SUPER NINTENDO 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

[Otaking]

Today is the 25th anniversary for the US Super Nintendo, wow I'm really getting old.
My personal first experiance with the system was the Super Famicom earlier in 1991.
In my opinion it's the greatest video games console of all time, the game library is insanely good.

[CrackTiger]

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts was my favorite launch title and remains one of my favorite SNES games. I didn't like the visuals and style of Ghouls 'n Ghosts when it came out for Genesis and thought that Sega had just made their own bastardized sequel. Super GnG was what I expected aesthetically from a 16-bit Ghosts 'n Goblins and it has one of the soundtracks that plays well with the weaknesses of the SNES sound.

Super Mario World was neat and I appreciated the superfluous levels, but it gets harder and harder to play far into as years go by.

[GaijinD]

The SNES is the first system I bought with my own money, so that makes it a little extra special for me. It definitely represents a point at which I formed a lot of my tastes. Playing Street Fighter II started my obsession with fighting games, and it had RPGs I actually liked after having hated Dragon Warrior on NES. Definitely a great system with great games.

[PukeSter]

Awesome console. I may be 18, but my childhood was full of snes classics on the gameboy, with the perfect Super Mario World and the impeccable Yoshi's Island.

I'm still trying to explore the platform. Compared to Turbografx, there aren't as many pick up and play games, but the top of the library is incredible.

Unpopular opinion: LTTP is not even close in quality to Super Metroid. It's a good game but could've been better.

Some games I enjoy are:

Super Bonk 1 and 2 (1 is ok)
Mario World
Donkey Kong Country
Ninja Warriors
Gokujo Parodius
Goemon 2
Megaman X
Zenki Battle Raiden
DBZ Hyper Dimension
Super Metroid
Hammerin Harry
Rendering Ranger (awesome shooter, okay run and gun)

[BigusSchmuck]

I got mine the day it came out. I mowed sooooooooo many lawns that summer it wasn't even funny. Still have it (and fixed up by Desh) and play on it to this day. Just got Ogre Battle for not an obscene amount of money today and will be playing it quite a bit this 4 day holiday coming up..

[esteban]

My brother's friend brought it over when it was released and SMW.

SMW.

[esteban]

Pilotwings.

[esteban]

F-Zero.

[esteban]

'Nuff said.

[TR0N]

Still one of the best console that nintendo ever produce.It also being the last time,nintendo really had good third party support to.I don't regret either importing a sfc to play the games.That i missed out on when i owned one for a short time in the early 90's.

[TheClash603]

I remember being in some toy stores in NYC on a family vacation to the Macy's day parade the year it released and seeing the system demoed.  It wasn't until many years later I  owned the system, as my parents didn't upgrade me from NES until I got a Genesis after Mortal Monday, so the nostalgia isn't there so much for me...  however, SMW is arguably the best launch game of all time.

[ginoscope]

I remember getting it at about launch.  My sister was 16 at the time and I was 14.  She had her first job and I begged her to get me a snes.  She finally did and I was so excited for the system.  I remember getting final fight and final fantasy 2 that fall.  The snes had a great launch window of games.

My only regret was because of this and the Turbo I became a snob and didn't want anything to do with the nes.  Missed out on a lot of good 8-bit games that came out from 1990 and on lol.

[Medic_wheat]

I personally like that there is still a wealth of games for the SNES I have get to experience. My ever growing list of SNES games to pick up seems to never shrink lol.


Granted these are mostly RPGs. And currently RPGs are a genre I simply don't have the time to invest in.

[csgx1]

Damn, 25 years already.  I got mine for Xmas the following year of the launch.  I didn't buy a lot of games back then but I was able to borrow SNES games since almost everyone I knew had a SNES.  The few that I remember buying were Final Fight, Pilot Wings, and Street Fighter II.  Also, I remember my friend and I foolishly paid $110 for SFC Dragon Ball Z Super Butouden when it came out because we really wanted it. 

A great system with some fantastic games but I'll always prefer the Turbo.

[SoulflySolid]

I remember selling a bunch of my NES games at a garage sale to fund my SNES. I remember on the way home I held on to the box and grinned from ear to ear imagining what was in store....

[crazydean]

Lots of nostalgia for me. This was my first system. I was about 6 when I got it in 1994, and it came bundled with Donkey Kong Country. There are still a lot of games I want to play on it, but since a lot of them are RPGs, I may do one a year.

For me, the SNES is the gold standard. It's what I compare every 2D system to. It will always be better than the Genesis to me.

[Gentlegamer]

Happy B-Day, SNES!

I bought a SNES on 'launch day' in late August 1991 from TRU, the first and only console I've ever had the day of release.

There was a cool mom and pop rental place that had imported SFCs for the year prior, so I had already had my mind blown by Super Mario World, F-Zero, and even Final Fight.

The funny thing is, before SFC was announced, I was drifting towards becoming a huge FEKA Genesis wanna-be fan, and I pined for that system.

The launch window for SNES was possibly the best of any system ever, between launch and Christmas the following games came out:

Super Mario World
ActRaiser
Sim City
F-Zero
UN Squadron
Super Castlevania IV
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Final Fantasy II (IV)

Now you're playing with power, SUPER POWER!

[seieienbu]

I didn't get a SNES at release.  I picked one up about a year and a half later.  What I do remember at release is actually a bit Turbo related.  Just after the SNES launched, the Dillards in the mall of my small hometown of College Station TX got rid of their Turbografx display unit and put a SNES on the TV with Final Fight.

[Medic_wheat]

I blame Gamesack for my purches of this game.

[Groover]

I remember renting the system when it first came out confirming that I needed to save up and buy it. I did just that with my babysitting money and lawn mowing money. I already had a Genesis for the last year but Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World was enough.

[TR0N]

I still think this is funny parents in the 90's thinking the snes was a rip off.

[esteban]

The day I fell in love with SNES...

 

[NecroPhile]

That first video shows a different title screen for SMW with the subtitle of Super Mario Bros. 4.  Neat.

[LostFlunky]

That first video shows a different title screen for SMW with the subtitle of Super Mario Bros. 4.  Neat.

Good catch!

[Digi.k]

around that time of the japanese launch I traded in my pc engine and games for this system.

Super Mario World 4, F-zero, Super Castlevania IV,Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Actraiser and Street Fighter II, Super Adventure Island

Then those later games kept me from enjoying any Megadrive/Genesis games until much later on; Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Contra Spirits, Ganbare Goeman 2, Final Fantasy 6 aka III, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Super Puyo Puyo, Parodius Da! Super Street Fighter II/Hyper Fighting, Mario Kart, Star Fox, Stunt Race FX, Super Metroid.

[crazydean]

The day I fell in love with SNES...

 

This is the first time I've heard of this game, so I fired it up on le everdrive. Wow, I thought I was going to vomit. The screen shakes when you move quickly or change directions, and there doesn't seem to be any purpose for being in the level. I still don't know what the goal was. Also, there is a button that makes you explode...which doesn't really do anything.

[esteban]

The day I fell in love with SNES...

 

This is the first time I've heard of this game, so I fired it up on le everdrive. Wow, I thought I was going to vomit. The screen shakes when you move quickly or change directions, and there doesn't seem to be any purpose for being in the level. I still don't know what the goal was. Also, there is a button that makes you explode...which doesn't really do anything.

I had never heard of that game back when I was playing SNES in early 90's... I found out about it because it was a running gag with an old TG-16 forum from 15 years ago (critiquing the gratuitous use of "Mode 7" effects was a common tactic by FEKA agents at the turn of the century).

To be honest, I thought folks were making stuff up when they described this game in the message boards.

THEN I PLAYED IT

Dear Lord, save us both: the developers of that game are going to Hell for defiling nature. AND WE ARE GUILTY, by extension, for dabbling in the UNHOLY TRINITY of Mohawk, Headphone Jack and Beelzebub.

I will see you in Hell, comrade.

[KPat]

Happy belated birthday beloved SNES. What can be said that hasn't already been said.  Those launch titles, the spectacular third party support.  Still my most played system to date, and recently have been discovering the library of SFC only releases, from Gokujiu Parodious to Zenki, Maccross Scrambled Valkerie to The Great Battle series.  16 bit Nintendo, the gift that keeps on giving.

[TR0N]

Retronauts just put out there podcast on the snes 25th anniversary.
http://www.retronauts.com/?p=1456#comments

[geise]

Super Mario World 4, F-zero, Super Castlevania IV,Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Actraiser and Street Fighter II, Super Adventure Island

Minus a few titles on snes those are my favorites you have listed.  I was lucky and won the SNES in a radio show contest.  Had it a couple weeks before launch.  I was on the snes hate bandwagon at the time since I had a Turbo and Genesis, but man I loved some of the early snes titles.  I still like Sonic 1 over SMW but SMW is such a good game.  I know mario 3 fans hate 4, but I really like that game. I can always pick it up every year and sit down to play through it.  Once I got my Duo though my SNES playing dwindled.  Not completly, but I found I wasn't playing it as much.  I also can't believe it's been 25 damn years.

[DQ187]

^^For real? I dont think i've ever heard of a Mario 3 fan hating Mario World. I thought both were regarded as 2 of the best Mario games ever. Seems weird a person would love one but hate the other. And Sonic over Mario World? Now i know your trippin!

[geise]

I will always like Sonic 1 over SMW.  There are tons of people if you search around that like Mario 3 over SMW.  I'm not one of them but there are plenty out there.  Sonic 1 that year was a game fresh and new.  I really enjoyed it and still do.

[esteban]

I will always like Sonic 1 over SMW.  There are tons of people if you search around that like Mario 3 over SMW.  I'm not one of them but there are plenty out there.  Sonic 1 that year was a game fresh and new.  I really enjoyed it and still do.

I hear what you are saying: Sonic 1 really was fresh, new and exciting when it came out. I remember the feeling—it seemed as if we jumped into the future...it's how I felt playing the NEO AES at JC Penny for hours every day one summer...this is the future of home gaming!

As for SMB 3 vs SMW...I love both, but SMW really starts off in a plodding, anticlimatic manner, especially in context of "next generation" marketing for consoles—SMW's ho-hum initial impression is *not* what (I) we were expecting our first few moments to be like with a brand new installment on a brand new console. I remember thinking "OK" (I felt the same way about Gradius III). I actually love Gradius III (I know I am in the minority), slowdown and all. It's just not what I was expecting after BLAZING LAZERS was my first impression for TG-16, for example.

However, what's funny is that, over the years, Sonic games (the mechanics) have not retained that magic for me anymore (too jaded)...

Yet, I go back to Mario games all the time. I love slow, plodding Gradius III.

Sonic?

Occasionally.

Sorry Sonic

And, to settle things: I don't think Sonic CD is the best...it's not better than the first two installments... I like Sonic CD, but maybe my expectations were unrealistic? Because I wanted Sonic CD to somehow capture the magic of first two Sonics... and then MOAR.

So: I know I may not be judging Sonic CD objectively, but it will never wear a GOLD or SILVER medal.



/tangent



BACK ON TOPIC: I love SMW, but I couldn't help feeling, initially, that since SMB3 was so much damn fun to play, and so immediate, frenetic, energized... SMW had to prove itself. There was no automatic passes. SMW had to win me over and prove that it, truly, was a great game. It eventually did. But I feel that SMB3's "instant classic" status was achieved almost immediately, whereas SMW took some time before I was convinced it was a masterpiece.

[johnnykonami]

Lets see if I can conjure up a few SNES memories from my past.

- I once had my buddy play through Gradius III over the phone so I could hear the soundtrack, long before we could get things like .sfc files on the internet.  Like, a beige phone with a curly cord.

- Another friend introduced me to Spanky's Quest years later, which has a pretty amazing soundtrack too.  You should go listen to it!  Between the cover art of the game in the US, and the sports theme, I'm sure I'm not the only one who overlooked this gem.

- My first Super Famicom game that I ever saw was Dragon Ball Z: Super Butouden.  A friend at an anime club we went to had it.  Not the biggest DBZ person, but I always thought that split screen fighting to represent distance was really awesome.  I later discovered Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie and not only as a lifelong Robotech/Macross nut, but also as a fan of really good video games, I had my mind blown.  One of my very favorites for the SFC.

I didn't own my own SNES until people were selling them for the next big thing, it was one of the systems I got from a friend who worked at Funcoland when they were rolling in cheap.  I am gunning for a Super Famicom now, and I might get a couple of games for it, but the main reason is because they look really nice and I want to get it to play with the Super Gameboy 2 and play GB games.  I know I can use my SNES but the SFC will have the same curvature and aesthetics which I kinda like.

Overall, a great console with ton of good games on it.

[sanjo]

I got the snes first thing it came out. My parents very reluctantly bought it.
Pack in game was SMW. As I set it up they were watching to see what they invested into. The first stage of mario I tried (aside from Yoshi's house) was Yoshi Island 1. While i thought it was cool "look, mario has more colors and there's parallax scrolling.. or moving background as I would call it"..

my parents immediately said "we wasted hundreds just for a game that looks no different from mario 3!?".

they refused to buy me any more new snes games until UN Squadron.  My dad happened to like the arcade game, so he was willing to buy it for me.

As my parents watched me load the game.. the intro blew us away! the sound was so good and especially loud! when I got to the 2nd stage (the stealth bomber in the clouds), I was like wow.. more moving backgrounds, large sprites, so much awesome music.  They were finally convinced it was a big upgrade from the NES.

[crazydean]

I got the snes first thing it came out. My parents very reluctantly bought it.
Pack in game was SMW. As I set it up they were watching to see what they invested into. The first stage of mario I tried (aside from Yoshi's house) was Yoshi Island 1. While i thought it was cool "look, mario has more colors and there's parallax scrolling.. or moving background as I would call it"..

my parents immediately said "we wasted hundreds just for a game that looks no different from mario 3!?".

they refused to buy me any more new snes games until UN Squadron.  My dad happened to like the arcade game, so he was willing to buy it for me.

As my parents watched me load the game.. the intro blew us away! the sound was so good and especially loud! when I got to the 2nd stage (the stealth bomber in the clouds), I was like wow.. more moving backgrounds, large sprites, so much awesome music.  They were finally convinced it was a big upgrade from the NES.

It sounds like your parents would have fit right in with the video in this thread.

[Psycho Punch]

No talk about SNES is complete without the absolute classic:

totally underrated outside Brazil for some reason. Top Gear is awesome.