The video game industry has evolved exponentially over the past few years, but Nintendo is always a company that’s been deeply involved with the current and upcoming gaming trends of the industry. Nintendo doesn’t always triumph, but their latest console, the Switch, remains a successful breakout piece of hardware that’s only become more popular after the long-awaited implementation of the Nintendo Switch Online library.
This library features a rotating collection of classic Nintendo properties, which started with original NES titles and has since branched out to include over 50 Super Nintendo games since its debut towards the end of 2019. The Switch Online SNES library does contain most of the major releases that devoted Nintendo fans will hope to encounter, but there are still some major omissions that stick out.
10 Super Mario RPG Is The RPG And Mario Game That Fans Deserve
Nintendo has done a decent job to celebrate Mario's long history and the many classic adventures that he's had on their earlier consoles. Super Mario RPG remains a bit of a Holy Grail for Super Mario fans since its association with Square often leads to it getting overlooked or held up in delays with previous Nintendo online services. Square gives Mario a very Final Fantasy-like makeover as an RPG series and it’s a flawless transformation. It's a fantastic interpretation of the Super Mario characters and it succeeds both as a strong Super Mario game as well as a phenomenal RPG.
9 Super Street Fighter II Turbo Marks The Capcom Fighter Hitting Its Sweet Spot
Street Fighter is arguably the most popular fighting franchise, alongside Mortal Kombat, and for a while the Super Nintendo was the home for pivotal entries in the series. Street Fighter is still going strong and continues to tweak its formula through its main series and spin-off efforts. However, it still feels like each game is just trying to recreate the magic that is Super Street Fighter II Turbo. This marks the franchise really hitting its stride and it should be a mandatory inclusion for Nintendo Switch Online's Super Nintendo titles to make up for the lack of fighting title representation.
8 Final Fantasy VI Is An Epic Swan Song To The Franchise’s Super Nintendo Years
Final Fantasy is a signature franchise that cut its teeth with Nintendo. The Super Nintendo Final Fantasy titles are all incredible, but Final Fantasy VI, known initially as Final Fantasy III in America, is the final entry before the series largely migrates over to Sony and the PlayStation.
Final Fantasy VI is RPG mechanics at their very best and the game pushes the Super Nintendo's hardware in impressive ways. Final Fantasy VI is iconic for this reason and should be included, but it also features some major surprises for the franchise, largely due to the successful nature of the game's antagonist, Kefka.
7 Mega Man X Streamlines The Best Aspects Of The Iconic Series
Mega Man has been a staple of Nintendo consoles since the company's earliest consoles and there have been many unique reinventions of the property through the years. Mega Man X has gone to live beyond the Super Nintendo, but the first three entries in the series mark some of the most satisfying action-adventure gaming on the Super Nintendo. None of the Mega Man X games are currently available on Nintendo Switch Online's library, but whatever has kept this from happening will hopefully get resolved because they represent Mega Man at some of his best.
6 ActRaiser Is A Radical Reinvention Of The City-Building Sim Genre
ActRaiser and its sequel, ActRaiser 2, are extremely unique titles that combine together action-adventure platforming with city-building simulation in the style of SimCity. The city simulation genre is more niche than some of the Super Nintendo's other major titles and the Switch Online library is definitely lacking in this department. However, it's for this very reason that either of the ActRaiser games deserves representation here, not only for the genre, but also so the series doesn't go forgotten. It’s a game that’s able to bring a lot of new people into the sim genre because of what it does differently.
5 Super Castlevania IV Represents The Series At Its Best And Most Enjoyable
The Castlevania series remains one of the most revered gaming franchises and it's been able to maintain a surprising level of consistency, especially during its earlier entries. Super Castlevania IV is a SNES title that was considered the high mark of the horror action-adventure series at the time but is still viewed with exceptional esteem.
Super Castlevania IV pits Simon Belmont against Dracula in a game that looks exceptional and plays like a dream. With the recent release of Castlevania's final season on Netflix there could have been some well-timed synergy to release Super Castlevania IV along with it.
4 Legend Of The Mystical Ninja Is A Creative And Playful Action-Adventure Title
Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a quirky Konami franchise that's a lot more popular in Japan, and admittedly it has a very Japanese sense of humor as well as storytelling sensibilities. Despite this, the Mystical Ninja series has still released some of its more celebrated titles on Nintendo consoles and the Super Nintendo's The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a great way to experience the franchise near its beginning and gain an appreciation for just how much it's evolved and helped influence other video games.
3 Killer Instinct Represents A Raw Fighting Series From Nintendo’s Golden Years
To Nintendo's credit, most of the more obvious omissions from the Nintendo Switch Online's Super Nintendo library have to do with rights issues with other companies, which may explain Killer Instinct’s absence. Killer Instinct is an iconic fighting game from Rare that gets close to achieving the extreme and mature violence of Mortal Kombat. Killer Instinct is still alive and kicking and it'd be nice for audiences to get a chance to experience its roots. There's also a general lack of fighters in the Super Nintendo titles that are available.
2 Chrono Trigger Helps The RPG Genre Evolve In Impressive Ways
The Final Fantasy series still receives the most acclaim when it comes to Square's contributions to the RPG genre, but there was a brief time during the '90s when it looked like the Super Nintendo's Chrono Trigger could overtake it. The ambitious RPG features a sprawling cast of lovable characters and multiple timelines to explore. It's an absolute triumph of the genre that modern audiences deserve the opportunity to experience. There's also just so much content to explore in Chrono Trigger that the one game could last Switch Online users until the next major update hits the service.
1 Earthbound Is What Video Games Aspire To Be
Fans of the Earthbound/Mother series are truly some of the most understanding gamers of all time. They've had to endure Nintendo's continued lack of appreciation for what's one of the most original RPG series of this generation. Each entry in the franchise is exceptionally weird and pushes both storytelling and turn-based RPG mechanics forward, but Earthbound is the most mainstream and successful chapter in the series. It's an excellent game that fans have gotten used to being omitted, but that doesn't mean that it should be.