[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Bonus | Index ]
Did you grow up playing the SNES? We sure did, and it holds a permanent place in our gaming hearts. Or perhaps you played it later in life, but appreciated its gameplay nonetheless. Whatever your reason for coming here, read on for a journey down the nostalgia-filled halls of of our Top 40 Super Nintendo Entertainment System games.
Our entries are listed in order of release, and each one has a gameplay video, release date, genre info, screenshots, and details on why we Delta Attackers feel that the game is one of the best on the system. Be sure to also check out the Bonus section at the end for our Honorable Mentions and the Index for a full list of the games that made the cut.
(Controller image by deviantARTist Doctor-G)
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Super Mario World
Release Date: August 1991
Genre: Platforming
Markham Asylum
This launch title was the only game I had for at least four months when I got my SNES, a fact with which I was completely satisfied. I hadn’t thought that platformers could get better than Super Mario Bros. 3, but I was so wrong. From the look of the overworld (which so inspired me that I used to draw my own variations) to the Yoshis to the switch palaces to the secret exits to the star world to the special world to the steel-drum rendition of the main theme from SMB that would start up after sitting idle in the special world for two minutes, Super Mario World was an amazing leap forward in a series that was already colossally enjoyable.
Mark A. Brooks
This is probably the nostalgia talking, but Super Mario World is still the best Mario game, like, ever. I’ll never forget watching it demo in the electronics section as a kid. I was totally mesmerized. When the attendant came up to me and said “You know, you can play it if you want,” my eyes got big and round and, with a tentative hand, I grabbed that controller.
Half an hour later, it took every ounce of persuasion my dad could muster to rip me away from the thing. At least he knew then what to get for Christmas.
Super Mario World was the premier showcase of what the SNES was all about: Big graphics, big fun, and big games!
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F-Zero
Release Date: August 1991
Genre: Racing
Markham Asylum
Ugh… F-Zero. The game that almost all of me loves, except for whatever part of my brain clashes with the Mode 7 areas outside the tracks. Unlike any other Mode 7-utilizing SNES game, F-Zero gives me a migraine in a handful of minutes, and I almost never get headaches in general. It’s a shame, because it’s a great racer, and I used to really enjoyed playing a track or two before switching to a safer title.
IkeCube
I love F-Zero! I know Markham doesn’t get along well with the game, but for me, this was one hell of an intense ride that brought out my competitive nature. How the game ever shipped without a multiplayer mode is beyond me, but the steady progression of difficulty and the simplistic measurement of success has kept me attached for three- or four-hour gaming sessions. If I loaded it up today, the same would happen.
Mark A. Brooks
F-Zero was one of those games that was so much fun to play, I remember feeling sad to have to bring it back to the rental place. It’s okay, though, because the next weekend I’d come back with more allowance money and bring it home again. This went on for a good month or so.
Y’know, more than anything, commenting on this game makes me miss the feeling of renting games as a child. It used to be a booming business, people! I’m sure GameFly might argue that it still is.
Fade to Slack
F-Zero was one of the first games that had a real sense of speed, even if it was measured in some of that wacky metric that I didn’t quite understand at the time. The futuristic death race nature could easily turn people away, as it did not set well with me for years, but the high stakes is what makes every twist, turn, and jump feel so very intense.
One has to wonder, in the back of their mind, if there would have been a Mario Kart without an F-Zero. Moreover, without the original, we wouldn’t have gotten F-Zero X on Nintendo 64.
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Gradius III
Release Date: August 1991
Genre: Side-Scrolling Shooter
Markham Asylum
Gradius III. Hell yeah. Before this game, every side-scrolling space-shooter I had experienced was pretty limited. Then along came this, with dozens of options for customizing your ship’s arsenal and an impressive variety of levels, and I began to truly love the genre.
Like so many other games on the NES and SNES, the Konami code worked. If you paused and keyed it, you would get full ship upgrades, but with one caveat: you had to replace Left and Right with L and R, otherwise your fighter would explode when you unpaused.
Fade to Slack
I just want to note that the altered Konami Code presented one of the greatest swerves a kid could ever have. I was in shock when I destroyed myself trying to cheat. After Nintendo Power posted the correct code in Classified Information, I had myself a good chuckle.
As far as Gradius III goes, it hasn’t aged well and may even be inferior to other shmups on the SNES, but it’s definitely one of my favorite gaming memories as I rented just about everything I could get my grubby little hands on at the time.
Mark A. Brooks
When I first saw the bubbles in Stage 2, I thought I had seen some the best graphics in the world. I was young and dumb then, though. Still, pivotal moment for me. Beautiful bubble graphics!
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Pilotwings
Release Date: August 1991
Genre: Flight Sim
Fade to Slack
I honestly find Pilotwings to be overrated, but only because the jetpack stages were SO much better than everything else. Am I the only one?
Markham Asylum
It’s been so long since I played Pilotwings that I can’t remember everything I loved about it. The jetpack stages are great, as Fade to Slack mentioned, but I’m sure there were other events that I enjoyed just as much.
What I do recall clearly is that the game does a great job of putting the carrot in your face of increasing your score. For most games, I don’t care, especially not when there are other tangible goals besides achieving the highest score, but Pilotwings instilled a “just one more time” mentality into me for improving my prior runs.
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SimCity
Release Date: August 1991
Genre: City Sim
Fade to Slack
SimCity was, and still is, the premier city-building simulation in my heart of hearts. While there have been numerous updates to the franchise, each adding little complexities for the sake of simulation, this is the top entry for the sake of fun.
The game, developed and published by Nintendo itself, has some small Nintendo quirks. Yes, there’s the nigh-unattainable Mario Statue, but I’ll always remember the first time Bowser came to my little town, StarCity, and went romping and stomping. While players can trigger these natural disasters, it was never my thing. However, if you want your little metropolis to go into a state of emergency, you can go all ants and a magnifying glass. Some people love that sort of thing.
SimCity is simplistic by today’s standards, but sometimes less is more. In the case of SimCity, this was the first and last time that it really hooked me. I didn’t give the series a chance after SimCity 2000 and the great plumbing disaster of 1995.
Mark A. Brooks
Maxis birthed many iterations of SimCity throughout the years, yet despite being rich and complex, none of those games were quite as fun as Nintendo’s SNES version.
Playing this game takes me back to a time when the worst of my worries were how many days were left until the weekend so I could engage in marathon gaming sessions. The music is a fixed part of the soundtrack to my life, and no other game in the series has, in my opinion, struck a balance of simplicity and fun as perfectly as this one.
From a humble village to a sprawling metropolis, SimCity is a microcosm representing the betterment and growing complexity of our very own lives, and it teaches us that just because we can unleash a giant Bowser on our citizens and sabotage all that we’ve come to accomplish, it doesn’t mean we should. But we’ll probably do it anyway.
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Final Fight
Release Date: September 1991
Genre: Beat-’em-up
Fade to Slack
While not a perfect port, having an entire stage and gratuitous underboob ripped out, Final Fight was a portent of terrific Capcom arcade ports to come. It’s slow by today’s standards and enemies could block when you couldn’t, but it’s one of the finer beat-em-ups you’ll find on a console system.
Markham Asylum
Even though it’s slow-moving and definitely should not have been limited to one player, there is something satisfying about Final Fight. I think that, when it was released, it was the right combination of art direction and playstyle. It’s probably aged more like beer than wine, but back in the day, it was pretty damn fun.
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U.N. Squadron
Release Date: September 1991
Genre: Side-Scrolling Shooter
Mark A. Brooks
It doesn’t matter that UN Squadron wasn’t a perfect arcade port – the console version felt right at home on the SNES. It was one of many launch titles that made us realize, right from the start, that the SNES had some serious arcade-emulating power.
UN Squadron stirs up the traditional side-shooter formula by giving you purchasable upgrades and a life meter – sparing you the agony of dying on the first hit. Not that it mattered much – the game could be pretty punishing despite the added buffer – but that simple mechanic made the game feel much different from other mainstream shooters without totally slaying the hardcore appeal these games often tout. I have a soft-spot for the kitschy music, too.
Fade to Slack
I just have to get this out of the way: more shoot-em-ups need life bars.
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ActRaiser
Release Date: November 1991
Genres: Platforming, City Sim
Fade to Slack
ActRaiser is near and dear to my heart. Over the years, as I matured and started to understand the subtext of the game, I have grown to appreciate it even more. How many games, especially twenty years ago, literally let you play as God? As you and the angel that serves you fight for the citizens of the area, you face every manner of mythical beast between platforming and town-building sections. The mixture of action and simulation is still strange to this day, but it is also unforgettable.
The greatest moment, though, comes at the end of the game. With all the evil in the world vanquished, with all people’s troubles washed away, the people no longer worship The Master. They no longer present Him with offerings. No longer do they pray to Him.
ActRaiser is a game where faith is at the forefront. This is gaming’s “Footprints in the Sand.”
Markham Asylum
The mashup of town-sim and action-platforming in ActRaiser is absolutely bizarre, but also absolutely brilliant. In most games that are over ten hours, you’ll probably start to feel that it’s a chore after a certain point, but the alternating genres in ActRaiser help stave off that unwanted sensation.
I love ActRaiser for the same reason that I love Super Mario Bros. 2: it stands far apart from the majority of video games.
Mark A. Brooks
Even though it’s been over a decade since I last played ActRaiser in earnest, I still remember damn near everything about the game. It’s just that unforgettable. ActRaiser managed to smash platforming and simulation together in a way that we never really questioned, and despite the mixture failing to produce similar games down the road, it just plain worked.
Perhaps that’s actually what makes ActRaiser so special: there’s nothing else like it. It’s particular formula, as far as I know, was never imitated or duplicated. Hell, even ActRaiser’s direct sequel didn’t mimic the original – to the detriment of the series, in my opinion.
Presuming the SNES era to be the golden age of gaming, it was on the backs of stellar launch titles like ActRaiser that helped cement its position as the best.
IkeCube
My memories of this game are that of a quirky town-building game with a blend of action. It was certainly unique for its time and it is still fairly unique today. It is definitely one of the top games of the platform due to its uniqueness.
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[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Bonus | Index ]
TweetAbout the Author
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| Markham Asylum is a founding member of Delta Attack. His tier-1 favorite genres are role-playing, puzzle, and strategy. His tier-2 are adventure, shooter, and platformer. He strives to provide spoiler-free postings whenever possible. Markham Asylum has written 398 posts on Delta Attack. |
