Following some of the legendary Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was an instant success upon its release. One of the most successful console launches in history, Nintendo quickly sold out of the initial shipment of 300,000 systems. The SNES offered us a ground-breaking opportunity to play video games at home at a relatively low cost at the time of its release.
With Mortal Kombat, Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and, of course, some of the best Mario games, the system offered classic games as well as sequels to some of the best NES games. Many players recall fond memories of the system, but due to its long history, some of our favorites have vanished. We've compiled a list of some of the best SNES games to highlight some of these forgotten classics.
Check out our reviews of the best games for the Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, Wii, and Switch if you're interested in learning about the history of Nintendo. Digital Trends' list of the 50 best video games of all time also includes a lot of great Nintendo games.
Mortal Kombat II
The first Human Kombat caused disturbances in light of its horrifying and until then concealed degrees of brutality, yet the subsequent portion caused disturbances since it was a damn decent battling game. Although the early Mortal Kombat games have since been surpassed in terms of gameplay, they were exceptional at the time. In addition to being one of the first games to feel like an "adult" experience, the game's hyperviolent gore was novel. The Mortal Kombat series, along with games like Doom, pushed the boundaries of appropriate content and made video games appealing to older audiences. In hindsight, they were certainly more juvenile than "mature." Mortal Kombat II was an important game in the context of the series because it introduced new combos and faster gameplay that would later influence how other games in the series played. Of course, Mortal Kombat III added new characters and expanded the story of the series. However, from a gameplay perspective, Mortal Kombat II was the foundation for the series' current state: a fundamental component of fighting games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
It may come as a surprise that only one beat 'em up is included on this list for a genre that was so prevalent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The sad truth is that beat 'em ups simply haven't held up as well as other classic gaming genres. Beat 'em ups often feel flat and repetitive by today's standards, a product of a time when arcade games were difficult and sought to continuously milk gamers of their pocket change. Even by the end of the 1990s, most video games had moved past the design philosophy of "beat everyone up and move right." Having said that, there are some games that have survived despite the limitations of their genre to remain enjoyable. Without a doubt, Turtles in Time is the best beat 'em up game for the SNES and possibly the best game ever made in the genre. Every kid in the '90s wanted to wear the cloak of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, or Raphael with a friend and test your strength against Shredder and a slew of foes from different eras of history. The graphics on the SNES version were a slight improvement over the arcade version, but overall, it was a near-perfect port. The arcade-style speed and fluidity were maintained by the controls, which felt smooth and responsive. This is a major reason why Turtles in Time is still an enjoyable game to play. It's the best way to play it at home unless you want to buy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade1Up system.
Kirby's Dream Course
Despite the fact that Kirby is better known for his classic side-scrolling adventures, his best SNES game was surprisingly a golf game. The game's consistency, which we can't say about other golf games on the system, is what makes Kirby's Dream Course such a joy to play. While the game's physics were never realistic, they did behave logically, which made progressing through the game's six challenging courses enjoyable. Kirby's Dream Course is both the best golf game on the SNES and the best Kirby game thanks to the classic Kirby enemies and power-ups sprinkled throughout each stage. The stages are masterfully crafted, making Kirby's Dream Course the best golf game on the SNES.
Star Fox
Given that some of the most exquisite sprite work ever created appeared on Nintendo's 16-bit hardware, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) is most commonly associated with pushing 2D graphics. However, the Mode 7 Chip, a minor addition that allowed for 3D rendering, is frequently overlooked by many. Most of the time, the Mode 7 chip produced only flashy 3D animations over 2D sprites as its effects. That was turned around in Star Fox, which used sprites for extra flair and focused on 3D polygonal graphics. Despite the fact that Star Fox's graphics haven't aged well, as is the case with most games with early 3D graphics, it makes our list because it was fun to play. Each stage of the action takes place on a different planet or sector of the Lylat solar system, and the action moves through multiple stages. In addition, the difficulty of each stage varies, and there are branching paths, making it easy to replay. From a perspective that gave the impression of actually flying the starfighter—something console gamers had never experienced before—the gameplay highlighted each stage as you piloted the iconic ArWing. It was reminiscent of 2D shoot-em-up side-scrollers. Star Fox became a long-running Nintendo franchise as a result of its critical and commercial success. However, the original game remains one of the best, including Star Fox 2, which has not been cancelled.
F-Zero
When it was released in 1991 alongside the SNES, F-Zero was a remarkable achievement. The fast-paced racing game was unlike any other racing game before it in appearance and gameplay. The sense of speed that the game conveyed is what made F-Zero such an excellent showcase of the SNES's power. The system's powerful, newly developed hardware made the futuristic sci-fi aesthetic of the ships and environments pop as tracks and vehicles zipped across the screen. F-Zero's cast of racers and iconic sci-fi vehicles further differentiated the game from other racing games for the system and won over fans. Having said that, given how few games Nintendo has made in the F-Zero series, it should come as no surprise that fans are eager for a new game.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In the ranks of great SNES role-playing games, Super Mario RPG is somewhat of a pariah. Because it doesn't have as much story or character development as other RPGs, it feels more like one. Instead, Super Mario RPG occasionally plays more like a standard Super Mario game, giving the role-playing genre a more lighthearted and action-oriented spin. However, Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario, Nintendo's more recent RPGs, were also influenced by the game. Both games heavily borrow gameplay elements from Super Mario RPG, including timed attacks and crucial plot twists, the latter of which involves teaming up with Bowser, Mario's greatest foe. Despite not being particularly challenging, Super Mario RPG is a significant Super Mario game that is charming and enjoyable.
Shadowrun
One of the best role-playing games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) had nothing to do with crystals, medieval castles, or ancient magic, despite the SNES's long history as a bastion of the Japanese genre. Additionally, it was made in the United States. Based on the tabletop roleplaying game of the same name, Shadowrun stood out from its peers due to its distinctive setting and real-time action gameplay. The story of the game, which took place in a cyberpunk metropolis in the year 2050, was loosely based on Robert N. Charrette's novel Never Deal with a Dragon. While players experienced mythical beings, orcs, samurai, wizards, and so on., The way these fantasy tropes were presented in the future was original. Shadowrun also played differently than most other console role-playing games of the time, more like PC role-playing games of the time. Players had direct control over Jake Armitage, the main character, as the action took place in real time. Despite the game's unique setting and gameplay, which earned it critical praise, few copies were sold. The series languished in obscurity for years, and a failed Xbox 360 and PC FPS set in the same universe only made matters worse. Thankfully, after years of requests for remakes and sequels, Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun Dragonfall were released as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign.
ActRaiser
ActRaiser was a one-of-a-kind game at the time, and it still is to this day. The game gets a lot of praise for being both an action platformer and a city builder at the same time. Players took on the role of "The Master," also known as the God of ActRaiser's world. In the platforming levels, "The Master" controls a warrior statue, who can also be played as a character, and gives orders to a cherubic angel, who can be played as a character in the city-sim sequences. However, the merging of the two styles was not exactly seamless. Even though both the city-building and platforming aspects of the game contributed equally to the game's overall meta-goals, they looked and played very differently. The jarring differences between the two styles added to the game's charm in an odd way. In addition, both modes were executed well, and the whole thing was a lot of fun to play. Unfortunately, the city simulation elements were dropped from ActRaiser 2 and the series faltered a little. This is not to say that ActRaiser 2 is a bad game in and of itself; rather, it lacks many aspects of the original that made it stand out. ActRaiser is still one of the most original games ever made, despite the fact that the sequel may not be as well-liked. In 2019, a spiritual successor known as SolSeraph attempted to duplicate the magic but failed miserably.
