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dosboot:
Let's have a thread for the Super NES! Topics are: games you've been playing, general discussion, and whatever else we want.

How about to seed some starter discussion we talk about our favorite SNES games?

Q: If you had to narrow it down to just *two* favorites on the system, which two would you pick? You can mention additional favorites all you want, but being forced to pick those two headliners will reveal more about personal preferences. Let's try to communicate to each other what makes them special to us, or whether you just think they are superlative in certain areas.

I'm going with: Final Fantasy 6 and Soul Blazer.

Super Metroid and Link to the Past would be close behind, as would many of Squaresoft's RPGs. But these two picks carry much more of a mark of distinction to me, while still being of nearly equal quality.

Final Fantasy 6 has always stuck with me for its characters. Part of it is how it has a large cast, and part of it is how it draws you into their stories. I think it is fair to say it tries to be more "adult" about its character stories than most RPGs, but it is also expressing that emotion through these chibi sprites and animations. I dig that combination, it's incredibly endearing at times.

The game itself is also real fun to play. It's totally broken in both good and bad ways, but I've just gotten so used to it that the battle system is a net positive.

Soul Blazer has grown into an emphatically dear favorite over the years. When I replay it I can't help but think about how there is this core mechanical fun to the game that overwhelms any lesser flaws it has. It's got top down combat broadly reminiscent of Zelda, but what makes it neat is the strafing mechanic, the way your sword swipes have an asymmetric sweet spot, and the responsive magic (press a button and it fires in real time without pausing the action). While I don't regard it with any kind of perfection, it is one of a handful of action RPGs that come to mind as a base reference when I try to visualize the "ideal form" of 2d action RPGs.

The story/setting also has some special-ness to it worth mentioning. I'd describe Soul Blazer's story as being unique for delivering small explorations of humanity through brief scenes and dialogues. It's still a fast paced game that doesn't slow down to create an elaborate story, but these small asides add up to more than they should. I also really like the concept of a video game where you get to play as a divine protector for the NPCs (a concept Quintet revisited often).

dosboot:
Something else that feels appropriate to link here: the 'SNES drunk' youtube channel. It's a nice laid back channel with short reviews on classic games, with maybe half or more videos being for the Super Nintendo. (It's also more thoughtful/less rambling than the name of the channel sounds!)

MatsuriSakuragi:
Choosing two is hard, but my answers most definitely go toward Earthbound and Chrono Trigger. Not many games have left as much of an impression on me as they have.

Sophilia:
I'll pick Chrono Trigger and Megaman X2. Entirely different types of games, but they exemplify what made the SNES games fun.
CT was just a gem. While there were some serious issues and dark themes, the overall styling and attitude of the game was still positive and heroic, as we romped through time in order to prevent the Apocalypse. And while the concept of adding combo attacks to the FF ATB system is a simple one, they played it to its utmost here, making everyone worth using and keeping me wondering what crazy move I'd unlock next. The one criticism that I can put on it is that it's possibly the easiest of Square's SNES offerings, and when this list includes FF6, that's really damn easy. But in a game like this, that's much less of a problem when you're just having fun sucking dinosaurs into the void.
I didn't actually play X2 until a couple console generations later but it hit all the proper buttons for me. An excellent mix of difficulty and responsiveness, and some really fun bosses. It learned well from the games before it and innovated new twists and tricks as Megaman games not numbered 4 or above generally did. And then you hit the Fortress. The X2 Fortress is possibly the best time I have ever had in a Megaman game. Spike and pit sections that would be nightmarish in other Megamen, but no less that 3 ways to clear them. The X-hunters, including a good old fashioned Wily Machine. And then the showdowns with Zero and Sigma. I have a soft spot for this series in general but in a console gen that had some of Nintendo's defining work, this still sticks out as THE platformer.

Jeremie:
Phantom 2040 is an easy pick for me. On the other hand, picking between Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 makes it super hard. A part of me wants to say 2 but I think, ultimately I have to go with 3.

I love games with a sort of Metroidvania feel to them like Turrican 1 and 2 (Amiga) and Phantom 2040 fits that perfectly for me. The areas are very big and it's fun looking for items, power-ups, weapons and 1-ups by exploring the place and figuring out the secrets that allows you to reach them. The game is very fast-paced even though you find yourself swinging with your rope against the walls or the ceiling and the fact it's non-linear means it has a lot of replay value through different cutscenes, areas that unlocks specifically based on your choice in the story and different endings that includes bad ones and a golden ending. Some of the music is pretty catchy too and I'd say some of the visuals are pretty memorable especially when compared to the Genesis version that has a lot of black backgrounds instead (although the Genesis version has a few more cutscenes and a somewhat more unforgiving final boss). Still to this day I start up the game to make a quick run through it as it can be completed just as fast as Super Metroid, another amazing game.

Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger are games from my childhood I'll always like and they're still among my favorites to this day but as someone who played SaGa Frontier and loved it, Romancing SaGa 3 is right up my alley. The characters aren't as colorful as those in FFVI and Chrono Trigger but they still have a strange charm to them and that's despite the fact that some are extremely bland and say very little beyond a few lines before you recruit them. The game is non-linear and can be hard to progress through but I love games that allows you to blunder your way through all sorts of places. It can end up being lethal but you learn from your mistakes and eventually you find all sorts of interesting places, optional dungeons, characters and side-quests and finding new stuff becomes exciting each times. Some of the dungeons are extremely memorable because of the wonderful music and some simple but neat visuals. The game is also influenced by your actions at times which can change how you'll progress in the story. You have the choice to climb up the mountain and confront the boss right away in their lair or you can make your way to a dragon and fight the same boss but you instead have the help of the dragon and it happens in the sky. You lost to one of the bosses? Hey, that's fine, that character you recruited will save you!... but they die permanently from their heroic sacrifice. It's all these little touches that makes the game really great and that's despite the fact that RS2 gives you way, way more options to affect the story through your decisions and actions. Some of the boss fights are very memorable too and the game has IMO one of the best soundtrack of all time for a RPG. The final boss theme is still to this day my favorite video game theme of all time.

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