The Super Nintendo holds a place in the “hearts” of many retrogamers. Its library includes 784 licensed games, and it was the most commercially successful console of the 16-bit generation.
With that in mind, today we selected the console's twenty most iconic games. They are not necessarily the best or the favorites of Epic Play's editorial team, but those that, for one reason or another, defined the generation.
20 - Tales of Phantasia
Although it was not released outside Japan, Tales of Phantasia was the first game in the “Tales of” series and stands out among JRPGs for its excellent pacing, innovative side-scrolling battle system and charismatic characters.
The cartridge uses a 48-megabit chip, something quite impressive for the console, to “manage” all the digitized voices, and the game even achieves the “feat” of including a sung song on the Super Nintendo.
19 - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Based on the 1995 feature film, this game uses the beat 'em up and platforming formula. Although it introduces nothing new to the genre, it is highly competent, with good visuals, a memorable soundtrack and good boss battles. Fans of the genre deserve to check it out.
18 - Super Castlevania IV
A reinterpretation of the first Castlevania, the game takes place in 1691 and stars Simon Belmont, who must invade Dracula's castle. Released early in the SNES's life, it arrived to demonstrate what a “new-generation” console could do, making extensive use of transparency, zoom and Mode 7 effects, while offering considerably more fluid gameplay than its predecessors. It is true that it may feel somewhat dated by today's standards, but it made history on the SNES.
17 - Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
The first game in the Magical Quest series, “Starring Mickey Mouse” is relatively short but extremely entertaining and varied thanks to a costume-changing system that gives Mickey new powers in each stage. There are magician, firefighter and bard costumes, among others.
16 - Demon´s Crest
Combining action, platforming and RPG elements, Demon's Crest has several endings and became a cult classic on the console because it is somewhat more complex than the other games on the list. It was developed by Capcom and is part of the “Gargoyle” series. Good in every area, this is another iconic game for the console.
15 - Super Mario RPG
The spiritual predecessor to Paper Mario, Super Mario RPG is the mascot's final Super Nintendo game and was developed by Squaresoft. Quite different from the traditional games, it has Bowser and Peach helping Mario, along with isometric graphics that were extremely beautiful for the time and a difficulty level appealing to children without underestimating their abilities.
14 - Top Gear
Top Gear is a racing game that, despite enjoying some popularity around the world, became best known in Brazil. This information came from composer Tommy Tallarico, who said he was surprised by the large number of requests to play the game's music at Video Games Live, while international lists similar to this one generally do not include an entry from the series. Top Gear is nevertheless an excellent racing game and deserves a place on this list.
13 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles In Time
Speaking of adaptations, TMNT 4: Turtles in Time is a beat 'em up developed by Konami, originally for arcades and later converted for Super Nintendo with new stages and gameplay modes.
Using the traditional formula of a genre that was popular at the time, the game is good in every area, even if it becomes somewhat repetitive over the medium term, something common in the genre.
12 - Aladdin
Games based on films are always bad, right? Wrong! Aladdin for Super Nintendo was developed by Capcom and, despite having fairly simple level design, is extremely competent and combines all the qualities needed for an excellent title: great graphics, animation and music, plus fluid gameplay. Interestingly, the game was developed by Shinji Mikami, who would later become famous for Resident Evil and The Evil Within.
11 - Star Fox
This became known as one of the few Super Nintendo games to use the “Super FX” chip, which brought rudimentary polygonal graphics to a console originally intended exclusively for 2D games.
Beyond that, it is a good traditional spaceship game in which you must defeat enemies, avoid obstacles and reach the end, as well as the first entry in a series that continues to this day.
10 - Mega Man X
A “revamp” of the Mega Man series, the “X” edition is speculated to have been created to accompany the growth of the children who began their adventures with the Classic Mega Man games. In principle, it uses the same platforming formula, with charged shots and a weapon earned from defeating each boss that is strong against another boss, and so on.
It differs, however, through its setting, story and soundtrack, which embrace a more radical and less “cute” style. To many people, the Mega Man X saga is the best incarnation of Mega Man and, because it began its “journey” on Super Nintendo, this is another iconic game for the console. To learn more about Mega Man's story and chronology, see our article.
9 - Earthbound
Known as “Mother 2” in Japan, this was the first game in the series to reach the West. Although it uses the highly traditional RPG formula of its era, it stands apart by taking place in the present day, complete with characters using slingshots and yo-yos as weapons.
Despite failing to achieve the expected commercial success at launch, over the long term it earned “cult classic” status and influenced several famous games, including Toby Fox's indie title Undertale.
8 - Super Metroid
As the first to use a 24-megabit cartridge, Super Metroid stands out among the games of its era for its high-quality graphics and sound, including a voiced introduction.
Celebrated for its dark atmosphere and excellent pacing, which alternates between puzzles, battles and exploration, it has one of the best endings in the series and is called the best Metroid game by many people.
7 - Super Mario Kart
The Mario series' most famous spin-off was also “born” on Super Nintendo. At the time, it innovated over ordinary racing games by making it possible to throw items at opponents and becoming the first “kart” game based on a famous franchise.
Highly influential, it is not only the first game in a subseries, but was responsible for introducing the formula later followed by several other companies.
6 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past
Just as Final Fantasy VI competes with the next game for the title of “best Final Fantasy,” “A Link to the Past” also contests the title of best Zelda with “Ocarina of Time.”
Acclaimed for its excellent pacing, fluid gameplay, logical puzzles, beautiful visuals and memorable soundtrack, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is frequently listed among the best games of all time.
5 - Secret of Mana
Another Squaresoft classic, Secret of Mana is an action RPG that popularized the “Mana” series, which began under the adapted Western name “Final Fantasy Adventure” for the original Game Boy.
With three playable characters, highly varied magic systems, a good soundtrack and a story that, although clichéd, is engaging, this is another iconic SNES game.
4 - Donkey Kong Country
Using the traditional run-and-jump platforming formula, Donkey Kong Country differs from other games of its time by using pre-rendered 3D graphics thanks to a technology called Silicon Graphics, circumventing the Super Nintendo's limitations and providing an impressive visual effect by the standards of the era. The trilogy is excellent, but we chose the first game because it introduced the technology on the console.
3 - Final Fantasy VI
Reaching the West under the name Final Fantasy III because it was the third chapter translated into English, this is another RPG frequently listed among the best JRPGs of all time, and many fans of the series call it the “best Final Fantasy.”
With a dramatic story, a rich number of deep characters, a soundtrack that simulates orchestration on the good old Super Nintendo and one of gaming's most iconic villains, this is undoubtedly one of the SNES's most iconic games.
2 - Chrono Trigger
Regarded by many as one of the best JRPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger came from a union between the developers of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest and also featured newcomer Yasunori Mitsuda on the soundtrack. Innovative, distinctive, creative and good in every area, this is one of the few games considered a “10 out of 10” in practically everything. Essential for JRPG lovers and anyone who wants to discover the genre.
1 - Super Mario World
Universally well received, Super Mario World is one of the most influential games in history and achieved the impressive mark of nearly 21 million copies sold, making it the most commercially successful Super Nintendo game. With good graphics, intuitive gameplay, high replay value, several secret stages and Yoshi's first appearance, this is a game worth checking out.
