Super Smash T.V. for SNES is a great way to unwind after a crappy week

10.11.2023 - 23:29 / destructoid.com / Mega Drive

How’s your week been? Mine? Horrible. Worse than normal. So, it’s time for some self-care. Get in your pajamas, order some pizza, and let’s get into some Super Smash T.V.

Smash T.V. was originally released in arcades in 1990. It was designed by the legendary Eugene Jarvis, the guy behind 1981’s Defender. More importantly, he created 1982’s Robotron: 2084, which is the godfather of twin-stick shooters. Smash T.V. was built as a spiritual successor to that game, so it has all the features you’d expect, which is to say, it is also a twin-stick shooter.

Super Smash T.V. is the title used by the SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System, and Game Gear versions. What makes it “Super?” Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s just a straight port of the arcade title.

The SNES version is what I’m most familiar with, and it’s the one that is closest to the arcade version. For the Genesis and other versions, you can use the second player controller’s d-pad to work as a second stick, but the SNES has the now-standard four face button configuration, so the buttons just act as a second d-pad. It works well, providing 8-way aiming that matches the arcade.

It also sounds the closest, even when it comes to voice samples. On the other hand, when played through the Genesis’ FM synth chip, the soundtrack is amazing.

Smash T.V. lifts pretty heavily from ‘80s dystopian action flicks. Specifically, its premise is about a game show where contestants bet their lives to win big prizes, which is similar to 1987’s The Running Man. However, it also lifts from 1987’s RoboCop, with the rampant consumer themes and the host of the show frequently spouting, “I’d buy that for a dollar!”

I feel like the ‘80s were the point where everyone was becoming wise to the fact that modern comforts and excessive consumerism were doing harm to humanity. While a lot of media at the time sincerely bought into the decade’s excess, others were looking at it with cynicism. It was a theme that ran under a lot of media at the time, resulting in the best era of cyberpunk and other dystopian narratives. Ideas like Max Headroom and The Terminator are emblematic of the times, and Smash T.V. captures that perfectly.

The actual game show, the eponymous Smash T.V., is equally glitzy and violent. Hordes of enemies pour in from the doors on all sides of the arena. Each one dies in an explosion of blood, though the console versions, unfortunately, don’t include the dismembered body parts that added a splash of color to the carnage.

Meanwhile, pick-ups of all types appear at random as you wade through the relentless masses. Enticing things like money, VCRs, keys, and power-ups keep popping into existence to distract you from the walk-and-chew-gum gameplay of a twin-stick