Wednesday, April 16, 2008

GoCM's Top 5 SNES Games

If I've learned anything over the last 24 years of my life, it's that the world almost certainly does not revolve around sports - it revolves around me, of course. That said we'll jump off-topic a bit and talk about the wonderful world that was the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. And since I'm running the show, here are my Top 5 SNES games*.

*I'll be honest, I didn't buy/play all that many SNES games. I was cheap, the 'rents wanted us to have more "outside time" (hindsight: might have been a good idea) so I was really only limited to a few games in a few genres. Comments (yeah, right) with your faves.


Why it's in the Top 5:
This would normally be much higher, as I spent most of third and fourth grade (as well as most of my third and fourth years of college...and some of the fifth) playing this game. Think about it - Three of the great NES games of all time in the greatest game series of them all with amped up graphics and sound. What's not to love?

Why it's not #1:
The Lost Levels portion. Fuck them in the pants. For whatever reason, it just annoyed the shit out of me and given the choice to play any of the four games, this is last every single time. But that's about it.


Why it's in the Top 5:
There aren't a lot of RPGs that can give Link, the Master Sword and the Kingdom of Hyrule (fuck, I'm lame) a run for their money. Great story line, great game play and consistently one of the most fun games to sit around and play. Even if you were just cutting some bushes (giggity) down looking for rupees.

Why it's not #1
I was never wild about the format. I guess it's because I'm a product of the 1st person shooter era. But other than that, this is a solid performer.


Why it's in the Top 5:
Where to start? For one, this game represented the pinnacle of graphics at the time. The Super FX chip was to blame and it created Nintendo's first 3-D environments. And holy shit, was it fun to play. Whipping around in the Arwings, ruining shit with the 2nd-level twin blasters and firing the bombs for no apparent reason (would missiles have hurt to put in?). This game succeeds on so many levels it's sick.

Why it's not #1:
I guess my top 3 could really be a T-1 fest, but this gets knocked down because of just how much better the next two are.

Why it's in the Top 5:
So many reasons: Great storyline. Great user interaction. Great plot twists. Great random pop culture references. Great playability. Great music. Challenging enough to make any player throw down the controller after losing to the boss AGAIN. Overall one of the truly great games for the console.

Why it's not #1:
Because of what is #1 and for no other reason. Like Starfox, this easily could be #1 as well.


Why it's #1:
This game might be in the all-time top 5 games ever list. Almost flawless in every way. And who can't remember playing Battle Mode for hours on end. And if you could wipe someone out with the green turtle shell then you were pretty much unbeatable. The actual racing was always challenging (at least in 100cc) and the levels were creative and fun without getting out of hand. If there was a fault, I still haven't found it. Man what a game it was.

No comments: