!King_Amazon!'s Top 10 SNES Games of All Time!

Here you go, King.

1. EarthBound

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The single greatest game ever created, in my opinion. I consider it to be a perfect lightning bolt of brilliant design. The art, story, characters, music, worlds and creatures are unlike anything I've ever experienced before or since in a game. I could analyze the shit out of the game, from an entirely objective point of view, and come up with a much less glowing appraisal of the game. However, as far as the irrational, inexplicable part of my mind goes, no other game compares.

2. Chrono Trigger

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From a totally objective point of view, this is probably the best console RPG ever made. The story was above and beyond the zeitgeist, the art direction, music and writing were unreal, the graphics and sound technology pushed every boundary there was to push. Chrono Trigger introduced elements to the genre like dual and triple-character team attacks and real-time combat environments. On top of that, you could recruit Magus, and Magus owns just about every videogame villain from the last two decades.

3. Super Metroid

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The definitive Metroid game, Super Metroid did for the series what A Link to the Past did for Zelda. It introduced 90% of the details and core gameplay elements that have defined the series ever since. The map system (mimicked by every single side-scrolling adventure game since), the Charge Beam, wall-jump, Space-Jump, Screw Attack, X-Ray Visor, Speed Boost, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, Grapple Beam and a ton of other abilities, items and scenarios that have been duplicated, enhanced and re-imagined in six different games since then. This game defined Metroid, and in turn, defined the 2D adventure genre as a whole.

4. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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Just an all-around great game. Legend of the Seven Stars sowed the seeds of an entirely different breed of RPG, even if its peculiar design elements never really spread beyond the borders of Mario's RPG series. Timed attacks, communal item and magic resources and a truckload of fun minigames gave way to the score of fun and creative design elements that have defined the Mario RPG series since.

5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

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Like Super Metroid, the definitive 2D Zelda game. A Link to the Past introduced elements to the series like the Master Sword, Hookshot, Spin Attack, lifting and throwing objects, multiple planes of action, and a much deeper story than previous entries. Anyone who doesn't really know what "Zelda" means needs to start right here.

6. Kirby Super Star

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The only "traditional" Kirby game I've ever really gotten behind. Kirby Super Star is, essentially, nine games in one package, each distinct in its own right. The real standouts being The Great Cave Offensive and Milky Way Wishes. Beyond the whole "more bang for your buck" angle, though, is my personal favorite element of the game. Kirby has the ability to devour the abilities of his enemies, and has ever since Kirby's Adventure on the NES. However, Kirby Super Star was the game to introduce many of the now staple abilities Kirby has wielded throughout the series, as well as greatly expanding upon their functionality. Each of Kirby's forms comes packaged with anywhere from three to ten different special attacks activated through various button sequences. My personal favorites among the bunch being Sword Kirby, Yo-Yo Kirby, Ninja Kirby, Fighter Kirby and Mirror Kirby.

7. Donkey Kong Country

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In my opinion, the definitive SNES game. Not the best, but certainly the game that I find to have been the real milestone for the console. DKC broke technological barriers. It introduced a level of graphical and sound detail unheard of in console games at the time. It reinvented a franchise that had been long seen as defunct and useless. On top of all that, it was just a damn-fine platformer with a ton of replay value and bonus material to hunt down.

8. Actraiser/SoulBlazer

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I can't really pick between the two. I love them both immensely for their combination of action/adventuring and world-building sim gameplay. I initially picked Actraiser to begin with because the sim elements are a bit more hands-on than those in SoulBlazer. However, I personally find the adventuring elements to be of a higher quality in SoulBlazer. Both feature great plot and characters, incredible music and intense action. Both are on my favorites list of all time, and as such, I can't and won't decide between the two.

9. Super Ghouls n' Ghosts

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This, along with Gradius III, is one of the most recent additions to my top ten SNES list. The game is just fan-fucking-tastic. If you can actually get past the fact that the game is insanely hard, and takes an immense amount of patience and dedication to conquer, you'll find one of the most intense and addictive action/platformer designs from the 16-bit era. One of the most humbling games I've ever played.

10. Gradius III

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Like Super Ghouls n' Ghosts above, Gradius III has been recently added to this list entirely as a result of downloading it to my Wii a few months back. This game is one of the most tightly-designed shooters I've ever played. The upgrade system is great, forcing you to strategize and make tough decisions in a split second. Will you spend your upgrades on a Double-Shot now, or hold out a little longer for the vastly superior Lasers? Can you survive long enough to fill out your formation of Options, or are you gonna have to break down and grab yourself missiles first? The pace gets frantic, the screen fills with hazards and one wrong move will punt your worthless ass all the way back to the start of the level with no upgrades. Unforgiving, nerve-wracking and frustrating as hell, but tough to put down.

The definitive Metroid game, Super Metroid did for the series what A Link to the Past did for Zelda. It introduced 90% of the details and core gameplay elements that have defined the series ever since. The map system (mimicked by every single side-scrolling adventure game since), the Charge Beam, wall-jump, Space-Jump, Screw Attack, X-Ray Visor, Speed Boost, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, Grapple Beam and a ton of other abilities, items and scenarios that have been duplicated, enhanced and re-imagined in six different games since then. This game defined Metroid, and in turn, defined the 2D adventure genre as a whole.

Space jump and screw attack were in Metroid II. Speed boost is just a lame new way to block access to areas, as are super missiles and power bombs. Charge beam is useless unless you run out of missles (and how do you run out of missles in Super Metroid?). Super Metoid added X-Ray visor, grapple beam, and an overly rigid map structure. Hardly series defining.

Space jump and screw attack were in Metroid II. Speed boost is just a lame new way to block access to areas, as are super missiles and power bombs. Charge beam is useless unless you run out of missles (and how do you run out of missles in Super Metroid?). Super Metoid added X-Ray visor, grapple beam, and an overly rigid map structure. Hardly series defining.

What are you smoking?

Space jump and screw attack were in Metroid II.

My bad.

Speed boost is just a lame new way to block access to areas, as are super missiles and power bombs.

Are you kidding me? If you look at it that way, every powerup in a Metroid game is a lame way to block access. Almost all of Samus' abilities are used to access new territory. Morph Ball, Spider Ball, Grapple Beam, Space Jump. All of it.

Charge beam is useless unless you run out of missles (and how do you run out of missles in Super Metroid?).

I prefer to use the Charge against regular enemies, rather than unnecessarily spending missiles with abandon. Different strokes.

an overly rigid map structure.

Yeah, because Metroid II's "just keep going deeper" structure was a totally open-ended sandbox design, right?

Hardly series defining.

I'd be willing to bet you're one of three people in the world who would agree with that sentiment.

Are you kidding me? If you look at it that way, every powerup in a Metroid game is a lame way to block access. Almost all of Samus' abilities are used to access new territory. Morph Ball, Spider Ball, Grapple Beam, Space Jump. All of it.

• Morph Ball, I don't count as a power up, because you practically start with it.
• Spider ball is used to gain access, but it's not lame, because you can access just about anywhere with just spider ball and a lot of patience.
• Jump ball is just a convenience. Again, with enough patience, you can mostly do without it.
• Space jump can be used to bypass enemies, or to move arround in combat; it's much more than a simple access mechanism.
• Screw attack isn't even used to gain access in Metroid II. Screw attack is just that: an attack. Since it made you invulnerable in Metroid II, it was also useful for retreat.
• Grapple beam, again, has combat usefullness. Anywhere you can get with grapple beam, you could also get with space jump, but you can't hang off walls and shoot with space jump.
• X-ray visor doesn't gain you access to anywhere; if you already know what's there, you can get it just fine without.

On the other hand...

• Speed boost, you might argue, can also be used to bypass enemies, but the fact is that it's only true of areas that were specifically designed for you to be able to use it that way. The ammount of warmup time is so great that you really can't effectively use it except where it was designed into the level, which relegates it to lame access block.
• Super missles. They do three times the damage of normal missles. And you can hold like 20. Right. The sole purpose is an excuse not to be able to access new areas.
• Super bombs. They kill everything in sight -- if it was garbage that you could kill in one shot from your beam. Again, only truely usefull for area access and scripted sequences.

Yeah, because Metroid II's "just keep going deeper" structure was a totally open-ended sandbox design, right?

At least I didn't feel "boxed in". And no, you don't just go deeper; you actually fight the last boss rather close to the surface. The tunnels between areas felt a lot more organic than in Super Metroid. In Super Metroid, it seemed like they opened most areas up into a box shape just because it was a box on the map.

If I remember right, there were some "special" moves in Super Metroid you could do to fully heal yourself and such, took a certain number of missiles/bombs. I never could do them well so I don't know much about them, but that's something pretty nifty.

WetWired, the one major flaw in your argument is your statement that these things are "hardly series defining". The fact is, Super Metroid was series defining, despite your opinion on its quality.

Has the rest of the series made use of the map system crafted by Super Metroid? Yes. Has the rest of the series employed the use of just about all of the equipment invented by the game (including the ones you don't think are worth the time)? Yes. Has the rest of the series used Super Metroid as the foundation for its design and atmosphere. Unquestionably, yes.

Your opinion on the quality or importance of Super Metroid's offerings to the series is irrelevant. It doesn't matter that you are of the opinion that Metroid II is a better game, or that I prefer Metroid Prime over Super Metroid. The quality is not the question here. The fact that Super Metroid created the vast majority of the staple elements of the series (good or bad) makes it the defining game in the series.

Alright, if you think Metroid II is better than Super Metroid, you're a dumbass.

And if you think Metroid Prime is better than Super Metroid, you're a dumbass.

You want a real kick in the pants? I personally think there are about four Zelda games I'd rank higher than A Link to the Past.

And Ocarina of Time is not one of them.

I think that the only thing that really made Super Metroid better than Metroid II is more interesting boss battles and color (Metroid II being mono- or bi-cromal since it's a gameboy game), though as I said, I find the Grapple Beam to be an interesting and useful introduction.

I agree with a lot of those, with a few disagreements of course, but you also pointed out a couple that I had forgotten. Kirby Super Star, for one, is probably one of my most favorite games. I kinda lumped it into "Kirby Games," but it's superb.

Gradius III, as well, is awesome..

Wanna tell me more about Actraiser/Soulblazer? Why might I want to play those games?

I'm suprised to see a lot of games missing from your list, Raziel. I guess one thing we can both probably agree on is the SNES has way too many great games to fit more than just a sampling of them into a top 10 list.

Wanna tell me more about Actraiser/Soulblazer? Why might I want to play those games?

The games were developed by Enix, the same team that made Illusion of Gaia, Star Ocean and The 7th Saga.

In Actraiser, you play The Master, the God of the game's world. Ages ago, lead by the Master, the world waged battle with the hordes of the demon-lord Tanzra (or Satan, if you prefer). During the course of the war, The Master, in mortal form, was wounded gravely and forced to retreat. He was carried to his Sky Palace by his angelic servants and left to recuperate, which took several centuries. After his restoration, The Master awoke to find his world decimated. Having lost their leader and great advantage, mankind was ground under the heel of Tanzra's minions. Humanity had been annihilated, and all traces of their civilization erased from the planet's surface. As the Master, it is your duty to resurrect your long-dead world and revive your people.

The game follows a specific pattern in regard to its structure. First, you begin by choosing which region of the world you wish to free, done by positioning your Palace above one of the seven sections of the world map. Upon doing so, you descend to the world below and the spirit of the Master inhabits an armored warrior statue to give himself physical form. You then fight through a side-scrolling action level (with some adventuring elements thrown in here and there) and fight the boss at level's end. Upon finishing the first Act, you then get to actually rebuild the town. The game shifts to a top-down city building system akin to a simplified Sim City. You use the Master's cherub servant to guide the development of the town and restore its people. During the course of the city-building portion, you must destroy lingering monster lairs to protect the people, fill the land with homes, farms, roads and other structures, as well as guide the moral, intellectual and societal growth of the town. Once you've eliminated all monster lairs (by leading the townspeople to them and allowing them to destroy the lairs themselves) you complete the restoration of the area by engaging the Act 2 level. You enter a second side-scrolling level, fight the boss and permanently eradicate all threats to that particular land. Then, you simply head back up into the skies and pick a new region to explore.

The game is fantastic considering it was a first-generation SNES game. The visuals and music are comparable to many titles that came later in the system's lifespan. The gameplay is great, with a wealth of options during the sim sections, and frantic action during the side-scrolling levels. The story is really great, too. Again, considering the age of the game, it's pretty incredible how the game approaches a lot of more mature topics, death and faith being two of the more common.

A great game, I highly recommend it.

Soul Blazer was, back then, the successor to Actraiser. Nowadays, the story is quite different. Soul Blazer became the first entry in what is referred to as the Soul Blazer trilogy, which consists of itself, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma.

The story goes as such. The Freil Empire is ruled by King Magridd. One day, the king is given an offer he can't refuse. A demon by the name of Deathtoll (who is, in context with the rest of the series, Dark Gaia) offers the king one piece of gold for each soul in the empire. The king foolishly accepts the offer, not realizing that he would have to forfeit his own in the process, and he dooms the world to be sealed away for eternity.

An entity known as The Master (again, in context with the other two games, Gaia) watches as his world is consumed and left barren by Deathtoll. Unwilling to allow thess event to take place without a fight, The Master sends his angelic servant, Blazer, to the world in human form. As Blazer, it is your duty to free the imprisoned souls of the world's inhabitants from their confinement within the lairs of Deathtoll's minions.

Soul Blazer follows a less rigid game structure than Actraiser did, and as such, has a lot more adventure elements to be found. The game takes place entirely from a top-down perspective,as you guide Blazer through the various environments. Basically, thw world is divided into seven different areas, each consisting of a town and one or two "dungeon" sections. Upon entering the town areas, you find them entirely barren. In order to fill the towns, you have to enter the dungeons and destroy the enemies guarding the Monster Lairs, which appear as luminescent glyphs on the ground. Upon clearing a Lair, you step onto it like a switch, and some imprisoned thing is released back into its original place in the town. So, for example, you clear a Lair of all enemies, step into it and the town's mayor is freed from captivity. He, along with his house, materialize back in the town instantly. The types of things you can set free can range from people, to buildings, to trees, to animals or something as simple as a flower. You scour each dungeon, clearing out every Lair and completely restoring the town.

Now, the big difference between Soul Blazer's sim segments and Actrasier's is how hands-on the systems are. Actraiser truly is a simplified Sim City, allowing you to direct where people build, as well as using your godly powers to affect the land in various ways. You can send bolts of lightning down to the surface, blow fierce winds through the town, or cause massive destruction with a full-blown earthquake. Each of these abilities comes in use in some fashion or another, and allows you uncover secrets as well as maximize the development of your city.

Soul Blazer, on the other hand, is much less hands-on. You aren't making any big decisions like building placement, what types of things to build or how much space to fill out. You just unlock things and they go where they're supposed to go. However, in my opinion, discovering and interacting with all the new stuff you've unlocked can be just as (if not more) fulfilling than taking full control of the town's development. There's a lot more character and uniqueness to the towns in Soul Blazer, but there's less of a sense of freedom in regard to building them.

On top of that, the action in both games is a much different affair. Actraiser is much harder, and a lot heavier on the action, including frantic combat and some occasionally tricky platforming. Soul Blazer is a bit easier, but its also more RPGish, considering you can uncover a collection of eight different pieces of armor, eight different swords and eight different magic spells to use. On top of that, there's an actual experience system, which sets it even further apart from Actraiser's more action-oriented design.

So, considering you've already played the second and third games in the series, I can't see why you wouldn't want to go back and play the original, Soul Blazer. Actraiser is a fantastic game too, but it never quite expanded as a franchise like Soul Blazer did. I'd highly recommend playing them both.

Aha, I have actually played soulblazer. I didn't find it to be as good as Illusion of Gaia or Terranigma(Illusion of Gaia is the clear winner of the series, IMO, but Terranigma was good too.)

I'm actually playing through The 7th Saga right now. I've never actually attempted to play through it before, but I have played it. Most likely, I stopped before because it's difficult. Well, this game is fucking hard. If you DON'T grind, you won't even make it to the first rune. The story is also mediocre at best. However, I still for some reason like the game. Can't really say why.

I actually started playing back through 7th Saga tonight. I got through Aran castle, but had to stop to take care of some housework.

I just got the Star Rune. HOLY FUCKING SHIT WAS THAT HARD. The apprentice, JESUS CHRIST. I had to try like 20 times before I got it right. Luckily I'm playing a ROM so I can easily save state and such, I'm pretty sure I would have quit the game if I hadn't had that luxury.

Who'd you have to fight? If it was Lux, I pity you.

YES! Donkey Kong Country!