With just a few days to go until the hottest Retro gift of the year hits the shelves, Matt Lambourne guides us through Part 3 of his SNES Classic Mini round-up. We look at games 12-7 as we really start to venture into the heavy-hitter territory with this batch of classics.
PART 1 (21-17) – PART 2 (16-12)
11. Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts (1992)
Ask gamers what the hardest series of games are of all time, and the Ghosts ‘N Goblins/Ghouls ‘N Ghosts series will no doubt feature towards the top of most lists. It is the classic action platformer whereby you take the role of the Knight, Arthur, who must battle against hordes of demons and undead to rescue his beloved Princess Prin-Prin.
The gameplay is classic, requiring lightning-tight reflexes and the patience of a saint in order to learn all the various pitfalls and enemy patterns that challenge your progression. One of the most welcome additions to this game is the double-jump in which you can change direction in mid-air, allowing for some edge-of-your-seat dangerous play that might just save your life from time to time once mastered.
A new green suit of armour also slides in between your standard steel suit and the famous golden power-up armour, allowing for a greater depth of special weapons and abilities. But ultimately, Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts appeals to hardened retro gamers as one of the most vigorous tests of gaming skill around. Notoriously difficult in its day, it will be somewhat easier thanks the save-states allowed via the Classic Mini software. However, just remember that once you’ve hacked and slashed your way through it once, you have to re-start the journey all over again to get the true ending to game!
10. Yoshi’s Island (1995)
Following the incredible success of Super Mario World, the dinosaur companion Yoshi became a highly popular sidekick and was much in demand from Nintendo fans for a starring role. It took several years, but finally a game befitting our favourite cute dino emerged towards the end of the Super Nintendo’s lifecycle in Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario World 2.
Yoshi is the star of the show as you provide escort duties for a Baby Mario who is seeking to be reunited with brother Luigi, as you must transport Mario safely to end of each beautifully crafted level. Just like in the original Super Mario World, Yoshi can use his tongue to gather enemies into his mouth to either spit out as an attack, or can be laid as eggs, which can be fired like a cannon via a crosshair at angles to hit harder to reach enemies.
The most striking aspect of the game is the hand-drawn art style; something that was highly original for the time but has been copied many times since, but was nevertheless incredibly eye-catching for 1995. Yoshi’s Island is one of the best looking games on the Super Nintendo and absolutely lives up as a sequel to Super Mario World, and is entirely worthy of its place in the top 10 ever SNES games.
9. Contra 3: The Alien Wars (1992)
A game whose lineage is firmly entrenched in Nintendo’s history and one of the killer-apps for the Super Nintendo’s launch, Contra 3 (aka Super Probotector in PAL regions) is a classic run and gun platformer that harkens back to the halcyon days of arcade gaming, when Konami were arguably the masters of the scene.
Taking control of one of two commandos, the player must fight against armies of alien invaders who are attempting to conquer Earth. Luckily for you, you’re one hell of a one-man army! The game features a range of weapon power ups, some of which you’ll need to reserve to stand the best chance against certain boss battles, and don’t forget to save those oh so valuable smart bombs for when they’re really needed.
The Contra series is renowned for its toughness but is much more manageable with a friend onboard for the ride. The boss battles are particularly memorable, none more so than level 3 where you must fight against two dangerous Terminator-esque cyborgs; and just when you think you’ve finished the fight, the background is ripped open by two giant hands and the head of a giant Terminator cyborg emerges to continue the battle. Truly one of gaming’s biggest WOW moments.
It ticks all the boxes of a classic retro shooter: great action, extreme boss battles and an epic soundtrack. The mode-7 levels also add a nice demonstration of the SNES hardware, making Contra 3 a real showcase title for the Super Nintendo and one you simply must revisit, particularly in two-player.
8. Final Fantasy VI (1994)
When Final Fantasy VII emerged on the PlayStation in 1997, it finally shattered the image held by Japanese developers that J-RPGs could not be successful in the west, particularly in the PAL region. Whilst there is much to be thankful to FF7 for, far too few gamers in Europe will have had the privilege of exploring the roots of the series and just how big of a deal it was for Nintendo to lose this series to PlayStation down the road.
Final Fantasy VI was actually released as Final Fantasy III in the United States, continuing a long-standing and confusing naming convention that was thankfully severed after the universal global release of FF7. The story takes place in a world of heavy industry, ruled by an evil Imperialistic Empire. You can control one of 14 unique playable characters in a massive world split into continents. However, cataclysmic world events alter the state of the gamescape as you progress.
Like all classic FF games, combat is menu driven and turn-based, which has not always leant itself to Western audiences, although the hardcore RPG player will be right at home here. Without spoiling too much of the game for you, Final Fantasy VI is regarded as one of the most emotionally charged in the entire history of the series, and many of its fans regard this entry as its best. It is only fair that you are saved from further details to enjoy it to the full once the SNES Classic Mini is released, but if you love classic SquareSoft RPGs, you’ll simply love this.
7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
As we approach the end of the list, we are starting to become very RPG heavy and we have quite a few all-time greats to come. Zelda 3 is easily one of the Super Nintendo’s most revered games and helped to shape the standard for western-friendly action-RPGs.
The game’s beginnings are one of the most memorable in all of the SNES catalogue. You awake as Link in the middle of the night after Princess Zelda has communicated with you via a dream, pleading with you to rescue her from the Castle’s dungeon. You leave your cottage during a rainstorm and hence begins one of the greatest adventures in all of gaming.
Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the game is vast for such a small storage space (coming in at just over 512kb!), with clever techniques used to compress the graphics and the use of the Light/Dark World mechanic to effectively double the size of the game world, whilst using the same assets. The viewpoint refers back to the top-down overview used in the original Zelda game, abandoning the controversial side on view used in Link’s Adventure (Zelda 2). Combine this with a beautiful use of colour and simple but attractive animation, and A Link to the Past is easily one of the most recognisable looking games of the 16-bit era.
I strongly suspect that Link to the Past will be one of the first games that returning gamers seek out on their SNES Classic Mini; and rightly so. Once they hear the famous Zelda Overworld theme, there is no turning back and prepare to be immersed in Hyrule for many hours before coming back to reality.
We hope you are enjoying our round-up of SNES Mini games, and we have the final 6 games coming in just a few days. Which games are you hoping to see in the final 6, and which is your favourite SNES game of all time? We’d love to know your thoughts via Twitter (@SetTheTape) and in the comments below.