I am so sick of hearing little 8 year-old kids boasting about GTA: Vice City or Final Fantasy [insert number here] on their $400 PS2. Sheesh, I though Pokemon was bad enough. Honestly, when was the quality of games sacrificed for how cool they are of how impressive they look? Anyway, with today's video entertainment technology advancing at a blistering speed with apparently no signs of slowing down it is sometimes hard for gamers to remember the humble roots from which these ground-breaking monsters were born. Upon entering this new era,  it is important to think of the days when graphics were not the measure used to determine a games quality. The days when one could walk to the arcade and play a friend in Street Fighter and pay next to nothing. The days when one could treasure a game for the emotions and thoughts it evoked rather how many frames per second their machine was running it at. Most importantly of all, we have to remember and cherish the little console that could - the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. God bless you. Anyway, that's my nostalgia talking so now I'll get on to what you came here to see.

"...To be forgotten is worse than death..." - Freya

On June 1, 1995, Ape and Nintendo released one of the greatest games of all time, Earthbound (known as Mother 2 in Japan). We all know the story about 13 year-old Ness and the meteorite that crashed in his backyard on that fated night that changed him forever. From that point in the game things just get weirder. ATM Machines. Crooked politicians. Pizza Delivery. Baseball bats, frying pans, laser guns, and ancient ninja skills. Rummaging through trash cans. (see below) Sea monsters. Talking monkeys. Possessed road signs. Time travel. Jazz concerts. Cults. New Age Retro Hippies (My personal favourite). Alien megalomaniacs bent on the ultimate destruction of the Earth. You know, just the usual stuff. Wait a second - what the hell?! It is Earthbound's originality, its quirks and uniqueness that make it such a gem in my eyes.

Everything about Earthbound is just so... perfect. It has everything - humour, challenge, trippy music, humour, detail, emotions, playability and humour (did I mention humour?). You really have to experience the game to understand. Who could forget the hilarious battles and bizzare dialogue. "Cranky Lady attacks Ness with a handbag!", "Frank utters a bad word!", "New Age Retro Hippie attacks Ness with fresh minty breath!", "Coffee cup spills scalding coffee all over Ness!". Erm, you get the picture. But seriously, if you want to play something different from the generic RPG drivel, play this. If you are an open-minded gamer (and this is VERY important) you'll thoroughly enjoy this game. By the way, Earthbound is now also available on the Game Boy Advance, so play it for some cool nostalgic gaming. Earthbound 's #1! Yeah, woo!

*Sniff* My eyes go a little watery at the mention of Lufia, the game that had me riveted until the final moment of play. Lufia is a classic. In contrast to Earthbound, it features everything you would expect in a textbook RPG. Heroes, BIG bad dudes (see below), villages, (air)ships, you know the drill. So what makes Lufia different, you ask? My idea is that it features bad guys you can really fear. These guys (known tentatively as Sinistrals) are about twenty times your height and have town-wrecking as a hobby. Lufia had plot twists galore and always had something interesting going on to keep you playing. Sure, the graphics are substandard - but is this always a bad thing? The problem with today's games is that nothing is left to the imagination. The super-detailed graphics in Neverwinter Nights and Final Fantasy XI (or whatever bloody number they're up to now) make it a brain-free zone. 'Nuff said. Lufia prefers to let the gamer create their own image of the environment, henceforth leaving lasting memories with the player. Lufia is a special game and should not be underestimated because of such trivial niggles. This game is highly deservant of 2nd best SNES game of all time.

I was quite surprised that a Square game only made third place on the list (50 percent of the list's games were developed by Square). Chrono Trigger is one of the most polished, high-quality games I have ever had the pleasure of playing. It would admittedly be a bit of a stretch to call Chrono Trigger the definitive RPG but it is definitely one of epic proportions and stands as a benchmark set for others to come. The storyline of Chrono Trigger involves Lavos (roughly translated to 'Big Fire') causing the destruction of Earth at the turn of the second millenium, with the game beginning in 1000 AD. The intriguing premise of CT involves altering events throughout time (ie. 65,000,000 BC to 2300 AD) to affect the future, and ultimately save humankind. The game features a ragtag yet memorable cast of heroes including ranging from a cave-woman to a robot, not to mention the coolest villain-come-hero of all time, Magus (who'd whip Sephiroth's butt any day). Other features include an innovative 'tech' battle system and seamless animation. Don't get me started on the music. CT boasts an orchestral score (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda) which easily rivals Final Fantasy VI. In short, Chrono Trigger is not just a fine RPG, it poses a question. How the hell do Square always make such great games!?

If I recall correctly, this was the first Super NES game I ever played. Ironically, I still find it a challenging game, and in my opinion, the best Final Fantasy. This game was known as the 'lost' Final Fantasy, due to some stupid decisions by overpaid Nintendo Executives it didn't see a release outside of Japan until after 2000. This game (possibly with the exception of FFVIII's Junction system) boasts the most thought-provoking and intelligent systems - the job system. All the characters are completely customisable: you want a knight who can cast Flare and summon Bahamut? No problem. The game features a semi-linear plot, with sub-quests that can take hours or can be skipped completely. The second world could take days, I did it in an hour and a half ;) Another drawcard of this exceptional game is its music. Fans have labeled this as Uematsu's weakest project, but I beg to differ. I can't be the only one who was humming the 'Gilgamesh/Big Bridge' theme for days afterwards (check him out below). Having played the Japanese version of FFV, I came to the conclusion that it was the hardest Final Fantasy of them all. I'm certain anyone who challenged Omega Weapon or Shinryu would agree with me, no? For a game that is right up there with its older brothers, FFVI and FFVII, Final Fantasy V claims a rightful position as the 4th greatest game of all time.

I'll bet you've never heard of this game, have you? Anyway, this game has yet to leave the shores of Japan since its release early in 1996. However, over there it was a sleeper hit, developing a small but loyal cult-following. I was fortunate enough to play this masterpiece thanks to Tomato and the DeJap team who faithfully translated the entire ROM (oops, I said the 'R' word!). Bahamut Lagoon is an extraordinary game aimed at a more mature audience than the rest of these games, with the exception of Tales of Phantasia of course }:) It was set in a world were people live on floating islands called lagoons and dragons, both good and evil, roam the skies. With a plot surprisingly similar to that of Final Fantasy VI, it tells of the struggle of a team of Freedom Fighters opposing the Empire of General Sauzer, an evil dictator. I was most impressed with the character development - each of the twenty-four characters being detailed at some time or another. As for the battle system, let me just say that anyone who's ever played Final Fantasy Tactics will feel right at home. The game was long enough to keep me going for almost 40 hours and the final battle was one of the most exhilarating fights I've ever fought, check out some of the nice art below. For anyone that's ever wanted to try a mature, pro-Japanese game with all the quirks, look no further.

Ah, this baby never left the land of the Rising Sun either. What a shame. As what could have been the last game released for the SNES, Tales of Phantasia was manufactured on the new 48 Mbit cart (only used for one other game, Star Ocean). This game was touted as almost Playstation standard, it featured a full length J-pop song (The Dream Will Not Die/Yume Wa Owaranai sung by Yukari Yoshida), voice-acting during battles and a breathtaking scaling, Mode 7 world map screen. I have also finished the translated version of this game (thanks DeJap!) and it isn't hard to guess why it was never exported. It contains liberal amounts of uncensored swearing, sexual innuendo and some graphic violence. Personally, I enjoyed this level of maturity in a videogame, but don't play it just for this. The story begins with Cless Alvein and his friend Chester hunting wild pigs in a wood near their village when they hear the Town Bell tolling. Upon return they each find their parents and the rest of the populace dead and the town destroyed. From then on it is simple. They embark upon a quest to justify the death of their parents by seeking revenge. But seriously, Tales of Phantasia features an immersive plot with extremely cool music (Motoi Sakuraba is famous for his piano, harpsicord and synthesiser solos, all of which make an appearance) and a very well researched side-scrolling battle system developed by Wolfteam, a former branch of Namco. The game features many references to Norse Mythology: even the three continents are named Odin, Thor and Fenrir. Many weapons and fiends are named after legends too. It is difficulat to compare Tales of Phantasia to anything because it's just so damn original! Jut play it. PLAY IT NOW!

This impressive game is the product when you put Nintendo and Squaresoft in a building together. Featuring psuedo-3D isometric graphics on a 32 Mbit cart, Mario RPG is a game the whole family can enjoy. Can you guess the plot? Yep, you got it: *you know who* swoops down from the sky, grabs *you know who* and flies off. Seconds later, out jumps *you know who* to save her. Sigh. Never saw that one coming... However, you can't judge a book by its cover. Throughout the game Mario gathers a party of fighters and even Bowser becomes one of Mario's allies, and the two end up fighting it out side-by-side against Smithy and Exor, the two real baddies. If you've played a Square RPG before (or any RPG for that matter), you'll probably feel comfortable playing this 'RPG-lite'. It has some visible influence from Square including Culex, a cliche Final Fantasy character who's "always mumbling about crystal this and evil that". The game is less serious than your average RPG, and features lots of entertaining mini-games and hilarious characters. There is always something extra to do including playing Blackjack at the elusive  'Grate-Guy's Casino'. The soundtrack also has some hummable songs - it was produced by Nintendo and Square's  respective greats Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu.

Back in 1994 when Mario was saving Peach from Bowser and Sonic was no doubt rescuing some furry animals, Terra was battling issues like pregnancy and teen suicide. This was a game that turned a few heads. Hailed by many a fan as Squaresoft's greatest piece of work, Final Fantasy VI proved it was possible to have complex storylines in a game while keeping the player entertained and interested. The game's plot involved another evil dictator, Kefka, using espers and magic to rule the land. At first, the game's hero, Terra,  has no recollection of her past but throughout the game learns who she is and where she came from. All of the games' characters have their own quest during the game and the player can really feel for the tiny sprites at times. Another major drawcrad of FFVI is it's breathtaking music, with all the track being varied and highly suitable for such a game. Final Fantasy Vi was a true Final Fantasy with all of the strengths and none of the weaknesses of it's former games. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed.

This would have to win the award for 'coolest old school game ever.' Lufia 2 is a prequel to the game in second place. The two games feature almost identical heroes, and have strong links to one another. Basically, Lufia 2 just took all the elements players loved in the original and beefed them up. The battle system was functional, the characters were interesting and the challenge was there. For anyone who's ever attempted the Ancient Cave, it ain't easy. It was similar to Final Fantasy in the fact is featured bosses that could take hours to defeat (see below) and puzzles that could have you hurling the controller across the room (World's Most Difficult Trick, anyone?). Aaah, good times.

This is what Zelda is meant to be. Forget Zelda 64, screw 'The Wind Waker and go buy this game. The SNES was the heyday for many a series and this is no exception. Sure, the plot was the cliche silent-protagonist saving the princess, but who cares? Have fun on the way! The bosses are huge and challenging, the music was definitely listenable and there were secrets galore to discover in the huge world of hyrule. Play this game if you want to find out where some of Zelda 64 and more recent Zelda games got their ideas.

Battletoads in Battlemania, Rareware
Battletoads: Double Dragon, Rareware
Donkey Kong Country, Rareware
Donkey Kong Country 2, Rareware
EVO: Search For Eden, Enix
Live-a-Live, Squaresoft
Secret of Mana, Squaresoft
Secret of Mana 2 (Seiken Densetsu 3), Squaresoft
Super Bonk (Super BC Kid), Hudson Soft
Super Mario Kart, Nintendo
Super Mario World, Nintendo
Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island, Nintendo
Super Metroid, Nintendo

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