Best Of 2023 - An Ode To The Super Nintendo And Some Of Its Best Games
The PlayStation 5 is incredible. It's the greatest gaming system ever made. But it's not my favorite of all-time. It'll also be replaced one day by the PS6 or something. There is one video game system that will always have a special place in my heart.
The Super Nintendo.
The SNES came out in 1991 and it felt like such a leap forward from the 8-bit Nintendo that we had all been playing for the last few years. Not only that, but the games that came out were amazing. I am very biased about this because I was 12 when I got my SNES that Christmas. I am not being hyperbolic when I say it changed my life. Winters in New Hampshire are pretty harsh and playing games like Zelda and F-Zero were the best ways to spend the days that would get dark at 4:30 PM.
I love this system so much, I went and bought the mini-SNES that came out a few years ago with some games pre-loaded. I had so much fun re-playing some of these games. There are so many great ones but here are some of my favorites:
Super Mario World
This game came with the system and it's such a leap forward from the original Mario Trilogy. Those games were great (especially 1 & 3) but Mario World was so much better. They added Yoshi and really improved the map gameplay from the 3rd one. It was the perfect first game to come with a gaming system. I would be lying if I didn't wish it had also come with a SNES version of Duck Hunt.
F-Zero
This game was so fucking hard but so fun. It was an odd game because it was only one player but we didn't really care. It had a great soundtrack and was almost hypnotic. Plus, it had a great record keeping system for the time that kept not only the ten best times on a track but for best lap as well. Even though it was one player, my friends and I would constantly try to top each others best laps. Just don't use those turbos too quick.
Sim City
PFT built yet another bankrupt Olympic Village.
Oh, the hours I spent (wasted?) being a lousy city planner. I loved this game so much, I got the Freemium app for my phone a few years ago. That was fun but I felt guilty the rare times I'd spend actual money on getting things for the game. That wasn't a concern in the pre-internet days of SNES. I will say that you don't know true disappointment until a earthquake destroys a town you spent hours building.
Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
The best games ever are either something from Red Dead Redemption or Grand Theft Auto. But, if you take when a game came out into effect, this may be the greatest one ever made. It seems like a small world when you play it now but Hyrule felt Iimitless in 1991. The Light and Dark worlds were so much fun to navigate and explore. For it's time, it really was the perfect game.
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball
My favorite baseball game during this time was Tony LaRussa Baseball for the Sega Genesis because it had some great manager options. But for playing, you couldn't beat Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball. It was pretty easy to pick up but tough to master. It didn't have the license to use real player names but you could figure out who was supposed to be who pretty easily.
Is The Show a far better game? Of course, but if you grew up in the early 1990's you couldn't beat some Big Slam Pepsi's, Cool Ranch Doritos and a few friends over while you guys all play Griffey or F-Zero all night.
Super Nintendo, I salute you.