Lemmings

Description

Lemmings is a 16-bit console adaptation of the 1991 Amiga puzzle-strategy phenomenon, bringing the addictive save-them-from-themselves gameplay to the Super Nintendo. The game tasks players with guiding a horde of green-haired, blue-robed creatures across treacherous environments to a designated exit. The SNES version includes 120 levels divided into four difficulty tiers: Fun, Tricky, Taxing, and Mayhem; each consisting of 30 stages. Players must assign specific skills to individual lemmings, such as digging, building stairs, or acting as blockers, to navigate puzzles that emphasise both logic and precise timing.

Developed originally by the highly regarded UK developer DMA Design, it was ported to consoles by the equally regarded Sunsoft. The SNES port is noted for its faithful translation of the Amiga’s complex level design into a console-friendly format, utilising a cursor-based control system driven by the D-pad. Unlike its sequel, Lemmings 2: The Tribes, the original does not support the SNES Mouse peripheral, as it was released prior to the peripheral’s widespread adoption. To compensate for the lack of a mouse, Sunsoft implemented a time-stop feature and optimised cursor acceleration to allow for the precision required in later, high-density levels. The game also features a unique Two-Player mode with a vertical split-screen layout, where players compete to save more of their respective Blue or Green lemmings within the same level. This feature remains exclusive to specific console versions of the title.

Visually, the SNES version retains the charm of the original sprites while utilising the console’s colour palette to enhance the environmental variety of the landscapes. The soundtrack, arranged by Sunsoft’s internal audio team, is highly regarded for its upbeat renditions of nursery rhymes and classical pieces, such as London Bridge Is Falling Down and Turkish March. These tracks were specifically chosen and arranged to fit the quirky, chaotic atmosphere of the game.

Upon its release in the PAL region, Lemmings was widely praised as one of the best puzzle games on the platform. The UK publication Super Play ranked it 75th in their Top 100 SNES Games list, awarding it a score of 79% and citing its near-perfect translation of the computer original’s addictive qualities. In Australia, the game enjoyed significant longevity, appearing frequently in best of lists in contemporary magazines like Hyper and Nintendo Magazine System Australia during the mid-90s. While some critics noted that the cursor-based movement could be finicky in high-pressure scenarios compared to the original PC mouse controls, the inclusion of the two-player competitive mode was universally hailed as a substantial value-add for the console version. For the Australian market, the title was distributed by Mattel, arriving well before Nintendo Australia.