Shadowrun is a great paper and pencil role playing game combining what would be normally 3 RPGing engines in one great and absorbing game. You have real world combat, decking, and also the extensive magic/totem system.
I realize that bringing the full experience of the original Shadowrun concept to a 16-bit console system could be a very daunting experience indeed. I won't flatter myself by even thinking that I could do it with anything close to the quality that these two titles possess. My purpose with this column is not to say which version (Genesis or SNES) is necessarily better, but to compare the two and let the reader know which actually comes closer to the spirit of the Shadows.
Actually, scratch that last sentence, since to compare these two games is impossible. They are two totally different animals altogether. The only common ground they share is the Shadowrun license and an attempt to immerse the player in the world of 2055 Seattle.
The SNES version of Shadowrun you start your game by being gunned down and left for dead. From there on out it resembles a CyberPunk Zelda. Your view is 3/4 and there are items to find and purchase. Also there are many puzzles to solve along the way to gain items/abilities. You need to talk with characters and ask them certain questions to open up paths and other verbal possibilities. I guess it's true that in the future that information/data is power.
This version of the game is very linear and understandably so. The SNES was meant to cater to the younger set of gamers. Mario lovers. I have no problem with this. Data East took the best route they could and brought an award winning Shadowrun to the general public and your "normal" gamer. The game was actually very good and retained quite a bit of the mood of the O.G. RPG. You could hire runners to help you. The biggest downfall of this version has to be, in my eyes, the CyberDecking sequences. Matrix runs were represented by a simple overhead view of a grey grid and did little to make you see the importance of Decking in the world of 2055. In other words functional, but not an integral part of the gaming experience.
Also of note is the length of the game due to the linearity of its content. While containing enough depth to satiate the general gamer. If you are a hardcore gamer there was no way to avoid a short and ultimately unfulfilling experience. I think this is a problem in linear RPGs in general. The accomplished roleplayer feels shorted because there is nothing there to challenge them. Talk to this person, do this next, talk to this person....continue this pattern until the game credits roll and a thank you for playing message comes up on the screen. But in the case of this game it still is one hell of a trip to the credit sequence.
If you've never played this game, by all means please do. It is a fun distraction and you should be able to find a copy for cheap nowadays
On the Genesis front. This game was designed for PnP (Paper and Pencil (RPGs)) enthusiasts and excels at capturing the open ended and free roaming feel of its PnP heritage.
You start the game with a plot instrument of your brother mysteriously disappearing into the shadows of Seattle. He was a runner so you go to find out what has happened to your sibling. They let you pick what type of runner to be Street Samurai, Decker, or Shaman and then drop you into Seattle 2055 to let you decide what to do next.
This version of the game takes a top down perspective on all of its real world action. All of your characters skills and attributes are here right down to your essence which reduced by being fitted with CyberWare. Unlike its SNES counterpart this game is completely openended like a true or PC RPG. You can stay focused to your task ( finding out about you bro ) or you could wander endlessly for literally years just taking on runs for Johnsons and exploring and building attribs/skills.
Just like the PnP you take on jobs from "Johnsons" for everything from delivery boy all the way to corporate extraction. You also need to build a good deck for CyberRuns. That is where this game truly excels. Matrix runs are in a behind the character first person perspective. You are in complete control of your CyberPersona. There are a number of decking programs for attacks, bypasses, and defense. Matrix runs range from simple 7 node jobs all the way up to huge coprporate 50 node networks.
Let me just state that both of these games are definitely above average in the 16-bit RPG category. Please go out and bring these games home for the small purchase price they now command. You will not be disappointed. Oh yeah if you were wondering, I prefer the Genisis version myself. One too many nights with dice in hand I guess.
til I have another little something to write about,
This is N8 saying"Damn!! Somebody stole my socks!"