You’re sitting in a dark room in 1992. You pop a cartridge into your Super Nintendo, expecting a typical side-scroller with a health bar and maybe some jaunty chiptune music. Instead, you get a cinematic masterpiece that starts with a Ferrari, a lightning bolt, and a particle accelerator gone horribly wrong. This was Out of this World on SNES, or Another World as the rest of the planet knew it, and honestly, it changed everything.
It wasn't just a game. It was a mood.
Most games back then were about collecting coins or jumping on turtles, but Éric Chahi, the visionary behind this project, had something much weirder in mind. He used vector graphics—polygons, basically—to create fluid, rotoscoped animations that looked like a living cartoon. It was minimalist. It was terrifying. And it was incredibly difficult. You didn't have a UI. No score. No timer. Just a scientist named Lester Knight Chaykin trying not to get eaten by a shadowy beast or shot by alien overlords.
The Technical Wizardry of Out of this World on SNES
Getting this game to run on the Super Nintendo was a bit of a miracle. See, the original version was developed on the Amiga, a machine that handled these kinds of polygon-heavy visuals differently than Nintendo’s flagship console. The SNES was a beast at sprite-based 2D art (think Super Mario World), but raw polygon crunching wasn't its primary gig.
To make Out of this World on SNES work, Interplay and Delphine Software had to get creative. They used a "cinematic platformer" engine that prioritized animation over raw frame rate. The result? A game that looked smoother than almost anything else on the market, even if it ran at a lower resolution than the PC version.
One thing people often forget is the music. In the original Amiga version, the sound was atmospheric and sparse. For the SNES release, they actually pumped up the soundtrack. It gave the alien world a more "epic" feel, though some purists argue it ruined the lonely, isolated vibe Chahi intended. If you play it today, that SNES synth still hits a very specific nostalgia nerve. It’s haunting.
👉 See also: Why 3d mahjong online free is actually harder than the classic version
Learning Through Death: The Gameplay Loop
If you played this as a kid, you probably died. A lot.
Within the first thirty seconds, you can get bitten by a poisonous slug or drowned. There’s no tutorial. The game expects you to observe the environment and react. It’s a series of puzzles disguised as an action game. You find a laser pistol early on, but it isn't just for shooting. You can tap the button for a quick shot, hold it for a small force field, or charge it up for a massive blast that destroys enemy cover.
Managing your pistol's energy while navigating collapsing caves or alien prisons was stressful. It was basically the Dark Souls of the early 90s.
That One Bromance
The heart of the game isn't the science; it's the friendship. After Lester gets captured, he meets an alien prisoner affectionately known by fans as "Buddy." You don't speak the same language. There are no subtitles. You just help each other survive. When Buddy pulls you up from a ledge or covers your back during a shootout, it feels more meaningful than ten hours of dialogue-heavy RPG cutscenes.
It's a masterclass in "show, don't tell."
✨ Don't miss: Venom in Spider-Man 2: Why This Version of the Symbiote Actually Works
Why the SNES Version Stands Out
While the Sega Genesis version had some extra levels (the "Arena" sequence), the SNES port is often remembered for its color palette. The SNES could display way more colors simultaneously than the Genesis, which meant the alien sunsets and the deep blues of the underwater caves looked incredibly rich.
However, there was a catch. Censorship.
Nintendo was notoriously "family-friendly" in the early 90s. In the original PC and Amiga versions, there’s a scene where you see alien women in a bath. For the SNES version, they had to add a few pixels of clothing to satisfy the censors. It’s a tiny detail, but it’s a classic example of the "Nintendo Polish" (or "Nintendo Panic") of that era.
The Legacy of Out of this World
Critics at the time didn't always know what to make of it. Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro gave it high marks for its graphics, but some reviewers complained about the "trial and error" gameplay. They weren't wrong. If you don't know exactly where to stand during the flood sequence, you’re toast.
But that was the point. You were a stranger in a strange land.
🔗 Read more: The Borderlands 4 Vex Build That Actually Works Without All the Grind
Today, you can see the DNA of Out of this World on SNES in games like Limbo, Inside, and even The Last of Us. It proved that games could be cinematic without needing thirty minutes of FMV (Full Motion Video) or a Hollywood budget. It relied on art direction and timing.
Misconceptions and Oddities
A common myth is that the game was a sequel to Prince of Persia because the movement felt similar. Nope. While both used rotoscoping (filming real people and tracing over the frames), they were entirely separate projects. Another weird fact: the SNES version has a slight delay in the laser shield activation compared to the 3DO or PC versions. It’s only a few frames, but for speedrunners, it’s a dealbreaker.
Also, can we talk about the ending? No spoilers, but it’s one of the most bittersweet, beautiful moments in 16-bit history. It doesn't give you a "CONGRATULATIONS" screen with fireworks. It gives you a moment of quiet reflection.
How to Experience it Now
If you want to play Out of this World on SNES today, you have choices. You can track down the original cartridge, which isn't ridiculously expensive but is rising in price. Or, you can grab the "20th Anniversary Edition" on modern consoles.
The modern version lets you toggle between the original 1991 graphics and updated high-def visuals. Honestly? Stick with the original pixels. There’s a grit and a mystery to those low-res shapes that the clean HD lines just can't replicate.
Actionable Next Steps for Retro Fans
- Check your hardware: If playing on original hardware, use an S-Video or Component cable. The color depth of the SNES version is its best feature, and composite (yellow plug) cables wash it out.
- Study the manual: The original manual included some "diary entries" from Lester that provided context the game itself intentionally left out. It’s a great read for lore hunters.
- Don't use a guide (at first): Try to beat the first three screens on your own. The satisfaction of figuring out the "swinging cage" puzzle without Google is worth the frustration.
- Watch the "making of": Search for Éric Chahi’s GDC talk. Hearing how one guy basically built this entire world in his bedroom using a custom-made polygon tool is inspiring for any creator.
This game remains a haunting reminder that sometimes, less is more. You don't need a thousand lines of dialogue to tell a story about survival and friendship. You just need a laser pistol, a loyal alien friend, and a very fast Ferrari.