Paperboy 2 makes for one heck of a '90s time capsule
The question is, do you really want to remember the '90s like this?
This week, I return to the Super NES Works project with the aim of working through the remainder of the system's 1991 U.S. releases over the summer. I wish I could say that this grand return to the world of 16-bit tech is a timeless masterpiece of video game design, but... instead, we have Paperboy 2.
I will say this for Paperboy 2, though. It's heck of ’90s. And not just ’90s, but very specifically transitional ’90s, bleeding over from the ’80s. I mean, check the box art, which features graphic design that resembles nothing so much as a Memphis School hangover. And consider the vaguely anarchic "kids should be rebellious, but in a constructive and socially acceptable way" content here — yeah, you're riding a paper route, but along the way you can make people's lives miserable.
Oh, yeah, and the music is taken straight from Seinfeld.
From what I could determine while researching this episode, the devs behind Paperboy 2 appear to have used the exact same Korg slap-bass sample that Seinfeld's composer leaned on. Whether that's true or not, this is a remarkably funky soundtrack... albeit it in an exceptionally bland sense. And really, is anything more transitional-’90s than bland funk? We should call this game Bland Funk Railroad.
