I went to Video Game Swappers, made a special trip asking my brother to please take me for days on end, and saw a Japanese Super Metroid with adapter ($99). Figured I'd get a bunch of cash for my games and maybe afford it. My credit ended up being about sixteen bucks. They offered one dollar for Super Mario World. I was too naive to tell them no and traded probably five games for Phalanx. #RegretThatDecision...
Everybody remembers Zoop as that game that filled bargain bins for a period of time. I mean I don't know how many copies there are out there but considering it was on literally everything there must be tens of millions at least.
Finally caught one early enough to say: Thank you so much for your work, man. As a 41 year old, I can watch your content all day, just for the memories. As a retro gamer, I check your videos before I start seriously playing a game. I appreciate it, quite a bit.
I grew up in the 90's, subscribed to GamePro and EGM, and I collect and play retro games today. I know that Zoop cover art like my mother's face. And this is the very first time I've ever seen gameplay footage of it.
I genuinely miss it. When I grew up saturated in that era of art assets and everything started changing after the Y2K era, which was its own transition, the 2000's looked SO ugly by comparison.
@@emceeunderdogrising Uglier maybe, dirtier though? I'm not sure what made the 80s dirtier? I was born in the 80s so the 90s are the first decade I really remember.
Awesome part about Tuff Enuff was that the cover was used in the first stage of Game Tengoku back in 1995. Jaleco knew how ridiculous it looked and used it as a huge stage backdrop.
The Japanese version is called Dead Dance and has a much better cover. It's funny that Jaleco knew they were giving us a horrible cover and horrible title.
Man I actually miss this. Being young and going rent games and renting them based on the cover art that stood out to me, only for the game to be complete garbage and being disappointed haha. I miss good cover art and awesome instruction booklets.
Yeah N64 games were some of the most notorious at least for me at the time. But there was something truly glorious about being able to check out a game before you buy or not even having to buy it at all. Ah memories.
Yeah, between Body Harvest and when the first couple of GTA games first came out under the DMA label, I thought they really had sort of established an MO for themselves there. Shoot-‘em-ups with a _lot_ of cars to drive around, yep, that’s DMA.
Body Harvest made it fun to steal cars and kill civilians. Grand Theft Auto made it feel like eating your vegetables. The game would sabotage you if you didn't play like a sociopath.
I love this because as a gamer of the 90's, this was PRECISELY what we had to guard against on Friday nights at Blockbuster or the local video store when we were renting games. I would add U.N. Squadron, Outlander, and Sword of Vermillon for the Genesis for me.
The PC version of Forsaken was also remastered for modern computers & XBOX ONE by Nightdive Studios. They're the same company that did the recent remastered Shadow Man port, as well as the remastered ports of Turok 1 & 2, Doom 64 & SiN. They're also working on a remake of System Shock.
Ooooooh OK now the system shock one is the most exciting of all of those. Because everyone sings its praises as being decades ahead of its time and still being a fantastic game, except for the very weird and awkward controls (which is why everyone uses a mod to play the game so that you can use regular pc FPS controls, keyboard and mouse) Also, if I'm thinking of the same company as you are, then this means there's the possibility of getting system shock on the Switch. Because the switch already has all those other games ported, like all the Dooms (including doom 64), the Turok games for n64, Duke Nukem 3D, etc. I'm fine with playing it on the pc instead but it'd be definitely great to have the option to play it on the go. And gyro controls would be very handy, they're maybe the only thing more natural feeling than a keyboard and mouse
@@duffman18 Nightdive also did an Enhanced Edition of System Shock for GOG with Widescreen, as well as mouse & keyboard support. Same basic game, but slightly more manageable. As for the System Shock remake, it's been in development hell for awhile. Thankfully it's been picking up steam lately as the devs decided to stay closer to the original game, but update it with modern gameplay sensibilities. There's a recent demo that added a cyberspace level, maybe check it out. Judging from the recent footage & impressions from the recent demo, reactions have been positive so far. To draw comparisons, they might be remaking it in a style similar to Black Mesa. Rather than say the recent Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which was more of a reimagining. (Not saying it was bad, it was just a different approach)
Whenever I used to rent games, you could see Zoop on the shelf from the door. That's how much that cover stood out. I used to turn my nose up..even as a 4th grader lol
Shadow Man was based on a comic book series that has been around for a couple of years. The version the game follows was a revamp that from when Aklaim acquired Valiant Comics (which also included Turok, X-O Manowar, and Armorines) in the mid-90s.
Indeed. I remember when Valiant launched and Shadowman looked like/was(?) a generic edgy superhero character for the time. Then they reworked the story with that new look, with his old mask now being the design on his chest.
Zoop is such an amazing game. I turned it into a speedrun a couple years ago and a few people battled a bit to lower the record. Also sidenote I saw a license plate in my hometown recently that just read ZOOP. Amazing stuff haha
Funny story: I found a copy of Zoop at a pawn shop that I frequent, and decided to get it so that I could replace the back of a more expensive game. Because I’m a regular, the owner threw it in for free with another game I was purchasing. I finally decided to give it a go last week, but when I turned my SNES on, I realized very quickly that it wasn’t Zoop. It was Mario’s Time Machine, and someone had swapped the circuit boards for the two games. In retrospect, it does make a bit more sense, because one of the screws was missing when I first got the game. Still, I’m not sure if it was a mistake or an elaborate bate and switch, but it surprised me either way.
My brother traded all of our nes stuff for a brand new skuljager when it came out. Still remember the password for as far as I ever got ‘fly home lazy sword’. It was decent enough. However that may be the ptsd of how much nes stuff he traded for that game.
My parents bought me Zoop one day. It was an interesting puzzle game. I was never really good at it but it was entertaining enough with an okay soundtrack.
Haha hillbilly Simulator. The japanese boxart for phalanx was pretty awesome though. m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2NkMjJjMmEtMzQ4Mi00MTI0LWJhOTItOWYwYmE3NTk0ZWY2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzM4MjM0Nzg@._V1_.jpg
I played Zoop on a few different platforms back in the day (having worked at a game rental store), and one thing I remember is that the different ports of Zoop to various platforms _played differently_ from one another. You'd think that for such a simple game, one "Zoop" would be like any other "Zoop" - but the semi-randomness of the shape/color patterns (e.g. the distribution of runs of the same color vs. random colors, piling on shapes in one line vs. spreading them out evenly, etc.) seemed to be different in every version I tried. It's like the difference between a "Tetris" with tetrominos drawn from a finite "bag" before being reshuffled vs. a "Tetris" with _completely_ random tetrominos (allowing for long runs of the same one or two shapes). I can only guess that every platform's "Zoop" was programmed by a different team, and that Viacom/Hookstone's design documentation didn't actually specify _how_ the shapes were to be selected/distributed - kind of an important part of a puzzle game's mechanics.
Forsaken was one of my favorite games. It was actually the game I bought with the system. There was nothing like seeing a Titan nuke fly past you and the chaotic scramble to get out of the room before it explodes. Two player was what made it so much fun for me. It was like 007 but flying spaceships.
Même sur une chaine anglophone trés spécifique... on croise le serbe le plus populaire de YT ! Cette chaine est super j'y ai découvert plein de trucs. Bon courage pour la suite 👍
I remember Zoop be of the ads for it and it was so obscure and nonsensical. It seemed to get positive reviews here in the UK but can't really say I know anyone that got it. Saying that Acclaims marketing during the N64 time was just becoming increasingly odd until they tried to get people to advertise games on their own gravestone or changing their names legally to Turok.
I played Zoop for the first time a month or so ago, even though I'm 40 years ago. I don't mind puzzle games, and I could have seen me playing this a lot at the time. Didn't really stand out at the time, and I definitely wouldn't have wanted £40 laid out for it.
You are consistently one of the best old school content providers on TH-cam, and criminally underrated. I teach TV Production in high school, I appreciate your understanding that the video isn't about you, it's about the games you are talking about. The offscreen narration is the best approach, and you clearly are prepared for these videos with a script, unlike some others on this platform (how are you feeling, you got John Riggs here). Sorry for the rant, just wanted to give you props!
I remember playing the PS1 and PC versions of Shadow Man, and its PS2 sequel (2econd Coming). I didn't know that, everyone knew the game from the box art. I hope Nightdive Studios could remaster that PS2 sequel one day for modern platforms.
Man, I really miss Funco Land. I had a great local store that was always friendly and fun to look through. Also, I knew Zoop because my local Blockbuster back in the day had it running on a display tv for public play for a long time. Not a bad game!
1) This list is 100% accurate. 2) Your assessment of 90s is correct. 3) Tasha Yar reference gets 100 points. Well done sir! Always a great time watching your videos. 👍
Shadow Man is based on a Comic book originally published by Valiant. (Turok, XO Manowar). Acclaim bought the publisher in the mid 90s and started publishing games based on the comics. Never knew they did a Shadowman game though.
Glad you mentioned Shadow Man’s cover art in the video! Definitely agree, you saw it almost everywhere in promo pics of numerous gaming magazines or at your local video game store at the time even if you never got the chance to play it. The N64 era of cover arts/promo pics marketing definitely were something else 😅
Always fun to see you do a list like this. You always have such a cool theme. These were permanent fixtures in the rental store, and you can't help but wonder how many of these games were bought by individuals. "Man, I got Brutal: Paws of Fury for my birthday!" "Yeah, what's that?" "These cartoon animals fight each other Street Fighter style in a tournament, and I think the prize is the winner gets a show on Fox Kids for one season!"
The level of contempt I have for Zoop knows no bounds. It was in every bargain bin in 96, it was one of the last games my local rental store had before phasing out SNES games, and was the last demo game my local Sears had in the kiosk for full-on year before getting rid of it all together. And I had absolutely no idea how the game worked. Pure frustration. I still saw the game in Kmart clearance bins with arkanoid and uniracers in 98.
Loved the idea. The exact same thing happened to me involving Dino City, I have only paid attention to it when I saw a friend of mine playing it at the rental store and then I asked "wow, that looks neat actually. Which game is this?" and there it was, available for everyone most of the time with a crappy cover art. Vegas Stakes was also a game no one would pick, ever - neither would I. Had a good time playing Tuff E Nuff (Dead Dance as I got to know at the time) but time hasn't done good to it. One game cover which was onipresent in gaming magazines and also retail advertising here in Brazil was Little Ninja Brothers for the NES, it certainly boosted its rental visibility back then
SNES drunk I’m so glad you included Body Harvest! I loved that game so much! Great job on the channel, too. Been checking your stuff out for a while now. Hope you and yours are well. 🙂
Lt. Tasha Yar's Head on a child's body gave me a DEEP belly laugh! Thank you for covering content this 37 year old can absolutely be nostalgic over time and time again. Your cadence, delivery and presentation are top notch and your passion for these games shines through!
Fuckin LOVED the bit about polo/khaki/Corolla/Miller Lite guy and the Byron Allen reference was so hilariously out of left field. Your obscure references add so much to the overall package. Great vid as always dude.
The thing with a few of these covers is that they were specific to the US version of the games: The PAL version of Tuff E Nuff had similar box art to the Japanese version, the PAL version of Forsaken had completely different cover art (which was fairly nondescript) while the PAL version of Body Harvest had box art that was much more representative of what the game was about. I can't comment on the other games (and I'm too lazy to check!).
Huh, spot on with that Dino City bit. Until today, I’d _never_ seen any screenshots or video of actual gameplay. Looks nifty, and the art style is cute. Chalk up the box art to yet more ‘90s radi-cool chicanery.
1:26 I beg to differ Mr. Drunk, I remember the 90s and the 90s ads to usually be way more X-TREEEME than that one. That one is rather tame and reserved for the 90s but I agree that kids these days would see even that and go "WTF?" I remember seeing "Zoop" at the video rental place but I never picked it up so you are right. How do you know these things? my guess is either time travel or magic booze.
I'll never forget Forsaken 64, as I was working at a video-game store when it came out, and a kid came up there and asked me if "Foreskin 64" was a good game.
Zoop is that rare puzzle game where the developers consider attacking your optic nerve directly as "late game difficulty". The music too seemed almost designed to confuse. I remember wanting to play it with the sound off but being unable to because there is a warning noise you get when the rows are one move from entering the center.
I'll never forget the ZOOP box. But I also remember the back had the craziest read ever. I remember it said "what are you doing reading this box?! Pick this game up and play it now. Zoop the most addicting puzzle since ever!!" I laughed at it back in the day
I was kind of expecting more warnings than recommendations, to be honest. There were a lot of games that either pulled this trick to get you to play their bad game, or ambitious games that didn't get the work put into them they needed to be the game they were trying to make. That said, Phalanx is a gem of a shmup. I rented it on a week long blockbuster rental and played the hell out of it until it had to go back. Never finished it, but I remember having a lot of fun.
Young guy here (20) Video stores were still around here for abit in Australia when I was a kid during the Wii, Xbox360 and PS3 era before eventually all dying out. The biggest game I remember seeing but never hiring was No More Heroes. It always interested me, but I never hired it and usually stuck to safer options for me at the time like the LEGO games or Nintendo made games. Going back and playing the game now No More Heroes has become one of my favourite series.
I remember Dino City because it was always in Tommy K's when renting games was a thing. Nobody I knew had it, played it, or knew what it was. I wish I check out the back. Looks like it was fun.
I had a feeling Phalanx would get a mention here. I remember being in middle school Accelerated Reader and seeing this game being offered as a high-point prize. I didn't have a SNES (Sonic fangirl for life) but that box art intrigued the hell outta me. 25 years later I'm learning what the big deal was. Thanks!
Yeah, growing up in the 90's was a weird trip. I recall all of these games sitting on Blockbuster shelves collecting dust. You couldn't escape the loud in-your-face marketing back then! I remember seeing Zoop _everywhere_. I love puzzle games, so I rented it along with Tetris Attack. I just couldn't get into Zoop at all as I didn't like the art style and the gameplay was just kind of tedious/dull. I'm still glad I rented Tetris Attack as well so it wasn't a complete loss of a Blockbuster visit!
Just recently, I finally managed to get my hands on a hacked SNES Mini with 235 games pre-installed, after literally decades without gaming consoles at my place, so I really dig your channel. There's a pretty funny link between Zoop and the name of your channel, by the way: In Dutch, which is spoken where I'm living (Belgium), 'zoop' means 'drank too much' ;-)
I actually picked up a copy of Zoop at a garage sale years ago and it was because I was drawn to the artwork on the label. I agree it actually is good on the SNES
Shadow Man was an awesome game. It was cemented in my brain when a neighbor friend bought a used copy. I never saw the cover, i was just really interested in this dark game when i was 8 years old.
I had completely forgotten about Forsaken. This wave of nostalgia just hit me with a memory of a sleepover at my friend's house and his parents got us this at Blockbuster and we played it all night. I miss the 90's
The jaguar port of zoop is oddly a lot better than the rest of the games in the series, it has a redone soundtrack which sounds 10 times better, the graphics look incredibly sharp and it is the only game where you can save high scores and settings.
I picked up body Harvest at a pawn shop in my hometown after my grandfather picked me up from Junior High. I had no idea what the game was or how much fun I would have playing it. I still own it and it's one of my favorites. Gets hard af a few locations in
In case you’re wondering: The old man on the cover of Phalanx for SNES was Bertil Valley who sadly died in 2004.
I went to Video Game Swappers, made a special trip asking my brother to please take me for days on end, and saw a Japanese Super Metroid with adapter ($99). Figured I'd get a bunch of cash for my games and maybe afford it. My credit ended up being about sixteen bucks. They offered one dollar for Super Mario World. I was too naive to tell them no and traded probably five games for Phalanx. #RegretThatDecision...
Uncanny Valley defined
F
See you space banjo cowboy
After a quarter century, I finally know what Zoop is. Thank you.
So many copies of Zoop for Super Nintendo at Game Craze
Everybody remembers Zoop as that game that filled bargain bins for a period of time. I mean I don't know how many copies there are out there but considering it was on literally everything there must be tens of millions at least.
I actually played Zoop on a PC at Office Depot back in the 90s. It was...OK?
@@DrCorndog1 - It was fine. It gets hectic real fast at level 7 and higher at least. If you reach level 10, then you were legit.
There's a copy in everyones' dusty snes box
Finally caught one early enough to say: Thank you so much for your work, man. As a 41 year old, I can watch your content all day, just for the memories. As a retro gamer, I check your videos before I start seriously playing a game. I appreciate it, quite a bit.
Thanks for taking the time to watch Tyler
Cool tyler🎯
You are speaking for many of us :)
Ive gotten some good recomendations from this guy 👍
Couldn't say better
Never heard of Zoop, but the Cover looks so 90s I can totally see the Fresh Prince wearing it on a Shirt.
It was heavily featured in a lot of Sega Channel commercials
Forsaken 64’s cover itself is the perfect representation of what 90’s marketing was like.
I remember Forsaken having an alternate shot with the tattoo on her thigh. It was pulled from the ads later on.
Even just the name... Forsaken 64
@@ottagol1985 I remember that. They definitely ran it in gamepro for a bit , or maybe it was EGM.
"The future is forsaken" is forever burned in my memory.
@@ottagol1985 I can't find the thigh tattoo, but definitely found the neck tattoo.
I grew up in the 90's, subscribed to GamePro and EGM, and I collect and play retro games today. I know that Zoop cover art like my mother's face. And this is the very first time I've ever seen gameplay footage of it.
Hard same. I've still never played Ardy Lightfoot or Cool World either 😂
@@captainvimes6079 both cool games, ardy is super fun.
Early to mid 90s game pro was peak game pro!
"Eastern European Looney Tunes" is the best description for brutal paws of fury I've ever heard
Hi hunter
"WORKER AND PARASITE!"
@@samuraikarasu…what the hell was that?
I can confirm, Zoop is what the 90s looked like.
I genuinely miss it. When I grew up saturated in that era of art assets and everything started changing after the Y2K era, which was its own transition, the 2000's looked SO ugly by comparison.
I was there. I lived it. In many ways, I miss it.
@@LeoMidori The 80s were way uglier. Dirtier too.
I watched some 90s ads the other day. What a crazy trip.
@@emceeunderdogrising Uglier maybe, dirtier though? I'm not sure what made the 80s dirtier? I was born in the 80s so the 90s are the first decade I really remember.
Awesome part about Tuff Enuff was that the cover was used in the first stage of Game Tengoku back in 1995. Jaleco knew how ridiculous it looked and used it as a huge stage backdrop.
The Japanese version is called Dead Dance and has a much better cover. It's funny that Jaleco knew they were giving us a horrible cover and horrible title.
Cha-DING!
The graphics appear to highly imitate the Streets of Rage series.
"Tasha Yars head on a child's body"
Legitimately made me lol
It is golden!!
Same. Haha 😂
I fucking LOVE zoop. I played it so much as a kid on my Sega, that I'd have dreams about the colors and shapes flying at me
I know what you mean
"Lieutenant Tasha Yar's head on a child's body" made me laugh my ass off.
I missed that lol
Man I actually miss this. Being young and going rent games and renting them based on the cover art that stood out to me, only for the game to be complete garbage and being disappointed haha. I miss good cover art and awesome instruction booklets.
Yeah N64 games were some of the most notorious at least for me at the time. But there was something truly glorious about being able to check out a game before you buy or not even having to buy it at all.
Ah memories.
Body Harvest basically laid all the groundwork for GTA3. It wasn't the best game, but it was fun and incredibly ambitious.
Yeah, between Body Harvest and when the first couple of GTA games first came out under the DMA label, I thought they really had sort of established an MO for themselves there. Shoot-‘em-ups with a _lot_ of cars to drive around, yep, that’s DMA.
Body Harvest made it fun to steal cars and kill civilians. Grand Theft Auto made it feel like eating your vegetables. The game would sabotage you if you didn't play like a sociopath.
I love this because as a gamer of the 90's, this was PRECISELY what we had to guard against on Friday nights at Blockbuster or the local video store when we were renting games. I would add U.N. Squadron, Outlander, and Sword of Vermillon for the Genesis for me.
Dude UN Squadron is an awesome game though
@@MagnusVonBlack "for me"
holy shit i forgot that i ignored un squadron my entire life based on the cover art.
Arkana
The PC version of Forsaken was also remastered for modern computers & XBOX ONE by Nightdive Studios. They're the same company that did the recent remastered Shadow Man port, as well as the remastered ports of Turok 1 & 2, Doom 64 & SiN. They're also working on a remake of System Shock.
Ooooooh OK now the system shock one is the most exciting of all of those. Because everyone sings its praises as being decades ahead of its time and still being a fantastic game, except for the very weird and awkward controls (which is why everyone uses a mod to play the game so that you can use regular pc FPS controls, keyboard and mouse)
Also, if I'm thinking of the same company as you are, then this means there's the possibility of getting system shock on the Switch. Because the switch already has all those other games ported, like all the Dooms (including doom 64), the Turok games for n64, Duke Nukem 3D, etc. I'm fine with playing it on the pc instead but it'd be definitely great to have the option to play it on the go. And gyro controls would be very handy, they're maybe the only thing more natural feeling than a keyboard and mouse
@@duffman18 Nightdive also did an Enhanced Edition of System Shock for GOG with Widescreen, as well as mouse & keyboard support. Same basic game, but slightly more manageable. As for the System Shock remake, it's been in development hell for awhile. Thankfully it's been picking up steam lately as the devs decided to stay closer to the original game, but update it with modern gameplay sensibilities. There's a recent demo that added a cyberspace level, maybe check it out. Judging from the recent footage & impressions from the recent demo, reactions have been positive so far. To draw comparisons, they might be remaking it in a style similar to Black Mesa. Rather than say the recent Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which was more of a reimagining. (Not saying it was bad, it was just a different approach)
Also the remasters of Power Slave. Night Dive is on a roll with these remasters and they are all good from my experience.
Whenever I used to rent games, you could see Zoop on the shelf from the door. That's how much that cover stood out. I used to turn my nose up..even as a 4th grader lol
Once I saw the title and shitty cover for Zoop I'm clicked on this. What a great video idea. Gotta do more of these.
Please beat Tampa
@@SNESdrunk OMG 😂 I hope we do. What's your team? Aren't you a Wild fan?
@@pouncingpantherpucks2779 Huberdeau carried my fantasy team.
Minnesota yeah, but Barkov is great and I'm tired of Tampa
@@AyeThatsHandsomePete Yeah he was a beast this year. I think he's even better than Barkov but man they had an incredible year.
Shadow Man was based on a comic book series that has been around for a couple of years. The version the game follows was a revamp that from when Aklaim acquired Valiant Comics (which also included Turok, X-O Manowar, and Armorines) in the mid-90s.
Indeed. I remember when Valiant launched and Shadowman looked like/was(?) a generic edgy superhero character for the time. Then they reworked the story with that new look, with his old mask now being the design on his chest.
It's references like this 3:40 that make SNES drunk the perfect retro gaming youtube channel for me.
Nothing like a Byron Allen reference.
Zoop is such an amazing game. I turned it into a speedrun a couple years ago and a few people battled a bit to lower the record. Also sidenote I saw a license plate in my hometown recently that just read ZOOP. Amazing stuff haha
You do remember that popular Salt n Pepa song, right..?
“You make me wanna
Zoop
Zoobedoo
Zoobedoo bedoo...”
There was alot of nostalgia in this episode for me. Thank you for creating this
There were SO many Zoop ads in EGM for a few months.
Yep between the ads and the aggressive push to put it on literally everything it was clear they wanted it to be the next Tetris. It was not.
In every magazine and on TV.
Funny story: I found a copy of Zoop at a pawn shop that I frequent, and decided to get it so that I could replace the back of a more expensive game. Because I’m a regular, the owner threw it in for free with another game I was purchasing. I finally decided to give it a go last week, but when I turned my SNES on, I realized very quickly that it wasn’t Zoop. It was Mario’s Time Machine, and someone had swapped the circuit boards for the two games. In retrospect, it does make a bit more sense, because one of the screws was missing when I first got the game. Still, I’m not sure if it was a mistake or an elaborate bate and switch, but it surprised me either way.
Skuljagger, for me, was the ultimate example of this.
And then, you take a look at the game and you laugh out loud: A guy making bubbles in an effort to defeat pirates? Is that based on a chewing gum ad?
Idk. I remember renting skuljagger all the time. It was good fun.
and damn Skuljagger was pretty solid!
No, Skuljagger both chewed and blew
My brother traded all of our nes stuff for a brand new skuljager when it came out. Still remember the password for as far as I ever got ‘fly home lazy sword’. It was decent enough. However that may be the ptsd of how much nes stuff he traded for that game.
Never had the N64, but i remember the covers of Shadow Man and Forsaken hahaha Good times!
My parents bought me Zoop one day. It was an interesting puzzle game. I was never really good at it but it was entertaining enough with an okay soundtrack.
To this day, I want to see a game that would actually fit the cover art of _Phalanx._
Haha hillbilly Simulator.
The japanese boxart for phalanx was pretty awesome though. m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2NkMjJjMmEtMzQ4Mi00MTI0LWJhOTItOWYwYmE3NTk0ZWY2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzM4MjM0Nzg@._V1_.jpg
Outer Wilds feels like it fits that box art imo.
Tonally, Skullmonkeys fits it perfectly.
I played Zoop on a few different platforms back in the day (having worked at a game rental store), and one thing I remember is that the different ports of Zoop to various platforms _played differently_ from one another. You'd think that for such a simple game, one "Zoop" would be like any other "Zoop" - but the semi-randomness of the shape/color patterns (e.g. the distribution of runs of the same color vs. random colors, piling on shapes in one line vs. spreading them out evenly, etc.) seemed to be different in every version I tried. It's like the difference between a "Tetris" with tetrominos drawn from a finite "bag" before being reshuffled vs. a "Tetris" with _completely_ random tetrominos (allowing for long runs of the same one or two shapes). I can only guess that every platform's "Zoop" was programmed by a different team, and that Viacom/Hookstone's design documentation didn't actually specify _how_ the shapes were to be selected/distributed - kind of an important part of a puzzle game's mechanics.
Forsaken was one of my favorite games. It was actually the game I bought with the system. There was nothing like seeing a Titan nuke fly past you and the chaotic scramble to get out of the room before it explodes. Two player was what made it so much fun for me. It was like 007 but flying spaceships.
you answer so many question that i have from childhood x)
Ça m'étonne de te voir ici XD
Même sur une chaine anglophone trés spécifique... on croise le serbe le plus populaire de YT !
Cette chaine est super j'y ai découvert plein de trucs.
Bon courage pour la suite 👍
@@voidathetos2747 Le serbe avec les meilleurs noms de vidéo
I remember Zoop be of the ads for it and it was so obscure and nonsensical. It seemed to get positive reviews here in the UK but can't really say I know anyone that got it.
Saying that Acclaims marketing during the N64 time was just becoming increasingly odd until they tried to get people to advertise games on their own gravestone or changing their names legally to Turok.
I played Zoop for the first time a month or so ago, even though I'm 40 years ago. I don't mind puzzle games, and I could have seen me playing this a lot at the time. Didn't really stand out at the time, and I definitely wouldn't have wanted £40 laid out for it.
You are consistently one of the best old school content providers on TH-cam, and criminally underrated. I teach TV Production in high school, I appreciate your understanding that the video isn't about you, it's about the games you are talking about. The offscreen narration is the best approach, and you clearly are prepared for these videos with a script, unlike some others on this platform (how are you feeling, you got John Riggs here). Sorry for the rant, just wanted to give you props!
I remember playing the PS1 and PC versions of Shadow Man, and its PS2 sequel (2econd Coming). I didn't know that, everyone knew the game from the box art. I hope Nightdive Studios could remaster that PS2 sequel one day for modern platforms.
My cousin and I vividly remembered 2econd Coming for the most lolzy reasoning ever:
"I gotta get that bear, man! I got *shit* to do!"
3:40 "So what does that make us?"
"Absolutely nothing! Which is what Q's relevance to Street Fighter has been!"
I remember the neighbors spying on the kid in the commercial for zoop and saying "maybe he's double jointed"
Ah yes snesdrunk and a cup of coffee in the morning.
Same here
Me three
My exact thoughts haha
For us in Japan it's SNESDrunk at night with milk and cookies.
Same. 😏☕
Man, I really miss Funco Land. I had a great local store that was always friendly and fun to look through.
Also, I knew Zoop because my local Blockbuster back in the day had it running on a display tv for public play for a long time. Not a bad game!
Ah, I completely forgot about the Shadow Man Remaster!
on sale at GoG
@@KryptKicker5 Awesome
1) This list is 100% accurate.
2) Your assessment of 90s is correct.
3) Tasha Yar reference gets 100 points.
Well done sir! Always a great time watching your videos. 👍
As soon as I read the title, I was like "Phalanx has to be here for sure!"
I was not disappointed.
Wow man, you hit that intro aggressively
Your channel is unquestionably awesome man. :) Also, 8:42 LOL. Wow.
Shadow Man is based on a Comic book originally published by Valiant. (Turok, XO Manowar). Acclaim bought the publisher in the mid 90s and started publishing games based on the comics. Never knew they did a Shadowman game though.
I love Zoop! Spent many hours playing it on my SNES as a kid in the 90's!
Glad you mentioned Shadow Man’s cover art in the video! Definitely agree, you saw it almost everywhere in promo pics of numerous gaming magazines or at your local video game store at the time even if you never got the chance to play it. The N64 era of cover arts/promo pics marketing definitely were something else 😅
The woman on the cover of Forsaken is so you know what you're fighting for back on earth boys.
I was definitely not expecting a Tasha Yar reference or for it to be so accurate.
This guys makes me go out and look for old snes games I don’t have. Thank you.
Your commentary chops are really improving, man. This was solid from start to finish.
Okay that rant about TUFF E NUFF was absolutely hilarious. That made my night!
Ballz 3D is honestly one of the few games that comes to mind.
I can’t be the only one who interprets the Phalanx cover as “old farmer who sees ufo ship in the sky and looks surprised.”
Always fun to see you do a list like this. You always have such a cool theme. These were permanent fixtures in the rental store, and you can't help but wonder how many of these games were bought by individuals. "Man, I got Brutal: Paws of Fury for my birthday!" "Yeah, what's that?" "These cartoon animals fight each other Street Fighter style in a tournament, and I think the prize is the winner gets a show on Fox Kids for one season!"
The level of contempt I have for Zoop knows no bounds. It was in every bargain bin in 96, it was one of the last games my local rental store had before phasing out SNES games, and was the last demo game my local Sears had in the kiosk for full-on year before getting rid of it all together. And I had absolutely no idea how the game worked. Pure frustration. I still saw the game in Kmart clearance bins with arkanoid and uniracers in 98.
Oh man, do I remember that Forsaken cover art.
Dude your jokes were on point this video. "Tasha Yar's head on a teenager" had me dying🤣🤣🤣🤣
Aggressively Generic is my new favorite phrase. That was hilarious. Also I totally remember seeing all of these at blockbuster. Man I am old
Leo from Red Earth looks like what you'd expect from the Brutal Paws of Fury ad.
"Don't steal anybody's kidneys."
-SNES Drunk
Loved the idea. The exact same thing happened to me involving Dino City, I have only paid attention to it when I saw a friend of mine playing it at the rental store and then I asked "wow, that looks neat actually. Which game is this?" and there it was, available for everyone most of the time with a crappy cover art. Vegas Stakes was also a game no one would pick, ever - neither would I. Had a good time playing Tuff E Nuff (Dead Dance as I got to know at the time) but time hasn't done good to it. One game cover which was onipresent in gaming magazines and also retail advertising here in Brazil was Little Ninja Brothers for the NES, it certainly boosted its rental visibility back then
You are a really underrated TH-camr imo, you have a distinct voice and i really look forward to your videos.
Remember loving Shadow Man when it came out. It was also the first game I remember hearing actual swearing in.
I got body harvest from my grandma one year for Christmas. Loved this game!
SNES drunk I’m so glad you included Body Harvest! I loved that game so much! Great job on the channel, too. Been checking your stuff out for a while now. Hope you and yours are well. 🙂
I loved Zoop for DOS back in the day.
Innovative (though difficult) puzzle game, and great for peripheral vision training.
DinoCity was a childhood favorite of mine. I saw the film first on VHS and my Dad snagged a copy of the game on late 1990s eBay. Still have that copy.
Lt. Tasha Yar's Head on a child's body gave me a DEEP belly laugh! Thank you for covering content this 37 year old can absolutely be nostalgic over time and time again. Your cadence, delivery and presentation are top notch and your passion for these games shines through!
37 club unite!!!
@@JeffYPbPr YYYYEEAAAHH! Congrats on making it this far :D
Fuckin LOVED the bit about polo/khaki/Corolla/Miller Lite guy and the Byron Allen reference was so hilariously out of left field. Your obscure references add so much to the overall package. Great vid as always dude.
The thing with a few of these covers is that they were specific to the US version of the games: The PAL version of Tuff E Nuff had similar box art to the Japanese version, the PAL version of Forsaken had completely different cover art (which was fairly nondescript) while the PAL version of Body Harvest had box art that was much more representative of what the game was about. I can't comment on the other games (and I'm too lazy to check!).
Body harvest was one of my favorite games for n64 loved how many different vehicles there was. Took awhile sometimes to figure out where to go
Huh, spot on with that Dino City bit. Until today, I’d _never_ seen any screenshots or video of actual gameplay. Looks nifty, and the art style is cute. Chalk up the box art to yet more ‘90s radi-cool chicanery.
i clicked on this and thought to myself, "If Phalanx isn't on this list, it's a bad list."
good job as per usual, snesdrunk. you're doing god's work.
1:26 I beg to differ Mr. Drunk, I remember the 90s and the 90s ads to usually be way more X-TREEEME than that one. That one is rather tame and reserved for the 90s but I agree that kids these days would see even that and go "WTF?"
I remember seeing "Zoop" at the video rental place but I never picked it up so you are right. How do you know these things? my guess is either time travel or magic booze.
watching the intro, I am reminded of why I love this era of gaming history.
shadow man indeed, had to turn thee brightness up just to see the action
I'll never forget Forsaken 64, as I was working at a video-game store when it came out, and a kid came up there and asked me if "Foreskin 64" was a good game.
Zoop is that rare puzzle game where the developers consider attacking your optic nerve directly as "late game difficulty". The music too seemed almost designed to confuse. I remember wanting to play it with the sound off but being unable to because there is a warning noise you get when the rows are one move from entering the center.
I'll never forget the ZOOP box. But I also remember the back had the craziest read ever. I remember it said "what are you doing reading this box?! Pick this game up and play it now. Zoop the most addicting puzzle since ever!!" I laughed at it back in the day
remember when we used to look at the back of game covers, and be so goddamn dissapointed that it was just 8 bit lmao
I was kind of expecting more warnings than recommendations, to be honest. There were a lot of games that either pulled this trick to get you to play their bad game, or ambitious games that didn't get the work put into them they needed to be the game they were trying to make.
That said, Phalanx is a gem of a shmup. I rented it on a week long blockbuster rental and played the hell out of it until it had to go back. Never finished it, but I remember having a lot of fun.
Young guy here (20)
Video stores were still around here for abit in Australia when I was a kid during the Wii, Xbox360 and PS3 era before eventually all dying out.
The biggest game I remember seeing but never hiring was No More Heroes.
It always interested me, but I never hired it and usually stuck to safer options for me at the time like the LEGO games or Nintendo made games.
Going back and playing the game now No More Heroes has become one of my favourite series.
I remember Dino City because it was always in Tommy K's when renting games was a thing. Nobody I knew had it, played it, or knew what it was. I wish I check out the back. Looks like it was fun.
I loved Zoop on PC, and bonded with a friend’s mom who had extremely high scores in her version. I played it on my Super Nt, and I still dig it.
Man thanks for giving me a lil of my childhood back in nice short bursts. Never quit. Snnnnnnneeeeeees¹⁰ drunk.
I had a feeling Phalanx would get a mention here. I remember being in middle school Accelerated Reader and seeing this game being offered as a high-point prize. I didn't have a SNES (Sonic fangirl for life) but that box art intrigued the hell outta me. 25 years later I'm learning what the big deal was. Thanks!
Yeah, growing up in the 90's was a weird trip. I recall all of these games sitting on Blockbuster shelves collecting dust. You couldn't escape the loud in-your-face marketing back then! I remember seeing Zoop _everywhere_. I love puzzle games, so I rented it along with Tetris Attack. I just couldn't get into Zoop at all as I didn't like the art style and the gameplay was just kind of tedious/dull. I'm still glad I rented Tetris Attack as well so it wasn't a complete loss of a Blockbuster visit!
Just recently, I finally managed to get my hands on a hacked SNES Mini with 235 games pre-installed, after literally decades without gaming consoles at my place, so I really dig your channel. There's a pretty funny link between Zoop and the name of your channel, by the way: In Dutch, which is spoken where I'm living (Belgium), 'zoop' means 'drank too much' ;-)
I loved Body Harvest back in the late 90s.
Zoop was probably the epitome of 90s game ads and I didn’t know anyone who played it
I actually picked up a copy of Zoop at a garage sale years ago and it was because I was drawn to the artwork on the label. I agree it actually is good on the SNES
Love the space ball’s reference when explaining the cover of shadow man
Zoop was ALWAYS available for rental. God bless ya, for actually giving it a try. My brothers and I always skip on it with crappy beat-em-ups.
This brings me back to my middle school years. Thank you for your video
Shadow Man was an awesome game. It was cemented in my brain when a neighbor friend bought a used copy. I never saw the cover, i was just really interested in this dark game when i was 8 years old.
I had completely forgotten about Forsaken. This wave of nostalgia just hit me with a memory of a sleepover at my friend's house and his parents got us this at Blockbuster and we played it all night. I miss the 90's
The jaguar port of zoop is oddly a lot better than the rest of the games in the series, it has a redone soundtrack which sounds 10 times better, the graphics look incredibly sharp and it is the only game where you can save high scores and settings.
I have literally never noticed that Phalanx had a description on box cover. That’s how distracting the grandpa is.
I picked up body Harvest at a pawn shop in my hometown after my grandfather picked me up from Junior High. I had no idea what the game was or how much fun I would have playing it. I still own it and it's one of my favorites. Gets hard af a few locations in