My Top 25 Best SNES Games Ever

Here is yet another installment in my Top 25 Games feature. This time, I went ahead and sat down with a rather extensive list of SNES games and proceeded to play them so as to surmise and properly gauge their value over time while fighting the waves of nostalgia. As it is, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is most assuredly my favorite videogame home console to date. But enough of this reverie; let us get to the actual games.


#25 Illusion of Gaia

Easily on of the best Adventure games of the 16-bit era, Illusion of Gaia takes place on Earth where you take on the role of Will, son of a famous explorer that disappeared many years prior to the events of the game. Will is drawn into events regarding the forced engagement of one princess Kara, attempting to help her escape from her father’s palace. As is to be expected, events become more and more conflictive and convoluted, eventually leading up to what caused Will’s father’s disappearance.
The game in and of it’s self is basically a Zelda-Clone set in the “real” world. You travel through a succession of historically important sites trying to unravel the game’s mysteries. The game’s graphics are top notch for the SNES and possesses radiant colors and fluid sprite animation. The dungeons are pretty well designed, some far better than others, but normally very good. The bosses are entertaining and the plot serves the game’s purposes.
The game itself is the spiritual sequel to Soul Blazer and prequel to Terranigma, other adventure games in the Zelda vein that are considered to be part of a trilogy including Illusion of Gaia. There is even a secret boss which is a tougher iteration of a regular boss from Soul Blazer which will proclaim Will stronger than Blazer should the player vanquish him.
Any action/adventure/rpg fan will likely enjoy this game. I’ve been wishing for a new game in the “series” for nearly 10 years now. Here’s hoping the folks Square-Enix – and Quintet Co. Ltd., the game’s developers - remember this nearly forgotten franchise and gifts us all with a new game.

#24 The Lost Vikings

What’s not to like? It’s Vikings, after all. Who doesn’t like Vikings? Well, yeah, maybe all those whose villages were once pillaged by them, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that Vikings effin’ rule!
The game’s premise is that an alien by the name of Tomator the Croutonian has kidnapped Eric the Swift, Olaf the Stout and Baleog the Fierce while they were out hunting in order to add them to his gallery of life forms.
The game is an action puzzler of ingenious design; it is chock full of humor and quirky little details that make it a truly enjoyable experience. You basically use the different skills of all three Vikings in tandem while attempting to foil Tomator and escape the massive space ship they happen to be trapped inside of.
Blizzard’s 16-bit forays were certainly full of quirky personality (recall Rock n’ Roll Racing?) and The Lost Vikings is certainly not the exception. Here is another title that should be revived for the newer generations.

#23 F-Zero

The futuristic racing game that still rocks my socks off, F-Zero is easily the best racing game on the Super Nintendo. The sense of speed given by the rapidly scrolling screens was nothing short of awe inspiring back in the early 90’s and it conveys the proper visual effect quite proficiently even today.
There’s a story somewhere in there. Something about Captain Falcon, this intergalactic cop. It is all rubbish, really, but who cares? It’s a racing game, damnit, and one hell of a racing game at that! The vehicle designs are great and the tracks are quite challenging, which makes for some amount of frustration at times, but never so much as to detract from the overall experience.
A must in any SNES fan’s library, if you ask me, F-Zero did speed like no other racer of its time.

#22 Secret of Mana

Back in the days of the early and mid 1990’s being able to play a Japanese RPG, let alone a good one, was something truly special. An even any gamer privy to the genre would hold in high esteem. A momentous happening, you will. Such was the case with Square Soft’s Secret of Mana.
Sporting beautiful, bright pastel colors and a distinctive design, SoM is easily one of the prettiest games on the venerable Super Nintendo console. From the bright yellow bunny enemies from the game’s introductory sequences to the opulence of the many backgrounds, the game is rife with vibrant 16-bit color.
The story is the usual fare to those familiar with the Mana series: the Mana tree is in danger and must be saved lest the world be destroyed. It’s pretty basic stuff. The meat of the game is in the actual gameplay. SoM is and action/rpg. The game controls like your average console role-player but the battles happen in real-time and has the once revolutionary feature of allowing a friend to battle cooperatively whenever battles are engaged, therefore a pseudo-two-player rpg.
Having said that the game’s value is found in it’s rather inventive mechanics, there is not much left to say about it other than that it is, musically, quite good as well. Square titles of the 16-bit era have some of the best musical scores in videogaming history and SoM is no exception.

#21 Super Mario RPG

A collaboration made in videogame heaven, back in 1996 Nintendo tapped RPG Geniuses Square Soft in order to produce a seemingly unlikely game: a role-playing game based on the Super Mario Bros. universe. To me, a teenager who had temporarily quit videogames at the height of his RPG love affair, it seemed only logical that such a game be produced. In fact, it would’ve seemed logical to me back then that almost any popular franchise not converted to RPG videogame form be given the “geekening” (role-playing treatment). So it was with much anguish and will power that I managed to steer clear of this title for good while (my relapse into videogaming came about with advent of the Saturn’s RPG onslaught and Final Fantasy VII).
The game takes place in a pseudo-3D, isometric rendition of the much-visited Mushroom Kindgdom. The visual design often evokes a “claymation-like” quality that only serves to heighten the already bright and colorful graphics befitting of any Mario series game.
The gameplay, in general, is a mix between the usual RPG veneer with a few platforming elements thrown in to keep a sense of consistency with the source material. The battles, however, are an effective combination of the RPG turn-based canon with timing-based attacks the likes of which can still be seen in subsequent, contemporary RPG iterations within the Mario franchise.
The music is run-of-mill Mario goodness with some much-lauded Square Soft know-how thrown in for good measure, which brings us gamers a very unique take on the works of the Big N’s prize composers. The score has nothing but classics all the way.
The story centers on the usual Bowser kidnaps Peach/Daisy and Mario must come to the rescue. In this case, Mario must solve the secret of the Seven Stars in order to reach Bowser’s mock-menacing abode. The script, so to speak, is ridden with in-jokes and rampant silliness perfect for the light tone of the Mario universe, making for a thoroughly enjoyable story that, while involving, doesn’t take itself seriously at all.
Not long ago I would wish for a GBA re-issue of this great oddity of a title, but now I know that the issues involving legal matters there are a territory Nintendo would rather not travel. So we are left with no updates. Fortunately the series grows strong with time. I can’t recommend this game enough to any SNES owner.


#20 Chrono Trigger

Ah, to be twelve again and play Chrono Trigger like it’s the only thing I have to worry about in the world. Back then I could do it. I didn’t find school to be particularly tough, just overly annoying and too much of a hassle socially… but that was before high school and my rebelliousness netting me some much needed respect. I digress.
CT is easily one of the games I most anticipated for the SNES. Why? Hironobu Sakaguchi - Mr. Final Fantasy himself -, teaming up with Akira Toriyama for an RPG. Sure, they’re back at it now with the upcoming Blue Dragon on the Xbox360, but when I was a child such a pairing was something rare and glorious.
What can be said about such a wonderful pairing’s virtual offspring? That it is a work of game design genius.
CT set forth something I had never before seen in a game. A lack of linearity that seemed to give me the freedom to beat the game at any time I saw fit once I’d beaten the game the first time, thus granting the player access to a bevy of endings to be experienced.
Gameplay-wise, the game is very much like all other RPG’s of the time save for the pseudo-real time battle system and the fact that you could see most enemies onscreen prior to actual engagement. Other than these little bits, the game mechanics are the usual RPG fare. In place of a magic system, the game has a technique system from which the characters learn new techs as they level up. All expected RPG conventions are here.
The visuals are great, to the point that you can identify Toriyama’s style right from the get-go. The array of colors used on the characters and environments is truly beautiful. A bit of a glimpse of what could be expected of Square Soft games to come.
Musically, as is to be expected, the game is right up there with the Final Fantasies. This is a game which’s score has sold constantly well in a myriad different forms and is by any standard a classic.
The overall experience of playing Chrono Trigger was one I cherish in memory; one that bids me return to the Epoch in order to plunder, yet again, the many riches to be found in the varying times and locations of the game. Thirteen endings, all of them unique in their quirks and details, make completion of the game a necessary task for those who want to get the whole deal squared off, not one of daunting obnoxiousness in game design. One of my favorite endings: getting to speak with certain bigwigs and creators within the game itself. That’s the best fan service I’ve ever experienced in a game to date!
Here’s hoping for a remake.
PLAY THIS!


#19 Earthbound

How I hate you, Nintendo! Yes, I do love you still, but how I hate you for leaving us in the dark in regards to the Mother/Earthbound series!
I remember when a friend of mine bought this game in its odd box. A game I wanted but could not afford at the time (or convince my parents to buy, for that matter). How I loved the fact that he didn’t like the game. So I decided to trade his copy of Earthbound for my copy of Aero the Acrobat. A fine trade, I say. I certainly came out with the upper hand from my vantage point.
Pretty much a regular role-player, Earthbound’s charm is to be found in its rather unique visual design and offbeat humor. Yoot Saito’s brainchild is an odd little puppy, sporting simplistic graphics even for the SNES standards and having the story set on Earth, in a fictitious town centering on Ness, a small elementary school kid with a bat. The premise is that a meteor falls near Ness’s house and, as he investigates, is befriended by a talking mosquito that warns him of the coming of an evil alien bent on destroying the planet. It turns out that Ness possesses psychic abilities that mark him as one of the few people who might foil the alien invasion. The mosquito is shortly thereafter killed by one of the hero’s neighbors. From hereon Ness must traverse the world recruiting other exceptional children like him to aid him on his noble quest.
Earthbound apparently didn’t do too well sales-wise, but it certainly attained one hell of a cult following. One cannot comprehend how Nintendo has not capitalized on this, but Nintendo has made some pretty stupid blunders by neglecting obvious moves before, so it’s really no surprise.
In any case, Earthbound is a very unique game, in terms of presentation and aesthetics, and for these very reasons should be experienced by every RPG player out there. Do it!

#18 Super Mario Kart

Back when I was a kid anything that had Mario on it I would lust after. Hence, I managed to get myself a copy of Mario Kart as soon as I could and I didn’t look back. Easily the third multiplayer game to get the most play out of my Super Nintendo library (bested only by Super Double Dragon and Street Fighter 2), everything in the game is beautifully executed. Sure, the AI cheats like crazy on 150cc, but who cares! It’s frustratingly fun even at its highest difficulty.
I really shouldn’t have to give any further illustration as to how this game plays. Seriously! This game is the reason why the Kart Racer sub-genre even exists. It all boils down to this: if you’ve played a kart racing game, then you have played an extension of Super Mario Kart.

#17 Super Ghouls & Ghosts

No other game is synonymous with so many curse words and expletives, broken controllers and punched walls, rabid tantrums and uncontrollable screams of agony as this here gem of a ball-breaker.
Have you beaten this game? Have you REALLY beaten this game? If so, you are to be admired and worshiped as a videogamer. Few have accomplished this. It stands as, hands down, my greatest videogame feat.
If you played Maximo: Ghosts to Glory on PS2, think of this game as Maximo only 100 times harder and less forgiving. Then you might get an inkling as to what this might be like. Hell, they should probably use this game as punishment for certain inmates!
Don’t know what I’m talking about? Find it. I dare you. Or find the GBA re-issue. Go on. You’ll be weeping. I assure you!


#16 Mickey Mania

There was a time - long ago by industry standards - when Disney games being good was the norm and not the exception. That was the time when companies like Capcom developed and published games based on IP’s like Duck Tales and Dark Wing Duck. It was good time to be a kid. The best game to ever be based on a Disney franchise alone was none other than that which celebrates its most prominent character’s 75th anniversary: Mickey Mania.
This game was platforming heaven. Beautiful visual for stages spanning the entire history of Mickey Mouse, from Steamboat Willy to Fantasia, filled players’ eyes as they made their way through this suitably challenging platformer.
This game is the crowing jewel of an era when Disney games were games anyone could play and enjoy without feeling that the games were too forgiving.

#15 Star Fox

A friend of mine and I rented this game on a Friday night and played clear through it over the course of the weekend. We stayed up hours and hours trying to make it one stage further every single time. Once we beat it by early, very early Sunday morning, we slept until lunchtime and then proceeded to hit the game once more for good measure.
The FX chip was this new technology added to the SNES carts in order to enhance graphics, although in reality all it did was make the graphics somewhat blocky but shinier as well as add new textures. Star Fox’s graphics were really cool back then and obviously its most prominent selling point. The game itself, thankfully, was on par with the graphics.
I still play this game from time to time and find that it has aged quite well. I guess good space shooters are a little like wine. They seem to get better the more you play them and with the years they tend to stay just as good.

#14 Super Castlevania IV

Before I go ahead, I want to state the Castlevania may very well be my favorite series of all time. There. I have said it. Now, onto the actual note.
Castlevania IV is very much a remake of 1 and 3, in a sense. The story is basically the same. What truly sets this one apart is the graphical upgrade that made it a must have amongst SNES owners and the ability to use the whip to attack in 8 different directions. The platforming action is top notch and the bosses are nothing but spectacular. What more can I say? It’s freakin’ ‘Vania!

#13 Earthworm Jim

Another platformer worth more than its weight in salt, so to speak. EWJ and its sequel are easily the best run and gun platformers of their time coming in close after Super Metroid. Zany animations, oddly bizarre storylines and jokes, Jekyll/Hyde afflicted dogs and plenty of cows. EWJ is one tough mother of a game, but one well worth playing through for the sheer opportunity of experiencing it in all its unhinged glory. Inventive and weird, the bosses are amongst the best I have experienced and will likely frustrate more than a few players. The platforming exploration is a plus in the positively sprawling stages.
Here’s hoping for a next-gen 2D iteration. In the meantime get either of the SNES/Genesis/PSOne iterations.

#12 Super Metroid

A franchise I had thought lost at the time, Metroid is mandatory playing for any self-respecting shooter fan. You couldn’t imagine my joy upon hearing – reading, really, but bear with me – the news that a new Metroid game was being made for the Super Nintendo.
A good amount of time later – as it the case with all highly awaited Nintendo titles – Super Metroid was duly acquired and played till my thumbs doubled the size of their respective callous.
One thing has been engraved in my mind from that game, and that is the boss fight with Ridley. Everything else is just there to fill the rest of the game up.
This game is amazing. As in Castlevania’s case, one can only wonder what a 2D Metroid done in today’s hardware would look like.

#11 Super Contra 3: The Alien Wars

This game didn’t take the number one spot simply because, in an age of deeper gameplay, this approximation to shooter heaven came up a bit shallow. Not to worry, however, as this is the best Contra game to have ever been released.
Take everything that was good from its 8-bit predecessors then add new weapons, bigger levels, tougher bosses and an upgraded graphics engine. Voila! The Alien Wars!
So many hours of my childhood and teenage years were squandered on this little gem. Getting the “real” ending by beating it on hard was such a blast and is something everyone should attempt at least once. You can’t really describe Contra for its essence is in the subtleties and the finesse with which the game was developed. Damn it! I feel the Contra fever coming on!

#9 Super Double Dragon

A beat’em-up. Actually, THE beat’em-up. An upgraded, properly evolved iteration of the venerable classic fighter, Super Double Dragon is easily the best console only walkin’-fighter in history.
To my friends and I this game is the truest form of fighter of the arcade old-school path. The mechanics are simply wonderful. Every single punch has a satisfying sound effect that almost makes you feel as if you had really punched someone in the face. A visceral score if ever there was one. So many ways to beat up on the bad guys! The possibilities seem near endless. The bosses are memorable; the action is non-stop. What more do you want from a game like this!?



#10 Final Fight

Ah, how I sunk quarter after quarter after quarter when I was a wee lad playing violent games in the arcades. This is the second game in standing as far as quarters spent, bowing out only to the mighty Street Fighter 2.
Sure, the SNES port lacks Guy and a Co-op mode. What beat’em-up could possibly survive without a Co-op mode? Final Fight! That’s which!
This is a game that could do with one player what others needed two players to achieve. A lot of things were changed from the arcade original; stages modified and downright removed, bosses altered, enemies modified, but the game comes through as a classic fighter all the way.

#8 Super Punch Out

For some reason I like the original console iterations of Punch Out better than the 16-bit update. This game, however, comes incredibly close. It’s basically the same game with new contenders and a graphical upgrade. So what can you add about a game that was already near damn perfect and that hasn’t really been changed in any significant way? Absolutely nothing.
Super Punch Out is a tough game. I actually found it a bit tougher then the original, and that’s saying something. I wouldn’t expect anyone to dislike this game for any reason. If any one dislikes it, it is simply because they lack taste. Period.

#7 Demon’s Crest

Firebrand is a bastard! Yes, he is. But in this game he becomes a cool bastard. After terrorizing gamers the world round in the Ghouls and Ghosts series, the winged red demon makes an outing in a console game (I never really played the Gameboy games).
This game is not nearly as sadistically hard as the series it stems from, but that’s not to say that the game is in any way a pushover. No. Demon’s Crest is a pretty challenging game in every respect. It’s non-linear nature makes it more challenging, for now the player must know where to look for certain things in certain stages in order to get the right ending. Thankfully, since it’s only a difficult game within mortal standards, it is suitably inviting for subsequent replays.
Controlling Firebrand could be cumbersome at times, but his different transformations were very well implemented and never really became obsolete throughout the quest.
The graphics are somewhat darker than the usual Ghouls and Ghosts cadre, possessing a “Dantesque” flair espoused in the ominous visuals. The music conveys the proper feeling, harpsichord passages being the highlight of the score.
This game should likely be considered as an introduction to the GnG series, being somewhat more accessible and easy.

#6 Final Fantasy III (VI)

This is the best of the old-school Final Fantasies and no one can, in their right minds, question this indelible fact. The ineffable truth of it all is that this was the most perfectly designed RPG of the 16-bit and 8-bit Generation. Some will likely balk at it being placed at number 6 and not at a higher spot, but I have based this on just how much time I spent playing and how much enjoyment I got. Trust me when I say that, though I have played through this game some 5 times – and by this I mean fully -, I have obviously find other games to be better balanced overall in terms of sheer fun and enjoyment. And now for the game itself.
Square came in with full force when Final Fantasy 3 (6) was released for the Super Nintendo. No RPG fan could contain the anxiety, the desperation, the deep yearning they felt for this game. The game is simply sublime. As large a cast of characters as you will ever find, all fully developed and lovingly illustrated. A huge world to explore and plunder; secrets abound in every recess of the planet. A villain so iconic as to be FF’s Joker! What more could any gamer want?
Graphically it is the most beautiful RPG on the system (only Chrono Trigger can claim a similar boast), what with lush colors and diverse character designs. The game is a wonder to behold on the SNES. The music is emotive and haunting, enthralling the player from the very beginning. The story is the best that can be found on the system and is carried out phenomenally well.
Optional characters, secrets by the ton, a myriad mini-games; Final Fantasy 3 (6) is a staple to any and every RPG collection. If anyone likes the FF series and has never played this, they must. This is the one Final Fantasy everyone should play to learn about the series’ roots.

#5 Joe & Mac: Cavemen Ninja

Who would have ever thought that battering dinosaurs to death with bones, fire and rock wheels could be so much fun? Certainly not me, but I sure am glad someone did!
Joe and Mac are the reason why dinosaurs are now extinct! Never you mind that hogwash about no meteorite and all that hubris. Cavemen ninjas did the lizards in! Apparently, the gargantuan lizards were possessed by Satan - or some such devil -, for which reason the “caveman two-some” were compelled to exterminate them in order to exorcise the entity. Or so I am led to believe by the game’s story.
The game is nothing but platformer fun, non-stop. The bosses are fun, the stages are challenging and the visuals are great. The sound is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done.
Nothing much I can say other than the game being hella-fun, especially in two-player Co-op.

#4 Street Fighter 2: The New Warriors

All Street Fighter 2 iterations fit here. I began playing it in the arcades back in the early 90’s and moved on to the World Warriors SNES cart. Then I moved on to the Turbo Edition and I finally found the highest form of fighter bliss on The New Warriors.
I consider this final SNES installment of the game to be the epitome of the cart days of Street Fighter. The controls were spot-on perfect and the characters, the full roster, was as faithful a port of the arcade game as I could afford.
I played this game more than any other on the console and possibly more than any other game ever. Anyone who’s ever played a fighter in 2D know what Street Fighter 2 is. I need say nothing more.

#3 Yoshi’s Island

I found it odd that the pseudo-sequel to the game a system pretty much launched with would come at the end of said console’s life cycle. Such was the case of Yoshi’s Island. A game so perfect by any platformer standards that, were this some sci-fi story, the game would have already become self-aware and become a videogame deity.
Some have even gone on to proclaim this game as the best platformer ever! Quite frankly, they may be right.
Pastel coloring (notice how many awesome SNES games have pastel color schemes!) with crayola-evoking graphics make this a cart-full of Nintendo brand gaming bliss.
If you have never played this, you owe it to yourself to buy the GBA version at least. I myself have only recently acquired it. It has extra levels and a few surprises! GET IT!

#2 Super Mario World

Super Mario World is the first Super Nintendo game I ever played. I distinctly remember watching the commercials for the game and the system on the telly and drooling as I daydreamed of owning on soon. Thankfully, I got my SNES soon after.
I played this game with my sister to point that even to this day I could likely narrate the entire game off the top of my head. I can’t even conjure up the words to describe the feeling of euphoria upon starting up the game for the first time or the first time I made it to Bowser’s castle or even the first battle with the obese turtle king himself. I like this game so much I not only have the original cart but I own the GBA version as well!
If you don’t like Mario games you are dead at heart.

#1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Yes, indeed! It is the number-one SNES game in my library. The game I have played through more times than I could conceivably number (must be in the high 40’s, I kid you not). The game that made me love my SNES beyond all appropriate feelings towards an inert piece of electronic machinery. Zelda for the Super Nintendo! The very first game revisited and upgraded. A Link to the past.
The graphics blew me away (it was one of the first SNES games I played… the launch line-up was really, really bad) with its glossy blues and greens and magentas. The very amount of detail was too much eye candy for me to take. The animations, the amount of enemies on screen, the sheer size of the game itself… man! This is THE Zelda game to play if you want to get a feel for the game’s roots.
I remember music to have always been one of the things I loved about the Zelda series and, joyously, Nintendo delivered with updated tunes and new compositions that evoke nothing but a sense of adventure and wonder at the world one traverses as Link. The sound effects were nothing short of magical, making Hyrule seem all the more alive.
Going back to the NES original’s gameplay style, AlttP does everything the series is known for to Nth power; there are literally tons of secrets and quests to discover as well as a veritable treasure trove of items both mandatory and optional. The dungeon designs are the stuff of videogame legend, being so well mapped-out and ingeniously devised so that every bit of a dungeon-crawl will challenge and entertain the player. The bosses are nothing but amazing, starting off as somewhat easy at the beginning and then gradually spiking to the point of frustration at the very end, making for the very mold all other Zelda iterations and wanna-bes are still using.
Ask me any time, any day, in whatever state of mind I may be and I will invariably answer this: A Link to the Past is, hands-down, the best Super Nintendo game and one of the best games in history.