List of Crap #107: Countdown to the Top 50ish Console Games of the 16-Bit Era!

[CJones]

Thanks for running the list Muppet Pastor. I'm sure Johnny is thankful for the break. Traditionally you would now ask for submissions for the the next LoC.

Here was my list:

1 Yoshi's Island (SNES)
2 Super Metroid (SNES)
3 Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)
4 Final Fantasy 5 (SFC)
5 Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)
6 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
7 Final Fantasy 6 (SFC, FF3 SNES)
8 Contra 3 (SNES)
9 Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)
10 Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
11 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PC Engine CD)
12 Super Ghouls n Ghosts (SNES)
13 Castlevania 4 (SNES)
14 Chrono Trigger (SNES)
15 Super Mario World (SNES) <-- Oh, I did have SMW. Guess I was wrong earlier when I said I was the guy who didn't have it..
16 Street Fighter 2 Turbo (SNES)
17 Romancing SaGa 3 (SFC)
18 Bonk's Revenge (TG16)
19 Dragon Quest 6 (SFC)
20 Secret of Mana (SNES)
21 Ghouls n Ghosts (PC Engine SuperGrafx)
22 Super Smash TV (SNES)
23 Actraiser (SNES)
24 Mega Man X (SNES)
25 UN Squadron (SNES)

[Russoguru]

Also, thanks to you Retro Muppet Pastor for hosting this list. 

[Pak-Man]

My List:

1. Earthbound
2. E.V.O.: The Search for Eden
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Actraiser
5. Super Metroid
6. Super Mario World
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Super Mario RPG
9. Super Punch-Out!
10. Toejam and Earl
11. Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures - It's not just the namesake. This was a super innovative adventure game where you indirectly controlled Pac-Man and his mood by shooting his environment with a slingshot. There's nothing else quite like it.
12. Earthworm Jim
13. Shining Force - It's just as good as part two, if you ask me, but I played this one way more so it made my list.
14. F-Zero
15. Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninjas - An awesome soundtrack and a blast to play with two players.
16. Lemmings - Come on! You all remember Lemmings! It was great on the SNES.
17. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
18. Gunstar Heroes
19. Super Mario Kart
20. Super Castlevania IV
21. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
22. Phantasy Star IV - A Sci-Fi RPG in a world of fantasy RPGs. IV was the best. It also retailed at like a hundred dollars, and that was 1980s money, so most people didn't get to partake. I played it because our family subscribed to the Sega Channel. It was an ahead-of-its-time cable service you'd plug into your Genesis, and it would give you a rotating selection of about 30 different Genesis games to play every month. I loved that service.
23. The Lost Vikings - You control 3 different Vikings, each with difficult skills, and organize their teamwork to get through the level.
24. NBA Jam (Tournament Edition, if we're splitting hairs)
25. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - The only 16 bit main-series Sonic game that didn't make it. I preferred 3 to the others because I played with my brother a lot and I liked having Tails as something more than a clone/invincible tag-along.

[CJones]

16. Lemmings - Come on! You all remember Lemmings! It was great on the SNES.

I played it on the Commodore 64. I didn't even realize there was an SNES version. Great game.

If you liked Lemmings, you should absolutely check out Zombie Night Terror

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/vvwpekr93vY" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/vvwpekr93vY</a>

This game kicks ass 

[Russoguru]

Speaking of gaming, I binge-played Super Metroid this morning in one sitting. That very rarely happens but I've played through that game SO many times I just wanted to challenge myself or something. Note, it's a HELL of a lot easier to pick up all the E-tanks in Super Metroid than it is in Metroid: Fusion. Last time I played through Fusion, I only found HALF the tanks, and I can't even begin to dream of where all the other ones are at. You probably have to use your shine spark ability in some crazy way or something.

[Pastor of Muppets]

How did my #7 not make the LoC? I thought the low points were 16.

Good question. Should have been worth 19 points. What was it?

It was Super Double Dragon.  You're right, it should have been on there.  My mistake. 

I think it started to go wrong around #45.  45 is Super Castlevania 4 at 20 points and 3 lists.  That's correct.  Then it should have been:

46(A - C): Ogre Battle, James Pond II, Bravoman -- 20 points, each on 1 list at #6.
47: Sonic and Knuckles -- 19 points, 2 lists
48(A - C): Super Double Dragon, Cool Spot, Mortal Kombat -- 19 points, each on 1 list at #7
49: Breath of Fire -- 18 points 2 lists
50 (A-B): Quackshot Starring Donald Duck, Landstalker -- 18 points, each on 1 list at #8

Secret of Evermore, Kirby's Dreamland 3, and UN Squadron shouldn't have made the cutoff.

I think where I went wrong was that I mistakenly gave unfair weight to things toward the bottom that had low point value but were on multiple lists.  The abundance of single list ties in the 40s threw me off.

[Pastor of Muppets]

Here is my list.

• Simcity
• Bart's Nightmare
• Shining Force II
• Dungeon Explorer
• Lufia 2
• Turtles in Time
• Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Pilotwings
• Sonic CD
• F-Zero
• Super Bomberman
• Super Punchout
• Mega Man X
• Mega Man 7
• Super Mario RPG
• Super Mario World
• Donkey Kong Country
• Super Mario Kart
• Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Golden Axe
• Ghouls and Ghosts
• Mario Paint
• Space Harrier II
• Bonk's Adventure

[Russoguru]

Super Metroid didn't make your list Muppet Pastor? 

[Pastor of Muppets]

Super Metroid didn't make your list Muppet Pastor? 

No.  I never played any Metroid until I played through Metroid Fusion, and even that was years after its release (played sometime around 2011 I think).  I very briefly played the original Metroid, and Metroid Prime around the time of their release, but that was VERY briefly, like for about 10 minutes.

[Pastor of Muppets]

I was the one who DIDN'T have SMW. Apparently I'm the only one who thinks that game is grossly overrated. SMB3 and Yoshi's Island are both FAR better games.

Nah.  It was Stethacantus.

[stethacantus]

How did my #7 not make the LoC? I thought the low points were 16.

Good question. Should have been worth 19 points. What was it?

It was Super Double Dragon.  You're right, it should have been on there.  My mistake. 

I think it started to go wrong around #45.  45 is Super Castlevania 4 at 20 points and 3 lists.  That's correct.  Then it should have been:

46(A - C): Ogre Battle, James Pond II, Bravoman -- 20 points, each on 1 list at #6.
47: Sonic and Knuckles -- 19 points, 2 lists
48(A - C): Super Double Dragon, Cool Spot, Mortal Kombat -- 19 points, each on 1 list at #7
49: Breath of Fire -- 18 points 2 lists
50 (A-B): Quackshot Starring Donald Duck, Landstalker -- 18 points, each on 1 list at #8

Secret of Evermore, Kirby's Dreamland 3, and UN Squadron shouldn't have made the cutoff.

I think where I went wrong was that I mistakenly gave unfair weight to things toward the bottom that had low point value but were on multiple lists.  The abundance of single list ties in the 40s threw me off.

When I saw the #50 tie with two games at 16 points, I was sure that any game on any list that was between #1 and #9 had definitely made the LoC. This was actually good luck because had a game needed 26 points or more to get on the LoC, then that raised the possibility that one console would dominate the LoC blocking out games from the others.  For example, the Horror Movie LoC began at 26 points, which meant that even your #1 film would need to be on someone elses list to make the LoC. This time around at least 9 of the games on a submitted list were guaranteed to make the final LoC, so no system was locked out. Not even the Turbo GrafX, which managed to get a couple of games in.

So I was expecting Super Double Dragon to make the LoC, and when it didn't show up with the other 19 point games, I thought that quite possibly it was also on someone else's list. When I saw that Super Metroid made the top 4 I began to think there had to be a mistake, because I knew Donkey Kong Country had to be in the top 4 ( because I had it at #8 ), and expected both Zelda and Super Mario to be in the top 4 as well. I wondered if it was possible that #1 would be a rare tie, with Super Mario World and Super Double Dragon. 

I was the one who DIDN'T have SMW. Apparently I'm the only one who thinks that game is grossly overrated. SMB3 and Yoshi's Island are both FAR better games.

Nah.  It was Stethacantus.

For the record, I omitted Super Mario World by mistake. I was going by the boxes on my shelf and forgot that SMW came as part of the SNES bundle, and has no box. I don't really know if I would have added SMW to my list anyway. I can't really remember exactly what it was like, other than the music ( which for the first time sounded like an actual piano. )

[Russoguru]

Well, in Super Mario 3 you didn't get to ride around on the back of a cute dinosaur, and Super Mario's world felt a lot more open to explore at any time. Also, SM3 was hard as hell. And as for Yoshi's island? I'll take the game that doesn't prominently feature a whining baby.

[stethacantus]

 I had a great deal when I bought my Super Nintendo. A store on Canal Street was selling the set bundled with Super Mario World and Super Mario All Stars. On top of that I had a manufacturers coupon from Nintendo for two free games ( both had to be less than $40 combined in retail value ) if I bought a SNES. And on top of that, the Canal Street store had their own offer. Two free games ( both had to be $20 or less, or one game that cost less than $40 ). So I went home with four new games along with the Mario Brothers games bundled with the SNES. Among those games I chose were Captain America & the Avengers ( a terrible port of the arcade game with stiff action and impossible levels ) another game called Drakkhen ( which was "the worlds first 3D RPG" if you like a flat world with only a few trees and a couple of flat castles you can't go in and no challenge ), The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare ( which  was overall levels that were disappointing and unreasonably hard ) and Batman Returns. In the years that followed I gradually bought more games, with some help from Nintendo Power magazine to let me know which games were worth buying.  New releases cost anywhere from $50 upwards to $90. But if you waited long enough, the price on most of the games came down to about $20. But not all of them. The RPGs rarely came down in price.

I was able to buy about 55 games for the SNES before Nintendo phased the system out. My entire SNES library, including the two bundled games, are: The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, Batman Returns, Brain Lord, Breath of Fire, Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage, C2: Judgement Clay, Captain America & the Avengers, Castilvania - Dracula X, Castlevania IV, Clay Fighter, Contra III: Alien Wars, The Death and Return of Superman, Demons Crest, Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, Doom, Drakkhen, Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Earthbound, F-Zero, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Illusion of Gaia, The Incredible Hulk, Lagoon, The Legend of the Mystic Ninja, Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past, Lethal Enforcers, Lord of the Rings vol 1, Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, Mario Paint, Mega Man X, Mickey Mania - The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse, MTV Beavis & Butthead, Ninja Boy, Oscar ( this one was a birthday gift, from someone who paid $65 for a game no one ever heard of. ), Pitfall - The Mayan Adventure, The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare, Ren & Stimpy: Veediots, Space Invaders ( Gameboy cartridge that unlocked the original game when played on the Super Gameboy ), Spiderman and Venom:  Maximum Carnage, Starfox, Sunset Riders, Super Double Dragon, Super Gameboy ( attachment that allowed you to play Gameboy cartridges on the SNES ), Super Godzilla, Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2 Yoshi Island, Super Metroid, Super Street Fighter II, T2: The Arcade Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, The Tick, Tinstar, Ultima - The False Profit, Yoshi Safari, Young Merlin, and Wolfenstein 3D. I never once rented a game, so these were the only SNES games I ever played. My 25 list were the games I remember having the most fun playing.

#25 F-Zero
#24 Mega Man X
#23 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
#22 Starfox
#21 Super Mario World 2 Yoshi Island
#20 The Adventures of Batman & Robin
Remember the Batman animated series on FOX? This game was based on it, with graphics that looked exactly like the animation from the series. It was part punch-em-up and part platform game, with a little bit of puzzle solving. And you got to fight The Joker on a moving roller coaster.
#19 Spiderman and Venom  Maximum Carnage
Another punch-em-up, taken directly from the comic book with both graphics based on the artwork, and gameplay that followed the comic book's plot. And a lot of guest superheroes. It is also the only Spiderman video game I ever completed.
#18 Contra III: Alien Wars
#17 Earthbound
#16 Pitfall - The Mayan Adventure
sort of a cruder version of Tomb Raider, but with the pitfall guy instead of Lara Croft
#15 Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past
#14 Mickey Mania - The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
Very similar to Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage as the game is based on actual cartoons. In this case, each level had Mickey from a different era, and each was based on a classic animated short.
#13 Doom
#12 Ultima - The False Profit
Ultima was an open world RPG, which basically meant you were not forced to follow a specific story or unlock areas by finding objects. The entire world was accessable from the start, and you were expected to discover the quests for yourself. You could do anything you wanted. Want to go to North Brittany to build a balloon instead of fighting the dragon in the South who is about to destroy a village? No one is stopping you. Want to assassinate Lord Brittian on his throne with a crossbow while he is in the middle of telling your group about the quest he wants you to go on. Go ahead. You probably won't get out of the castle alive, but you will be laughing your ass off while the guards and the members of your own group mow you down with arrows. Since it is an open world RPG, I still have no idea if I actually completed the f*&king thing. All I know is I eventually ran out of stuff to do.
#11 Clay Fighter ( technically, it was the tournament edition, but was basically the same as the regular edition )
A mysterious clay meteor crashes into an abandoned amusement park, and for some reason clay fighters emerge from the devastation. Think Moral Kombat but with goofy claymation characters.
#10 Castilvania - Dracula X
#9 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
#8 Donkey Kong Country
#7 Super Double Dragon
When I first got my SNES I almost bought the only Double Dragon franchise game available for the system. Good thing I read the box, because it was a fighting game similar to ( if not a rip off of ) Street Fighter. I wanted the original Double Dragon, and not a one on one fighting game, so I never bought Double Dragon V. Amazingly, Super Double Dragon, which was exactly what anyone wanted from a Double Dragon game, had been released two years earlier, but for some reason was not available in any stores. Finally, a couple of years later Super Double Dragon was re-released, and retailing for $20. A short time later Technos filed for bankruptcy.
#6 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest
#5 Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage
#4 Sunset Riders
#3 Earth Worm Jim 2
#2 Earth Worm Jim
#1 Batman Returns

[Quirk]

I've played more than 20 games, but I didn't include any that I didn't actually consider to be good. I'm glad Donkey Kong Country made it so high up the list--it's one of my favorite games-- but the second one is better in every single way, and it's a shame some of you never played it. It's longer and it has a more diverse set of enemies, collectibles you actually want to find, unique bonus levels that are never the same challenge twice, even better music than the first game, and Dixie Kong.

1. Donkey Kong Country 2
2. Yoshi's Island
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Donkey Kong Country
5. Earthbound
6. Donkey Kong Country 3
7. Super Metroid
8. Super Mario World
9. Sonic 3
10. Sonic and Knuckles
11. Star Fox
12. Super Mario RPG
13. Sonic 2
14. Super Mario Kart
15. Kirby's Dream Land 3
16. Battletoads Double Dragon
17. The Lost Vikings
18. Uniracers
19. Super Street Fighter 2
20. Clay Fighter 2

[Pastor of Muppets]

Here is the correct List of Crap.  It's the same from 45 down, but 50 to 46 were incorrect.


Ranking   Game
   
1   Super Mario World
2   The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
3   Donkey Kong Country
4   Super Metroid
5   Final Fantasy 3
6   Super Mario Kart
7   Chrono Trigger
8   Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
9   Super Punchout!
10   Earthworm Jim
11   Sonic the Hedgehog
12   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time
13   Earthbound
14   Star Fox
15   Super Mario RPG
17   Castlevania: Dracula X
17   Mega Man X
18   Final Fantasy 2
19   Sonic the Hedgehog 2
20   Contra 3: The Alien Wars
21   Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
22   Street Fighter 2 (Championship / Turbo Edition)
23   Street Fighter 2
24   Sunset Riders
25   F-Zero
26   Pilotwings
27   Final Fight
28   Actraiser
29   Gunstar Heroes
30   NBA Jam
31   Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
32   Super Mario All-Stars
33   Toejam and Earl
34   Mega Man 7
35   Bonk's Adventure
36   Zombies Ate My Neighbors
37   Super Bomberman
38   Super Ghouls and Ghosts
39   Secret of Mana
40A   Simcity
40B   Batman Returns
40C   Fantastic Dizzy
41A   Bart's Nightmare
41B   EVO: The Search for Eden
42A   Shining Force 2
42B   Earthworm Jim 2
43A   Dungeon Explorer
43B   Streets of Rage 2
43C   Final Fantasy 5
44A   Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
44B   Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage
44C   Toejam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron
45   Super Castlevania 4
46A   Ogre Battle
46B   James Pond II: Codename Robocod
46C   Bravoman
47   Sonic and Knuckles
48A   Super Double Dragon
48B   Cool Spot
48C   Mortal Kombat
49   Breath of Fire
50A   Quackshot Starring Donald Duck
50B   Landstalker

And a poorly formatted full list
               
Ranking   Game   Number of Lists   Highest Ranking   Submitter   Score
               
1   Super Mario World   10   #1   Johnny Unusual   176
2   The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past   8   #2   (TIE) Russoguru, Johnny Unusual, AND Linszoid   166
3   Donkey Kong Country   9   #3   Russoguru   153
4   Super Metroid   5   #1   Russoguru   106
5   Final Fantasy 3   4   #3   (TIE) Johnny Unusual AND Linszoid   85
6   Super Mario Kart   6   #3   Edward J Grug III   84
7   Chrono Trigger   5   #1   Linszoid   84
8   Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island   6   #1   CJones   80
9   Super Punchout!   6   #9   (TIE) Russoguru AND Pak-Man   70
10   Earthworm Jim   5   #2   Stethcantus   69
11   Sonic the Hedgehog   5   #1   PsychoGoatee   65
12   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time   6   #6   Retro Muppet Pastor   63
13   Earthbound   5   #1   Pak-Man   61
14   Star Fox   6   #4   Cole Stratton   56
15   Super Mario RPG   5   #8    Pak-Man   55
17   Castlevania: Dracula X   3   #3   PsychoGoatee   54
17   Mega Man X   6   #8    Russoguru   53
18   Final Fantasy 2   4   #4   Russoguru   53
19   Sonic the Hedgehog 2   4   #5   PsychoGoatee   50
20   Contra 3: The Alien Wars   4   #8    CJones   48
21   Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest   3   #1   Quirk   47
22   Street Fighter 2 (Championship / Turbo Edition)   3   #2   PsychoGoatee   46
23   Street Fighter 2   2   #4   Johnny Unusual   46
24   Sunset Riders   3   #4   Stethcantus   40
25   F-Zero   5   #10   Retro Muppet Pastor   38
26   Pilotwings   3   #8    Retro Muppet Pastor   36
27   Final Fight   4   #7   PsychoGoatee   35
28   Actraiser   3   #4   Pak-Man   35
29   Gunstar Heroes   3   #5   CJones   35
30   NBA Jam   3   #3   Cole Stratton   34
31   Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble   2   #6   Quirk   32
32   Super Mario All-Stars   2   #9   Johnny Unusual   31
33   Toejam and Earl   2   #10   Pak-Man   31
34   Mega Man 7   2   #9   PsychoGoatee   29
35   Bonk's Adventure   2   #1   Cole Stratton   26
36   Zombies Ate My Neighbors   2   #9   CJones   26
37   Super Bomberman   2   #11   Retro Muppet Pastor   26
38   Super Ghouls and Ghosts   2   #12   CJones   26
39   Secret of Mana   2   #7   Linszoid   25
40A   Simcity   1   #1   Retro Muppet Pastor   25
40B   Batman Returns   1   #1   Stethcantus   25
40C   Fantastic Dizzy   1   #1   Edward J Grug III   25
41A   Bart's Nightmare   1   #2   Retro Muppet Pastor   24
41B   EVO: The Search for Eden   1   #2   Pak-Man   24
42A   Shining Force 2   1   #3   Retro Muppet Pastor   23
42B   Earthworm Jim 2   1   #3   Stethcantus   23
43A   Dungeon Explorer   1   #4   Retro Muppet Pastor   22
43B   Streets of Rage 2   1   #4   PsychoGoatee   22
43C   Final Fantasy 5   1   #4   CJones   22
44A   Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals   1   #5   Retro Muppet Pastor   21
44B   Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage   1   #5   Stethcantus   21
44C   Toejam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron   1   #5   Edward J Grug III   21
45   Super Castlevania 4   3   #12   Russoguru   20
46A   Ogre Battle   1   #6   Linszoid   20
46B   James Pond II: Codename Robocod   1   #6   Edward J Grug III   20
46C   Bravoman   1   #6   Cole Stratton   20
47   Sonic and Knuckles   2   #10   Quirk   19
48A   Super Double Dragon   1   #7   Stethcantus   19
48B   Cool Spot   1   #7   Edward J Grug III   19
48C   Mortal Kombat   1   #7   Cole Stratton   19
49   Breath of Fire   2   #12   Linszoid   18
50A   Quackshot Starring Donald Duck   1   #8    Edward J Grug III   18
50B   Landstalker   1   #8    PsychoGoatee   18