We might as well take a look at the game list for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic console that’s being released this September; after all, a game system is defined by its games, and the Super Nintendo had an amazing library, to say the least.
I won’t beat around the bush with this – the game selection on the SNES classic (at least the United States list) is damn good. That being said, I do have opinions on each game and I might as well share them here, for what they are worth to anyone reading.
http://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic
Let’s begin!
- Contra III: The Alien Wars
Naturally, a Contra game would be a good choice. I haven’t played much of Contra III, but it has high enough reviews and looks like fun, and will certainly fill that “gotta shoot everything that moves” niche. - Donkey Kong Country
An absolute classic, Donkey Kong Country showed what careful implementation of pre-rendered images could do on 16 bit hardware. The game itself, while sometimes quite tricky, is fun – it’s one of those few games I find myself coming back to time and time again. - EarthBound
Known as Mother 2 in Japan (it’s a sequel, in case you didn’t know), this game is considered one of the classics for the SNES – funny, since it was a relatively poor seller and under-appreciated here in the US when it was released. A sci-fi RPG (Role Playing Game) that you just have to play to understand, Earthbound is an absolute win for this unit. Did I mention the cartridge form sells for well over $100? Reason enough to get the console. - Final Fantasy III
If there is a “best game” on the SNES, Final Fantasy 3 (6, in the proper numbering) might damn well be it. It’s certainly one of my favorite games ever, and a good contender for best game ever, depending on who you ask. Another RPG, much like EarthBound, you can easily get 100+ hours out of this one. Honestly, I need to get back to my copy, now that we’re talking about it… - F-ZERO
The classic Super Nintendo racing game, and a launch title for the system, it may be graphically simple (compared to the later releases of course), but it’s fast paced and more intense than most any other game you will find, even later F-Zero titles! - Kirby Super Star
Ah, Kirby, everyone’s favourite infinitely-hungry maniac pink ball of… who knows what! Kirby Super Star is an 8 in 1 game experience; I know, it seems odd, but it works, and works well – take the core elements of the Kirby series and produce a variety of games with different styles but the same core mechanics. - Kirby’s Dream Course
And now we have a Kirby mini-golf game. I don’t have comment here, this is probably the weakest title here, but on the same page, certainly fun I would guess. I don’t know, never played it, so I could be totally wrong – it could be bad, or even more awesome than I imagine it to be! I’m sure it will be good though. - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
An absolute classic, many regard A Link to the Past as the best Zelda game, and I’m more than inclined to agree. It’s certainly my favorite out of the series, and even if not yours, it’s sure as hell worth playing! - Mega Man X
The first of the Mega Man games on the Super Nintendo, Mega Man X also was the start of a new series in the Mega Man universe – set in the future with a new nemesis, and a new Mega Man robot, known as X. - Secret of Mana
Another RPG, this time an action-RPG type of game. Also from Square, the same people behind Final Fantasy, this title also has a great following. Not a game I’ve finished, but I’ve played through most of it and been quite satisfied with the experience. I should try it again. - Star Fox
The premier example of what the SuperFX chip could do with the SNES hardware, Star Fox is a semi-on-rails 3D space shooter type game that was most people’s first taste of what the future of gaming would bring. Another game that I enjoy playing even now. - Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 2 had more revisions than I can keep track of. All I’ll say is this – it’s Street Fighter 2 on the Super Nintendo. I do believe the “best” version on the SNES, I can’t recall offhand. - Super Castlevania IV
The first Castlevania game on the SNES, this title was much of a retelling of the original game on the NES. Improved gameplay, enhanced creepiness, and another all around fun experience. I don’t have much to say because this game should speak for itself. - Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Another re-creation of a NES classic, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts brings the hard-as-nails Ghosts ‘n Goblins / Ghouls ‘n Ghosts gameplay to the SNES, improving many elements to near arcade quality. - Super Mario Kart
The other definitive Super Nintendo racing title, Super Mario Kart became an instant party classic. I know I still love the battle modes in the game, and much like F-Zero, the racing elements have a certain feel to them that later games just don’t have. This one doesn’t get enough play in my library. - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Here is where people are going to have an issue with me: I am not a fan of Super Mario RPG. I’m just not. It’s not a bad game, it just doesn’t appeal to me. This is a Square produced Role Playing Game that uses, and is based in, the Super Mario Brothers universe. It plays well and has a hell of a fan base, but it’s just not for me. - Super Mario World
Super Mario World was the pack-in game with the system for pretty much all of its life – it’s the only real Mario game on the system (not counting Mario All-Stars, which was a re-release of the classic NES Mario games) but it is great – not as good as Super Mario Bros. 3, if you ask me, but it’s damned fun, and does have a better “pick up and play” capability than other games thanks to the save feature. The must play game on the system. - Super Metroid
The NES Classic Metroid, improved for the SNES. This, like many other games, is in a way a re-creation of the original, but is still it’s own game. An adventure platformer with quite the bit of exploration and back-tracking, Super Metroid will certainly take a good bit of time and challenge anyone new to the series, or even just new to this particular game. - Super Punch-Out!!
It’s Punch Out – but super. Okay that was lame but what can I say? it is what it is, more like the arcade game than the NES title was, it’s 16 bit boxing in a well rounded package. - Yoshi’s Island
The spiritula sequel to Super Mario World, this game is different – you play as Yoshi, rather than Mario, trying to protect a baby version of Mario from capture. A very unique title for the system in varying mechanics and graphic tricks thanks to its use of the SuperFX chip – yet another game I haven’t completed, but have played quite a bit of. It’s good, not as good to me as others say it, but it’s well loved by fans. - Star Fox 2
The big surprise with this miniconsole release is this: Star Fox 2, the un-released Super Nintendo sequel to Star Fox, will be properly released to the public. While a very late prototype build has been circulating around for many years now, this is supposed to be a complete version of the game – time will tell on that front, but still, this alone is worth the cost of the console.
So, while those descriptions might have been a bit repetitive, I think you’re seeing a common trend here – all highly regarded games, even if they are odd niche titles, some of which are some of the best games ever produced – hell, probably half of them would qualify on such a list!
Oh, look – Super Mario World!
As always, more to come – I’ve got more to say about Star Fox 2, the future of Nintendo, and this console soon enough.