Super Nintendo’s top five games –

5. Super Probotector

There were an incredible number of great side-scrolling action games in this era, but the best of them all was Contra III, which was titled Super Probotector in Europe. The two robots that replaced the macho heroes actually fit in even better and contributed to a rock-solid futuristic setting with phenomenal game controls, rock-solid action, an incredibly good soundtrack, varied gameplay, world-class boss fights and a gameplay loop so good that I play this often to this day.

4. Secret of Mana

I hesitated for a long time whether to include Final Fantasy VI or Secret of Mana on this list, but in the end, as you can see, I chose Mana. First, Final Fantasy VI was never released in Europe, and second, I probably had more fun with this, not least because you could play local co-op. Secret of Mana became for me – and many other gamers – the gateway to Japanese role-playing games and remains one of the best games Square Enix (as they are now called) ever released.

3. The Legend of Zelda: a link to the past

After two great Zelda games for the NES, both very different from each other, Nintendo (as usual) came out with a new adventure that again had a new concept. The intro where Link enters the storm is excellent and what follows is about 15 hours of adventure magic where Nintendo proves time and time again why they are probably the best developer in the gaming world.

2. Super Mario world

Places two and three for Super Nintendo are so hard to rank that it’s almost criminal. I honestly could have switched places based on the mood of the day, but here and now I end up on Mario’s fourth true platforming adventure, perhaps his best ever. Each level is a kind of unique microcosm with peculiar gameplay, alternate paths and tons of secrets. Is it the best two-dimensional platform game of all time? I think so, actually.

1. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting

I suspect many of you are shaking your fists in the air and shouting things you shouldn’t say in front of your mother, but the first spot was actually the easiest place for me to pick. Street Fighter II defined not only the Super Nintendo era for me, but the entire 90s and a not insignificant part of the 00s. It single-handedly made the fighting genre the giant it is today and created the rules for how everything should be done, complemented by the best cast of characters a fighting game has ever had. Crowned with a timeless soundtrack and gameplay that is immune to the test of time, this is something I still love to play today, and one of the top five games I’ve ever played.