Super Spy Hunter - One of the Best on the NES? | Cannot be Tamed

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for reminding me of this one. It's the kind of game I wish there were more of. Closest I can find is Firepower 2000 but SSH is much more fun

[@Cannotbetamed1]

I wish there were more games like this too, it was so much fun.

[@mikesilva3868]

@@Cannotbetamed1 😎fun game to me is ducktales for nes

[@FourKaiju]

Holy crap I have not played this game since 1998, and never knew what its name was till now. Thank You

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Glad to help out

[@only257]

Cannot be Tamed got the classic nes game chip n dale rescue rangers at home on nes😊

[@kevinkeene474]

Love all your videos! It's like watching an episode of Gamepro TV from the 90s. They all just have that great retro warm, comforting feeling to them. Keep up the amazing work.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@miketate3445]

Your channel is quite a gem. I love the selection of games you chose to talk about.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I’d only played the first Spy Hunter, so I never really thought to look at this game. I didn’t realize the nature of how this game came into existence until watching this video. Great video!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thank you

[@IIIOldSchooLIII]

As someone who put a ridiculous amount of time in the original Spy Hunter, how have I never known about this game?

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Late releases were often overlooked

[@mikesilva3868]

@@Cannotbetamed1 interesting 📼

[@GameFreak4Ever]

I didn't even know this version existed. I quickly looked the game up. I may need to find it in the wild.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Hope you’re able to find one

[@nicholasyost8400]

Loved this game!!! Owned a copy back in my 20's.

[@einokeskitalo3217]

Oh nice, I didn't know about this game at all. The Sunsoft music is unmistakable! That rotating cannon would certainly have ignited my imagination as a child.

[@tigmo55]

Absolutely wonderful review! I've been saying for years that Super Spy Hunter deserves more love so it's great to watch your review and to see that you enjoyed the game so much! :) That is really, really cool. And you are so right about the soundtrack as well. It fit the game like a glove and the atmosphere was just perfect throughout. Thanks for sharing such a fun video!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@germanalvarado4319]

Thank you for making all this videos, is just so much nostalgia on this games for me 🥺

[@VanBurenPhilips]

I loved Spy Hunter, used to play it a lot on C64. Never knew about this game, it looks great. That track rotation is pretty wild on the NES.

[@ChamplainValleyRailSnapshots]

I had this as a kid. I had played the original Spy Hunter on Commodore 64. This was a really fun game. Especially in an era when gaming was so unforgiving. Thanks for the video.

[@Arrowdodger]

Very nice. It's always great to see a reviewer uncover a favorite they hadn't found yet. I'd never heard of this one, myself, but it looks pretty awesome.

[@eezys]

Thanks Pam! You reminded me of a game that i played as a child but forgot the title of. Oh the great memories...

[@antimonos]

I enjoyed Spyhunter on the ZX Spectrum when it came out. It was my favourite game and came in a multi pack with some other arcade games like Zaxxon, Tapper and some others that I can't remember.

[@zannusx]

I loved this game and played it all the time back in school. Loved the "crab" car

[@rayceeya8659]

Ahhhh but I want to see it now :(. I remember playing the hell out of this game back when I was a freshman in college. I think I actually beat it. There is some serious slowdown in later levels. That poor little NES CPU must have been baked to within an inch of it's life by this game.

[@Daniel456324]

The NES 6502 processor runs at approximately 1.79 MHz. Still does pretty good with all the sprites.

[@richie616]

I remember playing Spy Hunter in the arcades, but I never played the NES port, and I didn't even know there was a second one. I think I missed out... I like a lot of Sunsoft games from that era. Excellent recommendation, Pam, and great work on the video as always; I especially enjoyed the extra info you included about the arcade and home releases. You've been doing a really nice job on your Cosmetic DLC channel, as well.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thank you so much

[@bk9509-o2o]

One thing I like about your channel is how you focus both on retro games and new, modern games. I hope this game at some point is added to the NES Online for the Switch, it looks cool.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks! My interests are quite varied when it comes to games so I jump around consoles and genres and eras a lot.

[@kyuss0157]

Always been interested in this one . Your review made me want it more haha

[@HarryToeface]

I remember playing the original spy hunter as a rental and munching on chips, I finished it before the weekend was over but this looks way more fun!

[@vampire443]

I loved all the concept of this game, but it was very hard for me, maybe now x many years after. Thanks for your videos Pam!!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

It is very tough

[@Mr.Milenko]

I love Super Spyhunter. Memories... As a kid, I never made it that far.

[@fcuk_x]

Weak. I beat the game a few times. Easily top 10 of NES games.

[@Slormer]

Sunsoft always used a pretty bangin' soundfont. No exception here

[@SwitchZetto]

Especially with those meaty bass samples

[@walt_man]

It's amazing how much of this games sprites and levels I remember! Nostalgia overload, my bro and sister we could never beat this one.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

It’s a tough one

[@githane]

I used to play the original back on the C64. It was SO hard. Brings me back to the days of Barnstorming, Spy v Spy, and River Raid. How far we've come!

[@unocarb]

In the 80s I pumped so many quarters in the original

[@mattmyers9351]

Great review Pam! Of course your reviews are always great! In depth and thorough! And more importantly, you make me want to play these games! After your isolated warrior review, I couldn't look for that game fast enough! Love this show! Keep up the good work!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thank you!

[@mattmyers9351]

@@Cannotbetamed1 Your welcome!

[@Davey_Cakes]

It looks fun and varied. Love how you control different vehicles depending on the level.

[@bildo1977]

The original Spy Hunter did have a vehicle change. You had the boathouse that changed your car into a boat. You could also get oil slick, smoke screen, and missiles. I think those count as power ups. :-)

[@roguerifter9724]

I owned this and the original Spy Hunter on NES plus the PS2 game much later. I never heard of the 3DS/Vita game until now I'll have to look into it. The Spy Hunter arcade version was the second video game I ever played so I have a soft spot for the series

[@mattotterpop]

Wow, was really impressed with some of the stuff in this game like the cornering, does look like mode 7 almost, very cool for a NES game. I had a Master System at the time, and the closest we had to this that I played was action fighter, and that didnt even come close!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

The effects in this are great

[@michaeldemers2716]

How did I not know about this Hidden Gem on the NES. Wow. Thank you so much. Super Cool.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

No problem

[@feitclub]

I'm sure I was already playing 16-bit games by this point but wow, this game would have been awesome to come across in 1992! Really impressive for the hardware at the time. Good find!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@Venoix]

This looks like a fun game! The swinging suspension bridge section, in particular, looks like a fun visual way to change things up. Great review, as always.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks! It's fun to find games I wasn't familiar with and find out they're actually really good

[@TerraWare]

I remember playing this game as a little kid in the mid 90's. Found a copy of the Gamecube game while hunting for games so I had to get it. I've yet to play it but the box art is real nice.

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

Not only is this better than the original in almost every way, but it uses the Batman: Return of the Joker soundfont which is like my favorite Sunsoft sound. Seriously, Naoki Kodaka could do no wrong.

[@D-manboy]

I can’t wait Pam!!!! Good seeing you ❤️

[@greenharvester6007]

The best childhood time spent playing this game.

[@luvmenow33]

Very cool. I never actually got around to playing this one. Gonna check it out now. Thanks!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

No problem

[@skijumpnose]

Excellent review and cool that you gave a shout out to Adventures In The Magic Kingdom! And you are right about the music, Could listen to that a lot

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks! Adventures in the Magic Kingdom is one I used to play a ton as a kid.

[@backslash_iii]

I'd played the original in the arcades and loved it, but I had no idea there was Super Spy Hunter. Love those visuals they managed to pull off. This game begs to be 16-bit.

[@TimDavis77]

Yet another great review. You have such a pleasant voice to listen to.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@Fluoride_Jones]

I'm glad to see you're already starting to review games from your recent mega haul! This one looks like a blast. I'll have to see if I can find a loose cartridge. :)

[@Zontar82]

Those parallax effects on the bridge were really something btw absolutely love your smile

[@stephens9772]

Awww I missed it wasn't a video now lol. I look forward to watching your review.

[@JSchaffer214]

No surprise that the music is so good. Sunsoft produced some of the best music for the NES era. My personal favorite being Blaster Master although, I doubt I'm alone on that one. Thanks for the video! I didn't know much at all about this game.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Blaster Master has a great soundtrack too

[@8BitGlitch79]

Had no idea there was a super spy hunter on NES thanks for sharing!

[@Daniel456324]

I'm actually going to revisit this game after I played the original and died quickly in super spy. I never knew there was a hidden pong game with 20 extra lives.

[@thesummerofmark]

Man, I sucked at these games back in the day (still do). There was nothing worse than leaving school on Friday, renting a game for the weekend only to be stuck on the first level. Even worse, the only NES games available in my country were bootlegs - most of them were exactly the same as the originals, but ALL of them had deceiving covert arts. So what usually happened was that I rented a game with the art showing a cybercop or whatever only to discover at home that what I assumed would be a typical sidescrolling shoot-em-up was actually a bullet-hell driving game like the one in your video. Guuuuh. Anyway, cool video as always, Pam! It brought a lot of memories haha

[@Cannotbetamed1]

It was so hard to tell what a game was just by the cover and being stuck with a bad one for your one weekend rental sucked. I remember being stuck with The Addams Family on NES. There's only so many times you can hear the theme song used as the stage music.

[@thesummerofmark]

Cannot be Tamed Oh man, that is a notoriously bad game. I was stuck for a weekend with a bootleg Mario game, I think it was from Russia or something. I remember the cover art having a picture of a detective of some sort. If you’re interested in this niche part of gaming history, Eurogamer recently ran a story titled “Today I Learned About a Console Called Terminator 2”. It’s about a Bulgaria bootleg NES console we had in Eastern Europe. NES consoles were too expensive to import here, so we had to game on cheap bootlegs, including the aforementioned Terminator 2. The article is A BIT patronizing, but it makes for an interesting read.

[@kri249]

This is what I miss about old school games. The limitations of the hardware at the time brings out the ingenuity of the most talented of developers, who can do so much with so little by way of graphics and sound. Seeing creative effects like this impresses me far more than the latest generation consol ever could.

[@NefariousWes]

This game looks really cool, and when Will posted a pic of it on Twitter a few weeks ago it encouraged me to fire up the ROM on my hacked Wii. It's challenging for sure, and it'll take some getting used to, but so far it seems right up my alley. I need to keep an eye out for the cart and snag it before it gets too expensive. I'm definitely 100% sold after watching this review.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

It was a lot of fun. Will recommended it to me and we played through about half the game together, passing the controller back and forth and I decided I needed to review it (and play it all over again because I hadn't been recording).

[@nikd2154]

What do you mean "no powerups" in the original Spy Hunter? That's what those red slow moving trucks are for, if I remeber it correctly, you can drive into one and get a powerup.

[@Karol__R]

This game has hidden difficulty levels. When you finish the first time the next game is harder. The difference is additional red balls flying out from destroyed all obstacles like enemies or their rockets. The fifth boss is madness, a rain of red balls from destroyed rockets. One of the best games.

[@BryanTruong]

Nice review! I didn't think I was aware how different this was from the original Spy Hunter

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thank you, it’s so much better than the original

[@fontelroy09]

I kinda remember this one too-i thought the slowdown was unforgivable at the time! I think the significant improvement and difference between the original and this title puts me in mind of the difference between the original Street Fighter and SF2.

[@opaljk4835]

The one big difference between that series and this one is that this was never meant to be a spy Hunter game in its original release

[@VideoGamesAndCollectibles]

Good review Pam! I don't think that I have ever tried this game but it looks like it would be more fun to play than the first one. Nice addition to the collection and thanks for sharing your review on it. Cheers, Joe

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks Joe!

[@noemartindelcampo8880]

I remember this video game. It was really hard to play for me. But definitely one of the best nes games.

[@winterburden]

Such an excellent review Pam, thanks for sharing with us! 🙆‍♀️

[@Cannotbetamed1]

No problem :)

[@mobius8448]

Hell yes. This game is fantastic. Sunsoft also included their special chip in their games that boosted the sound capabilities. The music is fantastic and Return of the Joker for NES has the same thing going for it. Also check out Gimmick! Soundtrack. Absolutely mind blowing for NES sound!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Gimmick is impressive on a number of levels. Really tough though.

[@sesa1076]

I never played this but Spy Hunter was my FAVORITE! I also really liked Knight Rider, which probably wasn’t awesome, but I rented it from the local video store and I really loved the ‘travel’ aspect of it as a kid. You’d drive closer and closer to different cities, and night would fall and morning would come, and I THINK even weather would change. It was fun, and I think I rented it more than once. You should try to check it out. Peace.

[@DAIGREONZero]

I got the japanese version (Battle Formula) of this one back in the day. Love this game.

[@alfr83]

Nice ! Didn't know anything about this game. It seems to be a pretty rare one in PAL territories.

[@randomname2308]

also the strategy with the 4th boss is to ram into it after he shoots out lasers, and shoot with all 3 guns pointing at it, it kills his defences with 1-2 seconds

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

I always passed on this one for whatever reason but it looks fun as hell, love the shmup parts too. I’ll keep an eye out for this one

[@TheCompletionist]

You don't see a lot of reviews for super spy hunter and I'll be honest - this is the first time I've ever seen a full on review for this game and its incredibly well done. I think a lot of late age nes games pretty much fell through the cracks of what defines great gameplay because there was already a lot of well established games before this one that fans would often parade over the obscure ones. I get the feeling this is a perfect example of an excellent game that fell through the cracks because of its obscurity and the fact that it was so late in the nes lifespan and people have already moved on to the super nintendo and sega genesis at that point. I still need to give the game a fair try myself because I would love to play it.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

There are a lot of really good late releases that are worth revisiting (or visiting for the first time)

[@mrmike9793]

Had no idea this existed. I had the original Spy Hunter on my Commodore 64.

[@SmokingSpoon]

I was really impressed with that one as well. Much underappreciated

[@aldusric]

I just to listen Sunsoft nes game music too. Specially this. Cool review. Thanks

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@elvisrobotbeta3299]

I am amazed at how much ability you have with shoot'em-ups, Pam!! Congratulations!! ;-) The first time took me so much more time to get to the end, specially because it was so hard to me get past that one-eyed boss and that great ship boss, and you with only a few days since you get the game, you did it. O_O Excellent review as always!! :D I agree with you about all you say (including your appreciation of the awesome soundtrack) except that I think it's very necessary to learn the patterns in some parts of the game for continue, because when you lose and try again, your decreased power-ups won't be enough for keep up the rhythm of the game and you'll start to lose over and over for not having the upgrades (specially in that stage with one dark abyss after another). Always wanted to play that PS2 version, because at those years, I thought it was so similar to this game, but in 3D. Haven't played it yet, but If you say it's possibly the best of the bunch, makes me wanna try it so hard!!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

I save before all the bosses :P

[@elvisrobotbeta3299]

@@Cannotbetamed1 XD!!! Ahaaaaaa, tricky girrrrrrrl, I got you ;-) Mmmmm, but to be fair, if I would have a Retron 5 instead of an original console, sure I do it too XDDD

[@johnstauffer741]

Actually, there is some vehicle variety in the original Spy Hunter on NES. You can eventually get a boat. If I remember correctly, it may depend on what path you take when the road forks.

[@lokedhs]

I'm pretty sure you could drop oil or smoke behind your car as well. I played it on the Commodore 64 which is a really good version.

[@Ninten70]

Sunsoft made alot of great music on the NES, however this game would be perfect to add on the Switch Online

[@sirhighbury3144]

Wow, I had no idea of this game. It certainly came a long way from the Spy Hunter I played on a friend's C64. hahaha

[@Odinoian]

Pam, I like your taste! This game is so overlooked! One of my all time favorites :D

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@devo076]

Sunsoft rocked it on the NES. I loved their Batman game. Also about every Sunsoft game had great music!

[@yohanfuretro-love.8306]

Waiting, waiting 😍👍👍👍👍👍

[@MalakaOldGamer]

One of my all time favorites games on Nes, but... SO HARD FOR KIDS, i hate it when i was a kid. Great review, as always!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@stephonh.5207]

I'd love to play that.

[@nvrndingsmmr]

I have some foggy childhood memories of the PS2 version, I'm glad I'm not crazy and it was actually a thing!

[@cliffjumper1984]

I remember getting this back in 1996. I just only got it again like a year and a half ago. worth the price it commands. good game

[@rozzbozzgames]

This is great, just fired it up on my Mame cabinet, was annoyed because I put in digital sticks so the arcade version is unplayable. This beats it in nearly every way! Thanks Pam and great review as always :)!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thank you

[@leviathon74]

Sunsoft really knew how to make the nes sing

[@The_Crimson_Wolf_]

Probably my favorite Nintendo game in the good old days. The version I had also included pong between levels, I think?

[@randomname2308]

A little tip about this game, try to avoid using the C upgrade on bosses, it makes your guns shoot slower, and any R upgrades you picked up earlier will be lost

[@vanyaimportant669]

Thanks Pam! This looks like a decent shoot em up

[@TrayDays113]

I remember the original spyhunter. This was a good review of super spy hunter.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Thanks!

[@applejuice281]

The sountrack is ohhhhh!! 👌👌

[@demgutts]

Still have to go back for this one

[@chigennucketgames1689]

This looks like a decent shoot em up, thanks for sharing!

[@Cannotbetamed1]

No problem

[@coktoe4487]

Well I knew immediately why I had never played this: Released in 1992. I was all about 16 bit by then. Loved Sunsoft, and was a fan of Spy Hunter, so definitely would have tried it had it released earlier. The "turning effect" in this game is the neatest trick I've ever seen the NES pull off. It's borderline Mode 7😶. Very cool looking game overall.

[@Cannotbetamed1]

There are a lot of really cool effects used in this game, the advantage of a late release

[@mjw_geek]

Spy Hunter, the OG had 3 power ups, Oil, Smoke, and Missiles.

[@bdoerle]

If you ever get a chance to play it, the Spy Hunter Pinball machine is really good.

[@CongaLineMonkey]

I grew up with Spy Hunter on the Commodore 64, which was actually a more playable port than the extremely fast arcade original. But I think Super Spy Hunter is the most complete version of the game.

[@Starscreamlive]

Gotta love that Sunsoft music

[@jessragan6714]

Whaddaya mean the original Spy Hunter has no power-ups? It's got missiles and smoke screens and oil slicks you get by driving into semi trailers! I don't think you can carry all of those at once in the NES version, though. Er, anyway. I like this game, and I like your review, too. I completely forgot about the highway rushing toward you after a high jump... it's a damn good special effect on the NES.

[@dieseldust27]

With just the music alone, I can really tell it's a Sunsoft game lol. Konami is also unique

[@romubidy7779]

Fantastic game from Sunsoft, with a super soundtrack and incredible effects for a NES/famicom. Too bad it's one of the most expensive game for the famicom now. But it's a masterpiece.

[@tomwaters5090]

Never knew there was a spy hunter 2 I always thought super spy hunter was the sequel. To spy hunter.

[@lurkerrekrul]

No powerups in the original Spy Hunter? If you enter the weapons truck, you can get smokescreens, oil slicks and missiles. The missiles are used against the helicopters and the oil and smoke are deployed behind the car to cause enemies behind you to crash. However, yes, it's purely a high score challenge.