Released in 1991 as the follow-up to Nintendo’s hugely popular Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, orSNESfor short, had huge boots to fill. The NEShad been cited as almost single-handedly saving the video game industry from extinction thanks mainly to the success ofSuper Mario Bros, so fans were eager to see what Nintendo would do next. TheSNEScertainly didn’t disappoint and grew to become just as beloved as its older brother, but its library was a little slow in getting off the ground, with just a handful of titles available at launch.
The SNES' five launch titles, while few in number, did offer gamers a variety of genres to explore.Super Mario Worldwas the headline game and everything fans hoped it would be, offering silky-smooth platforming with crisp visuals, featuring everyone’s favorite plumber. Mario was joined byF-Zero, a futuristic racing game,SimCity, the original city-building game that kicked off the long-running series,Gradius 3, a side-scrolling shooter, andPilotwings, an amateur flight simulator.
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Breaking Down the SNES' Launch Titles
The SNES gave birth to several franchises, some more memorable than others, but it was the continuation of an existing one that really helped to make its launch a success.Super Mario Worldtook what had madeSuper Mario Bros 3so successful and amplified it exponentially. The fourth installment in theSuper Marioseries introduced several popular concepts to the franchise, most notably Yoshi. The game is regarded by many as one of the best 2DSuper Mariogames, and by some as one of the greatest video games of all time.
F-Zero proved to be incredibly popular on release. The game takes place in the year 2560, and puts the player in control of one of several hovercars as they race around futuristic tracks at what feels like incredibly high speeds. The game is regularly called one of the most influential games of all time, and many feel it is responsible for breathing life into the racing genre. The game spawned numerous sequels, and the series is still highly revered today, withrumors swirling about the possibility of anF-Zerocomeback in 2023.
Pilotwingssees players attempting to earn pilot licenses by completing various courses while flying a plane, using a hang glider, skydiving, or even using a rocket belt. The game uses state-of-the-art technology to mimic the look and feel of 3D graphics by rotating flat objects and scaling them accordingly. These graphics helped to ensure thatPilotwingswas met with a warm reception from both critics and fans on release. A sequel,Pilotwings 64, also served as one of theN64’s launch titles.
Gradius IIIwas developed by Konami, and originally released in Japan in 1989 as an arcade game. Its port to the SNES was mostly successful, with enhanced difficulty options giving players more choice over how they wanted to play, but the console version did suffer from some slowdown at times. Nevertheless, the game is still seen as a popular and durable side-scrolling shooter.
SimCityspawned an entire franchise, as well as several spin-offs including the highly successfulThe Simsseries. The game gives the player a blank map and a set budget, before tasking them with building a city from the ground up. The game was well received, and over the years its concept expanded to theme parks, zoos, and even hospitals. The series was still releasing new games up until 2013. After a 10-year hiatus,SimCity may well deserve a comeback.
