30 years later, the Super Nintendo is still an all-time great, so let’s reminisce

Share your SNES memories and the last game you played

North America is celebrating 30 years of Super Nintendo today, and it’s a system we have such fond memories of. So to the tune of Little River Band, let’s go reminiscing.

While many of us have ample room in our hearts for a lot of retro video game consoles, none resonate with me quite like the SNES. This was my favorite system growing up in the ’90s, and it remains my favorite to this day — I’m still out here researching, buying, playing, and even just listening to Super Nintendo games on a pretty much weekly basis.

On this day 30 years ago, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America! What are some of your favorite #SNES games and memories? pic.twitter.com/NjpZqPi9U9

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 23, 2021

Do you have that one cherished console you’d grab and take with you in an emergency we-gotta-leave-now situation? The SNES is mine, for sure, though it’s not a fun mental exercise to work through, and I’d struggle to whittle down a list of favorite titles to a single best-of-the-best pick. There are too many to name — too many games that hold up favorably to this day — but I guess I’d save my original Donkey Kong Country 2 cartridge for sentimental reasons. It took me whole summers to see everything that game had to offer.

As much as major anniversaries like this can instantly make us feel old, when I think about the Super Nintendo, it’s like I’m a kid again. Drifting away in class daydreaming about an unbelievable boss I faced the night before in Yoshi’s Island, rushing to finish homework so I’d be able to make a little more progress, those amazing trips to a friend’s house or a rental store to maximize my budget-constrained gaming — those were such great days.

Although I appreciate save states and other niceties for games like EarthBound and Super Castlevania IV, there’s no greater feeling to me than slotting in a cart (maybe with a bit of rental-sticker residue) and playing with my original still-hanging-in-there gamepad.

Whether you’re still playing Super Nintendo games today with your original now-yellowed system, a hobbyist product like the Super Nt or MiSTer, a modded-out mini console like the Super NES Classic Edition, or your Nintendo Switch’s eclectic virtual library, we want to hear about it. Your memories, in general, but also the last game you played.

A few stray Super Nintendo thoughts from the Destructoid staff to kick us off:

• “F-Zero was the most futuristic game ever.” –CJ
• “Super Mario World is still the pinnacle of platforming for me. I know that’s not an original take but only like, Celeste has come close to capturing how good SMW feels to play.” –Eric
• “I’ve only played a tiny bit of SNES. My ex had the Classic and we got addicted to playing Dr. Mario. I hate to say it, but it was before my time.” –Noelle
• “I was so happy when I got my SNES, I couldn’t picture gaming ever getting better. That was 30 years ago. Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts was something else. Just the opening map screen. That synth and stereo audio. It was like… How can we have this technology in our house?” –Moyse
• “Wasn’t joking: SNES was the pinnacle for several genres. As technology advanced very few dared to make a game as open-ended and freeing as Chrono Trigger.” –Chris