Summary
The Super Famicom launched in Japan in 1990 and the Super Nintendo, its North American equivalent, was released a year later in 1991. From the start, the SNES had an amazing library of games and they grew even past the point of relevancy especially in Japan. Games were launching in Japan well into the N64’s life cycle.
So, to say there is a gaggle of gags celebrating thirty years in 2025 would be an understatement. There were a handful of Game Boy games in circulation as well, but 1995 was more the year of the SNES and not the year of the Game Boy. Let’s go through some of the best SNES classics worth remembering in 2025.
Chrono Triggeris a pillar among the many RPGsthat were released on the SNES and is still widely regarded as a top-tier RPG on any console. It’s amazing what the team was able to accomplish on the hardware. There were no random battles, the world map was devoid of combat altogether, time travel, dual arts, and more.
There’s a lot of stuff that happens in the game and yet it’s actually not that long. Any fan of RPGs who missed this classic originally or with any other port needs to go back and play this to celebrate its 30th anniversary now.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Questwas a sequel that freshened things up to one of the hardest games on the SNES. This time, Donkey Kong was captured and Diddy had to go and rescue him.
Diddy wasn’t alone though as his cousin, Dixie, came along for the ride. She was the MVP of the show as she could glide around levels with her twirling hair. Another great thing about the game was the pirate theming from the music to the level/enemy designs. Of the SNES trilogy, this is the one to play.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of theFront Missionseriesoverall. It was a tactical RPG that used grid-based maps and mechs to wage war in the future. Players could customize their mechs, called Wanzers, with parts to increase stats like HP and various weapons could be equipped including ranged and melee types.
North America would not see this original game until it was ported to the DS in 2007. The first game North America got instead wasFront Mission 3on the PS1 in 2000. In 2022, the original game was also remade.
The SNES era of Mega Man was all about the newspinoff series,Mega Man X. There was, however, one attempt to make a classic Mega Man game viaMega Man 7. While not as well remembered as theXseries,Mega Man 7was a solid entry that introduced some new things to the classic action platformer formula.
For example, there was a shop where players could buy things from using bolts. This was also the entry that introduced Bass to the series along with his robotic companion, Treble.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Islandwas a prequel to the originalSuper Mario Worldwhich saw Mario and Luigi as babies, the latter of which was kidnapped by Kamek. Baby Mario instead floats into the care of a band ofYoshis who are the game’s central starson a rescue mission. Yoshis could not die, however, when they were hit, baby Mario would float away and start crying.
Players would have limited time to get him back or it was game over for that level. That kind of got annoying for some players, but the art style more than made up for any minor setbacks as the game used a crayon-like art style that still makesSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Islandlook amazing on the SNES thirty years later.
Secret of Evermoreis not tied totheManaseriesdespite the name, pedigree, and gameplay similarities. Instead of being developed within Square in Japan, this action RPG was developed in the U.S. Japan never got the game initially which was a rare role reversal as there are still tons of missing Square games on the SNES that only Japan got.
The game itself stars a young boy who wanders into a mansion with his dog and they get transported into a different dimension. The various locations are the game’s highlight and it’s just truly a bizarre game overall that kind of remains forgotten.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetheris the game that redefined theOgre Battleseries and elevated it to new heights. This was the template used forFinal Fantasy Tacticsway before that was even a twinkle in the video game landscape. North America would not see the game until a 1998 port to the PS1 which was more or less an unchanged game.
The bigger port was on the PSP in 2011 and then a more recent port,Tactics Ogre Reborn, was released for a plethora of consoles in 2022.Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetherhas certainly been around the tactical RPG block quite a few times but there are assuredly some who have still missed it even with all of these versions and more.
1995 also celebrates the birth of theTales offranchisewhich did not take as long to reach North America asFront Mission.Tales of Phantasiawas released first in Japan on the SNES followed by a GBA port in 2006 which was when the West got it. North America’s first game instead was Tales of Destiny on the PS1 in 1998.
Tales of Phantasiais a bit archaic by the franchise’s standards today but it was forward-thinking on the SNES at the time. Instead of turn-based battles, players could control their hero like a 2D action game in battle and the series only embraced its action roots more as it went along.
