The SNES Omnibus vol 1 was an excellent reference book about every SNES game starting from A to M. I love reading books about video games and learning things that I missed, so the book was right up my alley. Now Brett Weiss has finished the project with Vol 2 covering games starting from N to Z.
Brett Weiss continues to go into detail on each game, improved on many areas of the first book that were lacking. The “Notable Quotables” section has better quotations and are more relevant to understanding the games for instance. There is also some excellent supplementary material to help better understand the system and its legacy which was a nice touch I appreciated.
As with the first volume, the SNES Omnibus does not leave out any game, no matter how obscure. This means many games that flew under the radar get a chance to shine. and I found myself learning about games I had not heard of before. I enjoyed reading about this obscurities the most, and I view this book as a great jumping off point for more research still.
The “Insider Insight” sections, where big names in the retro community such as 8 Bit Eric, Cat DeSpira, and more gave commentary is back and contains some excellent pieces. Cat Despira’s contribution to the entry on Space Invaders was a particularly good read, and helped me understand how others viewed the games. Once again I must disclosure here that I consider Cat a friend and my praise is solely due to the merits of their writing and insight.
Vol 2 also has a leg up over Vol 1 in that it discusses unlicensed games and a recently released SNES game, complete with quotables and more. It really makes this feel like a complete reference source and makes the book a must have. If you want to learn more about the games, this is the book for you.
I commend Brett Weiss on this book and consider both this and Vol 1 to be essential reading for retro enthusiasts and gamers in general. He and the contributors have managed to paint a great picture of the SNES to help others know what the system was about.
Disclaimer: I was provided a review copy of the book in exchange for giving it an honest review.