A few weeks ago, I looked over the NES games that I’ve played so far and picked my favorites from that bunch. This time, I’ll be looking at the SNES games that I’ve played. This is a favorites list and not a best of or an overall favorites list.
This is limited to the games that I’ve played for my YouTube channel and written about on my blog. This list might look a little strange, which is a reflection of my tastes and the games that I’ve covered. At this point, I think I’ve only covered about fifty games in the SNES library.
Much like the previous list like this, it will change as I play more SNES games. There are plenty of other games that I want to play, which means I’ll be revisiting this list at some point next year. Let’s get into the list and see what ended up on it.
Bottom Line up Front: I put together a list of my favorite SNES games that I’ve played so far.
Final Fantasy VI
This is my favorite game in the Final Fantasy series. Along with Chrono Trigger, I was introduced to this game through my friend Drew. Initially, it didn’t leave much of an impression on me because we didn’t see much of the game when we rented it one weekend.
However, I kept coming back to the game in high school. As I got further into the game, I started to enjoy it as much as I did with Chrono Trigger. I like this game as much as Final Fantasy VII.
In the game, you play as a group of heroes trying to save the world. Each character has a compelling story; you get to know them throughout the game. Then the world ends, and you have to try to save what is left of it. The music, graphics, and story for Final Fantasy VI are all fantastic!
This is one of the games that I kept buying over the years. I picked up the SNES version first and then bought the game on the PS1 and GBA. It is one of the games that SquareEnix has convinced people to buy multiple copies of. Much like Legend of Zelda on the NES, I have a bunch of ways to play this game.
Chrono Trigger
This was an easy one to put on the list. Chrono Trigger is one of the best games on the SNES and one of the better RPGs overall. It has a great story and very memorable characters. It is an RPG that I can always go back and play if I want to have a good time.
In Chrono Trigger, you play as Crono and a group of heroes from across time. Your ultimate goal is to defeat the parasitic lifeform named Lavos before it can destroy the world. There are a lot of quests to complete in the game, and many ways to beat the game. It also has multiple endings, which gives the game a lot of replay value if you want to try to see them all.
A friend of mine was obsessed with this game. He is the one who introduced me to it, and I spent most of a summer trying to see as many of the endings as I could. This was also one of the first games I looked for when I started collecting video games in the late 90s.
Robotrek
I really like weird and quirky games, and Robotrek is definitely an odd RPG. Like many retro RPGs, the story goes off the rails near the end. The gameplay is different from the other RPGs on the SNES, and the combat is quite fun.
You play as the son of a great inventor, and you’re fighting a group of terrorists. At least that is what is happening at the beginning, then some time travel shenanigans take place, you go to space, and eventually save the universe or some such nonsense. To fight enemies, you have to build robots, craft weapons for them, and move around like a simple tactical RPG. The graphics are adorable, and the gameplay is weird but fun.
This is one of the games that I first played on an emulator in the mid 1990s. I remember being really confused as to what was going on, but really liking it. Robotrek made enough of an impression to make me want to keep trying to beat this game. If you’ve played the other RPGs on the SNES, then give this one a try.
Metal Marines
Metal Marines is one of the rare games that I played on the PC first and then learned that there was a console version. It is a real-time strategy game that has a bizarre premise. The story is also different depending on the version of the game you’re playing.
The game is set in the far future after an antimatter war. Large parts of the Earth have been destroyed, and the world has united under one government. Regardless of the version you play, you have to defend Earth. You use a combination of ICBMs and Mechs to fight the enemy. Like many RTS, you have to build and defend a base.
This is one of the games that really grabbed me. I’m sure this has happened to plenty of other people concerning weird or obscure games. The story and setting are what stood out to me the most, but the gameplay is also excellent.
Actraiser
This is one of the best games on the system, and a game that I have wonderful memories of playing. My friend Drew and I rented this back in the mid 1990s, and we spent a night playing it. It is one of the few games that I remember renting for the SNES.
In this game, you play as a god, and you’re fighting against Satan. It is a combination of an action-platformer and SimCity. The controls and graphics are great, and the developers did a wonderful job of combining these genres.
Actraiser was remade a few years ago, and it is an improvement over the first game in the series. It has problems, but I like the additions to the base game. The original game was something that stuck with me when I was young. I picked up the game when I was collecting games, and it was fun to go back to every now and then.
Tecmo Super Bowl III
This is the best version of Tecmo Super Bowl. It improves on the arcade football formula and includes some features from Madden without radically changing the game. It was a game that my friends rented for both the SNES and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. I wound up playing the SNES version more because I downloaded the ROM back in the mid to late 1990s.
Tecmo Super Bowl III is an arcade football game that doesn’t try to be a realistic simulation of American Football. You can play a full season, an exhibition, or a playoff tournament. This game version lets you create players, but there is no career mode. There are a few other features that are closer to what you see in the Madden franchise, but this is still an arcade game instead of a simulation.
My friend Joe rented this game a few times when it came out. I also looked for it when I started collecting video games. I spent many weekends playing the game with my friends and on the PC when I found a ROM of it. Once I started collecting games, I picked this up.
Darius Twin
It has been a while since I’ve ranted about my love for fish robots, so let’s talk about Darius Twin. This is my favorite shooter franchise! I’m not sure why I find robotic fish enemies amazing. That isn’t the only thing I like about the Darius series, but it is one of the things that made me want to play the games.
Darius Twin is similar to other arcade shooters. You pilot a ship, collect power-ups, and blast through an endless wave of enemies until you face a giant boss. In the case of Darius, that boss is a huge robotic fish. This is my favorite part of the entire series!
I was drawn to the Darius series because it is different from what my friends liked. Specifically, my friend Drew liked the Gradius series, and I wanted to be different. After playing Darius Twin, I started collecting the other Darius games. However, I still return to this one; it is my favorite game in the series and my favorite shooter on the SNES.
Area 88/UN Squadron
I played Area 88, which is the Super Famicom version of the game. This quickly became my favorite shooter on the SNES—the game’s story and the media it was based on got me hooked. The graphics, controls, and story were all great.
Area 88/U.N. Squadron is a side-scrolling shooter with a handful of features that separate it from other games on this list. You have a life bar, a shop, and you can buy different ships and weapons. There are three characters to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Doing stuff like this helps a game to stand out from a genre that can feel cookie-cutter. Even the setting not being in space helps out a ton.
This is a great game! I also got into the 1985 anime as well. Area 88 looks great and has terrific gameplay. It quickly became my favorite shooter on the SNES.
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
Ogre Battle is my favorite SNES game and one of my favorite RPGs. This is a tactical or strategy RPG with a fairly basic story, but a host of possible endings. I have no idea how anyone was supposed to get the best ending on their first playthrough, but I’m sure someone did back in the mid 1990s. This game was also released on the PS1, just like a few other RPGs from this time.
You play as an unnamed hero who is fighting against an Empire that has taken over a continent. There are a lot of options to customize your army, and you can decide on being evil or good. The game has a reputation meter that goes up and down over the course of the game. You can recruit enemy generals, but that might not always be the best decision.
This is the game that first got me into emulators. My friend Drew introduced me to the game, and we spent a lot of time not knowing what we were doing. It made an impression on me, and I started playing it more and more. I love the graphics in this game, and the gameplay is so much fun. Creating units and experimenting with different combinations is one of the many reasons I love this game.
HammerLock Wrestling
Every time I look at a genre on a retro console, there is a game or two that I like more than most people. In this case, I really got into HammerLock Wrestling. I like weird games, and this game fits the bill as far as wrestling games go. It is the wrestling game that I had the most fun with on the SNES.
The presentation is the first thing that most people notice about this game. It divides the screen into thirds, with the wrestling match taking place in the middle of the screen. The top and bottom show cutscenes of the wrestlers, and when there is a big move, the cutscene takes up the top or bottom two-thirds of the screen. What the strange visuals mask is a competent wrestling game with good controls and a fun roster.
This game really stood out because the graphics are better than most of the other SNES wrestling games, and the controls were better. I like the strange choice of visuals because the graphics are very good. There is a lot to this game, and it was more fun than the WWF and WCW games on the system.
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Saturday Night Slam Masters is one of the best arcade wrestling games I’ve ever played. It looks amazing, plays great, and I love the roster of wrestlers. It is an easy game to pick up and play, but it takes some time to master.
The game is a spin-off of the Final Fight games, only because Mayor Mike Hagar is in the game. You choose a wrestler, and then go around the world beating up other wrestlers. It isn’t too different from the premise of other fighting games that were in the arcades around this time. The only difference is that this is a very simple game, and everything takes place in a pro wrestling ring.
This is the best-looking wrestling game on the SNES, and it has the best gameplay. I also love the roster of wrestlers, as they feel like over-the-top versions of what was on the wrestling shows I watched as a kid. This isn’t meant to be taken seriously, which helps to make this game better than the other wrestling games on the console.
King of Dragons
King of Dragons is my favorite beat’em up on the SNES. When I was going through some of the beat’em ups on that system, this one stood out from most of the others. Capcom did an excellent job with it. They added some RPG elements to the gameplay, which made things more fun than the other games.
There are a bunch of character classes for you to choose from, and the gameplay is very good. The graphics are great, the controls are excellent, and the story is good enough to give you an idea of what is going on. Even when it was released in the arcades in 1991, it was very far ahead of other beat’em ups.
You can get the arcade version of this game on the Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle that was released in 2018. It is on other collections as well. I played the SNES version because I was looking at the games on that system. The King of Dragons was a game that I didn’t know about growing up. It wasn’t until the 2010s that I knew it existed, and I’m glad that I was able to play it.
Knights of the Round
Knights of the Round is another wonderful beat’em up. Much like The King of Dragons, it has a few RPG elements in it that make the gameplay stand out from the other games in the genre. What this game has going for it is a fun and familiar story.
In this game, you play as either Arthur, Lancelot, or Percival. This takes place before Arthur is a king, and you’re trying to defeat some evil wizard or some such nonsense. There are a lot of similarities between this game and King of Dragons, but having a smaller roster is what holds this game back from being my favorite beat’em up on the SNES.
Going back to play games like this is great. I didn’t live near an arcade, and didn’t know about the SNES game until the 2010s. Knights of the Round has great graphics, wonderful gameplay, and I really like that they added a leveling system to it. That simple mechanic makes the game stand out and improves the gameplay.
The Pirates of Dark Water
The Pirates of Dark Water is one of my favorite beat’em ups on the SNES. I remember watching the cartoon when it was on back in the early 1990s, and then wondering what happened to it. When I got older, I learned about the comics, toys, and this video game. It was so much fun to come back to play.
This is an arcade beat’em up that is fairly similar to the other games in this genre. The graphics and controls are very good, and it feels like you’re playing a better version of the cartoon. It isn’t all good, but this is a competently made beat’em up.
This is a case where nostalgia helps to elevate an average game to something great. I really liked playing this game despite it’s short comings. The enemies are kind of dumb, but that is something I like. Having the stage traps hurt anything that wanders into them was a nice touch. The graphics, along with being able to continue the cartoon’s story, are the things that I like the most about this game.
Conclusion
When I look back at my original list of games that I wrote a few years ago, there have been a lot of changes. I’ve played more games, and my opinions on the games that I played have shifted. Some of the difference is down to me limiting this to what I played for YouTube and wrote about on my blog. I’m still nowhere close to playing every SNES game, and I don’t really want to.
Many of the games on this list left a strong impression on me. Several of them I didn’t know were on the SNES until I decided to make lists of the wrestling and beat’em up games on the system. A few were games that I discovered much later on when I was collecting games in the 2000s and 2010s. This gave me the same feeling I got back in the 1990s when I would look for games online or when I went out looking for retro games.
One of the fun things about going through genres of video games, especially on retro consoles, is that you find something you didn’t know about. Sometimes you find something, learn that “everyone hates it,” and then have a completely opposite reaction to the game. It is also fun to look up the reviews for these games and see what reviewers thought about them when they were released.
There are plenty of games left for me to play. I’m sure that I’ll find something that knocks a game off of this list. At some point, I’ll revisit this, just like I’ve done for the NES and Indie games.
If you liked this post, please check out my others on My Favorite NES games and My Favorite Indie games.