The SNES is arguably the most timeless console ever. While we already highlighted a few Super Nintendo games that stand up over time better than most of us born in the 80s and 90s stand up out of our gaming chairs without half an hour of preparation, there are so many more games worth highlighting from the console for their timelessness.
Donkey Kong Country 1 + 2
The best thing to come out Leicester since that cheese, where would DK be without the legends at Rare? Their take on a Nintendo character that, at the time, hadn’t been given much of a chance to shine, Donkey Kong Country helped cement DK and the rest of the crew among Mario and the gang, thanks to its brilliant gameplay, charming visuals and banging soundtrack. While the characters might not be true 3D, with Rare importing 3D models as sprites instead, DKC offered a glimpse into the future of gaming.
Instead of following the original DK from the 1981 game, Donkey Kong Country passed the mantle onto DK Jr, with the redesign being one of the things that really sparked life into DK as a Nintendo mascot. Across 40 levels, you run, jump and batter your way through King K Rool’s forces in an attempt to get your bananas back from the thieving pirates.
On a console with plenty of platforming heavyweights, Donkey Kong Country, along with its sequels, hold up among the best of the SNES’ library and they still honestly look a generation ahead of their time. Is it any wonder that Nintendo keeps going to the Donkey Kong Country well every now and again even today? Don’t ask for an actually new game, though, let’s just keep dipping into the past.
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
I hear you, okay? Just because The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past wasn’t mentioned in the first video it doesn’t mean it hasn’t aged well, and that kinda goes without saying, hence why it was left off, but now I have to mention it to stop you shouting at me, please, I am only very small.
Widely considered to be among the greatest video games ever made, A Link To The Past arguably set the tone for the Zelda series going forward, marking the debut of elements that’d become staples later on, like the Master Sword or the ability to swap between two different worlds. Chances are, your favourite part of Zelda first appeared here.
A prequel to the first two games in the Zelda series, A Link To The Past sees Link trying to rescue Zelda from Hyrule Castle, as would become tradition going forward. The catch here is there’s an evil wizard trying to summon Ganon from the parallel Dark World, with Link travelling around Hyrule to find pendants to locate the Master Sword, the wizard’s only weakness.
If you want proof of how well the gameplay aged here, it was ported to the GBA as part of Four Swords, but you could very easily pick up your SNES cart of this today, go to blow in it, remember it’s apparently bad for it, but then blow in it anyway and get playing one of the greatest games of all time without skipping a beat. It still packs quite the punch.
Super Punch Out!!
Nintendo really cooked with the simplistic yet infuriating difficult game design of Punch Out. Basically a boss rush disguised as a boxing game, Punch Out put players in the wee shorts of Little Mac, the perennial underdog trying to become a champion in the most poorly regulated boxing league in history. Half of these guys aren’t even throwing punches, how can this be legal? The esteemed sport of boxing is better than thi–nevermind. While Punch Out started life in the arcades, Nintendo pretty effectively ported the experience to the NES with Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.
The NES version of Punch Out proved that the arcade experience and gameplay could be ported over to home consoles, but they knocked it out of the park with the sequel.
Graphically, this is a real looker, as the bright, cartoony visuals represent a leaps and bounds improvement over the original game, while the simple controls and gameplay loop of memorising the boss’ patterns is as timeless as it ever was. Unfortunately, it’d take Nintendo 15 years to make a new Punch Out after the SNES game with the pretty overlooked Wii version, and it’s been 16 years since then. We did get ARMS, though, which is maybe Punch Out adjacent if you squint a bit and ignore the fact that it’s entirely different?
Maybe we’ll see Punch Out return for the Switch 2 alongside F-Zero, and then maybe a flying pig will do my taxes.
Super Mario World
Saying Super Mario World is a SNES game that aged well is like saying the sun is bright and that Stacy’s mum did, in fact, have it going on. We’ve waited for so long to get around to including it, but Super Mario World took an already popular mascot for Nintendo and catapulted him into the stratosphere, creating a platformer that many 2D games of today are still trying to escape from its shadow. From the music, the graphics, the core gameplay and the sheer amount of secrets to be found, Super Mario World felt like the next evolution of the Mario Bros. formula.
Despite being set in Dinosaur Land, and containing nary a hint of a Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mario World introduced a host of features that would become mainstays of the Mario franchise at large. The first Mario game to include an overworld to explore, Super Mario World’s biggest contribution would be the introduction of everyone’s cute little dinosaur, Yoshi, who would become the protagonist of several other Nintendo platformers in the future, notably in the brilliant but sometimes headache inducing sequel.
Super Mario World can still absolutely capture your attention today, as it has a formula that has been repeated countless times over the decades, and it still looks and sounds as smooth as it ever was. Is this an obvious inclusion? Yes, but we dare you to argue with it.
Pocky & Rocky
Top-down shooters on the SNES were pretty common, but few had the style and overall mythology that Pocky & Rocky had backing it. A sequel to the arcade game Kiki Kaikai, Pocky & Rocky follows the titular Shinto Shrine maiden and her tanuki friend as they try to rescue a rampaging horde of goblins who have been corrupted by evil forces. Despite being a game made in Japan and based almost exclusively on Japanese mythology, Pocky & Rocky has you get in touch with your inner Frank Reynolds, though sadly with a severe lack of eggs to go with its trying times.
Unlike other co-op shooters on the SNES, like Contra and Smash TV, Pocky & Rocky actually makes both characters distinguishable in terms of abilities. Both Pocky and Rocky are capable of the same long range, short range and bomb attacks, along with a slide to escape danger, but the attacks themselves, their effectiveness and range are different across both.
Throw in some amazing graphics, imaginative enemies and bosses, and some luscious backgrounds, and it’s no wonder that Pocky & Rocky is still beloved to this day, along with its also pretty great sequel. Don’t belove these prices though. The retro market really is in fantasy land sometimes.
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy and the SNES aren’t really spoken about in the same way FF and the PS1 are. Unlike the PS1’s FF7, FF8 and FF9, the SNES was only blessed with one Final Fantasy of note, but it’s definitely an all-time whipper. Where else can you get the satisfaction of suplexing a train but in Final Fantasy 6? It’s funny that Sabin can suplex dragons and most of the other bosses in Final Fantasy 6, but somehow doing a Kurt Angle on a train full of ghosts is “unrealistic”. I mean, has anyone even tried to give a crippler crossface to a locomotive before?
Taking a break from other Final Fantasy settings by opting for a more steampunk influenced aesthetic, Final Fantasy 6 follows a ragtag group of rebels trying to defeat an empire intent on enslaving a race known as the Espers. While we won’t spoil anything for people who haven’t played it, Final Fantasy 6 is beloved among the fans, and the RPG community at large, for offering one of the best mid-game twists in history.
The soundtrack is also phenomenal, but it’s a Final Fantasy game; of course the soundtrack is great, while the characters are all pretty likeable without a dud among them, and maybe if Kefka had a badass entrance song like Sephiroth, he would be known as the best Final Fantasy villain ever instead.
There’s not too much to say that hasn’t already been said about the arguable peak of 2D Final Fantasy, and the arguable peak of the series overall for some. 30 years later, they really ate with this one.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
You want an eye-catching name for a video game, try Zombies Ate My Neighbors on for size. It’s not quite An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs, but it’s still one of the most genius video game names ever, and the game is pretty good too.
A top-down shooter, Zombies Ate My Neighbors oozes B-movie charm, as you control teenagers trying to deal with a horror movie monster uprising in their sleepy little slice of suburbia. Turns out the mad scientist Dr. Tongue has created a bunch of monsters and unleashed them upon the surrounding suburbs, leaving it to Zeke and Julie to save everyone from Tongue’s evil plans. Remember kids: creating a zombie army is totally not tubular.
The game boasts a staggering 48 levels, not including some optional bonus levels thrown in for good measure, with the objective being to rescue at least one helpless neighbor per level before the legions of zombies, werewolves, vampires, mummies, aliens, weird blob monsters, squidmen, pod people and other crazy critters that are running amok. Still, none of them are arguably as terrifying as the giant demonic baby that’s waiting for you as a boss fight in level 8, Titanic Toddler. Someone must have taken his iPad away.
While it’s got a pretty tough learning curve for modern times, and you’re really just gonna suffer if you play it solo instead of in co-op, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is one of the most timeless pick up and play games ever, and you should be under no illusion as to how well it plays today.
Illusion of Gaia
The SNES boasts its fair share of dungeon crawling RPGs, so trying to pick just one that holds up can be quite the task. Fortunately, Illusion of Gaia makes an incredible case for itself with its unique story, excellent graphics and solid mix of both combat and puzzles to create an RPG for the ages on the SNES.
Known as Illusion of Time in Europe for reasons that we’re not entirely sure of, Illusion of Gaia thrusts players straight into the 16th century and asks them to save the world through exploration. It is the Age of Discovery after all.
Playing as Will, an amnesiac who meets the spirit Gaia who puts him on his fateful quest, you’re given the ability to transform into different warrior forms. Will’s adventure sees him making friends while exploring lots of iconic landmarks across the globe, trying to solve a puzzle that’ll prevent a comet from causing a global disaster.
With varied combat, excellent graphics and globe-trotting story, Gaia is every bit as fun now as it was back in the 90s, though it’s still a game that it feels not quite enough people have taken a bite out of.
Super Castlevania 4
Back before the series became known for either its Netflix show, or for being the second half of a portmanteau, or for being a DLC in whichever slightly related game came out that week, the Castlevania series was the pace setter for nearly all action platformers to try and beat. Super Castlevania 4 is considered by many to be the best of the best, at least as far as the classic linear platforming era of Castlevania is concerned, before Symphony of the Night decided to take a leaf out of Metroid’s book and create a genre indie games would aspire to for generations.
If you want the greatest action platformer ever made, Super Castlevania 4 is a pretty safe bet.
Like all good Castlevania games, SC4 sees a Belmont (Simon in this case) booting down the doors of Dracula’s castle to have a scrap. Players maneuver through several levels using a variety of weapons, including the iconic whip, laying waste to the undead hordes by the dozen. The incredibly fun action is smooth as butter, even on the SNES when played today, while Konami made sure to make great use of the SNES’ Mode 7 capabilities to create some of the most stunning backgrounds on the entire console.
With quality like this, it’s no wonder that Castlevania is still beloved and celebrated even today. But let’s finish things off with a game that really isn’t celebrated at all.
Do-Re-Mi Fantasy: Milon no DokiDoki Daibouken
Anyone who’s been watching videos about SNES games for long enough will know that Japan kept some of the best games for themselves, the selfish gits. One game that some might not have heard but absolutely holds up to scrutiny is Do-Re-Mi Fantasy: Milon no DokiDoki Daibouken. Roughly translated to Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure, this is actually a sequel to an NES game called Milon’s Secret Castle, which strangely enough did launch in both Japan and America. The reason why Do-Re-Mi 2 didn’t make the jump is unclear, and it’s a real shame, as Do-Re-Mi Fantasy is quite the enjoyable platformer.
Playing as the titular Milon, you’ll explore a range of varied, colourful worlds that combine puzzles, platforming and a few enemies that need to be dispatched using your trusty bubbles. Weirdly, while the first game adopted a darker tone, Do-Re-Mi Fantasy actually knows what a colour palette is, though the darker tone does return for the levels before boss fights.
Between the unique approach to gameplay and combat, to the wonderful visuals and animation, and bags of charm on top, it’s no wonder that Do-Re-Mi Fantasy is one of the better platformers on the system, but also one that feels very overlooked.
READ NEXT: SNES Hidden Gems You Recommend
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site.
