Snow Bros Classic Collection

Toaplan does BubbleBubble? nt

Brings back memories from old arcades, mega drive etc.

Snow Bros is one of those things I always had a kind of passive awareness of but never really looked into. When I was a kid I saw the "Bros" in the name and since it was on NES I assumed it was a Mario ripoff but the gameplay is actually most similar to Bubble Bobble. It's a pretty charming single-screen type of game where the goal is to clear all enemies and instead of trapping them in bubbles (which were always super finicky to pop in the NES version of BB) you're trapping them in snowballs that you then shove to finish off the enemy and hopefully steamroll any other enemies on the way. All the versions in this collection seem to be fundamentally the same game and it's the kind of fun simple arcadey action game that I enjoy killing time with and a great fit for Steam Deck. The genesis version is the prettiest for sure, but it seems to take a few more hits to encapulate an enemy in the snowball than on the NES version so so far I'm putting the most playtime into the NES game.

While the games themselves are good the presentation here is kind of lacking. I do appreciate that you can turn off the bilinear filter (retro releases that force it on are always dead to me) and the aspect ratio settings (the genesis version looks kind of wrong at "original" so I set that to 4:3, but that's about it as far as options go.

You can't remap controls (lame!), there's no boxart (lame!) and worst of all there's no manual so it did take me a minute to figure out what the actual mechanic was because it's not immediately obvious you have to push a button to shove. I did figure it out but unless you've played before it's gonna take a few minutes and I do like reading the manuals to get the plotline (though the NES version does have an intro explaining the apparantly weirdly intricate Snow Bros lore). The NES game has a "deflicker" option but even with it on... it sure was flickering alright so not convinced that even works.

So yeah, overall good games, fun games, I found myself charmed with them even though I have no nostalgia for it, but kind of a lazy bare-bones rerelease.

This collection is exactly as described, you get the Gameboy, NES and Mega Drive (Genesis) versions of Snow Bros with some basic options: Rewind, a single save state for each game, a single background pattern, a single CRT filter, a de-flicker option, and a few screen sizes. Steam achievement support is always appreciated, too. (But no Remote Play Together? Please enable that, it's free!)

The only extra that is fleshed out is the music player which has a nice presentation and feels robust. Everything else is very straightforward and it feels like there was no real love for the series by the creators of this project - which is a terrible thing to write.

The games play great however, and even the Gameboy version is still enjoyable - the slower speed makes it a relaxing experience - though you will probably put the most time in the Mega Drive version which is quite a gorgeous single screen platformer with a very charming presentation.

The lack of options, and especially the lack of artwork gallery is very disappointing. This is a series with a so many pieces of related art, some great - some not so great - but to not feature any of it is doing the game's legacy a disservice. The recently released Super Bomberman Collection is slightly more expensive at $20, but it puts the presentation of this game to shame.

The Arcade version of this game is also nowhere to be seen. I understand that this is harder to emulate (or at least license an emulator) and I don't think LRG has done that before - but it is definitely a missed opportunity.

Side note: The arcade version actually received a lovely remake in 2024, perhaps this is why LRG was not able to include the arcade version here? In any case, check out that 2024 release called Snow Bros. Special: Anniversary Edition, it is absolutely gorgeous and also available on Steam .

If this collection featured an artwork gallery, had a nicer presentation, and added some history/release information/trivia to the menu's, it would feel a lot more lively.

At the current price and feature set, I still recommend it - but I really want LRG to do better.

I liked it, but I wish I could configure the controls and use the turbo option for the snow throw button. Please, Limited Run, at least add the turbo option to the button, please.