Current Super Nintendo Power Rankings !!!!!!!

[Anthony1]

Here is the most up to date breakdown so far. Twenty two people have given their top ten SNES games lists, and I've compiled all the stats. This is the latest breakdown.


1. Final Fantasy III - Final Fantasy simply blew away the competition, in terms of total points. It scored a whopping 141 points, and ended up being ranked in 11 of the 22 lists that were out there.

2. Super Mario World - Super Mario World really tried to be the No. 1 game. It appeared in 13 of the 22 lists that were out there, more than any other game, including Final Fantasy III. But it got a grand total of 95 points, which is well below FF3's 141 points.

3. Super Mario All-Stars - All-Stars ended up with 81 total points and showing up on 9 different lists out of the 22 submited. Super Metroid was right on All-Stars azz, with 80 points and 8 lists. But All-Stars edges Metroid out.

4. Super Metroid - Metroid appeared on 8 lists and scored 80 points. Just missed a chance at the No. 3 spot.

5. Super Mario Kart - A case could be made for Super Mario Kart to be ranked 3rd. Mario Kart ended up on 11 lists out of 22, which is damn good. But it only ended up with 65 points. It just wasn't ranked too high on the lists that it showed up on. But it did get great respect.

6. Castlevania IV - Castlevania shocked the non-believers by appearing on 8 lists, and accumulating a solid 62 points.

7. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Zelda had a very solid showing, appearing on 9 of the 22 lists. It only racked up 58 points however. It barely gets a ranking ahead of Final Fantasy II, which actually scored 3 more points, but appeared in 2 less rankings.

8. Final Fantasy II - Final Fantasy II did extremely well, considering FF3 took so many of the points out there. Actually though, alot of people that had FF3 very high on their lists, had FF2 futher down the list. And some people even ranked FF2 ahead of 3.

9. Chrono Trigger - Chrono Trigger suprisingly ended up ranked 9th, because it recieved 62 points, and appeared on 6 lists. I though this game would show up on more lists, and get more points. Kinda suprising to see it near the bottom of the top 10. But the competition is fierce, so that's understandable.

10. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Yoshi's Island started off not being ranked in alot of the early lists, or being ranked very low, but then Yoshi really started to rally and get some much higher rankings. Yoshi nabs the final coveted top 10 spot.


Okay, that is the top 10 so far, but the next 10 games are incredibly solid too. Check them out......


11. Contra III: The Alien Wars - Contra III came in getting 54 points and appearing in 5 different lists.

12. Super Street Fighter 2 - This is the first appearance of a Street Fighter game on the rankings. Interestingly enough, Super SF II get's the highest spot. It scored 45 points and appeared in 4 lists.

13. Secret of Mana - Secret of Mana showed up on 5 of the lists and scored 38 points. As the RPG fans continue to get their games ranked.

14. Super Smash TV - Super Smash TV came out of nowhere to snag 34 points and 5 appearances on lists. I didn't know this game was thought of so highly. I'm going to have to check this puppy out again.

15. Super Mario RPG - Interestingly enough, Super Mario RPG only appeared in 3 lists, but it did score 40 freaking points. So each time it got ranked, it scored big points.

16. TMNT : Turtles in Time - TMNT came out of nowhere at the end of the rankings to score 40 points. It only appeared in 3 lists, like Super Mario RPG, but it also scored big points in those 3 lists, just like Super Mario RPG did.

17. Zombies Ate My Neighbors - Zombies has shown that it deserves some consideration, by appearing on 4 different lists and scoring 31 points.

18. Starfox - Starfox did appear on 5 different lists, but it only got 28 points. So it wasn't ranked too high on any of the 5 lists.

19. Donkey Kong Country - DKC did very much like Starfox. It appeared on 5 lists, but only mustered up 26 points.

20. Super Bomberman 2 - Some could make an argument that Super Bomberman 2 should be ranked higher than Starfox and DKC. The reason why? Well Bomberman scored 36 points, and appeared in 3 lists. But I still think Starfox and DKC should be ranked higher considering they were on 2 extra lists. Zombies gets ranked higher, because it was only behind by 5 points, but ended up on one extra list. But you could put any of the games from 17 to 20 in pretty much any order. They are all good titles.


So that was the second 10 games. Alot of nice classics on that list. And defintiely some games that you might not have thought about, and maybe it's time to take a look at them.

Let's see what games were in the 21 to 30 range.......


21. Super Punch Out - Super Punch Out was able to score a very nice 30 points on 3 lists. Had it appeared in 1 more list, it could've definitely appeared in the top 20 games.

22. Axelay - Axelay didn't score a heck of alotta points. It only scored 24 points, but it did appear on 4 different lists.

23. Mortal Kombat II - Mortal Kombat showed up on 4 lists, and it also scored 23 points. Not a heckuva lotta points, but it still showed up 4 times and that is significant.

24. Street Fighter 2 Turbo - SF2 Turbo was right there too. It scored 20 points, which was 6 less points than SF2, but ended up on 1 more list. If you put all the Street Fighter 2 games together, they would have recieved 91 points. So you could make a case that the Street Fighter 2 series should be ranked 3rd on the overall list, but I feel that all games should be ranked individually, even if they are part of a series. They should each stand on their own.

25. Actraiser - Actraiser only scored a measly little 5 points. It was ranked last on 3 lists, and 2nd to last on one list. But it did appear on 4 different lists. And that deserves respect.

26. Earthbound - A cast can be made for Earthbound to be ranked higher. It did score a big 30 points. But most of that came in being ranked No. 1 on one list. But Earthbound could certainly be ranked a little higher than 26.

27. Gradius III - Gradius III was only ranked on 2 lists, but it did score 28 points.

28. Super Turrican - Super Turrican got ranked twice and scored 25 points.

29. NBA Jam Tournament Edition - NBA Jam T.E. is the first sports related game to get ranked. It only scored 13 points, but it did appear 2 times.

30. Super Ghouls and Ghosts - I'm totally shocked by this one. I can't fathom how a game like Super Ghouls and Ghosts could possibly be ranked this low. Either alot of people think the game is overrated, or alot of people haven't tried it. Or maybe they think it's difficulty is too high. I'm very shocked by this. It did appear on two lists, obvisouly, one of those lists were mine! It ended up getting a total of 12 points.


So that was the games from 21 to 30. Some argument could be made, as to the order in which those games could have been ranked. A few games could have been flip flopped on that list. But it just depends on how you value how many lists a game appears on, and how you value the points. I still feel that a game could be ranked No. 1, by one guy, and it could end up getting alot of points, but if nobody else ranks that game in their top ten, then you have to think that it is a game that was just really loved by that one guy, but it doesn't deserve to be ranked near a game that gets a vote by 2 different guys. Of course people could look at it differently.

31. MegaMan X - 13 points and 2 lists
32. Uniracers - 12 points and 2 lists
33. Sim City - 11 points and 2 lists
34. Killer Instinct - 10 points and 2 lists
35. Castlevania: Dracula X - 9 points and 2 lists
36. Alien 3 - 8 points and 2 lists
39. Metal Warriors - 20 points - 1 list
39. Kirby's Dream Coarse - 20 points - 1 list
39. Orge Battle - 20 points - 1 list
42. U.N. Squadron - 10 points - 1 list
42. Ranma (import) - 10 points - 1 list
42. Meta Marines - 10 points - 1 list
44. The CombatTribes - 8 points - 1 list
44. Arkanoid: Doh it Again - 8 points - 1 list
47. Terranigma - 7 points - 1 list
47. Donkey Kong Country 2 - 7 points - 1 list
47. Wizardry 5 - 7 points - 1 list
53. Rock N Roll Racing - 5 points - 1 list
53. Mario Paint - 5 points - 1 list
53. Rampart - 5 points - 1 list
53. S.T.G Strike Gunner - 5 points - 1 list
53. Push Over - 5 points - 1 list
53. Desert Strike - 5 points - 1 list
57. Space Megaforce - 4 points - 1 list
57. Magic Sword - 4 points - 1 list
57. Indiana Jones - 4 points - 1 list
57. Uncharted Waters - 4 points - 1 list
62. Wild Guns - 3 points - 1 list
62. R-Type III - 3 points - 1 list
63. Prince of Persia - 3 points - 1 list
63. Pilotwings - 3 points - 1 list
63. F-Zero - 3 points - 1 list
70. Street Fighter ALpha 2 - 2 points - 1 list
70. Lufia II - 2 points - 1 list
70. Looney Tunes B-Ball - 2 points - 1 list
70. King of Dragons - 2 points - 1 list
70. Super Bomberman - 2 points - 1 list
70. Lemmings - 2 points - 1 list
70. Super Fire Pro Wrestling
78. Lost Vikings
78. Saturday Night Slam Masters
78. NBA Live '95
78. Super Return of the Jedi
78. Prehistorik Man
78. WWF Royal Rumble
78. Shadowrun
78. Soldiers of Fortune






I will continue to update this list. Please post your comments regarding the rankings so far. Thanks!

[Balloon Fight]

I'm surprised that Donkey Kong Country isnt further up on the list, same with Zelda...

[Night Driver]

I know this isn't a scientific endeavor, but what is the rationale behind the point values you assigned to each ranking? It apppears to me that they are completely arbitrary. Consequently, I believe your power rankings are skewed and have little inferential value.

IMO, simply calculating an 'average ranking' for each title would be more productive, and ranking titles thusly would have at least some inferential value.

[ubersaurus]

Did this really need a second thread?

[Anthony1]

Did this really need a second thread?


It's just easier for me to update the rankings with this thread.

[Anthony1]

I know this isn't a scientific endeavor, but what is the rationale behind the point values you assigned to each ranking? It apppears to me that they are completely arbitrary. Consequently, I believe your power rankings are skewed and have little inferential value.

IMO, simply calculating an 'average ranking' for each title would be more productive, and ranking titles thusly would have at least some inferential value.


You are welcome to come up with a better system.

[Dr. Morbis]

I think the points should be much more important than the # of lists appeared on. If a game is #1 on 8 lists, it will be trumped by a game that is #5 thru #10 on 9 lists, solely because it was listed one less time. I propose ranking it purely by points and forgeting the whole '# of appearances' aspect.

Just my opinion.

[Anthony1]

I think the points should be much more important than the # of lists appeared on. If a game is #1 on 8 lists, it will be trumped by a game that is #5 thru #10 on 9 lists, solely because it was listed one less time. I propose ranking it purely by points and forgeting the whole '# of appearances' aspect.

Just my opinion.


You know what, I was thinking the same thing, to a degree. I still think the number of appearances is very important. For example, I think that a game that has appeared in 11 out of 18 lists, should be ranked higher than a game that has appeared in 7 lists, but has double the points.

But I do agree, that a game that's been in 11 lists, should not be ranked above a game that's been in 10 lists, but has dramatically more points.

For this reason, a game like Final Fantasy III, with a whopping 133 points should be ranked above a game like Super Mario World which has 76 points. However, I wouldn't put Super Metroid above Super Mario World, even though Super Metroid has 80 points, and Mario World has 76. The reason being, that Mario World is in 4 more top ten lists then Metroid.

So I will make adjustments as necessary. This isn't an exact science, but I think the list will be very respectable, in how the rankings work out.

[Night Driver]

Forget it.

[kainemaxwell]

And this point of these is...?

[Anthony1]

And this point of these is...?


to discover what other hardcore gamers believe is the best the Super Nintendo has to offer.


For example, I have discovered that Final Fantasy III seems to be the overwhelming choice as the best game for the Super Nintendo. Although I know that Final Fantasy III is among the 50 best games for the SNES on the official thread on this site, I didn't know that it was so highly regarded.

So by doing this, we can discover some games that maybe we really didn't pay much attention to, but now maybe we should take a good look at them and try them out.

I'm not a big fan of turn based role playing games, like the Final Fantasy games, I like the action/RPG's like Zelda and Crusader of Senti, but with a game like Final Fantasy III being so highly praised by so many people, I definitely need to give it a try. Of course I think I'm going to start with Final Fantasy II firts, which is another game that got alot of praise in the power rankings.



By the way, I'm working on the updated and latest version of the power rankings right now, and I should edit that post with the latest results very, very soon. I got real busy this weekend and I couldn't finish it.

[Anthony1]

Rankings have been updated. 22 lists have been voted, and the top 30 games have been determined. So far at least. Check it out, at the very top!

[Anthony1]

78 games have been ranked, from 22 lists. Check it out on page one of this thread at the top.

[digitalpress]

I know this isn't a scientific endeavor, but what is the rationale behind the point values you assigned to each ranking? It apppears to me that they are completely arbitrary. Consequently, I believe your power rankings are skewed and have little inferential value.

IMO, simply calculating an 'average ranking' for each title would be more productive, and ranking titles thusly would have at least some inferential value.


You are welcome to come up with a better system.

I think you did a fantastic job with this, Anthony.

Many have tried their hands at lists like this, and they either don't follow through or they instead choose to play the critic on someone else's list. Personally I wish there were more people with your initiative here. I applaud you, even going through the trouble of analyzing the finals.

Thank you!

[Anthony1]

.[/quote]

I think you did a fantastic job with this, Anthony.

Many have tried their hands at lists like this, and they either don't follow through or they instead choose to play the critic on someone else's list. Personally I wish there were more people with your initiative here. I applaud you, even going through the trouble of analyzing the finals.

Thank you![/quote]



Thanks alot, I really appreciate the support. I just would really like to see a Power Rankings for every single system out there, that takes alot of veteran gamers accounts into perspective, and ranks the games in order from absolute best of the best, to pretty damn good. By giving the games points, it helps develop an overall ranking. Obviously, games that are at the top of the list, should get alot more points then games at the bottom of the list, but all the points add up. And then there is the appearance factor, that is almost just as important. If a game keeps showing up, over and over, on people lists, then that game commands some respect. Even if it has half the points of some other games. So the number of times a game shows up, should be a big factor to the rankings. I would still give primary value to overall points, but number of appearances is something to defintely take into account.

Take a game like Actraiser for example. Actraiser only got 5 points, but it was ranked on 4 lists. So I would actually consider Actraiser to be better than a game that got say 25 points, but only appeared on 2 lists. Of course the list factor, has to be determined by the total number of lists. The more lists that are factored in, the more lists a game needs to appear on, for it to get a big bonus by being on lots of lists.

Yes, this system is far from perfect. I would love for a mathmatics major to come up with a formula for this, that takes the two key factors into account, but I think the system that I'm using is decent.

It's really designed for people to see a game ranked somewhere, that suprises them a little bit, and then they decide to see what all the fuss is about a certain game, and then maybe they find out that this game then turns out to end up being one of their all time favorite games. That's what I hope people take away from these Power Rankings.

[Anthony1]

This was the result of the first power rankings that I did. It was for the SNES.