the only one. great choice. also loved the SNES mini vid. was lucky enough to get one preordered

[@Isaax]

What was the track called of the DoReMi Soundtrack sample you showed? the first one

[@b3rno93]

I love you John!... the Legacy of Kain series is been an all time favorite in my family!

[@pronstorestiffi]

I'm not sure why my mind has focused in on the word "then" but John really like to use it in a particular way. Any was good content as ever then.

[@MrMarcus922]

What's the game at 4:13? I had this title as a kid, but could never remember the name.

[@Dhlamedia]

Linneman surely shows a soft spot for those children platformers. First Keio 2, and now Doremi.

[@goldensperm7182]

where is my boy Richard Leadbetter?

[@TasJ0]

Homeless Emperor Wichard*

[@darxav]

Brillant DF Retro once again John !

[@inceptional]

Actraiser is the only missing game on the system that you mentioned that I think should have been there. The rest are too unknown to most gamers to ever really be serious contenders. But Actraiser is just so unique and highly regarded, and it also has a great soundtrack, that I think most people would definitely have appreciated its inclusion. And Chrono-Trigger should have absolutely been on there too.

[@498fun]

With the announcement of original Xbox backwards compatibility on the One and that glorious stage showing of the Crimson Skies logo, it'd be a great time to visit that series with this show sometime :)

[@jamescameron149]

My personal all-time fav' console. Thanks for the review!

[@debrucey]

How would pixel perfect scaling work on 1080p? It would have to have black borders on the top and bottom as well as the sides.

[@solidunit]

Bruce Jefferies you can do a 5x scale which would cut off the top and bottom slightly but fill more of the screen

[@debrucey]

Oh dear I don't like the sound of that. I hope they have an option to output at 720.

[@starphaser]

The omission of Chrono Trigger is the most glaring one. This single game is portrayed as being one of the best RPGs of all time.

[@Di0nysys]

What is that game at 4:30?

[@ShiningT1g3R]

Di0 Lagrange Point

[@MetzGaming]

Lagrange Point by Konami. Japanese NES only.

[@galakstiv]

OMG !! Can't wait for the next episode ! Soul Reaver (at least the forst 1) is one of the best PS1 titles I had back in the day. Too bad it was only half of what the devs meant it to be (cf. the neogaf article on cut content and original ending)

[@DeadManRunning1]

Anyone know the name of the game John used to highlight the Famicom's FM synth? I gotta find that soundtrack.

[@narlzac85]

Can't wait for the Legacy of Kain episode. That clip brings me back

[@gargonovich]

somebody over on nesdev actually made a patch for Super Ghouls and Ghosts that fixes the slowdown. The SNES CPU wasn't as toothless as a lot of people think, but it was hard to get the most out of and misused in a lot of cases, especially early software.

[@AirshBornely]

To each their own. 720p for the NES games that were in 240p was perfect. It basically was 3x the res which 1080p wouldn't have equaled to. Edit: Hell yeah Higan! By far the best and most accurate SNES emulator. I'm surprised my 2011 laptop can handle it just fine with OBS recording it in the background.

[@campos3452]

I was just playing Soul Reaver!? Nicely done cant wait!

[@GameMasterpg]

Is video isn't uploaded in 4K

[@sumitupadhayay2270]

I wish they give us an OG ps1 or ps2 nostalgia trip via df retro one day.

[@avavii]

Honorable mention for technical excellence: Axelay!

[@emmettturner9452]

I loved Demon's Crest back in the SNES days but you can't say it's a better choice for the *Classic* Edition if the game were overlooked back then. It technically can't be an SNES classic if so few played in during the SNES' lifetime. I believe that's precisely why Star Fox 2 is an unlockable, since no one played that back in the day (obviously).

[@timothylewis2527]

Demon's Crest. That game was amazing. Gargoyle's Quest was one of the most comple games for the Gameboy and Demon's Crest kicked everything up to 11.

[@diogorafael3563]

where's is the video of ANTHEM on ps4 pro editaded from xbox one, to looks like was running on ps4 pro?

[@ModernVintageGamer]

great video but one miss was your mention of Drakon. His mod work is an abomination. There is well documented information on this

[@gabrieleriva651]

The lack of Donkey Kong Country 2 in the little console is... disturbing.

[@CaptToilet]

For sure. If anything to show how far they went with the engine after the first game. SNES mini is a box of missed opportunities

[@sd19delta16]

What's also missing is Chrono Trigger.

[@yellowblanka6058]

+SpyengoEen - So you'd rather have a sequel that (while good) is largely more of the same gameplay than a unique game? I think they made the right choice - if it came down to limited space/licensing budget, I'd rather they provide a better variety of games than several games in the same series.

[@Alianger]

Just mod it later like the NES one.

[@butcherjsy8]

Its not either or, we should get both.

[@PaulOlPal]

Very nice episode about the SNES, loved it! Just had thought SNES emulators would get a spotlight here, but it may have annoyed Nintendo ^^ Expecting a full Star Fox 2 analysis when it comes out! And anxious about the next episode! Hope DF can show us how to play the first Legacy of Kain on modern machines!

[@mattsm0]

why does the super Mario footage world show those enemies with the hats and shirts instead of the normal turtles? is it different in other countries?

[@8bitDNA]

goddamn john. if i could inject DF retro into my veins, I would. great work

[@WhatAboutTheGame]

Excellent work as always!

[@LuisDiaz-dt1uh]

Yesss can't wait for the next episode :D

[@egoborder3203]

I know right? They just slipped that in at the end

[@cantstanja]

Does anyone have a list of all the games mentioned in this video, INCLUDING the background music?

[@madmax2069]

yeah that overclocked SFX chip does make star fox run smoother but the gameplay is also running 1.5x (or higher) faster.

[@pimpshiza]

One of those late NES titles that had great animation and music was Little Nemo: Adventures in Dreamland. I didn't have this title so I only got to play it at my friend's house. So Jelous to this day! LOL

[@TheSpaceking12]

What is the song at 4:10?