1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Back in the day, when the super Nintendo ruled the video game world, one game set the standard for not only ninja turtle games but also for 2D beat’em ups.  Up to four players could embark on an adventure across time and space to stop Shredder and his chronies from causing havoc.  What makes this a great game is just how fun it is playing as a team.  Many a day me and the siblings took it to the Foot, enjoying the competition and cooperative gameplay.  It still remains a classic.

2. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition

Never really been the one to gravitate to sports games, NBA Jam is one of the very few that popped up on my radar.  Fun, competitive, and fast paced, this game kept being entertaining with all the over-the-top dunks and the basketball engulfed in flames once a player shoots three successful shots straight. And for players who were closer to sports, the game offered a lot of unlockable players.  And hearing the announcer go Boomshakalaka! was always a plus.

3. Kirby Super Star

The game that put Kirby on the map for me.  Super Star featured a ton of great adventures for the little pink whatever he is.  Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Gourmet Race, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, Milky Way Wishes, and The Arena gave plenty of players time to learn about the Kirby universe and plenty of practice to master Kirby.  Not to mention, the ton of different transformations Kirby undergone.

4. Donkey Kong Country

A great platformer, Donkey Kong Country took us on an adventure with DK and his buddy Diddy to retrieve the stolen banana horde (don’t understand what a crocodile/alligator would want with bananas) from King K. Rool.  Not only did this game feature awesome gameplay but the graphics and soundtrack were solid.  The photo-realistic level designs and backgrounds are still worth looking at and the soundtrack is still a great experience.  This game definitely brought DK out of the shadows of Mario and put them on even ground.

5. Super Mario World

Super Mario World is what pushed the boundaries for the Mario franchise.  Mario had already been a pretty icon but this game just made him a star.  A large world, plenty of different paths that could’ve been taken to hidden lands, being able to ride Yoshi and even utilize different types of Yoshi.  Great level designs, great music, and fun, memorable gameplay make this game not only a great game but one of the hallmarks of video game history.

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

The Legend of Zelda series had been out for some time before this game, but when I first played this game I was instantly hooked into the LOZ lore.  A Link to the Past takes the young lad Link and throws him into a world for beauty and ugliness, love and hate, monsters and men as he struggles to save the land of Hyrule from the cruelty of the game’s antagonist, Ganon.  Great dungeons to be explored, awesome weapons and equipment to acquire, tons of exploration, and memorable boss battles make this a solid game and a must play for Zelda fans.

7. Earthworm Jim

Like DK and Mario, Jim has to do battle with some pretty nasty badguys.  And the game is a great payoff.  Jim is an earthworm who finds himself a badass after putting on a “ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit”.  If you loved the show, this game is definitely a must play.  Playing as Jim is satisfying but utilizing his different abilities as well as wide range of weapons under good controls keep the gameplay fun.  It’s a crime that there hasn’t been a remake or reboot of the series.

8. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

You weren’t a gamer if you hadn’t player Mortal Kombat.  And you weren’t a good player if you had played the Ultimate version of MK3.  Controversial for its time, MK provided players with fast paced fighting mechanics as well as blood and gore, something never seen before in other games.  It was cruel, it was violent, and it’s fatalies and finishers kept players coming back for more.  Plus, the game features some of the most iconic video game characters.

9. Street Fighter II: Turbo

Easily one of the most influential fighting games, Turbo was a great fighter.  Street Fighter had established itself as the rival to Mortal Kombat and it’s easy to see why. The characters were great, the combat system was great (although learning the controls is hard as hell)) and music was epic.  Not to mention watching the stage backgrounds were entertaining.  It was a great fighter that had all of the badassness of a MK game but minus the blood and gore.  Still, there are a lot of great moves that are mimicked today in various other video games.

10. Super Mario Kart

Super Mario Kart is that great blend of sports and awesomeness that I’ve come to love and appreciate.  Sure, its sequel Mario Kart 64 blew up on the N64, but the original is still a great and fun thrill ride.  Mario gets on the track racing against many characters from his series including Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and even Donkey Kong.  There’s a ton of playtime to be had and with it, a great sense of nostalgia.

Thanks for checking out the post and in the comment section below let us know what you’re SNES video games are.