The Super Nintendo, or SNES as many people know it, was one of the most important video game consoles in the history of the genre. It was the first real taste of gaming that many current gamers got, and the best thing about it was that they didn’t have to wait at an arcade to play. Instead, it was hooked up to your television, and you could play from the comfort of your bedroom. These are the iconic Super Nintendo games that people still love to this day.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – 1992
It’s hard to think of another video game franchise as old as The Legend of Zelda that continuously brings out top-quality games. Besides the Super Mario franchise of course. A Link to the Past has long been seen as the benchmark in the series until Breath of the Wild was released on the Switch.
Gameplay was the most important aspect for the developers of A Link to the Past, and that’s what made it one of the most important video games of all time. Some of the dungeons in A Link to the Past are thought to the franchise’s best, even if they are a bit challenging at times.
Super Mario World – 1991
Super Mario World was a launch game for the SNES, and it did not disappoint excited Nintendo customers. Even with just this game on the console and nothing else, gamers had hours of fun. The Mario franchise before Super Mario World was pretty linear, but this game changed all that as shortcuts were introduced. Not only did gamers skip parts of the level, but they could cut out huge chunks of the world. The game really helped to put the SNES on the map and made sure the console was a huge success.
Super Metroid – 1994
Back in the 1990s, it wasn’t common to get both amazing gameplay with a compelling storyline. Then Super Metroid came along and blew everyone’s expectations out of the water. The gameplay was seamless, combining perfect controls with difficult puzzles, but the storyline was just as good. Considering the limitation of the graphics, perhaps Super Metroid’s best accomplishment was to achieve a sense of atmosphere where other games failed.
Street Fighter II: Turbo – 1994
Street Fighter II: Turbo is one of the most iconic video games of all time, so it has to be on the list of iconic SNES games. The SNES brought the famous franchise out of the arcades and into our homes, but the gameplay was sped up. That led to some frantic battles against friends and family as we fought it out amongst ourselves for supremacy.
Super Mario Kart – 1992
These days Mario Kart is one of the biggest games in the world and the latest in the franchise on the Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular. In truth, the franchise has always been popular, and in 1992 gamers were introduced to the series for the first time. For gamers who can still remember the early 1990s, this was probably the Mario Kart they grew up on.
Amazingly, the graphics have stood the test of time, which really just proves how good the game was when it came out. Even though it was released almost 30 years ago, it still has a familiarity about it, and it’s one of the best SNES games.
Anyone who was around to play the SNES will look back on these games with fond memories. They were must-haves for the time, and if you get the chance to you should give them a try even in today’s super graphics era.
