Since it debuted in 1991 in North America, the SNES has always had a constant stream of bangers. That launch had Super Mario World with it which some regard as one of the best, if not THE best, 2D platformers of all time. It's one of those games that is easy to go back to.
1992 is the year that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past launched in the West which is another all-time great. 1993 had a good smattering of titles including Secret of Mana, Super Mario All-Stars, Star Fox, and the list goes on, So, what did 1994 have to offer fans of the SNES?
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7 The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie
Gamefaqs Rating: 3.53/5
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie
- Platform(s)
- SNES , Nintendo Game Boy Advance , Genesis
- Released
- November 11, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Adventure , Platformer
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie is the second game in the Magical Quest series. This Capcom platformer starred Mickey along with Minnie who was playable as a co-op partner. This was when Capcom was hitting its stride with licensed-based games as most agreed this was a stellar platformer at the time. The costume changes with temporary powers added a lot of fun elements to the gameplay. There would be a third game and many more Mickey games to follow, but as for direct sequels, everything ended on the SNES.
6 Super Punch-Out!!
Gamefaqs Rating: 3.99/5
Super Punch-Out!! is not to be confused with the arcade game with the same name. Like the NES console hit before it, this game was so much more than a boxing title. It was kind of a puzzle game too as every opponent had a tell. Once players figured out the weakness, it was curtains for the opponent. It still took a lot of skill to take down everyone in the game, especially in the unlockable arenas. There was only one game that followed this, the reboot of Punch-Out!! on Wii, much to the chagrin of fans who want more boxing action from Nintendo in the future.
5 Live A Live
Gamefaqs Rating: 4.11/5
Live A Live debuted in 1994 in Japan but the West would not see it until 2022, so it's just best to celebrate it now in 2024. Square Enix remastered it using their HD-2D engine that they started with Octopath Traveler. It never got a sequel, but it was at least nice for the West to finally experience this RPG officially. Players could take on the roles of several heroes with short stories that all sort of culminated in a final unlockable scenario. They could travel in space and play as an egg-like robot or ride the dusty roads of the Wild West as a cowboy.
4 Donkey Kong Country
Gamefaqs Rating: 4.29/5
Donkey Kong Country
- Platform(s)
- SNES , Game Boy Color , Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Released
- November 24, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Rare
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
Donkey Kong Country brought Donkey Kong back from the brink. He was no longer a bad guy and was instead the hero of this Kong-centered platformer. He got a whole slew of family members too like Diddy Kong, Cranky Kong, Funky Kong, and so on. It was one of Rare’s crowning achievements during the SNES era which helped them dominate in the N64 era too. There’ve been many sequels with the last being in 2014, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, which also got a Switch port in 2018.
3 Mega Man X
Gamefaqs Rating: 4.38/5
This game is another example from Capcom that was released first in 1993 for Japanese players and the West got it soon after in 1994. Mega Man X was a huge leap forward for the series and not just graphically. It starred a new Mega Man, X, who was capable of getting permanent upgrades.
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Players could find health upgrades or tanks for healing, for example, along with pieces of armor that would grant X powers like a dash ability. This started a new franchise and there would be eight main titles starring X along with spinoffs but it has been a while since he showed up in his own adventure in at least two decades.
2 Super Metroid
Gamefaqs Rating: 4.46/5
Super Metroid
- Platform(s)
- SNES
- Released
- April 18, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure , Metroidvania
The games that came before this were good prototypes for what this series would become. Super Metroid perfected the formula and while there have been many good sequels to follow it, this was indeed the pinnacle for many. It had an exciting introduction with a spaceship exploding followed by a more toned-down experience once Samus got to the new planet. Even though the graphics are brightly colored, it is haunting. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo celebrates this seminal classic in any way in 2024.
1 Final Fantasy 6
Gamefaqs Rating: 4.55/5
Final Fantasy 6 was released as Final Fantasy 3 initially, which is wild to think about now. Name issues aside, this is the entry that got a lot of RPG fans on board, and it is easy to see why. The music was top-notch as usual as was the world design.
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It has one of the largest playable casts in the series and most of them feel fleshed out. It also took a big story risk which won’t be spoiled here but those who know, know. There’s never been a direct sequel, but of course, Final Fantasy still lives on to this day.
