Top 200 Super Nintendo games of all time

[Masamune]

The website SNES Hub (http://www.playingwithsuperpower.com) is going to do a top 200 Super Nintendo games article and needs opinions from the gaming community on their views as to what the top games are.

A poll was made here (http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/598597) with a list. If you have games in mind that aren't on the list, there is a text box at the bottom of that poll page. You could also post your votes in this thread.

I think it would be interesting to see what the community at large views as the top games for the system.

[Daria]

Either the view results option isn't working right, or I'm the first voter.

[RP2A03]

Either the view results option isn't working right, or I'm the first voter.

You were the first voter; I apparently am the second. Also, my selections remind me that I need to expand my library.

[Tanooki]

It must be early as I'm #3.

[ZP3]

I was #4. Feels good to be in early!

[Masamune]

Thanks guys. The poll was created last night. 22 responders so far!

[Hwj_Chim]

Just voted. You forgot Super Valis IV on the list.

[mario-fan]

Awe-some~

Luv mah SNES! My real one (that I got back in '92) broke so I ordered a replacement on ebay...then that broke, so I ordered a retroduo which is...also awesome. won't crap out like my two snes consoles did.

Will have to vote on this one.

[Niku-Sama]

Castlevania: Dracula X is on there twice

I suggested Metal Combat and Tetris 2 as they weren't on the list

[Tanooki]

Awe-some~

Luv mah SNES! My real one (that I got back in '92) broke so I ordered a replacement on ebay...then that broke, so I ordered a retroduo which is...also awesome. won't crap out like my two snes consoles did.

Will have to vote on this one.

I would suggest not putting any bets on that. The retroduo is a cheaply made piece of substandard parts and quality control out of China. They break and far more than the old systems even with the age difference. I think you just had a bad run of luck.

[WCP]

The biggest problem with trying to rank the best 50 or 100 or whatever games of a particular system, is that it basically turns into a popularity contest.

The best way to do it, would be to actually recruit like 50 different gamers, that can prove that they have a very good understanding of the SNES library. Then have them hash out a list. Because if you just open it up to anybody and everybody, it just turns into a popularity contest. I've seen it happen a million times.

[Tanooki]

I couldn't possibly agree more with that post. I intentionally didn't vote for a few games because they're whored out as the fake champions of being the best of the best on the system when they're far from it trying to fake popular group opinion being fed as reality (earthbound, chrono trigger) They're good, but a simple vote would be helping fakes climb to the top since it's a top 200 list of all things.

Objectivity of people who know their stuff would be best as a lot of obscure solid games would make the list, and some of the usual top 10 suspects would be knocked off the top as fanboy suckuppery would be discounted.

[WCP]

Yeah, of course, the biggest arguments would be about which 50 gamers (or whatever arbitrary number you think is required) you get to make the list.


You'd have to find a large number of gamers that were thoroughly familiar with the full breadth of the SNES lineup. Also, you would have to make sure that you are fully aware of the person's favorite genres and least favorite genres, as those facts will heavily shape their selections. You can't have too many people that only like RPG's, or too many people that only like shmups, etc, etc.

Ideally, you'd love to have that part of it as balanced as possible.


Then you need the people to try to put all their preconceived notions out of their minds, and just try to think about which SNES experience they had, would be the most magical, if they were to experience that game for the first time. Most of these people will have played their favorites many, many times, so it can be quite hard to try to remember what that first playthrough really meant. How impactful was it originally ? Some games probably get a bit short shrift because they've actually been almost played too much, and people can kinda of get sick of them after awhile. It's really hard to turn that part of your mind off, and try to remember that original feeling that you had upon finishing a particular SNES game.

[Tanooki]

Damn good arguments in that last part of your post. It's how I used to think going into game reviews last decade. I had to put stuff aside in cases of things like re-releases as I was a HUGE FF4 fan, so I had to keep in mind objectivity of any issues that port had and how the game on the whole was for the hardware. People tend to not do that. They'll consciously or subconsciously fanboy it up and not actually think clearly about the game. You really do need to pretend you're a newb and this is your first shot, how does it hit you. It maybe easy now, but first go around, was it a pain in the ass? Let's say it was, was it a fair one or a cheap one...why?

[goldenband]

I agree that these things turn into popularity contests, and the format of pre-selecting a set of high-profile games -- rather than giving us the option of picking any game we want upfront -- encourages that.

(Yes, I know we can "write in" games, but the point is that doing so takes additional effort -- I can't remember all the games I'd vouch for without having a list in front of me -- and so it subtly discourages off-list picks.)

More generally, I've lost interest in most "top X" games lists anyway. They tend to be biased towards easy-to-learn games with flashy graphics and slick presentation, and against games with tough learning curves and offbeat gameplay styles. They also tend to have a lot of received wisdom -- people frequently vote for well-regarded games they haven't even played themselves.

(Sorry to be such a grump, but I've been playing through Virtua Tennis which everyone swears is the best tennis game ever, and I find myself asking whether anyone's even played the damn thing for more than 15 minutes. Sure, it looks and sounds good, but when every single lob the CPU hits lands perfectly on the baseline, and a ball smacked right in their face is always deflected perfectly for a winner...it's a pretty joyless experience.)

[mario-fan]

It does get old seeing the same games make the top 20 or whatever on a console, but to me the choices also make a lot of sense. Is Chrono Trigger overrated? Yeah. But what about the other well-known titles for the SNES? FFIV, Super Metroid, Mario All-Stars. Are those games overrated? Not really. They might be over-exposed, but hey - those are the kinds of games I want on my top 20 lists. Interesting as it might be to see a top 50 made by a team of perfectly imparital experts (would be very hard to find even one of those), I can't imagine a top 10 composed of super-obscure games. Games like that might have some good qualities, but by and large are probably not as memorable as your typical, same old Top 10. I think the real reason everyone is tired of these lists is because it's just a bunch of retreads. You always know what's coming on your SNES top 10. Would be more interesting to see a best 50 obscure games or something like that.

[goldenband]

Is Chrono Trigger overrated? Yeah. But what about the other well-known titles for the SNES? FFIV, Super Metroid, Mario All-Stars. Are those games overrated? Not really.

Heh, you happened to name two of my favorite SNES games (CT and SM), and two that I definitely enjoyed at the time...

...though then again, I specifically remember FFIV as the first RPG to make me feel exploited/like my time was being wasted. I was using a strategy guide and it noted that I could get a super-powerful item drop from monsters in one area, with something like a 0.2% chance of success per battle. Something about that grossed me out, somehow, as if the designers were being deeply cynical about players and their OCD tendencies. Dunno.

Anyway, I think highly of Pilotwings, F-Zero, LOZ III, ActRaiser, Secret of Mana, Star Fox, even Donkey Kong Country (which has come in for criticism lately), and a bunch of other flagship games too. So I'm not sure exactly what I'm kvetching about -- though looking at the list, I do see some games that definitely don't deserve a spot, like Gradius III. But that's to be expected. The most conspicuous absences are the first Lufia game and the terrific SNES port of Prince of Persia.

I guess I just find flawed-but-interesting games more compelling lately. And a lot of the SNES experience for me revolves around the haunting music of weird early RPGs like Drakkhen -- a game that's emphatically not for all tastes, and doesn't deserve to be on a top N list, and yet sticks with me.

[Masamune]

The biggest problem with trying to rank the best 50 or 100 or whatever games of a particular system, is that it basically turns into a popularity contest.

The best way to do it, would be to actually recruit like 50 different gamers, that can prove that they have a very good understanding of the SNES library.

Well this won't be a true popularity contest. Currently, Super Mario World is tops on the list at 72%. That doesn't mean it will be the number 1 game in our Top 200 article.

The point of the poll was to gather an aggregate of what gamers believe are the best games. We needed a jump off point. After the voting deadline has passed on January 17th , the people over at the SNES Hub forum will have a lengthy discussion on how we are going to rank these games. Excellent obscure games not mentioned in the poll may get mentioned in these discussions, so no, this won't be a popularity contest in my estimation.

For the record, anyone reading this that has a good understanding of the Super Nintendo library can be involved in the writing process as we try to dissect these different games. The forum topic is here (http://playingwithsuperpower.com/forum/writer-proposals/the-snes-hub-200/) for anyone that wants to get involved.

[Masamune]

Project is completed: http://playingwithsuperpower.com/snes-hub-top-200-super-nintendo-games/

[gbpxl]

The poll data must've been driven primarily by RPG lovers.

The best list I've seen is this one: https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916396-super-nintendo/72379707

[kupomogli]

The biggest problem with trying to rank the best 50 or 100 or whatever games of a particular system, is that it basically turns into a popularity contest.

The best way to do it, would be to actually recruit like 50 different gamers, that can prove that they have a very good understanding of the SNES library. Then have them hash out a list. Because if you just open it up to anybody and everybody, it just turns into a popularity contest. I've seen it happen a million times.

Replying to a several year old comment.

While I agree with your statement, you can't really say that, you'll have people stating you're forcing your opinion down their throats. You may have played 500 SNES games in comparison to casual Joe over there who's only played 30-40 of the most popular ones, but his opinion is just as valid as yours is. Despite having a much higher degree of expertise, that expertise doesn't matter one bit.

[Aussie2B]

Let's be real, hardcore John who has played 500 SNES games is probably going to pick most of the same games as casual Joe. Most casual Joes didn't acquire their 30-40 games totally at random. They got them because they knew EVERYONE loved those games, including the hardcore Johns. That's the funny thing about full set collectors. They'll go to the trouble to acquire every last game, yet their favorites are still Super Mario World and Zelda 3. I would guess that you may even have better odds of getting interesting choices from those with smaller collections. If they don't have as many games to play, they may get more invested into each game and truly learn and experience what they're all about. Somebody who has played 500+ games in a system's library has probably only given a cursory play to most.

[gbpxl]

Replying to a several year old comment.

While I agree with your statement, you can't really say that, you'll have people stating you're forcing your opinion down their throats. You may have played 500 SNES games in comparison to casual Joe over there who's only played 30-40 of the most popular ones, but his opinion is just as valid as yours is. Despite having a much higher degree of expertise, that expertise doesn't matter one bit.

I agree with you 100%. And not to turn this into a political debate but this is the same type of argument against the electoral college system in the United States.

[Steven]

Project is completed: http://playingwithsuperpower.com/snes-hub-top-200-super-nintendo-games/

Thanks for updating and sharing! I'm shocked to see that Undercover Cops came in so high, but that's part of the fun of a list! Good to see a long project finalized. On a side note, speaking of top 200 lists, I've been working on my own for the past 12 years now. No rush to get it out as I want to experience as much of the library as I can. I'm shooting for 2020 though. Hopefully I'll get it out in time for King Kong vs. Godzilla, ha!

Congrats again on finishing the list and I enjoyed looking at it. Always fun comparing opinions :)