With the Super Nintendo now in its 26th year of life, I think it's high time to really start giving it a celebration here in the Retro Oasis. After years of planned review projects for the Super Nintendo, a lot of ideas didn't pan out. At one point there was a plan to do a side blog on the console, but that ultimately didn't pan out. So instead, we will be doing something different. As I rebuild my SNES collection throughout 2017, I will be doing more reviews for the games within. And with over 700 games out there, there's a lot of content to wade through. But before we can delve deep into the lore of the console, we need to start by looking at the life and death of the 16-bit behemoth.
PART 1: The Birth
However, the gaming market was starting to see a change. On October 29th, 1988, longtime competitor Sega would be among the first in the 16-bit market with the release of the Sega Megadrive, better known to American gamers as the Genesis, and would soon find massive success with the creation of company mascot Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991. Nintendo held steady with the NES for a few more years until finally moving forward with their own 16-bit console. On November 21st, 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, followed later in August of 1991 with a North American release under the name “Super Nintendo Entertainment System.” (A UK release came in 1992).
Part 2: The Phenomenon
The console started off with a bang with five great launch titles. The pack-in Super Mario World, mode-7 infused racing game F-Zero, console port of Simcity, Gradius III, and finally Pilotwings. While the console would have bigger games throughout the rest of 1991 (including Super Castlevania IV and Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts), Sega was still holding a lead in North America with the lower priced Genesis, and Sonic, who was already gaining more popularity over the then-considered slow old timer Mario.
Though 1992 was when this console war really kicked it into high gear. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past would be released, and is still considered by many as the best Zelda game of all time (though OOT fans bring strong arguments). In fact, that’s what made the SNES such a great console in hindsight. They took classic games made famous from the NES and gave them something that felt new and fresh. Other games that helped show the power of the SNES in 1992 was their port of Street Fighter II, (which beat out Sega by a year), and their port of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, considered by many as a port that exceeds the arcade version in terms of quality.
In 1993, Nintendo would pull one of their ultimate boners due to their heavy stance on family friendly gaming. The arcade game Mortal Kombat, known for its blood and violent fatalities, was finally seeing a massive release on every console. But since the game was under fire for its hot content, the game had to be censored on certain ports. However, while Sega would add a blood code to ensure certain gamers the full MK experience, Nintendo would have their version be squeaky clean. Blood replaced with sweat, and censored fatalities. Didn’t help that the version also felt slower and less responsive. This would have Genesis win again in the holiday season, and Mortal Kombat on Genesis would be one of the console’s best selling games.
But was 1993 a bad year despite that one mistake? Definitely not. 1993 saw a lot of epic titles for the SNES. Super Mario All-Stars was a compilation cart with every Mario NES/Famicom game, including the original Japanese Super Mario Bros 2 known simply as the Lost Levels. Nintendo unveiled their boosted Super FX chip with the polygonal space shooter Starfox. And among other classics in 1993 were Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Secret of Mana, and Street Fighter II: Turbo.
And now we get to 1994, the beginning of what I believe is the land of milk and honey for fans of gaming. And it was all lead by a monkey in a tie. With the 32-bit era beginning, the SNES was starting to look like old news. But thanks to a partnership with game developers Rare, they managed to reinvent Nintendo’s iconic Donkey Kong character into a game that nobody had ever seen before. Donkey Kong Country hit shelves on November 21st, 1994, after a wave of hype over the game’s fully pre-rendered 3D models. It the hype delivered, helping the SNES win the holiday war for the remainder of the 16-bit era.
But even with the massive success of DKC, when you look at what else was released in 1994 for the console, it’s no wonder the SNES succeeded. It’s a veritable who’s who of the most highly regarded titles of all time. Super Metroid, Mega Man X, Mortal Kombat II (a version that made up for the shortcomings of the original with all the violence intact from the arcade port), Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan), Earthworm Jim, Super Punch-Out!!! 1994 was a great year to be a Nintendo fan.
1995 though. 1995 was a year of beauty. Nintendo was still in the process of releasing their third major console, the Nintendo 64. In the meantime, they would release the ill-fated Virtual Boy, much to the headaches of many a gamer. However, when it came to the SNES, it may have outclassed almost everything released in 1994. in fact, I’d easily say that 1995 may have more of my favorite games in it than any other year. Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (a game that is honestly superior to the original in every way), Secret of Evermore, and perhaps my favorite platformer of all time, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island.
Part 3: The Dying Days
1996 was the start of the slowing down period for game releases on the Super Nintendo, as developers jumped to Sony’s Playstation console, and others began focus on the coming Nintendo 64. That’s not to say the year didn’t give some great titles for Nintendo’s still chipper console. The amazing Square/Nintendo collaboration known as Super Mario RPG, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, and Kirby Super Star, just to name a few greats.
Though in 1997, with Nintendo’s focus squarely on the 64 from here on in, the SNES didn’t see very many releases, or any real focus. The biggest things Nintendo would do for the console that year would be Kirby’s Dreamland 3, and a new cheaper version of the console in hopes to lure new gamers into buying the classic console if they weren’t set on getting either the N64 or the PS1. In fact, with every other developer pretty much gone, the console would only see nine releases in 1997, and practically nothing for 1998 until October 6th, and the release of Frogger. The final game ever released for the Super Nintendo. The console would be discontinued on November 30th of 1999, ending the console’s eight year run.
Part 4: Does it Hold Up?
Very much so. I look at the 16-bit era to be the greatest era of gaming, and both of the consoles leading that era delivered some of the greatest games of all time. That may be contentious to some, but remember that that is mostly opinion. The fact that many of these titles have had a lasting impact on gaming culture like they have proves that fact. And while I grew up a Genesis owner, I can’t deny that the SNES had some of the better games. Playing most of them in full several years later, I do have my regrets for missing out on it. It’s a perfect console with some of the greatest looking, greatest sounding, and all around perfect games ever made.