The Top 10 SNES Games

10. Mega Man X (1993)-
The re-imagining of the Mega Man series turned out to be one of the best games in the series. The character detail in this game is top-notch and represents a huge step up from the 8-bit Mega Man we had come to know. Everything from the series is back: The mega buster, 8 bosses, the collectible enemy weapons, but the additions are what set this game apart from its predecessors. Mega Man can’t slide, but he can dash as well as jump up walls. In lieu of robot bosses with names like “Crash Man” or “Gemini Man” you have animal-themed robot bosses like “Frost Penguin” and “Spark Mandrill”. When you acquire one of the hidden upgrades, you can now charge the weapons you gain from the bosses. This wonderful game has spawned 7 sequels, and rumor is that Mega Man X9 will be made sooner or later.

9. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers (1994)-
The 3rd of 4 Street Fighter games to hit the SNES, Super Street Fighter 2 built on the success of the previous 2 games, while managing to add 4 more characters to the roster, bringing the amount of characters at your disposal to 16. If Fei Long, Cammy, T. Hawk, or Dee Jay aren’t you thing, don’t worry, the veteran characters received some changes. Most notably, Ryu now has the ability to throw a fireball that will cause his opponent to catch fire, while Ken, on the other hand, can set his opponent on fire with his fierce dragon punch. Another great new feature that adds to the 2 player fun is the Group Battle mode, where you can choose up to an 8-man team to battle your opponent in consecutive rounds until one man runs out of characters. All the Street Fighter titles on the Super Nintendo are great, but its additions make SSF2 stands out from the rest.

8. Final Fantasy 2 (4j) (1991)-
The first Final Fantasy game for a console other than the NES is a great one. Final Fantasy 2 (Final Fantasy 4 in Japan, as Final Fantasy 2 and 3 weren’t released here, Final Fantasy 4 and 6 were renamed 2 and 3 as to not confuse American gamers) is famous for introducing the Active Time Battle (ATB) system, where, instead of taking turns battling with the enemy, your characters have a meter that fills over time, and only when the meter is full can your character act. This revolutionary battle system would go on to be used in many Final Fantasy titles, as well as other RPGs. With a gripping story and a quest that spans over 3 different worlds, Final Fantasy 2 is a memorable adventure that set the bar for future Final Fantasy titles.

7. Super Mario RPG (1996)-
The year is 1996. Game developers Nintendo and Squaresoft team up, using the bread and butter of each company to create a hybrid title that has yet to be matched. Nintendo offered up their mascot, the legendary Super Mario. Squaresoft offered up a decade’s worth of spectacular role-playing games under their belt. Super Mario RPG was a strange idea turned into a complete masterpiece. The soundtrack is never boring. The story, while being slightly cheesy, was more than passable. The battles were amazing, with a turn-based system being infused with button-timing to maximize attack damage. The character lineup, though small with 5 players to choose from at the end, is more than satisfying, with 2 whole new characters joining mario, as well as Princess Toadstool and even Bowser himself, whose castle is invaded by the true boss of the game. Since Super Mario RPG, Nintendo has been trying to recapture the magic with the handheld Mario & Luigi titles and the console series, Paper Mario, but this game still shines above them all.

6. Super Metroid (1994)-
The long-awaited true sequel (the Game Boy one doesn’t count) to Metroid was well worth the delay. Super Metroid fixes nearly every annoyance from the first Metroid, while retaining the classic run-and-gun gameplay that made Metroid a standout. The biggest additions are the world map that helps immensely in the backtrack-quests that are necessary to complete the game, and the ability to save your game at certain points, affording the ability to turn off the game without losing all your progress. Once again, the story has Samus Aran fighting space pirates to reach the ultimate goal of defeating Ridley, the leader of the Space Pirates, and Mother Brain, the brains behind the operation (pun intended). With an astounding 96% rating on Gamerankings, Super Metroid is the 19th best-ranked game according to that site, and is a treat for any of those lucky enough to play it.

5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992)-
After the public’s reaction to Zelda 2 (full-scale riots, boycotts, and hunger strikes might only be a slight exaggeration), Nintendo went back to the top-down basics that caused so many to fall in love with the little guy in green in the first place. A Link to the Past has the distinction of being one of the first games that allows you to unlock a completely new version of the world you had just explored. The aptly titled “dark world” has anthropomorphic rabbits, evil villages, and frozen lakes. Link’s inventory in this game is massive, including the debut-item that has been included in some form in almost all Zelda games since, the hookshot. The adventure to unlock the Master Sword and use it to save the 8 maidens from the clutches of the evil Ganon is a memorable one, and the debate is still out as to whether this game or Ocarina of Time is the best in the series.

4. Secret of Mana (1993)-
Secret of Mana puts you in the shoes of an orphaned boy who gets lost in the woods while goofing off with his orphan brothers, only to come across a sword that talks to him that he needs to take in order to cut some bushes down to reach his village. Unbeknownst to the boy, however, is that this sword was sealing away evil monsters that were released around the world when the sword was pulled from its stone. When you get back to the village, everyone is mad at you for causing monsters to appear, leading to the decision to exile you from the village. You find out that the sword you took is the Mana Sword and you start off on a sweet adventure to kill a bunch of monsters, since that’s what you do when you get a sword. Along the way you meet a girl and a sprite, who help you in your quest to find out what the deal is. You get more weapons as you go along (spear, boomerang, axe, etc) and your party mates learn magic to help you out. The perfect blend of Zelda inspired hack-and-slash gameplay and Final Fantasy-like RPG elements, Secret of Mana is truly unforgettable. Also, (!SPOILERS!) The Secret of Mana is that she’s a tree…and she’s your mother. Go figure. (!SPOILERS!)

3. Super Mario World (1991)-
The first of few launch titles for the Super Nintendo (It was a pack-in with the system in the US), Super Mario World was the first foray into 16-bit gaming for most. It’s hard to believe they could improve that much on Super Mario Bros. 3, which had been released only a year earlier, but Nintendo managed it, creating one of the best platformers of all time. Super Mario World retained the world map from Super Mario 3, as well as the boss fights against Bowser’s children. New features included Yoshi, the lovable dinosaur that Mario could ride; alternate exits to levels, revealing different paths and different worlds on the map; and the cape, which allowed Mario to fly on a much less limited basis than the racoon suit from SMB3. Super Mario World set the bar for all platformers to come on the SNES, and it would be hard to say any of the platformers that came after it were any better.

2. Final Fantasy 3 (6j) (1994)-
The last game in the series before the uber-popular Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 3 (Final Fantasy 6 in Japan) features one of the most diverse casts, with playable characters ranging from humans, to moogles, to sasquatches. The world of FF3 is one in which few magic users dwell, thus placing a commodity on the ability to harness this power, with the main antagonist trying to gain it for the purpose of world domination. Final Fantasy 3 was unique for the fact that your characters all had their own special movesets. For example, Edgar can use tools in battle with a range of effects while Sabin learns martial art moves that are performed by entering a certain button combination. While most would point to Final Fantasy 7 as the best game in the series, you can find more than a handful of people who consider this game tops.

1. Chrono Trigger (1995)-
A time-travelling adventure like none other, Chrono Trigger has the player guide their party from the beggining to the end of time. A truly revolutionary game, Chrono Trigger also features multiple endings (over 10), increasing its replay value immensely. On the surface, the battle system is that of Final Fantasy titles from that day, however, key differences that make the battles stand out are the fact that the enemy moves around the screen so certain attacks only work when the enemy is positioned right, and the double and triple techs, which allow you to team up with another character or characters to deliver a myriad of fierce attacks that typically deal greater damage than single attacks. An epic storyline with a great plot twist that has the player realize the enemy they have been seeking out is not the evil force that causes world destruction in the future provides a sturdy backbone for this gem of a game, the greatest title to grace the Super Nintendo.

Honorable Mentions: Donkey Kong Country, Breath of Fire 2, Secret of Evermore, Contra 3, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Kart

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