SUPER NINTENDO!!!

November 21, 1991 was the release date for the Super Famicom in Japan, so I am taking this opportunity to celebrate my favorite system of all time, the SNES. (Also, the DS was released on this date in 2004, and it is probably my second favorite system of all time at this point, followed by PS2, then NES, then Game Boy. But on this day, I would rather honor the SNES.)

I own 53 SNES cartridges at this point, 52 are pictured, and I have a lot of experience with other games, through renting, borrowing, and other means...

I would like to share my top 30 games that I own, with a couple of comments. The order may surprise some of you, and by some of you, I mean Zack.


Elway sits in awe of the greatest game of all time...


#1 on my list, Super Metroid, my favorite game of all time. Beautiful graphics, score, amazing level design and enemies. Metroid for the NES was great, but Super Metroid was perfect. This is everything I love about gaming. I also like to think that this game inspired the creation of my second favorite game, Symphony of the Night.

These are my top three SNES games, 1. Super Metroid, 2. Final Fantasy III, and 3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. As has been repeated several times, FFIII/VI is my all-time favorite Final Fantasy game. I even have the soundtrack, and that is the only video game soundtrack that I own. A Link to the Past is an extraordinary adventure, and really provides a template for so many great games to follow.

Unfortunately, I have been having problems for the last hour trying to get the rest of the pictures to post, so the rest of the list is going to be all text.

Top 30 SNES Games that I Own

1. Super Metroid - Best game of all time. (Zero Mission is almost as good, but it has a few imperfections.)
2. Final Fantasy III - Best Final Fantasy.
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - My sentimental favorite Zelda.
4. Super Mario Kart - My all time favorite racing game.
5. Street Fighter II - I wore out my left thumb after playing this for a week straight. I had blisters and almost no fingerprint.
6. Actraiser - One of the best concepts of all time. I play this game every few months. It is really short, and a bit uneven, but it is so much fun and is still visually stunning. This would be the franchise that I would vote first for the need for a new sequel, an actual sequel, and not just the action. The music is some of the most incredible in any game I have ever played.
7. Super Mario World - My favorite Mario platformer; what hasn't been said about this game? The music, design, graphics, fun; it has everything you could want.
8. Star Fox - Ironically, I still feel that this is the best in the series, despite numerous attempts to revive it. I have given up all hope of ever having a great sequel.
9. Clayfighter - Certainly the most original fighting game I have ever played. It has a sense of humor, and good fighting mechanics.
10. Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball - MY game. I have a lifetime record with only 4 losses; once to Zack, once to my brother, and twice to the computer when I got cocky.
11. Pilotwings - A beautiful and fun game. I don't think I ever got to the final flight school. Mode 7 graphics out the ass!
12. Rock n' Roll Racing - RC Pro Am with weapons and a kickass soundtrack.
13. F-Zero - This, Pilotwings, and Super Mario World were the games I got when I got the system, which should tell you that I was extremely happy for a long time. Samurai Goroh and I had some fun times together.
14. Jurassic Park - Blends first person shooter sequences and top down Zelda style action. Much better than people think, and it is still fun today.
15. Super Bomberman 2 - While I have not played every Bomberman game, this is my favorite of the ones that I have played. Great weapons and a good system. I am sure that Zack remembers some of the frenzied battles.
16. Final Fight 3 - Possibly my favorite brawler of all time. (If you count Double Dragon games, then Double Dragon 2 would win.)
17. Lemmings - I don't like any version of this game nearly as much as the SNES version.
18. Battletoads/Double Dragon - Some people hated this teamup, but I think it is a great game.
19. Justice League Task Force - A slightly unbalanced fighting game, but a ton of fun. Some people criticize it because Superman should be able to crush everyone, but that really goes against the point of fighting games. (He shouldn't have been so shitty, though.)
20. King Arthur's World - Lemmings with battle units. This would actually finish higher, but several of the levels feature magical creatures that can teleport anywhere, and I think that ruins the fun. The entire overworld is incredibly fun, and it is great to be King Arthur seiging a castle.
21. Super Mario All Stars - This was my first opportunity that I can recall ever playing Mario Bros, so that alone was good.
22. Killer Instinct - A really great fighter, just not a favorite of mine. It should be said that I would rate this fighter very high in my all time fighter list, just not as high among SNES fighters.
23. Super Star Wars - This series is still really strong, and holds up surprisingly well.
24. Super Empire Strikes Back - Probably objectively better than the first, but not sentimentally.
25. Super Return of the Jedi - Not as much fun as Empire Strikes Back, but still a good game.
26. Super Scope 6 - No Nintendo accessory looked as cool as the Super Scope. The 6 games in Super Scope 6 ranged from great to boring. A bit of unfulfilled potential.
27. Fatal Fury - This should be the posterboy for uneven fighting balance. I think that it features some of the best fighters in any game to this day, but the balance was terrible. Also, in two player versus, the first player couldn't play as any of the boss characters, so they were stuck with the three main fighters.
28. Populous - This game was fun and memorable, but I hated playing the advanced levels.
29. The Legend of Mystical Ninja - Fun and quirky action game.
30. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Great graphics, great missions, tons going for it, but the controls felt off. This is extremely common in Star Trek games.

Probably the two games that people would be most surprised that I left off would be Secret of Mana and Samurai Showdown. I just wasn't really into either game, but they were both okay.

Let me know your thoughts. Remember, this is just my favorites that I own. Aerobiz would definitely be high on my list otherwise, as would Super Buster Bros, and Bust a Move, among others.