Happy 17th Anniversary, SNES

August 13th, 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, (often called SNES for short) hit the gaming scene in North America. The 16-bit console ran a fierce race with the Genesis, Sega's own 16-bit machine with the Genesis leading in the first few years of the 16-bit wars. Keep in mind that the Genesis was released in 1989 so it had a considerable head-start. Even so, sales for the SNES surpassed that of the Genesis and the heated battle between Sega and Nintendo resulted in what many consider one of the finest eras of gaming.

The SNES was a considerable step up from the NES. Not only was it built better than it's predecessor, it also pumped out some of the most visually/audio ably impressive games that still hold up remarkably well. Between Super Castlevania IV, Space Megaforce, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and a plethora of other titles, many of my favorite game soundtracks come from SNES games. I guess it shouldn't really be all that surprising that the SNES was audio heaven. The system's audio process was handled by Sony, a company that is well versed in making superb sound devices. I'm not saying every game had great music, but even some of the most craptacular titles had awesome soundtracks. Heck, SNESmusic.org exists because the the SNES's audio kicks the serious booty.


SNES couldn't do 3D but many games were/still are very easy on the eyes. Mode-7 allowed for some sweet pseudo 3D effects in F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. We even got our first look at polygonal graphics on the consoles before the Saturn and PlayStation rolled around thanks to Star Fox. In the right hands, the SNES was pushed beyond its limitations. The Donkey Kong Country games made jaws drop even during the beginning of the aforementioned 32-bit era.

As for the games themselves, well, I personally own over 70 SNES games. If you had a SNES, you were treated to some of the greatest games ever, and not just from Nintendo, although they did make a lot of the best stuff. Square-Enix, Capcom, Konami and many other third parties helped make the SNES become the memorable system that it is.

The SNES is also responsible for getting me into RPGs and shoot 'em ups. I love a lot of genres, but RPGs and shooters are among my favorites. I played my first Final Fantasy games on the SNES. My first experience with the Gradius series was with Gradius III (which is actually more fun than the arcade version because it isn't unforgivably hard). I know a lot of people played Street Fighter II in the arcade, but I got into on the SNES and by extension, that's where my appreciation for the series began.


There were also a good number of sweet SNES titles that are just now making it to North American gamers through the Wii's Virtual Console. Import gamers had a armful of stuff when it came to games overseas. When you include imports, if you want to get the best out of the SNES's library, you're probably looking at over 200 games.


The SNES still remains popular thanks to many dedicated rom hackers who can take existing games and give players new experiences. There are probably over one hundred Super Mario World hacks as it's one of the most hacked games.

My own SNES is a 1991 model that my folks got me for Christmas. It's faded at the top and the battery may be dying but she still holds a special place in my heart. I've got backups of all my SNES games on my computer in case the old girl finally decides to bite it, but if and when she does, I'll never throw her away.

Happy 17th Anniversary, SNES. Here's to another 17 years.