Over its lifetime, Super Play reviewed more Super Nintendo games than any other magazine in the United Kingdom - 596 to be precise - so picking a sixth of them, let alone the order of merit, would never be an easy task. For the uninitiated, here at Postcards of Pop Culture we're breaking down all 100 titles from Super Play’s ranking from bottom to top. And while Super Play’s word was regarded among the most reliable around, it wasn’t the only publication with an opinion.
As always, the Super Play overview provided in the entry post for Spike McFang was from the top 100 itself. The verdict from issue #24 reads:-
“Packed with everything that's good about Japanese game design, this represents a good buy for Zelda/Soulblazer fans everywhere”
But what about the view of NMS?
“Spike McFang unfortunately bites the big one, though no without honor”
A modest 76% score doesn't quite match the verdict given, but overall the feeling was the difficulty, unusually cranked up from the original Japanese release (Kid Dracula), let's the experience down significantly. I'll admit on my playthrough, McFang is far tougher than its exterior would lead you to believe.
Super Gamer were even less impressed, scoring Spike McFang in the 60%s.
And so, that left Spike McFang with an average UK mag score of 75%. But it’s Super Play’s view that counts the most, and it obviously left an impression, being reviewed both its Japanese and American releases. It feels like a personal choice from the team in the top 100.
Come back next time for the review fallout of the next Super Play top 100 entry!