{"id":78868,"date":"2026-08-23T17:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T09:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=78868"},"modified":"2026-08-23T17:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T09:18:08","slug":"the-10-best-snes-games-to-play-on-nintendo-switch-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=78868","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best SNES Games to Play on Nintendo Switch Online"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Super Nintendo Entertainment System has one of the finest game catalogs of any console ever released, and there’s a strong selection of 77 games available on Nintendo Classics as part of Nintendo Switch Online. Sadly, most of the console’s great third-party games aren’t represented; you won’t find Chrono Trigger<\/em>, Final Fantasy 6<\/em>, or Street Fighter 2 Turbo <\/em>on the service.<\/p>\n

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But it doesn’t really matter, because you will, of course, find many of Nintendo’s own games \u2014 and these represent an incredible golden age for the studio, when Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka’s teams were pumping out masterpiece after masterpiece. It’s one of the best runs any game developer has ever had, a time of perfection between the innovation of the NES before and the bold leap into 3D with the N64 that came after.<\/p>\n

Here are the 10 best SNES games you can play on Nintendo Classics.<\/p>\n

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\n 10 <\/span>
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\n Mario Paint
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"mario\n <\/picture>Image: Intelligent Systems\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Nintendo loves to put together oddball game-and-accessory bundles, and in 1992 it sold a mouse for the SNES with this delightful art creation suite. There are funny minigames, brilliant tunes, authentic Nintendo sprites to use, as well as drawing, animation, and music creation suites. You’ll need a USB mouse to play it on Switch, but Switch 2 owners can use the Joy-Con 2 in mouse mode.<\/p>\n

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\n 9 <\/span>
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\n Kirby Super Star
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"Kirby\n <\/picture>Image: HAL Laboratory\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai’s restless imagination and love of remixes and mash-ups can be found as far back as this barmy 1996 anthology platformer. Kirby Super Star <\/em>is a compilation of compressed ideas and stories expressed through the medium of the ability-copying pink blob: a racing game, a Metroidvania, a boss rush, scrolling shmup levels, and various rule variations on the classic platformer. It\u2019s a glorious, throwaway blizzard of ideas, perfect for dipping into.<\/p>\n

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\n 8 <\/span>
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\n Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\"donkey\n <\/picture>Image: Rare\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Rare’s SNES platform game trilogy was visually flabbergasting at the time, and its rendered technique and huge sprites still look unique now. They can’t compare with the in-house Nintendo platformers of the time for sophistication and invention, but they’re slick, stuffed with secrets, and have amazing soundtracks and ambiance. Of the three games, Diddy’s Kong Quest<\/em> is surely the best.<\/p>\n

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\n 7 <\/span>
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\n Panel de Pon
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"panel\n <\/picture>Image: Intelligent Systems\/Nintendo via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Known as Tetris Attack<\/em> in the West \u2014 where Nintendo of America jazzed it up with characters like Yoshi and a rather spurious application of the Tetris licence \u2014 Panel de Pon<\/em> is an immaculate match-three puzzle game made by Intelligent Systems (Advance Wars<\/em>, Fire Emblem). There’s nothing fancy about it, it’s just brilliant, endless block-matching action for one or two players.<\/p>\n

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\n 6 <\/span>
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\n EarthBound
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\n
\"EarthBound\"\n <\/picture>Image: Ape Inc.\/HAL Laboratory\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The SNES was home to so many great RPGs, it’s a shame there aren’t more of them on Nintendo Switch Online. But we do have this gloriously kooky cult classic from Shigesato Itoi and Satoru Iwata, which uses a traditional RPG framework to explore a satirical, child’s-eye-view world of contemporary Americana, alien invasions, and murderous taxi cabs.<\/p>\n

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\n 5 <\/span>
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\n Super Mario Kart
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"super\n <\/picture>Image: Nintendo EAD\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This incredibly influential 1992 racing game invented and perfected a whole genre at the first try. It’s stunning how all the key components of what became a world-conquering series are present here, but also how different Super Mario Kart<\/em> is from what the series became; with its tight track layouts and grippy handling, it’s more precise and technical. It\u2019s also brilliant in head-to-head two-player mode.<\/p>\n

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\n 4 <\/span>
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\n Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"yoshi's\n <\/picture>Image: Nintendo EAD\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The supposed sequel to Super Mario World<\/em> is really anything but; it’s the first Yoshi game instead, as well as one of the funniest, loveliest things Nintendo has ever made. With graphics made of crayon scribbles and splashes of watercolor, stretchy, wobbly physics courtesy of the Super FX chip, and wild slapstick gameplay that just never stops rocking, Yoshi’s Island <\/em>is a gorgeous, irreverent hymn to innocence.<\/p>\n

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\n 3 <\/span>
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\n Super Metroid
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"super\n <\/picture>Image: Intelligent Systems\/Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Super Metroid<\/em> is, quite simply, the<\/em> Metroid game. It might even be the <\/em>Metroidvania. Fabulously atmospheric and labyrinthine, this game captures better than any other \u2014 even the first Metroid Prime<\/em> \u2014 the series’ lonely, obscurely threatening sci-fi futurism.<\/p>\n

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