SNES games

I love the Super Nintendo and my brother and I still have ours tucked away for days we wanna spend down memory lane.  With an extensive library of hits and exclusives, having to choose just 5 games on what may possibly be my favorite console of all time is pretty hard.  Once again we're gonna start off with the games that didn't make the cut (for various reasons):

Super Metroid: I know this game is probably amazing, I just never owned it.

Super Mario RPG: This game was retailing at Toys 'R' Us for nearly $69.99! There was no way back in the '90s I could get my parents to buy a game like that for me.

Donkey Kong Country: Very fun game with amazing graphics at the time, just not good enough for my list.

Contra III: The Alien Wars: Weird considering how much I love the Contra series right?  Didn't have the same appeal to me as the original.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors: One of the most fun co op games I've ever played and easily one of the hardest games.  Would have been on my top 10 list.

*There are too many great games so I'm just gonna list out the rest without descriptions:
Actraiser, Final Fantasy II & III, Super Mario Kart, Street Fighter II, Super Castlevania IV, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, F-Zero, TMNT IV, and Mario Paint.

I know that there are many more excellent games I didn't list above, but I just wanted to give you some of the more popular titles to recognize the ones not in my top 5.  With that out of the way, lets jump into..

NUMBER 5

MEGA MAN X

Capcom - 1994

As crazy as it may seem, Mega Man X was the first Mega Man title I ever played or owned.  I remember spending hours trying to beat each level, figuring out which powerup was effective against which boss, discovering secret areas, and of course figuring out how to get Ryu's Hadouken.  I loved the different themes for each level and the small story that the game told, the vibrant colors and the great soundtrack.  I even remember one day that I was close to beating Sigma's last form when my pops called me to the other room; Sigma had 3 hit points and I was down to my last bit of life so I had to pause the game; I looked at Mikey and told him, "Don't touch the controller.  I'm gonna beat the game."  As I'm returning from my parents room, I hear X's trademark death sound and I see my brother looking like this.  Great game nonetheless and definitely recommend you check it out or the remake out now on the PSP.

NUMBER 4

EARTHBOUND

Hal Laboratory - 1995

You know those games that were just brilliant in every way, yet it baffles you that no one else bought them? Like recent titles Okami or Ico, Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) was one of those games.  You may have heard of its protagonist Ness from Super Smash Bros fame but unfortunately, that's probably the only history you have about him.  Ness starred in one of the greatest SNES RPGs and sadly one of the most overlooked titles in it's library.  Anyone who has played Earthbound has loved it.  I recently played it for the first time ever and it's quirky humor, witty dialogue, fun battle system, and likeable characters are what make it different from normal RPG fare (at the time see Final Fantasy).  I can't express how enjoyable this title still is today and unfortunately can't help but to feel a little disappointed in it's poor reception here in the states (there are already 3 titles in the Mother series in Japan!)  For a more thorough retrospective, please watch the Happy Video Game Nerd's video and try the game out for yourself. 

NUMBER 3

SUPER PUNCH-OUT

Nintendo - 1994

Super Punch Out is one of those games that I feel doesn't get the respect it deserves.  Most people remember Mike Tyson's Punch Out on the NES, but fail to mention it's (in my opinion) superior sequel on the SNES.  Everything that you loved in the first title (besides Tyson) is back and better then ever.  Better controls, great graphics and sound, more colorful characters, and two new supers add up to one of my favorite sports (technically) titles ever.  In Super Punch-Out you work your way up through lower ranked divisions until you fight for the W.V.B.A. title.  The game starts out simple enough letting you warm up to laughably easy opponents as you learn the games simple yet deep mechanics.  Tune your skills early on because once you get to the big leagues, these opponents will demolish you if you're not quick enough.  After you're done going through the story mode, the appeal of trying to get the fastest KOs or highest score adds to the replayability and with multiple data files, everyone can have their own save.  Download it on the Virtual Console or try to track one down for the SNES.

NUMBER 2

SUPER MARIO WORLD

Nintendo - 1990

If you bought a Super Nintendo then this was the first game you ever played.  Packaged with the system as a launch title, it's pretty funny that the first SNES game was arguably the best on the system.  This game was huge with close to a 100 different levels including secret ones like Star Road.  Each world was divided into islands (similar to SMB3) and these islands all had their unique inhabitants.  Super Mario World introduced us to many Mario staples in the Mario universe but none as important as Yoshi.  With the inclusion of Yoshi, Mario (Or Luigi) had a companion who he could ride and use to get to different places, kill baddies, or unleash various special abilities (blue = flight, red = fireball).  This game is so good that it was rereleased 3 different times (Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario Advance 2, Wii Virtual Console), spawned hardcore rom hacks, and even song hacks (Mega Man fans check 6:00 min mark).  Near perfect controls, fun powerups, multiple ways to finish certain levels, and (similar to Zelda on NES) a changed world once you complete the game!  I loved this game as a kid and still enjoy playing it on my GBA.

Super Mario World is one of my favorite games of all time.  The only other 16-bit game greater is none other then my favorite game of all time..

May as well have that drumroll..

NUMBER 1

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST

Nintendo - 1991

Come on was there really any doubt as to what would be my number 1 choice?  This is my favorite game of all time (beating out 1 N64 title) and whats not to love about it?  Beautiful graphics, a great and timeless story, multiple weapons and upgrades, and one of the best musical scores (dark world theme) of the 16 bit era.  I can recall playing through this game for hours fighting epic bosses, discovering new secrets, and working my way up to the final showdown against Ganon.  The Light/Dark mechanic is still one of the best executed to date and I remember genuinely being sad seeing the state of some parts of Hyrule as it went from Light to Dark.  While the combat was great (with perfect hit detection) the puzzles were creative and never too frustrating.  Some puzzles needed the assistance of a new weapon while others took full advantage of Link's ability to transfer from the Dark World to Light.  After spending hours facing hordes of enemies, discovering new towns and people, and just seeing the overall growth of my character, I couldn't help but to want to play it again.  That's exactly what I did and still find myself doing every couple of years because this game is timeless.  How many kids out there didn't fantasize about becoming a hero and going on a quest to save a beautiful princess?  *for those who said no, please grow an imagination.  Please do yourself a favor and download this on the Virtual Console, track down the original SNES cart, or get the GBA version.  I promise you that you're going to experience one of the best games ever made and my personal favorite game of all time. 

I don't think too many people could argue with my choices this time around and in all honesty, a lot of great games barely missed the cut.  Most of the above titles had great soundtracks but one of my all time favorite video game songs is Donkey Kong Country 2's Stickerbrush Symphony.  Such a beautiful song and I just wanted to share this great song with everyone.  Anyways, what's your top 5 SNES games?  Thanks again for reading! Make sure to vote!