As important as the NES was, the SNES stands as the first truly near-perfect console, and many of its games continue to shine after all these decades. Nobody needs to be reminded of Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, A Link to the Past, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Final Fantasy 6, or Star Fox, but not every SNES masterpiece became a staple of gaming pop culture. Some truly incredible titles have either been forgotten or never got the attention they deserve in the first place.
Over 1700 games debuted throughout the SNES’s life, and it’s safe to say that about 95% of those are obscure nowadays. You really don’t need to go back and experience most of these releases, but you should go out of your way to check out these unappreciated SNES gems.
Obviously, I’m sure some people remember these games fondly, but they rarely get brought up nowadays.
Majuu Ou Is A Cinematic Dark Fantasy Epic
One Of Many Great SNES Games That Never Left Japan
- 1995 action game released only in Japan.
For the most part, I don’t want this list to focus on Japan-only SNES games, but we cannot ignore them entirely. After all, less than 50% of the console’s library was released in North America, ensuring that plenty of greats never got the chance to find an international audience.
Translating loosely to King of Demons, Majuu Ou serves as a prime example of a region-locked SNES game that really pushed the envelope in terms of tone, atmosphere, and gameplay. You play as Abel, a guy with a gun who descends to Hell to save his family and, hopefully, stop Lucifer. Cool stuff, and Majuu Ou backs it up with an impressive presentation, which includes quite a bit of variety in locations and aesthetic.
The gameplay blends cinematic platforming with tighter-than-usual movement and run-and-gun action, a mix that works incredibly well and feels great. Abel’s handgun is already a unique weapon for a SNES platformer, and his available moveset varies depending on the gems picked up at the end of each stage. This mechanic is Majuu Ou‘s most interesting concept, as Abel transforms into different colored demons depending on the chosen gem, and all these forms alter his attacks and mobility.
An American Take On Mecha Anime
- A 1995 side-scroller released only in North America.
Oh, yeah, NA-only SNES games exist, although naturally far rarer than their Japanese counterparts. One of LucasArts’ more forgotten releases, Metal Warriors brings to life a high-concept sci-fi universe where Earth’s united government is under siege by the Dark Axis, and you portray a lieutenant who fights using experimental mech suits. Presented through impressive 16-bit cutscenes, the story gives off Gundam and Patlabor vibes, which is always a positive.
Mech side-scrollers were fairly common on the SNES, but Metal Warriors succeeded in carving its own identity. The game features 6 types of units, and players aren’t forced to stick to their mechs throughout a level. If a suit approaches destruction, you can abandon ship and sprint forward in search of another unit to inhabit. It’s a neat concept that treats mechs more like weapons rather than extensions of the main character.
Let me just say, Metal Warriors looks absolutely fantastic, and I don’t mean “for its era.” The units themselves are detailed and show visible damage, and they aren’t clouded by intrusive UI. Also, the game has a pretty good multiplayer as well!
Click on the game with the higher OpenCritic rating.
The Firemen Makes You Feel Like, Well, A Fireman
Not Quite A Firefighter Sim, But Something Even Better
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Image via Human Entertainment -
Image via Human Entertainment -
Image via Human Entertainment
- A 1994 game released in Japan and PAL regions, but not North America.
Now, here is a refreshing blast of cold water. The Firemen lives up to its title by casting you as a firefighter sent to stop a raging inferno within a chemical plant. Presented from a top-down perspective like Super Smash TV or even A Link to the Past, The Firemen almost feels like a prototype twin-stick shooter, as players will constantly find themselves strafing while firing their water hose.
With fire presented as your ultimate enemy, the game gives you a few “grounded” tools to deal with the situation, creating a “you vs the environment” mentality. You aren’t a superhero or action star, but rather an experienced firefighter who must use their wit and tactical brain to deal with an emergency that just keeps getting worse.
I love the novelty of The Firemen, and the core gameplay is so immediately understandable that it grants the game a “pick up and play” feel.
The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang Is An Action RPG Delight
A SNES Game That Casts You As A Stylish Vampire
- A 1993 RPG by the Red Company.
Castlevania‘s SNES entries cast you as Belmonts tracking down vampires… but sometimes you want to become a bloodsucker yourself. The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang grants that wish by featuring a vampire prince as its protagonist, although Spike McFang is not exactly born from the same coffin as Dracula.
A lighthearted RPG romp about a vamp trying to stop a zombie tyrant, Spike McFang moves at a blistering pace for the genre, delivering an action-first adventure that combines melee combat, hat tossing, and magic cards. The SNES’s RPG lineup sits comfortably among the greatest of all time, and Spike McFang distinguishes itself from the likes of Final Fantasy and Live a Live but offering a more streamlined experience than usual, with progression being fairly simple but effective.
Hagane: The Final Conflict Is The Best Ninja Game On The SNES
Who Needs Ninja Gaiden?
Ninja Gaiden mostly skipped the SNES, but that doesn’t mean the console lacked awesome (and hard-as-nails) shinobi games. To be honest, Hagane: The Final Conflict might be more fun to play nowadays than the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy, and it certainly looks better (which is saying something).
The last remaining member of the Fuma Clan, Hagane goes on a rampage to destroy the Koma Clan, a journey that involves laying siege to multiple strongholds and, ultimately, reclaiming the Holy Grail. I mentioned Ninja Gaiden twice in the previous paragraph, but Hagane‘s mechanical density and input timing put it closer to future character-action games like, well, 2004’s Ninja Gaiden than its peers. You need to master air control, wall bouncing, divekicks, slides, and ninjutsu, along with four distinct weapons that can be cycled through in the middle of combat.
Hagane is probably the most perfect game in this article, although it’s extremely high difficulty makes it one of the hardest to revisit nowadays. Still, give this one a go.
