1. Super Metroid ; An absolute masterpiece, the Metroid series defined its own genre and Super Metroid is the pinnacle of that very same genre. From the foreboding introduction monologue until the very last moment, this game manages to maintain an eerie atmosphere while you explore the planet Zebes, filled with ruins and alien species. The sense of discovery is one of its crowning achievements, giving the player the ability to explore branching paths, grow stronger with a variety of power-ups, and retrace your steps to uncover your next destination. Super Metroid's story is all expressed through visual story telling, and more than anything does it keep the feeling of dread going throughout the adventure. One of if not the best title this generation of games, but also my absolute favorite game of all time, it keeps me coming back year after year until the day I die.
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ; All of the praise this title gets is within reason, it set a standard to how Zelda games in the future were structured in a good way, as ALTTP embodies to me what a heroes quest is all about. Its this sense of adventure that I adore from this series and this game in particular is a standout title in terms of quality on the system. ALTTP introduced a lot of what would become staples in Link's arsenal such as the hookshot, and these tools are used in creative ways for puzzle solving, something we've seen before in Zelda 1 and 2 but not to the degree that this game's puzzles and dungeons are laid out. This game can only be described as a timeless classic that everyone should play within their lifetime.
3. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood ; Out of the three console Castlevania games that were released this generation, Rondo of Blood is a standout achievement in the series to me as it takes the groundwork of the original trilogy and amplifies what made games such as Castlevania 1 or 3 so good. Great soundtracks are a standard for the series at this point and Rondo is no exception, this title also benefits from a really cool branching level system where the average person might need another playthrough just to go through all of the levels and bosses that you might not see at first. I feel like the levels are a natural evolution of 3's branching paths as you can not only skip bosses that might be giving you a hard time within a single level itself, but also go back and redo levels in an attempt to get the best ending. Another feature is a second playable character in the form of a girl named Maria, whose play style is a nice change of pace for those who want to have a bit of fun with someone new to play as. Castlevania is one of my favorite game series, and I believe Rondo encapsulates the classic style of these games perfectly, while also forming a story duology with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, one of my all time favorite games.
4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest ; Now this is a game that nails what its trying to achieve, which is platforming goodness. DKC2 is complimented by its absolutely amazing soundtrack, as well as pre-rendered graphics that still look great to this day. While on the more difficult side, I never felt like the challenges you face were unfair, the game manages to give plenty of opportunities for extra lives, and the checkpoints throughout the levels are generally placed in fair portions that attempt to put you through just enough of a challenge that you are able to learn from your mistakes and feel successful when you complete a level. Out of the trilogy of DKC games this is the one I look forward to the most coming back to ever since playing them.
5. Earthbound ; There aren't enough words to describe the feeling you get when playing through Earthbound for the first time but for most people I'd imagine its the same feeling of a nostalgia, taking an adventure through a world that is vaguely America while allowing its quirky writing and environments to win you over. While not exactly making any advancements in the JRPG department, Earthbound still manages to do a fun interpretation of weapons and equipment that you would think a group of kids would actually use when out playing in a world that seemingly isn't just make believe. Still a game that is as relevant now as it ever was.
6. Yoshi's Island ; Easily the most visually stunning platformer of this generation of games, while not quite what you would expect out of a soft sequel to Super Mario World, this ends up being somewhat a benefit in fact, Yoshi's Island excels in its unique gameplay mechanics as well as its great level design that are able to stay distinctly unique and can stand next to the rest of Nintendo's best platformers.
7. Chrono Trigger ; Having only completed this game as recent as a couple of weeks ago, I can at the very least safely put it on my top 10 for this generation of consoles. It nails valuing the players time with its superb pacing, I never felt like I wasn't engrossed by what story beat I was in at a given time. Beautiful OST and an amazing story, of likes I never thought I'd see in this era of JRPG's. The sheer amount of endings will keep me coming back in the future, and also characters and a world that are captivating. I am glad I was able to experience this game.
8. Kirby Super Star ; Kirby games are a joy to play and this one is no exception, its packed with a selection of micro games that range from shorter experiences to the real meat of the game, the larger more exploration based pieces such as The Great Cave Offensive or Milky Way Wishes. All share the same list of power abilities that this time are given much more depth as they've been upgraded to have access to a huge variety of moves almost out of a fighting game, this keeps the action feeling fun solo or with a buddy alongside the player.
9. Donkey Kong (Gameboy) ; What might seem like a port of the arcade game is in fact a slick handling puzzle-platformer with a huge variety of levels in which you control Mario solving room sized tests of platforming skill and wit, aged considerably well versus its contemporary library, be sure to play the Super Gameboy version as it adds a nice color pallet to an already good game.
10. Alien Soldier ; Thrilling non-stop action game, what is essentially a very long boss rush turns out great as you tear through enemies and face challenging boss after boss.
