Ranking the Games of the Super Nintendo Classic Edition (SNES Mini)

With the launch of the Super Nintendo Classic Edition fast approaching, I thought now would be a great time to look back on the 20 games included on the mini console. I have gone through and ranked every game that is pre-loaded on the SNES Classic from worst to best, in my opinion. A couple of things should be noted before this list gets started though. First of all, I am only ranking 20 games, as I feel it would not be fair to place Star Fox 2 on this list due to its never officially released status. Secondly, this list is based solely off of my own opinions and experiences with each of these games. There is not a single bad game on this list. In fact, an argument could be made for every one of these games to be considered among the greatest titles of all time. With that being said, do to personal opinion and bias, this ranking will likely be much different than your own. Without further ado, let’s get started!

20. Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts

I have literally zero experience with this game. Sadly, I cannot accurately rank it, as I have never played it. For this list, though, I did watch some let’s plays on the game and apparently it is fun, but very, very difficult, sometimes unfairly so. Therefore, I feel the 20^th slot is probably fair!

19. Super Mario Kart

I have so many fond memories of playing Super Mario Kart as a kid. Like many others, this first entry in the now legendary series was also my introduction to it. The grand prix may not hold up as well as later entries in the series, considering how fast it goes and how clunky turning feels. However, the battle mode is still stellar and set an early standard for what a good battle mode should contain.

18. F-Zero

Gotta go fast! Wait, this is not that game? Oh. Well it sometimes feels like it, as F-Zero is insanely fast. Nintendo’s use of mode 7 makes you feel like you really are flying through the race tracks at near light speed. F-Zero is a fantastically difficult game that was a great launch title for the SNES and still holds up relatively well today.

17. Kirby Super Star

Eight games in one? Isn’t that kind of cheating? Well, not exactly, as most of the games found in Kirby Super Star are sub-games. Don’t be fooled by that statement, though, as the games are almost all fun and worth playing, and offer a variety that most games don’t. While this may not be the best Kirby game, it is certainly among the top!

16. Contra III: The Alien Wars

A run and gun game where you can blast through hordes of aliens locally with a friend? Well, that sounds like the epitome of what gaming in the 90’s was all about! Seriously, Contra III is a great time to be had, especially when whipping out a second controller to play with a buddy. Watch out though, this one is pretty tough, to say the least.

15. Kirby’s Dream Course

This is not your typical Kirby game. In fact, it is probably the most unique Kirby adventure there has been. Essentially a mini golf sim where Kirby is the ball, you must use precision to navigate Kirby to a goal through enemies and obstacles. No typical platforming here! It sounds strange because it is, but the game is also a blast. Don’t believe me? Just watch The Game Grumps play it.

14. Super Castlevania IV

Who doesn’t love classic Castlevania? If you do, this one is for you. If you haven’t played Castlevania before, then there is almost no better place to start. Super Castlevania IV is exactly what the series stands for. Navigate Simon Belmont and his whip toward Dracula through a bigger and more improved map than its predecessors offered. This is truly one of the best that this legendary series has to offer. 

13. Super Street Fighter II Turbo

There have been so many iterations of Street Fighter II, and this one is probably the best of them all. Often considered the pinnacle of classic Street Fighter games, Super Street Fighter II Turbo offers a deep roster and tight fighting mechanics that any 2D fighting fan would surely love.

12. Secret of Mana

The Super Nintendo is known as an RPG super machine. So many classic RPGs first called the SNES home, many of which will be featured on the SNES Classic, and Secret of Mana is certainly one of those games. This game featured a large world to explore and play through, like many other RPGs of that time. What made Secret of Mana so special was that you could play through it with a friend in local cooperative play. This was somewhat revolutionary at the time and still makes for a very special gaming experience today.

11. Star Fox

I have a weird relationship with Star Fox. While I respect the series a lot, outside of the first two games released (Star Fox and Star Fox 64), there’s not much to brag about. Sure Star Fox Zero was good once you got past the complicated control scheme, but even it couldn’t live up to the glory of Star Fox or Star Fox 64. Thankfully, this IS one of the good ones. While Star Fox may not be as accessible or quite as good as Star Fox 64, it is still a very fun, challenging, and no doubt a revolutionary game for home consoles.

From here on, every one of these games was considered for at least the number 2 spot. I absolutely HATED making this part of the list. I cannot tell you how much time I spent shuffling these 10 games around from spot to spot. Every one of them is incredibly special to me and none of them deserve to be ranked any lower than number 2. Unfortunately, only 1 game is allowed per spot. With that said, let’s move on…

10. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Nintendo trusted their golden boy in the hands of Square, and boy did it pay off. This game is excellent, and sadly, in my opinion, no Mario RPG game since has quite lived up to this one. There have been other great Mario focused RPGs like Paper Mario and Superstar Saga, but Legend of the Seven Stars is on another level. A fantastically quirky story combined with loveable characters, wonderful world building, and awesome gameplay mechanics made for one heck of a Mario spinoff game.

09. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Talk about an underrated classic. Well, underrated in a sense anyway. This game gets plenty of hype among critics and people who have actually played it. There’s the problem though, it seems like so many people have overlooked and missed out on this game. Not the Gameboy Advance port or Yoshi’s New Island, I mean the original SNES Yoshi’s Island. A beautiful art direction, adorable music, and brilliant level design made Yoshi’s first solo outing an instant classic that hasn’t aged a bit and has yet to be matched by any of its successors!

08. Super Punch Out

Super Punch Out at number 8? I know this is probably the most controversial placement on my list. There’s no way it should be a top 10 game on arguably the greatest system of all time. Normally, I would have to agree, but I am very biased. This game is perfection in my eyes. A puzzle game disguised as a boxing game that offers beautiful 16-bit graphics with huge sprites on screen blew my mind as a kid, and still looks and plays great today. I have so many fond memories of my older brother and me playing through this game over and over again trying to best each other’s scores and times. I admit, the number 8 placement is based mainly on nostalgia, but there is still a great game here.

07. Donkey Kong Country

The first entry in the Donkey Kong Country series is not the best one. However, it is still a fantastic game. This title came out later in the SNES’s life, but showed just how much the system had left in the tank. Rare knocked it out of the park with the first DKC, offering beautiful graphics that still hold up today, incredible music, and some of the best platforming ever developed. Seriously, this game is fantastic.

06. Final Fantasy III

Admittedly, I am not a big Final Fantasy fan. It’s a franchise that I have tried to get into time and time again, but never have been able to. With that said, I had to give Final Fantasy III its fair chance, as there is no denying its legendary status, which it has earned with good reason. Often regarded as the best Final Fantasy and unanimously considered the best of the classic series, Final Fantasy III helped pave the way for JRPGs in the US. Also, like nearly every game on this list, it is still just as fun now as it was when it launched.

05. Mega Man X

Mega Man has always been a franchise that has meant a lot to me, as Mega Man 2 was one of the very first games I ever played as a young kid. Mega Man X is my favorite Mega Man of all time, though. This game is near perfect, in my opinion. The level design and upgrade system in this game were mind blowing to me when I first saw them. Mega Man X felt like everything that I loved about Mega Man 2, but on a much grander scale. Rarely does a game present a challenge as steep as Mega Man X, yet still feel completely fair. When you die, you know it’s of your own faults, but when you succeed, you know it’s of your own strengths, thus creating an incredibly satisfying gameplay experience.

04. EarthBound

Battling hippies, digging through trash cans in search of burgers, zombies, prayer, kids traveling in spaceships, and a cult of people who love the color blue. EarthBound is WEIRD, but that is why it’s so darn endearing. I came into this game late, not playing it until it arrived on the WII U eshop. However, when I did finally play this game, I knew it was something special. Despite only discovering the game a few years ago, I have already played through it 5 times and it has become a game I have to play through at least once a year (joining the list of only 2 other games I play annually). EarthBound offers perfect turn-based RPG mechanics and an oddball, heartwarming story that I absolutely love and would recommend to anyone.

03. Super Mario World

Here’s a controversial topic: what is the best Mario game? More specifically, what is the best 2D Mario game? Super Mario Bros. 3? Nope, not in my opinion. To me, the greatest 2D Mario game is this one, Super Mario World. This SNES launch game took everything from its predecessors, and just made it better. Nintendo kept the same brilliance in level design, then added a flying cape, multiple exits, and an awesome bonus world. Oh, and this game introduced a little character called YOSHI! When you already have a near perfect game, then add even more awesome mechanics to it, then you know you have created a masterpiece.

02. Super Metroid

Metroid was revolutionary, with its sprawling map, nonlinear gameplay, and awesome female protagonist. Metroid 2 was still a fun game, but very limited by the technology of the Gameboy. Super Metroid, the third installment, is the game that changed it all. What is there to say about this game that hasn’t already been said? Nonlinear gameplay, a desperate sense of isolation, an intriguing story, a wonderful progression system, varied environments that each feel wholly unique. I could go on forever with a list of things to brag about with this game. There is something very special about this game, and it’s no wonder so many people consider it to be their favorite game of all time. If you have played Super Metroid, then you already know what I am talking about. If you haven’t played it, what are you waiting for?

01. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

A Link to the Past truly speaks for itself. I don’t actually need to say anything here, because anyone who has ever played this game already knows why it is number on this list. I will go on, however, for those of you who haven’t played it. This is my absolute favorite game of all time. I have used the word perfect a few times on this list, but this game is the literal meaning of perfection in my mind. This was one of the very first games I ever played, and it was the first game I beat on my own at the age of 5. Nostalgia is not the only factor in my decision, though. In fact, I firmly believe that I could play A Link to the Past for the first time tomorrow and still have to put it at number one on this list. It’s just that good. This game set the standard for all other Zelda titles that followed. The original Legend of Zelda may have created many of the mechanics the franchise is known for, but A Link to the Past perfected every one of them. A sprawling game map complete with two variations of the same world, a character that you develop and watch grow throughout your journey, intriguing characters, an awesome progression system, a complete narrative, beautiful 16-bit graphics, iconic music, epic boss fights, and the introduction of the legendary Master Sword. This game truly has it all, and has rightfully earned its number one spot on this list.

Well there you have it. All of the games on the SNES Classic, excluding Star Fox 2, ranked from worst to best. This list was very difficult to make. I literally spent hours and hours rearranging this list time and time again. In fact, the only title that stayed locked into its spot throughout the entirety of this project was A Link to the Past. In my opinion, the difficulty of ranking these games just speaks to the quality of the collection that Nintendo has compiled for us. Let’s all hope that we can get our hands on this mini system come September!