1) Super Metroid
Super Metroid is that rarest of things, a perfect game. It's just beautifully put together with the most perfect pacing on how it opens its world to you, superb graphics, atmospheric music and flawless controls that allow you to get to grips with some of the more challenging enemy/level design the game throws at you.
2) Prince of Persia (original, this had many ports - the DOS PC one most well known - but writing specifically about the SNES super-port that was almost a remake)
The eponymous PC port, a major improvement on the Apple II original is already considered by many one of the greatest games ever made. But the SNES "port" went to a whole new level, adding superb new graphics that deeply impressed Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and impelled him to make a lovely hi res Mac port (which still didn't look as nice as the SNES version!). Not only that, but Arsys, who oversaw the SNES port, also added a whole extra 8 levels (bumping the time limit up from 1 to 2 hours at the same time), all of which feel great, and not awkward shoe-horns. They added new traps, gimmicks, enemies, bosses, and a whole new (and epic) final confrontation with the antagonist. They also added a superb atmospheric soundtrack by Toshiya Yamanaka - the original had very little music (though what existed was great). This game strained the boundaries of what the difference between a port and a remake is. And again, consider that on top of all these additions - all of which were well received by Prince of Persia fans - the game was already a cast iron classic, with industry changing rotoscoped character animation, superb platforming with real physical "weight" to the character and fiendish traps for those who get overconfident, and a really simple yet fun swordfighting system., with a wonderful vibe of the old Arabian fantasies like Thief of Bagdad or Sinbad.
3) Super Mario Brothers 3
Fantastic controls, varied power ups, incredible level design, and lovely music. The game just bursts with creativity, and feels as fresh today as when I first played it twenty three years ago.
The only flaw the game has is the warp whistles, which I am almost certain have caused many people to skip many of the best levels - and worlds - in the game. If you play this, don't used them for your first playthrough!
4) Yoshi's Island
How to follow up Super Mario World? Have all the heavyweight designers like Miyamoto and Tezuka focus on Super Mario 64 and leave most everything to Shigefumi Hino, previously a sprite artist for Mario World!
Hino in his directorial debut somehow created one of the finest games ever made, with a beautiful storybook aesthetic, mammoth levels to find hidden secrets in while traversing, a greater level of challenge compared to SMW and the best designed bosses in any platformer ever. Quite a debut!
5) Sonic 3 & Knuckles
The genius of Sonic under Yasuhara (and mostly ignored by modern Sonic Team) was the incredible level design, and this is showcased nowhere better then S3&K. There is no "gotta go fast" here, as you work through massive levels that challenge the top/middle/bottom sonic layout with levels that wind back and forth. With the two games (sonic 3 and sonic & knuckles) joined together as originally envisaged, the game is absolutely massive in scale. The special levels that contain the chaos emeralds and then super emeralds become punishingly difficult towards the end, and the game is brought together by a typically great sonic soundtrack. Michael Jackson contributed to it with some brilliant tracks, causing legal wrangles that mean the Sonic 3 soundtrack has never been released in full, and the game itself very rarely.
6) Super Mario Land 3 : Warioland
The only handheld game that made my top ten is a bit of an offbeat game. It is a sequel to Super Mario Land 2 both in name and in terms of the development team that worked on it. If you played SML2, you'll instantly be used to the wacky and somewhat surreal vibe to the game, very strongly seen in the graphical & musical aesthetic. But while this is called "Super Mario Land 3", Wario is the star of the show, as he looks to steal from other pirates. The gameplay itself is great, with Wario having a very fun shoulder charge as his default attack, as well as a throw mechanic and several power-ups, including a very fun flying one. The game places a lot of emphasis on how much money you have, and to that end there are secret treasures dotted around the game protected by locks. Finding both the keys and the doors to the treasures are a very fun subquest.
7) Super Mario 64
Nintendo's first foray into true 3D for Mario was the homerun to end all homeruns. While almost everyone else struggled to transition action franchises to 3D, Nintendo not only got it right, but somehow managed to create one of the finest games ever made. Huge sandbox worlds with plenty to do all tied together with a lovely castle hub. I could not put this game down back in the day until I got every single star, which I loved - even the "100 coin challenges" which at first I took for busywork became challenging in some of the later worlds where coins were tough to find. Finally, as easy as it is, fighting the Bob-omb king (as easy a battle as it is) for the first time is still a very fond memory of mine, but that is probably more nostalgia then anything.
The only thing keeping this as "low" as it is in my rankings is that the camera, while revolutionary at the time and light years ahead of everyone else for years, it does feel a bit long in the tooth now. Hopefully the rumoured HD remaster will fix this one little niggle.
8) Rocket Knight Adventures
This Mega Drive classic has absolutely beautiful sprite art (it and yoshi were my candidates for best art until I found out cuphead was eligible), fun boss encounters and great music, but what puts this in my top ten is the key mechanic to the game - the rocket charge dash. After holding a button down for a few seconds, Sparkster will dash forward in an incredibly satisfying manoeuvre, which is as useful for traversing the levels as it is for attacking foes. I cannot do justice to this in text, and even videos wouldn't, so I implore you to try this game yourself - there is a reason I also give this game "Best Mechanics".
9) Castlevania 3
Castlevania 3 is one of the absolute highpoints of its franchise. A beautiful NES game with wonderful music (even better on the original famicom version, which is available in the "Castlevania Anniversary Collection" on modern consoles), this was one of the earliest games I played with branching paths. What was cool was that along some of those paths you met people who would join you, adding another dimension to the game with their different attacks and abilities. The one caveat is that the game to many people is seen as punishingly difficult. To me it stays on the "fair" side of the equation and I always love coming back to this very challenging game.
10) Duck Tales 2
How to follow up the gem that was Ducktales? Simple! Keep the brilliant pogo cane mechanic from the original, add new cane techniques hidden in some of the stages and secret treasures and map pieces that make for an even more fun game to explore. Took me a very long time when I was young to work out where all the map pieces were and find the secret level. Can you do it first time in 2020?
Best Upgrades - Super Metroid
Best Storytelling - Super Mario Galaxy
Best Soundtrack - Prince of Persia (SNES - this is specific to the SNES version)
Best Mechanics - Sparkster's charge in "Rocket Knight Adventure"
Best Level Design - Super Metroid
Best Art Design - Cuphead
Best Boss Design - Yoshi's Island
Honourable Mentions (purely mentioned because I feel guilty leaving them out and maybe this will remind someone else about how much they love them):
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 9
Mega Man X3
Sonic Mania
Donkey Kong '94
Donkey Kong Country 3
Demon's Crest
Super Metroid is that rarest of things, a perfect game. It's just beautifully put together with the most perfect pacing on how it opens its world to you, superb graphics, atmospheric music and flawless controls that allow you to get to grips with some of the more challenging enemy/level design the game throws at you.
2) Prince of Persia (original, this had many ports - the DOS PC one most well known - but writing specifically about the SNES super-port that was almost a remake)
The eponymous PC port, a major improvement on the Apple II original is already considered by many one of the greatest games ever made. But the SNES "port" went to a whole new level, adding superb new graphics that deeply impressed Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner and impelled him to make a lovely hi res Mac port (which still didn't look as nice as the SNES version!). Not only that, but Arsys, who oversaw the SNES port, also added a whole extra 8 levels (bumping the time limit up from 1 to 2 hours at the same time), all of which feel great, and not awkward shoe-horns. They added new traps, gimmicks, enemies, bosses, and a whole new (and epic) final confrontation with the antagonist. They also added a superb atmospheric soundtrack by Toshiya Yamanaka - the original had very little music (though what existed was great). This game strained the boundaries of what the difference between a port and a remake is. And again, consider that on top of all these additions - all of which were well received by Prince of Persia fans - the game was already a cast iron classic, with industry changing rotoscoped character animation, superb platforming with real physical "weight" to the character and fiendish traps for those who get overconfident, and a really simple yet fun swordfighting system., with a wonderful vibe of the old Arabian fantasies like Thief of Bagdad or Sinbad.
3) Super Mario Brothers 3
Fantastic controls, varied power ups, incredible level design, and lovely music. The game just bursts with creativity, and feels as fresh today as when I first played it twenty three years ago.
The only flaw the game has is the warp whistles, which I am almost certain have caused many people to skip many of the best levels - and worlds - in the game. If you play this, don't used them for your first playthrough!
4) Yoshi's Island
How to follow up Super Mario World? Have all the heavyweight designers like Miyamoto and Tezuka focus on Super Mario 64 and leave most everything to Shigefumi Hino, previously a sprite artist for Mario World!
Hino in his directorial debut somehow created one of the finest games ever made, with a beautiful storybook aesthetic, mammoth levels to find hidden secrets in while traversing, a greater level of challenge compared to SMW and the best designed bosses in any platformer ever. Quite a debut!
5) Sonic 3 & Knuckles
The genius of Sonic under Yasuhara (and mostly ignored by modern Sonic Team) was the incredible level design, and this is showcased nowhere better then S3&K. There is no "gotta go fast" here, as you work through massive levels that challenge the top/middle/bottom sonic layout with levels that wind back and forth. With the two games (sonic 3 and sonic & knuckles) joined together as originally envisaged, the game is absolutely massive in scale. The special levels that contain the chaos emeralds and then super emeralds become punishingly difficult towards the end, and the game is brought together by a typically great sonic soundtrack. Michael Jackson contributed to it with some brilliant tracks, causing legal wrangles that mean the Sonic 3 soundtrack has never been released in full, and the game itself very rarely.
6) Super Mario Land 3 : Warioland
The only handheld game that made my top ten is a bit of an offbeat game. It is a sequel to Super Mario Land 2 both in name and in terms of the development team that worked on it. If you played SML2, you'll instantly be used to the wacky and somewhat surreal vibe to the game, very strongly seen in the graphical & musical aesthetic. But while this is called "Super Mario Land 3", Wario is the star of the show, as he looks to steal from other pirates. The gameplay itself is great, with Wario having a very fun shoulder charge as his default attack, as well as a throw mechanic and several power-ups, including a very fun flying one. The game places a lot of emphasis on how much money you have, and to that end there are secret treasures dotted around the game protected by locks. Finding both the keys and the doors to the treasures are a very fun subquest.
7) Super Mario 64
Nintendo's first foray into true 3D for Mario was the homerun to end all homeruns. While almost everyone else struggled to transition action franchises to 3D, Nintendo not only got it right, but somehow managed to create one of the finest games ever made. Huge sandbox worlds with plenty to do all tied together with a lovely castle hub. I could not put this game down back in the day until I got every single star, which I loved - even the "100 coin challenges" which at first I took for busywork became challenging in some of the later worlds where coins were tough to find. Finally, as easy as it is, fighting the Bob-omb king (as easy a battle as it is) for the first time is still a very fond memory of mine, but that is probably more nostalgia then anything.
The only thing keeping this as "low" as it is in my rankings is that the camera, while revolutionary at the time and light years ahead of everyone else for years, it does feel a bit long in the tooth now. Hopefully the rumoured HD remaster will fix this one little niggle.
8) Rocket Knight Adventures
This Mega Drive classic has absolutely beautiful sprite art (it and yoshi were my candidates for best art until I found out cuphead was eligible), fun boss encounters and great music, but what puts this in my top ten is the key mechanic to the game - the rocket charge dash. After holding a button down for a few seconds, Sparkster will dash forward in an incredibly satisfying manoeuvre, which is as useful for traversing the levels as it is for attacking foes. I cannot do justice to this in text, and even videos wouldn't, so I implore you to try this game yourself - there is a reason I also give this game "Best Mechanics".
9) Castlevania 3
Castlevania 3 is one of the absolute highpoints of its franchise. A beautiful NES game with wonderful music (even better on the original famicom version, which is available in the "Castlevania Anniversary Collection" on modern consoles), this was one of the earliest games I played with branching paths. What was cool was that along some of those paths you met people who would join you, adding another dimension to the game with their different attacks and abilities. The one caveat is that the game to many people is seen as punishingly difficult. To me it stays on the "fair" side of the equation and I always love coming back to this very challenging game.
10) Duck Tales 2
How to follow up the gem that was Ducktales? Simple! Keep the brilliant pogo cane mechanic from the original, add new cane techniques hidden in some of the stages and secret treasures and map pieces that make for an even more fun game to explore. Took me a very long time when I was young to work out where all the map pieces were and find the secret level. Can you do it first time in 2020?
Best Upgrades - Super Metroid
Best Storytelling - Super Mario Galaxy
Best Soundtrack - Prince of Persia (SNES - this is specific to the SNES version)
Best Mechanics - Sparkster's charge in "Rocket Knight Adventure"
Best Level Design - Super Metroid
Best Art Design - Cuphead
Best Boss Design - Yoshi's Island
Honourable Mentions (purely mentioned because I feel guilty leaving them out and maybe this will remind someone else about how much they love them):
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 9
Mega Man X3
Sonic Mania
Donkey Kong '94
Donkey Kong Country 3
Demon's Crest
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