Super Soukoban

Super Soukoban (only available in Japan)

Release Info not available

Introduction

Soukoban was created in 1980 by a man named Hiroyuki Imabayashi. The game
featured a combination of simple rules with highly intellegent and
sophisticated gameplay, and would become vastly popular throughout Asia
within a fairly short period of time. Unfortunately for those of us
over in the western hemisphere, the game never really seemed to make the
leap across the pacific. While there have been versions ported to just
about every computer OS and many game consoles, the title still seems
oddly under the radar when if comes to localized console games, save for
the Sega Genesis version, in which the title was bafflingly changed to
Shove It. While it's not much of a surprise that Shove It didn't catch
on, it's still somewhat of a mystery how a game can be classic to some
and completely unknown to others.

Thankfully, however, the simplicity of the game's design makes for a
fairly import friendly title. After playing a handful of different ports,
I must say that there is something about the SNES version that stands out.
The control is smooth, the music is decent, and the pace of the game stays
fairly consistent throughout, and the non-linear aspect keeps the game
from feeling like a mental chore. It's simply a great version of a great
game. What more could you ask for.

So what is it about this game that sets it apart? Well, the word that
seems come up most often when describing Soukoban is "elegant." There truly
is an inherent elegance to the way in which the game plays itself out. There
exists at every turn the possibility of rendering the puzzle unsolvable
through poor planning or execution. Unlike other puzzle games, however,
you don't have the option eliminating wrong moves and thus solving the
puzzle through trial and error. The game is simply far too vast, the number
of moves far too open, and the number of lateral moves required to clear
each stage can be, at times, completely staggering. This is a game that
will challenge you to think, learn, and react, all while the main task
at hand never becomes more complicated than pushing boxes over specific
spaces.

Since individual puzzles can require upwards of 2000 moves to clear, and
since the SNES port contains 300 individual puzzles, I will not be walking
you through the entire game. Instead, it is my goal that this FAQ will
act as a kind of primer, giving just enough information to get you into
the game, and then leaving the rest for you to discover on your own, as
well as offer strategic advice, and perhaps a couple of solutions, just
to give you an idea of what lies ahead.

Request all your favorite SNES games!

On March 11 2008 2 Views