10. EarthBound (SNES)

EarthBound succeeds at not only being one of the most unique and refreshing RPG experiences ever created, but also one of the most epic and entertaining as well. Combining classic RPG gameplay elements with a heart-warming modern spin, the game somehow feels familiar yet strange all at the same time. With a peerless visual style, soundtrack and storyline, playing EarthBound is like revisiting a vivid childhood memory of fun and adventure. You can't repeat the past, but you can certainly revisit it. Mother!

9. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (not Diddy Kong's Quest) is a beautiful secret-filled game with a gorgeous soundtrack that helps create an atmosphere that sticks in the memory. You end up returning to this simply to enjoy your surroundings and have 'that feeling' again. We've found this to be a feature of many Rare games and the second SNES entry in the DKC series is a prime example. Debate will rage as to which of DKC games is best, but this is up there with the very, very best.

8. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is not only a brilliant game in its own right, it's a history lesson in how the Mario role-playing series began. Anyone who has played the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series should play Square's original title that started it all. Super Mario RPG paved the way and inspired both of these series, and we should be eternally thankful to Squaresoft for this gem.

7. Super Mario All-Stars (SNES)

An extremely impressive package featuring the NES Super Mario Bros. games with a 16-bit lick of paint, Super Mario All-Stars was a convenient way to revisit the classics back on Super NES. Ultimately, with the exception of Super Mario Bros. 2 (we'd say that this collection contains the optimum version of that game), the originals arguably still offer the best experience these days. If you're playing this via Nintendo Switch Online, they're all accessible so you can easily see for yourselves.

However, for anybody who first experienced the NES games in this package, we understand if this represents peak 2D Mario for you and offers the ultimate nostalgia trip; everyone's a winner now that they're all available on Switch.

6. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)

Yoshi's Island is the absolute summit of not just Yoshi games, but platformer games in general, with a wonderful vision of pastel colours, majestic backdrops, and character-oozing sprites. Honestly, it's difficult to remember any other game that matches or even comes close to the amount of detail that Yoshi's Island did, past or present. The level of charm is astronomical. Every enemy seems quite intentional. There will be moments when you refrain from killing an enemy just to watch it in action.

With its deep exploration-based gameplay and gorgeous art style, Yoshi's Island is still a joy to play all these years later. Yoshi's Island isn't just a great platformer: it's a reminder of why this silly little hobby of ours is so wonderful.

5. Final Fantasy III (SNES)

For many, Final Fantasy VI (or III as it was known in the West for a while) is the pinnacle of the RPG genre. You can't help but appreciate how epic and enthralling a quest Square was able to cook up for this sixth release in the series, and it still feels as magnanimous and relevant today as it did 30 years ago. If you've somehow never played Final Fantasy VI in any of its various forms over the years, you truly owe it to yourself to experience one of the best releases the series has to offer. You can pick the original up on the SNES Classic, or check out those rather great GBA or Pixel Remaster rereleases.

4. Super Metroid (SNES)

We dislike overusing the word 'masterpiece', but in this case (and in the case of a chunk of top-tier SNES releases) it's absolutely accurate. Super Metroid is the standard by which all Metroid games are judged, and an impossibly high one, at that. If you're a franchise fan, you'll have played this to death. If, however, you've never dipped your toes into Nintendo's pool of sci-fi action exploration, this is the one you need to play. That's all there is to it.

3. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Chrono Trigger is, and will always be, one of the most unforgettable RPG experiences ever to grace a video game console. Even the first time you play it, you'll immediately know that you're experiencing something special. It brought so many new ideas to the table that give it its unique look and feel, and on a remarkable system noted for its extensive catalogue of RPGs, Chrono Trigger is at the very top of the SNES pile.

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the best games of all time, and if you haven't experienced it yourself... you probably have through one of the other Zelda games, such was its influence on the series and the action-adventure genre. It introduced many mainstays of the franchise, including various stalwart items and the idea of parallel worlds. Link could move diagonally and run thanks to the Pegasus Boots, and he could swipe his sword sideways, allowing for a much wider range when attacking.

There's no shortage of 2D and 3D Zeldas to choose from these days, but this 16-bit entry codified the core elements of a 'Zelda game' for the decades that followed. It's still got that touch of magic about it many years later. Unmissable.

1. Super Mario World (SNES)

There is endless debate about whether Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World is the better game. For our money, they are two sides of the same coin — two faces of a monumental peak in the video game landscape. This remains an incredible achievement of invention and sheer entertainment that the 2D platforming genre has struggled to match ever since. Introducing Yoshi and an expanded overworld with multiple paths, Mario World overflows with secrets and secret exits that were perfect for fuelling playground gossip and elevating it to the upper-est echelons of platform video games, 2D or otherwise.

Decades on, it still doesn't get much better than this. All games have flaws, but if there exists an exception to that rule, Super Mario World is it.

SNES & Super Mario World Nintendo Life
Image: Nintendo Life

Some rather good video games there, wouldn't you agree? Disagree with the ordering above? Remember, you can still influence the ranking by rating your SNES games and, perhaps, elevating one that's bubbling under into the top 50. Either click/tap the User Rating stars on the titles above to rate games from this article, or head to the Nintendo Life games database and search for your game of choice. Click on the title to go to the game page and tap/click the 'Game Rating' box on the right to give the game a rating out of 10.

For any SNES games missing from our database that you would like to see, we're working on adding the full library of Super Nintendo games to our database. With this being an ever-changing list, there's no reason they can't appear once they've been added — we'll let you know once they're live and we can revisit this ranking to see if and how it changes.

Feel free to let us know your favourite 16-bit treasures below.