SNES Classics and Obscure Titles

[djDarkX]

There's a status update I saw and had to post this.  I'll probably do an NES, Gameboy and Genesis list too, but the latter (Genesis) I didn't really grow up with, so it may be lacking.  Don't be afraid to add your choices in!

So, what is this thread about?  Since the advent of emulation, after the glory days of the classic consoles went the way of the dinosaur, I've been able to experience a larger array of games for the classic consoles, plus I fondly remember many games I played back in the day.  Here, I will list off ones I personally recommend and those that deserve an honorable mention.  So, let's not waste any time and dive right in!  Also remember, these are titles I have personally played, so if I don't have some on the list, feel free to add some in when you post!

Role Playing Games

• Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II in the United States upon inital release)
• Final Fantasy V (get a translation if you don't know japanese)
• Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III in the United States upon initial release)
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (you had no childhood if you didn't play this)
• Chrono Trigger
• Terranigma (PAL, so get the English version)
• Secret of the Stars (obscure and generic and rather silly, but worth a play through)
• Bahamut Lagoon (Only released in Japan, but get a translation patch, apply and enjoy)
• Secret of Mana
• Live-A-Live (Japan only, but get the translation and play this.  It's a must)
• Soul Blazer (An Action RPG like Zelda, but also really good.  Take control of the Divine Angel Warrior and slay demons and monsters )
• Super Ninja Boy (classic Engrish translations, but fun and a bit of a challenge)
• Actraiser (This more of an Action RPG, but it has more RPG elements to it)
• Seiken Densetsu 3 (get a translation patch for this as this game is REQUIRED)
• Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Action RPG as it has Link grow, gather weapons and armor, spells, etc.  Classic game and a MUST!)

Platformer Games

• Super Mario World (pretty obvious)
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• Super Mario All-Stars
• Sparkster (Rocket Knight Adventures 2)
• Aladdin
• Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (Really silly and the puns between levels are pretty bad, but the sequel was FAR worse.  This one is just fun)
• Ardy Lightfoot (An obscure game made by ASCII with pretty good music and a likable protaganist, even if he is a furry )
• Demon's Crest (A really fantastic game with some really good music)
• Super Castlevania IV
• Castlevania: Dracula X (Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe)
• Super Ghouls & Ghosts
• Donkey Kong Country 1 ~ 3
• Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics
• Congo's Caper
• Violinist of Hameln (Hamerun no Baiorin Hiki in Japan, this one is obscure, but fun.  Translate it and have at it!)
• Mega Man X ~ X3
• Mega Man 7 (It's really cheesy for a Mega Man title, but good nonetheless)
• Rockman & Forte (Get this translated and play it.  A must have for Mega Man fans)
• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby's Dream Land 3
• Super Adventure Island
• Super Metroid
• Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose

Shooter Games

• Star Fox (Do I need to mention this title?)
• Thunder Spirits (Thunder Force III on the Genesis and in Japan/Europe)
• Gokujou Parodius (Don't bother translating.  Just enjoy the awesome)
• Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (Again, keep it Japanese.  Play the awesome)
• U.N. Squadron (Area 88 in other territories and it's a LOT of fun)
• Axelay (Mode-7 and really good music and gameplay)
• Wild Guns (Not a plane/craft shooter, but a shooter nonetheless.  Challenging and a HELL of a lot of fun!)

Beat-em Up/Fighting Games

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turles in Time
• Super Street Fighter 2 (any edition)
• Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W - Endless Duel (Gundam Wing - Endless Duel.  Get this.  It's fantastic and a challenge!)
• Knights of the Round
• Batman Returns
• The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Based on Batman: The Animated Series, this one is pretty good)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
• Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
• The Ninja Warriors
• Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
• Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie

Racing Games (short list)

• F-Zero (Fast-paced and awesome as hell)
• Super Mario Kart (Mario.  Need I say more?)

Puzzle/Misc Games

• Tetris & Dr. Mario
• Mario Paint (This one is just a TON of fun)
• Tetris 2
• Q*Bert 3 (The music is quirky and weird, but fun and so it the gameplay)
• Pac-Attack (It's Pac-Man and Tetris mixed together and a lot of fun!)
• Columns (Obscure title, but just as addicting as the Genesis version with new modes of play available)
• Brainlord
• Bust-A-Move (Puzzle Bobble in Japan, this game is a lot of fun and a challenge as well)
• Pocky & Rocky (Good game, but difficult.  Better played with a friend!)
• Sim City (This one is really good and very addictive)
• Super Bomberman (Best played with friends!)
• Wolfenstein 3D
• DOOM (Although the graphics are terrible, it's a great game for the SNES)
• Super Caesar's Palace (Are you of age to gamble?  Do it anyway since this game is fun with the right mindset)

I'm sure I'm missing some I've played before but have forgotten, but a couple more honorable mentions are Drakkhen, which is a difficult RPG and one that is pretty different, but good.  Another is Clock Tower that was released in Japan.  Get a translation for it and play it.  I haven't been able to get far yet, but I will.  This is a spooky game, even for the SNES.  Play it in the dark for better atmosphere.

I know I didn't include many crowd favorites, but that's because I didn't play them.  Some never garnered my interest, kept me glued to the TV/screen and others I just haven't played yet.  I know you all are itching to include titles you've played and loved, so please go ahead, but please keep this thread on topic AND abide by the forum rules.  No bashing of other people's taste in games.  If you must criticize, then do constructive criticism and explain why a you don't like a certain game and how it could have been improved.

Looking forward to your favorite choices!

EDIT:

Added Wild Guns since I played it and although I didn't get far, it was a FANTASTIC shooter.

Added Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars because I was derping when I made the list and forgot to include it as it is one of my most FAVORITE RPG's of all time and one of the best Mario titles I've ever had the pleasure of sticking in my Super Nintendo.

 

[IXVI]

For fighter, you shoulda put clay fighters.

 

[Scythuz]

Only adding ones I've played otherwise I'd be on google all day.  These are the first ones I could think of, there's probably a few more.

Roleplaying: Lufia 1 & 2 (2 is right up there with FF6 in my opinion, it combines the puzzles of LoZ with the standard turn-based rpg battles we all know and love)

Platforming: Super Bonk (Turbografx / PC-Engine games are better but the SNES one was the first I played)

Beat em ups: Final Fight series (3 is my personal favourite, followed by the gba version of all things)

King of Dragons (Think of a golden axe on the sega systems, then think bigger and better)

 

[DerTraveler]

Puzzle Games: Definitely Tetris Attack

And RPG: You have almost everything.  

Treasure of the Rudra (Rudra no Hihou) It's a _great_ but unknown game with 3 parallel stories and great music (Acturally the same composer as Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - which is not that good of a game imho, but I have some childhood memories of it )

Also the Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean are also worth mentioning... and even though I haven't played them yet, many say they are great games... (at least both of them started big brands )

Edit:  I forgot EVO... which rather belongs into the obscure category between RPG and platformer

 

[djDarkX]

Nice guys!  Keep 'em coming!

@IXVI, that's because it was a personal list of game I've actually played and/or beaten.  This wasn't a list I grabbed off the internet.  I actually played all of those games to a good extent.  If I played a game, but didn't hold my attention for more than 5 minutes, I didn't include, or if I never played a game.  Clay Fighters I played for 5 minutes and never went back to it.  Not saying it's a bad game, it just didn't interest me.  However, you've mentioned it, thus it's not out in public view, so you did that job for me.

 

[VideoWizard]

RPGs: Dragon Quest 5, 6, 1 & 2 Remake, 3 Remake. All four titles are Japanese, so grab the translation. 7th Saga (is HARD), Mystic Ark (Japanese), Paladin's Quest (not Palasiel Quest, that is an RM game), Lennus-II (this one is Japanese). Illusion of Gaia (more Adventure RPG like Zelda), Breath of Fire, Breath of Fire II (it is English, but please grab the re-translation as the original is almost Engrish)

Platformer: ActRaiser II (HARD).

Misc: RPG Tsukuru, RPG Tsukuru 2: Super Dante. Two rather interesting ancestors of RPG Maker XP/VX/VXAce. Both are in Japanese as Tsukuru would imply, so grab the translations!

 

[orochii]

ROMANCING SAGA FTW! There's a translation for RomaSaGa3, but none for RomaSaGa1&2. RomaSaGa1 has a remake on PS2. BUT some people that has played them says that RomaSaGa2 is the best, and I want to experience RomaSaGa1 on its original form, so for that sole reason I'm learning japanese right now!

All of them are great games. Pretty much open world RPGs. Are the things I want to play the most.

Shin Megami Tensei. I love them, even if dungeon crawling it's... hard. There is also Arcana, which HCBailly played some time ago.

For now, my favorite game I've played and finished is Live a Live, but RomaSaGa will be after I get to beat all of them,

Orochii Zouveleki

 

[Dark Phoenix]

You ever tried an obscure game called Big Sky Trooper?  It sounds insane, but the game was designed by LucasArts (and from the art design, it was clearly the same team that did Maniac Mansion and Day Of The Tentacle, as it shares the latter's sprite design).  I always thought it would be a great basis for an RPG.

 

[Sharm]

There's a really obscure game called Wonder Project J that never got an English release but has a translation.  It's a stat raising game, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

[djDarkX]

There's a really obscure game called Wonder Project J that never got an English release but has a translation.  It's a stat raising game, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I've actually heard of that, but I always look at different titles since I listen to SPC soundtracks (dumped SNES music in a playable format).  I may actually try it out one of these days.  Thanks for mentioning it!

 

[Traveling Bard]

RPG: Where is Earthbound?(scans...doesn't see anyone listed it) favorite rpg of all time. Hilariously random, I mean you can order a pizza and even if you are in a valley fighting aliens and exploding trees a pizza guy will run up to you and give you the pizza you ordered as long as you have the money to pay him...don't get me started on the use of a "ruler" in battle. Another thing to think about when it comes to Earthbound is that if you take away the funny/randomness of the game you'd actually have a very epic story, but who would do that? lol Anyway, Lufia 1 & 2 were very good additions as well. EPIC music and a very emotional ending, really stuck with me all these years and were perhaps the reason I got into making games in the first place. Puzzles are hard towards the end though. Even at the age of 25 I still have to look up the gamefaqs on how to do the last couple of puzzles lol Let's not forget Secret of Evermore, Secret of Mana's American-made/themed cousin. Not as good as Secret of Mana, imo, but still a very good title. I'm a fan of the types of games that are closer to the "hey that could actually happen..." theme. Though I'm not a fan of the kid's one-liners..."Like Jack McCoy said in 'Invasion of the Mole People:' 'Stay focused and watch your step!'" 

 

[zeraf]

For platformer, there is "Sky Blazer"  and for Puzzle/Misc Games, there is FIre Striker

In Sky blazer, you learn new spells such as turning into a phoenix. The theme is greak myth and the music sounds like it came from india.  Fire Striker is Zelda meets pong

 

[djDarkX]

@Traveling Bard, remember, this was a list of games I had personally played and enjoyed.  I played Earthbound and while I like the story, I could never get past the starting area for some reason (I couldn't make myself get into the game).  Combination of factors.  I'm not saying it's not a good game.  Far from it!  It just dind't hold my particular interest.

@zeraf, I've played Sky Blazer, but not long enough to put on the list, sadly.  I did like it though.  The control takes some time to get used to, but perhaps I'll go back to again someday soon.

Keep 'em coming!

Side note, what are some of the WORST SNES titles you've played?

 

[zeraf]

There is Ys 3 and Ys 4

Some obscure rpgs that have been translated are Energy Breaker and Monstania. Energy Breaker looks interesting but haven't played it. Monstania has  tactic elements to it but lacks replayability

Worst games include Bebe's kids, Batman Forever, Mario is missing, Mario's time machine, Palidan's Quest is debatable on being one of the worst rpgs. It has its charm but is really bad

 

[Traveling Bard]

I'll defend paladin's quest because of it's unique hp cost for spells and how elements/spirits get stronger the more you use that type of element/spirit magic. That stuff was cool and so was the music. Had an otherworldly vibe to it. Now the storyline and the main character looking like a woman when he was a dude kind of stunk. The game overall was very linear, trying too hard to be epic, and felt waaaaay too long to me. So from a game design point of view, I'd note the gameplay and move on.

Worst RPG for me would have to go to....Tecmo Secret of the Stars. Even though it had an interesting premise, and I loved the idea of swapping between two groups of characters, the execution wasn't so great...felt like development was super rushed or something and there was no real point in actually having the second group of non-magical characters after a certain point because they didn't really effect the story. It's so bad it's funny actually. There is a series on youtube from a guy who was doing a playthrough of it and omg it is hilarious. My favorite part was how you were supposed to know that some item was behind this quest giver's house in some random obscure location when the quest giver himself hinted like it's somewhere else far far away. Moral of the story: definitely the worst rpg for the snes. like with paladin's quest, learn from the gameplay concepts and move on. 

 

[djDarkX]

Funny cuz I'll defend Tecmo's Secret of the Stars (it's on the list LOL).  I'll agree that it felt rushed, but it was goofy, yet insteresting (for me).  The music...while kinda weak (only because of the instrumentation and the execution on some), was memorable and I've even done it justice in a couple of pieces, one of which could use improvement due to my own quality falling short.

I've played it all the way through to the end and the origins of the characters was surprising!  I liked it.  Obscure RPG and not really in the "polished" department, but if you take a step back and see it for what they were trying to do, it comes off well.  Also, I wasn't all too keen on the two parties, but I know why they were there and they served a purpose.  It was just tedious grinding two different parties. lol

 

[Seacliff]

The only thing I see missing from this list is Mario RPG. But besides that, this is the greatest SNES list I have ever seen! I've gotta remember to try more non-localized classics.

Speaking of non-localized classics, do Satellaview games count? It's just an SNES add-on but a few games on there I would still recommend. (Specifically BS Zelda and Radical Dreamers)

 

[djDarkX]

AH!  I can't believe I forgot one of my all-time favorite Mario titles and one of my most favorite RPG's to date! T_T

Thanks for noticing that oversight!  Fixing now~

EDIT:

Also, yeah.  Include the Satellaview stuff if you found it to be awesome.  For those that don't know, it was a "satellite" add-on for the Super Famicom that allowed you to play some of your favorite games with with a lot of cool features and even streaming voice acting like you might hear on the radio (at the time).  Check it out here.

 

[Traveling Bard]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was AMAZING. Music was great, battle system was simple yet quirky with the timed hits(still do that in every other rpg game I play...just in case, lol), fun and engaging story, I could go on. Only thing I wish is that they could do a sequel or something. I'd even take a "spiritual successor" as long as characters like Geno and possibly Mallow were there....mainly Geno. I vaguely remember there being issues with licensing over that game which is why even though the game did well it would never see a sequel. Same thing with the Chrono Trigger series :_( maybe some day things'll be different. Sure would be nice to play a new Chrono Trigger title(not that Chrono Cross wasn't good and Radiant Historia I'm told was pretty close to be a CT "spiritual successor") or a new Super Mario RPG. I'd so buy whatever handheld or console that ended up on. 

While I'm dreaming, an Earthbound 2/Mother 4 would also be greatly appreciated. Oh great gods of gaming, please make it happen. I'll give you starbucks giftcards and cookies

*cough* alittle off topic there... A decent rpg with a dungeon crawler type feel to it would be Arcana. Most of it's gameplay aside, I liked the class of card master that they put in there. Giving up several of the same consumable items in order to make your attacks more powerful was a nice touch. As was creating familiars from elemental cards. Add alittle bit more variety in the elements and I'd have been happy. 

Two other titles that people should check out are: Hourai Gakuen no Bouken! Which is an rpg in the same vein as Earthbound but set in a large school where you and your friends that you make get abilities ff5 style with classes or "clubs" you join. Then there is also Eternal Filena which has a weapon and skill system similar to Final Fantasy Mystic Quest where you can swap between skillsets by swapping between weapons seemlessly mid battle, yet still fight in a menu based context. Story was pretty different too as you were a slave girl training to fight as a gladiator...pretending that you were a boy so that you weren't thrown into someone's harem like other girls. Good game. Hard though. 

 

[Seacliff]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was AMAZING. Music was great, battle system was simple yet quirky with the timed hits(still do that in every other rpg game I play...just in case, lol), fun and engaging story, I could go on. Only thing I wish is that they could do a sequel or something. I'd even take a "spiritual successor" as long as characters like Geno and possibly Mallow were there....mainly Geno. I vaguely remember there being issues with licensing over that game which is why even though the game did well it would never see a sequel. Same thing with the Chrono Trigger series :_( maybe some day things'll be different. Sure would be nice to play a new Chrono Trigger title(not that Chrono Cross wasn't good and Radiant Historia I'm told was pretty close to be a CT "spiritual successor") or a new Super Mario RPG. I'd so buy whatever handheld or console that ended up on. 

Just to be clear Paper Mario was going to be titled Super Mario RPG 2, then plans got changed... I would call almost any Mario Rpg after Seven Stars a spiritual successor though, However the only one that I thought was better than Legend of the Seven Stars would be the Paper Mario 2: Thousand Year door.

Radiant Historia would've made a perfect game for the Chrono Series, it had both time and dimensional traveling and the battle system was something I could see square doing. Now I want a Radiant Historia sequel.

Anyways back on topic, for a SNES Satellaview title I will highly recommend Radical Dreamers to any Chrono or Visual Novel fan, it's pretty much the sequel to Chrono Trigger until Cross came around and that's considered to be the official sequel (neither game had the same vibes as Trigger though), A lot of plot details, music, and graphics from Radical Dreamers were reused in Cross  though, but it's still an original game, main downfall is that when you die, you start from the beginning

For horrible mentions, had anyone said EVO?

When I get time, I want to try a translation for live-a-live.