This Week in Defunct Games - May 31, 2011

What Is It? After exhausting the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, Hudson has decided to move their tropical action series over to the Super NES. Even if the switch was inevitable, fans of the series expected more than just a rehash with 16-bit graphics. After a weird flying wizard turns Master Higgins girlfriend into stone, it's off to battle the island's inhabitance (birds, seashells, etc.). The familiar formula has players jumping over rocks, riding skateboards, collecting fruit and everything else you did in the first game. Although the NES series managed to develop into an incredibly deep action franchise, this Super NES game feels like a retread of the first Adventure Island. Worse yet, it feels exactly the same as New Adventure Island, a game currently on the Virtual Console.

Does It Still Hold Up? The graphics and sound are better than their 8-bit counterparts, but the gameplay is largely the same. Fans of the series may enjoy the classic gameplay and familiar locations, but there's nothing new here. Worse yet, this is a 1992 Super NES game that isn't any more sophisticated than an 8-bitter from 1986.

Is It Worth The Money? With both regular and New Adventure Island already on the Virtual Console, there's very little reason to spend eight dollars on this rehash. The graphics aren't bad, but the game feels a lot older than the 19 years would suggest. You're better off spending your money on one of the better Adventure Island games or just waiting for something else to show up. As much as I love seeing Hudson games on the Virtual Console, there has to be something better than Super Adventure Island.