RETRO REBOOT | Chessmaster (SNES)

I love chess. I played it a ton as a kid, and while I don't get to play it as often as I used to analog, sometimes firing up a digital game does wonders for the intellect. We didn't necessarily have a lot of money, and while our parents provided lots of opportunities to have video games as a pastime in our household, a home computer was out of our price range in the early 90's. So when it came to electronic chess (and other games), Chessmaster for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System fit the bill.

Originally produced in 1986 by The Software Toolworks, Chessmaster has seen many ports across console, handhelds, and various home computers. This includes all three Nintendo platforms at the time (NES, SNES, and Game Boy), and while it was a game that I enjoyed, it's actually quite underwhelming as a chess program. To be fair, in 1991, it's not like there was a load of expectations to be met with a digital chess game on your Super Nintendo, but it's still a little bit thin on appeal and options.

Sure, you can put it in your grey and purple box and play a game of chess against the CPU or a human opponent. There's even a teaching tool to break down all available moves for each piece, so as an entry-level chess tool, it's not too bad in that regard. The difficulty is quite commendable. There's beginner and expert modes, so if you feel up to challenging your abilities, the CPU can put up quite a fight. At one point, I was very good at this, but turning it on and having a go, I was a bit out of practice.

When it comes to visuals...it's chess, there isn't a lot to look at, frankly. And not that there's anything wrong with that, not like there is a whole deal of flair one can add to a cerebral board game. Maybe that Battle Chess I played on the 3DO, which adds a ton of amusing animations when you claim a piece. SNES Chessmaster, I mean, it looks fine. I suppose for variety, there's two different visual styles you can choose from, be it the "3D" sprites with the gradient for a dynamic look, or the flat board that provides more robust detail on turn time, board position, and pieces taken. It's certainly more at home with a PC-style game of chess, so I found it more preferable to the black void.

So when it comes to controls, Chessmaster can be a little bit sluggish. While the teactics present in chess are utilized, the glacial pace of the cursor is a little bit mind-numbing. Would've been one of those perfect opportunities to utilize the SNES mouse. As far as the audio goes, while I do like the bass-heavy chiptune theme (which sounds so SNES), the lack of music variety is a little bit of a bummer. Beyond the one theme that plays during the title screen, the only other notable ques are for claiming a piece, Castling, declaring Check and Checkmate.

Overall, Chessmaster was a part of my childhood. It's hard to recommend this to anyone beyond having a casual interest in the game, and by this point, there significantly more substantial options out there. It's a decent teaching tool, and the aforementioned challenge has its appeal. That being said, enthusiast aside, this can be an easy skip, unless you just wanted to add it to your video game shelf for posterity.