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[Nocturnowl]

I'm of two minds about my own voting in this thread and what I've read from others...on the one hand, I definitely feel the folks who are like, "hey, everyone is really SNES heavy, where's the hidden gems?" It's not that fun to get list after list of Chrono Trigger, Metroid, LTTP, and so on. But on the other hand, the "where's Beyond Oasis and Phantasy Star" or "these gamers haven't done their research" kind of stuff can only go so far. I mean, I totally feel that Beyond Oasis, Phantasy Star, Shining Force, etc. are awesome, but I just wouldn't put these games in my top ten. It doesn't mean I haven't played them or that I don't love them - I only had a Genesis as a kid and didn't play many SNES games until much later - but I simply personally wouldn't put them in my top ten games of that gen. If we expanded this out to top 25 or something, or if I were to list my favorite hidden gems from the gen, yeah, you'd get Target Earth, Beyond Oasis, Ranger X, Kid Chameleon, Battle Mania 2, Dark Wizard for Sega CD, etc. But a top ten? Those won't crack it...again, not that I don't love them, it's just that the SNES library, in my own opinion, just had way more polish, crispness, and overall incredible experiences for me. So a SNES-heavy list doesn't necessarily mean people haven't played and greatly enjoyed Genesis, Turbografx, etc.

I feel like some people are looking for something different from this thread than what it is - I'm not criticizing at all (except for the guy who said that the Genesis was pure garbage, what the-), I totally get where you all are coming from, but I think you'd be best served by a "hidden gems of gen 4" type of thread. I know some people must be putting in some wild choices to show some love to underappreciated titles (the poster repping Fantasy World Dizzy and Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight...I love ya for those selections, haha), and I think a hidden gems thread might be best for that, instead of showing that love in a thread dedicated to what you really think are the best games of the gen.

I'd like to be able to throw out some neat obscurities and hidden gems but yeah when it comes to this gen I can see my eventual list being pretty typical (and SNES heavy).
Even when it comes to the SNES I could squeeze in say Demon's Crest as a less expected choice but in reality it just doesn't make that cut with the big hitters above it.

Of all the generation votes so far, this one feels like the most expected in what will turn up, with that in mind it'll probably make my write ups brief and easier, "you already know this game is great, it's in over half the lists already"

 

[AniHawk]

I'd like to be able to throw out some neat obscurities and hidden gems but yeah when it comes to this gen I can see my eventual list being pretty typical (and SNES heavy).
Even when it comes to the SNES I could squeeze in say Demon's Crest as a less expected choice but in reality it just doesn't make that cut with the big hitters above it.

Of all the generation votes so far, this one feels like the most expected in what will turn up, with that in mind it'll probably make my write ups brief and easier, "you already know this game is great, it's in over half the lists already"

despite being really snes heavy, one of the things that's happening from the fewer votes is that certain games that wouldn't have hit the top 25 are getting in there. i thought gen 5 was super close for panzer dragoon saga (squeezed in on the very last day), but here there's a little more variety a bit lower on the list.

of course the genre and platform awards will look fairly different from the usual too, as a result.

 

[Celine]

For those that haven't seen the thread it misses about 3-4 days to the deadline.

 

[Sinople]

It was extremely difficult for me to choose, and even more to rank, only 10 games from this great generation. I was thinking of maybe pushing some not very well known games, mainly on PC-Engine which is still pretty obscure in the west, but decided against it as it's not what a ranking is about. As a result, I chose what are my real favorites, at least according to my current mood, and ended up with a pretty boring list of mainly Squaresoft RPG ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

1. Final Fantasy VI ; I can see how V is probably the better game, mechanically, but VI impressed me like no other with its graphics, music, story and atmosphere. It has so many memorable moments it is and always will be an unforgettable experience.
2. Chrono Trigger ; What's remarkable with this game is that every single aspect is high quality. It's also the best integration of a time travel mechanic I've seen in a game.
3. Live-A-Live ; Square's hidden gem. 8 different scenario, with their own setting and gameplay quirks. Mentioning it is already saying to much but the twist alone make it worthwhile. And a great Shimomura soundtrack to boot.
4. Tengai Makyou II Manjimaru ; Only non-SFC game on my list, it's also the only one that could be called a proper AAA experience by today's standards: Animated cut-scenes, voice acting, a couple of tracks composed by Joe Hisaishi, and incredible amount of content. It was a real mind-blower back in the day. To top it off, the game itself is of high quality and writer/director Shoji Masuda's distinctive writing style full of sous-entendus and unexpected developments, combined to the wackiness the series is known for, is a real pleasure.
5. Romancing Saga 3
6. Final Fantasy V
7. Dragon Quest V
8. Super Mario World ; My favorite 2D platformer.
9. Front Mission
10. Herakles no Eikou III ; Pretty standard RPG but has great story and writing.

And far too many honorable mentions to bother writing them.

 

[jcjimher]

I was mostly a Mega Drive guy, and I've never been into adventure games, so my list will probably not be completely objective. But at the same time it will compensate other biased lists in this voting. Here I go:

1. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Mega Drive)
The pinnacle of the best platforming series of the generation (better than Mario IMO)
2. Streets of Rage 2 (Mega Drive)
Maybe the game I played the most that generation. Unreal music, memorable everything.
3. Tetris Attack/Panel de Pon (SNES)
The best and cleverest puzzle game I've ever played. Better than classic Tetris IMO:
4. Street Fighter II: Turbo (Arcade/SNES/Genesis)
I had to put some SF2 game, and I think this was overall the most representative one. The undisputed king of arcades that gen (maybe ever?).
5. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Mega Drive)
The best and most polished action game of the generation.
6. Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Unlike Super Mario World, this game was innovative and had great production values. So I pick it to represent the series (which I really enjoyed).
7. EA Hockey/NHL Hockey (Mega Drive)
Living in Spain I barely knew Ice Hockey existed and its rules, but this played better than any Football/Soccer game that gen.
8. ToeJam & Earl (Mega Drive)
A game like no other, even today.
9. Lemmings (every platform under the sun)
I was going to put Worms in this spot, but it doesn't qualify (it's from 1994) so I put one of its greatest influences, and also a great and significant game.
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive)
Sonic deserves to appear twice in my list .

x. Chrono Trigger (SNES)
I've never been into RPGs, but I had friends who did and I acknowledge this was clearly the best in that genre.
x. The Secret of Monkey Island (PC)
The same with graphical adventures
x. Doom (PC)
I really dislike that genre, even today, but I was floored and amazed when I saw it for the first time.

 

[bennibop]

1. A link to the Past - Just an incredible world then found out the were two!!
2. Super Mario World - Best 2D platformer ever made!
3. Shining Force I & II - Better than Final Fantasy, really miss this series.
4. F-Zero - Mode 7 blew my tiny little mind on SNES launch day.
5. Secret of Mana - Epic only beaten by link to the past, the trials I had to go through to get hold of this in the UK.
6. General Chaos - Best multiplayer game on Megadrive.
7. Contra Spirits/ Super Probotector - Best side scrolling shoot em up. It had bosses 2 screens high!!
8. Starwing /Starfox. First mainstream polygon game and it was great fun!
9. Sonic 2. The pinnicale of Sonic and his adventures
10. Super Mario Kart - Spawned its on genre and imo never beaten.

 

[Morfeo]

1. A link to the Past - Just an incredible world then found out the were two!!
2. Super Mario World - Best 2D platformer ever made!
3. Shining Force I & II - Better than Final Fantasy, really miss this series.
4. F-Zero - Mode 7 blew my tiny little mind on SNES launch day.
5. Secret of Mana - Epic only beaten by link to the past, the trials I had to go through to get hold of this in the UK.
6. General Chaos - Best multiplayer game on Megadrive.
7. Contra Spirits/ Super Probotector - Best side scrolling shoot em up. It had bosses 2 screens high!!
8. Starwing /Starfox. First mainstream polygon game and it was great fun!
9. Sonic 2. The pinnicale of Sonic and his adventures
10. Super Mario Kart - Spawned its on genre and imo never beaten.

You should change this if you want your vote to be counted.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

These get thinner as the mists of time cloak more and more of my memories of these days, plus the giant gulf between the ones I played back when as time-wasters vs the ones played by the critically-eyed older me made for some odd choices.

Yes, there are gaps. No, that doesn't invalidate this or any other list, nor does it make or demake this or the larger voting a popularity contest.

1. Chrono Trigger ; CT was during that heady time when the JRPG unshackled itself from the rote recycling of early Dragon quest and went places man. I wish the genre hadn't forgotten the terseness of this era, either.

Anywho, superteam, superpacing, supermusic, superinventive. You know the drill.

2. Street Fighter II ; One of, if not THE most innovative game ever. Codified the Fighter. Invented combos. A leapforward in competitive gaming. Reinvigorated arcades. Made asymetric balancing a goal (even later when this was

forgotten at times). Just looks, sounds, and plays sharp.

3. Super Mario World ; Remember when games came out at launch or in the window and blew the doors off of people?

4. Yoshi's Island ; More of a tour-de-force and one of the rare instances of a growth in quantity over quality mattered, YI was a last hurrah before Nintendo's 2D mastery went boutique.

5. Final Fantasy VI ; This game does some real work on the "usual" narrative structure and is incredibly strong for it. Leitmotifs for days.

6. Sonic 2 ; Salvaged games either go one of two directions: Starcraft Ghost or like Vagrant Story, World of Warcraft, or this, soar into the stratusphere. Good use of speed and secrets in this one.

7. Donkey Kong Country 2 ; Like the Sonics, this is the best balance between raw innovation and over-tilled familiarity. So many secrets! Such an wonderful soundscape!

8. Mortal Kombat 2 ; Noticing a trend? MK2 was (unlike 1) fun to play but didn't have the clownshow tone 3 did.

9. John Madden Football 92 ; Good gridiron stuff here that's great with friends (I didn't care as much for 94).

10. Tetris Attack ; One of the great puzzle games, slightly up above all the others of the era like Puyo Puyo and Battle Tetris Gaiden.

Honorable Mentions:

x. Sonic 3 & Knuckles ;

x. Sunset Riders ;

x. Streets of Rage 2 ;

x. Super Mario Kart ;

x. Lunar: Silver Star Story ;

x. Mutant League Football ;

x. Wiz 'n Liz ;

 

[AniHawk]

just one day left to vote, folks. make it count!

 

[Nocturnowl]

1. Donkey Kong Country 2 ; DKC2 takes the rough but promising base of the first DKC title and creates what I’d consider the best 2D platformer in an era dominated by them. So safe to say I think it’s pretty grand.
Mario may be Nintendo’s golden boy and a heck of a consistent fella but when the Kong series is at its best I’d argue it usurps the plumbers prized position with DKC2 being one of the series twin platforming peaks so to speak (the other is TF by the way).
Boasting one of the best combos of audio and visuals on the snes with its fantastical dark fairy tale style environments accompanied by the atmospheric melodies of one David Wise, of course the gameplay has to be up to snuff and while it has its detractors well I’d have to disagree heavily with them. An incredibly creative set of stages that all stand out individually bringing a host of ideas to enhance the platforming which continues its smooth hop n bop style with some more interesting twists and a spider wearing sneakers.
The pinnacle of secret hunting in a platformer as well, bonus rooms offer a desirable reward, encourage sleuthing through the stages and offer bite sized challenges that effectively round out the already quality stages.
Plus Dixie Kong is the best heroine Nintendo cruelly ignores.


2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles ; Third time’s the charm for the hedgehog, Sonic 2 came so close to true glory but faltered towards the finish line but Sonic 3 keeps up the momentum all the way through…until its abrupt ending at Launch Base Zone, oh.
Fortunately that’s just half the experience, bolting on & Knuckles gets you the full package and the definitive Sonic title. One that handles multiple playable characters well, one that has something resembling a story but tells it subtly without overdoing things, one that delivers on platforming spectacle set pieces where you still have some control (except the beginning of Ice Cap, that was just rule of cool really).
If you ever wonder why people still have hopes for the hedgehog even after a lengthy tenure of misfires (mercifully Colours and Generations managed to actually land on the dart board) this is the game to point to, a triumphant title that’s a flagship title for not just the Mega Drive/Genesis but SEGA in general.


3. Super Metroid ; A game that subtly guides without really telling you anything, sounds like a contradiction but really that’s just the masterwork of game design on display here. Thinking about it Super Metroid is kind of an enigma, often breaching the top 10 of greatest games ever lists which is no small feat yet it often stands as the most cult classic of said top 10 titles, or even the top 20. Revered by many yet perhaps not played by as many as it deserves to be, such is arguably the fate of Metroid but its enduring formula defined heavily in this entry lives on as the lynchpin of the “metroidvania” genre which still mirror its progression and even item formula to this day.


4. Super Mario World ; The use of World in the title is very apt as Mario’s SNES outing seeks out greater freedom coming off the linear obstacle course classic SMB3. Yes while Mario still plays by the usual rules there one would expect the shift to dinosaur land brings with it a more explorative focus as levels start teasing secret exits, mysterious block outlines and non traditional map progression. There’s no doubt in my mind that SMW has a pretty odd difficulty curve where most overworld outings don’t tax as much as previous games even nearing the endgame with the trickier stuff left to forts and castles almost exclusively, perhaps this was to promote revisiting the standard stages to seek out the alternative paths, it’s a game that doesn’t just task you with reaching the ending credits but to see all the world has to offer.
Yeah the cape and Yoshi are too potent as powerups but damn were they fun additions, to this day SMW feels rather unique among the 2D series. It’s not as far out as the peculiar Mario Land titles the game boy boasted but it has a flavor all of its own with its prehistoric menagerie of foes (Dino Rhino the best), more frantic controls (for better and for worse)and a simple yet effective art direction that maximizes its newfangled colour palettes to make the backgrounds seem more varied than they actually are, a nice sense of abstract landscapes that endure to this day regardless of if Sonic and DK pack much more visual wallop.


5. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening ; I much prefer the game boy’s more trippy and unusual take on the Zelda formula than the SNES’ AlttP. Unravelling the strange tale of Koholint island feels that much more interesting in a series that drew from the LttP well once too often. Its tone is quirky yet endearing, it inexplicably drops in some Mario mainstays, it prioritizes puzzling over action and there’s nary a wasted inch of overworld map (rapids aside). Kind of stomps most of its GB competition quite handily.


6. Street Fighter 2 ; Fucking Dhalsim man, he was surely the best character right? Punching me from the other side of the screen then teleporting behind me and spitting fire in my face seemed like the winning formula to my younger self who knew not how to throw a hadouken. Salt in the wound is after the humiliation the git would clap dance to a chorus of elephants, boy did I fear that plane flying to India.
Of course now I realize that Dhalsim isn’t the cheese I thought he was and I finally understood those strange motions the instruction booklet pointed out to pull off special moves, alas I still can’t climb on that cage wall like Vega, what a tease.
Possibly the winner of gaming’s most improved sequel award as it also would usher in a direction for the fighting game genre to grow in and to this day is still damn playable.


7. Chrono Trigger ; A JRPG that wraps itself up in a lean focused 15-20 hours? Outrageous! Yet here it is, well okay back in this era the games in this genre didn’t come quite so bloated but they still fell victim to the odd grind and such. Chrono Trigger though is pretty special, it rarely wastes your time and distills everything you’d want out of a JRPG into a glorious cartridge that never made it to Europe so it wasn’t until years after its time I actually played it. And regardless it still lived up to its reputation, its music was still dope and I should probably replay this one sometime soon.


8. Demon's Crest ; Ehhh screw it, why not throw a nod to one of Capcom’s most underrated series?
I may slightly prefer NES outing Gargoyle’s Quest 2 but Demon’s Crest really pushes the open ended action platformer idea to the series best. You get to play as Firebrand, aka that git who kept swooping into your face in Ghouls and Ghosts and go for another jaunt through the gothic yet charming underworld powering up your devilish abilities, just be aware that you don’t stumble into the premature bad ending and initially miss half the game like I did.


9. Yoshi's Island ; I bag on the collecthathon aspect of this game a fair bit on GAF, but let ol’ Owl be real here, this game has some cool mechanics, a wonderful art style, some great bosses and Shyguys out the wazoo which is worth a lot as it turns out. A creative endeavour where each stage offers something new and has charm exploding out of every orifice, until its GBA port where Yoshi’s annoying HARRUUUUUMPH noises invaded and Nintendo wont ever re-release the SNES original, booooo.


10. Shinobi III : Return of the Master Ninja ;
"He is stronger than steel
and moves faster than a whirlwind.

Sometimes he hides in mud.
Other times he transforms his
shape like an ever changing cloud.

Although his fighting spirit burns
like fire, his mind is as calm as
still water."

HE HIDES IN MUD!....sometimes! holy shit, you don’t mess with the legend of Joe Musashi, especially not a ninja who struts across the screen with perfect posture and wears white because he obviously doesn’t need stealth.


x. Super Castlevania IV ; The most bleak of the 2D Vania titles, has some great classic horror vibes and a nice slice of action platforming.

x. Bonanza Bros ; A sort of stealth robbery co-op classic that isn't actually a classic but I have fond memories, just know that it loses the magic in single player

Also I'm choosing not to double up on franchises (shush anyone who mentions Yoshi's Island as Super Mario World 2) so here's my shoutout to DKC3 and Sonic 2

 

[AniHawk]

nocturnowl, i think we're matching on 5 games of each top 10 (not placement but still).

link's awakening - best gen 4 zelda.

 

[sleepydeer]

I'm interested in seeing the tallied up results but it's already clear to me from this and the Nintendo voting that I ought to play Super Mario World.

 

[Oneself]

1. Secret of Mana ; The first game I bought with my own, hard earned paperboy money. Everything about this game is classic to me. Playing a "Zelda" game simultaneously with 2 friends was absolutely amazing and the soundtrack was and still is one of my favorites.
2. Super Mario Kart ; still the best Mario Kart. Only two other "kart" games came close to it IMO, DKR & CTR.
3. Killer Instinct ; such a great port considering the immense hardware limitations.
4. Donkey Kong Country ; it was hard to choose between this and DKC2 but the original has some more nostalgia power to it even though I believe its sequel is better in most ways. Strange uh?
5. Sonic 2 ; if only I knew I was playing the best Sonic game ever released.
6. Contra Hard Corps ; the best Contra game IMO.
7. Mortal Kombat 2 (snes) ; I played thousands of hours I'm pretty sure. The snes port was mindblowing.
8. Streets of Rage 2 ; The music, the punches... still chasing that feeling in another game.
9. Super Castlevania 4 ; I spent as much time in the sound test as I spent playing the game itself.
10. SOS (Septentrion) ; The definition of avant-garde. It was open-world, survival, you had different characters, different endings, 1 hour to get out of the Titanic. I wish there would be a remake in some ways with today's tech.

x. Super Mario World 2 : Yoshi's Island ; amazing!
x. Gunstar Heroes ; so impressive!
x. Donkey Kong Country 2
x. Chrono Trigger
x. Super Metroid ; the birth of one of my favorite genres.
x. Final Fantasy 6
x. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
x. Harvest Moon
x. Top Gear ; Horizon Chase can't come soon enough to PS4...
x. NBA Jam (snes/gen)
x. Test Drive : The Duel (snes)
x. Aladdin (snes)
x. Mickey Magical Quest
x. Super Street Fighter 2 (snes/gen)
x. Dracula X
x. Starfox ; still the best SF!
x. Road Rash 2 ; so much fun.
x. Zelda A link to the Past
x. The Adventures of Batman & Robin ; the most impressive game of this gen IMO.

 

[RadarScope1]

1. Super Metroid ; Though rightfully best known for its masterful level design and atmospherics, I will always remember this game for its storytelling. Classic "show, don't tell" storytelling that would be all-too scarce in the years to come. It wasn't until modern classics like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus reminded us all that video games are not movies or books and they cannot (and should not) tell stories in the same way. But even cooler to me was the fact that SM continued the story I had experienced in Metroid and Metroid 2. It was a truly serialized storyline, not just a rehash (bad guy X stole princess Y - again!). It's the first time I saw such serialization in video games, and it made a huge impact on my affection for and fandom of the entire medium.

2. Doom ; Certainly one of the most influential games of all time. Today, over 20 years later, the genre it popularized and perfected is among the most prevalent across all of gaming. And it's still INCREDIBLY playable to this day. The game nails "feel" - that oneness between brain, hands and media that only games can give us. Doom and its immediate sequel (which I always think of as a single game, really) will be played and enjoyed for decades to come.

3. Street Fighter 2 ; Another influential giant. Powerful enough draw to players back to the arcades with pure gameplay rather than the spectacle of ZOMG 3D graphics that came just a few years later. Also a giant on home consoles -- its appearance on consoles raised the stakes in the hardware wars. Crazy to think that the games biggest innovation -- the combo system -- was actually never directly intended by its creators. It was discovered by the players. What could be more "video games" than that? The sequels, the magazine covers, the competition, the copycat games ... really one of the all-time icons of the medium regardless of the gen/timeframe.

4. Tetris ; (Gameboy version) Still the best marriage of hardware and launch software. The game was already on its way to becoming a classic before it was launched into the pop culture stratosphere on the little green screen. Mainstream, casual gaming before mainstream, casual gaming was a thing.

5. Super Mario Kart ; Got a SNES in early spring of 93 and played this game every single day until Christmas when I finally got a second game for the system. The game launched a genre that still remains vibrant today. It's easy to forget that it also gave us Battle Mode - a new way to play competitive racers. Nintendo's first foray into turning its IPs into other IPs in a Disney-like fashion. Really just a revelation when I first played it, and still enjoyable today despite many sequels.

6. Final Fantasy 6 ; Epic, memorable, fun and compelling. The opera scene - I'll never forget it.

7. The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past ; Perfected an already classic formula and set the stage for all that was to come. When this game came out, all of the ideas that we're so tired of today were all fresh.

8. Super Mario World

9. Sim City ; Spent a lot of time with both the PC and SNES versions.

10. Shinobi 3 ; As you can probably tell from my list, I didn't own or play much Genesis back in the day. But I did catch up on this game later and it's unlike anything available on the SNES and, to me, really exemplifies what I always saw during those few times I did get to play Sega's console: huge sprites, arcade action feel and a mature look. And hey, ninjas.

x. Chrono Trigger
x. Donkey Kong '94
x. Final Fantasy 4
x. Star Fox
x. Earthbound
x. Super Mario Allstars (the first remaster in VG history0
x. NBA Jam
x. Mortal Kombat 2
x. Ridge Racer (arcade)
x. Wonder Boy in Monster Land
x. X-Men (arcade)
x. Super Mario Land 2
x. Actraiser
x. Space Quest 3

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I'm interested in seeing the tallied up results but it's already clear to me from this and the Nintendo voting that I ought to play Super Mario World.

Damn, how'd you never played Super Mario World?

 

[AniHawk]

Damn, how'd you never played Super Mario World?

maybe age? the game is 26 years old now.

 

[codswallop]

Is it too late?

1. Doom; Amazing technical achievement, kicked off an entire genre
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
3. Sim City
4. Super Mario World
5. Super Metroid
6. The Secret of Monkey Island
7. Day of the Tentacle; Quite possibly the pinnacle of adventure games
8. Daytona USA
9. Secret of Mana
10. Pool of Radiance

 

[Violet_0]

1. Super Metroid
2. Terranigma ; underrated classic, unfortunately it never gets the attention it deserves. My personal favorite among the SNES-era RPGs
3. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
5. Secret of Mana
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
7. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
8. Secret of Evermore
9. Super Mario World
10. The Legend of Mystical Ninja ; never finished it, but frequently played it in in co-op and I have fond memories of it. Loved the mini-games in particular

 

[WhyMe6]

1. Super Metroid ; As a child, after playing through Metroid countless times, I was on holiday with my family at Edgecliffe, a seaside holiday apartment in Caloundra, Queensland that we frequented annually. My uncle rented us a Super Nintendo and a number of games from a local video rental store, including the one that he and I both anticipated the most: Super Metroid. Unfortunately, this copy didn't have a manual. Now, coming in blind and only having played the first in the series, we had already explored some of Brinstar and Norfair, along with Crateria, and we had no expectation of more areas. Suddenly, after having passed through a particular glass tunnel multiple times, my uncle noticed that this area outside was watery and looked noticeably different to the others. He opened the map, and we were greeted with a huge, blank map with the name "Maridia" up the top. We were utterly shocked by this discovery and totally enchanted by the game's sense of discovery. To date, playing this game for the first time is my most precious gaming memory. Not only because it is meaningful to me personally, but because this is the game for me that captures perfect game design. All of its elements, from its level design, difficulty curve, length (or, once you are skilled, breadth), atmosphere, potential level of mastery, artistic elements, to its boss battle design.

2. Earthbound ; Unfortunately, I am out of time to write passionately about this game, which frequently swaps places with Super Metroid depending of my mood. I foolishly left it until last as I could not find the right words to express just how much I love this game. However, I will say that both this and Super Metroid are my favourite games of all time, and Earthbound holds a similarly precious place in my heart thanks to its warm writing, absolutely fantastic translation, and beautiful art and music.

3. Yoshi's Island ; The greatest platformer crafted by the human race.

4. Donkey Kong Country 2

5. Chrono Trigger ; A beautiful game which remains timeless thanks to its wholly unique atmosphere conveyed by its brilliant individual parts.

6. Doom ; Though outdone by its incredible sequel, which misses this list by only a year, Doom is an utterly fantastic game with brilliant map design and momentum that, today, still plays as brilliantly as it did in 1993.

7. Final Fantasy VI

8. Famicom Tantei Club Part II: Ushiro ni Tatsu Shōjo (SNES) ; Thanks to Demiforce's hard work in translation, I was finally able to play this years after release. This is an absolutely brilliant visual novel with a strong, consistent atmosphere complemented by strong writing, art and music. The scenarios are paced well and the ending, which cleverly ties into the game's subtitle, will forever stay in my memory. If you have a few hours spare and you enjoy visual novels, I highly recommend giving this a play. Double-checking the rules, I need to justify why I am selecting this remaster over the original game. For me, it's two things: firstly, obviously, there is no English translation of the NES original. Secondly, it's because of the huge improvement to the atmosphere and storytelling that the SNES's extra power provides.

9. Kirby Super Star ; The game that marked Nintendo's use of the Kirby brand as a melting pot of ideas and, to this day, it is still my favourite in the series. The OST is also outstanding.

10. Super Mario World

x. Killer Instinct ; It doesn't hold up well today, but as a kid with my Super Advantage in hand, I absolutely loved this game and played it to the point where my seven year old thumbs were blistered.

 

[HungOverOnATues]

What is with that year range for PC/Arcade? Missing out on stuff like XCOM, Warcraft 1/2, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Doom II by limiting it to '93. I fully expect the results to be a SNES-fest since this is going to be dominated by a handful of popular games that everyone owned at the time. I only owned a SNES during the 90s and on the PC side I had a C64 until around '95 when I finally got a 486 DX2 based DOS/Windows PC, so my list is heavily skewed towards the SNES.

1. Super Metroid (SNES)
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
3. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
4. Final Fantasy IV (SNES)
5. Doom (PC) - I would have gone with Doom II here, but I played quite a bit of both over the years and if I recall correctly, it was home to my first online multiplayer experience over Kali.
6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Genesis) - Played MK3 on SNES more, but UMK3 is an updated version and the Arcade release didn't qualify.
7. Super Mario World (SNES)
8. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis)
9. Mega Man X (SNES)
10. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
x. Super Punch-Out!! (SNES)
x. Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES) - As with UMK3 above, this isn't the version I would have included (SSF2T)
x. King's Quest VI (PC)
x. Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)
x. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)

 

[Nocturnowl]

nocturnowl, i think we're matching on 5 games of each top 10 (not placement but still).

link's awakening - best gen 4 zelda.

This does help give me some ideas of what retro stuff to play next.
I wanted to give Terranigma a bash but the Wii VC disappointed me.

 

[Neff]

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ; Simply the finest game of all time. I can't think of any other game which so successfully and skillfully weaves design, challenge, variety, pace, content and aesthetics together. Every component is exemplary and the quality is off the charts. A magical, epochal, artform-defining tour de force.

2. Super Mario World ; The game which converted me, overnight, from being a firm Sega devotee to a lifelong Nintendo acolyte. My mum, who is beyond cool, surprised me by returning home from an innocuous shopping trip to Oxford Street with a SNES + SMW on launch day (and a copy of some games mag with SMW on the cover). What followed was a very heady two day experience as I tore through the game, possessed like a demon in pursuit of uncovering all 96 exits. It was the first Mario game I'd ever seriously had time to by myself, and the quality of level design, and the variety of ideas and concepts wasn't something I was ready for. To say I had the time of my fifteen year old gaming life would be accurate.

3. Street Fighter II (arcade) ; 25 years and countless iterations later, it's easy to overlook just how big a deal the arrival of Street Fighter II was, especially if you weren't there to witness it yourself. Fighting games were already a thing, so someone was inevitably going to push the genre forward at some point, but I don't think anyone was quite ready for how deep, how clever, and how good SFII was. It made fighting games the #1 genre for quite some time, to the extent that everybody, and I mean everybody, tried to do their own fighting game (and only a few came close). It practically invented competitive gaming. You'd see SFII cabs in weird places that wouldn't normally have arcade games. One way or another, I've been playing it for more than half my life. Here's to you, Street Fighter II.

4. Snatcher (Mega CD) ; When I saw the PC Engine screenshots in magazines of decapitated detectives and maggot-infested rotting corpses, I was excited by the idea of a horror game, since there weren't many in 1991 (Splatterhouse being the only one I was familiar with). It being set in the future made it seem more novel still. Konami saw fit to port it to the Mega CD a couple of years later and it rocked my world. I've only ever done the gaming binge thing -where only food and toilet stops interrupt precious game time- twice. One of those times was with Snatcher. I was lost in Neo Kobe, almost like I was there. The setting of the game, basically an anime twist on Blade Runner, conjures up the richest, thickest, most delicious atmosphere in any game I've ever played. I could slice it up and eat it like cake. The story is one of the few gaming stories I actually really like, and the quality of the voice acting is astonishingly good for its time. Full of Kojima's attention to detail, 4th wall fuckery, and twists both narrative and mechanical hidden in plain sight, it's a classic, and his best game imo.

5. Super Metroid ; I'd never played Metroid, so I gambled, based on the great reviews it got. Glad I did. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said here, it feels like this game is (rightfully) praised every day. Stunning structural design, amazing control, beautiful pacing, impeccable attention to detail and genius visual/sound design. A masterpiece.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening ; What's great about Link's Awakening, and is something which feels relatively unique to Game Boy, is that there's not a shred of compromise, nor an ounce of ambition scaled back with it. It's a full-on, all singing, all dancing, bells 'n' whistles, bona fide Zelda. How the hell they ever got it all on a GB cart, I'll never know. There's just so much to it, its overworld is dense and packed with secrets and incident, its dungeons are unique and brilliant, and it's just gleefully stuffed with character and charm. A wonderful game.

7. Final Fantasy VI ; Binge #2. My friend lent me a copy, insisting that I play it even though I had no interest in Final Fantasy because it looked kind of overwhelming (my JRPG carreer at that point basically consisted of Phantasy Star and Secret of Mana, both games I loved). As it inevitably pulled me in, I bought my own copy because I was actually *scared* that my friend would ask for it back. I spent a week in front of my TV and FFVI's world, and when I wasn't doing that, I was eating (while playing if possible), sleeping, and being thankful that my toilet was the nearest room in the house. I've never been so utterly possessed by a game since, and I doubt I ever will, but what a ride.

8. Contra III: The Alien Wars ; Contra III, aka the all-time best set piece game, aka Mode 7 porn, is the greatest run 'n' gun ever. Something amazing happens like every few seconds, and it's wonderfully short, meaning that the game is stacked with thrills from beginning to end. Every aspect of the game is on point and then some. It's this game more than any other which makes me miss the fantastic era of Konami which created it. A glorious, twitchy, explosive roller coaster.

9. Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (arcade) ; By far the best in the Makaimura series. Also the easiest, which shouldn't by any means suggest that it's easy. Capcom were shitting gold in the arcades with their late '80s CPS1 stuff, and Ghouls is the cream of the crop imo. To me it feels like the most balanced in the series. You can get the 'wrong' weapon for a section and still do ok, wheras it can lead to disaster in the other titles. It also has the best Goddess Weapon. Great visuals, great music, incredibly satisfying to play and beat... It's just a fucking great game.

10. Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive) ; Not Sega's first attempt at making their own 'Mario', but definitely their most serious and most successful, and it's also their best. The first Sonic I think is the one to really nail what made Mario fun to play, and his physics fun to master. Later Sonics would focus less on inertia management and favour straight up speed, but the first one remains unique in that it feels like a legit platform game. More a companion/successor to SMB than a sprawling adventure akin to SMB3 or World, it fuses the simple 'go forward, beat levels' mandate with genius traversal mechanics and level design just as brilliantly. With hot tunes and gorgeously surreal visuals, it just screams confidence and style. It's absolutely fantastic, and my favourite Sonic game.

 

[Whifflebat]

1. Super Mario World - the best Mario game of all time. Blew me away at the time, and still impresses me to this day.

2. Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES) - most hours played on my SNES. Still have fond memories of holding tournaments in my basement with friends

3. Tetris (Gameboy) - best version ever

4. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
5. Final Fantasy III (VI)
6. Doom (PC)
7. Super Metroid
8. Super Castlevania IV
9. Chrono Trigger
10. Yoshi's Island

 

[Square2015]

I'm just listing the J titles we never got (they're that good btw).

1. Dragon Quest VI SNES ver. - so underrated. Chrono trigger-esque beautiful graphics, crisp gameplay, epic soundtrack, and a beloved world (2 actually) to explore.
2. Secret of Mana 2 / SD3 - most beautiful video game ever, almost too ambitious for the platform it was on but all turned out great.
3. Final Fantasy V - a fun lighthearted adventure that began to show the artistic talent at Square.
4. Dragon Quest V - a special, nostalgic adventure with feels.
5. Shin Megami Tensei II - whoaa, dark, religious, apocalyptic storyline. Enjoy traveling all the way to the abyss of hell.
6. Front Mission - amazing strategy title, great graphics and storytelling.
7. Treasure Hunter G - psx level graphics! Saga frontier-esque, I kid you not; underrated gem.
8. Shin Megami Tensei I - something about modern setting RPGs just do it for me.
9. Ys V - underrated Zelda RPGs adventure. Something about the art style gives me warm nostalgic feels.
10. Tales of Phantasia - dat first thirty minutes of the game, so emotional, "is this a SNES game I'm playing!?"

 

[radcliff]

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past- The original was my favorite NES game. From the commercial, to the box, to the instruction manual, to the secrets, there was this mysterious quality about it. While I enjoyed the sequel, it was this game that perfecta the gameplay set forth in the original. In some ways, it actually set the foundation for several future titles. I have made it an annual tradition to complete this game 100%, and I never get tired of it. From the colorful graphics, to the soaring soundtrack, and perfect gameplay, this one will be hard to top.

2. Chrono Trigger- I only played this game for the first time a couple years ago, so the game didn't have nostalgia going for it for me. I was still blown away. The sprite work was amazing, the soundtrack among the best I had ever heard, and the story both complex and fun. The best rpg I have ever played.

3. Super Metroid- Getting hopelessly lost in the original Metroid was not something I found fun. But for some reason, I was compelled to try this game. The map feature made all the difference in the world to me. This genre-defining game completely absorbed me when I played it in 1994. When I beat it, I had to do it again to get that 100% ending.

4. Street Fighter II Turbo

5. Final Fantasy VI

6. Super Mario World

7. Super Castlevania IV

8. Contra III: Alien Wars

9. Secret of Mana

10. Megaman X


Honorable Mentions:

x. Actraiser
x. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
x. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
x. Gunstar Heroes
x. Revenge of Shinobi
x. Shinobi III
x. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
x. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
x. Yoshi's Island

 

[Zach]

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time ; I think I've beaten this game more than any other. I've cleared it with my brother, my friends, my son, and by myself. It was amazing as a kid and it's still a blast to play. Top spot!
2. Chrono Trigger ; Probably the greatest RPG of all time. Solid characters and plot. Amazing music.
3. Streets of Rage 2 ; Second to only Turtles in Time when it comes to beat-'em-ups. Great fun.
4. Super Punch-Out!! ; Beautiful follow-up to the NES classic.
5. Super Mario World ; This game felt like perfection when we first got a Super Nintendo. Still holds up today.
6. Super Mario RPG ; Not quite Paper Mario, but a lot of fun!
7. Super Mario Kart ; This guy's aged poorly, but it was mind-blowing in the '90s.
8. WWF Royal Rumble ; My favorite wrasslin' game until the fabled N64 games.
9. Sunset Riders ; Loved shootin' dudes up in the wild west.
10. Zombies Ate My Neighbors ; Fun, and difficult, co-op action.

x. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja ; I never got far into this one, but it always seemed special.
x. Earthbound ; Just now playing this with my son. It's great. I imagine it will one day be near the top of my gen 4 list... but just haven't played enough.

 

[Zach]

Poor AniHawk. No one ever reads the OT and follows his formatting requirements. >_>

 

[Shizza]

First off, my list is all SNES since that is what I had as a kid. Very little experience with the Genesis outside the sonic games, and no experience with the other systems. I know, deprived childhood and whatnot, but moving on:

1. Super Mario World
This game blew my mind at the time when it came out. Going from SMB -> SMB3 -> SMW was such an evolution. I love the variation in the levels and the fully fleshed-out zones. This is one of the first games I remember that had tons of extra content - allowing you to get so much more out of it - even after beating the game - with the secret exits, the P-switches, and Star Road. I still love this game very much to this day and try to do a yearly 100% of this game.

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Similar to Mario, the evolution from TLOZ to TLOZ:LTTP was so amazing. I loved the introduction an actual story to the game. Loved how free and open the gameplay was, and how much side-content there was to explore. The music and sprite work was fantastic, and quite memorable. This game is something special, and quite possibly my favorite Zelda game in the series. I also try to revisit this one on a yearly basis.

3. Chrono Trigger
This game is almost too good - It manages to avoid the pitfalls of many other RPGs, and did so way before their time! The sprite work is great, and the music is fantastic and quite memorable. The characters are intriguing and useful - some have advantages over others for physical/magic/healing, but none have been a burden to play with. The leveling/gold accumulation has been on point - and I haven't felt like I need to grind to beat bosses or buy new gear. I haven't really felt lost - as there have been plenty of clues within the gameplay to know where to go next. The world is dynamic and the time mechanic is well thought out - I love how the future changes based on things you've done in the past, and how areas stay relevant throughout the game instead of just passing through them. Great set of final battles, and that ending - sooooo good!

4. Sim City
Many many many hours were put into this game as a kid. I always wanted to be an architect (and now am), and this game played right into that interest. The music was soothing, and the sprite work was nice! It was almost an educational experience - based on trial and error - to the point that I was finally able to reach a Megalopolis!

5. Donkey Kong Country
I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power at the time, followed by seeing commercials for it, and then talking about it with friends. This was the first game I remember needing to have it RIGHT NOW! I may be mis-remembering, but I think it was one of the first games I saw that had a pre-order option (or maybe I was oblivious to it in the past). Anyway, it came out around Black Friday 1994, and leading up to then I somehow managed to explain - the topic of pre-order, the reason why we had to actually pre-order it, and why I needed to play it that day instead of waiting for Christmas - to my Dad, and convinced my Mom that we had to drive to the store in the snow storm to pick it up that day. The excitement of waiting for the game to be released was only overshadowed by how good it turned out to be. It was everything I was expecting and more.

6. Super Mario RPG
I love this game, and it's easily a lock for me as one of the SNES's top offerings. I love how the story and tone of this game is so vastly different from Super Mario World, and yet still totally works within that universe. It plumbs the depths of Bowser, and you know what, he's more than just a "Bad Guy" like Reck-It Ralph. Sure he has an outwardly expressed tough-guy attitude bent on conquering the Mushroom Kingdom, but inside he's just a dude trying to make his way in the world. I love the quirkiness of the characters, and how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, like some other RPGs. I thought the characters and areas were enjoyable. The music and art were great too! The leveling and currency accumulation were perfect in this game. The length of the game felt perfect, and it wasn't padded with filler content. The collaboration on this game between Square & Nintendo is ever present in the best way, and I'm sad that it didn't continue to more games. In conclusion, this game was another fabulous RPG that I will definitely re-visit regularly.

7. Super Metroid
Again, the trend continues similar to Mario and Zelda, with Metroid getting a superb sequel on the SNES.

8. Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2
IT'S SO ADORABLE.

9. F-Zero
Definitely one of my favorites of the SNES days, and also in general. I'm still amazed at how good this was at the time (Mode 7 worked wonders on the SNES), and how much I still enjoy it. The courses are colorful and the design is clean. I think the music is fitting for the futuristic setting. The game's difficulty is so on point, and maybe that's why I love it so much. Oftentimes I'll blow up before finishing a race when playing a new one, but after a bit of practice (and some luck) I'll nail it with expert precision, and it feels so satisfying. My only complaint is the damn cars going like 5 MPH - What are you doing on the track, and why are there so many of you! Big Blue was one of my favorite tracks, and Fire Field (very last one) was kinda nuts, but I loved it!

10. Star Fox
3D graphics on the SNES? And a SHUMP (on rails) to boot! I loved the characters, music, and artwork. The tech was ahead of it's time, and this game immediately captured my attention.

***

Honorable Mentions - These are games that I haven't had a chance to play yet (but I know they will be awesome), and I will finally be getting to in the next year (many RPGs):
x. Final Fantasy IV
x. Final Fantasy V
x. Final Fantasy VI
x. Terranigma
x. Secret of Mana
x. Earthbound

 

[Yoshi]

maybe age? the game is 26 years old now.

Super Mario World saw a port for GBA and several Virtual Console releases though. It's still certainly no obscure old-people-game.

 

[maxcriden]

We just started playing Secret of Mana on VC yesterday. Is there any story from the first SD game we should have known before starting? I figured with all the SoM fans in here this was as good a place to ask as any.

 

[randomkid]

1. Tetris Attack; SNES
2. Gunstar Heroes; Genesis
3. Shin Megami Tensei; PC Engine CD, this version has voice acting!
4. Metal Slug; Neo Geo
5. Outrun; Arcade
6. Bomberman 93; PC Engine
7. King's Quest 6; PC
8. Fantasy Zone; Game Gear
9. Tetris; Game Boy
10. Mickey Mania; Sega CD, this version also has voice acting.

I really really need to play Popful Mail.

 

[AniHawk]

This does help give me some ideas of what retro stuff to play next.
I wanted to give Terranigma a bash but the Wii VC disappointed me.

seemed like a no-brainer to put that on the wii vc. would have been great for north american users... i don't think we'll ever see it.

 

[Crimson_Echidna]

1) Chrono Trigger
2) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
3) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
4) Sonic 3 & Knuckles
5) Dragon Quest V
6) Super Mario World
7) Donkey Kong Country 2
8) Super Metroid
9) Final Fantasy VI
10) Earthbound

 

[Violet_0]

We just started playing Secret of Mana on VC yesterday. Is there any story from the first SD game we should have known before starting? I figured with all the SoM fans in here this was as good a place to ask as any.

not that I can think of. They're all standalone games
btw you should absolutely check out SD3 when you're done with SoM, that game is a masterpiece

 

[AniHawk]

1) Chrono Trigger
2) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
3) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
4) Sonic 3 & Knuckles
5) Dragon Quest V
6) Super Mario World
7) Donkey Kong Country 2
8) Super Metroid
9) Final Fantasy VI
10) Earthbound

you gotta say something about at least one of the games though. please read the first post.

 

[SmokedMeat]

1. The Revenge of Shinobi - The best Shinobi title ever made, and one of the greatest side scrolling action titles in my opinion.
2. Shinobi 3 - Another solid follow up in the series
3. Ghouls n Ghosts - The best G&G title period.
4. Yoshi's Island - Amazing platformer, with incredible level design, and a beautiful art style
5. Legendary Axe - Turbografx was a killer system, and I remember really enjoying this
6. Contra Hard Corps - Best Contra game of the 16-bit era
7. Samurai Shodown - This was part of the gen, and I'm going with the Neo Geo version
8. Starfox - Fantastic 3D shooter, with timeless gameplay
9. Shining in the Darkness - I've yet to find a western made first person dungeon crawler that comes close to Camelot's efforts.
10. Super Casltevania 4 - Top notch everything.

 

[Apenheul]

1. Super Mario World ; although not my favorite Mario game anymore but still in my opinion the best 16-bit platformer
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ; I didn't like this game until a cousin started hyping it up. At some point I liked it so much that I completed it multiple times over a weekend.
3. Super Metroid ; I played this on VC for the first time but it still held up. To this day I don't know whether I prefer Metroid Prime or Super Metroid
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time ; when I think of beat em ups I think of Turtles in Time. Rented it at least 5 times back in the day and a couple of years ago I purchased a cart for 30 euros.
5. Bomberman 94; I bought a PC Engine with 4 controllers just for this game, it replaced Super Bomberman for me.
6. Streets of Rage 2 ; I used to be more of a fan of Final Fight 3 back in the day but in hindsight SoR2 had more going for it.
7. Chrono Trigger ; I put this in my list even though I played the DS port, although not near the top of my list I did really enjoy my playthrough and loved how imaginative the game was.
8. Secret of Mana ; there are so many things wrong with this game but the fact that it can be played in co-op and that it was this huge adventure is why it's so high on my list.
9. Super Mario Kart ; back in the day I spent a lot of time playing battle mode with friends.
10. Goof Troop ; very charming and accessible co-op action game
x. Zombies ate my Neighbours ; same reason as Goof Troop but GT was better designed IMO. Zombies overarching structure felt weaker.

 

[antitrop]

1. Chrono Trigger ; The best game ever made on any console, so pretty easy vote here. It's the only game in all of my absolute favorites that I wouldn't change anything about. It's actually perfect.
2. EarthBound
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. ActRaiser
6. Final Fantasy IV
7. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
8. Terranigma
9. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
10. Super Mario World

 

[brettski2024]

1. EarthBound; my favorite game of all time. So much magic the first playthrough
2. FF6; close to eb for ne
3. Secret of Mana; magic summer of 5th grade with friends playing mana
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Legend of Zelda Links Awakening
6. Uniracers
7. Castle of illusion starring Mickey Mouse (game gear)
8. Super Mario World
9. Donkey Kong Country
10. Legend of Zelda a link to the Past

 

[maxcriden]

not that I can think of. They're all standalone games
btw you should absolutely check out SD3 when you're done with SoM, that game is a masterpiece

Grazie! Got SD3 and Terranigma with our SFC last year. Will hook it up when my Japanese is a bit better.

 

[antitrop]

Lost Vikings 2 kicks ass. Probably would have listed it if I actually played it on SNES and not the PC version called Norse by Norsewest.

 

[Lothar]

1. Earthbound - Charming, funny, creative, unique, and innovative. Most fun of any RPG to talk to people in the towns because of the sense of humor. Amount of variety is unparalleled. From Stonehenge, to Zombie towns, to shopping malls, to swamps, to traffic jams, to pyrmaids, to deserts, to metropolitan cities, to beach resorts, to alien bases. Battles are more exciting than other RPGs because of the the Rolling HP Meter. Being able to squash easy enemies removed some of the tedium that is usually present in RPGs. The constantly changing battle music and settings keeps the battles and dungeons feeling fresh.
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Super Metroid
4. Lemmings
5. Final Fantasy 4
6. Secret of Mana
7. Zelda: LTTP
8. Donkey Kong Country 2
9. Castlevania 4
10. Contra 3

Honorable mentions: Mega Man X, Lufia 2, Sonic 2, Final Fantasy 6, Shining Force 2, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 4, Super Mario Kart, F-Zero

 

[Oblivion]

1. Super Mario World - My favorite 2D Mario platformer. In my opinion, it has the most perfect controls of any 2D Mario game. Until I came across Super Smash Bros. Melee, this was my my most played game of all time. Had very fond memories of this growing up. Holds immense nostalgic value to me.
2. Zelda: Link to the Past - By far and away my favorite 2D Zelda. It took everything good about the original and put it on steroids. Beautiful art/graphics, wonderfully memorable soundtrack, and brilliant game design. A masterpiece.
3. Kirby Superstar - Best 2D Kirby.
4. Goof Troop - Don't let this game fool you. For a licensed game, it's amazingly well crafted, with puzzles that are certainly more difficult and tricky than you would expect for a Disney title.
5. TMNT: Turtle in Time - Another licensed game that turned out to be quite excellent.
6. Double Dragon - Another great co-op game.
7. Donkey Kong Country - Blew my mind at the time, graphically, even if it hasn't necessarily aged well.
8. Megaman X - The game that really got me into the MM series. So awesome.
9. Yoshi's Island - Believe it or not, I don't really look back on this one as fondly as most of gaf (didn't care for the art style, and was angry that this was NOT the Super Mario World 2 that I thought it was), but hey, it's a 2D platformer made by EAD. You can't go wrong.
10. Sonic/Knuckles - Best of the Sonic games.

 

[thuway]

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Super Street Fighter 2
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Earthbound
5. Legend of Zelda: LTTP
6. Super Mario World
7. Megaman X
8. TMNT Turtles in Time
9. NBA Jam
10. Super Mario Kart

 

[AniHawk]

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Super Street Fighter 2
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Earthbound
5. Legend of Zelda: LTTP
6. Super Mario World
7. Megaman X
8. TMNT Turtles in Time
9. NBA Jam
10. Super Mario Kart

please read the red text in the first post.

 

[Gruco]

1. Final Fantasy V ; What's kind of interesting about this game is that I feel it is very obviously the best SNES game despite not playing it until years after the fact, so it's (relatively) not being pushed by childhood nostalgia. FFV is noteworthy for offering enormous creative freedom to the player, and for giving the player as much room as possible to take advantage of it. Yes, the job system is wonderful, but what really makes this game stand out is the series of one off weirdo optional encounters that challenge the player to exploit the full system. Gil Turtle, Omega and Shinryu are the obvious example but the game is loaded with others. It is fresh every time one plays it, because it offers endless possibilties while still being challenging. Home to one of GAF's greatest traditions.

2. Tetris Attack ; More so than any other game, Tetris Attack kept me coming to the SNES for years. After I was over all the RPGs, after there were no platforms left to jump across, there was still Tetris Attack. For my money, Panel de Pon is the best puzzle game, full stop.

3. Super Metroid ; Close enough to perfection to make no difference. What made the 16 bit gen what it was was steady iteration on the ideas first explored in the last get. The games looked better, but were also more confident, and had a better understanding of what they were trying to accomplish to begin with. Super Metroid was I think not just the best leap forward, but displayed the best understanding of what video games could really accomplish. Its story was perfect because of, rather than in spite of , its sparse approach to storytelling. The progression the right balance of exploration and forward momentum. The mood was flawless.

4. Earthbound ; While I think its sequel is ultimately the better game, Earthbound probably has a bigger spot in my heart. The weirdness, the perfect localization in a time of so many terrible ones, and the background music all built into an adventure that was hard to say goodbye to. Maybe it doesn't have Mother 3's punch, but good friend, bad friends gets me, just a little bit, every time.

5. Yoshi's Island ; I actually think Mario World's special stages have better platforming, but Yoshi's Island wins for creativity and style. DKC got all the attention, but it was this game (and to a lesser extent, X2 and X3) that really made me wonder why anyone would even bother buying a Playstation or Saturn.

6. Mega Man X ; My first SNES game. Like so many others, the greatest iteration of its predecessor. Dash and climb added to run and jump made the game just new enough, while staying just familiar enough. X2 and X3 are arguably better games, but in a series notorious for an inability to pace itself, it's hard not to give the nod to the one which actually did something different.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening ; As much as I love LTTP, I liked stealing things more. Stands out as a more creative outing, while the trade route added great traditions to the series. Also, had a flying chicken deatharang. And Tal Tal Heights.

8. Gunstar Heroes ; Played this after the generation was basically over. But my fandom here was more enduring that it was for the Sonic games, Phantasy Star, or Lunar. A great action game that lead me to follow the developer everywhere it went in the next generation. I was willing to track down Mischief Makers on the N64, Guardian Heroes on the Saturn, and Silhouette Mirage on the Playstation, all because of what Treasure showed they were capable of in Gunstar.

9. SimCity ; Too much fun playing this with my cousins growing up. Later, the first game we bought after it landed on the virtual console.

10. Legend of the Mystic Ninja ; Silly fun, varied gameplay, and coop heaven. The source of years of bitterness for getting only a limited taste of the sequels.

x. Chrono Trigger
x. Sonic & Knuckles
x. Phantasy Star 4
x. A Link to the Past
x. Actraiser

 

[Oblivion]

We don't need to put in honorable mentions do we?

 

[AniHawk]

We don't need to put in honorable mentions do we?

not if you don't feel like it. a lot of people don't put any but some people put in a lot.

 

[Oblivion]

not if you don't feel like it. a lot of people don't put any but some people put in a lot.

Cool beans.

 

[VendettaRed07]

1) Chrono Trigger- To me it's harder to think of an example of a game from this generation that does quite as much. It's pacing is flawless, it's soundtrack is timeless, and it's battlesystem and story to this day still do not feel dated like many other RPGs in the generation do.

2) Streets of Rage 2: The GOAT. The best sidescrolling beat em up of all time. It never gets old. It may in fact be my most played game of all time. It is hard for me to tell what soundtrack from this generation is the best one. But this is probably my choice. It's so ahead of it's time, a DJ could play it in a nightclub today and no one would think it sounded out of place. Almost every aspect of this game succeeds at what a side scrolling beat em up sets out to do.

3) Doom- This is a special game for me, because while many games claim to be a successor to Doom, or even todays most recent entries in the series, few first person shooters to this day get right what the game that popularized the genre did in 1993. Readable enemies make the combat feel like a dance. Playing doom I almost feel like I get lost in thought as I zone out just moving along with the game. While I like the new Doom, and still love FPS, the one that started it all may forever be my favorite.

4) Herzog Zwei- This may possibly be one of the most underrated games of all time in regards to how influential it was. Herzog Zwei was an incredibly under the radar Sega Genesis game that played a key role in the development of one of the biggest and most popular genre's in the entire industry. It's incredibly well balanced, and has some of the best 2 player split-screen co-op there is.

5) A Link to the Past- It's hard to say much about this game that hasn't already been said. This entry of LoZ is what made it into the series that it is today. It's expansive overworld, it's incredibly tight gameplay, and some of the best dungeon desgn of the generation make it essential to any top 10 list.

6) Final Fantasy VI- Probably the best entry in one of the biggest franchises of all time. While I feel this game's gameplay is more dated than Chrono Trigger and the PS Final Fantasy games, it's story, characters, and world are the strongest in the franchise.

7) Super Mario Kart- Most likely my second most played game of the gen, second to Streets of Rage. It's split screen racing and battlemode were revolutionary, and it is harder to find a more addictive multiplayer game in the generation on consoles. While there were many games that had multiplayer modes, many if not all that came before felt either shoehorned or not fleshed out well enough. This game was completely and totally designed around have fun with the friend sitting on the couch right next to you.

8) TMNT: Turtles in Time- While it does not reach the heights of Streets of Rage 2 for me, it comes really damn close; or as close as another beat em up could hope to get. It may infact be the greatest licenced IP videogame of all time. There is a lot of room for debate on that, but the fundamentals of this game are so strong it holds the top spot for me.

9) Sonic CD- The best game in perhaps the most iconic character's to come out of this entire generation's franchise. Sonic CD takes everything 1, 2 and 3 either did well, or tried to do, and takes them to another level. The multiple pathways, periods of time that alter the level's designs, layouts and appearance.. Sonic CD is a classic that was overlooked due to the system it was released on. It will likely never get the recognition it deserves in Sonic History purely due to releasing on a largely failed console

10) Tetris Attack- So hypnotic it would make your head spin. It's difficult to describe exactly what makes a puzzle game work. I'm not an expert in breaking down their qualities but Tetris Attack is the most addictive puzzle game of the generation. It's ironic that in a sea of pretenders trying to capitalize on the success of tetris in series like columns, etc., that the only game in my opinion to recapture or even surpass the simplisitic pleasure of an all time great like the original Tetris was a game that shared it's branding.