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 On 03/21/2013 at 04:01 PM by natron See More From This User » |
Of every video game console I have ever own or played, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is my absolute favorite, and with good reason. The SNES has multiple-dozens of fantastic and innovative games, many of which are still referenced even today in best-of lists and retro sections of videogame magazines. The 16-bit era brought with it perhaps the greatest leap in video games of any console generation before or since, with sound and graphics; but also with narrative, scope and game design.
Think about the jump to 3D with the PS1 and Nintendo 64; many of those early 3D efforts have aged very poorly, and in most cases have been eclipsed as the platform has aged. An argument could be made that 3D was more of a brave new world in mid nineties, but no other console has had had so many launch (or near launch) titles rank so high in best-of-lists.
The art of sprite based graphics were mastered with such early titles as Super Mario World, Super R-Type, Final Fantasy IV and Actraiser, and all but perfected by the end of the consoles life. Late SNES titles such as Star Ocean, Tales of Phantasia, Donkey Kong Country, Chrono Trigger and Yoshi’s Island pushed the SNES to unheard of limits, squeezing out graphics and sound that easily bested the launch window releases of Sony’s highly advance CD based PlayStation console.
What makes the Super Nintendo so special is that the console was not content to dominate just one genre of games, like the TurboGrafx did with shooters or the Genesis with beat ‘em ups- the Super Nintendo excelled in nearly every single style of video game. From platformers (Super Mario World, Super Bonk) to action games (Super Star Wars series, Metal Warriors Wild Guns) to beat’em ups (Turtles in Time, Final Fight 2, Batman Returns) to fighters (Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat II) to adventure games (A Link to the Past, Nosferatu, Out of this World) and even puzzle games (Tetris Attack, Bust-A-Move, Dr.Mario/Tetris). Even the one area where the SNES is the weakest, shmups, there were still brilliant games to be found (Space Megaforce, R-Type III, and Darius Twin)
What article about the Super Nintendo would be complete without mention of the consoles greatest strength; its unrivalled RPG offerings. Arguably the greatest generation for RPGs, specially Japanese RPGs, the SNES was the exclusive home to some of the most critically lauded console role playing games in history. It’s the machine on which Square, Namco, Enix and Chunsoft cut their teeth; no more evident than in what the developers accomplished with the graphical depth and audio capabilities of the SNES. The improvments facilitated the shift moving JRPGs further from Dungeons and Dragons and more closer to a more cinematic and story centric genre.
The sheer number of franchises that either started or matured on the console is absolutely staggering. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest proved there was a rich world beyond 8-bits, Mother and Chrono Trigger blazed into homes for the first time, and titles such as Star Ocean, Romancing SaGa and Tales of Phantasia while not making it outside of Japan, none-the-less saw new life with the advent of fan translation ROM patches and/or portable remakes.
The success of the Super Nintendo can be attributed to many things; brand loyalty, marketing, the pressure of Nintendo’s first real competition in Sega’s Genesis/Mega Drive- but one thing cannot be denied. Nintendo didn’t let the success of the NES go to their head. Instead they stepped up to create one of the most loved and critically successful video game consoles of all time. And for that, Nintendo will always have a place in my heart.
I think the PSONE is my favorite system, and the one I would choose if I had to. I just love all the JRPG's on it, and the weird Japanese games, etc. I was in my late teens and early twenties when it came out, but it had a big affect on me even after the NES and Genesis years. A good damn system.
Never had a SNES though. I was kind of distracted by other stuff at that point.
I have a tie. It is between the 2600 and the NES. Sure the SNES was/is great I went with the Sega/CD during that period of my gaming.
I love the snes for the platformers. Games like yoshi's island, the donkey kong country trilogy, super metroid, super mario all-stars, castlevania iv, contra iii, earthworn jim, aladdin, mega man x, and whatever else i am forgetting.
ah yes the snes..A system I need more games for. I am partial to the ps1 for rpg's..Because that is when I started to play rpg's. I have yet to play any rpg's for the snes..But I plan to change that..
The SNES is my all-time favorite game console, too!
The SNES is the best! I love the variety and the excellence in that variety. Like you said, nearly every genre has games that are still fondly remembered as the best at what they do. As great as the Genesis was for beat-em-ups, for instance, I still swear by Turtles IV.
Turtles IV is awesome, but its no Streets of Rage 2...
Nice, Ive only kept mt GB collections and the odd console game here and there. I need to ask if my brother still has his old consoles
I must admit, the SNES is my favorite after all these years as well.
I still remember seeing the Super Nintendo for the first time. I didn't even know it existed; a world beyond the NES didn't even cross my mind. I was at a friend's place, because he wanted to show me this "new Nintendo" he just got.
Super Mario World blew my mind. I remember being absolutely stunned by the graphics and all the buttons on the controller!
I got my own that Christmas with SMW and Turtles in Time and I was one happy kid. It's still my favourite console as well.
Great post.
There are still plenty of RPG's for the Super NES I'd like to get into.
It was one of the best gaming consoles ever.
It would be a tough decision, but I think the SNES might narrowly beat out the NES as the console that I had the most fun with. I still remember the day we got one. It was a day that for some reason or another I had felt like skipping school, so I had pretended to be sick. That afternoon when my family was home I had to continue acting like I didn’t feel good so that my parents wouldn’t know that I had faked it. My mom and brother went shopping and when they came back my brother asked how I was feeling. It became obvious that he knew I was faking. He asked me in front of my mom if I was too sick to play Nintendo. I had to say yes. Then he said “I guess I’ll have to play this by myself then,” and removed a new SNES from a bag. I was so excited that I didn’t care about pretending anymore. My mom still only let me play for 30 minutes before she made me go get back in bed.
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