 Say the guy drunk. One thing I seriously missed about the 16-bit era is that a game on one console could be something completely different on another console. We saw this with Aladdin and the Adventures of Batman and Robin, for example, which each had completely different games on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. This is also the case with Shadowrun, and despite being based on the same tabletop RPG, the same lore, and having the same name, these are two completely different games. Let's recap the SNES version quickly. It was developed by Beam Software, who also brought you games like True Lies and the SNES port of Smash TV. The game's story has you waking up at a morgue, having lost your memory, and you stumble around looking for clues as to who you are, what you're doing, and why everyone is friggin' shooting at you. You unlock keywords that lead to other clues, and the story builds from there. It's cleverly done. The gameplay utilizes a point-and-click system combined with your typical RPG-leveling stuff. The isometric viewpoint here makes it goofy to try and shoot people or use magic, and stuff like simply opening a door can be annoying. You accumulate karma by killing enemies, and you get to pick and choose what aspects of your character you want to level up. You can also enter the Matrix, no, not that Matrix, to obtain more information about your quest, and yeah, this looks kinda tacky. Meanwhile, the Genesis version of Shadowrun is completely different, as you can see right off the bat here. It was developed by Blue Sky Software, who also created stuff like the Vector Man games. We got a top-down view instead of the isometric viewpoint, and the settings are much grittier and dangerous looking. I also think the Genesis sound capabilities lend themselves better toward an environment like this. The SNES game soundtrack is great, obviously, but the Genesis soundtrack is more effective if that makes sense. It adds a sense of intimidation that's rarely found in a 16-bit game. Before you start, though, you have three different classes to choose from. Samurai is best at combat, Decker is best in the Matrix, and a Gator Shaman is best at magic. The combat here is in real time, but much more streamlined. It has a lock-on system here. Press the button and fire instead of the frustrating point-and-click system of the SNES game. You can actually just walk over items to collect them, and you can just walk into buildings. Imagine that! However, this version has its own setbacks, too. Like when enemies are nearby, the game actually slows you down until you fight them. That's annoying. The story is different as well. Your character this time is Joshua, whose brother was gunned down, but one of his comrades, Cybernetic Eyeballs, recorded a video of the whole incident, so he uses that as his first clue to set off on this investigation to find out who was behind his brother's murder. The world here is huge, and that's what makes the setting, atmosphere, and music so important. Yeah, you're basically just running errands for money at first, fetch quests, and escort missions, but the world here is so damn cool that despite how monotonous your tasks may be, I really don't mind a whole lot because I just enjoy hanging out here. Beyond that, another huge difference from the SNES version is just how open-ended the Genesis version is. You can follow three different plotlines in any order, and you can stop and do a few side quests at any time. There's a lot more skills you can upgrade depending on what class you choose, everything from hacking skills to firearm proficiency, and it's pretty well balanced, too. You have to be careful about what you upgrade because it can downgrade another skill. In a really nice touch, you can even hire your own Shadowrunners to help you out, and they are their own class of Samurai Decker or Shaman, so it's kind of like 7th Saga in that regard, it's a really cool feature. The biggest difference between the two versions is the Matrix. In the SNES version, it's just blah looking, it's just kind of there, it's not particularly inspiring. In the Genesis version, uh, wow, yeah that's a bit of an upgrade. You can enter it at any time to steal data that you can sell to get some extra cash. In order to get this stuff, you have to fight a company's digital security system so to speak, and the more high-end the company, the tougher their security. Your character in the Matrix evidently turns into a Silver Surfer, I guess? And you use your Cyber Deck to mask, attack, and analyze programs, and of course to save, and that has its own leveling statistics into itself. It's well done, although some fights can be hard as balls at times. If there's one primary advantage the Super Nintendo game has over the Genesis game, it's that it might be the general overall presentation. For example, I'm able to walk into this bar and see all these people and talk to the bartender and all that. It's pretty damn cool. In the Genesis version, you just enter a door and you're immediately met with a text box. That's another thing, the Genesis game is very text heavy. It's well written, don't get me wrong. It's just that sometimes I wish I could see what they're talking about instead of just reading about it. But anyway, yeah, the Genesis version of Shadowrun is a really inspired game, and if I had to pick between the two, I think I'd pick that version over the SNES version. There's just so much more to the gameplay. It doesn't have that annoying point and click system. The hacking is much better and much more interesting, and if nothing else it's closer to capturing the vibe of the original tabletop Shadowrun game. The Super Nintendo game is still very good, and it's a refreshing change of pace from the usual square soft sword and sorcery type RPG, but the Genesis Shadowrun game takes some risks and pulls off some really cool stuff in a really interesting way that makes it unique from just about any other 16-bit game.