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LTTP: Shadowrun (SNES)

What a wonderful game with an incredible soundtrack. Played through it easily half a dozen times over the years.

Too bad it's mostly forgotten these days. It rarely gets mentioned in Top 20 or even Top 50 lists. Bah. I love it - my brother traded Rock&Roll Racing for it back then and we never looked back. Unfortunately my SNES doesn't work anymore (same for the battery in Shadowrun).

Just listen to some of the music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHmLVjnEjYs&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFHdukXUc6Q&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUBeYL1xEzg&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWWaw1Ng_Y&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ome6XI_KuIw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlRUqhYOO1o&feature=relmfu

There's also a few cool revamped/remixed/redux tracks on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPtqHomSEoY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvRDLsFPha4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAElN8BkGA&feature=relmfu

Really a completely underrated, wonderful, catchy soundtrack. What's the reason the game never appeared on Wiiware ? I assume issues with the rights ?

That said, there's a few minor issues, such as a few stupid riddles, the battle system can be annoying at times (and easily abused) and the game's dialogue system is...eh...yeah. But fuck it, the game is great and we don't have too many like it.

People always talk about the greatest SNES games, about the SNES games you have to play, about the SNES games with great soundtracks. Well, here's my special offer for you, you get 3-in-1 if you get Shadowrun.

This, 100%. As soon as I read this thread, Otherworldly Canines started playing in my head.
 
I've never been able to decide which of the two Shadowrun games of the era I like better, but usually I feel like it's the SNES Shadowrun. One of my favorite games of all time.
 
I really loved this game, and got all the way through it. Never managed to beat the final boss, though. You have to do tons of grinding in order to get money to buy what you need to have. Superb atmosphere, and the gameplay has tons of cool options, but the balance between difficulty and grinding is way too harsh.
 
Genesis Shadowrun is better. But I think both games deserve more credit. Really interesting games, especially for their time.

Not even remotely close to being better than the SNES version, your nostalgia is broken.
 
Not even remotely close to being better than the SNES version, your nostalgia is broken.

I dunno...

The SNES Shadowrun had some dark visuals, but it's nothing compared to the dank and decrepit world in the Genesis version. The lower color palette of the Genesis actually works to its favor to add to the creepy atmosphere, even if the visuals themselves are technically rather unimpressive. The music is also largely forgettable, although some themes are particularly creepy, especially the humming in the Matrix sequences.

Although it can get overwhelming until you get a hang of it, the Genesis rendition of Shadowrun remains the truest to the pen and paper gaming rules, and is definitely worth it for those who like a lot of freedom in their RPGs. Due to the game being coded strictly for the English alphabet, the game was not translated into Japanese, and was released in English in Japan.

http://hardcoregaming101.net/shadowrun/shadowrun.htm
 
I took on OP's advice and got Shadowrun. My reaction of first 20 minutes:

i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing.jpeg


But after that I started got the hang of it. I am still not sure what I am supposed to be doing but it seems that I am progressing. Getting new information and items. Controls were pretty weird at first but after a while it does make sense (L to examine, R to open, B to other things). I gave up for today but I'll continue tomorrow.
 
I took on OP's advice and got Shadowrun. My reaction of first 20 minutes:

i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing.jpeg


But after that I started got the hang of it. I am still not sure what I am supposed to be doing but it seems that I am progressing. Getting new information and items. Controls were pretty weird at first but after a while it does make sense (L to examine, R to open, B to other things). I gave up for today but I'll continue tomorrow.

Keep with it. The game is awesome you are meant to find your own way in the game; it will make sense as you progress. Dog is your friend...
 
One of my favorite SNES games, and far superior to the genesis version imo.

I don't think I ever got around to beating it though. I think I stopped playing around the arena area/junkyard.

Hopefully this franchise makes a proper comeback in the not too distant future..

Did you miss the Shadowrun Returns kickstarter? It's totally coming back. Isometric 2D Rpg
 
Keep with it. The game is awesome you are meant to find your own way in the game; it will make sense as you progress. Dog is your friend...

Yeah, the last places I went before quitting
the bar, the club
gave me pretty much a clear indication what I should be doing next. Maybe I am wrong but I am just enjoying talking with everyone :)
 
Shadowrun, ohh so many memories.. This is probably my all time favorite game, I was so sad when I finished it. I immediately started to play it again, I just loved the Shadowrun universe..

(and for the record, the Genesis version is as good as the snes, according to me. What it lacks in "mood", sound and gfx, it makes it up in depth and is actually more of an RPG than the snes version)

Anyways, the only tip I will give you is to go into appartments and go into rooms where thugs are shooting at you and just kill them and take their money. You will need money for a certain Lonestar "thing".. :)

but yeah, collect money, talk to people.. and just.. explore man.. have fun!

ohhyeah, the music is amaaaaazing!!
 
Played it for the first time a couple of years ago, the game holds up surprisingly well! Never finished it though.
 
I played some more. Really digging the game, eventhough I have no idea what to do. I spent 500 nuyen to hire Hamfist but that seemed pretty useless at this point...

I have

- Saved the shaman
- Know that grinder has the tickets (gave the "iced tea" to that guy)
- Know that I am supposed give something to the morticians so that they give Grinder to me
- Wasted some money on a gredade
- Learned about the cyberdeck etc. but have no idea how to use it

Oh well, I guess I figure it out soon enough!
 
Shadowrun is pretty awesome, amazing atmosphere and music. I haven't played the SNES game in ages though, as I would often play the Genesis version as a kid.

I hope cj_iwakura is able to get the Sega CD Shadowrun translated, I have always wanted to play that game.
 
My only experience with Shadowrun was the awful 360 game that had something to do with cyber elves. This is different?
 
Tiny update that probably nobody gives a fuck about: battery in the cart is functional! That means I get to go play as much as I fucking want now! Like a year ago I had to return a copy of Link to the Past to the seller because the battery was dead even though he said it was fine and it delayed getting my game on for like 2 more weeks (I didn't want to do it myself on something I can ruin. I'm paranoid like that).

Replacing batteries in cartridge games is a lot easier than it sounds. A $5 soldering iron from radioshack is all you need. Simply tap the edge of the battery to melt the solder and slide out.

Why this is good is because you can scour ebay for "as-is doesn't save" auctions. Games like pokemon or zelda, etc can be more than half off. These batteries can be purchased from Monoprice or Amazon for 50c. For gameboy, there are only two sizes so you can stock up. I believe from SNES onward, console cartridge batteries are just standard 3v coins.
 
By the way, my little updates are kind of going to be spoilery as I get further near the end. Should I be spoiler tagging my posts?

OK, so I think PetriP and I are relatively in the same spot. I got into the club and talked to someone, wasn't sure who, I think it was my old boss, and he told me "oh shit! You're alive! Quick, follow me or they'll waste you!" Then they...blindfold me and dump me into a junkyard where an orc wants me to pay a ransom to let me go? Was I tricked? I don't understand what just happened.

Anyway, I earn stupid paper by doing a few battles in the arena until a dude with what I guess is an assault rifle just wastes me in two seconds. I guess they're now too powerful for me. I still manage to pay for my way out with ~2k of nuyen left over and I run around town.

I go into a place with a street doc who promises to fix my datajack and what do you know? He activates a bomb the assassins planted in my head! The dumbass! \o/

So now I have this beeping with at threat that my head will do this in a few hours if I don't get it really fixed. This kind of sets off a certain panic as I scuttle all over the place trying to find someone who can heal me. I find it hilarious that you're running around telling people "I HAVE A BOMB IN MY HEAD THAT'S GOING TO EXPLODE. CAN YOU HELP ME?!?!" and they tell you "gtfo lol". Yeah, this city's full of assholes confirmed.

I run to the metro right outside the junkyard and get inside one of the trains. Then I get treated to an image of Jake on the train with the city zipping in the background. Wee!!!

I'm in a new place with groovy music and I get randomly attacked by a couple of orcs, one of which vows that her (is that a she orc?) gang, the Rust Stilettos are going to fuck me up in revenge. Then she drops a tiny key. Let's see where this thingamajig fits. Oh hai, Dog. There you are again.

I must've looked like a complete idiot, with me walking out of the metro with a tiny key in my hand going "WHERE DOES THIS GO?" with the HUGE city ahead of me. Yeah, I see that the environments have gotten just a wee bit bigger. I'm running around with the beeping in my head as I notice that the "hours" keep going down, but unfortunately I have one too many run-ins with the significantly more powerful enemies in this area and I get wasted. *sigh*, back to the junkyard I go.

This time I make sure NOT to get my datajack "fixed" (I'm sure I'll have to get this done as part of the whole "fix your jack" quest, but until I know where to go I'm going to hold off on doing this), and instead I buy a new gun from the funny-looking dwarf on the gun shop. Now I'm packin' more punch and I go right back to the metro station onto the next place.

Yeah, they're still more powerful than my measly 2000-nuyen gun can handle. Holy hell, there's even enemies that are completely invulnerable to my fire! I stop for now, wondering how the hell I'm going to get through the cavalcade of assassins dashing through the streets.
 
Question:

Is the Shadowrun Reboot from Kickstarter going to be like the SNES version? I hope so. That game should be in a top something list. Such a wonderful unique game.
 
Shadowrun Returns is supposed to link up in some fashion with the SNES and Genesis games, at least from a narrative standpoint.

Re: the caryard arena, you could have just challenged the King separately (not part of the usual ladder of arena champs), saving yourself the 4k fee and gaining another 3k as spoils. Could have afforded a much better gun, as properly leveled, the King is beatable with starting gear. 90-100 HP should more than suffice. If you are able to waste the arena challenger that nets you 5k in spoils, then you'd be more than ready to take on the King.

Also, do upgrade armor when possible. It soaks up points of damage that QUICKLY add up. Leather jacket absorbs 1 pt of damage from each hit, wire mesh 2 pts, etc.

Edit: Getting the cortex bomb armed and diffused also opens up a new street doc that sells cyberware enhancements; new skills to level. Great to have. You can find the doc's office before Ed's bungled examination of your head gear, but he won't see you unless the bomb is armed. Oh, diffusing the bomb will run you a cool 2k (another 1.5k after Ed's 500 nuyen refund). Prepare accordingly.
 
Man I loved this game as a kid. Tough as nails though. There was one part I could never get through. I had the poster it came with on my wall for the longest time. Is this available on the Wii shop or anything like that?

I also really enjoyed the genesis Shadowrun. Both were going for different things.. SNES was more story-oriented, whereas the genesis version felt more open.
 
Never finished the Genny game. I'm now halfway through my fourth or fifth SNES run, though, thanks to this thread! Tagging back and forth between it and Dawn of Ys (both on PSP). I think Genny Shadowrun will follow. :)
 
Sweet, SNES Shadowrun getting some love. This game had great atmosphere and music.

PROTIP: at some point y'all are going to want to hire Shadowrunners to get your back during some of the more intense segments, but they tend to be on the expensive side and don't stick around long enough for their asking price. There are several ways to improve this:

1) Learn the Negotiation skill: Get the keyword 'Negotiation' from the man selling grenades in the first district, and then go to the guy who runs the Caryards Arena and ask about it. He'll offer to teach you the skill for 1k nuyen. When maxed, the Negotiation skill will lower the hiring prices for all Shadowrunners (it also cuts the King's asking fee to leave in half) to where many of them will be much more affordable. I just wished it worked on the Weapons merchants!

2) Upgrade Charisma: you can have up to 3 Shadowrunners with you at any one time, but some of them don't play well with others and might not join your team if you already hired one. High Charisma will convince them otherwise.

3) Learn the Leadership skill: in the third district you'll find
another Street Doc who offers Cyberware and skillsoft
. You can buy the Leadership upgrade from him. High leadership forces hired Shadowrunners to stay longer in your group before ending their contracts. The way it works is each Shadowrunner has an invisible counter that decreases from a set value (which I believe is different for each Runner) every time combat begins. Once the counter reaches zero, the runner leaves. Leadership will increase this value substantially, giving your more bang for your Nuyen.

Of course, if properly equipped and upgraded, a lone Jake can probably make it to the endgame without too much trouble.
 
I never bother with hirelings in my SNES Shadowrun play-throughs. Total waste of cash that should be dumped on guns, armor, and skills, IMHO.
 
I always thought it was assumed that the Genesis version was better than the SNES version.

Have I had it backwards? I haven't played the SNES version, but the Gen one was pretty decent and needs a replay.
 
I always thought it was assumed that the Genesis version was better than the SNES version.

Have I had it backwards? I haven't played the SNES version, but the Gen one was pretty decent and needs a replay.

the Snes one is really different. I felt it was the better game....much, much better to be honest
 
Shadowrun Returns is supposed to link up in some fashion with the SNES and Genesis games, at least from a narrative standpoint.

Re: the caryard arena, you could have just challenged the King separately (not part of the usual ladder of arena champs), saving yourself the 4k fee and gaining another 3k as spoils. Could have afforded a much better gun, as properly leveled, the King is beatable with starting gear. 90-100 HP should more than suffice. If you are able to waste the arena challenger that nets you 5k in spoils, then you'd be more than ready to take on the King.

Also, do upgrade armor when possible. It soaks up points of damage that QUICKLY add up. Leather jacket absorbs 1 pt of damage from each hit, wire mesh 2 pts, etc.

Edit: Getting the cortex bomb armed and diffused also opens up a new street doc that sells cyberware enhancements; new skills to level. Great to have. You can find the doc's office before Ed's bungled examination of your head gear, but he won't see you unless the bomb is armed. Oh, diffusing the bomb will run you a cool 2k (another 1.5k after Ed's 500 nuyen refund). Prepare accordingly.

Yyyyyyyyyeaaaaaaaaahhhhhh this kind of screwed me over big time in terms of doing the shit I actually needed to do.

So first of all I didn't know what you could challenge The King in the Arena if you beat everyone else and get him to let you go that way, so I blew 4 grand for no good reason. Second of all, it turns out I bought some shitty pistol that was barely an upgrade to the original one I had, so I blew 4 grand on that for no good reason either. So with a shitty "upgrade" gun and about 50 HP I got repeatedly destroyed in the third district.

It ended up with me grinding for the better part of today just to get enough money for the shotgun, then 2K for getting the datajack fixed for real. On the upside, I got some pretty hefty karma and I've got the coveted level 7 firearms skill (100% accuracy! Hooray!) along with 100 HP and a fixed datajack.

My first datajack experience was...weird. It's got a top down view and I'm walking along a large grid where some tiles hurt me and some tiles don't , but then I don't know what to do :( I'll have to figure it out later or maybe just look up how the minigame works. But so far, I'd say today was good progress, save for the grinding that came about because of my ignorance. Damn, this game punishes you for not doing exactly what it wants you to <_<
 
My first datajack experience was...weird. It's got a top down view and I'm walking along a large grid where some tiles hurt me and some tiles don't , but then I don't know what to do :( I'll have to figure it out later or maybe just look up how the minigame works.

It's basically a glorified Minesweeper. The goal is to reach the data stores and nodes located across the tiles. You have to check each tile as you go along for ICE (computer safeguards to ward off hackers) by scanning (Pressing A). If there's nothing there you lose a bit a health. If there's an ICE, you'll engage it in battle. Your Computer skill will determine whether you win on the first turn or be forced to engage it several times to destroy it (every time you engage an ICE and fail to destroy it you lose more health, and ICE get stronger as you get further into the game). And, of course, stepping on a tile with an ICE will hurt you pretty badly.

The data stores usually contain money or important files (or just useless junk data) that will fill in some of the backstory and provide vital information about what you should be doing next. Nodes activate/deactivate traps and doors/elevators, that sort of thing. You can also destroy nodes to wipe every ICE from the server you're on. But once you've got what you need you can just jack out by pressing X from anywhere in the system, so there's no need to do that.


So first of all I didn't know what you could challenge The King in the Arena if you beat everyone else and get him to let you go that way, so I blew 4 grand for no good reason.
You don't need to fight anyone to challenge the King. Just ask about "King" to the guy running the arena and he'll give you the option to fight him. Good thing too, because some of the later combatants are much harder than King. Well, I guess it's a moot point now.
 
The King is NOT part of the normal arena ladder. You could have challenged him at anytime. Hell, you might still be able to! Check! With the shotgun and wire mesh armor, your next purchase should be the wired reflexes cyberware from the good street doc. It's 15k, but is seriously speeds up your rate of fire. Passively applies to any equipped weapon! Also, if you bump into another weapon shop a little later selling an uzi for 30k, don't waste your money. Though it fires faster than the shotgun, it has exactly the same max damage capacity (8 pts), making the wired reflex boost the better buy as you save up for even later guns that are a true power upgrade over the shotgun.

Some upcoming boss advice:
1) Have Jetboy in your party when you kill the rust stilletto gang leader for a 2k nuyen bonus. Jetboy's a pathetic bastard, so clear out all of the gang save for the leader.
2) Make sure Kitsune is in your party when you tackle the dog spirit's nemesis. She'll become the game's only permanent party member! So long as she doesn't die, of course. She's a bit delicate, so give her a spare armor if you have one.

In both cases, if you've mastered (lvl 6) the negotiation skill optionally learned from the caryards arena organizer, you'll be able to hire them at discounted rates! :)

Game's got lots of fun little secrets. Managing to procure the zip gun is a serious pain. And its the worst weapon in the game! Just a bit crappier than that first baretta!
 
Such a good game and without a guide very very hard to progress at times. I remember playing this before the age of dialup and it was a headache, though after hours and hours of retries I finally got there.
 
I always have trouble keeping Kitsune alive past the Bremerton section of the game. She's a sitting duck most of the time. As she can only equip the weakest armor and only has 50 HP, she won't last long in the last sections of the game. It's too bad the game doesn't give you the option to improve your Shadowrunners when they're with you.
 
Maxxed & fully kitted put Jake = a god.
The game has a decent amount of nuyen and karma farming opportunities.
 
i recall this one part in the game where you are trapped in a junkyard. I remeber playing this section to get money to pay someone off, but that wasn't the "right" way to do it. It literally took forever. Years later I read about the correct way to get out of there quickly.
 
Wow, Shadowrun on the Genny is impossible. Wondering whatt I'm doing wrong. Don't remember it being this bad before...

Ah well, back to wrapping up the SNES game...
 
Thanks for the tips everyone! Half the fun is getting people to participate in my playthrough :P Much funner than just looking up a FAQ.

I've been kinda busy this weekend (and snuck some Dark Souls in, I kind of neglected that game when I got this one) and haven't been able to play again since I last posted, but I just wanted to say three things:

1) The Dancing Hippie! is the best thing in the game. The exclamation at the end makes it obvious the devs love it as much as I do. I love its dancing animation, and it makes my day whenever I see it. I especially love the completely random hippie in the market in the uptown area. It's like it's dancing along to the groovy background music!

2) The "club" rock music is amazing and has been stuck in my head the past two days, but for the love of god I can't find it anywhere on the internet. There's only this one with the terrible quality and random remixes, but not the original with good quality. Even the SPC I got from ZD doesn't have the song :(

3) Having the Dancing Hippie! and the club music combined is literally the best thing ever.
 
For Genesis SR: Don't start out doing physical missions unless you're a physical based character, or have a good gun. My advice is if you have the stats, get a deck and start making your own money, hacking info and selling it.

Dat Cyberspace. One of the reasons I love the Genesis version. I think a lot of people couldn't get past the top down look of the character screens.
 
By the way, my little updates are kind of going to be spoilery as I get further near the end. Should I be spoiler tagging my posts?

This time I make sure NOT to get my datajack "fixed" (I'm sure I'll have to get this done as part of the whole "fix your jack" quest, but until I know where to go I'm going to hold off on doing this), and instead I buy a new gun from the funny-looking dwarf on the gun shop. Now I'm packin' more punch and I go right back to the metro station onto the next place.

I just came to the same conclusion of unsuccessfully trying to get it fixed like, 3 times. I'm kinda burnt out as a result so I'll give it another try tomorrow. But at least I found the place on the matchbook, so hey progress.

I haven't really played a game this compelling in a while.
 
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