Collection essentials #167 and #168: NES Zapper and SNES Super Scope

It came to my attention that I talked about the NES Zapper at length since I had several NES light gun games on my list, and yet I didn’t count the Zapper itself as a collection essential. Oops. I guess I still have to figure out a rule with regard to what accessories I’ll put on the list. The system’s main first-party controller I won’t count as I consider that part of the console. I did already count R.O.B. as an essential so I really think I should count the Zapper as one too.

The Zapper was a big part of the NES’s early success, with Duck Hunt being the most notable title. It made for gameplay that was easy for anyone to understand play, yet could still provide a challenge. When the light gun trigger is pushed, the screen goes black for a split second, and any part of the screen that contains an enemy or item that can be shot will be white. If the area of shot is within white, then a hit will be registered in-game. 

For the Super Nintendo, a new gun accessory was needed, and Nintendo decided to go with something entirely different rather than copy the Zapper. The Super Scope is more like a bazooka than a gun! And it has a few different buttons too, as opposed to only the trigger on the Zapper, so this provided for more gameplay possibilities. There’s also an adjustable scope to help with aiming. It doesn’t do the black screen thing like the Zapper does, and instead you plug in a special sensor device into one of the controller slots which you place on top of your TV. 

The Super Scope wasn’t a very big success. Part of that might be because it’s a little less intuitive compared to the simplistic Zapper. Another reason might be because of batteries. The Zapper didn’t require any, and the Super Scope requires SIX AAs to function. So it’s a much less practical device, but dangit, the Suepr Scope is dang cool and fun to use, and there’s no other gun accessory like it in the gaming world. Sadly I never had it growing up, and I didn’t even know about it until it appeared as an in-game weapon in the Super Smash Bros. series years later. Once I finally got my own, I wasn’t disappointed! Stay tuned to read about some essential games that use the Super Scope during these few months of SNES.