Padge Plays! Retro Edition: Smash TV - SNES - (1990 - Williams) Super Smash TV Gameplay
2Welcome to Padge Plays! Retro Edition
In this episode I'll be heading in to a arena to do battle with thugs, robots and other nasties for your viewing pleasure in Smash TV by Williams! The original Smash TV was actually an arcade cabinet where up to two players would head in to several rooms and clearing them of all enemies while grabbing as many prizes and as much cash as possible without dying... a lot. This all leads us up to a boss encounter before you and your partner get to find out who's made the most money and ultimately wins!
You have to survive of course...
The cabinet itself was pretty unique in the fact that instead of having your standard joystick and buttons set up you instead had TWO joysticks, one to move and one to shoot in any of the 8 directions, easier than holding down 2 buttons as this can, (and does... believe me!) lead to cramps when playing for a long time! This however is the Super Nintendo version and I'm playing on a 360 controller so don't expect an amazing playthrough here, we're just revisiting it for fun!
BIG MONEY! BIG PRIZES! I LOVE IT!
Here's what Giant Bomb has to say about the game:
Smash TV is Eugene Jarvis' spiritual successor to Robotron: 2084, an early Arcade game that is one of the first examples of the twin stick control method. Smash TV retains this same gameplay, using the left joystick to move and the right to shoot, allowing a player to move in one direction while firing in another.
The year is 1999. A new game show called Smash TV was created which puts its contenders to the fight for their lives. They will have to kill hundreds of enemies and collect money and prizes (from toasters to a big-screen TV). The inspiration for Smash TV seems to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, The Running Man. Two players can play simultaneously, and at the end of each of the three levels, the two players' performance is compared, with one being declared the winner.
You can read the full Giant Bomb review here:
https://www.giantbomb.com/smash-tv/3030-16194/
- Gameplay -
The play mechanic is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with dual-joystick controls and series of single-screen areas. The theme of the game, borrowed from The Running Man involves players competing in a violent game show, set in the then-future year of 1999. Moving from one room to the next within the studio/arena, players have to shoot down hordes of enemies who advance from all sides while at the same time collecting weapons, power-up items, and assorted bonus prizes, until a final showdown with the show's host where players are finally granted their prizes, life and freedom. Among the game's items are keys – if enough keys are collected, players can access a bonus level called the Pleasure Dome.
- Ports -
Smash TV was ported to consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Gear, Master System, and Mega Drive/Genesis. Home computer versions were produced by Ocean for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and Amiga, all released in early 1992. The Amiga version scored 895 out of a possible 1000 in a UK magazine review, and the Spectrum magazine CRASH awarded the ZX version 97%, making it a Crash Smash.
- Re-releases -
It is part of Arcade Party Pak released for the PlayStation in 1999.
It is included in the Midway Arcade Treasures collection, which is available for the PC, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 and was released in 2003. These versions give the player the option to save high scores. Smash TV was also part of the 2012 compilation Midway Arcade Origins.
Smash TV was made available for download through Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service on the Xbox 360 and was the first version of the game to officially allow two players to play the game online. It was delisted from the service in February 2010 after the dissolution of Midway Games.
In this series I will be playing some well known and less well known games all the way from yesteryear through to the present, sometimes from consoles and sometimes from the thousands of PC games available either through websites such as Steam, Good Old Games (GOG), as abandonware, (Home of the Underdogs) or through emulation software. (Such as WinVice C64)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whilst you're here check out my other videos!
Check out the Padge Plays! playlist here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkLG67k4e7kfilvf8XbNHiLBUlFOoc7Ga
Let's Play The Curious Expedition:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkLG67k4e7ketGibm_1wLE8yy2ZR4D_lM
Let's Play A House Of Many Doors:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkLG67k4e7kdMD9AJ7Bm2rPckvQWHeD-y
#RetroGaming #SNES #Nintendo #SmashTV