![Super Famicom Games](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.timeextension.com/0c0efc4c33975/super-famicom-games.900x.jpg)
Considered by many fans to be Nintendo's greatest home console, the Super Nintendo (or Super Famicom, if you prefer the Japanese name) arrived on Japanese store shelves in 1990 and went on to sell a whopping 49.10 million units worldwide.
Nintendo's first 16-bit machine was graced with a wide range of amazing games covering a dazzling array of genres, but it is perhaps best known for its stunning RPGs, superb platformers and a fantastic selection of Capcom, Konami and Square exclusives. Oh, and Nintendo's peerless first-party releases, of course.
Below, you'll find a selection of what we feel are the best games the console has to offer. We've tried to avoid picking several games from the same series where possible and have aimed to showcase the wide range of titles on the system across the spectrum of genres. It's also worth noting that these games are not presented in any particular ranking.
Super Mario World (SNES)
Still regarded by many fans as Mario's finest 2D adventure to date, it's remarkable to think that Super Mario World was a launch title for the SNES; few other platformers on the console came close to matching its excellence. Boasting a huge world map which could be tackled in a variety of ways (and a dazzling number of individual levels) as well as new power-ups and the famous Yoshi, Super Mario World is arguably the benchmark by which all 2D platformers were judged back in the early '90s; Sega's Sonic arguably looked and sounded better, but it wasn't a match for Mario's 16-bit debut in terms of pure gameplay.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
Another early SNES release, Link to the Past built on the first two NES titles to create an action-adventure which still stands proud in the Zelda canon, despite its age. The gorgeous visuals, excellent music and engrossing challenge make this an all-time classic; it's hard to recall a game of this type which fits together so effortlessly. Dungeons boast challenges which are only solvable using newly-acquired items, while the vast, sprawling overworld actively encourages exploration. Then, just when you think you've seen it all, the game offers up an entirely new world to explore – a revelation which remains one of 16-bit gaming's biggest shocks. The GBA port is also worth a look, and the game has been re-released fairly regularly over the years.
EarthBound (SNES)
One of the most idiosyncratic RPGs ever made – and, according to director Shigesato Itoi, the first RPG that Shigeru Miyamoto ever completed – EarthBound takes the conventions of the genre and gleefully subverts them in ways that are still refreshing, even after all these years. Set in the nation of Eagleland – which is basically a parody of the United States – EarthBound places you in the role of Ness, a young boy who unearths a plot by an alien race to take over the world. While it sold poorly in the west, EarthBound's cult status has grown significantly over the years, and it is now considered one of the SNES' most accomplished titles. It's part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, which will save you quite a bit of cash as the original release is very expensive these days.
ActRaiser (SNES)
While the notion of fusing genres might not seem all that odd today, back in the early 1990s it was most certainly unusual – but ActRaiser pulled it off with aplomb, creating one of the most memorable SNES releases of the console's formative years. Part action platformer, part 'Populous'-style God Sim, the game places you in the role of a deity who seeks to reclaim the faith of his people. This is achieved by first removing enemies in a side-scrolling action section before taking to the skies and marshalling your followers as they expand their settlements and seal off enemy lairs. Each region offers a different challenge, while Yuzo Koshiro's sublime soundtrack fits the on-screen action like a glove. A sequel was also forthcoming, but it foolishly did away with the God sim sections and is an inferior game as a result, despite boasting some incredible graphics. More recently, the game was remade for modern systems and is well worth a look.
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
It's easy to forget today the mild scepticism that surrounded the release of the original Super Mario Kart; at the time, it felt like Nintendo was trying to shoehorn the character into too many games, and the idea of Mario and his pals tearing up race tracks seemed, for some, like a bridge too far. However, this wasn't some lazy attempt to generate sales based solely on a brand name – Super Mario Kart remains a supremely playable title, and while subsequent iterations of the game have added in visual complexity and additional gameplay quirks, there's something about the simplicity and purity of this one that makes it fun to return to, even decades later. Oh, and the battle mode still rocks.
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe (SNES)
FIFA might be the most well-known name in console football, but true connoisseurs of the sport will have been playing Konami's take back in the '90s. International Superstar Soccer has its roots in the Japanese Jikkyō World Soccer series and offered a much slicker and fast-paced alternative to EA's franchise. The introduction of a spring button in the first ISS was a game-changer, while the crystal-clear speech was a close to 'real' commentary as you were likely to get back on cartridge-based consoles. ISS Deluxe also saw the return of the original game's unique 'scenario' mode which placed you in various matches – often based on real-world encounters – with the aim of reversing the scoreline or winning with only a fraction of time remaining on the clock. ISS would spawn several sequels before Konami eventually shifted its attention to its incredibly popular Pro Evolution Soccer series.
Cybernator (SNES)
Known in Japan as Assault Suits Valken, this side-scrolling action title offers a unique alternative to the intense 'run and gun' antics of Konami's Contra, because this time around, you're piloting a hulking robot which is blessed with a convincing sense of weight and inertia. Inspired by the likes of Mobile Suit Gundam, Cybernator is a relentlessly polished experience with top-level visuals, sound and gameplay – all wrapped up in a wonderfully dramatic storyline. Assault Suit Leynos (known as Target Earth in the west) is part of the same series, and Valken would get a Japan-Only PlayStation sequel in 1999 which adopted a turn-based strategy approach.
Super Metroid (SNES)
One of the earliest examples of what is now known as a "Metroidvania", Super Metroid boasts a huge world to explore, with gear-gating opening up the map as you work your way through the game. A hugely influential release, it has stood the test of time much better than many of its contemporaries, laying down a blueprint which is still being copied and iterated upon today by developers all over the world. Effortlessly one of the best games of the 16-bit era, and an essential play for all SNES fans.
Super Tennis (SNES)
The history of tennis video games goes all the way back to the dawn of the industry with Pong, so it's remarkable that in all the years since, a game like Super Tennis has managed to remain at the top of the pack. Sure, more recent titles have introduced better visuals and more complex gameplay, but this early '90s offering is effortlessly one of the best two-player titles on the SNES. With four different shot types, loads of players to master (each with different stats) and some of the tightest and more compelling gameplay the genre has seen, this is a solid-gold classic, even if you don't have the slightest interest in the sport.
Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (SNES)
When Nintendo secured the first home port of Capcom's Street Fighter II, it caused shockwaves in the industry; it was the hottest game on the planet at that point, and a valuable asset in the 16-bit console war with Sega. While the Mega Drive / Genesis eventually secured its own version of the game, the SNES is arguably the system most gamers associate with Street Fighter II – and this iterative outing is perhaps the most beloved version. Offering the ability to play as the four boss characters – and the chance to pit the same fighter against themselves in two-player – Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting was a solid upgrade on the original, and its adjustable speed settings made it even more tense and dramatic. While Capcom has tirelessly evolved the core concept of Street Fighter over the decades, this is still an amazing playable experience.
Comments 37
Wonderful article, Damien! The new site's a banger; I'm enjoying it very much! The color scheme goes great with my hat.
Minor typo in the title: it says "best" instead of "legendary." A common error, I know. Just helping.
NINJA APPROVED
Oh man... This system still astounds me to this day. The SNES truly had something for every type of player. Truly a one of a kind.
I agree with @BloodNinja . This site is wonderful!!
My only issue with this article is that it's only two pages long! 😂
@mandlecreed @Guitar_bard @BloodNinja Thanks for the kind words, everyone!
Firstly i love this site already, even more now thanks to this amazing piece on my favourite console ever!! God was this an exciting time, the 16bit era was/is magical. No generation will ever come close again regardless of how good tech gets. If you experienced it first hand you'll get what I'm on about:)
@Damo that picture of Super Famicom games is a sight to behold
@GravyThief Thanks!
@Axelay71 It certainly was an amazing time to be a gamer! Both Sega and Nintendo offered unique experiences which made both machines essential; we'll never see a period in gaming like it again.
@Axelay71 You're absolutely right. The NES era was incredible for starting so much, but the 16-bit made everything even better, and created so much more. It was a great time to be alive.
Truly one of the greatest systems ever made. The golden era. Great article!
@Guitar_bard yes your right mate shouldn't forget the 8bit era either the Nes is another iconic system that paved the way for the Snes.
@Hikingguy hey I totally agree with you, but for me the Snes took everything that was great about the Nes and dialled it up to 11. Stuff like Pilot wings, Star Fox, Axelay, Contra was such a game changer for me personally. To this day I still love this stuff. 8/16 bit will always be the best generations in my eyes.
My all-time favourite system, and having previously only having owned an Atari 2600 and an Amstrad CPC 464, the jump to 16-bit was mind-blowing for me. I couldn't believe how close SF2 was to the arcade game!
@Hikingguy It really was, I’d seen a NES a few times but never really played one for longer than a few minutes. My CPC was a monochrome one too, so just having colour was amazing!
The SNES had lots of great games and I at least play SMW in its original version, as its the only nintendo console I never owned and played it on a trip to my cousin's house. If i could pick a No. 1 game, it would be between super metroid and a link to the past
Pretty solid list, and nothing omitted to which I would strenuously object, though I'm intrigued by your inclusion of ISS, Super Tennis, and Arcana. I at least have access to Super Tennis, so I'll have to give it a try on the Nintendo Switch.
@Hikingguy it's still a shame Atari lost there way. I still have a 7800 underrated console unfortunately. The funny thing is Nintendo approached Atari to market the Nes, they refused bet they regret that now. I could talk about this stuff all day. I don't think a lot of gamers realise tech wouldn't be where it is now without these amazing generations before. But to be honest a lot of today's stuff bores me.
If there's one game I would absolutely add to that list, it's Mario's Picross: great tactile feedback when drilling out holes, an amazing soundtrack and some surprisingly clever puzzles for a SNES game. I've put over 25 hours into it and it's something I can always come back to and have a great time.
Also, Super Punch Out being there is incredibly based, well done
@Axelay71 Yep, a golden period of gaming for sure. The best.
@SpecialT yes still the best mate 👍
I was scared it would be another list missing Kirby Super Star but there it is. SOLID. THANK YOU.
The greatest console of all time for me personally. So good in fact that my [hacked] SNES Classic Mini is currently my favourite system in modern times too.
Edit: But, I feel I must correct a specific error under U.N. Squadron that states "Sure, there's some slowdown here and there – an unfortunate consequence of the SNES' slow CPU"
The slowdown in U.N. Squadron was not caused by the SNES' CPU but the fact the developer/publisher used the cheaper SlowROM cartridges to save a few bucks, which actually limited/throttled the SNES' CPU to 2.68 MHz, around 75% of its full 3.58 MHz speed. If Capcom had simply spent the extra pennies per FastROM cartridge for this game, there would be no talk of slowdown.
There's already patches out there of U.N. Squadron running in FastROM that remove basically all the slowdown. And some additional better-optimized code could have it running at a solid 60fps throughout if any minor slowdown remains, I have no doubt, especially after seeing what's been achieved with the once slowdown-plagued Gradius III on SNES via nothing more than making it run in FastROM and better optimizing the code.
Seriously, you should go look up some videos of Gradius III with the FastROM patch done by Aaendi and see how it compares to not only the original arcade version but even the SA1-patched version on SNES that runs with a whopping 10.74 MHz chip. I'd be shocked if it didn't immediately alter any reasonable person's perception of the SNES' CPU being "slow" to rather "Man, I'm actually annoyed that certain developer/publishers cheaped-out back in the day and that, we, the paying customers and gamers suffered a bunch of below-par performing games as a result of that".
It has been demonstrated time and time again at this point that most of the slowdown seen in SNES games, usually in early titles released in the first year or two, is almost always attributed in large part to those games running on SlowROM cartridges and/or often with quite a bit of badly optimized code too. And many of them have already been patched to FastROM to remove the slowdown now, often by the brilliant Vitor Vilela, which is a great demonstration of this in action.
We really need to start correcting what is basically a false narrative around SNES at this point, where everyone including professional gaming journalists is regularly stating that slowdown is [pretty much] inevitable on SNES due to its "slow" CPU, especially with any of the more intense and action-heavy titles like shumps for example, as if it's almost an inherent limitation/issue with the system, which simply is not true.
Because, not only can SNES run most games perfectly fine when using FastROM to run properly at its full 3.58 MHz CPU speed, it can actually run most games with little to no slowdown even in the SlowROM 2.68 MHZ mode too, IF the games are simply programmed properly and optimized with this basically budget-related constraint in mind, as genuinely stunning examples like Super Aleste [especially in Wild mode, which has the most stuff on-screen] and Rendering Ranger R2 demonstrate beyond any serious doubt, with both of them running in SlowROM 2.68 MHz mode and still at a smooth 60fps throughout, even with loads of bullets and enemy ships and explosions and multiple layers of parallax and whatever other stuff going on and lots of intense action all the time.
The SNES really is a lot more capable than I think many people have come to believe in modern times.
PS. Never really seen Arcana mentioned much before in lists detailing the best SNES games. I'll need to check that out. . . .
Selecting so many (40) games and not adding numbers to them is definitely a safer approach to avoid controversy than the top 10 in order methods of other lists. Though perhaps 40 is TOO safe to avoid having to make tough decisions; I think my personal preference would be a 25 game limit.
Roughly a year ago, I revisited Yoshi's Island as I could not get into it previously. The time I had played it before, I was dealing with some chronic insomnia which does color some impressions. So I gave it another go, and had a good time with it. It's also visually stunning. I do prefer the more direct and exciting platforming of Super Mario World, but Yoshi's Island is a good one. I would like to revisit Axelay too, as I didn't like that one in the past. That's my story with the SNES. Many of the highly-regarded games for the system did not land for me. Contra 3 doesn't work for me because of the Mode 7 parts. I don't like Castlevania 4(I love Rondo and Bloodlines on PCE and Genesis respectively).
Referring back to FastROM that was mentioned earlier, I hated Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts when I first played it due to how terrible the slowdown was. It interfered with gameplay. SGnG was the first game I tried with a FastROM hack and it made such an amazing difference, as in it made the game enjoyable. It's a pretty game too, though it was bested by Demon's Crest which is good all around. I cannot beat that secret final boss though.
So I've focused a lot on what I don't like. There are still a bunch of SNES games I want to really sit down and try, but from what I have played, I've enjoyed some unusual stuff that doesn't get mentioned as much, like the two Bonk games, and the Japanese Mazinger game. But some standouts I wanted to mention are the two Pocky & Rocky games, Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie, and Ninja Warriors. Those are some of my favorite games on the system.
Glad to see some praise given to International Superstar Soccer Deluxe - I personally loved the SNES and N64 ISS games.
@sdelfin I really like the first Pocky & Rocky game (it could also go on this list). That's another title where simply converting it to run in FastROM would remove any slowdown, which isn't that terrible as is but does exist, and just make it pretty much perfect for what it is. Not sure if someone's patched it already to run in FastROM, but if not, I'd love to see that happen.
@RetroGames Spot on buddy.
I mean, what do we have to do to get the Soul Blazer/Illusion of Gaia/Terranigma trilogy on Switch??
The fact that F-Zero lacks a 2 player mode, yet still makes these best of lists is a testament to how amazing it was.
The Mute City theme is stuck in my head now. I'm probably gonna be humming it for the rest of the day.
By the way Parodius Da! also absolutely deserves to be on this list, as it's easily one of the very best shmups of the entire 16-bit generation, and even in SlowROM at 2.68MHz and 75% of the SNES' full CPU speed still runs really well.
Super Mario All-Stars, Super Aleste, Gundam Wing: Endless Duel, Killer Instinct, King of Dragons, Knights of the Round, Sunset Riders, Batman Returns, Final Fight 2 or 3, Pocky & Rocky, and Wild Guns all deserve to be on such a list too imo.
The Terranigma entry is wrong in one of two ways, depending how the ambiguous wording is intended to be read. Either it's saying the only English release was in Europe, which isn't correct as it was released in Australia too, or it's saying the only release in Europe was in English, which isn't correct as it was also available in French, Spanish and German.
Those who like Cybernator should check out Front Mission: Gun Hazard. It’s Japan-only but there’s a translation patch available. It’s very similar and is just an excellent game.
@Damo The original SNES version of Secret of Mana is available on the Switch as part of The Collection of Mana as well.
@TransmitHim
Australia has often counted as part of Europe for video game releases, so maybe that covers this case? It seems weird but I think it stems from Australia's use of the PAL format.
Yet another list that includes Donkey Kong Country 1 over DKC2, and doesn't even give a passing MENTION to the latter. Why is this the state of the world we're in...
Don't sleep on Goof Troop. It's a fantastic game by Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil). It basically plays like a series of Zelda-lite dungeons, with added co-op play. It's short and easy, but so much fun with two players.
Solid list, glad to see Super Tennis in there, I replayed it when it hit the Switch SNES online subscription and it's still great.
Surprised to not see Super Mario RPG make the cut (is Arcana really a better game?), and having played both games to a finish on Wii Virtual Console I'd add Gradius III (what a soundtrack) and Final Fight to the list.
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