15 Best SNES Games On Nintendo Switch Online

One of the coolest perks that comes with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is access to over 100 classic games from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. There are a few perks that the retro game streaming service has over the original console, including the ability to save your progress whenever and wherever you want, rewind your progress by holding the ZL and ZR buttons for as many "do-overs" as it takes to beat some of these challenging older titles, a handy voice chat feature via the official Nintendo Switch Online app, a co-op cursor function that gives a partner a literal hand to point out secrets or share tips with your shared screen, and intense two player co-op or competitive play with friends online. With such a massive collection of titles from every genre, it's far too easy for newcomers to be overwhelmed while trying to find the best SNES games available on Nintendo Switch Online, so we've collected the top must-play titles you've got to try.

Originally bundled with the first shipments of Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems, "Super Mario World" is the first game in the Super Mario series to introduce the ridable, adorable, and always hungry dinosaur, Yoshi. Princess Toadstool has been captured by the evil Bowser, and it's up to Mario and Luigi to adventure across Dinosaur Land alongside the Yoshis to rescue her. This 2D side scroller tasks players to get creative with game-changing powerups like a cape that allows the Mario Bros to fly and the classic fireball-flinging Fire Flower to clear levels as they see fit.

With 74 unique stages, tons of hidden secrets and bonuses, and an assortment of creatively designed enemies, "Super Mario World" has a lot of content to keep hardcore platformer fans entertained for a long time to come. From the relatively chill atmosphere of Yoshi's Island to the claustrophobic corridors of Vanilla Mountain, to the puzzling Forest of Illusion, to the ultra-secret Star Road levels, "Super Mario World" and its easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master controls regularly present players with exciting new challenges to keep them on their toes. The 1990 classic SNES game also sports a robust 2-player co-op mode, where players take on the roles of Mario and Luigi while taking turns to complete levels as they progressively get closer to Bowser's Castle.

Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by the vile Kaptain K. Rool, so Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong will have to traverse the homeland of the Kremling Krew to get him back. "Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest" sports an immersive soundtrack, an array of wild stages to explore for tons of collectables, and responsive controls that veteran and newcomers alike will appreciate when they're making split-second jumps, rolls, and dodges.

Players will appreciate switching between Diddy and Dixie on the fly to take full advantage of Diddy's faster running speed and Dixie's innovative twirling ponytail move, which allows her to slowly descend from high places. While enemies like Zinger bees, exploding Kabooms, and strongman Krushas may seem intimidating, the Kongs can rely on charming animal buddies like the high-jumping Rattly the snake and web-blasting Squitter the spider to make even the most difficult levels much more manageable. Intense roller coaster races, sticky walks through massive honey-soaked beehives, and swimming through long-abandoned shipwrecks are just a handful of the many exciting places Diddy and Dixie must overcome if they're going to find DK at the top of Crocodile Isle.

Kirby fans certainly got their money's worth when "Kirby Super Star" was released in 1996, and now you can explore this sprawling SNES game's eight adventures packed in one collection. Sure, the simple four-stage game of "Spring Breeze" is an easy stroll across Dreamland to take back the food King Dedede stole, but it's only to train you for the more difficult challenges to come in games like the white-knuckle thrill ride of "Revenge of Meta Knight," the maze-like treasure discovering the fun of "The Great Cave Offensive," and the galaxy-spanning finale of "Milky Way Wishes."

Just like other Kirby titles, the little pink puffball gains the abilities of the enemies he swallows along the way, but with the press of a button, Kirby can toss aside his current power to summon a helpful ally character to fight alongside him, which can be controlled by a friend for a two-player co-op at any time. There are also a few fun minigames to be discovered within "Kirby Super Star" too, including "Megaton Punch," where you'll test your timing against your friend's to see who is the strongest in Dreamland, and "The Arena," where Kirby and company will have to overcome a gauntlet of every major baddie throughout the entire game.

Although its eight-character roster and 15 unique tracks are dwarfed by the content included with modern versions, the original "Super Mario Kart" is a must-play for longtime fans of the racing series. The classic "Super Mario Kart" is a particularly challenging game once you start playing its fastest kart speed class, and completing all four circuits with a gold trophy is a major reward for anyone with the skills to stay in first place while dodging the barrage of items hurled your way from the other seven speedsters on your tail.

If you enjoy quality two-player SNES games, you'll love the competitive spirit of "Super Mario Kart." Whether you prefer a lightweight driver with a swift accelerator like Toad or Yoshi, or a heavyweight bruiser with a high top speed like Bowser or Donkey Kong Jr., tossing banana peels, Koopa shells, and lightning bolts at your buddy is a blast, no matter the race track.

Once you and your racing buddy get enough of doing doughnuts on Doughnut Plains and peeling out in the sweet muddy Choco Island tracks, try spicing things up in battle mode. It's a no holds barred item fiesta, where you'll do your best to burst your pal's trio of balloons before they pop yours.

While "EarthBound" may very well be the weirdest game to ever grace the SNES, this delightfully bizarre title is easily one of the console's best role-playing games. The story of "EarthBound" is a strange, hilarious, spooky, and heartwarming tale that centers around four young friends as they travel the world and battle oddball enemies to stop the end of the world, as predicted by a time-traveling alien entity that took the form of a bee. And that's just what happens in the first ten minutes of the game!

"EarthBound" may have sold poorly when it hit stores in 1994, but this RPG has amassed a huge cult following in the decades to follow due to its trippy visuals, innovative combat system, genuinely funny writing, and memorable cast of characters. It's a particularly lengthy game too, so you'll have plenty of time to find your best strategy for fighting hippies, cavemen, and zombies alongside your psychic, genius, and magical buddies.

Many old-school and retro gamers may be familiar with the original "Star Fox" game and its high-flying space adventures after its 1993 release, but "Star Fox 2" is a game with an unusual history. The direct sequel was fully developed in 1995, but it wasn't released to the public until 2017 as a special bonus game for the Super NES Classic Edition miniature console.

Fans of the classic "Star Fox" will appreciate returning to the Lylat System alongside two brand-new members of the team to blast a near-endless horde of enemy spaceships sent by the evil Andross out of the sky. Some of the new and exciting additions to the "Star Fox" formula include being hunted by the villainous Star Wolf bounty-hunting mercenaries, the ability to land and transform your Arwing starship into a versatile walking mech, and an all-around prettier fully 3D world for Fox, Peppy, Falco, and Slippy to explore and defend in "Star Fox 2."

One of the last great titles to release on the SNES way back in 1997, "Kirby's Dream Land 3" was the fifth and final Kirby game for the aging console. A mysterious dark force has engulfed the once-happy world of Dreamland, so Kirby ventures out with his animal buddies to drive back the encroaching baddies and restore peace one more time.

Some of the many ways "Kirby's Dream Land 3" differentiates itself from other Kirby games include the ability to summon his new pal, an always hungry long-tongued deep blue blob named Gooey at any time so a friend can jump in as a co-op buddy, an adorable hand-drawn art style, and an assortment of fun new animal friends like Nago the cat and ChuChu the octopus. This adorably sketchy game may seem simple at a glance, but it will take clever players to uncover all of "Kirby's Dream Land 3's" well-hidden secrets by combining Kirby's abilities and the help of cute animals to solve puzzles.

There aren't too many fighting games in the Nintendo Switch Online's Super Nintendo Entertainment System collection, but the good news is that "Super Punch-Out!!" is an absolute gem. In this boxing game, you take on the role of Little Mac, taking on tougher and more skilled opponents as you punch your way to win the World Video Boxing Association belt. Boxing in "Super Punch-Out!!" takes finesse, an excellent sense of timing, and a keen eye as you dodge and block your foe's blows while you wait for just the right moment for a counterpunch.

Although this game is best known as the single-player title where you face down a series of charmingly cartoonish boxers like Aran Ryan, Mad Clown, and the extremely difficult Nick Bruiser, no one knew that "Super Punch-Out!!" featured a multiplayer mode until a super-secret code was discovered in 2022 to unlock it! The best part is that this code, (unlocked by opening the free play mode and having the second player press and hold the B and Y buttons while player one presses start), works on both the original SNES cartridge as well as the Nintendo Switch version, making it the best SNES fighting game available on the service to date.

The lovable Yoshis are back, and this time, it's up to the colorful reptiles to travel to the far side of Yoshi's Island to reunite baby Mario with baby Luigi, who was kidnapped by evil Magikoopa Kamek. Sure, "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" is the direct sequel to the original "Super Mario World," but between playing exclusively as Yoshi, transforming into helicopters, cars, and other vehicles, and the ultimate goal of safely transporting little Mario to the end goal without him being abducted by baddies, it's an entirely different experience.

"Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" features a colorful hand-drawn style that oozes charm and a responsive control scheme that will need to be mastered if your vibrant collection of Yoshis will have a chance of getting to the end of World 6. Speaking of which, there are plenty of collectibles to seek out, and getting 100% of the red coins, Special Flowers, and 30 stars per level will unlock an extra level per world that will put your jumping, egg-throwing, and ground-pounding skills to the ultimate test.

Welcome to the far-flung year of 2560, where the greatest sport is F-Zero racing in lightning-fast hover cars. In "F-ZERO," you choose between four models, and drift, boost, glide, and jump throughout 15 different white-knuckle courses to become the new champion. Racers who excel at split-second decisions, mid-race strategy to drift between booster pads and avoid mines, and keeping an eye on your ruthless rivals will get a kick out of this intensely fast racing SNES classic. Between its impressive variety of courses, unique hazards, catchy music, and the timeless charm of its four racers, Captain Falcon, Pico, Dr. Stewart, and Samurai Goroh, it is easy to see why "F-ZERO" has a dedicated fan base after so many years.

It is a shame that there's not a two player mode, and that there hasn't been a new entry in the F-Zero series since "F-Zero GX" on the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Switch players who need a beautifully rendered racing title that will give their reflexes the ultimate workout will appreciate the 1990 SNES classic version of "F-ZERO."

It's been far too long since Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong ventured out to explore the Northern Kremisphere, so it's up to Dixie Kong and Kiddie Kong to travel the dizzying heights of Razor Ridge, the industrial wasteland of Mekanos, and far beyond to find them. The exotic wilderness and the strange creatures that call it home will pose a challenge, but veteran players will keep an eye out for the best times to swap Kongs to utilize Dixie Kong's hair-twirling moves for Kiddie Kong's bulk-based moves to traverse the game's 48 creatively designed levels and find its many secrets.

Speaking of which, there are tons of collectibles to look for ranging from Bear Coins used to barter for goodies with the Brothers Bear family scattered around the world, to well-hidden Banana Birds that will provide players with a satisfying reward if they can find them all. With its intimidating boss enemies, atmospheric soundtrack, and action-packed gameplay, "Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!" ends the SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy on a high note.

If you owned a Super Nintendo Entertainment System outside of Japan, you may know this game as the Yoshi's Island-themed "Tetris Attack," but whether it features its original theme or fairies or Mario's dinosaur buddy, "Panel de Pon" is easily the best SNES puzzle game on Nintendo Switch Online.

"Panel de Pon" is a fast-paced puzzle title where horizontal rows of colorful blocks rise from the floor, and it's up to you to move the cursor and swap the position of two blocks at a time to make lines of three or more matching pieces to remove them from the game board. A game of "Panel de Pon" ends if a player's blocks press against the top of the screen for more than a few seconds, and if you're playing against an opponent, you will send large and awkwardly shaped Garbage Blocks onto their screen whenever you match four or more blocks at once. The ability to throw bad blocks at your friends at any time makes two-player mode an intense and rewarding back-and-forth that hardcore puzzle game fans won't be able to put down.

By the time Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System alongside "Super Mario World," Super Mario was a household name with multiple beloved adventures released for Nintendo's previous console. It would have been relatively easy for Nintendo to simply port a few NES Mario titles to the SNES, but "Super Mario All-Stars" features four completely remade versions of "Super Mario Bros.," "Super Mario Bros. 2," "Super Mario Bros. 3," and "Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels" in a single cartridge.

It was a delight to replay or discover the original Super Mario games for the first time with more detailed 16-bit visuals when "Super Mario All-Stars" hit shelves in 1993, but what western gamers call "Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels" is what Japanese fans know as the direct sequel to "Super Mario Bros," and it wasn't released outside of Japan until much later. If you're a fan of Mario's modern adventures, you owe it to yourself to play through the first few Super Mario games via this comprehensive SNES collection.

Donkey Kong's legendary banana horde has been taken by the villainous King K. Rool and his nasty Kremling crew, so it's time for him and his little buddy Diddy Kong to get them back. The great ape will have to swim through perilous coral reefs, ride rickety mine carts, and endure brutal blizzards before he'll have a chance to take on K. Rool, and with 40 exciting levels to explore, there's a lot to keep platformer fans entertained with "Donkey Kong Country."

The vast jungles and deep mine shafts are a challenge, but with plenty of hidden bonus rooms, extra lives, and the help of animal friends like the rugged Rambi the rhinoceros, high-jumping Winky the frog, and the fast-swimming Enguarde the Swordfish, players will have plenty of help as long as they keep their cool. With its beautiful visuals, precise gameplay, and lovable cast of characters, it's easy to see why "Donkey Kong Country" and its pair of sequels are some of the most beloved SNES games out there.

The last of the parasitic Metroid aliens is safely held in captivity, that is until Space Pirates recapture the creature and destroy the research station, and only Samus Aran can track the alien fiends to the center of the maze-like planet of Zebes to retrieve it. The winding caverns of Zebes are threatening, but as Samus finds upgrades to her cybernetic suit, like the Morph Ball, Grappling Beam, and Super Missiles, the grotesque native creatures get a little less scary with each new boost.

In addition to finding new ways to open up fresh hollows and hallways, players should keep their eyes open for little inconsistencies in the environment, as there are plenty of extremely well-hidden bonuses like missile capacity upgrades that are worth seeking out. With monsters that stand multiple screens tall, and new freakish aliens to surprise you behind every new environment Samus visits, sci-fi fans will have a blast with the futuristic world of "Super Metroid."