TheSuper Nintendois well known for its Japanese role-playing games and platformers but one other genre that is also prominently featured on the system is action games. Action games consist of any fast pace moving games that have very little story and plenty of action, hence the name.
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While the Super Nintendo’s processing power doesn’t lend itself as well to action games as theSega Genesiswith all of its fancy blast processing, there are still plenty of stand out titles on the system that while action-oriented still manage to span many other genres. So to look back at the action games offered by the system, here are 10 great games that are chalked full of fast-paced fun.
10Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Konami was the king of arcade beat ‘em ups in the 80s and 90s. They created many classic arcade cabinets likeThe Simpsons Arcade Game, X-Men,andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.While many didn’t make it home,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesdid. Instead of making a direct port, Konami restructured the game, added more content, and added in a story involving time travel. What came of it wasTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.You can play as any of the four Turtles all with their signature weapons and face off against classic villains from the cartoon like Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady.
9Zombies Ate My Neighbors
InZombies Ate My Neighborsyou must save your neighbors from many different monsters that are running amok in your neighborhood, shopping mall, and many other colorful areas.Zombies Ate My Neighborsis a top-down run and gun that allows you to play solo or with a friend.
There are many classic movie monsters represented here from zombies, vampires, werewolves, spiders, squid men, and more. There are a total of 48 levels in the game with the goal of each level being to save all of your neighbors that are spread out across the level.
8Super Ghouls n' Ghosts
While most consoles received a port of theGhouls n’ Ghostsarcade game, the Super Nintendo received its very own exclusive game that switched up the gameplay. While the arcade original allows you to shoot up and down,Super Ghouls n' Ghostsallows you to double jump and focuses more on platforming.
Also added toSuper Ghouls n' Ghostsfrom the arcade original is the ability to upgrade your armor twice instead of once. The first upgrade gives you green armor and strengths your shot, the second upgrade gives you gold armor and a special attack that is different for each weapon.
7Sunset Riders
Sunset Ridersis essentiallyContrawith cowboys. you may pick from 4 different cowboys all with different weapons. As you make your way through the game you can upgrade your guns to be more powerful, shoot more than one bullet at a time, and more. Some stages take place on horseback while some play like a classic run and gun. Each level starts by showing you a criminal that has a bounty on their head. At the end of each level, you run into the criminal and must take him out to complete the level.
6R-Type III: The Third Lightning
R-Type III: The Third Lightningis a shoot ‘em up developed by Irem and made exclusively for the Super Nintendo. Like in previousR-Typegames, you have an option that can be attached to your ship either on the front or the back to power up your shot, shoot out to cause a powerful attack, or follow your ship to cover more ground.
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Added inR-Type III: The Third Lightningis multiple weapon load-outs to choose from, some emphasize attacking while others emphasize defense. You can also power up your shot from super to hyper which is much more powerful but requires a longer cool down before you can use it again.
5Shien’s Revenge
One of the most unique games on the system isShien’s Revengewhich is a first-person game where you must stop ninja stars from hitting you by swinging your knife across the screen. The control of your knife if totally free and can also be used to take out nearby enemies. You can also shoot your own ninja stars to take out enemies in the distance. Each level ends with a boss fight that will all take different techniques to destroy. The game has cut scenes dispersed between levels that tell the story of Shien’s revenge.
4Mega Man X
When the Super Nintendo was launched Capcom decided to put the classicMega Manseries to the side to try something completely different.Mega Man Xwas an early release for the console and gave X a diverse set of abilities that Rock, the classic Mega Man didn’t have.
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Added inMega Man Xis the ability to jump off of walls, charge your shot, dash, and much more. There was also more of an emphasis in the story with X trying to live up to Zero, a much more powerful robot that saves X at the beginning of the game.
3Wild Guns
Wild Gunsis a gallery shooter developed byNatsume. You play as cowboys fighting off robots and are stuck to a single plane in the foreground with the ability to do melee attacks to enemies who are close by, swing your lasso to stun enemies, and collect more powerful weapons.
While the game is seemingly impossible when your first pick up the controller, once you learn to utilize your dodge roll, shoot enemy bullets, and learn the level design it begins to click. The game was recently remastered and released for modern consoles calledWild Guns Reloaded.
2Pocky & Rocky 2
Pocky & Rocky 2is an overhead run and gun similar to games likeSmash TVandEnter the Gungeoun.You play as Pocky, a young shrine maiden or Rocky, a tanuki. you’re able to shoot in all eight directions, slide to avoid enemy bullets, collect different power ups to improve your character or shot, and wave a stick to destroy enemy bullets that have gotten too close.
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There are 9 levels total, all with shops that you can go to and upgrade your character. The game’s art style was inspired by Japanese Mythology from the enemy designs to Pocky herself.
1Contra 3: The Alien Wars
Contra3: The Alien Warsadded many new features that weren’t found in previous titles. You can hold two weapons at once and swap at will, fire screen-clearing bombs, and more.
Rather than starting with a weapon with a single shot, you start with a machine gun, a good indicator of how much crazier the game is compared to its predecessors. The jump from 16-bit to 8-bit was a massive leap for theContraseries as the game is completely insane with large bosses and excessive enemies all while barely producing any drop in frame rate.
NEXT:10 Best SNES Games That Never Released Outside Japan (But Have Translations)
