30 Years of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Wow, 1991 seems so long ago, right? 

Naughty by Nature is saying O.P.P., Nirvana releases their legendary album, “Nevermind” in-store shelves, with their iconic hit – “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Will Smith as The Fresh Prince just released their summer anthem called “Summertime” with DJ Jazzy Jeff, the 1991 NFL season is about to start and Sonic was just released on the Sega Genesis.

Well, Nintendo had an answer for Sega. On Friday, August 23rd, 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released in stores. It included two controllers with the legendary Super Mario World as the pack-in game. Other games launched with the Super Nintendo were Nintendo’s own F-Zero and Pilotwings and Konami’s Gradius III – an Arcade hit in Japan — released in 1989. The design was a top-loading mechanism, designed by Lance Barr — who also designed the Nintendo Entertainment System, with an eject button in between the power and reset ones. It was initially considered being backwards compatible with the Nintendo Entertainment System, but was scrapped due to costs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxg5eOPmzHI&t=32s – Super Mario World

Yes, we have to start off with the game that was packaged with many Super Nintendo’s — Super Mario World! It was an exemplary follow-up to the legendary Super Mario Bros. 3 – released the prior year on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Mario World enhances the gameplay experience with unparalleled graphics for its time, with fine-tuning the environments. SMW marked the debut of Yoshi — a green dinosaur that Mario uses to maneuver through various levels, as well as eating berries and enemies. Mario also has the ability to fly with a cape, when using a feather. Koji Kondo’s musical score was fantastic for this game, when he used drums when Mario rides on Yoshi and the dark-sounding themes in the castle and the Ghost House. In Super Mario World, you can use “A” to make Mario spin and destroy the enemy.

Super Mario World would go on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide, being also bundled with the 1993 release — Super Mario All-Stars — a compilation of all 3 NES Super Mario Bros. Games, as well as the Japanese exclusive — Super Mario Bros. – The Lost Levels (aka the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2) in 1994. Super Mario World would go on to make many lists of the greatest video games of all-time. It won the “Game of the Year” awards for Nintendo Power in 1991. Around this time, DiC produced a Saturday Morning cartoon series on NBC based on the game. It lasted from September to December 1991.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIe4AvKLSa4 – F-Zero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4YeAdyYq4M&t=74s – The soundtrack of F-Zero
F-Zero — A futuristic racing game — Also showcased what the then-new Super Nintendo was capable of. Stunning Mode-7 effects — scaling and rotating, as well as upbeat music and fast gameplay made F-Zero a hit. F-Zero featured hover cars instead of normal cars and a variety of stage designs, such as purple lights, blue oceans, windy roads and icy/snowy atmosphere. F-Zero used these revolutionary techniques to prove that Nintendo was still a powerhouse in the gaming industry. F-Zero featured an upbeat soundtrack, which goes along well with its high-octane gameplay. You also have a power meter as a life meter, as when it runs out — you lose a life. There are four characters in the game — the Blue Falcon represents the bounty hunter named Captain Falcon, who is a native of Port Town (one of the tracks in the game) and describes himself as a “fierce competitor who will throw his hat into the ring, no matter the prize” (as Quoted in the October 1991 issue of Nintendo Power). Falcon has a tough shell and is described as an “all-around machine.” Then you have, the “Golden Fox,” driven by Dr. Stewart — who accelerates well, yet handles poorly. The Golden Fox is always the first to take the lead in the race. Next up, you feature Pico — the alien from Death Wind — drives the Wild Goose — has an armored shell, which doesn’t take many hits. And finally, you have Samurai Goroh — who rides the Fire Stingray (the pink vehicle) — uses the highest maximum speed, despite his slow acceleration rate. It’s a rumor that he used stolen parts!

F-Zero features each race lasting five laps, where if you finish 20th — you’re automatically disqualified from the race. Other dangerous guidances will drain your energy, which causes your vehicle to explode. I like the fact they added that thundering explosion where fire blazes over the ruble of your car.

F-Zero would become an astonishing success for the Super Nintendo, having sold millions of copies — earning a “Player’s Choice” reissue in November 1997.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M04cnW9Ojg4 – Pilotwings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_TQrWdj9U – The music of Pilotwings

Pilotwings — another launch title from Nintendo — was an amateur flight simulator game, where the player hopes to gain pilot licenses through hang-gliding, skydiving, light plane and a rocket belt. Also included, are stages with an attack helicopter, a penguin landing in the pool and a bird flying. The game showcased the Super Nintendo’s use of Mode 7 capability to showcase scaling and rotating in creating many different effects, especially mimicing 3D graphics in flat objects. It takes place in a series of areas called “The Flight Club,” where you have to pass each training area to obtain licenses contingent upon the difficulty of the courses. In order to pass, you must earn points to exceed a certain threshold to move on to the next level. It uses a password system, where you can save your progress as you move on towards the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee94MaeUqXw&t=31s – Pilotwings Hang Glider song

Pilotwings was well-received upon its release — describing its Mode-7 graphics as “jaw dropping” and “stunning.” The soundtrack is nice to listen to, as well as the plane and rocket belt sounds. The Hang-Glider song is definitely my favorite from the game. By August 1996 (a month before the Nintendo 64’s release — which Pilotwings 64 was a launch title), it sold over two million copies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJZc6gAgZTE – Gradius III

The first-ever third-party game for the system — Gradius III by Konami. Gradius III is a single-player scrolling shooter game, where you guide the starfighter Vic Viper to battle against the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire, with a total of ten levels in the game. Vic Viper is controlled in a third-person perspective, to avoid colliding with walls. There are free-floating powerups scattered throughout the game. Plus, Gradius III introduced the edit mode, as the player can use a mixture of missile, double, laser, shield and “special” (“!”) power-ups into their own custom combination. However, some of them are unable to be used in custom schemes.

Gradius III was highly praised due to its difficulty, sound and gameplay. However, the game experiences slowdown (as in most early Super Nintendo titles), when many enemies appear at once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAhkGAjgRuo – SimCity

Shortly after the release of the Super Nintendo, Nintendo — under license from Maxis — released the 1989 PC hit called SimCity. SimCity is where you create and design a city, develop residential and industrial areas, where you collect taxes for the city by building infastructure. It was in development since 1985 by Will Wright — videogame designer. It also has the opportunity for a player to save a city from its problems, such as scenarious from San Francisco in 1902, Tokyo in 1961 (which features a cameo appearance by Bowser from the Mario series), Detroit in 1972, Boston in 2010 and Rio de Janerio in 2047. Whenever a city reaches 500,000 people, there will be a statue of Mario in the game! It also has an outstanding soundtrack, where the Title Screen and the Village themes are my personal favorites. It was a success and by 1996, it sold millions of copies, where it was re-released under the “Player’s Choice” program for the then-five-year-old Super Nintendo. Interestingly, a planned release for the Nintendo Entertainment System was supposed to occur alongside the SNES version, but was canceled.

Capcom would go on to be a strong player for the Super Nintendo in its initial year, releasing hits such as Final Fight, U. N. Squadron and Super Ghouls N Ghosts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCN-YOi14o&t=1239s – Final Fight

Final Fight is the port of the 1989 arcade classic, where you guide Cody and Haggar through the streets of Metro City to fight the Mad Gear Gang, who kidnapped the latter’s daughter named Jessica (who was the former’s girlfriend), to save her. Released in September 1991, it was a good game for the system, despite lacking a two-player mode and the other character named Guy (In 1994, there would be a “Final Fight Guy,” which was a rental exclusive — where he replaces Cody). Final Fight has outstanding gameplay and a 80s-inspired soundtrack which keeps players coming for more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY4Z8I7oA5A&t=464s – U. N. Squadron

U. N. Squadron was another successful Capcom hit, which was a port of the 1989 arcade game. Another September 1991 release, it was a side-scrolling shooter, featuring an energy bar consumed over a single life as a player consumes damage. You can choose from three characters in the game — Shin Kazama, Mickey Simon, and Greg Gates. Prior to starting the game, the player can use money to upgrade their weapons and defense to help them maneuver through the game. It garnered high reviews, such as highlighting the gameplay, graphics and a wide variety of power-ups and atmospheric sound. However, the game is very difficult.

Super Ghouls N Ghosts is a side-scrolling platform game, where you control knight Arthur to maneuver through eight levels, in order to defeat the evil Sardius. Released in November 1991, the game was a straight port to a console, while its predecessors Ghosts N Goblins and Ghouls N Ghosts — started in the arcade (also on the Nintendo Entertainment System). It is known to be a arduous game and despite this, it was actually well-received. It would be released on the Super NES Classic Mini in September 2017.

Another November 1991 release was by Enix. This time it was called ActRaiser — a game that combined many simulation and platforming sections. You use The Master to control the angel and use an animated statue when interacting with the world. However, on the simulation side, you control the angel, as well as controlling the statue during action sequences in an overhead view. In addition to these, you help the Master’s new civilization towards prosperity.

ActRaiser was well-received, due to its astonishing gameplay and classical soundtrack. Its soundtrack won the “Best Music Award” by Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1993.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdEd3Z5TQYY – Final Fantasy II

In November of 1991, SquareSoft released Final Fantasy II (known as Final Fantasy IV in Japan). Final Fantasy II is a role-playing game, where you use a copious quest of characters and to complete quests to maneuver through the story. You can also use them to interact with people and enemies in various surroundings such as forests, towers and caves. In this game, Square introduced a Time-Battle System, where it occurs when a player gives instructions for the characters during the battles when they’re fight.

Final Fantasy II was well-received. In the November 1991 issue of Nintendo Power praised it for “setting a new standard of excellence of role-playing games,” as well as describing the battles as “one of the more interesting ones,” commencing, “the fans will be riveted by the story, graphics and play.” Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 32 out of 40, describing it as “Square redefining what the ultimate RPG should be like,” praising the Mode 7 effects “making spectacular use of the Super NES.” It has been in many publications “greatest video games of all-time,” such as Nintendo Power, GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly and GameFaqs. In September 1997, Nintendo Power ranked it #9 in their “Top 100 videogames of all-time,” during their 100th issue, while they ranked it 28th in their 200th issue in 2005.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7P7niYimk – Super Castlevania IV
Konami would release another big hit in 1991, called Super Castlevania IV. Released on Wednesday, December 4th, 1991, it expanded upon the first three NES Castlevania games, where you control Simon in eleven side-scrolling stages. Simon can use his whip in attacking enemies by the direction of the control pad and to latch onto rings in areas that are too wide to jump across. Simon also has the ability to move even when he crouches. Super Castlevania IV would become a critical success, being in many all-time video game lists, thanks to its sheer gameplay, dark atmosphere, outstanding graphics and music.

While 1991 was a solid year for the SNES, 1992 would even be better. Around March or April of that year, Nintendo would release a Player’s Guide showcasing the system and highlighting the games released up to that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6hjG6MCcZ8&t=5416s – The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85u34SUh05Y – The soundtrack to The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past
The best Super Nintendo game of all-time — The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past was released on Monday, April 13, 1992. It was a overhead perspective (as it was in The Legend of Zelda), where you guide the protagonist named Link — who resides in Hyrule Castle with his uncle — to rescue Princess Zelda from the treacherous dark wizard named Agahnim, who sets up a chain of various events to release his dark master. To combat this, Link must rescue the seven descendants from various dungeons in the Dark World. Many items such as the Hook Shot, Master Sword and the Spin Attack were introduced in this game. Link has the ability to fall through holes to lower levels, as well as walking between floors. The game was the appearance of the player controlling Link to travel the two parallel worlds. He can use the light mirror to travel between the Light World and the Dark World.

The Legnend of Zelda — A Link to the Past would become an instant success. It would spend over six years on the Nintendo Power Charts from February 1992 to December 1998. It sold over six million copies, that in 1996, it was re-released under the Nintendo’s “Player’s Choice” line. It is included in many of the greatest video games of all-time lists and it is considered by many SNES enthusiasts (including myself) as the greatest title on the system. In 1992, it was voted as the “Best Sequel” on Electronic Gaming Monthly and tied with another SNES game — Street Fighter II — as the “Best Game of the Year” in the Chicago Tribune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQBfWT4v28 – Contra III – The Alien Wars
On Thursday, March 26, 1992 — two days before Christian Laettner hit the shot against Kentucky in the NCAA East Regional Finals — Konami released another SNES Classic — Contra III – The Alien Wars. Contra III is a side-scrolling run and gun game, reminiscent of the series predecessors. The players take the role of Bill Rizer and Lance Bean combating against Alien Invasions on earth, with a total of six stages, where two of them take place from an overhead perspective. Contra III received high praise, due to its Mode 7 presentation, sprite-scaling and aligniing well with the gameplay and sound. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, it “pushed the limits of the SNES hardware.” Many believed Contra III showcased the gameplay being a good challenge and the best game in the Contra series. Two years after the game’s release, it would receive a port on the Original Game Boy, followed by a 2002 release on the Game Boy Advance.

The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past may have been a hit for the Super Nintendo in 1992. However, it was Capcom’s 1991 arcade hit — Street Fighter II, helped the Super Nintendo in its early days to be competitive with the Sega Genesis. Many publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, etc. built the hype for this game and had many customers calling in stores such as Babbage’s, Electronics Boutique, etc. to see if the game was in stock. Well, on Wednesday, July 15, 1992, that was answered as Super Nintendo owners were happy to finally play this game in their homes. Street Fighter II was very successful for the system — that it was Capcom’s best-selling game for over 21 years — until Resident Evil 5 took over that spot in 2013. It received 38 out of 40 on Electronic Gaming Monthly — receiving it’s “Game of the Month” award. In the August 1992 issue of GamePro Magazine — It received a 5 out of 5, describing it as “Capcom’s best arcade conversion yet” and praised the new options and the convenience. Nintendo Power called it “The Best Game of 1992” even over their own game — The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpz0xxjZuCw&t=963s – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV – Turtles in Time
On Saturday, August 15, 1992, Konami did not disappoint as they released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV – Turtles in Time for the Super Nintendo. It delivered as it showcased outstanding two-player co-op, added bonus levels that weren’t even on the arcade version and perfect controls for attacking and jumping. On the “Neon Night Riders” level, it makes extensive use of the Mode 7 effects in the game. It was praised with a two-player vs. mode, along with applauding the new moves and the graphics, which were an accurate representation of the arcade. Turtles in Time ranked 7th on Nintendo Power’s “Best Games of 1992,” while being ranked 39th on IGN’s “Top 100 SNES Games” by capturing the classic cartoon series and heavily utilizing the Mode 7 graphics, when the player throws enemies on the screen.

In 1992, Nintendo delivered once again — Super Mario Kart. This paved the way for Kart racers, thanks to its fun two-player vs. mode (including Battle Mode and Vs. Match), catchy music and outstanding atmosphere, which helped with the use of Mode 7 Graphics. You take eight characters from the Mario universe — Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Jr., Koopa Troopa and Princess Peach — and use them through eight circuits and three Cups (Mushroom, Flower, Star). You unlock the Special Cup with being 1st place with 100cc in all cups. You can also unlock the 150cc, if you finish the game in 1st place with all cups unlocked. Each character has a specific power to them. Examples are when Yoshi launches an egg, Donkey Kong, Jr. drops a banana, Mario and Luigi use the starman for invincibility, toad drops a shell and Princess Peach uses a mushroom to make players turn small. Super Mario Kart has high replay value and has an excellent use in the sound department, when the engines start up for a race and when a shell hits a character.

Super Mario Kart was a success and it paved the way for the Kart Genre to be popular. The game paved the way for future Kart Racers such as Sonic Drift (Game Gear), Street Racer (Also on Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive – Genesis in Europe, PlayStation and Sega Saturn), Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart 64. By May 1996, it sold over a million copies, where it received a “Player’s Choice” re-issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV92TwNc4gc&t=87s – Super Smash TV
In February 1992, Acclaim Entertainment released Super Smash TV for the Super Nintendo. It was a run and gun arcade styled game from the 1990 arcade hit, where the plot takes place on a dystopian television show during the then-future year of 1999, where at least one “lucky” contestant is required to shoot their way to fame and fortune, where it is taped in front of a live studio audience with broadcast via satellite worldwide — taking inspiration from the 1987 films “Robocop” and “The Running Man.” A player can use the d-pad on the Super Nintendo controller to maneuver across various stages and using the face buttons (A, B, X, Y) to attack their enemies on the screen. Super Smash TV is considered one of the most underrated game on the Super Nintendo library and is a very outstanding game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnsGbd8WMNg – Super Star Wars
In November 1992, JVC released Super Star Wars for the Super Nintendo. You take Luke Skywalker to maneuver his way into a Jawa sandcrawler, moving his way into conveyor belts. The majority of the stages contain run and gun and platformer gameplay, with abilities to upgrade your weapons. You can also use Chewbacca and Han, along with some vehicle-based levels to use the X-Wing and the landspeeder. It showcases outstanding graphics and music, plus having an enhanced art design. JVC, as well as LucasArts, was exemplary in putting in detail of the 1977 film into this game, where there are accurate cut scene images and it plays like a true Star Wars game.

Super Star Wars was most definitely a critical success. In 1992, Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it as “The Best Action/Adventure Game” and the “Best Movie-to-Game.” It placed 4th on Nintendo Power’s “Best Games of 1992.”

1992 featured several other stellar games, such as Super Double Dragon, NCAA Basketball, Axelay, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Mario Paint, Krusty’s Fun House and Super Batter-Up.

1993 was another outstanding year for the system, despite the censorship of Midway’s 1992 arcade hit, Mortal Kombat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8dxLr_xVv4 – StarFox

On Friday, March 26, 1993, Nintendo released StarFox — a rail shooting game where you control Fox McCloud’s spacecraft called “Airwing” through various environments such as robots and creatures attacking them. Power-Ups are available along the way. Developed by UK-based Argonaut Systems, You gain points by defeating enemies and helping out your teammates. At the conclusion of the level, you must defeat the enemy, in order to advance. It was the second time Nintendo used polygons — with the Japan-only X for Game Boy in 1992, was the first.

StarFox takes place in the Lyat System, which frogs, birds and apes take over the residence. It was the first game to use the SuperFX chip — the first 3D graphics accelerator in a consumer product. By December 1993, it sold over a million copies. From Friday, April 30th-Sunday, May 2nd, 1993, there was a StarFox competition in over 2,000 retail locations in the United States. It was a success and launched one of Nintendo’s franchises. It won the “Best Shooter” award in 1993 from Electronic Gaming Monthly and Entertainment Weekly stated, “It shows some heart behind the SNES hardware,” where it received an “A” for the “psuedo-paced 3D environments could qualify for virtual reality.”

Despite still supporting the then-eight-year-old Nintendo Entertainment System, in August of 1993, Nintendo decided to release Super Mario All-Stars. It was a compilation of the first three Mario Bros. games for the NES — Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Japan-only Super Mario Bros. 2 – The Lost Levels (which was the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2). This compilation included enhanced graphics and sounds. It also gave people the opportunity to save — something which was unattainable on the NES games — Remember when you had to leave your systems on overnight or when you had to go to school or something?? Well, not anymore with that! Plus, you have the opportunity to have four save slots for each game!

Super Mario All-Stars was a rousing success for Nintendo, that it sold 10.55 million copies by 2015. It was re-released in December 1994 with Super Mario World — as a pack-in with the Super Nintendo. It was noted as being one of the “essential elements” for the Super NES and unsurprisingly, publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and Computer and Video Games, recommended that players should “ditch the NES versions and upgrade to the SNES versions.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Usyp6OBAa8 – Street Fighter II Turbo
Around the same time in August 1993, Capcom did it even better — releasing Street Fighter II – Turbo. Street Fighter II Turbo includes a “Turbo” mode, just like the 1992 arcade game with sped-up gameplay and “Normal,” based on the “Champion Edition” game released in arcades in 1992, with the four bosses not on the original game — Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison. It included more sounds, such as the audience screaming in stages such as Ken’s and Zangief’s and the elephants in Dhalsim’s stage making noises after a match. Street Fighter II Turbo was absolutely a success. I consider this the best of the original Street Fighter II trilogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLSzTTW-I0 – Mortal Kombat
On “Mortal Monday,” September 13, 1993, Acclaim Entertainment and Midway released Mortal Kombat for the Super Nintendo. While it boasted outstanding graphics and sound, the gameplay was very slow and stiff. What makes matters worse, is that there was NO BLODD! “Fatalities” were renamed as “Finishing Moves,” where many characters had altered versions of “fatalities.” In this version, Sub Zero just deep-freezes the opponent and punches him, leaving ice, while on the Genesis (and the original Arcade) versions, he rips an opponents head out of a spine. Also, Rayden electrocutes a player, leaving dust instead of electrocuting an opponent’s head. Unfortunately for Nintendo, Sega had a field day with the Genesis port, thanks to the blood code “ABACABB” and outsold the Super Nintendo version by a wide margin. This was due to Nintendo’s then “family-friendly” image where censorship was at an all-time high on both NES and SNES.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2YKXUlXjZM – Secret of Mana
On Sunday, October 3, 1993, SquareSoft released Secret of Mana, an action-based role-playing game, showcasing real-life battles with a power bar mechanic, consisting of a top-down perspective, where the characters maneuver through the terrain and battle with creatures. The three main characters are Randi, Primm and Popoi. It uses a ring command system, which pauses the action, allowing for a player to decide what to use in the battle. What’s also unique is that it uses a multitap, where a second or third player can join at any time of the game.

Secret of Mana was unknown before release, but sold well with over 500,000 copies in October 1996. It was praised by Electronic Gaming Monthly, due to its graphics, music, gameplay and the inclusion of multiplayer, while nominating it for “Game of the Month” in December 1993, as well as being the “Best Role-Playing Game of 1993.” Diehard GameFan described the best part of Secret of Mana was “the multiplayer action,” which was never before seen in RPG’s. Edge even believed that it was better than Nintendo’s own “The Legend of Zelda — A Link to the Past.”

1993 also brought some good games, such as Battletoads and Double Dragon – The Ultimate Team, Sunset Riders, Tecmo Super NBA Basketball, NHL ’94, Aladdin, WWF Royal Rumble, Batman Returns, Tiny Toon Adventures – Buster Busts Loose and Cool Spot.

1994 would be the biggest year of the Super Nintendo! There would be some games that would make the system a powerhouse, especially a couple of titles which would finally help the system to finally dethrone the Sega Genesis as the preimiere 16-bit console.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB317FOcU0Y – Super Metroid
On Monday, April 18, 1994, Nintendo wasted no time bringing a masterpiece. The game was Super Metroid — the third game of the series, following the 1987 game on the NES and the 1991 game on Game Boy (Metroid II – Return of Samus). This game resolves around exploration, where the players search for power-ups and introducing an inventory screen, automap and the ability to help Samus Aran (the female pratagonist) to fire all directions. Samus is seeking revenge on Ridley, who stole the planet from the Metroid from Planet Zebes. Samus can perform many actions, such as moonwalking and wall-junping.

Super Metroid was praised for its outstanding gameplay and the state-of-the art graphics and sounds, as well as the diverse amount of weapons used. Three months prior to release, it was named the “Best of the Super Nintendo” during the Winter 1994 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Super Metroid sold over a million copies by late 2003. On May 1994, Electronic Gaming Monthy named it “The Game of the Month.” Interestingly, it sold better in the United States than in Japan – where it would later go up against consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDciDXnm3ek – Mega Man X
In January 1994, Capcom released their first Mega Man game on the system called Mega Man X. Mega Man X combined many elements from the first five Mega Man games on the NES (a sixth one would be released on the NES two months later – published by Nintendo), where he has the ability to dash and climb walls, in addition to giving Mega Man a new image. In this game, Mega Man is called “X,” due to his ability of operating like a robot in having his own decision-making skills. In addition to these, he can jump farther and higher and he can upgrade his armor by locating tanks.

Mega Man X was a success for Capcom. It has sold 1.16 million copies to date and has been praised for its gameplay, audio, visuals and soundtrack. This led to being in many “Greatest Games of All-Time” lists. Nintendo placed it as #58 in its 100th issue in September 1997 and #103 in its 200th issue in February 2006. These helped Mega Man make a smooth transition from the aging Nintendo Entertainment System to the Super Nintendo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EUEsEM328&t=283s – Donkey Kong Country
You thought Donkey Kong was forgotten – despite a few appearances on the Nintendo Entertainment System? Well, you’re sadly mistaken. On Monday, November 21st, 1994, after many months of hype and build-up, Donkey Kong made an appearance on the three-year-old Super Nintendo Entertainment System with the game, Donkey Kong Country. This game was massively hyped prior to release, that Nintendo sent a VHS tape to Nintendo Power subscribers with both them and british developer named Rare going behind the scenes developing this game. Nintendo sure didn’t disappoint, thanks to its pre-rendering ACM (Advanced Computer Model) graphics and outstanding gameplay.

Donkey Kong Country occurs when the evil King K. Rool and his Kremlings steal Donkey Kong’s banana hoard, where he takes his nephew named Diddy Kong to an adventure to recover them. You must go through 40 levels to accomplish this feat.

Thanks to its pre-release hype, Donkey Kong Country would sell over 500,000 copies in its first week. It would go on to sell 9.3 million units. Thanks to its outstanding gameplay and stunning graphics and music, it helped to keep the Super Nintendo remain popular, even when Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo 64 was dominating shelves around 1997. Kellogg’s would run promotions surrounding this game. It also showed that even though the Super Nintendo was in its twilight years, it was still a force to be reckoned with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4EjGXRDOH0 – Donkey Kong Country
The music of Donkey Kong Country is stunning. Tracks such as Jungle Groove, Aquatic Ambience, Fear Factory and Cave Dweller Concert are the highlights of the tracks! I suggest you all to take a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqpx9pThJPo – Mortal Kombat II
Motivated by Sega outselling the SNES on the previous installment of Mortal Kombat, Nintendo decided to abolish their “family friendly” image and allow Mortal Kombat II to be shipped uncensored, with a warning label that the game is recommended for people 17 years old and older on “Mortal Friday,” September 9, 1994. It sure didn’t disappoint as the gameplay was refined, playing close to the arcade, having a 4-on-4 Tournament mode with two players and uncensored fatalities! Because of this, the Super Nintendo version outsold the Genesis version. Many Genesis players even felt that this installment was much better than their own system! This port is regarded as one of the best ports of the console version and it was ranked #53 in Nintendo Power’s “100 Greatest Games of All-Time” in their 100th issue in September 1997.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt5l5cG2E08 – Final Fantasy III
Reeling off the success of Final Fantasy II, on Tuesday, October 11, 1994, Square released Final Fantasy III (known as Final Fantasy VI in Japan). Final Fantasy III improves upon the prior game by expanding the amount of characters to use to 14, a more mature theme that surrounds itself with topics such as teenage pregnancy, violent and apocalyptic confrontations and a renewal of life. Its plot occurs when a player maneuvers through towns and dungeons and the menu represents a combat-based type when a player chooses from fight, Magic and Item. Final Fantasy III allows the player to customize their weapons, armor and powerful “relics.”

Final Fantasy III was a critical success. It sold over 3.48 million copies and its gameplay, graphics and sound led it to be Electronic Gaming Monthly’s “Game of the Year” award for October 1994. EGM believed, “It set a new standard of excellence in RPG’s,” while complimenting on its style of music, graphics and the strong emotional involvement in the story. Three years later, in Nintendo Power’s 100th issue from September 1997, it was the eighth greatest Nintendo game of all-time, describing it as having “everything you could want—heroes, world-shattering events, magic, mindless evil—plus Interceptor the wonder dog!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88AJkXGVeTA – Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
On Opening Day Monday, April 4, 1994, Nintendo released Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. This game is very fun, where you take teams and rosters from the 1993 season and play either a single-game or a full season, to help your team win the World Series. On the season mode, you can choose to play the 1993 four-division format (the last year the National and the American Leagues had two divisions each – East and West) or the 1994 proposed divisional format (First year that the National and American Leagues had three divisions each – East, Central and West). While this game does not feature any real MLB players (except for Griffey himself), they are named after random people. For example, the Phillies are named after Philadelphia landmarks Liberty Bell (who takes place of outfielder Ricky Jordan) and characters from the Rocky Series (Rocky Balboa – Darren Daulton and Apollo Creed – Dave Hollins), the Braves are named after famous dance DJ’s (Sasha – John Smoltz, Digweed – Mike Stanton) and Atlanta landmarks (Grant Park – Steve Avery) and the Chicago White Sox are named after former St. John’s Basketball players (the late Malik Sealy filled in for Ozzie Guillen, Chris Mullin fills in for Ellis Burks and Ulysses Josh fills in for slugger Frank Thomas). Thankfully, you can edit the names to their real-life counterparts. Here’s a guide to do this – http://kgjpmlb.blogspot.com/.

1994 put out some other outstanding games, such as NBA Jam, NBA Live 95, Super Street Fighter II, Spider-Man/Venom Maximum Carnage, Super Punch-Out!!, Uniracers, Stunt Race FX, R-Type III, Joe and Mac 2 and Super Star Wars – Return of the Jedi.

1995 was another stellar year for the console. The Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn may came out that year, but don’t fret….There were still some outstading titles for the four-year-old system, it shows how it was a force to be reckoned with!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEcwtSkRz2Q – Chronro Trigger

In August 1995, SquareSoft released Chronro Trigger — a role-playing game, which kickstarted the Chonro series – which later moved on to systems like the Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo DS. You take control of six playable characters, where you control to protagonists and his companions through various stages like forests, cities and lakes. Every enemy is visible on the screen, when you fight in the same area in the game. Its Active Time Battle occurs when a player battles through a personal timer when the characters statistic is counted to zero. The Time Travel is a mode where the players maneuver through seven era’s of historic world events, where they find new allies, complete side quests and seeking more enemies.

Chronro Trigger garnered critical acclaim. Publications such as Nintendo Power, GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the gameplay, graphics and sound. It won the “Best Super NES Game of 1995” by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The copious amounts of modes and gameplay, qualifies it on many “Greatest Games of All-Time” lists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1-4z6bDdh0 – Killer Instinct
On Wednesday, August 30, 1995, Nintendo and Rare wasted no time porting this 1994 arcade hit to the four-year-old Super Nintendo. Killer Instinct is a one-on-one fighting game, combining the likes of Street Fighter (attack set) and Mortal Kombat (ironically also made by Midway — with their finishing moves). Ultratech — a powerful megatech company — is in charge of the tournament, where they’re tested by their strengths.

In Killer Instinct, you control ten characters to help defeat the boss — Eyedol. The characters are Orchid, Thunder, Jago, Cinder, Riptor, Spinal, Glacius, TJ Combo, Fulgore and Sabrewolf.

Killer Instinct was a success for the Super Nintendo. It was packaged with a CD from the arcade game with over 100,000 copies of the game. While it featured a lower frame rate compared to the original arcade version (due to technical limitations of the Super Nintendo), it was still seen as a “superb translation,” with outstanding graphics, sound, gameplay and quality. Due to its success, some Super Nintendo bundles from 1995-97, would be bundled with the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8btNneN8ew — Super Mario World 2 – Yoshi’s Island
On Wednesday, October 4, 1995 — Nintendo released Super Mario World 2 – Yoshi’s Island. It is a single-player game, where you control Yoshi through 48 levels, carrying Baby Mario to emerge victorious over the Megakoopa named Kamek — to reunite him with Baby Luigi. Plus, Yoshi has the ability to flutter jump and to use enemies to make eggs, to throw around.

Yoshi’s Island had a hand-drawn aesthetic and was the first game to use the Super FX2 chip to use the scaling, special effects (e.g. 3D drawbridges falling, rotating sprites and various colorful backgrounds). It was also hand-drawn — compared to Super Mario World.

Yoshi’s Island was a rousing success. It helped Yoshi to come into his own as a platformer, after appearing in two puzzle games — Yoshi (1992 for the NES and Game Boy) and Yoshi’s Cookie (1993 for NES, Super NES and Game Boy). According to IGN, it was named as “one of the most loved SNES platformers of all-time.” Major Mike of GamePro Magazine explained, “Yoshi’s Island doesn’t have flashy graphics or jazzy effects to cover an empty game. This is the last of a dying breed: a 16-bit game that shows real heart and creativity.” Even with the Nintendo 64 coming around the corner, it still showed that the Super Nintendo was still a force to be reckoned with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFNKi28pwAg – Donkey Kong Country 2 – Diddy Kong’s Quest

Donkey Kong Country 2 — Diddy Kong’s Quest was a follow-up to the previous year’s Donkey Kong Country. In December 1995, Nintendo and Rare released this outstanding game, where you use Diddy and his close friend named Dixie Kong — to defeat the evil King K. Rool — to rescue Donkey Kong, maneuvering through eight worlds with 52 levels. Silicon Graphics was a prominent force in this game, thanks to using pre-rendered 3D environments on a 2D platformer. The game takes place in various environments — such as fog, rain, carnivals and pirate ships. Much like the first game, you can gain extra lives by collecting balloons, 100 bananas or spelling “KONG.”

Diddy’s Kong Quest was a massive success. It sold over 2 million copies — garnering a “Player’s Choice” for the Super Nintendo in 1998. The game is the best-selling game that was never packaged with the system. Scary Larry of GamePro was quoted as explaining that the game was “longer, more graphically impressive and more fun” than the first Donkey Kong Country. He added, “It has some of the most cleverly illustrated levels on a home system.” It was received well and was the third-most selling game of 1995.

1995 also brought out other great games such as Kirby’s Dream Course, Kirby’s Avalanche, Castlevania – Dracula X, Mortal Kombat 3, NBA Live 96, Madden NFL 96, NHL 96, NBA Give N Go, Megan Man X2, Final Fight 3, NBA Jam Tournament Edition and Doom!

1996 was the final year of the console having solid games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRDC3hgtGuI – Super Mario RPG – Legend of the Seven Stars

On Monday, May 13, 1996, Nintendo and longtime developer — Square — collaborated and made this an outstanding effort, releasing Super Mario RPG – Legend of the Seven Stars. It drew major elements from Square’s own Final Fantasy series, where you use three characters to use up to three characters in a turn-based combat. Plus, you also have a story and gameplay based on the Super Mario series. It gave a wide appeal to RPG’s, especially to those who weren’t interested in the genre.

Super Mario RPG would mark Square’s last relationship with Nintendo for eight years — until 2004’s Final Fantasy – Crystal Chronicles. Nevertheless, it sold very well, thanks to its gameplay and graphics and was nominated for “The Best Graphics Award” by Nintendo Power in 1997, where Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 would win that honor. Electronic Gaming Monthly was quoted as saying that the game was “the best graphics ever seen on the SNES,” in addition to stating, “It uses clean and colorful graphics with nice animation.” It sold better than expected, with 1.47 million copies sold, as Nintendo initially shipped 300,000 copies. By late August 1996, it was the most-rented game for 14 consecutive weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu3ndkvhdYI – Donkey Kong Country 3 — Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble

On Monday, November 18, 1996, Nintendo and Rare released the final game of the Donkey Kong series — Donkey Kong Country 3 — Dixie Kong’s Triple Trouble! The game has Dixie Kong and her baby cousin, Kiddy Kong, going through eight worlds with 48 levels. Just like the previous game, Dixie Kong can spin her ponytail, while the new character named Kiddy Kong can bounce across open water. The levels are a combination of swimming, platforming and on-rails, whith environments surrounding the forests, mountains and factories. However, it is more diverse than the previous installments, thanks to the complex puzzles and the environments.

Despite selling over 3.5 million units, many point out that it may have been damaged, thanks to the recently released Nintendo 64 (released in September of that year) and the then-one-year-old Sony PlayStation. It was praised for its colorful environments, exemplary soundtrack by Rare’s David Wise and it’s outstanding gameplay. There was a critic of Next Generation Magazine, who believed, “The graphics seem crispier and more detailed than an already impressive look than Donkey Kong Country 2,” while complimenting the level designs and balanced challenge. He added, “The game makes the SNES to be a more graceful exit than the Sega Genesis.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vkJ8_tbRkc – Street Fighter Alpha 2

In November 1996, Nintendo (under license from Capcom) released the arcade hit from earlier in the year — Street Fighter Alpha 2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 was a prequel to the Street Fighter II series of games, where they introduced the three-level combo gauges, air attacks, air blocks and introducing a “Custom Combo System,” where you press two punch buttons along with a kick or a low punch buttons, where your player can do significant damage to the opponent. Despite not being as good as the Arcade, Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions, it was still a good title. It uses a S-DD1 compression chip, which there are some loading times, to have the game slowed down a bit.

Many believe this was a bad port. While it wasn’t as good as the Arcade, Saturn and PlayStation versions, I believe that it plays well despite the hang-ups and it is a well-made game. It was released when Capcom put more emphasis on the CD-based systems that I’ve mentioned in the previous systems, so it was cool that Nintendo was able to secure the rights from them to release this game on the then-five-year-old system.

1996 also had some great games – Tetris Attack, College Slam, NBA Live 97, Madden NFL 97, Marvel Super Heroes – War of the Gems, Kirby Super Star and NBA Hangtime.

While there wouldn’t be many new releases in 1997 and 1998, where the last ones were Arkanoid – Doh it Again, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 and Frogger, the Super Nintendo was still a fun system to play on. It finally discontinued in late 1999 — two years before the Nintendo GameCube released and one year before the Sony PlayStation 2 came out. Even in 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it high marks, thanks to “Its collection of must-have games to be surpassed, despite inferior graphics to the PlayStation, Saturn and Nintendo 64.” Even so, there were still many discounted games in bargain bins – you still couldn’t go wrong with owning one, even this late. The “L” and R” shoulder buttons inspired many future consoles, such as the PlayStation and XBox families, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast and many other controller designs to follow suit. This makes it one of the best controllers of all time, due to its button layout — also adding “X” and “Y.”

Many people consider the Super Nintendo the greatest system of all-time, thanks to its vast library of games, many which started on that era and even on its predecessor — the Nintendo Entertainment System. It sold 23 million units and was a success, despite not reaching NES-like levels. It managed to outsell the Sega Genesis – which discontinued in 1998. In September 2017, Nintendo released the SNES Classic Mini, with 21 preloaded games (Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2 – Yoshi’s Island, The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past, F-Zero, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG, Contra III – The Alien Wars, StarFox, Final Fantasy III, Street Fighter II Turbo, Mega Man X, Super Ghouls N Ghosts, Secret of Mana, Donkey Kong Country, Kirby’s Super Star, Kirby’s Dream Course, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid and Super Punch-Out!!).

The Super Nintendo is definitely my favorite video game console of all-time. I am blessed to have owned this system since I was three years old in Christmas 1992 (well, actually, it was my then-10-year-old brother’s…But played it anyway). It was the system that made me fall in love with gaming and shaped me the person I am today. In fact, I am not ashamed that I still love playing this system today, even with new systems such as the PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X and the Nintendo Switch on the market. I even have a SNES Mini, that is modded with plenty of games. No matter how much the graphics have advanced, online features, etc., I will always go back to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Heck, I even still buy games for it whenever I can.

NOW YOU’RE PLAYING WITH POWER…SUPER POWER!!!!

Here are some of my favorite games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxg5eOPmzHI&t=160s – Super Mario World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNl6WJygciw – Super Mario All-Stars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcCP255DORQ – Super Mario Kart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpz0xxjZuCw&t=648s – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV – Turtles in Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqpx9pThJPo&t=363s – Mortal Kombat II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAyVXWY-wks&t=1s – Killer Instinct
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JROy8CY8zQ&t=119s – NBA Live 95
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLuzA12gBG4&t=125s – NBA Live 96
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C8SGvVQmE8&t=144s – Tecmo Super Bowl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M04cnW9Ojg4&t=17s – Pilotwings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIe4AvKLSa4&t=246s – F-Zero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRhvWNrrKG4&t=106s – NCAA Basketball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw1C_zHSoZQ – Super Smash T. V.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQBfWT4v28 – Contra III – The Alien Wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Eug8PRZWlc – Donkey Kong Country
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpy8Scch6E – Street Fighter II Turbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valcEdyVeD0 – NBA Jam Tournament Edition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7rw3cDWgSg&t=41s – Super Tennis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukrUSPeRZws&t=553s – WWF Royal Rumble
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pirates+of+dark+water+snes – The Pirates of Dark Water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCN-YOi14o&t=1244s – Final Fight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0I-1f6QM8w – NBA Give N Go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93osCGBFG2k – Earthworm Jim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l4C7pj05Qs – NHL 94
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y-qUcc3R8s&t=68s – Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents MLB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i380sW3DWuM – Batman Returns