The 20 Best SNES Games of All Time

The Super Nintendo turned 16-bit hardware into a golden age: Nintendo's own platformers, Square's RPGs, Capcom's fighters and Rare's pre-rendered spectacle all landed on the same machine. Vote on which one still holds up best.

1

Super Metroid

The 1994 atmospheric exploration classic that gave the metroidvania genre its name.

1000pts

2

Super Mario Kart

The 1992 original that turned Nintendo's mascots into a racing series.

943pts

3

Final Fantasy IV

The 1991 RPG that introduced the Active Time Battle system to the series.

900pts

4

Super Mario World

The 1990 launch platformer that introduced Yoshi and set the standard for 2D level design.

800pts

5

EarthBound

The 1994 cult RPG set in a satirical version of suburban America.

771pts

6

Kirby Super Star

The 1996 compilation of eight Kirby adventures with a copy-ability sidekick system.

600pts

7

Chrono Trigger

Square's 1995 time-travelling RPG with multiple endings and an all-star development team.

600pts

8

Super Castlevania IV

The 1991 gothic action platformer with a whip that swung in eight directions.

600pts

9

Contra III: The Alien Wars

The 1992 run-and-gun shooter widely held to be the series' hardest and best entry.

600pts

10

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

The 1996 Square and Nintendo collaboration that sent Mario into a turn-based adventure.

600pts

11

Secret of Mana

The 1993 action RPG built around real-time combat and three-player co-op.

491pts

12

F-Zero

The 1990 launch racer that showed off Mode 7 scaling at blistering speed.

491pts

13

Final Fantasy VI

The 1994 ensemble RPG with fourteen playable characters and an opera scene.

491pts

14

Street Fighter II Turbo

The faster 1993 revision that made the SNES the home of competitive fighting games.

491pts

15

Star Fox

The 1993 rail shooter whose Super FX chip put polygons on 16-bit hardware.

491pts

16

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

The 1995 hand-drawn prequel where Yoshi carries baby Mario across the island.

360pts

17

ActRaiser

Quintet's 1990 hybrid of side-scrolling action and god-game town building.

360pts

18

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The 1991 top-down adventure that defined the Zelda template for a generation.

360pts

19

Donkey Kong Country

Rare's 1994 platformer whose pre-rendered graphics stunned the 16-bit generation.

200pts

20

Mega Man X

The 1993 reinvention that gave the Blue Bomber wall jumps and a darker story.

200pts