In 1990, the gaming landscape was changed forever with the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES for short. Following up on the release of their first programmable home console seven years earlier, Nintendo expanded on everything that led them to success with their initial attempt.
The industry as a whole had progressed, going from making short and simple highscore hunts to fully-fledged adventures that provided uniques stories and characters; an evolution in design that would be supplemented by the superior audio and visual capabilties of the 16-bit generation.
In this list, we at EarlyGame want to examine the SNES titles which were the most successful at intriguing players with their presentation, creating fictional worlds to lose yourself in that have stood the test of time due to their standout approach in displaying their creator's vision. For diversity's sake, we'll include only one video game per franchise. | © Collage: Human Entertainment, Wikimedia Commons
Let's get the least surprising entry on this list out of the way first: The third title in the Metroid series is already regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, thanks to its innovative gameplay approach, but also its deeply-intriguing world. Planet Zebes is filled with moody environments, inhabited both by dangerous space creatures as well as small harmless critters that are just there for decoration. Generally though, the player feels isolated and is left to figure out the many mysteries of the interconnected world on their own. Especially people not as familiar with the Metroid series might be wondering: Who built these structures and statues? Who is watching me through these security cameras? Who crashed this partially-sunken spaceship? And all of that is not even mentioning the soundtrack... | © Nintendo
Inspired by the 1969 book The Poseidon Adventure, survival adventure game SOS is set aboard a luxurious cruise liner that capsizes after a massive tidal wave. The game tasks players with guiding one of four protagonists through the broken, shifting, flooding corridors of the doomed ship in a desperate attempt to escape. Players have one hour to make it out alive, forced to make tough decisions on which fellow passengers they want to save along the way. There's this contant claustrophobic dread of disaster: Ceilings become floors, furniture blocks your path, and time is always running out as water fills the halls. The eerie soundtrack and unsettling silence between creaks of the ship create are only interrupted by sporadic cuts to the ship as a whole, showing it breaking further and further apart. | © Human Entertainment
While many games on this list sport a dark and moody atmosphere, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 pushes the console's SA-1 chip color-blending capabilities to produce a pastel, crayon-like art style. Every stage has a surreal, welcoming charm, as if sketched straight from a child’s notebook, while still including a lot of small details. What elevates the game further is its optional mission system: Each level hides small tasks, like tending to flowers or helping background characters, that encourage players to notice details and fully engage with the world, which really makes the abstract setting of Dream Land feel alive. Combined with co-op play and the mix-and-match abilities of Kirby’s animal companions, it’s a whimsical adventure whose dreamy presentation remains timeless. | © HAL Laboratory, Nintendo
As the first 16-bit entry in the Castlevania series, Super Castlevania IV hit the ground running, using the new hardware to full effect to realize the franchise's signature dark setting of Dracula's castle. Every stage has its own identity: Forests drenched in eerie moonlight, crumbling halls filled with shifting chandeliers, even a room that spins on its axis thanks to the console’s new Mode 7 effects. The soundtrack is equally iconic, blending moody organ pieces with tense melodies that perfectly match the gothic imagery on screen. Half-transparency effects are used to create the illusion of fog or lighting that seems far more advanced than what the console was actually capable of. | © Konami
Using the Super FX2 chip, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island pulled off advanced scaling, rotation, and morphing effects that pushed the SNES to its limits. What makes the game unforgettable, though, is how those tricks blend seamlessly with its hand-drawn, pastel art style, creating the feeling of playing inside a living storybook; one that is inhabited by sheer endless amounts of charmingly-designed enemies. The titular setting of Yoshi's Island is incredibly diverse in its settings and moods, but whether you're carrying Baby Mario to safety through friendly meadows, mysterious caves or snowy peaks, the whole place just feels like... home. Maybe that's because this mountainous environment reminds us of the Alps; keep in mind that we at EarlyGame are headquartered in Munich. | © Nintendo
While never released outside of Europe and Japan, Action-RPG Terranigma has achieved cult status for its breathtaking scope and atmosphere. The game begins in the mysterious caverns of the underworld, before gradually opening up into the overworld where Ark, the protagonist, plays a direct role in reviving entire continents, animals, and eventually human civilization itself. The player witnesses towns growing and changing, cultures emerging as humanity advances. Coupled with a moody, emotional soundtrack and locations ranging from lonely tundras to bustling cities, Terranigma’s world feels both melancholic and alive, really conveying the emotional weight of its almost biblically-proportioned story. | © Quintet, Enix
Before we reveal our no. 1 most atmospheric SNES game, we want to give an honorable mention to this rom hack for Super Mario World. All of the 37 new levels feature completely new hand-drawn graphics and an original soundtrack, both of which consistently perfectly capture the vibe of each of the four seasons. The nine years of development time invested by modder Eric Kaiser (also known as wye) culminate in an heart-meltingly beautiful world bursting with detail, atmospheric lighting and weather effects that evokes more nostalgia for family vacations than would be morally appropriate. All of this would have surely catapulted this game to the number one spot on this list if it was an officially-licensed title. | © Eric Kaiser, Nintendo
The Donkey Kong Country series was always excellent with its use of unique pre-rendered sprites and an amazing soundtrack, but with the third entry especially, the developers at Rare perfected their craft. Every level background is a scenic vista, supplemented by a soundtrack that is far more calm and moody than those of the previous entries. The game's setting – the "Northern Kremisphere", a fictionalized version of northern Europe and Canada – just looks like a place you'd want to explore and luckily, you can! Most overworld maps in platforming games just serve as a means to reach the next level, but here, the Kongs freely explore vast lakes to find hidden caves, enter comfortable-looking huts to do sidequests and so much more, really making this place feel alive. | © Nintendo
In this list, we at EarlyGame want to examine the SNES titles which were the most succesful at intriguing players with their presentation, creating fictional worlds to lose yourself in that have stood the test of time due to their standout approach in displaying their creator's vision.
