Most Influential SNES Games, Ranked: From EarthBound to Street Fighter 2

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Summary

  • EarthBound’s weirdness stood out & garnered niche fans, inspiring successors like Undertale.
  • Tactics Ogre introduced grid-based strategy RPG mechanics that influenced future titles.
  • Chrono Trigger redefined RPG norms with innovations like real-time combat and time-travel.

A lot of video game fans who grew up in the 90s still feel like the SNES was a high point. It’s easy to see why as video game fever was bigger than it had ever been at that point. Graphics were better, stories were more engaging, and gameplay felt smoother.

Some games from the SNES era remain popular due to their distinctive features, and many modern developers continue to draw inspiration from this console. These specific titles have left a lasting impact on gaming, and their influence can still be seen in today’s games. However, not all of these games are considered the best on the system, but they were groundbreaking nonetheless.

8. EarthBound

Making RPGs Weird

EarthBound wasn’t immediately popular for two reasons. First, RPGs weren’t as big on the SNES despite the console having some absolute bangers. Second, it was just weird even by RPG standards. It was released in 1995 in North America with a big push from Nintendo to make it a thing, including a guidebook that is now beyond rare.

It gained a niche crowd over the decades with fans paying tribute via rom hack sequels. One of those hackers was Toby Fox who later went on to create Undertale which exploded in 2015. EarthBound-likes and Undertale-likes are now a genre unto themselves as fans still wait for Nintendo to either release Mother 3 in English or to make a fourth game.

7. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

Grid-Based Strategy Is Born

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was released for the SNES in 1995 in Japan only. It would not hit the West until 1998 via the PS1 port. This was after Final Fantasy Tactics, making it look like a copycat. It was not the first grid-based tactical RPG, but it did solidify a lot of mechanics that even Fire Emblem wasn’t doing.

The mature and branching story, the class system, and the overall design of the grid. Developers from this game went on to make Final Fantasy Tactics and made history, which inspired many tactical RPGs to follow. Its success can be linked back to Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together even though it, or the Ogre Battle series as a whole, never truly got its time in the sunlight.

6. Chrono Trigger

Redefining RPGs

Chrono Trigger bucked the trend for many RPGs of this era in too many ways to count. Monsters appeared in dungeons, there were no random encounters on the world map, combat was turn-based but took place presently and not in an instanced arena, and so on.

Plus the very idea of a time-traveling game was novel in 1995. It only got one sequel, or maybe one could say one and a half sequels, but its legacy looms over the RPG genre as one of the many GOATs that still inspires to this day despite Square Enix’s unwillingness to do anything with it.

5. Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars

Making Turn-Based Active

There are a lot of Mario games that could be seen as influential on the SNES. As important as Super Mario World was, the platformer genre was well-established in the 90s. Super Mario 64 was the platformer that took the genre to new heights. So instead, let’s look at Mario’s first RPG, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, which was developed in partnership with Squaresoft.

In 1996, this game made its debut: it was a unique take on the RPG genre with its innovative interactive turn-based combat system. The game stood out because players could strategically time their attacks and blocks to inflict additional damage. Despite being a late release, the game’s fake 3D graphics demonstrated that the SNES still had life left in it. Squaresoft, now known as Square Enix, did not produce a sequel, but Nintendo went on to create two separate series based on the franchise: Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi. The active battle system inspired by this game influenced many other titles within the Nintendo market and beyond.

4. Super Metroid

Samus’ Saving Grace

Super Metroid is one of the best games on the SNES, which was released in 1994. It was popular but it didn’t break any records for Nintendo. Thanks to that, the franchise went to sleep for a while but eventually came back sporadically with some stellar sequels.

More importantly, it inspired Castlevania to borrow its formula albeit with some RPG tweaks in 1997 via Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Thanks to that game and Super Metroid, the Metroidvania was born. It wasn’t something that took off immediately but both games laid the seeds for the genre to make a boom in the indie scene decades later.

3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Hyrule’s Formula Is Set

The NES Zelda games were popular but a bit meandering with their mechanics. The third entry, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, is when the real Zelda formula was born. Link stumbles into an adventure with a sword and shield, and collects a few precious items only for that to kickstart a new collection of MacGuffins after that.

The formula became predictable up until 2017 with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but that’s not a bad thing. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the best top-down entry in the series and its simplistic nature makes it so easy to go back to.

2. Super Mario Kart

Speeding Into Stardom

With numerous Mario games available on the SNES, it’s challenging to focus on just one game. However, among them, Super Mario Kart was particularly influential. It introduced and popularized the kart racing genre in 1992, becoming a trend that many consoles have since followed with great success.

The Switch launched in 2017 with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and it still remains a best-seller. Beyond sequels though, Super Mario Kart inspired many karting copycats from Crash Team Racing to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

1. Street Fighter 2

Round One, Fight!

As a gamer, I’ve always enjoyed racing games, but fighting games have a special place in my heart. Back in 1987, when Street Fighter first hit arcades, it didn’t make much of an impact. It wasn’t until Street Fighter 2 was released in 1991 that the game and its genre really took off.

It blew up in arcades and even made it to the SNES in 1992. Its combo system and character roster helped pave the way for a wild amount of copycats from Mortal Kombat in this generation to Tekken in the next. There’s no denying the power that a new Street Fighter brings to the table. It is to fighting games what Mario is to platformers.

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2025-03-18 03:11