Top Ten Super Nintendo Games of All Time

The only game console I ever owned was Super Nintendo and I spent hours glued to the television monitor swinging through the streets as Spider-Man in Maximum Carnage or destroying robots in any of a number of Mega Man games. I'd say some of the best Super Nintendo games ever are extensions of Nintendo's popular properties such as the Mario Brothers and Mega Man. The top ten Super Nintendo games, in no particular order, are:

Super Mario World

A worthy successor to Nintendo's excellent Super Mario Bros. 3, although not nearly as innovative as the original, Super Mario World provides hours of great gameplay. The major differences here mostly revolve around the introduction of Yoshi, a dinosaur on whose back Mario can ride, and a number of challenging hidden levels.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

This game raised the bar for not just the Zelda series but also for Super Nintendo games in general. It's a rich and enjoyable RPG whose game play remains just as satisfying today as it did when it was first released. I must have played this through to completion at least twenty times, and would play it again today if I had the game handy. It's not just in the top ten Super Nintendo games of all time: it's in the top three.

Final Fight

It's a simple street fighting game, but there's something particularly endearing about it. The combination of clichéd storyline, generic thugs, and stock characters somehow emerged as one of my favorites. The game play is fun and can be quite challenging at points. It may not enjoy the popularity of a Double Dragon, but it's a lot more satisfying.

Street Fighter II: Turbo

It's Street Fighter 2. Sped up. With extra characters. Played alone or with a friend or friends, it's countless hours frying neurons in front of the tube. It's also easily one of the best Super Nintendo games of all time.

Super Metroid

Even given the radical advances in game graphics since Super Metroid's release, the game's play, scenes, and tone are decidedly creepy and claustrophobic. The lack of a formal, linear structure adds to that: you explore and get lost and get ambushed by bizarre and grotesque monsters and bosses and fight and explore some more. It's definitely one of the best Super Nintendo games ever.

Donkey Kong Country

The 3D graphics immediately set Donkey Kong Country apart from the pack, but the game play of this sidescroller made it a classic. It's light-spirited tone, coupled with some cool moves and stages, make this one of the best Super Nintendo games of all time.

Donkey Kong Country 2

I preferred this over the original. Maybe it's because I rented and borrowed the original and owned the sequel. Or maybe it's because it offers more hours of more difficult game play. The graphics are still a cut above typical Super Nintendo releases, and the stages were more varied that those of the original.

Mega Man X

It's not radically different from earlier versions of Mega Man but it's a bit more fun. It's also more structured and there are more cool moves and hidden items in this version than in previous ones.

Super Mario All-Stars

This game was perfect because it included all three of the original Mario games in one cartridge. Of course, if you also owned a Nintendo and these games, this would be redundant. But the chance to play each in a single sitting without even changing the cartridge...priceless.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time

It's the classic arcade game translated for Super Nintendo. The dialogue could get a little tedious, but the quality of the Super Nintendo game was at least the equal of the arcade game. If you didn't like the arcade game, then the inclusion of this game on this list is debatable. But even though I am not a TMNT fan, there's a lot of fun and moderately challenging fights sequences here. It's definitely one of the most enjoyable and best Super Nintendo games ever.