The Super Nintendo is the console of a generation and represents a fundamental part of the history of video games. Check out our list of the 50 best SNES games, whether to kill the longing or to find out which were some of the most outstanding titles on this platform!
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Not everyone remembers this Zelda. Before Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past was already making history. This title served as a great foundation for the sequels to Link's adventures, as well as providing good foundations for the genre itself.
Link to the Past already brings those classic elements of the franchise, such as puzzle solving and more "free" combats, without the need for turns. Link can explore an "open world" and is able to interact with various items, characters and the setting.
The graphics are not the most interesting, which is compensated by the soundtrack and the highly immersive narrative. Always striking features of the entire franchise since forever!
2. Super Mario World
Super Mario World is that game that all the people who lived their childhood in the 90's played. In fact, most children had this classic ribbon in their play box. It was a graphical evolution of Super Mario Bros., in which the player controlled the most famous and current version of Mario.
In this game there are dozens of stages, you could control Yoshi and you could still have some different powers to make your process easier. The bonus stages were quite fun, which added to the hours of gameplay. Not to mention that some of the most insane speedrun records are in Super Mario World.
3. Super metroid
It is unanimous among the most hardcore Super Nintendo players that Super Metroid is a game to take your patience. Although it was seen by many as unplayable, it was a beautiful visual experience. It was the first 24-bit game on the console. For the time it was a graphic and sound revolution.
4. Street Fighter 2
Were Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct good? Yes. But Street Fighter 2 was wonderful. On the Super Nintendo there was no one to stand up to him. Straight from the arcade to the console, it added new scenarios, new characters and gave a revamp to the visual effects.
In terms of gameplay it was the same as what we were used to in arcade machines. It was punching, kicking and throwing Hadouken whenever possible. Whole days were spent with pleasure in clearing solo mode with each of the fighters.
5. International Super Star Soccer Deluxe
One of the first football games to win the hearts of gamers. If today there is the epic dispute between PES and FIFA, at the time there was no competition for International Super Star Soccer Deluxe. It was in this game that the most famous virtual footballer in the world was known: Alejo, the great ace of our countryman and hero of the country's national team in the game.
The game was super simple, without many visual effects, with a funny narration and with a catchy gameplay. To play with friends, I would spend hours on end in a row. In a very arcade style, it was for more than a decade the reference in football games.
6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
The Ultimate in the name suggests that this version was the most complete of them all. And it was: on the Super Nintendo it was Mortal Kombat with the largest number of fighters of all. Graphically it was well designed. New moves were added to some characters, and certain moves were modified in the way they were performed.
Although the game divided the opinion of critics, it ended up being the best title in the franchise on the console. He kept Shao Khan as Big Boss, in addition to investing in making each character's stories even more interesting. It was an indispensable game in every MK fan's collection.
7. Killer Instinct
Originally an arcade game, Killer Instinct was among the best fighting games on the Super Nintendo. It featured a combo system similar to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. There were only 11 playable characters, one of which needed to be unlocked.
The fighters were created using a motion capture technique. Despite not being graphically as beautiful as in the arcade, it drew a lot of attention in the console version.
8. Top Gear 3000
Speaking of car game, one of the most insane. Top Gear 3000 was very successful in our country, as were the first two. It was known for its cool graphics and soundtrack, which every child who played it still remembers.
You could run on several planets besides Earth, under different weather conditions. The game was very dynamic and contained 47 different tracks. Anyone who wanted could play with up to four friends, as long as they had a Multitap. Along with Super Mario Kart, he was one of the great names in racing games.
9.Super Mario Kart
King of Super Nintendo racing games, Super Mario Kart was meant to break up friendships and families. After all, it wasn't enough to just win the race: throwing turtle shells at opponents, leaving bananas for the cars to run were some of the craziest things you could do.
The formula was a success and updated versions of the title are still being released today. It was always fun and brought many people together around the television to laugh at the "dishonesty" of the runners.
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles In Time
The most famous turtles in the world destroyed everything on the Super Nintendo with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles In Time. Those who followed the drawings in the 1990s went crazy not knowing who to choose to control. Mainly because the game could be played in cooperative mode. The fights over who would get Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello were constant.
11.Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI has only one controversy: outside of Japan it is known as FFIII, as the original III and V were never released outside of Japan. Either way, it won the hearts of many gamers. It was one of the most narrative so far, focusing on creating more human characters. Also, this was the last game in the franchise in 2D.
In terms of gameplay, nothing much different from previous titles. There were four scenarios, namely battles, dungeons, cities and map. The map was where the characters walked to their destinations. In terms of battle, we have turns again, with the options menu to take the necessary actions to win.
12. Super Mario RPG
Not everyone got to play Super Mario RPG. It was a game whose Super Nintendo tape was not so easy to find. For the time, when the RPG was starting to gain more and more fans, having a mix of Role Playing with the world of the plumber Mario was too much.
And that's exactly what we found in this game: different worlds, such as the mushroom world, Yoshi's world, the cloud world and the monster world. Anyone who had the opportunity to play this title has certainly never forgotten it, both for the incredible graphics and for the gameplay.
13. Disney's Alladin
Like The Lion King, Disney's Aladdin adapts the cartoon for a game. The side-scrolling, 2D and platform-style perspective remains. Aladdin doesn't use a weapon, but instead jumps on top of enemies or throws apples at them, to make them disoriented.
In this game we still have the classic collection of items to gain extra life points. In all stages it was possible to capture a special scarab, which gave access to special bonus stages. You could find the Genie and you could also play sitting on the famous magic carpet.
14. Star Fox
Those who didn't know how to lose couldn't play Star Fox. This was surely one of the most complicated games on the Super Nintendo. The basic premise was to drive Fox McCloud's ship in search of facing enemy ships, picking up boosts and dodging obstacles. At the end of each level there was a Boss.
15. Megaman X
Every Megaman is great. Super Nintendo icon, the most beloved robot in video games, saw itself reinvent itself in Megaman X. The series has improved a lot in terms of gameplay with this title, taking a step towards a more hardcore path. It offered a more serious feel, starting with the harsher soundtrack and having a more complicated gameplay than previous games.
16. Super Bomberman
Bomberman is still part of the lives of many gamers today. In the days of the Super Nintendo, however, he was, if you'll pardon the pun, even more bombastic. Playing solo was fun enough, but having a friend in co-op made the whole experience even funnier.
17. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Country 2 is platform-style, with 47 levels set in 8 different environments. He used a 3D model with pre-rendered images. At the time, it was highly praised for its graphics and for the fun it provided. In this game it was possible to control Diddy or Dixie Kong.
Overall, Donkey Kong Country 2 followed the premise of its predecessor in terms of gameplay. There were some additions, such as the presence of a lost world, new coins and the introduction of a quiz in each of the worlds.
18.Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a jumble of different elements that worked. After all, it was created by a Dream Team. The characters were designed by Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, but in the group there were names from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. With so many creative minds, only what came out could come out: a game with 13 different endings.
That in itself was reason enough to make it almost impossible to reset Chrono Trigger 100%. As if that wasn't enough, inside the game everything you did changed the game's destiny. Each path or action error was actually not really a mistake, but a new way to continue progressing in the title.
19. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Another Super Nintendo game that was described by critics and gamers as very difficult. But still he attracted a lot of attention at the time for having a look quite similar to the cartoons and the famous television series. It's no wonder that most of its players were very fervent fans of the characters.
20. Side Pocket
Side Pocket animated the early hours of many children who imagined themselves as snooker professionals. In this game, which could be played in multiplayer mode, it was necessary to reach an "x" number of points per level to advance to the next ones.
It was fun because in addition to being a competitive game, the setting was super Vegas. Players really felt like they were in a casino, with the whole soundtrack part. Each level took place in a different part of the world, suggesting that players had to travel from city to city.
21. Desert Strike: Return to the Golf
Desert Strike: Return to the Golf has become a Super Nintendo classic. We can consider it a war game, since its theme involved carrying out missions in the Gulf War. For that the player needed to control a helicopter, managing its time, its gasoline and, mainly, its ammunition. Usually one of these things ended before it was successful.
22. Sonic Wings
Also known on the Super Nintendo as Aero Fighters, Sonic Wings was played in vertical scrolling. Enemies were appearing on the screen and you had to eliminate them all without being eliminated by them. It was a relatively simple and easy to play game, containing only 8 stages.
24. The Mask
No exaggeration: we're talking about one of the most difficult games in history. So much so that the game was not very successful, as even at the easiest level players complained that it was impossible to play. There are very few records of people who beat the game without using cheats.
23. Pilotwings
Pilotwings is one of those games that served as the basis for others that would come in future generations. This specifically was almost a flight simulator, in which we could control an airplane, a parachute, a hang glider and a kind of jet pack to do maneuvers. In special stages you could command a helicopter.
25. Paperboy
Paperboy was a very specific game and it was successful for that very reason. At the time of its release, it was highly praised for its completely different theme: the objective was to deliver newspapers to houses on a street. The player pedaled, threw the newspapers to the right or to the left. I had to calculate the time well to hit the mailboxes.
26. Contra III: The Alien Wars
In terms of difficulty, Contra III: The Alien Wars became known as one of Konami's most hardcore. Many players spent hours or entire days to beat the game, and many failed to do so. The Bosses were giants, and the moving scenarios made every battle even more complicated.
27. Secret of Mana
The Super Nintendo is home to several quality RPGs. Secret of Mana is not only one of them, it represents an extension of the Role Playing Game's meaning. First, because the battle system was more "free" compared to games like Final Fantasy. Secondly, there's how to play in a completely cooperative way, which was innovative for the time.
Secret of Mana allowed you to equip a variety of armor and clothing, as well as weapons. It was a very strategic game that required good logical thinking on the part of the players. Besides, the good amount of dialogue, used to explain the story, encouraged the children to practice English.
28. The Adventures of Batman & Robin
Many good Super Nintendo games were adaptations of cartoons or movies. The Adventures of Batman & Robin, for example, adapted a very famous animation of the time. The quality of the game was wonderful, paying huge respect to the hero. The difficulty, however, was quite high, which required a lot of patience.
Most of the 8 stages were built to imitate moments from the animated series. The game was criticized for leaving Robin with too much of a secondary role, but acclaimed for putting Batman's main villains as level bosses. For a long time this was the best Dark Knight game.
29. The lion king
The game The Lion King was remarkable on the Super Nintendo. He adapted the Disney cartoon, which in the 90s was very popular with children. Even though it was supposedly a more childish game, it was considered quite challenging. There were only 10 stages, 6 with little Simba and the others with adult Simba.
Each type of Simba has specific abilities, which help him overcome opponents in combat or solve puzzles. Collecting bugs helps restore health and other issues. Special stages allow you to play as Timon or Pumbaa. It was a constant Hakuna Matata to play this game.
30. Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon is one of the first games that simulate life on the farm. Despite the apparently not very fun proposal, it was very successful in the 1990s. Basically, the character woke up early, planted, harvested and did all the daily tasks until he fell into bed exhausted at the end of the day.
The game was so successful that it spawned several other titles and created a highly respected franchise in the world of digital games. It's no wonder that today we have titles like Farm Simulator.
31. NBA Jam
NBA Jam was insane and completely out of character for a basketball game. It begins that there were practically no rules. Players made superhuman leaps, caught fire without burning, and could make baskets from anywhere on the court. The teams were composed of only two players, which made everything very dynamic.
Another very interesting point of NBA Jam was the easter eggs. Easter eggs could be activated or discovered by activating codes. Perhaps the most famous of them was the one that allowed to play with the then President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
32. Super Castlevania IV
No list of the best Super Nintendo games is serious without a Castlevania franchise title. We chose Super Castlevania IV because at the time it represented a good improvement over previous games. Re-introduced Belmont, an important character of the series, in an epic combat with Count Dracula.
The game reaffirmed the well-known mechanics that always worked in the games made so far. The 2D, 16-bit perspective using the Super NES's Mode 7 was well received. The characteristic soundtrack is another point to highlight. The combat system, with primary and secondary weapons, remained, one of the most positive points of the Castlevania games on the NES.
33. Kirby Super Star
Kirby is one of Nintendo's most popular characters. On the Super NES she received several titles in which she was the protagonist. Kirby Super Star is one of the best because it has eight games in one, focusing on minigames. In this game we have a strong multiplayer component, both cooperative and competitive.
Super Star introduced new elements to the franchise, the main one being the enemies known as Helpers. In this game, the character won custom hats, according to each copying skill he used. Skills, these, which reached a number of 25.
34. Doom
A barrage of demons awaits Doom players. The mission is to go through all of them to find the exit from each level, which, believe me, seems easier than it seems.
There's a lot of blood on the screen, a very varied arsenal of firearms and a good amount of secret rooms with power-ups and upgrades.
35. F-Zero
Some say that F-Zero laid the foundation for what would be a good racing game in the future. The graphics were TOP, the amount of tracks was way above average compared to any car game at the time.
36. Super Ghouls'n Ghosts
When Dark Souls didn't even dream of being born Super Ghouls'n Ghosts already caused anger in players. The game was VERY difficult and it certainly made many gamers break their controller.
But the medieval theme and beautiful graphics kept a loyal and heartache-ridden audience.
37. Super Mario All-Stars
All-Stars brings together 3 of Nintendo's best games, which in this case were the first 3 Super Mario Bros. This compilation gave a good graphic ugpgrade to the games, which, at the time, justified buying the ribbon.
38. Earthbound
An RPG that was not very successful in the US precisely because it criticized the United States. It brought political themes hidden in the narrative in the dialogues of cute characters, such as an alien bee called Buzz Buzz.
39. Super Punch-Out!!
A boxing game without much frills. Good graphics, few hits and the option to defend yourself. What was fun was trying to KO your opponents the first time, which after a while became quite easy.
40. Breath of Fire II
Ryu was the Dragonborne of the SNES, a knight with dragon ancestry who could transform into one. The theme was the highlight of the game, as well as being able to have a huge variety of support fighters for your party.
41. Mario Paint
Who remembers the mouse created by Nintendo? This peripheral was not successful, but the game that accompanied it, Mario Paint, did. A complete drawing studio inspired by the Italian plumber's universe, with puzzles and riddles to solve.
42. Trials of Mana
Third game in the Mana series, this RPG had 3 different narrative lines, 6 characters to start the game, each with its own story.
The wide variety of classes provided a good option for hero customization, which allowed for different combat styles.
43.Shadow run
In Shadowrun you must recover the identity and memory of Jake Armitage, who wakes up in a cyberpunk world. It's a very classic RPG from the 90s, focused on firearms, with a good cinematic feel.
44. ActRaiser
In ActRaiser you are a god who descends from his divine palace to save the world. It's an RPG, reminiscent, in gameplay, of Castlevania.
45. Final Fight
Final Fight is the legitimate arcade beat n up, which went down very well on the SNES. The game was basically walking and attacking enemies until you reached the end of each level. Basic but fun!
46. Super Star Wars
Star Wars fans who had a Super Nintendo were treated to one of the best adaptations of the movies for consoles. The recreation of the narrative and epic battles of the first movie released is perfect.
The only problem is the super high difficulty level of the game...
47. Sunset Riders
'90s Red Dead Redemption, Sunset Riders blended Contra and Turtles in Time to build a unique Wild West shoot n' up experience.
Those who had access to the uncut version were able to see little bar dancers and had the opportunity to shoot Native Americans.
48. Super Tennis
In terms of tennis games, none surpassed Super Tennis. It was an addictive game, as the controls were simple and precise, bringing an atmosphere very similar to that of a real game at the time.
49. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
It wasn't really an adaptation of the comics, but rather the very popular cartoon on TV in the 90's. The game was reminiscent of Mega Man, as the X-Men ran through the 2D scenario, in a platform style.
50. Yes City
Sim City needs no introduction. It was one of the first Super Nintendo simulators and was very successful. Mainly because it had sporadic and very funny appearances by Nintendo characters, such as Bowser.
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