Blog:Grust's Top 10 SNES Games

In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan and a year later, it was released in the U.S. as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or just Super Nintendo or SNES. I've stated numerous times that I regard the SNES as my all time favorite console. Even with stiff competition against Sega and other systems, it kicked all their asses and is regarded as one of the best consoles ever made. Now I regard both Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time as my top 2 favorite games of all time but the reason why I regard the SNES as my all time favorite console is its vast library of very good games. Games that are iconic even 30 years later. So in honor of its almost 30th anniversary (I just don't want to wait for November 21st to add it) I'm going to look at my top 10 favorite SNES games. For this list I'm only counting games I own a physical copy of but will exclude games on my 101 multi-cart. Because of this, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound will not be added even though they are two very, very good RPGs. Onto the countdown.

10. F-Zero: I'm not the biggest racing fan though it comes the closest to favorite sports genre, but F-Zero is a great racing game. With futuristic cars, obstacles, jumps and a kick-ass soundtrack, and great graphics, I find the game very fun to play. My favorite soundtrack is easily Mute City, hands down. However like I said, I'm not the biggest racing fan so I'm giving it the 10 spot.

9. Final Fight: This game defines the beat-em- up genre. Great graphics, great character designs, satisfying combat, good animation, and really tough bosses. My favorite character is Cody for being more agile to use. This was actually intended to be a sequel to the original Street Fighter but became its own series. The characters became video game icons even appearing in Street Fighter and other games.

8. Super Metroid: Along with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid played a role in the genre known as Metroidvania, games where you learn new abilities and backtrack to open up new paths. When feminazis whine about lack of female characters, Samus proves them wrong by being a great character who fights to keep the galaxy safe from pirates and life ending threats. The game overall has a dark atmosphere and showed the SNES is by no means just a "kiddie" console. The game however has a sad ending where the baby Metroid sacrifices itself to help Samus defeat Mother Brain.

7. Demon's Crest: A fun and complex game. A spin-off of Ghosts' n Goblins, this game, while bloodless, showed that SNES could have more adult or Teen games for its library. Playing the demon Firebrand, you scour the realm of demons to gather mystic artifacts to grow your own power. The artifacts allow Firebrand to transform into different demons to open new paths, find new items, and fight a multitude of bosses. Oh you beat the villains and gathered all the items? Congratulations, you can fight a super hard extra boss to obtain the true ending. And this guy is hard. I haven't beaten him but if I ever choose to, I can use the password system and unlock the boss any time I want.

6. Secret of Mana: I spent quite a lot of money to buy this in the original cartridge. This game is a combination of an action RPG and a turn based RPG. Controlling one of 3 characters, you must do battle with enemies while roaming the vast landscape to save the world from evil forces plotting to raise the Mana Fortress. While you can attack, a gauge appears on the status of your character. As long as it's there, your damage is minimized so you avoid combat until it expires. Weapons and magic both have levels that can be raised. Magic levels raise how much damage you do with magic, while weapon levels allow you to do charged attacks. A must own RPG for any fan of the genre.

5. The Donkey Kong Country Trilogy: I can't decide between them I love them all. Fun platforming, different gameplay styles depending on your character, mini-games, and graphics that showed what the SNES was capable of. All games have a variety of enemies, some even needing some requirement to beat. For instance, all 3 games have a muscular character that Diddy or Dixie can't simply jump over to defeat. But if they use a barrel or if Donkey or Kiddly jump on them, they can be defeated. I will say the bosses in the first game aren't as interesting as ones in the sequels. This is because most of the first game's bosses are just supersized enemies. Still 3 great games at number 5.

4. Super Mario All Stars + Super Mario World: What could be better than Super Mario All-Stars or Super Mario World? Why put them together of course. I actually got this bundled when I got my SNES all those years ago. For those that don't know, Super Mario All-Stars was a graphical remake of the first 3 Mario games for NES; Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 (actually Doki Doki Panic) and Super Mario Bros. 3 (which believe it or not, I prefer over World). We also got The Lost Levels which was the real Super Mario Bros. 2 which at the time was never released to the U.S. for being similar to the first game and being really hard. In addition to a 16 bit makeover, these games also got what was lacking in the original NES ports. Battery back-ups. As for Super Mario World? What can I say about it that hasn't already been said?

3. Super Castlevania 4: I make a habit to play this every October. The dark atmospehere, the attention to the smallest of details (at the beginning you see two bats coming out of the eyes of a skull mountain, a great soundtrack, frightening monsters, and Dracula. A remake of the original, you play as Simon Belmont, taking on the task to defeat the demonic vampire himself.  The gameplay is among the best in the series with jumping being smoother, and you can whip in 8 directions and swing.  Bosses are tough especially when you run a marathon leading up to Dracula himself. Even better, as you go further into the castle, several stages reuse music from the NES trilogy, updating it to sound like real music rather than digital.

2. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: It's not a long RPG but it's bright, colorful, fun, and I view it as the best gateway game for anyone wanting to get into the genre. The gameplay is simple, but not boring, the enemies are on screen so battles aren't random. The game even has star power-ups, allowing Mario to insta kill enemy mobs for easy experience. There are tons of mini-games, my favorite is catching beetles. Bosses are silly and despite being more evil than Bowser, Smithy is a silly boss. If you've never played a JRPG, start with this game.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: Oh come on, you all knew this would be the number 1 spot. I love this game, the large world, the numerous dungeons, the puzzle solving, everything that made me fall in love with Zelda. This game set many staples that have stuck with Zelda for decades. The theme of exploring two worlds, two sets of main quests (pendants then maidens), Zelda assisting you (it's minor but she helps open the secret passage), Pieces of Heart, side quests, and the Master Sword, one of gaming's most iconic weapons. While I still love Ocarina of Time more, even I'm forced to admit what makes it great wouldn't be possible if ALTTP didn't do it first. It's a masterpiece and my pick for the best SNES game.

Any SNES games you like? Let me know in the comments.