Summary
- The Super Nintendo Entertainment System had a golden era of acclaimed games that are now considered classics, introducing many iconic franchises and shaping the console’s vast library.
- Top SNES games like Super Mario Kart, EarthBound, and Super Metroid continue to inspire new games and hold a special place in the hearts of players from that generation.
- The Super Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World were major milestones for their respective series, delivering stunning visuals, polished gameplay, and evolving the platforming genre. Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger are also celebrated for their emotionally fulfilling stories and engaging gameplay. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past remains one of the franchise’s best games even after 30 years.
The 16-bit console era was largely characterized by the Super Nintendo Entertainment System‘s steady string of acclaimed games now comfortably regarded as classics. It was a golden era for Nintendo, with many iconic franchises fleshing out the console’s vast library of titles. The console was a massive success that contributed a lot towards introducing the everyday family to the joy of having video games in the home, and its games became familiar enough that many modern games still pay homage to or are inspired by them.
The Super Nintendo was where many beloved series started, such as Mario Kart, which is still going strong, and even the classic Chrono Trigger, which continues to inspire new games today, including the excellent turn-based RPG Sea of Stars. Although the SNES made its debut in 1991, its games remain permanently in the hearts of many players from that generation. There are far too many incredible SNES games to list, but below are the top ten games from that console that have earned a place in gaming history.
Super Mario Kart
Nearly everyone has played a version of Mario Kart at least once in their life, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still going strong with frequent content updates for the Nintendo Switch. Back in 1992, Super Mario Kart for the SNES was the game that started it all. It was the original Mario Kart racing game, and it has inspired numerous clones ever since, and was one of the first to champion multiplayer gaming with its split-screen approach for two players. It truly became the first party game, and has continued to improvise on this concept ever since.
Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
Prior to becoming what is now Square Enix, a company known for franchises such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Square collaborated with Nintendo to make the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Using Square’s expertise in RPG development, and mixing in some very Mario mini-games and humor, Super Mario RPG became a beloved favorite that has been played and replayed many times over the decades. Now, the upcoming remake of it is going to be opening the doors for a whole new generation of Mario RPG fans.
EarthBound
Though it underwhelmed commercially upon its international release, EarthBound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) has since become an acclaimed cult-classic JRPG. The game stars Ness alongside a colorful supporting cast of characters as they travel to defeat Giygas, a cosmic threat aiming to destroy the universe. In the decades since its original release, EarthBound has been critically acclaimed for its originality and brand of charm. EarthBound features subversive elements that poke fun at the wider JRPG subgenre through its cartoonish humor, using that surface-level childlike whimsy as a gateway for surprising dark meta-commentary on things like political corruption and rampant Western consumerist culture.
Mega Man X
Capcom’s Mega Man franchise is a beloved series that’s also seen better days. The last major game was Mega Man 11 in 2018, and while the game was well-received, it’s been mostly quiet ever since. Nonetheless, the series has amassed its fair share of classics. The Super Nintendo’s Mega Man X is still often cited as one of the best in the franchise, with the game revitalizing the action-platformer from prior 8-bit entries. Mega Man X was widely well-received for refreshing its control scheme, graphics, and level design, effectively marking the first major “reinvention” of the Mega Man games.
Super Metroid
It’s great for longtime series fans to see the Metroid franchise be so affectionately embraced in the wider mainstream space after the Nintendo Switch’s Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered. Super Metroid is the third entry in the main series, taking place after the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Samus Returns. It elevated the series to new heights, bringing more refined action-platforming gameplay and an even more atmospheric presentation. Super Metroid was lauded for its ominous Alien-like ambiance, and helped usher in the popularity of the famed “Metroidvania” subgenre – alongside Castlevania.
Donkey Kong Country
The original Donkey Kong arcade game was wildly popular in its own right, but it became most famous for birthing Jumpman, the character that would eventually evolve into Nintendo’s flagship mascot, Mario. The Super Mario Bros. games would go on to dominate the NES era, but in 1994, the Donkey Kong series got reinvented for home consoles with the Super Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country. The side-scrolling platformer achieved a trifecta, delivering incredible visuals, music, and gameplay. Its success catapulted developer Rare to stardom, and cemented the studio as one of Nintendo’s premier second-party partners during the era.
Super Mario World
It’s unsurprising to see the Mario franchise on this list, as the famous Italian plumber is still one of Nintendo’s most enduring staples. Before Super Mario 64 revolutionized how people looked at video games, Super Mario World was another major milestone for the series. The game was acclaimed at the time for its stunning new visual presentation over the previous 8-bit era and, more importantly, evolving the side-scrolling platformer genre. Platforming gameplay was more polished than ever, with more precise controls, plenty of levels, as well as hidden ones to discover.
Final Fantasy 6
The discussion of which mainline Final Fantasy game is the best in the franchise is one that’ll be endlessly debated. Final Fantasy has enjoyed 35 years of being one of the pillars of gaming and the JRPG subgenre, with several cemented as all-time classics. Final Fantasy 6 is one of the most approachable Final Fantasy games for newcomers, as well as having one of the most emotionally fulfilling stories and characters. Impressively, the game accomplishes this while having 14 party characters. Final Fantasy 6 tastefully blends high fantasy with a steampunk aesthetic, following Terra and co. as they join to resist and topple a tyrannical dictatorship.
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger was another landmark game for its home console, genre, and the gaming industry as a whole. To date, Chrono Trigger is often regarded as one of the JRPG subgenre’s crowning achievements. The story follows Crono on a globetrotting fantasy spanning prehistory, the Middle Ages, and a dystopian future as his friends hop time to try and prevent a world-ending threat. The game was met with swift critical acclaim, being lauded for its narrative, substantive side quests, multiple endings, and streamlined gameplay. The vintage JRPG brand of turn-based combat was praised for being a healthy balance of simple, yet consistently engaging.
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Even over 30 years after its original release, Zelda: A Link to the Past still stands as one of the best games The Legend of Zelda franchise has to offer. It takes place many years before the previous two games, with Link fighting to defeat the infamous Demon King Ganon and rescue the descendants of the Seven Sages, all while hopping between the parallel Light and Dark Worlds. A Link to the Past was emphatically acclaimed for its technical leap over its predecessors. Critics, in particular, praised the now-timeless pixel art, polished gameplay, puzzle-solving mechanics, and the ingenious use of hopping between dimensions as a gameplay feature that also serves the plot. It truly was one of the best games of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.