The Best Super Nintendo Games

Today, back in 1991, the Super Nintendo was released to much praise from gamers of all types. It was definitely a happier, more colorful system than the very grim, sometimes not-so-children-friendly Sega Genesis, but had a ton of games that were fun for all ages and reveled a new technique that was ahead of it's time for it's time, Mode 7, which basically made graphics twist and rotate as smooth as possible and made for awesome games like Mario Kart, F-Zero and Pilotwings.

In honor of it's 21st birthday, here are my top 10 favorite Super Nintendo games.

10.) Street Fighter II

Oddly enough, I don't remember ever owning this game, but with how many times I paid money to rent it over the weekend I probably could've bought several. Even though Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a superior game, this original title that only features 8 playable characters was the one that kicked off a HUGE list of knock-off fighting games. Me? I was always E. Honda because nobody was E. Honda so they never knew how to prepare to fight him.

9.) Super Castlevania IV

I've always been a huge fan of the Castlevania series. When I saw how large your character was, I was blown away. The game featured a rockin' soundtrack, awesome graphics and the ability to kind of drag your whip and use the control pad to whip it in any direction to keep those pesky bats and floating medusa heads away.

8.) Kirby Super Star

Just as the box says, this game was 8 games in one! There was only one 'real' game and the rest were mini-games, but still the mini-games were fun. Kirby's always a fun game where you need to absorb your enemy's powers to use as your own. This game also had the idea where you could turn enemies into friends to help you on your journey.

7.) Super Mario Kart

I'll start by saying two things. I'm not a fan of racing games and I suck at this game. Still, I found myself immediately attached to it's fun, competitive nature. I mostly liked this game for it's Vs. mode that pits you versus a second player to pop all their balloons, but this game got me zooming around tracks and learning how to drift around corners.

6.) WWF Royal Rumble

Even though it's sequel, WWF Raw, was a better game overall, this was the game I played the most with my friends. The controls were simple enough and each wrestler had their signature finishing move they could also pull off, something you couldn't do in previous WWF games. It didn't matter who you were, they all had the same stats. Shawn Michaels could body slam Yokozuna with ease just as Ted DiBiase, a non-high flyer, could jump off the top rope without any problems. Still, the Royal Rumble mode got my friends and I playing on hours on end.

5.) Final Fantasy II

Although most herald Final Fantasy III as the best Super Nintendo Final Fantasy game, I was more attached to this title. The Final Fantasy games were always known for their fight scenes, symphonic score and story lines. Even though this title was technically the fourth in the series, it was the second on American shores and set a standard on how RPGs should play.

4.) Super Mario World

What a treat for me that one of my favorite Super Nintendo games was free! It came packed in with the system. Back when people needed more of an insentive to buy a brand new game system, they would include one of their top games to get you to buy it. Now a days you don't need a free game and people line up around the block for the latest gaming system. Sometimes camp for a week just to pick it up on it's release. This 'Mario' title was the first to feature his dinosaur Yoshi and the levels would sometimes have multiple exits to keep you replaying to find every possible level.

3.) Pilotwings

In a day when most video games were about violence and shooting down the enemy, along came Pilotwings. I'm sure it was more of a title to test all the features of the new Super Nintendo including scaling, rotatings, Mode 7 and other great features, It was such a relaxing game to fly around in a plane, go parachuting or even strap on a jet pack. I still play this game today.

2.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

As yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, this game was just about perfect in every way. Fun story, great graphics, new puzzles and mind blowing bosses that was simple to pick up and play but a challenge to complete.

1.) Actraiser

Actraiser is one of my favorite video games of all time. I thought it was so innovative for it's time. It features you as a higher power building and destroying towns, which sounds odd. You build civilizations and, once it becomes to populated, you destroy it so they can build better homes to increase more residence. Along the way, something will terrorize the town so you'll have to fight the terror in a side-scrolling action-style game. Along with it's awesome soundtrack that was so great it was later played by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ActRaiser tops my list of most favorite SNES games of all time.

So, now you know mine. I'd love to hear yours. Tell me in the comments below.