SNES Omnibus Vol. 2 (Book) Review

Finish It

Almost one year ago, Mr. Brett Weiss and Schiffer Publishing released The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 1 (A-M), an impressive coffee table book that documents the first half of the SNES library in painstaking detail.  Finishing the job, SNES Omnibus Vol. 2 (N-Z) is now available and is more of the same, which is a good thing.

Continuing right where Vol. 1 left off, Vol. 2 features all the remaining SNES titles. Perhaps the biggest feature of both books is the high sense of consistency.  Each entry features a blurb about the game, some insightful quotes from 3^rd parties, screenshots, box art, and even cartridge art. At a quick visual glance, the biggest difference between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 is the overall color scheme. The first book featured red as the prominent color, Vol. 2 uses SNES purple as its theme. 

In addition to listing every game in alphabetical order, there are some other treats spread throughout the book.  For example, some of the opening pages feature a long forgotten Plok comic, some inside pages feature full-page advertisement scans, the middle section features a two-page illustration, and some of the closing pages highlight some SNES peripherals like the Super Scope 6.

Ensuring that the complete North American SNES library is featured, there are some unique listings that are worth mentioning. For example, Star Fox 2 has an entry even though it was not officially released in cartridge form but was included as a surprise bonus game on the Super Nintendo Classic. Even the Star Fox Super Weekend cart is included.  This limited edition and very rare game was only used for a competition in 1993 but is listed with the history behind it.  The cartridge was also photographed, an expensive feat no doubt. 

Even if you don’t read a single page, it is easy to see that love went into this project.  It needs to be mentioned this is a hardcover book complete with sleeve art, each page is filled with consistent detail, and stands as the perfect companion piece to Vol. 1.  If you want to learn about the amazing SNES console and its games in an easy to digest format, you’ll want to check out both Volumes and any nerd will proudly showcase these on their coffee table next to their stash of new gen controllers. 

Not As Good As: having a thousand free hours to play all these games yourself

Better Than: trying to complete a full SNES collection yourself

Wait For It: 64 Volumes of N64

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz