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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My Ideal Collection - SNES

I often imagine that I'm striving towards having my "perfect" collection for each system that I own.  I keep a mental list of my ideal collection for any given system, which may experience changes depending on my level of exposure to the games.  The following is my current ideal collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.  The vast majority of the games on the list I do not own, but believe firmly that I would enjoy them and play them enough to justify hanging on to them.

1. Super Mario All-Stars & Super Mario World.

I currently own and absolutely love Super Mario World for the SNES, and it has been one of my favorite platformers for years.  However, I would much rather have the version that includes 16-bit reboots of Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and the Lost Levels since it has so much packed into a single cartridge.

  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Yoshi's Island is one of those games that I always meant to get around to, but still haven't tried.  It looks quite different from Super Mario World, with a different art style and different gameplay elements but still manages to arouse my interest.

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

Another game that I own, and am currently doing a very enjoyable play-through of, is Link's foray into the 16-bit era.  This is a fantastic adventure game and is considered by many, myself included, the pinnacle of the Zelda franchise.

4. Plok

Plok is a game that, although I haven't had an opportunity to play, I find extremely appealing.  I am a huge fan of quirky and colorful games and this seems to be a platformer that fits the bill quite nicely.

5. Donkey Kong Country

I played Donkey Kong Country for hours on end at a relatives house when I was young and couldn't get enough.  Even if I had grown to dislike the game, I would still pick this one up purely due to nostalgia.

6. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

My strong fondness of Donkey Kong Country makes picking up the sequel at some point a no-brainer.
7. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
As long as I'm planning on picking up and playing through the first two games, it seems logical to round out the trilogy and get the full experience. 

8. Joe & Mac

I have yet to play the first Joe & Mac, but played the second game in the series repeatedly until I finally saw the ending while I was on vacation when I was young. That's more than enough to get me interested.

9. Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics

As I said above, I played this game religiously while I was on vacation once and I have not once forgotten how much fun I had.  This is a game I will treasure for nostalgia as well as it being a genuinely fun game.

10. Super Metroid

One of the first games I ever played was Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment system.  I would draw massive maps and explore for hours on end.  I can't wait to give this highly-touted sequel a try.

11. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

After playing through Goemon's Great Adventure on the N64 and being blown away by how much I enjoyed it, I was informed about this entry in the series.  This is the SNES game I want to play most of all.

12. Super Castlevania IV

Castlevania, like Metroid, is a game I spent hours with on the NES.  The main reason I want to play this game is because so many different sources have claimed it has none of the control issues present in every other 2D Castlevania game and is extremely fluid.

13. Castlevania: Dracula X

This game may be essentially a very butchered port of a better PCEngine game, which goes so far as to completely remove a playable character among other significant changes, but from what I can tell it is still a decent Castlevania game and a good game for the SNES, albeit far from the quality of the original version.
 14. Mega Man X

To be perfectly honest, I never really got into the Mega Man games, but I've heard so many good things about this game in particular that I would happily give it a go, and I have a hunch I'll like it a lot.

15. Kirby's Dream Land 3

I carried Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy around with me wherever I went and beat the game more times than I could possibly remember.  My hope is that I enjoy the third entry as much as the first.

16. Kirby Super Star

Again, my archaic fondness of Kirby's Dream Land is what points me to this title.  I'm not expecting a game much like my handheld entry, but I have a feeling I'll have a lot of fun with Super Star.

17. Kirby's Avalance

I like playing puzzle games every so often and this looks like an enjoyable one.  Plus, it's got Kirby.

18. Yoshi's Cookie

I actually owned and really liked this game, but somewhere along the way it was lost.  I intend to pick up another copy whenever I find the opportunity.

19. Final Fantasy II

I played through Final Fantasy II (IV) when it was re-released with Chrono Trigger on the original Playstation and really enjoyed it, as I'm a huge fan of 16-bit RPGs.  This is one of the games that got me hooked.

20. Final Fantasy III

Like, the previous FF game, I played through Final Fantasy III (VI) when it was re-released for the original Playstation.  This is my favorite RPG and I would love to have it readily available in my SNES collection.
 21. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

This is a game I have and really enjoy on my SNES, but a lot of people seem to dislike.  It's a very simple and quite easy FF game, but I genuinely have a lot of fun playing through it despite its simplicity.

22. Chrono Trigger

Another game I played through upon its Playstation re-release, Chrono Trigger is my extremely close second favorite RPG only slightly eclipsed by my fondness towards Final Fantasy III (VI).
 23. EarthBound

EarthBound is a game that I want to play very much.  I can't get enough of both 16-bit RPGs and quirky games.  A quirky 16-bit RPG is a dream come true, so this is high priority on my SNES list.

24. Lufia & the Fortress of Doom

I know little about this game other than hearing a great deal of praise for its sequel, but after seeing gameplay footage I'm confident I would greatly enjoy the experience.

25. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

As stated above, I've heard a considerable amount of praise for this game.  Since it's a genre I genuinely enjoy a lot, I intend to gladly give both the original and this sequel a play-through.

26. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Like EarthBound, my fondness of both RPGs and quirky games draws me to this one.  It doesn't hurt that it utilizes the world of Super Mario Bros.

27. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

Seeing as I'm a fan of strategy games in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and to a lesser extent Eternal Eyes, Ogre Battle seems like a worthwhile addition to my SNES library.

28. Secret of Mana

I have a soft spot for action RPGs so athough I know very little about this game other than that it's a 16-bit action RPG with a Squaresoft logo on the box for the SNES, this is enough to get me to buy the game.  I'm fully confident it will be a worthwhile experience.

29. Secret of Evermore

See the reasons I want to play Secret of Mana to know exactly why I want to play this game as well.

30. Illusion of Gaia

Pretty much the same reasons I want to pick up Secret of Mana and Evermore, but replace the Squaresoft logo with an Enix one.

31. E.V.O. Search for Eden

This is another one of those games that adds quirkiness and a neat idea to the mix.  E.V.O. is an action RPG where you can evolve in many different ways throughout centuries depending on the way you play the game.

32. Super Mario Kart

Finally moving away from the expansive SNES RPG library, Super Mario Kart is a game I've owned for some time now and regularly play.  The coins scattered throughout levels actually lend quite a bit of strategy to this game not found in it's contemporary forms.

33. F-Zero

Although I don't play it as often as Super Mario Kart, I have also hung on to my copy of F-Zero as it is both a very graphically impressive and very fun SNES racing game.

34. Star Fox

Star Fox is a game I'm willing to give a chance due to it's reputation, but may be stricken off the list after I actually try it out.  I'm willing to give it a go but have a hunch it won't really be my cup of tea.

35. Parodius

I'm not a huge fan of shoot-em-up games by any means, but I do enjoy the few I play.  This one just looks way too wacky and crazy to pass up.

36. Super Punch*Out!!

The NES version of Punch Out is one of my favorite go-to games when I'm bored, so it's a shame I've never tried out the SNES game.  This is one I'm really looking forward to playing.

37. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers

I've played many versions of Street Fighter II and while I have a copy of Super Street Fighter II for my  Sega Genesis, I would rather play the SNES counterpart despite never picking up a copy.

38. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition

I was a fan of the Power Rangers when I was young and it first aired in the states.  I was also a fan of 2D fighting games.  I had several Power Rangers games when I was young but was unaware of a tournament fighter existing.  I'm looking forward to seeing the game in action.

39. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters

I'm looking to pick this one up for the same reasons as the Power Rangers Tournament Fighter.

40. Super Game Boy

The Super Game Boy may not be a game, but it adds hundreds of Game Boy games to the list of games you can play on your SNES.  I use mine often to play classic Game Boy games on my television.

41. Super NES Nintendo Scope with 6 game catridge.

I enjoy light-gun games so I picked up both the Super Scope and the 6-game cartridge ages ago.  While nothing incredibly special, the games are fun to play.  If only the Super Scope didn't consume batteries at an alarmingly veracious rate.

42. Yoshi's Safari

Yoshi's Safari is the reason I've held onto the Super Scope despite its appetite for my batteries.  I picked up this game and the 6 game cartridge when I picked up the light gun.  Yoshi's Safari feels like a more well-polished spiritual successor to Duck Hunt and I enjoy playing it fairly often. Be forewarned,  rechargeable batteries are a must if you get hooked on this game.

43. Zombies Ate My Neighbors

I've played this game regularly since I picked it up on a whim.  If you enjoy both B-Horror films and arcade games, then this game is a must.  It can get a bit repetitive as many arcade style games can, but playing through this game with a friend is a great experience.


This list is entirely flexible and is likely to change over time.  What are some of the games in your ideal collection?  Are the similar to the one's listed above or entirely different?  These lists are likely to include well known triple AAA titles, as mine has, but are also based on personal taste, so I love hearing what others are striving towards in their collections.  Any games you feel are a travesty I left out or are there games I included that you can't stand?  Let me know!





4 comments:

  1. I liked Secret of Mana. It looked like a big game and like you could change the course of the storyline.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I bought this same item from another dealer and it came broken. This one works and it is so much fun to play the old games that I grew up with. It's awesome.

    ReplyDelete