In case you’re wondering: The old man on the cover of Phalanx for SNES was Bertil Valley who sadly died in 2004.

After a quarter century, I finally know what Zoop is. Thank you.

Never heard of Zoop, but the Cover looks so 90s I can totally see the Fresh Prince wearing it on a Shirt.

Forsaken 64’s cover itself is the perfect representation of what 90’s marketing was like.

Finally caught one early enough to say: Thank you so much for your work, man. As a 41 year old, I can watch your content all day, just for the memories. As a retro gamer, I check your videos before I start seriously playing a game. I appreciate it, quite a bit.

I grew up in the 90's, subscribed to GamePro and EGM, and I collect and play retro games today. I know that Zoop cover art like my mother's face. And this is the very first time I've ever seen gameplay footage of it.

"Eastern European Looney Tunes" is the best description for brutal paws of fury I've ever heard

Awesome part about Tuff Enuff was that the cover was used in the first stage of Game Tengoku back in 1995. Jaleco knew how ridiculous it looked and used it as a huge stage backdrop.

I can confirm, Zoop is what the 90s looked like.

"Lieutenant Tasha Yar's head on a child's body" made me laugh my ass off.

"Tasha Yars head on a child's body" Legitimately made me lol

I fucking LOVE zoop. I played it so much as a kid on my Sega, that I'd have dreams about the colors and shapes flying at me

Man I actually miss this. Being young and going rent games and renting them based on the cover art that stood out to me, only for the game to be complete garbage and being disappointed haha. I miss good cover art and awesome instruction booklets.

Body Harvest basically laid all the groundwork for GTA3. It wasn't the best game, but it was fun and incredibly ambitious.

I love this because as a gamer of the 90's, this was PRECISELY what we had to guard against on Friday nights at Blockbuster or the local video store when we were renting games. I would add U.N. Squadron, Outlander, and Sword of Vermillon for the Genesis for me.

It's references like this 3:40 that make SNES drunk the perfect retro gaming youtube channel for me.

Whenever I used to rent games, you could see Zoop on the shelf from the door. That's how much that cover stood out. I used to turn my nose up..even as a 4th grader lol

The PC version of Forsaken was also remastered for modern computers & XBOX ONE by Nightdive Studios. They're the same company that did the recent remastered Shadow Man port, as well as the remastered ports of Turok 1 & 2, Doom 64 & SiN. They're also working on a remake of System Shock.

There were SO many Zoop ads in EGM for a few months.

You do remember that popular Salt n Pepa song, right..? “You make me wanna Zoop Zoobedoo Zoobedoo bedoo...”

Zoop is such an amazing game. I turned it into a speedrun a couple years ago and a few people battled a bit to lower the record. Also sidenote I saw a license plate in my hometown recently that just read ZOOP. Amazing stuff haha

Never had the N64, but i remember the covers of Shadow Man and Forsaken hahaha Good times!

Once I saw the title and shitty cover for Zoop I'm clicked on this. What a great video idea. Gotta do more of these.

To this day, I want to see a game that would actually fit the cover art of _Phalanx._

Skuljagger, for me, was the ultimate example of this.

There was alot of nostalgia in this episode for me. Thank you for creating this

you answer so many question that i have from childhood x)

My parents bought me Zoop one day. It was an interesting puzzle game. I was never really good at it but it was entertaining enough with an okay soundtrack.

3:40 "So what does that make us?" "Absolutely nothing! Which is what Q's relevance to Street Fighter has been!"

I played Zoop for the first time a month or so ago, even though I'm 40 years ago. I don't mind puzzle games, and I could have seen me playing this a lot at the time. Didn't really stand out at the time, and I definitely wouldn't have wanted £40 laid out for it.

I remember playing the PS1 and PC versions of Shadow Man, and its PS2 sequel (2econd Coming). I didn't know that, everyone knew the game from the box art. I hope Nightdive Studios could remaster that PS2 sequel one day for modern platforms.

I remember Zoop be of the ads for it and it was so obscure and nonsensical. It seemed to get positive reviews here in the UK but can't really say I know anyone that got it. Saying that Acclaims marketing during the N64 time was just becoming increasingly odd until they tried to get people to advertise games on their own gravestone or changing their names legally to Turok.

I remember the neighbors spying on the kid in the commercial for zoop and saying "maybe he's double jointed"

Ah, I completely forgot about the Shadow Man Remaster!

Forsaken was one of my favorite games. It was actually the game I bought with the system. There was nothing like seeing a Titan nuke fly past you and the chaotic scramble to get out of the room before it explodes. Two player was what made it so much fun for me. It was like 007 but flying spaceships.

The woman on the cover of Forsaken is so you know what you're fighting for back on earth boys.

Shadow Man was based on a comic book series that has been around for a couple of years. The version the game follows was a revamp that from when Aklaim acquired Valiant Comics (which also included Turok, X-O Manowar, and Armorines) in the mid-90s.

Ah yes snesdrunk and a cup of coffee in the morning.

Funny story: I found a copy of Zoop at a pawn shop that I frequent, and decided to get it so that I could replace the back of a more expensive game. Because I’m a regular, the owner threw it in for free with another game I was purchasing. I finally decided to give it a go last week, but when I turned my SNES on, I realized very quickly that it wasn’t Zoop. It was Mario’s Time Machine, and someone had swapped the circuit boards for the two games. In retrospect, it does make a bit more sense, because one of the screws was missing when I first got the game. Still, I’m not sure if it was a mistake or an elaborate bate and switch, but it surprised me either way.

Man, I really miss Funco Land. I had a great local store that was always friendly and fun to look through. Also, I knew Zoop because my local Blockbuster back in the day had it running on a display tv for public play for a long time. Not a bad game!

"Don't steal anybody's kidneys." -SNES Drunk

Wow man, you hit that intro aggressively

Dude your jokes were on point this video. "Tasha Yar's head on a teenager" had me dying🤣🤣🤣🤣

Glad you mentioned Shadow Man’s cover art in the video! Definitely agree, you saw it almost everywhere in promo pics of numerous gaming magazines or at your local video game store at the time even if you never got the chance to play it. The N64 era of cover arts/promo pics marketing definitely were something else 😅

I played Zoop on a few different platforms back in the day (having worked at a game rental store), and one thing I remember is that the different ports of Zoop to various platforms _played differently_ from one another. You'd think that for such a simple game, one "Zoop" would be like any other "Zoop" - but the semi-randomness of the shape/color patterns (e.g. the distribution of runs of the same color vs. random colors, piling on shapes in one line vs. spreading them out evenly, etc.) seemed to be different in every version I tried. It's like the difference between a "Tetris" with tetrominos drawn from a finite "bag" before being reshuffled vs. a "Tetris" with _completely_ random tetrominos (allowing for long runs of the same one or two shapes). I can only guess that every platform's "Zoop" was programmed by a different team, and that Viacom/Hookstone's design documentation didn't actually specify _how_ the shapes were to be selected/distributed - kind of an important part of a puzzle game's mechanics.

Shadow Man is based on a Comic book originally published by Valiant. (Turok, XO Manowar). Acclaim bought the publisher in the mid 90s and started publishing games based on the comics. Never knew they did a Shadowman game though.

Oh man, do I remember that Forsaken cover art.

As soon as I read the title, I was like "Phalanx has to be here for sure!" I was not disappointed.

Okay that rant about TUFF E NUFF was absolutely hilarious. That made my night!

The level of contempt I have for Zoop knows no bounds. It was in every bargain bin in 96, it was one of the last games my local rental store had before phasing out SNES games, and was the last demo game my local Sears had in the kiosk for full-on year before getting rid of it all together. And I had absolutely no idea how the game worked. Pure frustration. I still saw the game in Kmart clearance bins with arkanoid and uniracers in 98.

I'll never forget the ZOOP box. But I also remember the back had the craziest read ever. I remember it said "what are you doing reading this box?! Pick this game up and play it now. Zoop the most addicting puzzle since ever!!" I laughed at it back in the day

I was definitely not expecting a Tasha Yar reference or for it to be so accurate.

SNES drunk I’m so glad you included Body Harvest! I loved that game so much! Great job on the channel, too. Been checking your stuff out for a while now. Hope you and yours are well. 🙂

DinoCity was a childhood favorite of mine. I saw the film first on VHS and my Dad snagged a copy of the game on late 1990s eBay. Still have that copy.

1) This list is 100% accurate. 2) Your assessment of 90s is correct. 3) Tasha Yar reference gets 100 points. Well done sir! Always a great time watching your videos. 👍

Your commentary chops are really improving, man. This was solid from start to finish.

I loved Body Harvest back in the late 90s. Zoop was probably the epitome of 90s game ads and I didn’t know anyone who played it

I love Zoop! Spent many hours playing it on my SNES as a kid in the 90's!

Lt. Tasha Yar's Head on a child's body gave me a DEEP belly laugh! Thank you for covering content this 37 year old can absolutely be nostalgic over time and time again. Your cadence, delivery and presentation are top notch and your passion for these games shines through!

Zoop is that rare puzzle game where the developers consider attacking your optic nerve directly as "late game difficulty". The music too seemed almost designed to confuse. I remember wanting to play it with the sound off but being unable to because there is a warning noise you get when the rows are one move from entering the center.

3:44 this box art always reminded me of the matrix and later on always made me think of the game TimeSplitters 2 cover because of the glasses and bald head look

Yeah, growing up in the 90's was a weird trip. I recall all of these games sitting on Blockbuster shelves collecting dust. You couldn't escape the loud in-your-face marketing back then! I remember seeing Zoop _everywhere_. I love puzzle games, so I rented it along with Tetris Attack. I just couldn't get into Zoop at all as I didn't like the art style and the gameplay was just kind of tedious/dull. I'm still glad I rented Tetris Attack as well so it wasn't a complete loss of a Blockbuster visit!

Your channel is unquestionably awesome man. :) Also, 8:42 LOL. Wow.

Claymates had the quintessential eye-catching SNES box art, complete with bright colors, full-box holographic effect, and no explanation of what the game is about. If you went to a Walmart electronics section in the early 90s, this box art and the Robocop vs. Terminator hard cover are seared into your brain.

Leo from Red Earth looks like what you'd expect from the Brutal Paws of Fury ad.

Fuckin LOVED the bit about polo/khaki/Corolla/Miller Lite guy and the Byron Allen reference was so hilariously out of left field. Your obscure references add so much to the overall package. Great vid as always dude.

Love the space ball’s reference when explaining the cover of shadow man

shadow man indeed, had to turn thee brightness up just to see the action

Imagine walking around a store for 30+ mins staring at boxes with bizarre cover art. That was Blockbuster as kid before the 21st century.

I got body harvest from my grandma one year for Christmas. Loved this game!

Huh, spot on with that Dino City bit. Until today, I’d _never_ seen any screenshots or video of actual gameplay. Looks nifty, and the art style is cute. Chalk up the box art to yet more ‘90s radi-cool chicanery.

I had completely forgotten about Forsaken. This wave of nostalgia just hit me with a memory of a sleepover at my friend's house and his parents got us this at Blockbuster and we played it all night. I miss the 90's

Young guy here (20) Video stores were still around here for abit in Australia when I was a kid during the Wii, Xbox360 and PS3 era before eventually all dying out. The biggest game I remember seeing but never hiring was No More Heroes. It always interested me, but I never hired it and usually stuck to safer options for me at the time like the LEGO games or Nintendo made games. Going back and playing the game now No More Heroes has become one of my favourite series.

I loved Zoop for DOS back in the day. Innovative (though difficult) puzzle game, and great for peripheral vision training.

Shadow Man on N64 blew my mind back then. The serial killers, the guts. And I had no idea what it was when I bought it with my Walmart cashier paycheck. I was 16.

You are a really underrated KZfaqr imo, you have a distinct voice and i really look forward to your videos.

The thing with a few of these covers is that they were specific to the US version of the games: The PAL version of Tuff E Nuff had similar box art to the Japanese version, the PAL version of Forsaken had completely different cover art (which was fairly nondescript) while the PAL version of Body Harvest had box art that was much more representative of what the game was about. I can't comment on the other games (and I'm too lazy to check!).

Loved the idea. The exact same thing happened to me involving Dino City, I have only paid attention to it when I saw a friend of mine playing it at the rental store and then I asked "wow, that looks neat actually. Which game is this?" and there it was, available for everyone most of the time with a crappy cover art. Vegas Stakes was also a game no one would pick, ever - neither would I. Had a good time playing Tuff E Nuff (Dead Dance as I got to know at the time) but time hasn't done good to it. One game cover which was onipresent in gaming magazines and also retail advertising here in Brazil was Little Ninja Brothers for the NES, it certainly boosted its rental visibility back then

Fun fact: Dino City's developer was Irem. The same company behind games like R-Type, Moon Patrol, Metal Storm, Holy Diver, The Guardian Legend, Image Fight, In the Hunt, and the Disaster Report games. Oh yeah, and _Ninja Baseball Bat Man._ I don't think people appreciate Irem as much as they should and for as many good games they've put out.

I was born in the early 80’s, I think I remember the Zoop ads, own the game and that Zoop wallpaper or whatever was terrifying. I do not remember the 90’s looking like that.

This guys makes me go out and look for old snes games I don’t have. Thank you.

Shadow Man was an awesome game. It was cemented in my brain when a neighbor friend bought a used copy. I never saw the cover, i was just really interested in this dark game when i was 8 years old.

This brings me back to my middle school years. Thank you for your video

Always fun to see you do a list like this. You always have such a cool theme. These were permanent fixtures in the rental store, and you can't help but wonder how many of these games were bought by individuals. "Man, I got Brutal: Paws of Fury for my birthday!" "Yeah, what's that?" "These cartoon animals fight each other Street Fighter style in a tournament, and I think the prize is the winner gets a show on Fox Kids for one season!"

Holy crap that "old guy" is famed Moon shiner from North Carolina. Popcorn Sutter! He's a legend!

Remember loving Shadow Man when it came out. It was also the first game I remember hearing actual swearing in.

Last one kinda reminds me of Yoshi’s Island, where baby Mario was on his back. Except it was bad when Mario fell off, he hadn’t learned anything yet 😂

I had a feeling Phalanx would get a mention here. I remember being in middle school Accelerated Reader and seeing this game being offered as a high-point prize. I didn't have a SNES (Sonic fangirl for life) but that box art intrigued the hell outta me. 25 years later I'm learning what the big deal was. Thanks!

I can’t be the only one who interprets the Phalanx cover as “old farmer who sees ufo ship in the sky and looks surprised.”

Man thanks for giving me a lil of my childhood back in nice short bursts. Never quit. Snnnnnnneeeeeees¹⁰ drunk.

Body harvest was one of my favorite games for n64 loved how many different vehicles there was. Took awhile sometimes to figure out where to go

LMFAO ‘’Lieutenant, Tasha Yar’s head on a child’s body’’ you’re funny❤😂

i clicked on this and thought to myself, "If Phalanx isn't on this list, it's a bad list." good job as per usual, snesdrunk. you're doing god's work.

I remember Dino City because it was always in Tommy K's when renting games was a thing. Nobody I knew had it, played it, or knew what it was. I wish I check out the back. Looks like it was fun.

Just recently, I finally managed to get my hands on a hacked SNES Mini with 235 games pre-installed, after literally decades without gaming consoles at my place, so I really dig your channel. There's a pretty funny link between Zoop and the name of your channel, by the way: In Dutch, which is spoken where I'm living (Belgium), 'zoop' means 'drank too much' ;-)

Not sure why "Uh oh, that's not good" made my day...but thanks

A funny thing about Brutal Paws of Fury is the rabbit character actually looks similar to a character from a PC game called Ninja Rabbits. Altho both concepts were likely inspired by Usagi Yojimbo.

🤣🤣🤣 now every time I see Byron Allen I'm gonna assume he's the Shadow Man

I feel like Zoop is an underrated gem of a game. It's crazy as all hell at times, but I still play it every now and then.

I owned Zoop as a child and never understood how to play it. Understanding it was essentially a color matching game would explain my confusion as I'm colorblind.0