Developer: Sculptured Software Publisher: Midway Release: 09/95 Genre: FPS
Everyone remembers their first time playing Doom. I was not fortunate enough to own a computer in the early 90s considering they were around $1500-2000 on average. So I had to piggyback off a friend who was lucky enough to own one to get my PC gaming fix. Doom hit me like a mack truck as it was beyond anything I was expecting. All I had to go off of was magazine previews but they did not prepare me for the blistering action and violence. Yet as much as I loved the game I did not pick up the SNES port at release in 1995. Even then I had my reservations about its quality. But playing it now the game is better than I was expecting even though it is a hard sell today.
The number one question is how good is the port. Overall it is solid with some flaws. Unlike the majority of the console ports back then that used the Jaguar version as their base SNES Doom is a bespoke version created specifically for the system. Doom uses the Super FX2 to render its environments and for the most part it looks clean although it suffers from heavy pixelization at times. Floors and ceilings remain untextured to preserve memory. The game runs in a window with black borders to run at a higher frame rate too. Unlike the other versions all of the enemies are present but they are only animated from the front. This does have an effect on gameplay. The music is fantastic and of higher quality on average than the PC which is surprising. Overall this game should be impossible yet it exists.
The concessions to get the game on the system do have an effect on gameplay. The pixelated graphics make navigation difficult at times, especially in dark environments. Distant enemies are nothing but indistinct blobs that will attack before you realize what the hell you are looking at. The inconsistent framerate means the game has input delay which can be annoying. It gets even worse when the game slows down. The controls have an odd quirk in that you tend to get stuck in the environment due to missing frames of animation. This one especially gets on my nerves and I wish someone did something about it before release.
Yet in spite of these flaws Doom remains a compelling experience. At its core Doom is simple: you scour each level for color coded keys to reach the exit. But standing in your way is a cavalcade of enemies at every turn. The enemies and demons that populate each level are iconic at this point and embrace the hell aesthetic. The roster is not large in this first installment but they do a lot with very little. Each enemy has specific behaviors and the way the game pairs them makes even the simplest encounters tricky at times. Backing that up is the game’s weapons. It is funny; on their face the shotgun, chain gun, and rocket launcher are simple. Yet here they feel powerful and satisfying to use. Mowing down a room full of enemies or one shotting a mob with a shotgun blast is timeless.
The true star of Doom is its level design. In this regard the Super Nintendo is more faithful to the PC release than its console contemporaries. The 3d engine Doom employ allows for more complex level design than was possible in Wolfenstein 3d. It allows for elevators and different floors to hide more enemies and secrets. Doom revels in hiding enemies behind walls that recede once you press a switch, creating a sense of panic. That feeling of dread permeates the entire game as it moves from military installations to the depths of hell. The SNES has 22 out of the original’s 27 levels. As much as I enjoy the game it does get repetitive. It is even more egregious as this version has no passwords or battery back-up for saving progress.
Doom is a hard game even on the normal difficulty setting. With this game’s quirk’s and flaws it is even more difficult. Enemies hit hard and you will frequently double back to that med pack you passed earlier to survive. They also frequently travel in groups that force you to prioritize. Even then you will rarely make it out unscathed in this version. Because enemies only face one direction they removed circle strafing which was one of the best tactics in the game. The levels are short at first but become sprawling and more puzzle like as you progress. It sucks playing each episode from the beginning; there is no good reason why this game does not have passwords. If they managed to include online play using the Xband (which is bonkers) they could do that much at least.
In Closing
The SNES version of Doom is a respectable rendition of the game. Let us be completely honest, this is not the ideal way to play the game. This was the case back then and remains so today. However considering the constraints they were up against the fact the game is playable is a god damn miracle. I was able to overlook the underlying flaws and still enjoy the game as it is still Doom after all. But recommending it remains a dicey prospect.
