It was with great excitement that one of our favourite publishers, Mega Cat Studios, announced three new games for old consoles. Super Fanger, Plyuk, and Old Towers were all released at the same time and are now available to purchase in physical cart form directly from Mega Cat Studios‘ website. We’ve tried all three games to bring you our initial impressions. Super Fanger is a top-down arcade game developed for the SNES. The premise is to collect enough bubbles unlock the next stage whilst avoiding the pesky birds that are out to thwart your plans.
There are three characters to choose from in Super Fanger, with each one having a special ability alongside the standard run mechanic. Regi, a bluebird who looks a lot like Sega‘s 80s favourite Flicky, has a secondary dash move that gets you far away. Fritz, a Death-like creature, can trap the birds with a shock. And octopus Nixie can leave a sticky, oily patch to slow down those birds. All three characters have their advantages and disadvantges and part of the fun is trying them all out to see which suits your own style.
You start on a simple garden level that looks like a level from Zombies Ate My Neighbours. There are three other levels to unlock, each with its own theme and, as you’d expect, they get harder to navigate as you progress. Along the way, there are some pick-ups to track down; two have a positive effect, usually replenishing your much-needed stamina, which depletes as you run or use an action. The other tw ohave a negative effect which restricts movement or access to actions and should be avoided at all costs.
Finishing a level usually depends on picking up the buffs, as the birds get faster and faster the closer you get to the bubble count. Touching a bird sends you back to the start, so there are no second chances, and it’s tough to get through even the first level. For our playthrough, we couldn’t master the second stage and were feeling the pressure. Super Fanger isn’t a quick pick-up and play kind of game. It takes patience, practice, and a whole lot of luck to complete a level.
The controls in Super Fanger are responsive, and it only takes a round or two to nail the control scheme down. Our only gripe with the overall gameplay was how the birds seem to have a very generous hitbox regarding when you’re caught out or not. There were times when we felt sure to have avoided them with a quick, clever turn, only to be zapped and get a game over. This doesn’t affect the overall enjoyment, however, and actually gives Super Fanger that arcade difficulty feel.
Overall, Super Fanger is a fun title that doesn’t try to be anything other than a straightforward arcade game that requires a lot of work to finish. There is a two-player option, but we sadly didn’t have a friend to try it with for this play. There is a great game here, even if it doesn’t have too much depth, and it will take even the most hardened of arcade veterans some time to conquer. A worthy addition to anyone’s SNES homebrew collection and definitely something a little different to try.
