Game Show Video Games

By: Superman

I've been a fan of game shows ever since I was a kid. While there has never been one particular game show that I just had to watch every time it was on, I've always found watching them to be a fun way to pass the time. There were quite a few that I was fond of back when I was growing up - The Price Is Right... Hollywood Squares... Who Wants to Be a Millionaire... Family Feud... Wheel of Fortune... the list just goes on and on. Truthfully, I still enjoy watching a game show here and there when I get the chance, even to this day.

Instead of just watching the fun from home, however, I've always thought it would be kind of cool to actually be on one of my favorite game shows. The thing is that not everyone gets that chance to have a go at spinning that wheel or phoning a friend when a particularly tough question arises. That's probably why game shows have been adapted into video games so many times over the years. True, video game versions of your favorite game shows do not give you a chance to win big cash while playing them. They do fill a certain void, though. They offer you an opportunity to at least give you the chance to play some of those games from you're very own couch. Below, I'm going to talk about three of the video game versions of popular game shows that I own.

Hollywood Squares for the NES

I'm going to start with this one because it's the lamest of the bunch. While it plays much like the television version of the show, it doesn't feature any actual celebrities. Rather than choosing from Paul Lynde or Whoopi Goldberg or Joan Rivers, players choose squares inhabited by fictional stars. Considering the amount of money that it would take to pay nine celebrities to fill out those squares, that's understandable enough. What isn't forgivable, though, is just how few questions this game has programmed into it. After just three to five times of playing the game, I started seeing the same exact questions over and over again. Because of that, the replay value isn't very high on this one. For the first few plays, it is kind of fun. There's just not a lot that you can get out of this game after those first few plays.

Family Feud for the SNES

Like the Hollywood Squares game, this game doesn't feature any of the actual personalities from the show. Instead, it stars a fictional unnamed host. It's still a much better game than the Hollywood Squares game, though. The questions don't seem to repeat nearly as often, so that's a huge plus right off the bat. The only minor drawback is that answers must be spelled correctly, so players need to know how to spell whatever answer they are giving.

Wheel of Fortune for the SNES

The big thing that sets this game apart from the others is that it actually features one of the stars of the show. While Pat Sajak is nowhere to be seen, Vanna White is there to turn over the letters whenever you make a guess. The game also has a massive number of puzzles for players to solve. Of the games on this list, it's the only one I've actually owned since childhood, and I can't remember ever playing the same puzzle twice. True, it's not a game I play on a daily or even weekly basis, but I do play it often enough for that to be kind of impressive.

If you've ever played any of these games, I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Be sure to let me know which of these games you've encountered personally or if you've ever played any other video game game show adaptations in the comments section.

Looking for more from Superman?

READ 107381 TIMES

jkatz Posted on Nov 02, 2017 at 09:50 PM

The Hollywood Squares game may have been a dud, but Howard Stern's Hollyweird Squares would make a great videogame. I'm tempted to learn the dark art of ROM hacking to make it myself...

CaseyJones Posted on Oct 29, 2017 at 11:00 PM

I used to rent game show games for the NES alot when I was younger
My mom got a kick out of jeopardy and Family Feud. I usually went for Classic Concentration, Double Dare, Fun House and American Gladiators

Rad Retro Weekend Part 2: Antique Store Finds

In part 1 of the Rad Retro Weekend, I chronicled the nostalgic pursuit I shared with NLogan to re-create the magic of childhood sleepovers, which we d...

Rad Retro Weekend Part 1

They say "You can never go back", but sometimes you just have to try a little harder. After months of discussion between fellow RetroDazer, NLogan and...

Super Hero Toy Catalog 1978

Catalogs are great way to revisit products from years gone by and Sears Wishbooks in particular are very popular online for children of the 80s to rem...

Barbie Magazine 1988

I've been on a bit of a Barbie Odyssey lately. Between the Barbie episode of The Toys That Made Us on Netflix and the Hulu documentary Tiny Shoulders:...

Last Action Hero Movie Merchandise

In 1991, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the ultimate action star, riding high off the mega-blockbuster that was Terminator 2: Judgement Day and the massive...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: