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[redcrayon]

Pretty much how threads about this era go on GAF. People mostly list the stuff they managed to get their hands on in their youth without having done much research. Admittedly, US SNES had one of the greatest launch windows of all time which means great stuff was readily available to cheap, uninformed parents of the era which skews the results quite a bit...

Shout outs to the guy leading with Demon's Crest since that list is front loaded with interesting choices.

EDIT: unique stuff from piggychan and Shambalakan based on your 1 and 3 I think we just became best friends.

It's true that the SNES had a great launch window, with lots of the big hitters arriving early. I picked up Super Mario World, LTTP and Super Castlevania IV with my SNES and they remain some of my favourites to this day.

To be fair in the EU we had a much more limited choice of SNES games- that's why loads of EU gaffers will list Secret of Mana as their favorite SNES JRPG and not mention FF, DQ and Chrono Trigger. Sky Blazer is also one I've always wanted to play but seeing as it never appeared here or on the VC, and is probably lost in some kind of rights-based hell, I probably never will. I never got around to importing it as it was always three or four games down the list and I could only afford to import one game a year, my paper round couldn't stretch to any more

The SNES games I did buy at the time were based on absorbing the info available from magazines. If you wanted to know which SNES games to import in the UK, Super Play was a must-read. Distribution was a bit of a nightmare though- loads of great games did have PAL releases but I struggled to find them on the UK high streets as our games-specific retail shops were still relatively rare. Even then, when one opened in my town it didn't always carry a huge range of Nintendo games due due the strength of Sega, home computers etc. There were some games I ended up having to buy an adapter and import a US copy even when a PAL version allegedly existed.

More common places like Woolworths and WH Smiths were only ever going to carry the top sellers.

If I was going to mention one SNES game that rarely pops up on these threads, it would be Mickey's Magical Quest- pedestrian name but I remember it being a pretty good platformer at the time.

 

[Dragon1893]

I was a sega kid back then and though I've played some of the SNES' standouts since then, I feel my list wouldn't be fair.
It's the only generation where I feel I've missed enough standout games to not be able to make a list of this kind. None of my friends had a SNES (sega dominated competely here in Portugal) and I couldn't afford owning 2 systems at the time.
Obviously there are easy ways to revisit old games now on current systems but there simply isn't enough time for everything.
As much as my list would be dominated by Mega Drive games, Yoshi's Island would be my pick for nº1 though, brilliant game.
Makes me realize that I wasn't into rpgs (which is my favorite genre) until the 32 bit era.

 

[PaulBizkit]

1. Super Mario RPG
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Super Mario World
4. Kirby Super Star
5. Donkey Kong Country 2
6. Super Metroid
7. Final Fantasy 6
8. Final Fantasy 4
9. Yoshi's Island
10. Star Fox

Sega genesis had no exclusive games that interested me at all.

 

[Celine]

Anihawk, are the Neo Geo games limited until 1995 releases?
I ask because you put a similar limit on OG Game Boy.

 

[2+2=5]

The amiga isn't listed but i put it anyway with random positions, the amiga had games like:

1)Frontier Elite 2(no man's sky in 1993 in 2 disks of 720kb)
2)Dune 2(invented the RTS genre)
3)Sim City(do i have to comment?)
4)Monkey island 2(and most of the best Lucasarts adventure games, Monkey island 1, indiana jones, maniac mansion, loom and others)
5)Robocop 3(not very famous but it's probably one of the most advanced games EVER)
6)Dungeon master and similar
7)lemmings(worms and others)
8)ufo/xcom
9)speedball 2
10)turrican 2

and many others...

 

[Celine]

I was a sega kid back then and though I've played some of the SNES' standouts since then, I feel my list wouldn't be fair.

OP is asking for your personal Top 10 list not for what you think should be the "correct" or "perfect" Top 10 list.
Especially because making a fair Top 10 list is impossible with all the systems presented in OP (too few spots!!!).

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Pretty much how threads about this era go on GAF. People mostly list the stuff they managed to get their hands on in their youth without having done much research. Admittedly, US SNES had one of the greatest launch windows of all time which means great stuff was readily available to cheap, uninformed parents of the era which skews the results quite a bit...

Shout outs to the guy leading with Demon's Crest since that list is front loaded with interesting choices.

EDIT: unique stuff from piggychan and Shambalakan based on your 1 and 3 I think we just became best friends.

I am not putting Zelda: LTTP as Ive never played it.

To put not just that, but every great title we've never played on the list is shooting in the dark, and renders the list shooting in the dark.

Also, the final tally and the entries are to clue others in on underappreciated/unknown classics, same as the SOTY/GOTY/SOTG votes.

 

[tav7623]

1.Castlevania Bloodlines; This game is imo an underrated 16 bit gem due in part to it's odd story that sees parts of the Bram Stoker novel incorporated into the game's main canon.

2. Streets of Rage 2; This game is without question one of if not THE best beat em up to come out this generation.

3. X-Men 2: Clone Wars; This game was, imo, the first X-Men game to get Wolverine right and it was an awesome game to boot with a killer soundtrack.

4. Super Metroid
5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
7. Mortal Kombat 2
8. Aladdin (Genesis)
9. Mega Man X
10. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

x. Shinobi 3
x. Mega Man 2 (Gameboy)
x. Earthworm Jim 2 (Genesis)
x. Super Castlevania IV
x. Super Mario World

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Do we have links to the previous awards?

 

[KevinCow]

SMFH

It's true. There's not a single game on the Genesis that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one game in the same genre on the SNES. The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Aladdin as a standout classic of the Genesis library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

 

[Phediuk]

It's true. There's not a single game on the Genesis that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one game in the same genre on the SNES. The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Aladdin as a standout classic of the Genesis library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

This is quite possibly the worst post I've ever seen on Neogaf.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

This is quite possibly the worst post I've ever seen on Neogaf.

There's not a single post on Neogaf that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one post in the vein on GameFAQs The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Shot yourself in the foot, as a standout classic of the Neogaf library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

 

[redcrayon]

It's true. There's not a single game on the Genesis that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one game in the same genre on the SNES. The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Aladdin as a standout classic of the Genesis library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

Which scrolling fighter 'easily outclasses' Streets of Rage 2? I mean, sure, there's personal preference over some of them (I quite liked the Turtles and Final Fight games), but I can't think of any on the SNES that 'easily outclass' it. My brother and I pretty much played most of them in co-op and thought SoR 2 was at least top tier.

 

[Phediuk]

Which scrolling fighter 'easily outclasses' Streets of Rage 2? I mean, sure, there's personal preference over some of them (I quite liked the Turtles and Final Fight games), but I can't think of any on the SNES that 'easily outclass' it. My brother and I pretty much played most of them in co-op and thought SoR 2 was at least top tier.

I'd also like to know which SNES shmup "easily outclassses" Thunder Force 4, or which run-and-gun "easily outclasses" Gunstar Heroes and Contra Hard Corps.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

"sega duz wut nintendont" amirite?

 

[KevinCow]

Which scrolling fighter 'easily outclasses' Streets of Rage 2? I mean, sure, there's personal preference over some of them (I quite liked the Turtles and Final Fight games), but I can't think of any on the SNES that 'easily outclass' it. My brother and I pretty much played most of them in co-op and thought SoR 2 was at least top tier.

Tbh I didn't even think of Final Fight style brawlers because I frankly consider pretty much the entire genre to be awful. They were fun when I was a kid and played them on arcade machines at Pizza Hut with my brother, but on examination, they're pretty simplistic games that rely on frustrating bullshit that's impossible to pass legit without cheesing to have any sort of challenge.

So I don't really care if Streets of Rage or Final Fight is better. They're both bad games in 2016.

The one exception I'll make is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

I'd also like to know which SNES shmup "easily outclassses" Thunder Force 4, or which run-and-gun "easily outclasses" Gunstar Heroes and Contra Hard Corps.

I don't play shmups or Contra, but I thought Gunstar Heroes was terrible.

 

[Phediuk]

So I don't really care if Streets of Rage or Final Fight is better. They're both bad games in 2016.

I don't play shmups or Contra, but I thought Gunstar Heroes was terrible.

So not only are you moving the goalposts, but you're also issuing blanket dismissals of genres you don't play.

truly a post for the ages.

 

[Firemind]

I will try to put a vote for Wonderboy in Monster World if I can. It's like Zelda 2 and I enjoyed it more than A Link to the Past. Yes you heard me.

 

[redcrayon]

Tbh I didn't even think of Final Fight style brawlers because I frankly consider pretty much the entire genre to be awful. They were fun when I was a kid and played them on arcade machines at Pizza Hut with my brother, but on examination, they're pretty simplistic games that rely on frustrating bullshit that's impossible to pass legit without cheesing to have any sort of challenge.

So I don't really care if Streets of Rage or Final Fight is better. They're both bad games in 2016.

The one exception I'll make is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.



I don't play shmups or Contra, but I thought Gunstar Heroes was terrible.

Wow. So your statement that every game on the megadrive is outclassed by a game in the same genre on the SNES is qualified by
A) this doesn't include entire genres you don't play.
B) this doesn't include entire genres you don't like.

So your initial sweeping statement was very wrong then. Fair enough.

 

[neohwa]

1. Anime wrestling; Great looking art, awesome music, deep and involving simulation gameplay. Also no one else will vote for this game.

2. Wrestle angels; Share the same timeline and characters as the above game, you simulate the whole company operations instead of just one character. Not as good graphics and music though. I love simulation games so I vote for these two.

 

[Melchiah]

What Platforms Count?
Commodore CDTV

So, I take it, that Amiga 500 counts?

 

[Voysa Reezun]

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2; This is a perfect game. Soundtrack is perfect, sprites are beautiful, backgrounds are varied and lovely to look at, the spin dash really upgrades the gameplay and the platforming and speed are mixed together nicely. The only downside is the ease of difficulty, but this is such a blast that I don't think it matters.
2. Street Fighter 2; When I thought about this list, I realized that I had to add SF2 this high because of all the quarters I spent on it and all the hours I poured into it on SNES. I had the vanilla cart (and still do!) and I am surprised that I didn't wear it out. This game really kickstarted my love of fighting games that I'm far worse at than everyone else.
3. Ristar ; Secretly the best game you've never played, with a killer OST to boot.
4. NHL '94 ; Holy shit, remember when EA wasn't garbage at developing sports games? NHL '94 (on the Genesis, people) has a claim to being the GOAT sports game of all-time. ALL-TIME. There were fights! The gameplay was slick and high-speed! The siren going off at each goal got you pumped!
5. Super Mario Land 2 ; It's the most interesting Mario platformer ever, certainly. It's so different from its predecessors. It still looks great even today, too! It's another easy game, but it's so fun to travel this weird world that it doesn't really matter.
6. NBA Jam ; As someone who has blacklisted the NBA from his viewing, picking Payton and Kemp and killing fools back in the day was my thing. When it came to SNES, I think I rented it about twenty times in a row as soon as it came out. This game is one of the two greatest arcade-style sports games along with Tecmo Super Bowl. It will end lower than it should on this list.
7. Super Mario Kart; This is the first racing game that I actually cared about and enjoyed after years of not liking any of them (though I was dead wrong about Outrun and my adult self admits it).
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time: GOAT beat-em-up? Maybe.
9. The Adventures of Batman and Robin (SNES) ; It is the second-best Batman game ever and, for a huge fan of the cartoon as a kid (and even now), it's a joy. The combat is fairly varied, the platforming is solid, and there are puzzles and even a little car combat too. segment. Everything that this game does works. Fantastic OST, too.
10. WWF Wrestlefest; I wanted to save the tenth spot for a game that I really love that won't get many, or any, votes. This would be it - an arcade game that ate my quarters, a game that aged wonderfully because of its beautiful sprites, a game that in its purest form is fun. This is a top three WWF wrestling game ever and just a wonderful example of a great arcade game.

x. Tetris ; I had to list it somewhere as an all-time great game; it's just not something that I can place on the list beyond some of the other stuff that I've added. .
x. SimCity; Just a great game that needs representation here for its importance to the city-building genre.
x. Super Metroid ; It's a game that wouldn't be on my personal top ten list, but almost NEEDS to be here for being such a perfect form of the type of game that it is. There's a reason that it names an actual subgenre of games.
x. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie ; This is secretly an AWESOME beat-em-up with foreground/background play that is intriguing and some fun bosses. More people should appreciate this game.
x. Plok ; Creative platformer with great tunes.
x. Super Mario World ; Obligatory - it has a really fun system of hidden worlds, too, that really makes exploration enjoyable.
x. Super Punch-Out!! ; A heck of an arcade game as well as a strong (and different from the others) Punch-Out!! entry.
x. Mega Man 7 ; I like it better than X, and I love X.
x. Comix Zone ; Amazing game and soundtrack; the environment manipulation to move through the game or find weapons was nice as well.
x. Road Rash 2; One of the best vehicle combat games ever.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening; I actually had this higher than Mario Kart on the best Nintendo games list, I believe, but on this list, I realized that I just played Mario Kart more. I think LA is better than Kart as a game, but I just chose to split the difference.
x. Sunset Riders: Other than Turtles in Time, maybe the greatest four-player co-op arcade game of all time, unless that pluadit goes to...
x. The Simpsons (Arcade): Another fantastic beat'em'up four player game. Konami was on fire at this point, rest that company's soul.

 

[kunonabi]

US here

1. Super Metroid; Best of it's kind. Beat it constantly during my cross country move
2. Final Fantasy IV; The game that made me finally stop hating rpgs.
3. Final Fantasy VI; Storytelling was just amazing and the atmosphere was perfect.
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; Most perfectly balanced Zelda game
5. Mega Man X2; really enjoyed the level design and approach to the armor pieces
6. Actraiser; great mix of genres, excellent music, loved the writing too
7. Shining Force II; The game that got me into SRPGS. loved the old school anime look
8. Castlevania Bloodlines; Best Castlevania game from the period.
9. Tetris Battle Gaiden[SFC]; Character abilities and engine options = best tetris game
10. Flashback[GEN]; Favorite cinematic platformer. Loved the look, puzzles, and every action had a real punch to it

 

[Celine]

So, I take it, that Amiga 500 counts?

I think for "PC" he means "Computers".

This is quite possibly the worst post I've ever seen on Neogaf.

Run Saber >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Strider

Spoiler

I don't need to say I'm joking, right? Run Saber is actually a decent action game.

 

[kamineko]

1. Final Fantasy VI ; My favorite even amidst a golden age of favorites. Expanded my expectations what a console RPG could deliver in terms of scope and emotional resonance.
2. Dragon Quest V ; I played this late, on an emulator, with a fan translation. Totally worth the trouble, what an incredible game.
3. Chrono Trigger ; outshines FF VI in places, a very thoughtful, well-planned game with great time-travel problems to overcome.
4. X-Wing ; so damn good, even today
6. Super Metroid ; RIP
5. Mega Man X ; I can't believe how many playthroughs this got out of me.
6. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers ; Sierra at its high point
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Street Fighter II ; this game was so pervasive you had a main, even if you weren't into fighters. At least, that's how it was in the little university town where I lived. I sucked at fighters, but still could do all of Chun-Li's moves
9. Super Mario RPG ; we ought to try this again sometime! >_>
10. Might and Magic World of Xeen

 

[Celine]

9. The Adventures of Batman and Robin ; It is the second-best Batman game ever and, for a huge fan of the cartoon as a kid (and even now), it's a joy. The combat is fairly varied, the platforming is solid, and there are puzzles and even a little car combat too. segment. Everything that this game does works. Fantastic OST, too.

You should really specify the version in this case.
SNES, Mega Drive and Mega CD versions are all very different.

 

[Voysa Reezun]

You should really specify the version in this case.
SNES, Mega Drive and Mega CD versions are all very different.

You're right. Will do. Thanks!

 

[redcrayon]

1.Castlevania Bloodlines; This game is imo an underrated 16 bit gem due in part to it's odd story that sees parts of the Bram Stoker novel incorporated into the game's main canon.

2. Streets of Rage 2; This game is without question one of if not THE best beat em up to come out this generation.

3. X-Men 2: Clone Wars; This game was, imo, the first X-Men game to get Wolverine right and it was an awesome game to boot with a killer soundtrack.

4. Super Metroid
5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
7. Mortal Kombat 2
8. Aladdin (Genesis)
9. Mega Man X
10. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

x. Shinobi 3
x. Mega Man 2 (Gameboy)
x. Earthworm Jim 2 (Genesis)
x. Super Castlevania IV
x. Super Mario World

Really? To each their own I suppose! I quite liked it at the time but felt that, of the GB MM games, II was the weakest. Very easy.

 

[Morfeo]

Tbh I didn't even think of Final Fight style brawlers because I frankly consider pretty much the entire genre to be awful. They were fun when I was a kid and played them on arcade machines at Pizza Hut with my brother, but on examination, they're pretty simplistic games that rely on frustrating bullshit that's impossible to pass legit without cheesing to have any sort of challenge.

So I don't really care if Streets of Rage or Final Fight is better. They're both bad games in 2016.

The one exception I'll make is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.



I don't play shmups or Contra, but I thought Gunstar Heroes was terrible.

Lol, its fine that you dont care for those genres, but that doesnt mean the Snes "easily outclass" anything on the Mega Drive. The Mega Drive has amazing games in those genres, but also some fantastic plattformers, rpgs, strategy-games and action-games. It really has a well rounded library that imo is only surpassed by the Nes and Snes. One of the all time great video game consoles.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

This gen had the most consoles at one time. We'll never see this again.

 

[galvatron]

I am not putting Zelda: LTTP as Ive never played it.

To put not just that, but every great title we've never played on the list is shooting in the dark, and renders the list shooting in the dark.

Also, the final tally and the entries are to clue others in on underappreciated/unknown classics, same as the SOTY/GOTY/SOTG votes.

Maybe my phrasing was a little awkward...By "not having done much research" I mean that reviews did not play into what games many posters purchased for the systems in question, and rather they got games based mostly on which one system they owned, name recognition, and random gifts. I theorize that this leads to many similar lists in similar threads.

Also, there's been plenty of time to get a wider sampling of the games of this era, but in discussion threads it would seem most have not gone back and played the things that are highly regarded that they missed to form an opinion...Like if people in the other 16-bit threads said "now that I've finished Contra: Hard Corps, I can honestly say Alien Wars was better" then fair enough. I had just the opposite experience where I grew up thinking Contra 3 was the gold standard and then played Gunstar Heroes, Adventures of Batman and Robin (genesis) and Contra: Hard Corps which made me realize that I was missing out. I grew up playing only Nintendo systems from NES to N64, but I read about all of the consoles in their day and now prefer Genesis and Neo Geo for my retro gaming.

To stay on topic, and provide more variety while restricting myself to 1995 releases at the latest that I'd play again today:

1. Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis)

This might be my favorite genesis game or at least one of my favorite experiences with the console. Going from "this seems absolutely impossible" to 1 credit clear was super satisfying. The game pulls no punches right from the start and being stuck on stage 1 for multiple play sessions is completely normal. One of the best looking home run-n-guns you can get and not too expensive, last I checked.

2. Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)

On the one hand, I'm usually not a fan of overly powerful protagonists in shooters or plaftormers, but Gunstar strikes a pretty good balance here. You can jump kick, shoulder tackle, block, and catch enemy grenades and throw them back. Like Contra 3, you can hold 2 weapons at once, but unlike that game you can actually switch to a hybrid of the 2 guns you're holding in addition to firing them individually. Great boss fights, unique presentation like the pictured boss rush, and even a board game make this a pretty unique run-n-gun.

Once you've mastered normal mode, expert mode offers an interesting challenge. It does still resort to "everyone takes more damage" as a way of increasing difficulty, but navigating those constraints is often more complicated than just shooting them longer as the greatly reduced the efficacy of certain weapons and special moves eliminate many safe strategies for breezing through the game. Also, you now have to beat all 7 forms of Sevenforce to win the fight instead of 5 chosen at random on Normal. A fun game and a sentimental favorite as I was really considering that video games just weren't for me anymore when Gunstar Heroes showed me that I had just been playing the wrong types of games.

3. World Heroes Perfect (Neo Geo)

No, I'm not nostalgic nor am I kidding. The first 2 world heroes games are understandably derivative, clunky affairs that would make most people give up on the series. World Heroes Jet wasn't bad, but World Heroes Perfect is legitimately good at a casual level and downright cutthroat at the competitive level...think of it as a more grounded Marvel vs Capcom, with the occasional aerial-centric character like Brocken who can jump, drop a bomb, fly to your other side and continue pressure. It's also the first game where I saw guard drop attacks, roman cancels, and back-throw into super combos which appear in later fighting games. Adam Heart of the Xbox One Killer Instinct team has praised the game for it's character variety and lamented how overlooked it is. It was my fighter of choice for a couple of years, so I also highly recommend it.

4. Lightning Force (Genesis)

Love this game. Some of the best graphics, parallax, and music on the system and a great shooter by non-bullet hell standards. It took a while for me to warm up to this one since it was hard to see some of the nuances on my first genesis, which was a Nomad, so I didn't make much progress until I could discern that blue explosions mean no damage and red explosions on impact mean damage. It's the kind of game that makes it hard to other horizontal shmups...for instance, I tried playing Steredenn and had a "why am I playing this instead of lightning force" moment and haven't gotten back around to that one. Shaming games made 20 years later...it's that good.

5. TMNT: Tournament Fighters (SNES)

During the fighting game drought between the release of Capcom Fighting Evolution and the release of Street Fighter 4, this game got a bit of a grassroots revival from team spooky of Evolution Championships streaming fame. Before Arturo Sanchez spent his days lamenting Dhalsim and rose's bad match ups he did match breakdowns for this obscure console only fighting game with a fairly unique cast of characters. Drawing more heavily from the rogue's gallery of the TMNT comic book, players got to see Armaggon, Chrome Dome, and War for the first time on a game console. Another one that's fun on a casual level and holds up to competitive play, if you're not too salty about losing to chip damage as supers build slowly, but some can win a round even if they're blocked. A unique experience, which again, has fly-unfly combos before they were cool.

6. Gaiares (Genesis)

Had my eye on this one ever since Gamepro gave it a perfect score in all categories. Hard as nails space shooter that avoids being as memorization reliant as R-type while being more forgiving of continues than Gradius. The aspect that sets its gameplay apart from most other shooters is the ability to steal weapons from enemies if you can harpoon them with your ship's option. Repeatedly stealing the same weapon powers up that gun to its maximum, so every time you dispatch your option you had better do so with a plan in mind. A great looking game, in any era as well.

7. Donkey Kong '94 (GB/ Super GB)

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MKyI8nR.jpg[/IMG]

The original donkey kong game updated and reimagined as a puzzle platformer and one of the best of its kind, at that. Mario, is back to saving Pauline while collecting her parasol, purse, and hat while using new acrobatic moves. I forget how many stages there are, but I do remember having multiple completed save files for this one which is something I think I last did in a mario game back when Mario 64 was the sole reason I had an N64.

8. Super Bomberman (SNES)

I see where Mega Bomberman is simpler to control and supports a 5th player, but I spent a lot more time with Super and haven't found a stage better than it's flower zone...Super Bomberman 5 is also great.

9. M.U.S.H.A. (Genesis)

I'm a long time fan of the Aleste series, and Compile in general, and this game shows their typical shooter competence with some out-of-the-ordinary themes. I haven't quite seen a shmup with so many non-lethal penalties as M.U.S.H.A. since you can lose your gun pods and power down a weapon without actually dying. It makes the game seem pretty forgiving even though there's plenty of danger at any given moment. The soundtrack is also stellar and the samurai armor inspired mechs are a nice change of pace from the plain old space ships in other games in the series, like Space Mega Force.

10. Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis)

Best contra with the possible exception of shattered soldier. Tons of branching levels, 4 selectable characters, high difficult while being the most fair entry in the series thanks to the invincible slide tackle. Honestly, this would go higher if I cared to reorder the list...

x. Castlevania: Bloodlines
x. Mega Man X
x. Gleylancer
x. Super Mario World
x. Secret of Mana
x. Grind Stormer
x. Link's Awakening
x. Demon's Crest
x. Streets of Rage 2
x. Weaponlord
x. Illusion of Gaia
x. Beyond Oasis
x. Elemental Master
x. Tiny Toons: Buster's Hidden Treasure
x. Rocket Knight Adventures
x. Earthworm Jim
x. Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse
x. Goof Troop
x. Crusader of Centy
x. Windjammers
x. Samurai Shodown 2

post '95 Neo Geo

x. Blazing Star
x. Bust a move again
x. Metal Slug 3
x. Magical Drop 2/3
x. Money Puzzle Exchanger
x. Real Bout Fatal Fury and RBFF Special
x. The Last Blade 1 + 2
x. Garou: Mark of the Wolves

 

[AniHawk]

Agreed, I had a hard time choosing which one to add. I chose World Warrior because it was truly the most important one, and highest selling one (and the one I played to death), but it will likely split with Turbo and they will cancel each other.

i will probably just do like sonic 3 and knuckles with it and have it pool together under the street fighter ii banner but count the separate versions.

Anihawk, are the Neo Geo games limited until 1995 releases?
I ask because you put a similar limit on OG Game Boy.

it is not. i think the game boy had a significant influence on the industry and the fifth generation while the neo geo was a fourth gen system that ran for a long time, like the super famicom.

 

[Morfeo]

i will probably just do like sonic 3 and knuckles with it and have it pool together under the street fighter ii banner but count the separate versions.

Perfect solution.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

It's true. There's not a single game on the Genesis that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one game in the same genre on the SNES. The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Aladdin as a standout classic of the Genesis library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

...................................

thatsbait.gif?

 

[Poimandres]

It's true. There's not a single game on the Genesis that wasn't easily outclassed by at least one game in the same genre on the SNES. The fact that people point to absolute garbage like Aladdin as a standout classic of the Genesis library speaks volumes to how sad the system's library really is.

I think the Mega Drive had better brawlers and shmups at the very least.

I will also add that there are far too many SNES and Mega Drive only lists in this thread, ignoring the amazing stuff that was happening on PC's and in arcades at the time (not to mention the other platforms!). Feels bad.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

This gen had the most consoles at one time. We'll never see this again.

Yeah, that generation was an odd one; the first 3 (MD/Genesis, SFC/SNES, PCE/TG16) were largely iterative upgrades on the Gen 3 mold (arcade in your home! double the GRAFIX!!!, etc) but the optical media and budding 3D forms hurdled into the mix shortly after launch period settled leading to some real wierdness. Even Gen 7's notorious about-faces in the face of HD, on-line, AAA vs Indie, digital, rising and falling regions, etc wasn't that abrupt nor in the face of so much viable (or obviously not unviable from a glance) competition.

...................................

thatsbait.gif?

 

[MineralCraver420]

1. Super Metroid; This game refined a solid franchise into an all time classic. The pacing, level design, and atmosphere have been often copied, but never topped. A near-flawless game.
2. Super Mario World; This game is the peak of the linear 2D platformer genre. Superb level design, smooth gameplay, and clever secrets solidify this game's legendary status.
3. Streets of Rage 2; I don't even like the side scrolling beat-em-up genre, and this is still one of my favourite games ever made. The best soundtrack of its generation mixes with simple, yet deceptively deep brawling action in a game that usually takes me an hour to beat, but keeps me coming back on a regular basis.
4. Doom; It says a lot about how good this game is that most modern shooters cannot hold a candle to this game's fast paced gameplay and metal-influenced style.
5. Final Fantasy VI; An epic of storytelling scope and grandeur that most games cannot even approach. Most games would kill to have even one setpiece as good as those in this game, let alone the dozen or so memorable moments this game has.
6. Chrono Trigger; Where Final Fantasy VI delivered a collosal epic, Chrono Trigger delivered a smaller, yet just as ambitious game with a variety of settings and eras. The focus and relatively short length is a shining example for a JRPG genre that too often indulges in overlong spectacles without narrative or gameplay justification.
7. Sonic 3+ Knuckles; With Sonic as a franchise under intense scrutiny and criticism after an influx of poorly made shovelware, this game is one of the few that doesn't suffer under the magnifying glass of criticism. A game that both delivers in polished spectacle and quality platforming.
8. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island; A game that feels closer to the collectathon platformers of the generation that followed it to its peers, this game almost feels ahead of its time. The aesthetic has aged well, and the gameplay is still a refined and original take on the genre.
9. Super Castlevania IV; This game is just fun to control. The whip's many attack options render the secondary items obsolete, though it's hard to care when the game is this responsive and fun.
10. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; Zelda games have topped almost every individual aspect of this game, but few games in the series are such a coherent whole.

 

[Yoshi]

there will not. it was tried a few years back as part of a general 80s vote and had few responses.

Would you be fine with me doing a voting thread using your template for gen 3? Or maybe for gen 1-3, considering the participation here and my anticipation that the older gens will be even less popular around here. I feel it's strange that so many people say they know so few games from gen 4 because of age, since old games don't stop existing the moment a generation ends and the SNES/MD generation in particular was the point where 2D gaming was more or less perfected, so there is a lot of stuff where you cannot get considerably better alternatives in more recent generation. I'd argue it's one of the generations most essential to play later on if you love video games but happen to be born too late for it (case in point: My first owned home console was the N64, which I wouldn't consider anywhere close to this essential). Considering Virtual Console and the incredible-value Mega Drive Collection for PS360, this is also supremely easy to do.

 

[Morfeo]

Would you be fine with me doing a voting thread using your template for gen 3? Or maybe for gen 1-3, considering the participation here and my anticipation that the older gens will be even less popular around here. I feel it's strange that so many people say they know so few games from gen 4 because of age, since old games don't stop existing the moment a generation ends and the SNES/MD generation in particular was the point where 2D gaming was more or less perfected, so there is a lot of stuff where you cannot get considerably better alternatives in more recent generation. I'd argue it's one of the generations most essential to play later on if you love video games but happen to be born too late for it (case in point: My first owned home console was the N64, which I wouldn't consider anywhere close to this essential). Considering Virtual Console and the incredible-value Mega Drive Collection for PS360, this is also supremely easy to do.

Great post!

 

[MacTag]

it is not. i think the game boy had a significant influence on the industry and the fifth generation while the neo geo was a fourth gen system that ran for a long time, like the super famicom.

Neo Geo was just a consolized arcade board, not so much a fourth gen console with a long lifecycle. It should really fall under arcade time period rules or else all contemporary arcade boards should fall under the same entire lifecycle rule (CPS1/2, System16/32, etc). It makes no sense for Garou or Last Blade to be eligible while DarkStalkers or SFA aren't.

 

[Jucksalbe]

1. Super Metroid; Great level design with a creepy atmosphere. Non-linear structure allows for a lot of replays with different routes.
2. Final Fantasy 5; Great music and a job system that allows for very different playthroughs. There's a lot to find beneath the surface of this game.
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; The Zelda series' formula perfected.
4. Super Mario Kart; Great track design, and enemy AI that's so stupid that it's incredibly fun to manipulate.
5. Terranigma; A very dark and rather weird RPG that deals with themes most games even nowadays avoid.
6. Ys Book I & II; Incredibly fast gameplay and an amazing soundtrack.
7. Super Mario World; Perfect controls, very good level design that's easily broken, which makes replays all the more fun.
8. Secret of Mana; Wonderful soundtrack and nice graphics. Fun battle system and the option to play an RPG with three players. A bit buggy, though.
9. King's Quest IV; Adventure game with a world built on many different fairy tales. Good game to get lost in.
10. Wonderboy in Monster World; Bright and colorful take on the Zelda/Metroid formula.

x. Sonic 1; The one good game in the franchise.
x. Monkey Island; Seriously clever and funny adventure game.
x. Day of the Tentacle; Design-wise it might not have been as impressive as its predecessor (that sadly is from 1987 and therefore doesn't qualify), but nevertheless it's an unusually well constructed adventure game with some very funny scenes.
x. Mystic Quest Legend; See, that's how you make an RPG that's all about having some fun. If you take this game seriously, it's your own fault.
x. Mega Man X; Different take on the Mega Man series, that's a great game in its own right, but also the start of some very wrong decision for the franchise.
x. Mystic Quest (Final Fantasy Adventure); Square's take on a Zelda-like adventure game on the Game Boy. Probably has the best soundtrack on the system.
x. Link's Awakening; Nintendo's try at a Game Boy Zelda with some rather whacky characters.
x. Chrono Trigger; An RPG that trimmed the fat.
x. Donkey Kong Country 2; Great platformer with a lot of variety.
x. Super Street Fighter 2; Revolutionized the fighting genre, the "Super" iteration also added some great new characters.
x. Axelay; Probably the best shooter on the SNES, nice variety in level design.
x. Tetris (Game Boy); It literally got everyone and their mom to play on the Game Boy, fit perfectly with the system.
x. Lemmings; Clever puzzle game that gives you the joy of killing all those little creatures that fucked up your genius plan.
x. Plok; Fun platformer with a unique twist that gets a bit to hard toward the end, though.
x. Hero's Quest (Quest for Glory); A good blend between RPG and adventure game. Can sometimes be a bit frustrating to find new clues.
x. Harvest Moon; Good attempt at an easy to play simulation game. A bit low on content.
x. International Superstar Soccer Deluxe; The best sports game of the generation.
x. The Lost Vikings; Interesting setting, that's hilariously stupid. Great puzzle game, can be a bit frustrating, though.
x. Donkey Kong '94; Clever extension of the Donkey Kong gameplay.
x. Kirby's Dreamland; Simple, easy, but a joy to play.
x. Loom; A very different apporach to adventure games. A bit strange, a bit unfair, but it's so different it deserves the praise.
x. R-Type II; Great shooting game, very challenging, but a lot of fun to play.
x. Streets of Rage II; The one side-scrolling fighting game that I actually really enjoy (after I replayed it a short while ago...).
x. F-Zero; Great racing game, held back a bit by its rather limited number of tracks, the missing two player option and a restricted Time Trial mode.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

1. Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past; It turned out to be the final evolution of Zelda from 1986-2016 for a good reason - even today it remains unmatched in its field, with well designed dungeons, a superb overworld full of secrets and a surprising amount of freedom of choice as to how you take on the dungeons.
2. Super Metroid ; A perfect game.
3. Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening ; Takes the Zelda 3 framework and wraps a surreal, dreamlike feel around it making for the most atmospheric handheld title I've ever played.
4. Chrono Trigger ; Great story, incredible music (At the End of Time is one of the greatest gaming BGM's ever) fun battle system that takes enemy position into account when attacking, and best of all, one of the first - and easily the best - New Game+, which lets you complete the game in lots of different ways. Does so many innovative things RPG's for the past twenty years could have done with apeing but for some bizarre reason it hardly ever happens.
5. Prince of Persia (SNES) ; An incredible Japanese port of one of the finest games ever made that even Jordan Mechner took note of (and used as reference for his deluxe mac version). Double the number of levels, new enemies, traps and a blowout final boss.
6. Story of Thor ; The best non zelda arpg ever made, with a distinctly arcadeish feel and fantastic weapon/summon system. *note for ani - this was called Beyond Oasis in the US*
7. Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis ; The greatest point & click game ever made. Three distinct paths, multiple puzzle solutions, superb voice acting on lucasarts first try and outstanding dialogue
8. Monkey Island 2 ; trims all the fat of the original, increases the size of the game and is a funnier and more enjoyable experience
9. Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder ; The greatest scrolling beat'em'up ever made. Took waaay too much of my money
10. Metal Marines ; Excessively addictive base to base combat rts with giant mechs. SNES version is fun (and was the first way I played), but if you have the technical nonce, get the pc version, create a virtual machine of windows somewhere from 3.1-XP, and enjoy the sight of missiles going across your desktop from window to winow!

 

[djtiesto]

1. Super Mario RPG
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Super Mario World
4. Kirby Super Star
5. Donkey Kong Country 2
6. Super Metroid
7. Final Fantasy 6
8. Final Fantasy 4
9. Yoshi's Island
10. Star Fox

Sega genesis had no exclusive games that interested me at all.

You obviously like RPGs from your avatar and list, so you mean the Shining Force and Phantasy Star games don't interest you? Crusader of Centy? Landstalker? Warsong?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

You obviously like RPGs from your avatar and list, so you mean the Shining Force and Phantasy Star games don't interest you? Crusader of Centy? Landstalker? Warsong?

And Beyond Oasis, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Ristar, Shinobi III...

 

[timetokill]

And Beyond Oasis, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Ristar, Shinobi III...

I've had just about enough of your Beyond Oasis promoting, miss!

Honestly as a Genesis only owner during that gen, I wanted that game to be better than LttP. It's was a good game but nowhere near LttP's level.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I've had just about enough of your Beyond Oasis promoting, miss!

Honestly as a Genesis only owner during that gen, I wanted that game to be better than LttP. It's was a good game but nowhere near LttP's level.

I disagree. I liked it more than LttP. Far superior combat, and I preferred the art style, story, enemy and world design, as well as its elemental mechanics for combat and puzzles. The only downside is that it's really short.

 

[SOME-MIST]

1. Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge ; I'm a big LucasArts fanboy and Monkey Island 2 is the title of the golden era of point and click adventures. My personal favorite is Grim Fandango, but Monkey Island 2 would be the runner up. Great puzzles, environments, characters, and humorous dialogue create the perfect package.
2. Thunder Dragon 2 / Big Bang ; I absolutely love the announcer ("Hey buddy, you are the piece of cake"). great balls to the wall shoot 'em up that requires you to run perfectly through the game without dying. the main scoring is by hoarding 8 bombs, spawning another bomb, and using a bomb to max out your bomb stock at 8 again. Other forms of scoring would be by killing enemies/letters at the beginning of the level fast enough to spawn bonus scoring items.
3. Dimahoo / Great Mahou Daisakusen ; another great shoot 'em up that includes item collection and ikarauga-esque polarity mechanics that pre-dates even ikaruga. many refer to this game as the first to introduce polarity mechanics to the genre. difficult to clear and blisteringly difficult to complete which gives it much replayability.
4. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle ;
5. Contra 3: The Alien Wars ;
6. EarthBound ;
7. Out Zone ;
8. Flying Shark / Hishozame ;
9. Donkey Kong Country 2 ;
10. Magician Lord ;

x. Fire Shark / Same! Same! Same
x. FixEight
x. Streets of Rage 2
x. Chrono Trigger
x. Summer Carnival '92: Recca
x. Gun Frontier
x. Wild Guns

 

[guyssorry]

1. The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past ; Best Zelda game (item variety, length, dungeons, world exploration, freedom, music, etc.) and game of all-time
2. Final Fantasy VI ; Greatest RPG I have ever played. Best game OST. One of the most cinematic games ever, despite being 2D and on the SNES. Wonderful cast of characters. Just an incredible experience. Also, I view the final battle and ending as the high point/apex of the history of games (yes, it is that good)
3. Chrono Trigger; I first played this in 2003 (I was 13), WELL AFTER I had played games like OOT/FF7/half-life/Deus Ex, etc., but this game absolutely DESTROYED everything else I had played in quality. I have never been so mesmerized with a game. The transition to Zeal made me appreciate the importance of aesthetics (sound/visual quality). Anyway, this is probably the most well-paced, filler-less RPG ever. Add to that a charming cast, 2nd or 3rd best OST in a game, Magus, beautiful visuals and sound, nice side-quests, NG+, etc. A masterpiece.
4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest; The best 2d platformer of that era (and arguably all-time). Aesthetics are through the roof (hauntingly beautiful visuals and soundtrack. IMO, the most improved sequel ever, since DKC1 was so mediocre. Very fun game with incredible worlds and a fair level of challenge.
5. Super Mario World ; Not much needs to be said. A platforming masterpiece that will still be a joy to play 50 years from now.
6. Super Metroid ; The level design and connectedness, sense of isolation/desolation yet optimism, aesthetics, etc. even today, it all seems way, way, way ahead of its time. Another 10/10 masterpiece.
7. Seiken Densetsu 3; A brilliant, joy-to-play ARPG. One of the best soundtracks in gaming. Choosing a specific main character and having that decision affect the games progression was very unique and fun. In addition, for its time, this is one of the best looking games ever made (still looks beautiful). Local co-op is just an added, yet excellent bonus.
8. Terranigma ; Yet another excellent RPG. Great story, gameplay, world progression, music, visuals, bosses, etc. Just a fantastic, fun-to-play title.
9. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars ; IMO, one of the most underrappreciated games/rpgs ever. Yes, it is not as deep as other games, but so what? It is a very fun, beautiful, expressive game with a very welcoming, unique spin on the Mario universe. Also, very replayable due to its linear, filler-free nature. Wonderful music and visuals, too.
10. Final Fantasy IV ; Similar to SMRPG, I find this game does not receive enough respect. Again, not as deep as later games, but it does offer a wonderful, streamlined game that has one of the best game OSTs and pacing of any rpg. As time passes, I find myself coming back to this game very, very frequently to escape the waaayyy-too-in-depth nature of nearly every single RPG that is released nowadays.

I wish I could list more, but hey, only 10 are allowed. To me, the SNES is by far the greatest console ever, so I am glad to have made this list.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I just realized I somehow left out Gunstar Heroes from my list (an honourable mention due to lack of space, but still!). I feel awful and rectified this immediately.

 

[Morfeo]

I just realized I somehow left out Gunstar Heroes from my list (an honourable mention due to lack of space, but still!). I feel awful and rectified this immediately.

Ten games just isnt enough for this amazing gen.