Feature: Best Super Nintendo (SNES) Games

I personally disagree with these rankings but a good list nonetheless. Killer Instinct is the biggest omission imo.

These top fifty lists are so interesting! This particular one has a good flavor. Also, it should be considered some kind of international crime that Terranigma never got released outside certain regions! That’s a gem, to be sure. PLEASANTLY surprised to see Gradius 3 on a top 50 that’s not featuring shmups. Nice!

If you haven’t patched that game with the SA-1 enhancement, you are missing out!

Chrono Trigger #1! Can we please get another game in this series

Surprised not to see Evo. That game was amazing. Pretty good list otherwise. Didn't think 3 versions of SF 2 should have made it.

Top 10 is good, congratulations everyone

Chrono Trigger is definitely #1 for the absolute amount of effort they put in.
TMNT IV is in the Top 10, so I'm a happy camper.
Although Kirby Superstar being 26 is just strange. Below Goemon? Really?

Some really strange choices here, like no Cybernator (!!!) or Hagane (and some more) here! But the top-10 is excellent...and most importantly is that Chrono Trigger is the #1, the 2nd best game ever!

It's a such pity that we missed out so many amazing japan only games on SNES, which easily has been included into the list!

The placings are all over the place for me but what a console library there. Just wow.

Super Mario Kart is way too low. That should be top ten.. it's also in my top 3 Mario Karts. I return to it at least once a week now that it's on the Switch. My list is very Mario heavy, though he starts to lose his place in future console rankings:
1) Super Metroid
2) Super Mario Rpg
3) Super Mario Kart
4) Super Mario World
5) Super Mario Allstars
6) F-Zero
7) Link to the Past
8) Megaman X
9) Yoshi's Island

Maybe I missed something...but did I just go through a top 50 list that didn’t include one game from the Super Star Wars trilogy?

Happy to see Chrono Trigger at #1. Absolutely the best game of a generation.

Where is Pilotwings you heathens?!?

The Power Rangers and Gundam fighting games are so much better than most Street Fighters on this list.

Also way too many JRPGs. No Joe & Mac or Super Smash TV, Hagane or Pocky & Rocky, Final Fight 3 or R-Type III? Seriously wtf?

Decent list, I'm disappointed that Pilotwings and Super Tennis haven't made the top 50. I would genuinely say that Super Tennis is my favourite sports game of all time and I still play it regularly.

Agreed that Killer Instinct should be in there. Really enjoyable fighter. Super Mario Kart outside the top 20 in a list of the best SNES games doesn't sit well with me.

Nah, Chronotrigger is a great game but it isn't better than A Link To The Past.

How can there be so many Street Fighter games on the list, and no Killer Instinct or Mortal Kombat 3?
Don't get me wrong, I love Street Fighter, but KI and MK3 were iconic, and I played them to death when I was a young kid.
Maybe they were more popular here in latin America than Street Fighter, I guess.

Nevertheless, good list.

Chrono Trigger's top spot is well earned. It was criminal not to see it represented on the mini

Super Castlevania IV on 17th spot? Really?

Fine. Everyone has the right of making errors.

No Top Gear??

We need more brazilians on this site.

Happy to see Lufia 2 as high as it is. That's one that I always thought know one paid attention to. It's my personal favorite.

Just about all 50 are absolute classics in my book, and shows just how many SNES games utterly hit the spot. You could probably add another 30-40 top notch games to the list too before running out of excellence.

Glad to see Chrono Trigger at its rightful place. This community knows what's up!

EDIT: The list got updated with Chrono Trigger in #3 and Super Mario World at #1...typical NintendoLife...

We did it, boys and girls. Zombies ate my neighbors is in the top fifty! Truly we are an enlightened bunch.

Aaand number 10.5, Dragon Quest V: hand of the heavenly bride.
It didn't make the list I assume because it is less known to westerners than FFV, which also wasn't localised?
Still one the best, if not the best, dq games, and very worthy of a place near the top of the list.

There seems to be a glitch on the rankings, because Zombies Ate My Neighbors is the greatest game of all time.

Best soundtrack, cruel RNG gods, beautiful level design, intelligent enemy weaknesses - beautiful gem from LucasArts and Konami

I think some of the Games deserves to be in the higher Places, like Chrono Trigger, but are way to high, Games like Earthbound got their recognition later and the Internet spread the Word about some of those Games, but other got played way more and aren't Go bad oder have less Quality.
It's like some Games get a "hidden Gem" Bonus

Edit:
Oh yes, as some mentioned, no Dragon Quest in the List, they just haven't got the "hidden Gem" Propaganda

Also many where left from the Vote.
But i am glad that at least Mystical Ninja was in there.
Sad that Goof Troop isn't in the Top 50, one of the greatest cooperative Games.

not an RPG fan so I’d put Zelda at number one.

then again I didn’t vote so I can’t complaint.

#1 - Is this list updating in real time? I opened the first page, and then maybe 20 minutes later went to the second page and some of the games on the first page had moved to the second.

#2 - "Final Fantasy V expanded the series' job system and came to the West in TOSE's 2006 GBA port Final Fantasy V Advance." Nope. FFV came to the west on the Playstation in 1999 as part of Final Fantasy Anthology.

What's with the bogus release dates listed? Sim City in 2006? ActRaiser in 2007? Hmm...

Starfox should be higher up but good list

A shame that Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War didn't make it. More people need to play that absolute gem. But at least Chrono Trigger and A Link to the Past are number 1 and 2. This site knows what's up.

Still no release date on FFV? Wow.

More seriously, the score seems to be missing. Whatever it is, it's obviously too low for the game to end up in the 40s.

Damn I want that turtles in time x x x

'Sunset Riders'? Did you guys just make that game up? Why did it rank 27th?

@Gaviin those are the Wii virtual console release dates...

some of my favorites: Breath of Fire 2, EVO: The Search for Eden, Demon’s Crest, and Spike McFang.

Pretty good list! Here's my top15
1. Super Metroid
2. Donkey kong country 2
3. Super Mario allstars
4. Zelda 3
5. Lufia2
6. Mega man x
7. Yoshi's island
8. Fire emblem 4
9. Contra 3
10. Super mario world
11. Fire emblem 5
12. The lost vikings
13. Zombies ate my neighbours
14. Secret of mana
15. Chrono trigger

The SNES is not in my top 4 retro consoles, so no strong feelings about any of these rankings

EarthBound deserves to be in the top 5. The second best RPG on SNES, behind Chrono Trigger.

@NinChocolate just curious, what is your top 4?

This felt like the worst of the nintendolife top 50 with having so many of the snes games unavailable to vote on.

@gaga64 Ah ok. That seems strange to include those dates instead of the original release dates on, ya know, the actual SNES. Lol.

I disagree with Nintendolife's choices for old Super Nintendo games.

Where the hell is the love for Big Sky Trooper? Eye of the Beholder? Tetris 2? B.O.B.??

Nintendolife, you suck

The SNES library is so stacked. Going through the list I kept seeing titles I would expect to be better ranked, but as I kept going generally each title arguably belongs where they are (with 1 exception IMO). Being ranked 25 or 30 on this list is no shame. There were just that many great games.

My biggest surprise was seeing Turtles in Time in the top 10. It was a fun game that I loved at the time, but IMO the only title that didn't belong in the top 10. The top 5 were pretty much my top 5, but not in the same order. I would have gone:

5. SMW
4. FF6 (III)
3. Alttp
2. Chrono
1. Super Metroid

@urrutiap I wasn't expecting anyone to bring up Eye of the Beholder (a game I really love). If you played the the PC version, the SNES version was a bit rough. Nevertheless, a really fun game!

@echoplex Haha this was one of the few I had never even heard of.

Nice list 🤠 And no, I can't think of anything more to say.

@GannonBanned This is why I love SNES library. I disagree that Zombies is #1, but it was such a fun, weird, unique game that I can totally see why it is your favorite. It seems like the SNES library is filled with games like this, in the sense that they weren't viewed as megahits but everyone that played them loved them.

@JohnnyC I feel like Turtles in Time should swap places with MarioKart.

@Chozo

Hey Chozo. I only had the Super Nintendo Eye of the Beholder back then. It was a fun game. Some odd stuff in some of the areas later on but i had fun with the game

I can think of better games though for the Super Ninteno. My list better than Nintendolife's list

I wasn't about to go through the whole list or worry about which ones should be in which spot, but it looks pretty solid to me. My personal favorite on SNES (and my #1 game of all time) is Final Fantasy III/VI with Chrono Trigger taking second. The SNES will always be my favorite game system, partly because nostalgia, partly because it just has so many classics that are still defining gaming and inspiring developers to this day.

I lobe these lists, but I hate to scroll through hundred of games. My suggestion: Do a two-step approach in the future. First step is to select the top 50 games, second step is to determine the order.

there were alot of games missing from nintendolifes overall SNES library, and for whatever reason I cannot rate final fantasy v, but ultimately, this ranking is not a definitive list, but a fine good-enough list.

here's hoping nintendo sees this and uses it as a guide as to what people actually want on Switch online, as opposed to whatever games they can dump on there. probably not, but still....

For those that don’t know, you can still rate your favorite games: “ the order below is fluid and can fluctuate even after publication. Haven't rated your favourite SNES games? Simply click on the User Rating star next to each title below and give it a score out of 10.”

And you can look up any game not on the list and rate it too.

Wish they would just do a list, no need for 5 pages!

Have these rankings changed? I swear Earthbound was 9 and TMNT was 10 earlier?

@gaga64 NES, Genesis, PS1, Turbografx. No hard order but I’ll occasionally tell people the NES was history’s greatest console

I think you’ll find super Mario world is the best SNES game. Then Metroid then dkc then maybe Zelda.

DKC2 should have been third. I agree with Chrono Trigger and ALTTP being first and second.

Not a bad list, but Kirby Super Star is so, so much better than that. It's definitely better than Secret of Mana, for example. I mean, it's a good game, but it's just that, it has far too many problems for it to be one of the best.

No Killer Instinct or Mortal Kombat II

I haven't play much SNES games when i was a child (my childhood was manly N64 and Gamecube). i recently picked up Super Mario All Stars and Yoshi's Safari and enjoyed both of those games. i can't say the others, as i have catalog of SNES games to go though. (from Wii U and cartridges.)

Difficult to argue with the top 10 but will say the lack of Killer Instinct and Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War hurts (the second one being a bit more forgivable with the lack of a Western release).

Maybe just because I was maybe 12-13 when the SNES landed, or pure nostalgia, but I think this console was the best. So many great games.

I’m sad contra/ probotector 3 wasn’t top 20. I remember the motorbike level that turns into jumping from missile to missile to catch up to the boss. I had a brain explosion about how insanely awesome that concept was. Loved that game

@Gaviin probably data from when the site’s focus was the Wii shop, that they didn’t bother updating when they added non-VC retro titles.

@NinChocolate fair play. Impossible to argue with the NES’ historical importance, though I personally feel a lot of 8-bit games haven’t aged too well, especially compared to the more vivid and complex 16-bit generation. But that’s probably as much down to personal history, as I never owned a NES.

...looks for "F-Zero" on the Top 10

...what is wrong with all of you out there!?

Final Fantasy VI (III U.S.) is better than Chrono Trigger imo. But, I can understand the argument for the other side on that one.

Still waiting on a FF1-6 collection on Switch. Take my money all day on that release.

The Snes has such an amazing library.

Terranigma needs to be higher! Come on, people, play it already! XD
Chrono Trigger and Zelda are unbeatable. Master pieces, two of the finest games ever created.

Spanky's Quest is all that matters. Sniffles

Glad to see ActRaiser on this list even if it's all the way down at 34. It was an amazing game for its time. It featured a nicely balanced gameplay combo of world building and hack-and-slash action, and the music was incredible for a video game in 1991. The visuals were impressive for the time as well, though they haven't aged as well as the rest of the package.

Reading some of these comments, it seems like the order of this list has changed multiple times in one day. Are they dynamically changing in real time as people on this site are rating games?

I tried over and over and never could get into Chrono Trigger. Earthbound was similar but I came to enjoy and appreciate it over time.

I always love reading through these kinds of lists, especially if it has to do with Super Nintendo, even though the top 10 usually isn't to much of a surprise any more.

Now I just hope they add some more games to the online service soon. I'm getting very close to playing through them all.

Look, I'm glad Kirby Super Star is on the list, but where the heck is Kirby 3? Both are wonderful installments in the series that deserve more recognition.

Most of the other usual suspects are here, at least. Congrats to Mario World and Yoshi's Island!

Evidently the list has changed as more people voted throughout the day. Killer Instinct is finally ranked (#50) and A Link to the Past has slipped into the #1 slot.

I can quibble over some of the specific rankings, but a very good list overall, and affirmation of my preference for the SNES above all other consoles.

@YoshiFlutterJump Kirby's Dream Land 3 is probably omitted because relatively few people have actually played it. It released after the Nintendo 64 launched, and in limited quantities — it's one of the rarest SNES carts today. That said, everyone's had more than a decade to try it on Wii or Wii U Virtual Console, and today via Switch SNES Online, so hopefully it will get more attention.

@JJtheTexan Yeah I can see that--Kirby is the king of late life releases after all, especially on SNES with a late life main game released after another late life main game with yet another spinoff released after that in Japan. But I am hoping that most take the opportunity of Switch Online to try it out.

@echoplex Sunset Riders is cowboy Contra. One of those games that seems to have not gotten much attention when originally released but became well regarded many years later.

I remember the original voting list seemed randomly incomplete.

Was tempting to vote some of the underdog games, but I don't.
Yes, we've all played Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid and A Link to the Past. Good games but we've just seen them so many times.

No love for Smash TV

@dartmonkey
"almost certainly due to Nintendo not wanting to pay The Tetris Company in order to use the name again."
From what I read, Tetris Company probably doesn't want to let them use the name again simply to preserve the name for games that actually use the Tetris gameplay. I think they did commend the game for being a good game on its own.

Ok, wow, many of my favourites have not even made the top 50. Guess, that just shows how good the SNES is though.

I love you NintendoLife, but you need to fix your Super Nintendo database. there were way to many games missing from there that weren't even available to vote on, including Nintendo published games like Super Scope 6.

Lost vikings 2, Blackthorne, BattleClash, Super Smash TV, Run Saber, Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, Joe & Mac, Earthworm Jim, Doom, Aladdin.

Those are all games that deserved a chance and being in the top 50, and some of them are definitely in my top 50.

@YoshiTails It wasn't even the voters fault, that game wasn't even available to vote on. Someone mentioned it on their poll comment section https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/poll_rate_your_favourite_snes_games?page=1

@Andy_Witmyer Yes, every one of these lists are determined by NL user ratings and the rankings change as the average ratings change. Too few seem to ever catch on to this.

@Papichulo Yeah, I loved Gundam Wing on the SNES 😄

@jump KI is on there, 47ish

Very happy to see Shadowrun on this list, although I do think it deserves to be a bit higher. A superb story, with great game mechanics and awesome music! Much better than the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of the game that came out a little later.

Btw, here is a link to the soundtrack!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq9-xrkGXQk

For me:
Super Metroid
ISS Deluxe
Yoshi Island
Mario Kart
Mario World
Star Fox
F-Zero
Top Gear 2
Smash Tennis
Super SF2

Super Castlevania
Contra
Axelay
Donkey Kong Country
Ghouls and Ghosts

No RPGs for me.

Big Sky Trooper was a fun game and it still is

So pleased to see The Lost Vikings ranked so highly (when I expected it to not even be on the list). Such a unique game and it's a shame the series has been lost to time.

However...very surprised to see that Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana isn't on the list at all. I guess not enough people were aware of it. A shame, because it's definitely worthy of the top 10

I hope they put Chrono Trigger on the Switch soon

In no particular order, games that obliterated my teenage years:
A Link to the Past
Super Mario World
Castlevania IV
Super Probotector 3
Turtles In Time
Street Fighter II Turbo
F-Zero
Prince of Persia (extra levels on the original)
Super Star Wars and it’s sequels

I’m sure there are a ton I’m forgetting too. I used to play a lot of Super Tennis and NBA Jam at a friends place also.

Funnily enough I never got into Super Metroid or Mario Kart or Donkey Kong Country until later. Likewise I just never got into Star Fox until the 3DS re-release. Don’t know how I missed those gems, but god damn just all around an amazing console and game library.

Recount the votes!

So many fond memories of the snes. My first memory was my(not back then) brother inlaw calling me up to look at his new console he had imported from the States. This big silver tin with Street fighter on the front. I was instantly hooked. He then plugged Mario world in and i was in love. My dad got me a pal SNES soon after and i loved it so much. Fond memories of going out with him on his travels and popping in to Dixons, comet or Electronics boutique to get a game after much belly aching from me. I remember being away for a week with him and he got me starwing. I must have read the box and instruction manual about 50 times over that week.Longest week ever.

@T317 Me too! I think Nostalgia played a large part, not in the sense that people are blindly giving credit to games merely because they were good in their childhood, as pretty much everything on this list is amazing, but, like someone mentioned about Kirby 3, SD3 was a late release, and really only known to people in Japan or those that played the fan translation emulated game a few years later. So, some sense of what you remember and loved playing a child will probably come into play a little bit. With Collection of Mana, and the remake, it should be better known, but the playing field is massive for the Switch these days! So many games and so little time to play them all. End of the day, the Snes was glorious though.

@Kilamanjaro Me too. I have never played it, but am very interested. I heard many ideas that ended up on the cutting room floor from Secret of Mana went into it, and, for me, that is reason enough to play, but that it tops the list here suggests it must be very special indeed!

Can't really argue with the top 3. Wouldn't have had Super Metroid or Yoshi's Island in my top 10 but I'd have been surprised if they weren't in this one.

Donkey Kong Country 2 not in the top 5 is shameful.

@jump Fluid list. You can still rate the games so it will change over time

Where’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Racing?

Me and my friends were really into Mortal Kombat in the 90's and we can't even vote for Mortal Kombat 2! Yet we can vote for every single Street Fighter ever released on the SNES! Why?!

As others have mentioned there are plenty of other good games that couldn't be voted for either, such as Micro Machines 2. Makes the 'Poll' a bit meaningless IMO.

@kidfunkadelic - I imported star fox from the states and played it via an adapter on my UK SNES. I’m fairly sure it cost me £80 or £90 even then. I’ve always been an impatient guy....

Served me in good stead when they had a starwing competition on kiosks, I think in Woolworths? I won and got a starwing cap

@Mana_Knight
It is to this day my favorite game of all time. And not even because of nostalgia, since, being european, I first got to play it when it released in the Wii VC. I was in my twenties then. One friend recommended Chrono Trigger, another praised Chrono Cross.
I played them both and both were fantastic.
I'd love for a simultaneous release on Switch.
And like every Chrono-fan I'm still hoping for Chrono Break.

Mario Kart only at 20!!!
and no Pilotwings???
...of course you are entitled to your own (zany) views

No super Ghouls n Ghosts or Demons Crest?

@Chozo that’s such a great point - the SNES had everyone’s perfect game, such an unusually strong library - beautiful system

@6thHorizon there’s a huge majority of people who inexplicably think Street Fighter II is better than Mortal Kombat.

Just one of those harsh truths about the cold universe we share.

Sub-Zero is dead. Long live Sub-Zero.

@Zeropulse one of my favorites, Chuck Rock (amazing theme song) was missing as well.

Not to mention the all-time classic Robocop Vs. Terminator

@NinChocolate what are the best retro consoles to you? I’m curious if we’ve reached the stage of N64 being retro, or are you recalling fond memories of bleep-blooping through Crystal Castles?

This list is pretty damned reasonable. A bit more so than I expected it to be, which says ....reasonable things about your the audience here, ha. The only unforgivable reversal here is putting Street Fighter II Turbo ahead of Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. Anyone who has played both would never objectively choose Turbo, as SSF2 is the upgraded version, with more refinements and options. Would take the SEGA Genesis version anyway, though.

Good to see Lufia 2 on the list.

@GannonBanned
Yes true!
But not having ANY Mortal Kombat available to vote for is a bit odd considering the game was massive back in the day.
Let the people decide!

With NL updating this list constantly the comments up top dont hold up well.....

@jump And it's on the list now because of people rating it! #49

Top 5 is spot on.

Surprised how low the original Street Fighter 2 was. The hype at the time for that game was absolutely unreal, if you think of current expectation for Last of us 2, Cyberpunk etc it was probably similar.

@jump I agree with your disagreement.

Pilotwings, Mortal Kombat & Top Gear. Huge omissions IMO.

Otherwise, pretty good list!

Also, why don’t they re-release TMNT for the Switch? That was fun couch co-op!

None of the amazing capcom beat em ups made the list and there were a lot of them. Knights of the round and captain commando were great but of course final fight 1-3 are always the classic answer to streets of rage. At least that capcom beat em up collection exists on switch.

I would swap Terranigma with for Super Mario ALl-stars, I like mario but this is a launch title remake bundle, but Terranigma is something special.

@Slain I know, Demon Crest is a great game so few people discuss this game or give it crap for not being perfect.

Happy to see Secret of Evermore make the cut. Such a unique game that plays with the style of Secret of Mana, but has its own character and world building. The soundtrack is great as well, being composed by Jeremy Soule of Skyrim fame (despite recent controversy). It's in my personal top 5 SNES games.

Goof Troop was robbed. Also still not a fan of Link to the Past however many times I try. And it’s funny calling Final Fantasy IV SNES ‘challenging’ when the 3D remake is about 4 million times harder.

That list is rock solid all the way through, which is a testament to just how amazing the SNES' library really was, and indeed still in even now, because these 2D 16-bit games hold up nigh-on perfectly even 30 years later.

Here's my personal Top 10 SNES Games of All Time: https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/kirks-top-10-super-nintendo-games-in-pics/

Can't even find Saturday Night Slammasters in the game listings to vote for it...

@Littlemac905 There was actually a sequel for the PS1 named Chrono Cross

Great list, I agree with the top 10 100%.

The problem I have with lists like this that are simply based on votes is that they're more of a popularity contest. And that's understandable since, if you haven't played a game that's not so popular, you can't vote for it. And no one has played every game. But these lists are also for amusement and discussion, and that's fine. Here I am leaving a comment. When it comes to the SNES, a lot of the games that make these lists don't do much for me. For example, I'm not a fan of Castlevania 4, Contra 3, and Axelay, among others. Having had a look at this list, I'd put Ninja Warriors Again above a good portion of this list, as that is one of my favorite SNES games and I never get tired of it.

Still missing of the classics like Star Wars and some of the Disney games.

I mean there's no way that a list compiled by voting will be on point, but boy this list is silly. Earthbound may not be an incredible "game" but I think it has the status of literature. So the fact that Yoshi's Island, Diddy Kong quest, and Super Mario RPG are above it is super disconcerting. Yoshi's island in particular is baffling because its not the worst game, but it has rotten elements and the fact that its sequels codified those elements makes those elements stand out more.

Any list that has Super Mario Kart all the way down at number 20 opens itself up to ridicule.

Oh look, the overrated Earthbound is in the top 10. Surprise, surprise...

@NintendoArchive They are above Erathbound because they are more FUN.

These are Video GAMES. They meant to be PLAYED. Not READ.

@DK-Fan if that's your only metric by which you judge this medium..........

@PeeKayy Thanks but I played through Chrono cross a couple of time. I think there is so much potential to make more entries into the series.

@the_beaver
I probably would have voted it high, but being in America I never got the chance to play it. Which is a shame since I loved Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.

I love a Link to the Past but Super Metroid is by far the best.

The games Of child hoods Are so fun

@rdrunner1178 Nowadays, it's fairly easy to play SNES games on a PC. And honestly, I don't even think that's considered piracy anymore XD. It's not that they can make money out of that...

There are so many games on this list (mostly from Square) that I wish would end up on the Super Nintendo app for Nintendo Switch Online. Seriously would love an easier way to play the original Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG that Nintendo Switch Online affords.

@DK-Fan Earthbound deserves to be on the list and should be higher up in my opinion. Even if the game had been released in Europe I very much doubt I would have bought it at the time but when it was released on Wii U VC I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and it didn't disappoint. Great game with an amazing varied soundtrack, good story and amusing dialogue.

My favorite game, Chrono Trigger, at number 1 - that's what I like to see!

Release dates are showing Virtual Console dates for many of these, and FF V says "TBA."

In response on the video: Earthbound is not on NSO yet right?? That would be great news!! Will check later