Top 10: SNES Games

I've been posting a lot these last couple of days. Probably badly written, probably full of spelling mistakes. Our (13 months old today) baby boy has had some trouble sleeping, which means we've been having some trouble sleeping, which means I've taken the opportunity to put some time into this blog. There's plenty to write about, plenty of ground to re-cover with my own perspective which is oh so often different to the whitewash standard in our little community. However, I'm not sure how different this particular list will be to the "normal". I'm certainly not going to select my top 10 SNES games based on cool factor to impress you lot. This will be an honest list, based on my experiences with the games in question.

A little history. As a child I got to play friends' consoles and computers. NES, Master System, Spectrum, Commodore 64. It was until Super Nintendo that I had one of my own - with Super Mario All Stars included. Now bear in mind that when I got my SNES I was around 13 years old, my family was poor, and my pocket money was £1 a week. I had to save for a year to buy a game, so each purchase had to count. Otherwise I experienced games by borrowing from friends, or later in life when cash flow was less of a problem. This list will incorporate games from both periods of my life, and is based on lasting appeal and not just what I loved then, but don't necessarily enjoy today.

Incidentally this was to be a top 5, but that was ridiculously hard to shortlist.

10. F-Zero
Just imagine what this game meant in 1991. Nothing like it had come before, certainly outside of the arcades. The sense of speed is tangible and the atmosphere created by the sound effects and the awesome music was new and exciting. It is often complained that this is single player only, though rumour has it that attempts to create a multi-player follow up led to fan favourite Super Mario Kart, and you start to understand the importance of F-Zero. It compares well to Wipeout, albeit in a time before "true" 3D where fancy schmancy scaling tricks were required to create what we see here.

Still enjoyable today, it earns its place on this list and would be higher if not for the incredible quality of what follows.

9. Starwing
Or Starfox elsewhere. Starwing introduced us devotees of Nintendo to proper 3D. Wireframe models perhaps, but they work here. The entire package is near perfect, with charm up to the eyeballs and plenty of replay value with various routes through the game. Its sequel, Lylat Wars (StarFox 64) came to N64 with full textures all round, but it (and subsequent games) failed to capture the magic that the first game brought to SNES.

8. Earthworm Jim
Ah Earthworm Jim. Another title that brought with it lovely, new, exciting flavours to our beloved games machines. It sold on the graphics, but we stayed for the inventive gameplay and level design. An unprecedented degree of variety takes us through the slightly random tale of a regular Earthworm (called Jim...) who stumbles upon a suit of armour that takes him on a mission to defeat Queen Slug-For-A-Butt (in remembering this from 20 years ago rather than looking it up, but something like that).

The characters you meet on the journey are tremendous fun, as is controlling Jim himself. Jumping, shooting and whipping (with Jim's body being the whip) are all enjoyable and the boss fights are exciting. The game is difficult and comes from an era with limited lives, limited continues, and no save option. Finishing it then is an exercise in skill and brings a feeling of great accomplishment. Sadly the sequels didn't live up to the pure gameplay of the original.

7. Stunt Race FX
Another showcase for the power of Nintendo's Super FX chip, this racing game was something different to others we loved on the system. Controls are sloppy and the framerate is low, but the overall package is pure joy. The soundtrack is chipper (though I remember I used to listen to The Wonder Stuff's Greatest Hits album a lot with this game) and gets you pumped up for racing. A bonus game has you drive an articulated lorry around a track that it doesn't want to go around in order to earn a bonus. The various cars, each win their own handling and speed characteristics, also have their own personality communicated through their headlight eyes.

A secondary mode has you rushing through obstacle courses. The wobbly controls mean I never got far with these, but they were fun in their way.

6. Super Metroid
Probably the first of my list that is on everyone's list, Super Metroid is special indeed. I've mentioned atmosphere before in this article, and it is an important factor in my enjoyment of games from adventures to FIFA, and this game has it in spades!

Essentially an exercise in navigating a maze, finding power-ups to open new routes through it, and killing some big bosses on the way, it's easy to get lost. The enjoyment of playing the game today is still strong despite generally knowing my way around, and there is a beauty in its design that this is the case. Speed running and trying for a faster time is fun - the whole thing can be done in around 4 hours, but it will take several times that for newcomers.

5. Donkey Kong Country
Another game sold on its graphics, but loved for its content. Everything about this title comes together into one big, warm bundle of magic.

DKC was a massive game when it released. Rare were beloved before but I'd posit that this was the game that truly put them on the map. Once again, everything about it just came together to create a memorable, challenging, enjoyable adventure. The minecart stages are really hard even as well practiced as I am now, and the inertia on the character, particularly after a roll, can lead to trouble, though this is in your hands at all times with responsive controls failing because of your poor reactions.

In the U.K. the game shipped with a CD called "Go Ape!" which included a selection of indie hits of the time. It introduced me to two bands I still hold dear today - Radiohead and Pop Will Eat Itself. It was a great bit of marketing, if slightly random.

The game and its direct sequels were ported to Gameboy and Gameboy Advance, and of course pseudo sequels appeared on Wii, Wii U and 3DS in recent years, but its naturally the SNES original that holds the crown, for me at least.

4. Unirally
Even in my youth I had a taste for the obscure, and when I saw this I knew I had to try it. It didn't disappoint.

Racing as a riderless, sentient unicycle, you race against opponents, performing tricks to increase your speed. The tracks are colour-coded to warn of hazards, and bad or unfortunate timing would result in lost time. Part platformer, part racer, this was a true exercise in level memorisation as you played again and again to improve your records.

The various stage types included A to B sprints, multi-lap races, and point-scoring trick levels with half pipes and ramps.

Rock n Roll was your soundtrack, and it was great, punctuated by the sound of successful (or not) tricks.

This is one game that could use a reboot right about now, with its 2D presentation and clever, tight mechanics. I lost hours and hours to this, and I don't regret them one bit.

3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Now we get to the one super obvious Super Nintendo title, one that surely exists on anyone's top ten. Often cited as the best Zelda game, and I won't disagree.

This was the second game I ever owned for the SNES, picked up preowned for £25 at SRS, a local camera and computer shop. The little slot in front of the cartridge that held it in place in the cartridge slot was painted gold by a previous owner, and it had all the gubbins in the box. I can almost taste my excitement all these years later.

Today, some 25 years later, I can play through the game without pausing. Some sections stump me briefly (I always forget to drop down and get the Moon Pearl!), but by and large I remember where I need to be when, and that has only come from "more than a few" playthroughs.

Every element of the game is masterfully crafted to create a cohesive world. The dungeons are well-designed and increasingly taxing, opening up as you locate new items. After finishing the Light World section, recovering the Master Sword in a moment of triumph and using it to defeat the wizard Agahnim, you are transported to the Dark World - a facsimile of your own Hyrule twisted by Gannon's power. It's almost like a whole second game.

I replay this now every few years. It used to be more frequent, annual at least, but well several generations of hardware and dozens of games have joined my library and there's only so much time for revisiting the past. Pun intended.

2. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
I'd experienced some Mario at this point (more on that in a minute) including playing through much of Super Mario World with a friend, but I was not prepared for what would greet me when I powered up this game. It was purchased on a whim. I didn't know it existed I just happened to have saved enough money to buy a new game, and found this in the shop. The box art jumped at me and snatched away my £50.

As the intro sequence began I was instantly hooked. Beautiful crayon art, coloured in a manner that suggested this game was set in a sketchbook. The music was sublime. Then the game started.

Yoshi controls perfectly, and the added egg throwing mechanic unlocks new gameplay ideas compared to early games in the Mario series. In some sections, Yoshi can transform into various vehicles in a race against time to collect coins and make it to the finish block and progress.

The game introduces the idea of 100% completion per level, requiring you to locate 20 red coins hidden amongst regular yellow ones (though I quickly noticed that on my tv the "secret" reds were slightly orange so easy to spot), 5 Daisies and finishing the level with 30 stars. These stars represent Baby Mario's health - if you are injured he falls from your back and floats about in a bubble, the number of stars counting down. When they get to zero Mario is kidnapped and you lose a life. Finish the level with all secrets and you score 100. Finish all eight levels of a world with 100 points and you unlock a special stage.

It's really hard. For all its child-friendly aesthetic this game is super tricky, especially to get 100% throughout. The special stages ramp things up further. Bosses are easily the best in the Mario universe too, particularly the finale against Bowser, who fills your view and attacks you from within the screen.

The inventiveness, fun and sheer joy of Yoshi's Island earns it number two on my list. It would have been number one, except for one more game that holds a very special place in my heart.

1. Super Mario All-Stars
The game that came with my SNES. The options at the time were All-Stars or Street Fighter II (I forget for sure, but I think it was Turbo). I spent weeks umming and ahhing over which choice to make. Street Fighter II was the hot ticket at the time, but then I had become obsessed with the possibility of owning all the NES Marios. I'd experienced plenty of NES previously, through friends, but most importantly I'd "rented" one from my babysitter's brother, who only had Super Mario Bros 2. My time with it was severely limited by my mother thinking it was terribly bad for me, so I used to wake up in the night and sneak some time with it. Needless to say it made an impression on my young mind.

Decision made, I went to school and came home to a beautiful yellow box on the table. My first ever home console!

Due to aforementioned poorness All-Stars had to last a long old time. It would be months before I was able to buy any other games, especially at Nintendo's prices. I became somewhat expert at these four wonderful pieces of gaming history - even making some progress through the insanely difficult Lost Levels.

The improvement to graphics and sound, particularly the music, was incredible. Controls are as tight as the series is famous for, and the ability to choose from two layouts for run and jump was typical Nintendo genius.

It's criminal that in this modern time of remakes and remasters this has not been modernised further, instead releasing as a SNES ROM on a disc for Wii for Mario's 25th Anniversary. What a shame, and perhaps proof enough that Nintendo is not especially concerned about the players - only their wallets. Since GBA, which had ports of games 2 and 3 of this collection, Nintendo have instead realised that there is plenty of money still to be made from selling each game individually with no further cosmetic work.

For sheer quality and quantity of content, not to mention the big variety between the 3 main (western) titles, and being my first even SNES cartridge, this remains my favourite SNES cartridge. I might even go so far as to say my favourite game (collection) ever. There have been better games since - including better Mario games - but this one holds a special place in history (gaming and mine).

I might even go buy a cartridge for my collection, even though I haven't owned a SNES in 20 years.

Honourable Mentions
For a system with so many amazing titles, compiling a list of only ten was very difficult. There are a few honourable mentions that would have been on the list had it been longer -

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles In time
Secret of Mana
Zombies
UN Squadron
Super R-Type

These games especially stand out in my memory as fantastic titles. Turtles In Time is a classic for a reason. Secret of Mana was hugely enjoyable, playing through it in a weekend staying with a friend who knew his way around (the music and art style are some of my favourites of all time). Zombies was fantastic, especially when played two-player. UN Squadron is hard as nails with great music and typical (for the time) Capcom charm. Super R-Type wasn't a critical success, but as a big fan of the series before this I absolutely loved the ability to enjoy a massively updated edition - complete with hi-fi remix of the level one theme.

Any of these games will please anyone looking for a fun SNES cartridge.