Topic: The SNES 20

[Ian Sane]

Wait, are these in order?  Did A Link to the Past, commonly a candicate for best game PERIOD (not SNES only, PERIOD), not even crack the top 15?  Huh?

They are in sequential order by release date as the first post said.

Ah, I missed that.




... so Super Mario World isn't in the list, then?  That's arguably worse.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Yeah, even with insanolord's well known and wrong opinion, I'm still surprised SMW isn't on the list.

[MegaByte]

You'll see why soon enough 

[UltimatePartyBear]

Super Mario All Stars, then.  I always forget about it because it's like saying two DVD's shrink-wrapped together at Best Buy is the movie of the year.  And yes, I know they're improved.

[NWR_Neal]

Super Mario All Stars, then.  I always forget about it because it's like saying two DVD's shrink-wrapped together at Best Buy is the movie of the year.  And yes, I know they're improved.

I was waiting for someone to pick up on SMW's absence. Let's put it this way: we fudged it a little bit to include a few more games.

[TJ Spyke]

I always wanted the second version of Super Mario All-Stars (the one that added SMW), but it was so rare because the only way to get the game was to buy a new SNES with it packed in.

[Bboy]

A Link to the Past is my favorite game ever. It was the game that got me into gaming. I remember being so amazed that a game had a story like that, that a game could be so dramatic and cinematic, with that rainy opening.

[NWR_insanolord]

It would be awesome if I'd managed to knock Super Mario World off the list or kick LTTP down this low. Unfortunately, those games are very popular for some reason, and I wasn't able to get the rest of the staff to accept the truth.

[Hyawatta]

My older brother and I teamed up to play Actraiser back in the day. I would play the action parts and he would play the sim parts. Good times.

[BeautifulShy]

Contra 3 I have actually never played dispite playing the two on the NES. I guess once this list is done I will have a pretty big lineup of games to get on the VC.

[Scatt-Man]

I'm not sure if you Americans'll think of me as being crazy, but I absolutely can't stand the thought of Contra 3 having human heroes. The game was renamed Super Probotector in PAL regions, with the two main characters replaced by robots. My reasoning for the distaste? Look at the environments. Look at the enemies. Stage 3 shows a battle between robots and aliens (not including yourself) in what appears to be an incredibly toxic mass factory zone. Clearly humans haven't lived here in a long time. Is there a story to the game? Are you supposed to be part of a small resistance of huu-mens who've spent their last decades hidden underground? There's way too much badassery on this planet for any humans to survive.

Robets as heroes makes more sense! Also makes the game a little more depressing, with the thought that we had probably built these damned robots who've since taken over...with their aforementioned bigass industrial zones that'll put even the most poluting 500 airport-filled maps in Sim City to shame.

The only problem is that you're also fighting robots in this game even though you are one (in PAL)...

[Ceric]

I think this feature needs a compilation Video to go with it.  Which each person reading like the reviews.

[Fatty The Hutt]

I always wanted the second version of Super Mario All-Stars (the one that added SMW), but it was so rare because the only way to get the game was to buy a new SNES with it packed in.

I bought that SNES package. Still have it! Need to get one of those modern TV adapters though. The we can play on the 57 incher instead of the old 14.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Castlevania IV slew my SNES.  Contra III was its accomplice.  I didn't own either of those until I bought both on clearance at Toys Я Us sometime after I got an N64.  I hadn't played the SNES in a while, but it was still hooked up.  I put in Castlevania IV, the Konami logo popped up, and then the screen scrambled and went black.  I thought it was a bad game, but after that, none of my other games would work, either.  So I had to buy one of those ugly rounded piece of crap mini SNESes as a replacement.  I never really forgave Castlevania IV for that fiasco.  And nobody has to try to sound smart and point out that it probably wasn't the game that caused it, thanks.

Contra III was already one of my all time favorite games, so I pardoned it.  Just like Contra on the NES, it was a perfect co-op action game.  I never knew the people who made it went on to found Treasure, but it explains so much.

[Ian Sane]

So I had to buy one of those ugly rounded piece of crap mini SNESes as a replacement.

Hey, those mini SNESes are kind of cool.  The SNES from my childhood remains at my parents' house and my brother will not let me take it home.  So I recently decided to buy a second SNES, one in which I have sole ownership of, so I could play at home.  Lo and behold the first one to show up for sale at my local used videogame store was a mini SNES.  I was quite pleased to get it as I figure if one is to own two Super Nintendos they might well have both variations.  It attracts quite a lot of attention from guests the first time they see it in my living room.  No one recognizes what it is.

My only beef with it is that the cartridge slot is not quite as snug.  My brother has frozen Super Mario Kart by bumping the cartridge twice now.  To be fair he is an idiot.  It also is weird to just yank SNES cartridges out of the system instead of using the eject button.

[MegaByte]

I ended up with a SNES Jr. because I found it on clearance ($15) bundled with A Link to the Past for cheaper than buying just the game.

[gypsyOtoko]

Epic article for the greatest game of all time. I particularly love the scans of the manual and map pack in.


.... was Zelda's theme really introduced in this game though? Where?

[MegaByte]

.... was Zelda's theme really introduced in this game though? Where?

It plays each time you rescue Zelda (and a shortened version plays when you rescue the maidens).

[Traveller]

It would be awesome if I'd managed to knock Super Mario World off the list or kick LTTP down this low. Unfortunately, those games are very popular for some reason, and I wasn't able to get the rest of the staff to accept the truth.

Do you like SMB3? My friend also doesn't like Super Mario World that much, mainly because he is so used to how Mario controlled in 3.


I can't understand the hate for ALTTP though. :S

[UltimatePartyBear]

I hate the way the mini SNES looks, and after being trained to use an eject button, I was always afraid just yanking a cartridge out would break something.


So, TMNT IV.  Does anyone besides me remember the TMNT concert tour?  Four people in rubber turtle suits pretending to rock out on stage in front of a horde of screaming kids?  I was one of the kids.  I had the album on tape.  I bring it up because at least one of the songs on this game's soundtrack is from that album:  Pizza Power.

[BeautifulShy]

I remember the tour but I don't think I ever went to any of the concerts. It is amazing how widespread the Turtles craze was back in the 80's and 90's.

[Ceric]

I've got the Tape but I didn't see the tour.  Though you have to respect the Ninja Turtles at some level in the suits.  Doing all those moves with a couple hundred pounds on you why someone else moves your mouth.  Also heard it was very hot.  Lots of respect there.

[Ian Sane]

Super Mario Kart is a very recent addition to my collection.  I put it off for years and years and only got it a few months ago.  Waiting so long was a mistake.  My brother and I play each other in Battle Mode nearly every day.  You would think the first game in the series would feel dated today but it holds up remarkably well.

Part of it is that it lacks annoying inclusions in later Mario Kart games like the Blue Shell and rubber-banding AI (though the AI still cheats via its unlimited power-ups, many of which are not available to the player in any way).  My brothers bought Mario Kart 64 recently as well.  The battle mode in it just isn't as good.  Two of the tracks just outright suck with big pits that are easy to fall into.  But we like all four SMK battle mode tracks.  Mario Kart 64 stood out more at the time because of huge enhancements like four player support and polygonal tracks.  But those are common place in the Mario Kart series now so the game doesn't age well.  SMK's flat mode 7 tracks stand out as something different.

The series as a whole seems to have followed the MK64 template.  I find the Mario Kart formula is pretty stale now so MK64 feels like old hat.  SMK in comparison is like a breath of fresh air.  It's a different Mario Kart experience then what we get these days.  I feel the series has just gotten worse and Nintendo feels the need to "balance" the game in a way that punishes skill.  If you're too good against the computer, the AI cheats.  If you're too good against human players they get all sorts of overpowered power-ups to let them catch up.  SMK has certain elements of that as well (you still get better power-ups if you're behind) but you can dominate if you're good enough.  Nintendo probably wanted nerfy "everybody wins" Mario Kart from the beginning but they had not quite figured out how to do it yet and that's a good thing.

In fact that's a good way to sum up the SNES years.  The games were considerably more user-friendly than NES games and held the player's hand much more than before.  But it had not yet crossed a line where it felt annoying.  I feel the 16-bit generation is where game developers found that perfect balance regardless challenge.  Prior to that gen, games were seemingly designed to prohibit the player from winning at any cost.  Since then the approach is more to not let the player fail.  You can make a game that is challenging without jerking around the player or giving them a win button.  Many of the best SNES games find this balance and it's no coincidence that often the most beloved entry in a Nintendo franchise is the SNES one.

[qwerty1098]

if they put koopas in the mario karts why not goombas hammer bros or other mario enemies .they need the koopa kids

[Dasmos]

I'm with qwert1098 here. The roster of racers in Super Mario Kart is abysmal.