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A couple of good cyberpunk games: Shadowrun for SNES and Genesis

Pilgrimzero

Pilgrimzero

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Oct 27, 2017
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2 games with the same name but wildly different.

SNES version told a solid story with a character that was front and center to the tale. Jake Armitage wakes up dead and wants answers. Point and click and shoot your way through the streets as assassins and punks and supernatural beasts try to stop him. The SNES version was always considered a loose adaption in certain ways but told a good tale. We wouldn't see the now iconic Jake again until the Shadowrun Returns games many years later.



Genesis version had you make a character from 3 options and then explore the world and fit in some time to follow the story between Runs. This game was much more RPG than the SNES version and much more open world. Build up your chosen class. Go on to do a ton of various Runs that can go all over the city. Follow the clues to find what happened to your brother the night he died. Piece by piece.


My personal fave of the 2 is the Genesis version. It's open world go anywhere do anything aspect is great. Earn cash and upgrades and when you feel like it continue the story... if you can.

How do you feel about both games?

a new article about theGen version
www.pastemagazine.com

Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis Captures the Cyberpunk Spirit of the Tabletop Game

Shadowrun (1994) brings the experience of the tabletop RPG down to the solo console level with staggeringly good results.
www.pastemagazine.com www.pastemagazine.com
 
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chandoog

chandoog

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Oct 27, 2017
20,071
I also preferred the Genesis game over the SNES one.

It's kinda rad how different they were.
 
Doggg

Doggg

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Nov 17, 2017
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I hated the Genesis one at first but eventually grew to love it.
 

Deleted member 79451

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Aug 30, 2020
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The Genesis one was really good from the aspect of the open world. It was awesome to get a nice deck and rip off a corp for a huge chunk of change, completely outside of any missions.

Both are certainly interesting titles.
 
Wiseguy

Wiseguy

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Oct 29, 2017
578
I played the Genesis version. Can't say I remember specifics but I know it was fun cause I remember playing it by name. ..lol
 
julian

julian

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Oct 27, 2017
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I got the Genesis one because of all the praise I'd heard through the years and had no fucking clue what was going on. Lol.
 
julia crawford

julia crawford

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Oct 27, 2017
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Is this because of that Dia Lacina review for Paste the other day? Made me want to get into Shadowrun on the megadrive too...
 
ThisOne

ThisOne

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Oct 27, 2017
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Loved the SNES one. I didn't even know the Genesis version was different until right now. I'll have to check it out at some point.
 
Samiya

Samiya

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I have heard some great things about them. Is there a way to play them on PC? Have they made PC versions distributed on GOG?
 
Stooge

Stooge

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Oct 29, 2017
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That used to be way more of a think in the 8 bit and 16 bit era. There were lots of games that had completely different games on Genny and SNES.
 
Absoludacrous

Absoludacrous

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Oct 26, 2017
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Samiya said:
I have heard some great things about them. Is there a way to play them on PC? Have they made PC versions distributed on GOG?
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Shadowrun didn't show up on PC until the 2007 FPS.

The PC-exclusive (and mobile, I guess) Shadowrun games by Harebrained Schemes are worth checking out though.
 
Protoman200X

Protoman200X

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
8,553
N. Vancouver, BC, Canada
I've been quite partial to this one indie game called Invisible, Inc., where the game sees you putting together small squads for infiltration missions (not that different from X-COM) that combine wetwork and hacking in a roguelike framework. If you want a bit of strategy with your neo-future video games, it's worth a playthrough.

One of my friends has been playing VA-11 HALL-A for the Nintendo Switch. It's a visual novel where it takes place in a neon-lit bar and you, the bartender, mix drinks for a variety of patrons as you use your observation skills to get them to open up to you and advance the narrative. It's a unique game that gives players a different angle on the future from the service industry side of things.
 
Tohsaka

Tohsaka

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Nov 17, 2017
6,793
I had both of them and enjoyed them both, but never actually finished either of them. I think I got pretty far in the SNES one but the Genesis game I never was really sure what I should be doing due to how open-ended it was.
 
Fitts

Fitts

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Oct 25, 2017
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Loved the SNES one. Got it from a garage sale back in the day.

I'm just now realizing that I never played the Genesis one. I really should remedy that...
 
El Toporo

El Toporo

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Oct 25, 2017
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The SNES game is incredibly underrated. It's really good, is very atmospheric, has an incredible OST and some great moments, most notably maybe a certain "Ooops".
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
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It came out a while ago, but I remember really enjoying a cyberpunk text adventure game on my laptop called Cypher.

Matter of fact, I think I might replay it because I can't even remember how the story even went, it's been that long.
 
Camwi

Camwi

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Oct 27, 2017
6,375
Never played the SNES one, but I played the shit out of the Genesis version.
 
Chopchop

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Etrian Darkness said:
I prefer Dragonfall and Hong Kong to both of them.
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Yes, I highly recommend Dragonfall and Hong Kong too. Both are very well-written games, with an engaging cast and interesting missions.

Protoman200X said:
One of my friends has been playing VA-11 HALL-A for the Nintendo Switch. It's a visual novel where it takes place in a neon-lit bar and you, the bartender, mix drinks for a variety of patrons as you use your observation skills to get them to open up to you and advance the narrative. It's a unique game that gives players a different angle on the future from the service industry side of things.
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That's a good one too, and I like how it's much lower stakes because you're a bystander instead of the hero. I like to describe it as you playing an NPC in someone else's game.
 
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Dennis8K

Dennis8K

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Oct 25, 2017
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All three new Shadowrun games are worth playing.

Dragonfall has an amazing story and is one of the best written RPGs in years.
 
lordmrw

lordmrw

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Oct 25, 2017
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Providence, RI
Both are great but the Genesis game desperately needed to be rebalanced and give some more guidance. It is hard as shit from the beginning and unless you get good hacking the matrix you will spend hours doing low level runs for a pitiful amount of nuyen and karma.
 
Red

Red

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Oct 26, 2017
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+1 didn't realize Genesis was different. Never finished this on SNES. Should do.
 
PIMPBYBLUD

PIMPBYBLUD

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Oct 27, 2017
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Shadowrun SNES is one of my favorite games of all time. Actually it may be the first RPG I finished on the console. I love that game.
 
super-famicom

super-famicom

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Oct 26, 2017
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I remember being fascinated by the SNES version from what I read in Nintendo Power. Sadly, I never played it as the stores where I rented my video games from didn't carry it.
 
flashman92

flashman92

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Feb 15, 2018
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Played both, liked the Genesis game more, but only if you cheated for money and karma, or at the very least did the Charisma exploit where you sold items for more than what you bought them for. The cover art for the Genesis game was probably my first exposure to not just cyber punk, but punk in general.

And unfortunately guns were just always a better choice over magic and decking, ESPECIALLY if you're talking about hired guns. iirc deckers could not replace their standard decks, and casters always just kinda died because magic cost mental health. And if you wanted to be a decker, get ready to griiiiiinnnd for decking stuff.
 
skeezx

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Oct 27, 2017
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super-famicom said:
I remember being fascinated by the SNES version from what I read in Nintendo Power. Sadly, I never played it as the stores where I rented my video games from didn't carry it.
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i may be mis-remembering but i don't recall seeing it anywhere

i find it peculiar i never played the game back then but was playing the tabletop around that time. i wonder if there was a short supply or something, but maybe i just never got around to it i dunno
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

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Oct 27, 2017
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Dennis8K said:
All three new Shadowrun games are worth playing.

Dragonfall has an amazing story and is one of the best written RPGs in years.
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To anyone reading this and considering trying the new games out, you can play the entirety of the first game (Returns) as a standalone campaign in Dragonfall, with improvements.
 
super-famicom

super-famicom

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Oct 26, 2017
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NovumVeritas said:
Is Shadowrun an SRPG ? Or what kind of genre? Love me some cyberpunk.
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It originally was a tabletop RPG like Dungeons and Dragons, then got adapted to video games. SNES is an RPG, PC games (Returns, Dragonfall) are SRPGs with Final Fantasy Tactics or XCOM-like combat (turn based, grid based combat where positioning will matter).
 
Huey

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Oct 27, 2017
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Only played the genesis entry, but it so excellent. Just a game that was way ahead of its time.
 
Lukar

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5taquitos said:
To anyone reading this and considering trying the new games out, you can play the entirety of the first game (Returns) as a standalone campaign in Dragonfall, with improvements.
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Is that true? I just Googled it and people were saying that Dragonfall: Director's Cut doesn't include Returns.
 
David Addison

David Addison

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Oct 28, 2017
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The Genesis game has that ur-Fallout "nuked-out world where life has no value" atmosphere...buuut I'd temper expectations. Writing is better than average for 1994 and no more. The ending is just flushable. The "realworld" combat is a finicky pain in the ass, and there's no reason to spend much time on it when hacking is safer and more profitable (and prettier).

IIRC the makemoneyfast version of the game is:

- take jobs killing ghouls in abandoned homes, and plow profits into your gun and your hacking gear
- start doing hacking jobs ASAP, and sell whatever data you can steal
- keep doing that until you score a massive windfall, and plow that into upgrades
- repeat the last two things until whenever
 
dlauv

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I was thinking of playing the Genny one again here pretty soon. It's really neat for its time. Like a top down Bethesda game but the grinding was a little rough.
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

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Oct 27, 2017
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Lukar said:
Is that true? I just Googled it and people were saying that Dragonfall: Director's Cut doesn't include Returns.
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Oh my bad, I guess you have to own Returns to get access to the enhanced campaign in Dragonfall.

Or maybe Returns can be played as a mod in Dragonfall. I'll just shut up now.
 
Distantmantra

Distantmantra

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Oct 26, 2017
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The Genesis version is one of my favorite games of all time. Randomly rented it one weekend and was hooked. Probably also helped that the game takes place in Washington state/Seattle metro where I was born and raised. Definitely the first time I ever saw Puyallup (ie. The place my grandparents lived) as a place in a game.
 
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looprider

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Oct 27, 2017
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Both so good for different reasons. The SNES was more of a linear narrative focused game, whereas genesis was more open-ended action rpg.
 
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