Best First-Party Super Nintendo (SNES) Games

17. Yoshi's Safari (SNES)

Did you know that Yoshi had a light gun shooting game, similar to Duck Hunt? In Yoshi's Safari, you'd play as a first-person Mario riding Yoshi, shooting down Koopas, Goombas, and Cheep Cheeps. There was even a multiplayer mode, with one person controlling Yoshi via the SNES controller, and the other using the Super Scope to control Mario.

If that sounds incredibly cool, that's because it was! It was an interesting use of the Super Scope (although almost no one bought it, because no one owned the Super Scope), and although it was short and way too easy, it still goes down in history as the only FPS in Mario history, as well as the first Mario game to refer to the Princess as "Princess Peach" and not "Princess Toadstool". Sadly, it's never been re-released.

16. Stunt Race FX (SNES)

While you might find the framerate hard to stomach these days, the solid design beneath the ageing facade makes this ambitious 3D racer a fun vehicle to take for a spin. What Stunt Race FX lacks in looks and performance it makes up for with personality, and there's plenty of fun to be had in nailing those corners and shaving seconds off your lap times. It's well worth revisiting, or sampling if you've never had the pleasure.

15. Super Scope 6 (SNES)

The pack-in game that came with the Super Scope, the snappily-named Super Scope 6 contained — wait for it — six different games... sorta.

Blastris came in 'A' and 'B' flavours, with three versions of LazerBlazer available alongside Mole Patrol to make up the sextet of light gun offerings on this cart. That it was never re-released on another system is understandable, though still disappointing. It could have made for a fun time on Wii or Wii U for the completionists among us.

14. Pilotwings (SNES)

Pilotwings is a relaxing salve of a game that requires equal parts concentration and relaxation - a perfect antidote to the distractions of the times we live in. Balancing accessibility and skill-based gameplay in that time-honoured Nintendo way, it's a great title to return to on Switch, especially given the series' lack of new entries of late.

13. Battle Clash (SNES)

A Super Scope shooter, this game was renamed Space Bazooka for its later Japanese release, and we have to say we prefer that to Battle Clash. Taking on the role of one Mike Anderson, you pilot a mecha known as an ST and take part in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style 'Battle Games'.

12. Mario Paint (SNES)

Mario Paint came bundled with the SNES Mouse and gave players the chance to draw, colour, animate and create musical compositions on their Super Nintendo in 1992 (as well as play 'Gnat Attack', a fly-swatting minigame, of course). It's a fantastic little DIY oddity that's still beloved by devotees many years later. Its oddball, mischievous spirit can also be found alive and well in the creative suites of Super Mario Maker and its Switch sequel.

11. Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (SNES)

C'mon, hands up if you've never heard of this one.

Much like the rest of Nintendo's Super Scope output, Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge was co-developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems. It's a sequel to Battle Clash and has you piloting a 'Standing Tank' as you're pitted against a series of alien bosses who have come to invade Earth, as is their wont. This one was never released in Japan, cruelly denying us the title 'Space Bazooka 2'.

10. Star Fox (SNES)

Star Fox is obviously a classic, and its use of the Super FX chip resulted in an experience that felt awe-inspiring to anybody who witnessed it on their Super NES back in 1993. It's a little more jarring for players these days, especially anyone who got into the Star Fox series later on. Players who are violently ill when viewing anything less than a silky 60fps will want to sit this one out, but the underlying game design still shines even if you can't muster enthusiasm for the game's achievements with some 16-bit historical context.

Those who were there at the beginning and are pining for the return of Fox, Peppy, Falco, and maybe even the ever-rubbish Slippy will thoroughly enjoy jumping back in the cockpit of an Arwing and saving Corneria again, though. The fact that it's now available on Switch makes accepting that mission all the easier, too.

9. Super Mario Kart (SNES)

The game that birthed an entire genre (albeit a genre it dominates to the point where you wonder why any other company decides to make their own kart racer), Super Mario Kart got so much just right from the starting line that it still remains surprisingly playable and accessible decades later. There's no worrying about picking karts or wheels here; you select your character and hit the track. The split-screen layout (which is present even when racing solo) encourages a second player to pick up the pad, and it's certainly a game that is best enjoyed with a friend (or foe). The Battle mode has also stood the test of time superbly, and that iconic power-slide move still feels natural and intuitive.

The mainline games that followed may have refined the formula to the Nth degree, but despite feeling barebones by comparison, controls, track design, and item balance are still nigh-on perfect in this first outing, and getting behind the wheel still feels good. Super Mario Kart is fun distilled, and its narrow focus can actually end up being a benefit – especially if you're looking for the ideal pick-up-and-play multiplayer challenge.

8. F-Zero (SNES)

F-Zero was an incredible template on which its sublime successors were modelled, and for that we shall forever be thankful. That's not to say the original isn't a gem in its own right; it's a racing classic that feels fast and tight to this day, but its lack of multiplayer tends to put it behind its sequels, at least in our minds (a criticism that F-Zero 99 addresses). Still, this remains a thrilling 16-bit ride, and we're more than happy to fire it up again — via Nintendo Switch Online if we don't happen to have our SNES hooked up — whenever the notion takes us.

7. Super Punch-Out!! (SNES)

It's Punch-Out!! with more colour, more character, 16-bit visuals and the same timing-based gameplay that's made every entry in this series a pleasure to revisit. The arcade original is also available on Switch as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line, and Super Punch-Out!! comes as part of the Nintendo Switch Online collection, so it's easy to get your hands on these days. Which is nice, because it's up there with the finest games on the system.

6. SimCity (SNES)

An incredibly charming port of a huge experience, SimCity is one of the best value-for-money propositions in the 16-bit console's library, potentially offering months and months of gameplay. Developed in-house by Nintendo itself, if you're looking for something that offers long-term challenge and will tax your brain, then you really should track this down. Action fans are obviously going to be disappointed by the lack of instant gratification, but if you're after a title that will challenge your grey matter then this excellent Nintendo-flavoured port of Will Wright's classic is it.

5. Super Mario All-Stars (SNES)

An extremely impressive package featuring the NES Super Mario Bros. games with a 16-bit lick of paint, Super Mario All-Stars was a convenient way to revisit the classics back on Super NES. Ultimately, with the exception of Super Mario Bros. 2 (we'd say that this collection contains the optimum version of that game), the originals arguably still offer the best experience these days. If you're playing this via Nintendo Switch Online, they're all accessible so you can easily see for yourselves.

However, for anybody who first experienced the NES games in this package, we understand if this represents peak 2D Mario for you and offers the ultimate nostalgia trip; everyone's a winner now that they're all available on Switch.

4. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)

Yoshi's Island is the absolute summit of not just Yoshi games, but platformer games in general, with a wonderful vision of pastel colours, majestic backdrops, and character-oozing sprites. Honestly, it's difficult to remember any other game that matches or even comes close to the amount of detail that Yoshi's Island did, past or present. The level of charm is astronomical. Every enemy seems quite intentional. There will be moments when you refrain from killing an enemy just to watch it in action.

With its deep exploration-based gameplay and gorgeous art style, Yoshi's Island is still a joy to play all these years later. Yoshi's Island isn't just a great platformer: it's a reminder of why this silly little hobby of ours is so wonderful.

3. Super Metroid (SNES)

We dislike overusing the word 'masterpiece', but in this case (and in the case of a chunk of top-tier SNES releases) it's absolutely accurate. Super Metroid is the standard by which all Metroid games are judged, and an impossibly high one, at that. If you're a franchise fan, you'll have played this to death. If, however, you've never dipped your toes into Nintendo's pool of sci-fi action exploration, this is the one you need to play. That's all there is to it.

2. Super Mario World (SNES)

There is endless debate about whether Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World is the better game. For our money, they are two sides of the same coin — two faces of a monumental peak in the video game landscape. This remains an incredible achievement of invention and sheer entertainment that the 2D platforming genre has struggled to match ever since. Introducing Yoshi and an expanded overworld with multiple paths, Mario World overflows with secrets and secret exits that were perfect for fuelling playground gossip and elevating it to the upper-est echelons of platform video games, 2D or otherwise.

Decades on, it still doesn't get much better than this. All games have flaws, but if there exists an exception to that rule, Super Mario World is it.

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the best games of all time, and if you haven't experienced it yourself... you probably have through one of the other Zelda games, such was its influence on the series and the action-adventure genre. It introduced many mainstays of the franchise, including various stalwart items and the idea of parallel worlds. Link could move diagonally and run thanks to the Pegasus Boots, and he could swipe his sword sideways, allowing for a much wider range when attacking.

There's no shortage of 2D and 3D Zeldas to choose from these days, but this 16-bit entry codified the core elements of a 'Zelda game' for the decades that followed. It's still got that touch of magic about it many years later. Unmissable.