The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the Super Famicom in Japan, was the biggest video game console of its generation and has maintained its status as one of the most beloved consoles of all time, even decades after its release.
Out of the massive catalog of beloved games on the system, Super Metroid and Super Mario World stand out as two of the best available for the console, and both have kept a loyal fanbase long after the many sequels have been released for their respective series. The real question, however, is which of them deserves the title of the best game on the SNES?
10 Super Metroid: Created Its Own Genre
Few games in history can say with certainty that they created their own genre upon release. While many Nintendo titles have refined genres over the years, their standout creation has to be one half of the Metroidvania genre. Although it was fairly popular during its initial release, Metroidvania games really exploded with the recent indie game boom, with titles such as Cave Story, Hollow Knight, and Ori and The Blind Forest bringing a surge in popularity back to the action platformer. It if wasn't for Metroid, fans probably wouldn't be able to enjoy those games today.
9 Super Mario World: Gameplay Has Stood The Test Of Time
Super Metroid may have helped create its own genre, but its gameplay hasn't stood the test of time nearly as well as the platforming genre has. Although it hit a slump with many companies during the late sixth and seventh console generations, Nintendo was one of the few consistent sources of platforming games in that time. Very few aspects of Super Mario games have changed over the years, as they don't need to adapt to modern gaming ideas since its gameplay is timeless.
8 Super Metroid: Has The Higher GameRankings Score
While there are a few out there who flatly refuse to listen to the word of video game critics, it can be hard to ignore a review when its score is so high. While Super Mario World has a very impressive score of 94% on Metacritic, Super Metroid's is a few points higher at 97%.
As well as its high critical rating, Super Metroid has topped many Best-Game-Of-All-Time lists by gaming magazines and YouTube channels, making it not only well-loved by critics, but by gamers as well.
7 Super Mario World: Has Over 20 Games In The Series
As the mascot for Nintendo, it's no surprise that Mario would get his fair share of games made for him. In the Super Mario series alone, there are over 20 titles, with Super Mario Maker 2 being the most recent addition to the long-running series. Metroid, on the other hand, has only 14 titles to its name in total. While it did gain a second wind with the Prime spin-offs, the lack of classic Metroid games could come down to the departure of the game's original director, Gunpei Yokoi, before his untimely death in 1997. Luckily for fans, Metroid Prime 4 has been confirmed to be in development, with no word on a solid release date as of yet.
6 Super Metroid: The Artstyle Is Timeless
Super Metroid's gameplay may have gone through waves of popularity, but its art style has been used by many other games since its release. Especially in the case of indie games wanting to recreate the atmosphere of the classes SNES title, gritty pixel art games are a dime a dozen in modern gaming, and for good reason. The dark, fear-inducing look of the world creates a sense of foreboding and horror that is reminiscent of classic films such as Alien, which also has a very similar premise to Metroid.
5 Super Mario World: Directed by Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto is a household name among fans of Nintendo franchises, and for good reason. The games he is involved in are oftentimes the most well-loved and received titles that Nintendo has to offer, including both the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series, and he is arguably responsible for the popularity that the company maintains to this day. Although he would eventually go on to work on the Metroid Prime series, he wasn't connected to Super Metroid during its development.
4 Super Metroid: Better Boss Fights
Although platforming and adventuring through the Mushroom Kingdom is fun, especially while riding on the back of Yoshi for the first time, the boss battles in Super Mario World leave a little to be desired. On the other hand, the bosses in Super Metroid each present a unique challenge for the player and take full advantage of all aspects of gameplay rather than just the platforming.
Even in modern Super Mario games, this remains the case, although the 3D titles, especially the ones with a unique hook such as Cappy or F.L.U.D.D, do better with boss fights than their 2D counterparts.
3 Super Mario World: Introduced Yoshi
Super Metroid may have given us Samus and Ridley, but Super Mario World introduced us to what would become a fan favorite among Mario characters, Yoshi. Before this, Mario and Luigi were forced to travel the land of the Mushroom Kingdom on foot, wearing out their workbooks for the sake of saving Princess Peach for the hundredth time that week. Yoshi would become so popular that fans of the Mario Kart series were forced to fight over who would use him since he was made to be a speedy character in the original titles, and later went on to get his own series of games.
2 Super Metroid: Sharper Platforming
The platforming may be front and center to gameplay in Super Mario World, but that doesn't mean it's the best version of a side-scrolling platformer out there. Controlling Yoshi was often floaty and painful, especially when trying to speed run through a level and trying to make precise landings. Metroid takes it in a different direction. With far less forward momentum carried over into jumps, it made for some much more precise platforming action in a title that didn't necessarily need it.
1 Super Mario World: The Best Selling SNES Game Of All Time
Despite the huge amount of praise and accolades that Super Metroid has garnered over the years, it falls short in one important category: sales. While it wasn't a bad selling game by any means, with a respectable 1.4 million copies sold, Super Mario World's sales make it seem far worse in comparison, with a staggering 20 million copies sold. For context, that's more than Breath of the Wild has sold across both the Switch and Wii U, despite it, at one point, having sold more copies of the game than Switch consoles it could be played on.