The Super Nintendo, or SNES is my favorite system of all time and it’s easy to see why. It has a list of games that any system would die to have. Zelda, Metroid and Mario all made outstanding appearances, and the competition with the Genesis brought out the best in Nintendo.  I’ve made this list many times in my head before, but this is the first time I’ve written it down with the reasons why. Remember, this is my list. You will probably be disappointed with some choices, but I’ll give you my reasons for making them! (Sorry - no screenshots for each game… I’ll let you use your imagination!) 10. Super Mario Kart This game really pissed me off when I was a kid. Do you know how hard it is to beat Rainbow Road in 150CC?!? Mario Kart was one of those games that you wanted to keep playing until you mastered it. Although a lot of people were turned off by the simplistic track designs and Mode 7 graphics, I thought they helped immerse you in both the Mario world and the experience of driving a kart. Oh, and battle mode rules.  9. Donkey Kong Country A lot of people don’t have this game very high on their lists. The second DKC might have more polish in certain areas, but I get a warm fuzzy feeling from playing the first one every time. The music and atmosphere seemed more enjoyable. DKC’s graphics were what everyone talked about, but the boss battles and endless secret areas made the game a lasting experience.  8. Super Mario World Multiple exits - that’s one of the things I loved about Mario World. It really made the levels more exciting to complete and replay. The Star World and Special World were also great additions to challenge better gamers. Yoshi and Mario’s cape were pretty cool too. The two gripes I have are the limited locations - everything pretty much seemed similar, and the boss fights, which were laughably easy.  7. Mega Man X 2 Some would call Mega Man X the best of the X series. I on the other hand feel the bosses and levels of X2 are far superior. For one thing, the mini-bosses and side-quest to save Zero is an engaging way to avoid the same old beat a level, take a bosses skills.  My only disappointment is the final battle wish Sigma, which is much easier then X or X3. Actually, the other two games are a lot harder too.   6. Super Mario RPG A match made in heaven. Personally I wonder why Zelda or Metroid didn’t try this out too! Mario RPG was just a fun game. It didn’t take itself too seriously. It was constantly cracking jokes and making you WANT to move on based on the story alone. The inclusion of timed attacks in turn-based battles also added some strategy to typically boring turn by turn.  Having Mario team up with Bowser and even the Princess was also a nice twist. Mario ended up being Squares silent protagonist, and it suited him well. Whenever he agreed with someone he would do his traditional jump. It’s the second best RPG on the SNES in my opinion.  5. A Link to the Past I some times wonder why this isn’t higher on my list. It’s probably my third favorite Zelda game of all time, and would always be in my top 20 of all time, but there is something about ALTTP that doesn’t quite make it past #5. Maybe it’s the face that I never quite feel like I’m part of the world - I always felt that I was just being pushed to the next dungeon. Perhaps it’s the fact that the replay is not quite as exciting. Whatever the case I would rather talk about all the things ALTTP does right!  Boss battles are some of the best I’ve seen. Along with the level designs and strategy involved with your inventory. The subtle touches like rain falling or shadows from the trees were something we hadn’t seen in video games before. What stand out most though, is the thrill of getting that next item, figuring out what you could do with it, and utilizing it in battle. Zelda was always good at pulling this formula off.   4. Yoshi’s Island Childish? Too cute? These were some of the things people said when they first saw Yoshi’s Island. I remember the absolute best controls of any game I’ve ever played. I also remember exploration and level designs that can surpass almost any game. The boss fights were probably some of the best on any system as well. If you haven’t tried this game out, get passed the cuteness and pick it up! 3. Secret of Mana Personally I think this game trumps ALTTP. Mainly on the outstanding music and great landscapes/characters you meet. It also have an engaging (but maybe a little too reliant) magic system. The story is fairly simplistic, but I believe not all games have to have an engaging tale to be outstanding. 2. Super Metroid Similar to the #1 game, Super Metroid does pretty much everything right. I miss this in games now-a-days. I’m obviously partial to retro, but hand holding games frustrate me. SM dropped you off on a planet and gave you hardly any direction. You have a map and map rooms, but directives are up to you.  The music is also something that sets this game apart. Any game that can create an atmosphere of uncertainty and loneliness, but still keep the player excited and engaged is an amazing achievement.   1. Chrono Trigger It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes this game so special. I can pretty much run down the list saying things like: the graphics, the music, the atmosphere, but that’s just boring. Instead I’ll focus on the moments I remember the most (spoiler alert)!   Zeal. Quite simply the best area in any video game.  Those 2 or 3 epic boss fights when the music shifts to an even more intense arrangement. This happened during the Masamune, Tyrano and Son of Sun fights.  Bringing Chrono back to life. THE ENDINGS! + games. Made replaying the game so much more fun when you’re at full strength from the beginning.  The triple techs… So awesome to watch. Epoch. Being able to SEE your enemies… none of that random encounter stuff.  Finally, the simplistic story and personalities are what make this game truly shine.    There you have it. I’m not usually one for writing lengthy blog posts, but from time to time I’m in the mood to talk about some retro gaming. Thoughts?
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The Super Nintendo, or SNES is my favorite system of all time and it’s easy to see why. It has a list of games that any system would die to have. Zelda, Metroid and Mario all made outstanding appearances, and the competition with the Genesis brought out the best in Nintendo. 

I’ve made this list many times in my head before, but this is the first time I’ve written it down with the reasons why. Remember, this is my list. You will probably be disappointed with some choices, but I’ll give you my reasons for making them! (Sorry - no screenshots for each game… I’ll let you use your imagination!)

10. Super Mario Kart
This game really pissed me off when I was a kid. Do you know how hard it is to beat Rainbow Road in 150CC?!? Mario Kart was one of those games that you wanted to keep playing until you mastered it. Although a lot of people were turned off by the simplistic track designs and Mode 7 graphics, I thought they helped immerse you in both the Mario world and the experience of driving a kart. Oh, and battle mode rules. 
 
9. Donkey Kong Country
A lot of people don’t have this game very high on their lists. The second DKC might have more polish in certain areas, but I get a warm fuzzy feeling from playing the first one every time. The music and atmosphere seemed more enjoyable. DKC’s graphics were what everyone talked about, but the boss battles and endless secret areas made the game a lasting experience. 
 
8. Super Mario World
Multiple exits - that’s one of the things I loved about Mario World. It really made the levels more exciting to complete and replay. The Star World and Special World were also great additions to challenge better gamers. Yoshi and Mario’s cape were pretty cool too. The two gripes I have are the limited locations - everything pretty much seemed similar, and the boss fights, which were laughably easy. 
 
7. Mega Man X 2
Some would call Mega Man X the best of the X series. I on the other hand feel the bosses and levels of X2 are far superior. For one thing, the mini-bosses and side-quest to save Zero is an engaging way to avoid the same old beat a level, take a bosses skills. 
 
My only disappointment is the final battle wish Sigma, which is much easier then X or X3. Actually, the other two games are a lot harder too. 
 
6. Super Mario RPG
A match made in heaven. Personally I wonder why Zelda or Metroid didn’t try this out too! Mario RPG was just a fun game. It didn’t take itself too seriously. It was constantly cracking jokes and making you WANT to move on based on the story alone. The inclusion of timed attacks in turn-based battles also added some strategy to typically boring turn by turn. 
 
Having Mario team up with Bowser and even the Princess was also a nice twist. Mario ended up being Squares silent protagonist, and it suited him well. Whenever he agreed with someone he would do his traditional jump. It’s the second best RPG on the SNES in my opinion. 
 
5. A Link to the Past
I some times wonder why this isn’t higher on my list. It’s probably my third favorite Zelda game of all time, and would always be in my top 20 of all time, but there is something about ALTTP that doesn’t quite make it past #5. Maybe it’s the face that I never quite feel like I’m part of the world - I always felt that I was just being pushed to the next dungeon. Perhaps it’s the fact that the replay is not quite as exciting. Whatever the case I would rather talk about all the things ALTTP does right! 
 
Boss battles are some of the best I’ve seen. Along with the level designs and strategy involved with your inventory. The subtle touches like rain falling or shadows from the trees were something we hadn’t seen in video games before. What stand out most though, is the thrill of getting that next item, figuring out what you could do with it, and utilizing it in battle. Zelda was always good at pulling this formula off. 
 
4. Yoshi’s Island
Childish? Too cute? These were some of the things people said when they first saw Yoshi’s Island. I remember the absolute best controls of any game I’ve ever played. I also remember exploration and level designs that can surpass almost any game. The boss fights were probably some of the best on any system as well. If you haven’t tried this game out, get passed the cuteness and pick it up!
 
3. Secret of Mana
Personally I think this game trumps ALTTP. Mainly on the outstanding music and great landscapes/characters you meet. It also have an engaging (but maybe a little too reliant) magic system. The story is fairly simplistic, but I believe not all games have to have an engaging tale to be outstanding.
 
2. Super Metroid
Similar to the #1 game, Super Metroid does pretty much everything right. I miss this in games now-a-days. I’m obviously partial to retro, but hand holding games frustrate me. SM dropped you off on a planet and gave you hardly any direction. You have a map and map rooms, but directives are up to you. 
 
The music is also something that sets this game apart. Any game that can create an atmosphere of uncertainty and loneliness, but still keep the player excited and engaged is an amazing achievement. 
 
1. Chrono Trigger
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes this game so special. I can pretty much run down the list saying things like: the graphics, the music, the atmosphere, but that’s just boring. Instead I’ll focus on the moments I remember the most (spoiler alert)!
 
  • Zeal. Quite simply the best area in any video game. 
  • Those 2 or 3 epic boss fights when the music shifts to an even more intense arrangement. This happened during the Masamune, Tyrano and Son of Sun fights. 
  • Bringing Chrono back to life.
  • THE ENDINGS!
  • + games. Made replaying the game so much more fun when you’re at full strength from the beginning. 
  • The triple techs… So awesome to watch.
  • Epoch.
  • Being able to SEE your enemies… none of that random encounter stuff. 
  • Finally, the simplistic story and personalities are what make this game truly shine. 
 
There you have it. I’m not usually one for writing lengthy blog posts, but from time to time I’m in the mood to talk about some retro gaming. Thoughts?