Your Ten Favorite Tier 2 (or lower) SNES Games

[pierrot]

I typically don't enjoy the games that everyone immediately associates with the SNES. So a general top ten for the SNES would be for someone else. I want to know the games that folks here enjoy, that don't necessarily have immediate recognition on their side. They don't need to be "gems," and considering that different people will have different levels of familiarity with the library, let's keep debate of what is and isn't "hidden" to a minimum, please.

Rank 'em, assign numbers, no honorable mentions please, use your best judgement (Mario games probably don't apply, unless it's picross, or Mario & Wario, or something), and have fun.


Personally, I'll probably have to make it a partial list for now, as I'm not sure I can come up with ten, but let's see:

1. Umihara Kawase
2. Terranigma
3. Megami Tensei (Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei)
4. Soul Blazer
5. Seiken Densetsu 3
6. Gundam W Endless Duel
7. Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
8. Kishin Douji Zenki: Battle Raiden
9. Power Rangers Fighting Edition
10. O-chan no Oekaki Logic

inb4 dsh

[Xeogred]

Terranigma
Soul Blazer

First, I will back these two up! Illusion of Gaia fits into this "loose" trilogy of Quintet's but I've always thought it was the weakest of the bunch by far. Still worth checking out for ARPG fans of this type though, but yeah Soul Blazer and Terranigma rule.

Last year I hit up some awesome SNES gems for sure, so I'll just pull from my Games Beaten 2018 list for now with some heavy hitters:

Run Saber - nice arcade styled action/platformer, similar to Shinobi and whatnot
Ninja Warriors - awesome single lane beat em' up (no vertical/Z-axis movement?), annoying final boss though
Skyblazer - amazing platformer that feels like something Capcom could have cooked up
Super Turrican - probably the most well known on this list, but I still think this and the sequel are underrated. Insane OST
Super Turrican 2 - see above, a bit more linear in design and heavy on the Super FX effects/bosses, but still insanely cool
Front Mission: Gun Hazard - best retro game I played in 2018, peak Square Soft along with their other classics
Brain Lord - Quintet/Zelda fans should enjoy this one, pure dungeon crawling. Expect some annoying platforming and moments though
Assault Suits Valken - better version of Cybernator, a more straightforward action mecha game compared to Gun Hazard. Fun stuff

For good measure, any SNES JRPG fan must play Seiken Densetsu 3.

[Reprise]

Can't think of 10, but Pushover needs to be mentioned. I can't remember if it was Columns on the Mega Drive or Pushover, but one of those was the first puzzle game I've ever played. I loved Pushover as a kid and I've still never played any other game like it.





I guess another one is Power Rangers Fighting Edition, since I love Power Rangers (not even embarrassed to admit it) and I believe this is one of the only licenced PR games to be genuinely an excellent game (a great fighting game in this instance)

[Ack]

The Super Nintendo library suffers heavily from being mined hard by game collectors. Truth is, there isn't much I'd consider "hidden" on it anymore, unless you're willing to go into import territory.

That said, I'm willing to point out some games that I don't feel get their due but I enjoy and are outside of the norm. Folks will probably look at this list and wonder what is up, but as I said, I'm trying to come up with fun games that wouldn't be expected.

1. Koei Strategy Games - I know coming up with a category like this is a cop out, but I find console strategy games don't get a lot of attention, and Koei produced a bunch of excellent titles for the Super Nintendo. In particular, Liberty or Death stands out, as does Gemfire.

2. Super Solitaire - This will never make any list of great games, but it's an easy one to come back to. The cart features a variety of card games and variations on Solitaire, so it's a pretty easy title to keep coming back to.

3. Cacoma Knight in Bizyland - This is a colorful and more anime-influenced update on the puzzle game Qix. You're trying to save Bizyland from a spell that has rendered it dull and lifeless by uncovering a portion of the image beneath while various enemies try to stop you.

4. Bonkers - Based on the Disney cartoon show of the early '90s, this is a pretty easy platformer from Capcom that features solid controls, cartoonish design, and gameplay reminiscent of other Capcom/Disney platformers.

5. Magic Sword - This is technically inferior to the direct arcade ports, since it's single player only, but I like it. 51 floors of hack and slash action, partners to keep you going, light platforming to make things interesting, and tough boss fights. I see folks talk about King of Dragons a lot now since it's been discovered, but Magic Sword still gets left out.

6. Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday - It's a weird platformer with Warner Bros. characters and a horror theme that isn't readily apparent...until you get into the game. By the time you get to the Salvador Dali world, it's too late.

7. True Lies - A top-down shooter where you play as Schwarzenegger and blow away terrorists. Weapons sound good, you feel tough, and while levels tend to be longer than I want, I still get a kick out of kicking butt.

8. World Heroes - Yep, it's a simple 2d fighter that predates things like supers, counters, and combos. That's what I like about it, it really puts things down to the basics. Will it dominate any lists for best fighting game? Oh God no, but its limitations are also its charm.

9. Smartball - Hey, it's a cutesy platformer where you play a jelly bean named Jerry who can stick to walls. It's like Gish but 20 years earlier.

10. Arcana - This is a hybrid of JRPG and dungeon crawler that features a card-based character system. It's not a complicated game, and it's not a long RPG, so it doesn't really have time to wear out its welcome.

The best part? In an era of stupid SNES cart prices, most of these are $25 or less. I tried to take that into account while pointing out stuff I don't see get talked about much and that I enjoyed while playing.

[Gunstar Green]

I guess another one is Power Rangers Fighting Edition, since I love Power Rangers (not even embarrassed to admit it) and I believe this is one of the only licenced PR games to be genuinely an excellent game (a great fighting game in this instance)

Thumbs up on this one. It uses the same engine as the much-loved Gundam Wing: Endless Duel. It's not just a good Power Rangers game, it's one of the better SNES fighters, period.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Here are mine, borrowing a few from Ack:

Arcana - What Ack said is true!

Arkanoid Doh It Again - I love the brick-breaker genre, and this is a great entry.

Darius Twin - Solid, relatively easy shmup with awesome enemy design.

Doom Troopers - Fun, very ‘90s run ‘n gun.

HAL’s Hole in One Golf - So, so relaxing and still one of my favorite golf games.

Judge Dredd - Surprisingly good game based on unsurprisingly bad movie.

Pac Man 2 The New Adventures - Really, really charming point and click adventure similar to Wonder Project J.

Stunt Race FX - Really ambitious racing game that, despite its performance issues, is still more fun than Virtua Racing.

True Lies - what Ack said is true about this game too!

WWF Raw - Remarkably fun wrestling game with some of the best wrestlers of the mid-‘90s and MIDI versions of their theme songs.

[pierrot]

I guess another one is Power Rangers Fighting Edition, since I love Power Rangers (not even embarrassed to admit it) and I believe this is one of the only licenced PR games to be genuinely an excellent game (a great fighting game in this instance)

Oh, I totally forgot about this (and by extension, Endless Duel), but good call. I'm updating my list. I used to salivate at any opportunity to play this game, as a kid, which was pretty rare, unfortunately--usually just the couple of times I was able to convince my parents to do a rental on a SNES. Some people really like the action platforming Power Rangers game on the SNES (also by Natsume). Have you played that one at all?

The Super Nintendo library suffers heavily from being mined hard by game collectors. Truth is, there isn't much I'd consider "hidden" on it anymore, unless you're willing to go into import territory.

Yeah, the console has been pretty well catalogued over the years. The impetus for this was sort of born from going through roms to load onto my Everdrive. I was realizing that there were still a number of pretty decent looking games that I had never heard of, and I doubt many others really know about.

Maybe I should add a little more clarification to the OP, as well, but by "hidden," I really just mean anything that's unlikely to make Average-Joe Youtuber's Top 10 SNES Games list. Things that everyone knows, like the Marios, Zeldas, DKCs, FFs, DQs, Chrono Trigger, F-zero, Super Metroid, Contra III (etc, etc), would be non-starters, but I also didn't want to get people bogged down in, 'well, what is "hidden."' I mean, I could almost make the topic, "What's your 11 through 20 SNES games," but I'm not sure if that would be more or less confusing.

Illusion of Gaia fits into this "loose" trilogy of Quintet's but I've always thought it was the weakest of the bunch by far.

Yeah, I didn't like Illusion of Gaia at all.

Skyblazer - amazing platformer that feels like something Capcom could have cooked up

I was derping around with this a little bit while testing some stuff on the Everdrive, and this one seemed pretty cool. I don't know if I'm totally sold on the controls, but it seems pretty fun. I also really get that Capcom feel from it.

[Gunstar Green]

One franchise that never really made a transition to the west was the Ninja-kun/Ninja Jajamaru-kun games. The Super Famicom had one in the form of Super Ninja-kun. It's nothing mind-blowing, but it's a fun and cute little platformer I never see anyone talking about.

[Ack]

Even with that criteria, I stand by my suggestions. Please consider checking them out.

[marurun]

I never did manage to fall in love with Darius Twin. Compared to the Darius games on the Genesis and PC Engine, Twin is a poor contender. The music is also pretty annoying. And yet, there are those who absolutely love it.