5 overrated games from the SNES era

Even in the SNES era of video games, there were no truly perfect games. Many games from that console are remembered as the greatest games of all time. Even with that in mind, quite a few of these games don’t truly live up to the hype they may have had in their own time.

The greatest games of all time still have flaws or points of frustration, which does not mean the games on the list are bad. It simply means they are perhaps not as great as some in the gaming community find them. This is also the opinion of one writer, and other players may find other SNES games they feel are overrated.

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The SNES era was filled with classics, though many were flawed

Just because a game is overrated, that doesn’t mean the game is necessarily bad or isn’t fun. Several of these games are, in fact, still fun to play to this day. That doesn’t change that these games feature some flaws that are, without a doubt, worth mentioning.

Whether it’s one of the best RPGs of all time or a classic platforming game, many games from the Super Nintendo library were fun but made players want to throw their controllers in anger.

Overrated SNES games

• Pilotwings
• The Lion King
• Mega Man X3
• Star Fox
• Secret of Mana

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5) Pilotwings

Pilotwings was a pretty popular game in the early days of the SNES, though the future Pilotwings 64 is remembered with fonder memories for many. The notion of a flight simulator on the SNES was a cool idea. Unfortunately, it lacked the precision a game of that nature needed.

After all, the Super Nintendo did not have a flight stick, analog stick, or anything like that to offer precision.

It was a fantastic idea but didn’t work out on the SNES how it would on the future Nintendo 64.

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4) The Lion King

Disney made some of the best side-scrolling platforms in this era, like Aladdin for the SNES and NES consoles. However, The Lion King, while faithful to the movie was emulating - a rare moment in early movie games - had some serious issues.

It was visually appealing, and the music was great, but the stages are slow lessons in frustration. It’s not a poor game by any stretch, but the controls lose their precision around the halfway point. Adult Simba does not play as well as Young Simba.

Adult Simba’s stages aren’t as interesting, considering Adult Simba doesn't do much in the actual Lion King film other than defeat Scar in battle.

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3) Mega Man X3

Mega Man X was undoubtedly one of the greatest platformers on the SNES, and its sequel, MMX2, was just as good. Then Mega Man X 3 showed up. The game suffered from the same problems other sequels have lacked creativity.

While yes, the bosses all looked incredible, and it had memorable music, the actual stages themselves fell short of the mark. Long and tedious, the stages weren’t nearly as fun as the previous games. Mega Man X3 was the beginning of the sad decline of the Mega Man franchise.

It felt hollow compared to the previous entries and was just a rehash of what fans had already experienced.

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2) Star Fox

Due to the power of the Super FX microchip and the general unique feel of the game, Star Fox is often fondly remembered as a SNES classic. A flight game in 3D, it featured fantastic anthropomorphic characters and lots of intense space battles.

This is another case of people remembering the N64 version instead. The game’s controls were poor, and it is not a game that holds up well in a modern setting. It often slowed to a crawl with multiple enemies on the screen, and targeting during boss fights was infuriating.

The 3D graphics showed off just how much the SNES could do, but it would not compare to the sequel on the Nintendo 64. The game was impressive but served as proof of concept for future video games.

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1) Secret of Mana

That’s right, one of the most beloved series and RPGs of all time is a deeply flawed and perhaps overrated Super Nintendo title. While loved, Secret of Mana has many problems that are often frustrating to this day.

The difficulty is wildly inconsistent, and the weapon charging system has players taking damage far more often than it should. It is prolonged and isn’t always worth doing. There are many moments where bosses, and even regular enemies, can lock the player down by casting spells, causing many frustrating deaths.

Secret of Mana also only allows a minimal number of healing items to be carried around at once, leading to moments where players arrive at a boss with no way to heal or revive. Putting the final weapon upgrades behind incredible rare drops was also a frustrating choice.

While it’s a beautiful and beloved game, it’s one of the most deeply flawed Super Nintendo RPGs of all time. Unfortunately, while this game did receive a remake, it was not well-received by the public.

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These games are not bad, by any stretch. There are some flaws that could have been addressed in a number of ways. Some of these tried to do much, and the game’s fun factor suffered.

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Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.