SNES: Nintendo's response to the Megadrive, the SNES boasted a better palette, great sound and a variety of special graphics modes. Sadly though, for some reason shooters were very thin on the ground for the SNES, although the ones we did get were mostly top quality, like R-TYPE III and Super Aleste. As is the norm, most shmups didn't make it over to the west (I'm really getting tired of typing this fact) but a heap of smelly platformers from the US and Europe did.

This glut of poor software effectively killed off the SNES before its time, coupled with the decisions to not bring across many of the best RPGs which gamers were crying out for, like Seiken Densetsu 3 and Chrono Trigger (to the UK that is). Time and time again, they make the same mistakes.