♡My Love Affair With The SNES♡ #retrogaming #gamersunite @meanmachinesmag

Never before has an inanimate object caused me to fall in love with it…. Never before has an inanimate object demanded that I spend more money on it after I'd already shelled out a small fortune for it in the first place... Never before has an inanimate object brought me so much joy... Never before or since has a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) been bettered in the world of video games...

How I Met The SNES

The SNES has been my number one console since 1992 when I first saved up enough pocket money and birthday money to buy one.

From memory in the UK, the PAL version cost me around £129 with a fresh copy of Super Mario World thrown in for good measure.

What an amazing title to bundle with your console! 

Thinking back to it now, it was an immensely bold move by Nintendo to put Super Mario World in with every SNES box as it basically meant you didn't need to buy another game for the next 3 months while you battled with Bowser in an effort to unlock the 99 glorious Super Mario World Levels (Damn You Cheese Bridge!!)

But I suppose after playing gaming perfection you were always going to need to back that up with other amazing releases and that's exactly what my beautiful SNES gave me.....

Super Tennis was my follow up purchase from Super Mario World and I was blown away by this brilliant tennis game as I got caught up in the circuit constantly striving to better my skills with Yuka and Hiro...

The thing with the SNES at the start there weren't many games BUT it was definitely quality over quantity at that point in its life and with F-Zero out at the same time you had 3 magical games to choose from in the UK.

The StreetFighter 2 Effect
Then there was Street Fighter 2...

Street Fighter 2 was Coming To SNES and it looked amazing. ...

The king of the arcades was SF2 and to know that I was going to be able to play a near as perfect arcade conversion if the game that I was in awe of was mind-blowing. ....

Street Fighter 2 .... in MY bedroom. ...WOW!

Yes, it was £65 but oh how I enjoyed that game and oh how I got my money's worth......

SNES Design
When I think back to the overall design of the PAL console (which borrowed its design from the Super Famicom) it was a thing of beauty. 

It was moving away from the boxy feel of previous consoles such as the NES and the SMS and becoming more of a thing of beauty 
(although the US Version was completely different but still cool in its own way!)

The control pads were the single most comfortable control device you could ever imagine with its curved oh so comfortable to hold sides. 

What about the buttons?!! I hear you say!!

Well, 6 button controllers were a big deal back in 92. 

The shoulder buttons were revolutionary and the colour scheme of the 4 (yes count em 4!) remaining buttons was again unique. 

This was a leap away from the 3 button Megadrive controller and put the SNES firmly in command at this point in time. 

In my opinion, there has never been a better-designed controller….it was hand heaven!

7th Heaven
Then there was Mode 7

Mode 7 sounded amazing

Mode 7 looked cool

What mode 7 did, I could never explain to you but all I know is Mode 7 made every game where it was mentioned sound mysterious and awesome.

Similarly, there was the SUPER FX Chip employed on games such as Star Fox and again what it did I couldn't profess to tell you but boy did Nintendo make some great games using this groundbreaking technology.

When I look back, the SNES was my first childhood sweetheart, she had it all, she was beautiful and knew how to have a good time and she never let me down and still to this day I love her more than any other before or since……….

Which Video Games Machine Will You Always Be Your First Love?