When it comes to video gaming related compendiums, Bitmap Books has got you covered. One of their first efforts, the cleverly titled Commodore 64: a visual commpendium was an absolute ripper. We still love and cherish our C64 commpendium, especially the nostalgic buzz we get when flicking through its pages and finding games that we may have forgotten about. That C64 commpendium was the start of Bitmap Books’ journey into publishing awesome gaming related tomes.
Fast forward to today and we are once again wowed by their latest publication, the SNES/Super Famicom: a visual compendium! Not only is this compendium double (and then some!) the size of the Commodore 64 one, it boasts content that you would not normally find in a book like this. We were expecting the games coverage (of course), but the variety of content and contributions from industry legends, like Eugene Jarvis (Ed: OMG!) really blew us away!
The first thing that struck us when we received the SNES/Super Famicom: a visual compendium was its beautiful lenticular fascia slipcase. As mentioned, the size of this compendium (it’s 536 pages!) did get the 16-bit nostalgic nerves tingling immediately. We can bang on about the premium quality and finish, but we have come to expect this from Bitmap Books, which is a great feather in their cap.
The SNES (Super Famicom in Japan) was Nintendo’s entrant in the bitter 16-bit console war with Sega’s Mega Drive/Gensis. Selling almost 50 million consoles worldwide, it made Nintendo’s console a firm favourite with millions of gamers around the globe. If you owned or played on one of these 50 million SNES/Super Famicom consoles, then this compendium is for you!
SNES/Super Famicom: a visual compendium offers a visual snapshot of the best games, developers, box art and product design from across the territories it sold in. As the name suggests, it is a visual book designed to stir up excitement and nostalgia for Nintendo’s fantastic 16-bit machine and its legacy of classic video games. From the varied and amazing visual content, we absolutely loved the behind the scenes look at the creation of the SNES product / console packaging – a fascinating insight into the design team’s thinking!
This is really an easy review to do as the subject matter and quality finish truly sell themselves. Do yourself a favour and grab this compendium before it sells out!
SNES/Super Famicom: A Visual Compendium was kindly supplied for review by Bitmap Books