Before you say, "WHERE'S [GAME]?" these are my personal top games on the console.
Super Mario World
Nintendo's flagship mascot character returned for another adventure as a follow-up to the NES' massively successful Mario Bros. 3. Essentially Mario Bros. 4 (and even called as such in Japan), World expanded on the Mario formula with explorable worlds, more secrets to find, a prehistoric theme, and most of all, Yoshi!
A Link to the Past
After the departure Zelda II took, ALttP took it back to its roots with an overhead view and a more accessible difficulty. This game introduced us to two parallel worlds, the Master Sword, the seven maidens, and many other ideas or mechanics we would see used or re-adapted into Zelda games to come.
Super Metroid
Samus Aran ventures back to Planet Zebes, facing off against the Space Pirates once again. Super Metroid is known for its intense atmosphere, freedom of exploration, sequence breaking, and defining an entire genre!
Mega Man X
With a new system, came a new Mega Man. Mega Man X was like Mega Man's cooler older brother. He was older, he could dash, he had upgradable parts, his music was heavier, and the atmosphere was much darker.
Final Fantasy III (VI)
Perhaps the first Final Fantasy to truly break out in the west, Final Fantasy III (in actuality the sixth game in the series rebranded for an audience that never saw the true third, fourth, or fifth games) was a sweeping adventure with a colorful and likable cast of characters, unexpected twists and turns, and a large focus on narrative and story.
Super Mario RPG
Perhaps not as "classic" as others on this list, Super Mario RPG holds a particularly special place in my heart for introducing me to RPGs. Starring our beloved Italian plumber, Mario must rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser...! Or so we think, as those are only the opening minutes of the game. An otherworldly entity named Smithy crashes into Bowser's Keep, sends Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser flying across the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, and sets the stage for a story much more grand than Mario is used to. Developed by Squaresoft, Super Mario RPG was an unlikely collaboration between two industry giants.
Donkey Kong Country (1, 2, or 3)
Also known as the games that came with free David Wise soundtracks. Ok, I kid (and the third game wasn't even composed by him). Donkey Kong Country and its sequels pushed the envelope for graphical fidelity at the time, reinvented Donkey Kong from the ground up, were dripping with colorful and thematically focused environments, and introduced us to many characters the Donkey Kong universe is known to use to this day. Oh, and the music really was that good.
Which of these games do you think was the best, and why?
Super Mario World
Nintendo's flagship mascot character returned for another adventure as a follow-up to the NES' massively successful Mario Bros. 3. Essentially Mario Bros. 4 (and even called as such in Japan), World expanded on the Mario formula with explorable worlds, more secrets to find, a prehistoric theme, and most of all, Yoshi!
A Link to the Past
After the departure Zelda II took, ALttP took it back to its roots with an overhead view and a more accessible difficulty. This game introduced us to two parallel worlds, the Master Sword, the seven maidens, and many other ideas or mechanics we would see used or re-adapted into Zelda games to come.
Super Metroid
Samus Aran ventures back to Planet Zebes, facing off against the Space Pirates once again. Super Metroid is known for its intense atmosphere, freedom of exploration, sequence breaking, and defining an entire genre!
Mega Man X
With a new system, came a new Mega Man. Mega Man X was like Mega Man's cooler older brother. He was older, he could dash, he had upgradable parts, his music was heavier, and the atmosphere was much darker.
Final Fantasy III (VI)
Perhaps the first Final Fantasy to truly break out in the west, Final Fantasy III (in actuality the sixth game in the series rebranded for an audience that never saw the true third, fourth, or fifth games) was a sweeping adventure with a colorful and likable cast of characters, unexpected twists and turns, and a large focus on narrative and story.
Super Mario RPG
Perhaps not as "classic" as others on this list, Super Mario RPG holds a particularly special place in my heart for introducing me to RPGs. Starring our beloved Italian plumber, Mario must rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser...! Or so we think, as those are only the opening minutes of the game. An otherworldly entity named Smithy crashes into Bowser's Keep, sends Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser flying across the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, and sets the stage for a story much more grand than Mario is used to. Developed by Squaresoft, Super Mario RPG was an unlikely collaboration between two industry giants.
Donkey Kong Country (1, 2, or 3)
Also known as the games that came with free David Wise soundtracks. Ok, I kid (and the third game wasn't even composed by him). Donkey Kong Country and its sequels pushed the envelope for graphical fidelity at the time, reinvented Donkey Kong from the ground up, were dripping with colorful and thematically focused environments, and introduced us to many characters the Donkey Kong universe is known to use to this day. Oh, and the music really was that good.
Which of these games do you think was the best, and why?
