NOW YOU'RE POLLING WITH POWER. SUPER POWER. Console Poll, vol. 2 - 4th Generation RESULTS

i beat lttp not that long ago (maybe 5 years or so?). when i was a kid i think i got to like the 3rd or 4th dungeon in dark world before giving up. i don't think i ever beat link's awakening - i got to the end maybe but you need to open the egg with instruments or something and i didn't figure that out. i did complete the entire mini giving gifts game that starts with winning that yoshi (?) at the claw game.

it's tough to directly compare link to the past, SMW, and chrono trigger in a ranking system. all three are pinnacles of the genre, so whichever one you prefer just depends on what kind of game you prefer (super metroid, same thing)

high point of lttp besides the guy under the bridge: looking down on the lost woods from the top of death mountain. real sense of a world connected to itself, probably more so than koholint island (def more so than ocarina imo, even than the cramped but brilliant majora's)

Super Mario World is totes overrated. SMB3 with SNES graphics.

(speaking of the best time travel games xp)

SMB3 with SNES graphics would prob be better than super mario world

so, ballots in here?

Yeah, let's just use this thread for it all

STONE-COLD CLASSIC TIER
1 - Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - 522 points / 3 First-place votes / 18 Votes
2 - Super Mario World - 473 points / 19 Votes
3 - Chrono Trigger - 433 points / 3 First-place votes / 14 Votes
4 - Final Fantasy VI (III) - 371 points / 2 First-place votes / 12 Votes
5 - Tetris - 313 points / 1 First-place votes / 13 Votes
6 - Earthbound - 304 points / 3 First-place votes / 11 Votes
7 - Street Fighter II & SFII' Turbo - 292 points / 11 Votes
8 - Super Metroid - 288 points / 11 Votes
9 - Secret of Mana - 222 points / 11 Votes
10 - StarFox - 218 points / 9 Votes
11 - Super Bomberman - 209 points / 9 Votes
12 - Super Mario Kart - 204 points / 1 First-place votes / 11 Votes
13 - Donkey Kong Country - 204 points / 12 Votes
14 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - 194 points / 8 Votes
15 - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 179 points / 9 Votes
16 - F-Zero - 171 points / 8 Votes
17 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 161 points / 9 Votes

BELOVED TIER
18 - ToeJam & Earl - 136 points / 6 Votes
19 - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - 129 points / 7 Votes
20 - Sonic The Hedgehog - 128 points / 7 Votes
21 - Super Castlevania IV - 121 points / 5 Votes
22 - Super Mario Land - 118 points / 5 Votes
23 - Donkey Kong Country 2 - 115 points / 5 Votes
24 - NBA Jam - 113 points / 5 Votes
25 - Another World/Out Of This World - 101 points / 1 First-place votes / 4 Votes
26 - Legend of the Mystical Ninja - 101 points / 4 Votes
27 - Pilotwings - 100 points / 4 Votes
28 - Mega Man X - 99 points / 8 Votes
29 - Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - 94 points / 1 First-place votes / 3 Votes
30 - Sonic & Knuckles (and Sonic 3 + Knuckles) - 87 points / 1 First-place votes / 4 Votes
31 - Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow - 87 points / 4 Votes
32 - Earthworm Jim - 86 points / 6 Votes
33 - Langrisser II - 81 points / 3 Votes
34 - Crusader of Centy (aka Soleil) - 80 points / 2 First-place votes / 2 Votes
35 - Rock n Roll Racing - 79 points / 4 Votes
36 - Super Mario All-Stars - 78 points / 3 Votes
37 - NBA Jam Tournament Edition - 77 points / 5 Votes
38 - Gunstar Heroes - 70 points / 4 Votes
38 - SimCity - 70 points / 4 Votes
40 - Streets of Rage II - 70 points / 3 Votes

SOLID TIER
41 - Breath of Fire - 69 points / 3 Votes
42 - Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium - 67 points / 3 Votes
42 - Flashback - 67 points / 3 Votes
42 - Super Street Fighter II + Turbo - 67 points / 3 Votes
45 - Revenge of Shinobi - 66 points / 2 Votes
46 - Harvest Moon - 64 points / 5 Votes
47 - Shining Force 2 - 64 points / 2 Votes
48 - Micro Machines - 63 points / 3 Votes
48 - ActRaiser - 63 points / 3 Votes
50 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors - 61 points / 4 Votes
51 - Streets of Rage III - 61 points / 3 Votes
52 - Front Mission - 57 points / 2 Votes
53 - Shining Force - 56 points / 2 Votes
54 - Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon - 54 points / 3 Votes
55 - Final Fantasy V - 54 points / 2 Votes
56 - Contra 3: The Alien Wars - 53 points / 4 Votes
57 - Super Empire Strikes Back - 51 points / 3 Votes
58 - Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - 50 points / 3 Votes
59 - Secret of Evermore - 50 points / 2 Votes
60 - Kirby's Dream Land - 48 points / 2 Votes
61 - Shadowrun - 47 points / 3 Votes
62 - Shinobi III - 47 points / 2 Votes
63 - Road Rash II - 46 points / 2 Votes
64 - E.V.O. The Search for Eden - 45 points / 2 Votes
65 - Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins - 44 points / 1 First-place votes / 2 Votes
66 - UN Squadron - 44 points / 2 Votes
66 - ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkatron - 44 points / 2 Votes
68 - Cannon Fodder - 43 points / 3 Votes
69 - Wonder Boy V: Monster World III - 43 points / 2 Votes
69 - Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen - 43 points / 2 Votes
69 - Castlevania: Bloodlines - 43 points / 2 Votes
72 - Nobunaga's Ambition - 42 points / 2 Votes
72 - Final Fantasy IV (II) - 42 points / 2 Votes
74 - On the Ball - 40 points / 1 First-place votes / 1 Vote
75 - Mortal Kombat 2 - 40 points / 2 Votes

FOND MEMORIES TIER
76 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time - 38 points / 2 Votes
77 - Final Fight - 38 points / 1 Vote
77 - Rings of Power - 38 points / 1 Vote
79 - Streets of Rage - 36 points / 2 Votes
79 - Haunting starring Polterguy - 36 points / 2 Votes
81 - Sword of Vermilion - 36 points / 1 Vote
82 - Bahamut Lagoon - 34 points / 1 Vote
82 - Beyond Oasis/The Story of Thor - 34 points / 1 Vote
84 - Golden Axe - 33 points / 3 Votes
85 - Killer Instinct - 33 points / 2 Votes
85 - Mortal Kombat - 33 points / 2 Votes
87 - Demon's Crest - 32 points / 1 Vote
88 - Mario Paint - 30 points / 2 Votes
88 - Terranigma - 30 points / 2 Votes
90 - Lemmings - 30 points / 1 Vote
91 - Parodius - 28 points / 2 Votes
91 - Dragon Quest V - 28 points / 2 Votes
93 - Gargoyle's Quest - 28 points / 1 Vote
94 - Gradius 3 - 27 points / 2 Votes
95 - Landstalker - 26 points / 1 Vote
96 - NHL 96 - 25 points / 2 Votes
97 - Super Off Road - 24 points / 2 Votes
97 - Soul Blazer - 24 points / 2 Votes
99 - Pyramid Magic - 24 points / 1 Vote
99 - Bomberman '94 - 24 points / 1 Vote
99 - Lost Vikings - 24 points / 1 Vote
102 - Desert Strike - 23 points / 2 Votes
103 - Final Fantasy Legend - 22 points / 2 Votes
104 - Monster World IV - 22 points / 1 Vote

ALSO REMEMBERED TIER
105 - Madden NFL '94 - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Metal Slug - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Psycho Pinball - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Super Return of the Jedi - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Super Star Wars - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Thunderforce IV - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Pop'n Twinbee - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Super Double Dragon - 21 points / 1 Vote
105 - Dune: The Battle for Arrakis - 21 points / 1 Vote
114 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire - 20 points / 2 Votes
115 - Xenon 2: Megablast - 20 points / 1 Vote
115 - Tails Adventure - 20 points / 1 Vote
115 - Kirby Super Star a.k.a. Kirby's Fun Pack - 20 points / 1 Vote
118 - Illusion of Gaia - 18 points / 1 Vote
118 - Yoshi's Safari - 18 points / 1 Vote
118 - Aladdin - 18 points / 1 Vote
121 - Ecco The Dolphin - 16 points / 1 Vote
121 - Aerobiz - 16 points / 1 Vote
121 - Lemmings 2: The Tribes - 16 points / 1 Vote
121 - Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 - 16 points / 1 Vote
121 - Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday - 16 points / 1 Vote
126 - Umihara Kawase - 12 points / 1 Vote
127 - Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story (Angel) - 10 points / 1 Vote
127 - Super Punchout - 10 points / 1 Vote
127 - General Chaos - 10 points / 1 Vote
127 - Aero the Acrobat - 10 points / 1 Vote
127 - Earthworm Jim 2 - 10 points / 1 Vote
127 - Lufia II - 10 points / 1 Vote
133 - Comix Zone - 8 points / 2 Votes
134 - Star Ocean - 8 points / 1 Vote
134 - ActRaiser 2 - 8 points / 1 Vote
136 - Populous - 6 points / 1 Vote
136 - Sparkster - 6 points / 1 Vote
138 - Subterrania - 4 points / 1 Vote
138 - Jungle Strike - 4 points / 1 Vote
138 - Kid Chameleon - 4 points / 1 Vote
141 - Wings of Wor / Gynoug - 2 points / 1 Vote
141 - Sim Ant - 2 points / 1 Vote
141 - Metal Warriors - 2 points / 1 Vote
141 - Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts - 2 points / 1 Vote

I reckon I was the only voter the Landstalker

xp confirmed

Only game that I actually skipped sleep entirely for.

i beat a link to the past like a dozen times when it was released

because each time i wanted to find all the hearts

i totally do no get super mario world being in second place

for what it stands for, maybe placed at #5 would make sense, but even then, i think i finished it once and never really wanted to play it again even though they changed the worlds a bit to get you to play it again

Noodle Vague's best 4th Gen Console Games - in descending order

1. [G] Crusader of Centy (aka Soleil)
2. [G] Rings of Power
3. [S] Breath of Fire
4. [S] Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. [G] Shining Force
6. [S] Super Mario World
7. [S] Super Mario All-Stars
8. [G] Road Rash II
9. [S] Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
10. [G] ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkatron
11. [S] SimCity
12. [S] Chrono Trigger
13. [G] Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
14. [G] Sonic the Hedgehog 2
15. [SG] NBA Jam
16. [SG] Cannon Fodder
17. [S] Harvest Moon
18. [S] Earthbound
19. [S] Parodius
20. [G] Golden Axe

Oh man Gargoyle's Quest didn't get any love either

My own ballot, bold didn't place:
1. Chrono Trigger
2. Earthbound
3. Front Mission
4. Bahamut Lagoon
5. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
6. Super Mario Land
7. UN Squadron
8. Super Mario World
9. E.V.O. The Search for Eden
10. Mortal Kombat 2
11. Rock n Roll Racing
12. Illusion of Gaia
13. Tetris
14. Final Fantasy Legend
15. Super Mario Kart
16. Donkey Kong Country 2
17. NBA Jam Tournament Edition
18. Haunting starring Polterguy
19. Subterrania
20. Harvest Moon

yeah i've beaten lttp countless times. don't even want to think about it really. mordy i wonder if you got stuck in the ice palace, that's the hard one imo.

here's mine - not sure why i included sim ant except to pad out my ballot:

[S] Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
[S] Chrono Trigger
[S] ActRaiser
[S] Super Mario World
[SG] NBA Jam
[b] Tetris
[S] Pilotwings
[S] Donkey Kong Country
[SG] Lost Vikings
[b] Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
[SG] Super Off-Road
[S] Aladdin
[b] Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
[S] Secret of Mana
[S] Killer Instinct
[G] Golden Axe
[S] ActRaiser 2
[SG] Earthworm Jim
[G] Sonic the Hedgehog
[S] Sim Ant

lol i only played sim ant on pc but loved it obsessively even tho it was broken. the manual was in two parts: the manual, and then a longer section that was just ant facts. to this day i know a lot about ants.

after each beating it did get easier for whatever that's worth

i would rush through things and by the third time you'd get a nice routine going and just focus on hunting for heart pieces or talking to the right dudes in the right order to help you move along faster

that's in reference to lttp btw

Oh shit, how did I forget to vote for Ecco the Dolphin?!?! Loved that game!

I'll post my ballot as soon as I'm somewhere other than my stupid Gmail-blocking workplace.

also forgot to vote for ecco tho i think i liked the album more <joekz>

ha, my vote got On the Ball in juuuuuust ahead of Mortal Kombat II. no regrets.

games that deserved better:

94 - Gradius 3 - 27 points / 2 Votes (i should have voted for this, given the amount of time i spent playing it...wait a second, WHERE THE FUCK IS SUPER R-TYPE? NO ONE voted for it!?!?! that game is amazing, we have all sinned)
97 - Super Off Road - 24 points / 2 Votes (holds up very well even today, multiplayer esp. but even single-player)
127 - Super Punchout - 10 points / 1 Vote (!!!!!!!! i'm the only person who voted for this? are you all fucking insane??)

my ballot, SNES-exclusive, sorry

1. [S] On the Ball
[S] Secret of Mana
[S] Tetris Attack / Panel de Pon
[SG] Street Fighter II & SFII' Turbo
[SG] Another World/Out Of This World
[S] Final Fantasy VI (III)
[S] Harvest Moon
[S] Super Mario World
[S] Super Mario Kart
[S] Earthbound
[SG] Earthworm Jim
[S] Pilotwings
[S] StarFox
[S] Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
[S] Donkey Kong Country
[S] Super Punchout
[S] Super Metroid
[S] Gradius 3
[SG] Super Off Road
20. [S] Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

KM iirc you were a big marble madness stan too?

wait, i did vote for gradius 3. phew.

but still, super r-type was the superior game, i think. zero votes is terrible.

shooters just not my bag

i'm a huge marble madness fan (in fact, i was slow to this thread the last hour or so because i watching this excellent talk by the creator: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/184925/Video_The_making_of_1984s_Marble_Madness.php), but it didn't come out for SNES and i didn't play the game boy or genesis ports.

127 - Super Punchout - 10 points / 1 Vote (!!!!!!!! i'm the only person who voted for this? are you all fucking insane??)

I would have voted for the NES version for sure. I'm not sure I played the SNES one.

xp i asked bc yr #1 here seems v similar

it's true, i love marble games. nothing gets the heart going faster

[S] Super Mario Kart
[S] Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
[gb] Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
[gb] Tetris
[SG] Street Fighter II & SFII' Turbo
[S] Secret of Mana
[gb] Gargoyle's Quest
[G] Landstalker
[S] Super Castlevania IV
[S] Super Bomberman
[SG] Rock n Roll Racing
[SG] Mortal Kombat 2
[gb] Super Mario Land
[G] Sonic the Hedgehog 2
[S] Contra 3: The Alien Wars
[SG] Earthworm Jim
[G] Gunstar Heroes
[SG] NBA Jam Tournament Edition
[SG] NHL 96
[S] Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Bold didn't place.

I could have sworn I voted for Road Rash II. I should have voted for it.

sorry i joined this thing super late and this has probably been covered but

parodius (parodiusu da! shinwa kara owarai e) for the super famicom would've been in my top 10

as would super dodge ball for the super famicom -- kunio-kun no dodgeball da yo zennin shuugou (https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8F%E3%82%93%E3%81%AE%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%82%B8%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%81%A0%E3%82%88%E5%85%A8%E5%93%A1%E9%9B%86%E5%90%88!)

that super dodge ball for the super famicom would probably be in my top 5

a few other japan-only games would make my top 10 probably

so here are some of the games i will be checking out after this poll:

21 - Super Castlevania IV - 121 points / 5 Votes (never got around to playing this one. it is time. probably not the first i'll try out on this list though)
22 - Super Mario Land - 118 points / 5 Votes (music cranked per will m's suggestion)
26 - Legend of the Mystical Ninja - 101 points / 4 Votes
29 - Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - 94 points / 1 First-place votes / 3 Votes
33 - Langrisser II - 81 points / 3 Votes
34 - Crusader of Centy (aka Soleil) - 80 points / 2 First-place votes / 2 Votes
35 - Rock n Roll Racing - 79 points / 4 Votes
41 - Breath of Fire - 69 points / 3 Votes (so the original is better than II? i don't know why i always thought the sequel was better known?)
59 - Secret of Evermore - 50 points / 2 Votes
64 - E.V.O. The Search for Eden - 45 points / 2 Votes
65 - Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins - 44 points / 1 First-place votes / 2 Votes

everyone who hasn't should play actraiser that game was great

you forgot Gargoyle's Quest and Landstalker xp

i'm gonna play yoshi's island (been hearing people call this a masterpiece my entire life) and i guess crusader of centy! and evermore? and secret of mana maybe finally? and

So far as I know BOF II is considered a generally better game than the original breath of fire, but it must be untrue because ILX said so

III is my fave but I couldn't remember enough about II to place it

Karl you MUST add Bahamut Lagoon if you find yourself with enough time to play through another medium-size RPG! if you ever played FF6, and remember those parts where you move your guys on a board and when they run up against another team they do a regular battle, it was kinda like that!

Nice! I will add it to the list for sure. i am unemployed right now so it might be a decent time to take one on.

my list was v canonical (bold didn't place)

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. Super Castlevania IV
3. Super Mario World
4. Tetris
5. F-Zero
6. Super Mario Kart
7. StarFox
8. Street Fighter II & SFII' Turbo
9. Pilotwings
10. SimCity
11. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
12. Micro Machines
13. Super Mario Land
14. Streets of Rage II
15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
16. Earthworm Jim 2
17. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
18. Sparkster
19. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
20. Desert Strike

can't really remember which was part of which earthworm jim game so i should have been more strategic and thrown those few points to the first, but really it is entirely undeserving of beating pokémon. uh, even tho my own list says so

thanks again will! too bad Haunting just missed out on the top 78, another great very much slept on genesis title along with Beyond Oasis (82 woooo) and of course Crusader of Centy.

Didn't expect Link to the Past to take it all tbh but I expect all of you Zelda voters to give Centy a shot if you've got the time, if Noodle and I haven't convinced you yet I'll do my damndest when I have time to comment on the whole lot

Yoshi's Island is too low. Arguably the best platformer of the generation and certainly one of the most completely-realized in terms of control, art direction, music, level design, etc., just coming together to make something that has a complete feel. Hat is also off to Matsumoto for responding to calls for a more contemporary, polygonal type game, with maybe the most hand-drawn-looking 2D game ever made. Apart from maybe Chrono Trigger I don't think there's a better-looking game on the SNES. More importantly, it's a serious step forward from Super Mario World, which itself is basically a very pretty, perhaps slightly bigger, version of Super Mario Bros. 3.

That's not really a slight on SMW, since SMB3 is one of the most fun games ever made, but SMW's only important design contributions (and they are important) were adding the save slots, and building in the revisiting of levels by offering secret paths out, and the switch palaces to invite you to go way the heck back to stuff much earlier in the game. Yoshi's Island OTOH adds the egg-throwing mechanic (which once you get the knack feels very natural and very satisfying, especially with the bank shots) and, crucially, makes revisiting levels a huge part of gameplay as you try to max out each one and earn the secret levels that way. (Clearly it was part of the same line of thinking that was also generating Mario 64's star system around the same time.) Maybe most enjoyably, it's the first game in the series to actually feature a full complement of unique bosses, which makes you realize in hindsight what a huge lapse it was for SMB3 and SMW to rely so much on the repetitive Koopa kids and Boom Boom/Reznor. Oh, and the levels are great. I think my only real gripe with the game is everybody else's: Baby Mario is pretty annoying, but of course that just makes you want to rescue him all the more. I have to believe that if this had been the pack-in title, and SMW had been released late in the system as "More Classic Mario-Style Fun With Mario!" their positions on this list would be reversed at the least.

Super Metroid is classic obv. I actually played back through it just a few months back during a productivity trough. The great things are the things everyone always praises - the atmosphere, the control, and (ToastyFrog deserves credit for really making the case here) the show-don't-tell approach to storytelling and instruction. The only real minus is that it's not particularly challenging; I did get briefly stuck in a couple places but otherwise it foresages the difficulty curve of its grand, magisterial progeny, Symphony of the Night: with or without RPG elements the game seems to unfold just like a classic JRPG, you gain new attributes and powers just in time to need them, meaning that the increasingly creepy and unsettling depths to which you descend are rarely any harder than the place you just left. If you compare it to basically any random NES game the drop in difficulty is kind of staggering. (In particular there is almost no actual platforming in the classic sense; there are a couple areas in the water zone where a fall will really annoy you because of the long journey back up, but generally all the hand-eye coordination stuff of maneuvering around difficult terrain, dodging gaps in the blocks, all that stuff is gone and on some level it kinda feels like the whole game is walking from place to place. But what places through which to walk!

SFII, I mean what can you even say? I loved the point someone made above about how the different fighters (Ryu and Ken aside) actually do feel differently and play differently. It's the kind of game that almost works like a 'grower' album does - - - characters you initially write off as sucky do have a play style with which they're genuinely dangerous and fun to use. (I admit I never got into Zangief though.) Music and sounds are also very much on point - not just the famous speech blurts, but all the thwacks and punches really do the job. One of the most reliable pick-up-and-play two-player games out there?

FFIII's achievement is not only its staggering bigness but how much of that bigness really does feel filled-out. Most of the huge cast are interesting little 16-bit pixel characters, and nearly all have some kind of interesting play mechanic (though, in a parallel of Zangief, I pretty much wrote off Sabin's blitzes immediately and never bothered much to figure out how the fuck Relm was supposed to really work). The World of Balance twist is dope, the totally optional subquests for badass gear are super satisfying. The only thing I've ever really complained about is that, in comparison with the SoM and Chrono Trigger approach of bright, saturated, colorful art, this one has always felt pretty drab. If those games didn't exist, I would never even think of that though. Similarly, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Amano's character art, while certainly distinctive, seems to belong to a different (considerably weirder and trippier game), and then the in-game character portraits are mostly kinda lame. (Not that I think every game should have Toriyama's distractingly recognizable faces, but something a little more special-seeming than the menu portraits in this game might have been appropriate.) I'm also someone who was never in any way floored by the opera scene (though I was charmed, in the late 90s, by the MIDI 'voice' tones).

Can't say anything at all useful about the top three, but I really like Will M.'s reading of the Chrono Trigger cast. Kinda gives you, over and over, a certain special feeling of identification that I think young adult literature often likes to pay off (examples aren't coming to me just now) of the lonely nerd character discovering a place where they belong, real friends for the first time, and all while on an adventure! I don't know why exactly but I do think you're right, there is something in this game where you just unconsciously accept that these characters come to like and depend on each other as they go through this strange adventure. This is maybe oversold to a melodramatic level with regard to the lengths they go to save Chrono, and tbh somewhat undersold with Magus joining the party - you'd think there would be more chances for dialogue to show this strange alliance developing or deepening. anyway i love this game. just beautiful to be in this world. all the environments are great. and man...talk about paying off on the time-travel gimmick!

Here's my ballot. I put most Nintendo classics at the bottom to get more points towards more obscure games. Unique votes in bold.

1 SG Another World/Out Of This World
2 S Super Metroid
3 S Chrono Trigger
4 T Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
5 S Demon's Crest
6 S Final Fantasy VI (III)
7 S Super Castlevania IV
8 S Mega Man X
9 G Pyramid Magic
10 S Soul Blazer
11 g Tails Adventure
12 SG Street Fighter II & SFII' Turbo
13 SG Lemmings 2: The Tribes
14 S Dragon Quest V
15 S Umihara Kawase
S Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
b Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
S Super Mario World
S Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
S Super Mario Kart
I haven't finished reading the thread yet but I'll make some comments when I do.

S Earthbound
S Final Fantasy VI (III)
S Chrono Trigger
S Donkey Kong Country 2
S Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
S Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
S Super Mario World
S Final Fantasy IV (II)
S Final Fantasy V
S Secret of Evermore
S Donkey Kong Country
S Super Mario All-Stars
b Tetris
S Dragon Quest V
b Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
S Lufia II
S Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
S ActRaiser
S Terranigma
S Soul Blazer

This is the era of gaming of of which I have the most fondness and emotional investment

It's weird to me that Link To The Past always tops these kinds of polls, and Zelda polls in general, as Link's Awakening is imho a better Zelda game and prob the best in the series (hardware limitations aside). LTTP is terrific of course but had so many weird lulls (the crystal monologues, Sahashrala tablets, Death Mountain in general), disappointing bosses, it's been the biggest case of diminishing returns upon replay. But it was amazing the first time!

Final Fantasy III is just wonderful on replay, it's the only game I grinded to 9999/9999 for no reason other than I couldn't let it go

Super Metroid is perfect in every way, best SNES game imo

No interest in DKC and generally find Rare (Goldeneye aside) to be the least-interesting developer with the highest rated games, their games just go clunky clunky clunk

Super Castlevania IV only flaw is that I wish it had branching paths or RPG-elements or something, it just is long long long, but every level is solid and every boss is great except for the ballroom dancing ghost duelists who I recall from the manual were named Fred A-Scare and Paula Ab-ghoul which I thought even at age 10 or whatever was a weirdly post-modern pairing. Dracula is a perfect boss. This is the best soundtrack of the era too imo.

Mega Man X is too low imo, it's pretty much a perfect platformer, and I'd see X2 in the top 75 also.

Gradius III was terrific, but had several shitty levels, from this era I preferred Nemesis for Game Boy.

Tetris was good but I prefer the N64 version "The New Tetris", those Delphine games are PC games in my head not SNES games, same for SimCity

Yoshi's Island was beautiful but clunky in control and design and I had to play it with the sound off because of Baby Mario's crying, the final boss was amazing, the Poochie levels made me want to pour water on the console and learn how to skateboard instead

Biggest omission probably because of rarity is Super Aleste/Space Megaforce, definitely emulate that guy it's so good

And the most "too low" on this list is Contra III, which is, for me, tied with Gradius V and Radiant Silvergun as Treasure's best game. It plays out like a ballet, never a repetitious moment and everything that happens is so perfectly tuned mechanically, I never get tired of playing and dying and playing and dying. Not so into the Mode 7 levels.

If I'd voted:

1. Super Metroid
2. Contra 3
3. Link's Awakening
4. Mega Man X2
5. Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood
6. Final Fantasy III
7. Space Megaforce
8. Chrono Trigger
9. Link To The Past
10. Mega Man X

except for the ballroom dancing ghost duelists who I recall from the manual were named Fred A-Scare and Paula Ab-ghoul which I thought even at age 10 or whatever was a weirdly post-modern pairing.

loving this bit so much. booo at yoshi's island control being termed 'clunky' though

agree about rare. they infuriated me in the n64 era. yelled and yelled at banjo-kazooie after getting really hyped for it as a mario64-loving kid looking for methadone. but so inelegant: so many collectibles, so many unlockables, ugh. and i'm not necc a pc snob but frankly real shooters always ruined goldeneye for me. (perfect dark tho me and a friend had a lot of fun playing through for the cinematics as much as anything. pretty good camp. unfort also one of those really late games in a console cycle that doesn't, if it's being honest, run on the console.)

also agree about contra 3 and mega man x, both beautiful games although i've only played a very little of the latter (and no other mega men).

trying out a few games tonight with the attention span that comes from having all the games you want for free.

-- dc otm that you can see the beginnings of mario64 in yoshi's island. was disappointed at first upon being confronted w a flurry of menus and explanatory dialog boxes -- that banjo-kazooie chill! -- but then they seemed to taper off and the game obv has some interesting mechanics. i like that a central one is shitting out your enemies.

-- earthbound: can def see the appeal here, the tone is very weird and neat and i appreciate the mundane setting. love your fantasy-fulfillment parents who just say you're so brave! good luck out there! take the dog! but it is kind of ugly.

-- secret of evermore: this is very interesting! as the tim rogers review says it's v much a western take on the jrpg. tone of its writing is very close to lucasarts (actually it steals a joke from monkey island in the opening five minutes) and the whole interface has clearly been designed by people who are trying hard to have good ideas. not far enough to really know how good the ideas were. very pretty tho and of course i loved its small-town movie-theater opening.

-- sonic the hedgehog 2: whee i guess

-- shining force: ha the little portraits of people you talk to are like ultima 7. bailed when a whole bunch of guys ran up to me at once and introduced themselves and joined the party, just kinda thought, idk if i'm ever gonna care about you.

-- crusader of centy: several points very early on in this (the church, the castle, the castle dungeon) are very lttp, like literally down to the curtains. heart sank when someone told me that if i got the bronze and the silver AND the gold medal at the training grounds the king would give me the magic sword. that is not as cool as a fog-filled forest. but i barely got anywhere, the animal stuff is very intriguing, and who knows maybe i'm being set up for a twist wrt the magic sword.

have tried and failed to love Super Metroid and Earthbound. i get why people like the latter and maybe i just need to get further in but it just drags for me

oh man if you think Earthbound is a slow burn wait til you play the sequel!

of course it's incredible, just like Earthbound is, it might even be better, it's the only game I've ever played that made me tear up a bit at the end