Summary
The NES was a hit and it brought back console games for all to enjoy. It paved the way to make its successor, the SNES, even better. It was released in 1991 in North America andSuper Mario Worldwas there to accompany it. It is well-regarded as one of the best games on the system let alone one of the best 2DMariogames of all time.
Some other internally developed Nintendo games for the SNES includeThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,Kirby Super Star, and many more. Instead of highlighting the best, let’s go through the obscure. What Nintendo games are forgotten on one of its best systems and why?
BS Zelda no Densetsuis a remake of the firstZeldagame in the series. It was only released in Japan as a downloadable game and part of the Satellaview collection. The Satellaview wasan SNES accessorythat looked like a cartridge and was plugged into the SNES. That’s how players could download new games.
A lot of these games, likeBS Zelda no Densetsu, were broadcast live with bands and voiceovers. That makes a majority of the Satellaview games hard to re-release, even as ROMs on the internet. Even with that knowledge, it is strange that such a high-quality 16-bit remake ofThe Legend of Zeldaremains so obscure.
2Marvelous: Mohitotsu No Takarajima
A More Puzzle-Focused Zelda Game
Marvelous: Mohitotsu no Takarajimais another game that might interestZeldafans because it was directed by Eiji Aonuma. This was his directorial debut even though he had worked in smaller positions before this. Nowadays,Zeldafans should know Aonuma as theZeldaproducer for the series and helpedThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomcome to fruition.
Even though the game graphically looks like a cousin toThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the gameplay ofMarvelous: Mohitotsu no Takarajimais quite different. It’s an adventure puzzle game wherein three kids have to work together to solve riddles with virtually no combat. There is an English translation for this 1996 game, but it has never officially left Japan despite its high profile in the company.
3Pilotwings
Mini-Games In The Sky
Pilotwingsis the type of game, in retrospect, that should have probablybeen a pack-in gamewith the SNES at launch. It feels like a series of tech demos to showcase the capabilities of the new console and not a fully-fledged game. There were a variety of mini-games inside from flying planes to jumping out of them to landing on targets with a parachute.
Despite the unexciting nature of this first release, Nintendo tried to make two more sequels. There wasPilotwings 64on the N64 along withPilotwings Resorton the 3DS. All three of these games are also forgotten Nintendo titles on their respective consoles. They aren’t bad, but their replay value is fleeting, to put it mildly.
4Stunt Race FX
Before Disney’s Cars
Stunt Race FXmight be blowing up online right now because of a certain re-release. There is aneaster egg inSuper Mario RPGthat has a figure of a car fromStunt Race FX. LikeSuper Mario RPG,Stunt Race FXwas trying to push the boundaries of what the SNES was capable of.
Cars were rendered as polygons and when they crashed into things, these polygons would fly off as if someone broke a LEGO set. It was a racing game that was seemingly more interested in its graphics than its gameplay but it was not terrible by any stretch. It’s just that most fans of the SNES liked and remember racing games likeF-ZeroorSuper Mario Kartmore.
5Wario’s Woods
Tetris With Bombs
Wario’s Woodsis not exactlytheWariogamemost are used to. Instead of a platformer, this game is a puzzler much likeTetris. Toad is the primary character, making it one of the very fewMariospinoffs out there that highlight him, or his kind in general. The plot is not really important but basically, Wario wants to blow stuff up and Toad is there to stop him.
In matches, players could use these bombs to blow up creatures sent down the screen, much likeTetris. There were head-to-head matches with boss characters throughout the campaign, and players could even unlock them to play as.Wario’s Woodsmay be an obscure game on SNES, but it’s probably more lost on NES as there was a version on that system too.
6Yoshi’s Safari
Mario Gets A Bazooka
Yoshi’s Safariis alight gun gamethat had Mario ride on top of Yoshi through a guided adventure. Most consoles had a gun-like accessory and a majority of them looked like toy pistols. The NES, for example, had the Zapper. The SNES gun accessory, on the other hand, looked like a bazooka and it was called the Super Scope.
Not many games supported it from either first-party or third-party companies, making a majority of them all obscure beyondYoshi’s Safari. For example, Intelligent Systems, the team at Nintendo responsible forFire Emblem, made a Super Scope game calledMetal Combat: Falcon’s Revenge. They are graphically impressive games for the system but are hard to emulate due to the needed accessory, and this remains lost to time.
