What happens when you go from 8-bit to 16-bit? In Nintendo’s case, you go super to fight SEGA’s mega. The Super Nintendo is regarded as one of the greatest consoles ever to grace a living room. It’s also the last time Nintendo were the dominant market leader in the video games industry. We’re going to take a look at the 10 best SNES games that were available for the console.

The rules

In this list, a game’s average launch reviews and a dash of opinion will be considered. If your favourite doesn’t make the list there’s a good chance it was considered. The SNES library has another 10 to 15 stand out titles that missed out. Release dates may appear as a range of years due to different release dates across regions.

Here’s part one of our list of the Top 10 SNES games of all time.

10. ActRaiser

Released 1990/93

Developer – Quintet

Publisher – Enix

Copies Sold – 620,000

Average Review Score – 83.5%

Combining two different gameplay genres into one can be tricky to say the least. An action platformer crossed with a city building/management sim, sounds crazy right? In most cases, yes, yet this time, you get the unique Super Nintendo experience in ActRaiser.

You play as “The Master” a benevolent god, who decides evil must be stopped. In the platforming levels, you inhabit the statue of a warrior to slay monsters.

In the city sim portion, you guide people to build towns. You also take control of an angel to attack monsters that get too close to the villages.

The people will attack monster lairs, stopping them from spawning. The bigger your population, the stronger your character becomes in the platforming levels.

If that wasn’t enough Yuzo Koshiro of Streets of Rage fame composed the soundtrack!

Reviewing the game in June 1991’s CVG Magazine Richard Leadbetter said “the arcade sections in this game easily make it worth the money alone. Add in a Sim City/Populous of a similar quality (and some spine-tinglingly awesome medieval tunes to match the settlement building) and you’ve got a totally unbeatable combination”.

ActRaiser is an early SNES games classic. Its sequel ActRaiser 2 did away with the city sim elements and sticks to action-platforming.

ActRaiser is one of the lowest selling games on this list with around 620,000 copies sold worldwide. It’s a fantastic game that seems to have got lost in the shuffle of time.

9. TMNT IV Turtles In Time

Released – 1992

Developer – Konami

Publisher – Konami

Copies Sold – Not Listed/Disclosed

Average Review Score – 84.6%

Konami used to be amazing in the 80s and 90s, being one of the strongest third-party developers.

Turtles in Time was a beat em up hit in the arcade, the cabinet allowing up to 4 players. So Konami ported the game to Super Nintendo, the main drawback is the game only supports two players. (Multi taps exist Konami!)

That’s the bad point out of the way and the rest makes for the best beat em up on the Super Nintendo. Choose from one of the four Turtles to fight through the Foot Clan on your way to battle the evil Shredder.

The fighting is ‘pick up and play’ with the moves being easy and so satisfying to pull off. Throw your enemies into the floor, back and forth, and even launch them towards the screen. The move is used to throw enemies at Shredder at one point.

Super NES Buyers Guide gave Turtles in Time a 9 out of 10 saying “This is undoubtedly one of the best arcade to home translations this guy has ever seen. The graphics are great and are complemented by excellent play control — with no break-up or slowdown. All the animation is here also. Great job Konami!”

You of course get sent through a time portal and battle Shredder’s goons across history. Bebop and Rocksteady as pirates is a win-win, well, a lose-lose in their case.

The gameplay, music, and battles against Shredder make this one of the must-play games on the SNES.

8 – Mega Man X

Released – 1993/94

Developer – Capcom

Publisher – Capcom/Nintendo (PAL)

Copies Sold – 1.16M

Average Review Score 84.1%

Set roughly 100 years into the future from the classic Mega Man series. Robots called Reploids are commonplace. Reploids who go rogue are Mavericks. A team of elite Reploids who stop them are the Maverick Hunters.

Sigma The Lead Maverick Hunter goes rogue taking more Reploids with him on his quest to conquer the world. You play as the underdog Maverick Hunter called X (Mega Man X) to take Sigma down.

The same formula for selecting the first eight stages in any order returns. The order in which the stages are completed affects the other stages. Some stages freeze over or even have a massive airship crash into them.

Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine (EGM) ranked Mega Man X in their top 10 games of 1994. One reviewer summing up their thoughts in just three words “This is AWESOME!”. EGM had been critical of Mega Man 4, 5, and 6 and X made them think again when it came to the series.

The Mavericks are all named after animals with a cool word thrown in front. Some examples being Spark Mandrill, Storm Eagle, and Launch Octopus. Defeating a Maverick gives X their weapon as an ability. Each Maverick has a weakness to one of these abilities. Tackling the stages in a certain order to gain the right ability for the next boss makes the game a lot easier. The gameplay was also improved by adding elements such as a wall jump.

A certain Dr has set up pods throughout the levels giving X the chance to gain powerful new abilities. Turning the underdog to higher-powered in no time!

Mega Man X doesn’t reinvent the action platformer but everything in this Capcom classic is near perfection.

7 – Super Castlevania IV

Released – 1991/92

Developer – Konami

Publisher – Konami

Copies Sold – 630,000

Average Review Score – 87.2%

Super Castlevania IV is the first 16-bit edition in the series. Konami games went all out on making this early SNES release a memorable one for all the right reasons. The controls are some of the smoothest and most responsive for a game at that point.

You play once again as Simon Belmont in his quest to take down the evil Count Dracula in this reimagining of the first Castlevania. This time Simon can use the whip to attack in eight different directions, making enemies easier to hit. Also, the whip can allow Simon to swing across large gaps.

Video Games & Computer Entertainment magazine gave Super Castlevania IV 9 out of 10 praising the visuals and sound “Really nice backgrounds, sound effects, and music, plus challenging and interesting gameplay make Super Castlevania IV live up to its heritage.

Simon’s theme would feature throughout the series going forwards. Entire orchestras have played it on many occasions. That’s how you know the music is that good.

The Super Nintendo’s graphical scaling and rotation chip (Mode 7) pulled off some impressive visuals for the time. One effect sees a whole room rotate around Simon. Super Castlevania IV is regarded as one of the best of the classic Castlevania games. Castlevania’s future formula changed thanks in part to another game that might feature soon.

6 – Final Fantasy VI (III in the USA)

Released – 1994 (PAL Unreleased)

Developer – Square

Publisher – Square

Copies Sold – 3.42M

Average Review Score – 90.1%

Final Fantasy VI or III in the United States as it was the third Final Fantasy game to make it to North America. Square didn’t always release every Final Fantasy game outside of Japan which explains the messy numbering.

Square in the 1990s perfected the JRPG genre with immersive stories and compelling characters. EGM stated, “Few RPGs can hope to have the emotional draw this one has.”

There’s a whole host of party members in the game, starting as an uprising against an evil empire and the sadistic Kefka. There’s also the question of Terra and who she is due to her amnesia like state.

The Active Time Battle System from Final Fantasy VI returns, making the battles and gameplay faster when compared to traditional turn time battles. The battles range from small to epic. One of your characters can even suplex a whole train, eat your heart out, Brock Lesnar.

The music is an amazing 16-bit soundtrack. One of the standouts being the main theme, its soothing yet haunting tone fits the story perfectly.

It’s sad that Europe had to wait until 2001 before Final Fantasy VI was finally released in the region on the PS1. Clearly, we were deprived of this 16-bit masterpiece for way too long.

And that’s part one of our list of the 10 best SNES games, did we miss any? Do you agree with the order? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below and keep an eye out for part 2.

Read about the worst console launches of all time HERE.