Many gamers to this day still renown Nintendo's 16-bit console as one the high watermarks ๊of gaming; a golden era for not just the big N, but for video games as a whole. The early 90s home of Mario was in an all-out battle royale with rival Sega, duking it out for 16-bit supremacy for much of the decade. This tough competition pushed the Japanese gaming juggernaut, and their third-party peers, to crank out a seemingly endless array of charming and addictive games for the SNES. While its success trajectory would take a slight dip compared to the game changer that was the NES, the machine still sold a more than respectable 49 million.
It certainly helped that the usual lineup of popular, colorful ips was well represented, and with slicker graphics to boot. Though the big N's franchises were also supplemented with a healthy dose of 2nd and 3rd-party games arguably unmatched in both quality and quantity for a Nintendo console, even today. An increasingly diverse palette of universally appealing games populated the library – particularly on t🧸he platformer, action, and RPG fronts.
With so many excellent games though, it's easy for a lot of quality software to get lost in the shuffle, and the SNES certainly had plenty that fall into this category. Whether it was a case of a lack of marketing, a strange premise, or simply being overshadowed by the Nintendo heavy hitters, the SNES had more than its share of hidden gems. Conversely, a console with so much hype and nostal🌱gia surrounding it is also bound to have its over🦂rated duds, or games that, upon revisiting, have aged like milk rather than fine wine.
With this list, we'll be examining some of the greatest ex🍰amples of both.
30 Bad: Super Scope 6 💦
Playing games with a giant plastic bazooka might seemﷺ like a neat idea, that is, until you've actually tried fumbling around with this large, cumbersome accessory. It's especially a lame experience when playing through these rather basic minigames that were supposedly meant to help push sales of these things. This managed to move millions of units, though this likely a result of people caring more about the gun than the games it came bundled with.
The games include a couple of Tetris clones, along with a few other shooters whose simplicity rivals that of freemium mobile titles. Yeah... This is no zapper Duck Hunt bundle...
29 Be♕st: The Lost Vikings
Yes, before Blizzard became the gaming empire they've morphed into, they created an obscure title on the SNES called The Lost Vikings. That this company was developing for Nintendo platforms in their early days is odd enough. Yet, it's even weirder to see this studio create such an overlooked game, especially when comapared to their massive hits like World of Warcraft and the Diablo series.
This game cleverly iജnterweaves puzzle, exploration, and platforming gameplay and contains an enjoyable co-op mode that suits the concept well. You're given 3 Vikings, whose unique abilities can be utilized to overcome a plethora of obstacles throughout each of the imaginative stages.
28 Bad: Super Mꦕario All-Stars ๊
Mama mia! How can a revamped SNES title featuring classic Mario games possibly be viewed as "bad" by any stretch of the imagination? Before you🐬 shout "blasphemy!" allow me 🧸to give this the proper context...
It isn't that Super Mario All-Stars is a horrible compilation, though it leaves something to be desired. For one, this package features little new content (outside the formulaic and frustrating Lost Levels from Japan, and a brief Super Mario 3 multiplayer battle). Additionally, the overall aesthetic and physics/mechanics have all be slightly watered down from the NES style to fit the more cutsey, surface level Super Mario World style.
Perꦗsonally, this game achieves little more than leaving me yearning fo🦩r the true NES classics after playing.
27 ꦬ Best: Kirby's Dream Course
Marking one of the few Nintendo-made titles on our list, Kirby's Dream Course gets somewhat lost in the shuffle, as it resides under the large shadow of hype that many direct towards the more popular Kirby Super Star. While that game is a solid platformer, this underrated gem runs with another unique feature of the charming pink p♉uff ball; his ability to roll.
The game features a basic, yet appealing premise, requiring you to aim Kirby and launch him across a plethora of unique courses into sporadically placed baddies, and eventually into a hole. If Kirby were an enjoyable game of mini golf, Kirby's Dream Course would be it.
26 Bad: Star Fox 🧜♈
The original Star Fox falls under the category of a game thatౠ hasn't aged too well, rather than being a straight up "bad" game.
Back in the early 90♑'s, Nintendo's pseudo 3D graphic funtionality, termed "Mode 7", was all the rage, and many renowned it for the epic visuals it showcased for its time. Though, one you've stripped away this poorly aged aesthetical gimmick (and the charming gibberish chirped by your animal pals), you're left with a pretty average space shooter. The controls can be a bit finicky and tough to wrestle with, and the content is somewhat slim. The N64 sequel did just about everything better anyway; not the least of which was an included multiplayer mode.
25 Best: Batman Returns 🦋
While the 1992 film from which this beat 'em up was based recieved pretty mixed reception, this SNES title proves to be surprisingly fun and enduring. Take the Final Fight sidescrolling button mashing formula, and you essentially have Batman Returns for the SNES. That's not a horrible thing though, considering how enjoyable those fighting games still are. The game contains some pretty aesthetics, cool cutscenes, detailed animation (for 16 bit standards), and satisfying combat mechanics. If only there was a multiplayer mode (with Robin?), this could be one of 🎐the best beat 'em ups in the SNES library.
24 ﷽ Bad: Dragon Quest I & II
Now don't get me wrong – the early Dragon Quest games are pretty decent RPGs, at least for NES standards. But therein lies the issue here; this package of DQI & II are naught but ports of these archaic JRPGs, which, even by the standards of the SNES era, show their age immensely. It also doesn't help that these first two entries in the Dragon Quest series were on the weaker side compared to the more fleshed out and interesting sequels that came after them – the exceptions being VI and arguably VII.
23 Best: Wild Snake 💝
You'd think that a game from which the creator of the iconic puzzle phenomenon, Tetris, would be more widely known. But alas, Alexey Pajitnov's previous work has ironically overshadowed this similarly addictive but overlooked '94 puzzler, Wild Snake.
Rather than matching up and arranging simple blocks ala Tetris, this time we're tasked with matching similar colors and types of snakes. The kicker here is that the snakes sl💝ither around until they hit a final resting point when placed, adding an interesting new dynamic to the basic puzzle gameplay. You've also got the sat🅘isfying ultimate weapon – the King Cobra – who plows through everything in its path.
22 Bad: Do💧nkey Kong Country 3
Poor Donkey Kong Country 3 – despite existing as a semi-decent platformer in its own right, it has the misfortune of being compared to its far more successful and together older siblings, DKC1 and 2. While the first entry w🦩as a groundbreaking introduction, and the 2nd added tons of depth, this 3rd iteration took things a little too far.
The odd feature of whacking the backs of armored Kౠremlins holding up DK coins as a shield in order to nab them felt chore-like, for one. The once smooth, intuitive platforming gameplay is all but missing here, giving way to annoying gimmicks, backtracking, and ridiculously tough gameplay.
21 🗹 Best: Uniracers
It's surprising how much fun can be had fumbling with such a goofy concept of zipping around and flipping midair as a simple unmanned unicycle. Yet, when you realize that the developers of the original Lemmings and GTA titles were responsible for its development (then called DMA Design), it tends🦄 to m🉐ake more sense.
This game had it where it counted – tons of ꦛfast-paced action, awesome music, and satisfying, tight mechanics. Being flung off ramps and successfully landing a combo of tricks, as your vehicle speeds ahead, proves a massively pleasing endeavor.