Top 150 SNES Games Results Thread

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

21. Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a run and gun video game for the Super NES and Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis platforms. The game was produced by LucasArts as a comical tribute to both classic and schlocky horror films of the 1950s and 1960s.

A sequel entitled Ghoul Patrol was released in 1994, but was not as well received as its predecessor and no further sequels were produced. A similar game, Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, contains references to Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

GamePro ranked Zombies Ate My Neighbors #9 in their "top ten games you never heard of" list in their 200th issue.

Recently, Zombies Ate My Neighbors was given a rating on ESRB's website, which means the game may appear on the Wii's Virtual Console. However, it has since been removed.[1] No official statement has been issued on a scheduled release date.

The player chooses between two teenage characters, Zeke and Julie, or both in two-player mode. They navigate suburban neighborhoods, shopping malls, pyramids, and other areas, destroying a variety of horror-movie monsters, including vampires, werewolves, huge demonic babies, and the game's flagship, zombies. In each of the 48 stages (excluding the bonus levels) the goal is to rescue the surviving neighbors, at which point a magical door opens that will take the player to the next stage. However, if the player is not careful, any enemy in the game will kill the neighbors, preventing them from being saved. At least one neighbor must be saved from each level to progress to the next. The game is lost if all of the neighbors in a certain stage are killed or if the player(s) lose all of their lives. Scoring points earns players more neighbors to save and extra lives.

[DiBiase is Good]

How the s*** is UN Squadron only at 127? Damn, maybe I should have bothered voting.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Now for the countdown update

150. King Of The Monsters
149. Captain America And The Avengers
148. Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage
147. Cannon Fodder
146. Wayne's World
145. Madden NFL 95
144. Metal Warriors
143. Super Godzilla
142. Spider-man & Venom: Separation Anxiety
141. Clay Fighter
140. Super Bomberman 2
139. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
138. Kirby's Avalanche
137. Striker
136. Fatal Fury Special
135. King Of Dragons
134. Rap Jam: Volume One
133. Disney's Magical Quest
132. Doom
131. Samurai Shodown
130. International Superstar Soccer
129. Breath Of Fire
128. Sim City 2000
127. U.N. Squadron
126. Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf
125. Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
124. Super Battleship
123. S.O.S.
122. Gradius III
121. Tetris 2
120. Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinistrels
119. The Lion King
118. Spider-man & Venom: Maximum Carnage
117. Demon's Crest
116. Pinball Fantasies
115. Inindo: Way Of The Ninja
114. World Cup Striker
113. Run Saber
112. NCAA Football
111. Krusty's Fun House
110. The Simpsons: Virtual Bart
109. Cool Spot
108. Tecmo Secret Of The Stars
107. Super Caesar's Palace
106. Pilotwings
105. Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
104. Romance Of The Three Kingdoms IV: Wall Of Fire
103. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
102. Riddick Bowe Boxing
101. Saturday Night Slam Masters
100. Super Return Of The Jedi
99. Shadowrun
98. Kirby's Dream Course
97. Rock N' Roll Racing
96. NHL 94
95. Madden NFL 97
94. Paladin's Quest
93. Axelay
92. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye Of The Beholder
91. Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game
90. FIFA International Soccer
89. Super Tennis
88. King Arthur's World
87. Terranigma
86. NBA Live 98
85. WWF Super Wrestlemania
84. Skyblazer
83. Madden NFL 98
82. Street Fighter Alpha 2
81. Soul Blazer
80. Secret Of Evermore
79. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
78. Final Fight 3
77. Illusion Of Gaia
76. Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
75. Front Mission
74. Harvest Moon
73. Earthworm Jim 2
72. Flashback: The Quest For Identity
71. Super R-Type
70. Mortal Kombat III
69. Super Smash TV
68. Breath Of Fire II
67. The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja
66. Super Empire Strikes Back
65. Final Fight 2
64. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
63. Mario Is Missing
62. Super Bomberman 3
61. Joe & Mac
60. Super Bomberman
59. Lufia & The Fortress Of Doom
58. R-Type III: The Third Lightning
57. Super Star Wars
56. Sunset Riders
55. Smash Tennis
54. Robotrek
53. Mega Man X3
52. Pocky & Rocky
51. Mega Man X2
50. Super Ghouls N' Ghosts
49. Earthworm Jim
48. Tetris Attack
47. Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
46. NBA Jam
45. International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
44. Uniracers
43. EVO: The Search For Eden
42. Wild Guns
41. Mario Paint
40. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
39. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
38. Mega Man 7
37. WWF Raw
36. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen
35. Ultimate Mortal Kombat III
34. Mortal Kombat
33. Final Fight
32. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
31. Killer Instinct
30. WWF Royal Rumble
29. F-Zero
28. Sim City
27. Kirby Superstar
26. Act Raiser
25. Contra III: The Alien Wars
24. Super Castlevania IV
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
22. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
21. Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Dust Off That Cartridge As The Top 20 List Is Next

Here Are The Hints To The Next Five Games On Our List

* Fighting In The Streets

* Mana's Secret

* New Challengers In The Street

* The Fox Is Seeing Stars

* Turbo Fighting

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

20. Street Fighter II Turbo

Street Fighter IIŒ Turbo: Hyper Fighting (Street Fighter II Dash Turbo in Japan and plain Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting outside of Japan) was released in response to an explosion of modified bootlegs of the Champion Edition which were becoming popular amongst arcade operators. Changes included:

* Faster gameplay.
* Many characters gained new moves, and several that could now be performed in mid-air.
* All characters were given new color palettes, which served as the default palettes.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

19. Secret Of Mana

Secret of Mana, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu 2, is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the second installment in the Mana video game series (the first, Final Fantasy Adventure/Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden was for the GameBoy). This is the only Mana game released on the Super Nintendo outside Japan. Most players outside Japan were introduced to the series through this particular game.

Rather than use the traditional turn-based battle system of games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Secret of Mana uses real-time battles akin to the Legend of Zelda series' games, but with the statistical-based elements of the RPG genre and a unique "ring menu" system. In addition, with its brightly colored graphics, expansive plot, and soundtrack by Hiroki Kikuta, Secret Of Mana has been called one of the greatest video games ever made.

Generally, Secret of Mana uses a top-down view common with role-playing games of the 16-bit era, with movement governed by the directional pad and the game's other functions by the other buttons (however, the game allows an unusual, if somewhat impractical, upside-down controller configuration). However, unlike its companion turn-based RPGs, Secret of Mana uses a pictorial ring menu system. It is from here that the player can change what weapons the main characters use, cast spells, use items, equip armor, change game settings and control the behavior of the computer-controlled main characters while the action is paused. The ring menu is used again in later Mana games and the spin-off Secret of Evermore.

Secret of Mana offers the player eight weapon types to choose from, including Randi's initial sword. These include a spear, bow, axe, whip and a javelin. As a default setting, Purim joins the party using the glove and Popoie with the boomerang. Weapons can be upgraded through the use of orbs, generally obtained after the successful completion of a boss battle or found as treasures in dungeons. In order for the upgrade to be performed, the weapons must be taken to Watts the Dwarven Blacksmith, who is a staple of the series. One major annoyance of this system is the apparent absence of two of the weapon orbs, for the axe and the glove - this can be remedied by searching for orbs randomly dropped by specific enemies, but they are very rare. Collecting eight orbs for each weapon in this way allows the player's weapons to reach a secret ultimate level.

Secret of Mana also introduces the Elementals concept to the Seiken series. The eight Elementals can be found on different locations of the game world, and each has a distinct personality and provides the player with specific spells. The eight Elementals are (in order of appearance) Undine, Gnome, Sylphid, Salamando, Lumina, Shade, Luna and Dryad. Each Elemental has destructive and support powers.

The Elementals Are:
* Undine (Elemental Of Water)
* Gnome (Elemental Of Earth)
* Sylphid (Elemental Of Wind)
* Salamando (Elemental Of Fire)
* Shade (Elemental Of Shadow)
* Luna (Elemental Of Moon)
* Dryad (Elemental Of Trees)

Both weapons and magical powers are given a proficiency scale of nine levels (ranging from 0:00 to 8:99), which are raised according to how much the player makes use of them; higher levels allow for more powerful attacks or stronger spells, but each new level takes longer to achieve than the last. Weapons are granted a new, more powerful attack with each level, but with these comes the downside of an increased cumulative charge-up time - the more powerful the attack the player wishes to unleash, the more time he or she will have to spend charging up for the attack and the more vulnerable to enemy attack they are. Even without starting a special attack, the player has to wait momentarily for the character to recover from each attack they make; failure to wait for the character to recover will make their attacks deal minimal damage until enough time is given (around three seconds). Spell animations change approximately every two levels, and once an element reaches above level 8:00, there is a chance that a super-powered version of any spell of that element will be performed when cast. The closer to level 8:99 the element is, the more often the special version will trigger.

A variety of beneficial items are available for use in Secret of Mana, mainly for use as curatives, restoration or healing. Unlike its sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3, there are no items purely for attacking enemies. The game also provides an additional challenge through only allowing the player to carry a maximum of four of each item at any time. This four-of-a-kind-maximum rule can be seen to encourage the player to kill enemies and loot any treasure chests left behind to replenish their stocks, or to use spells to achieve the same effect. However, using spells compounds the challenge as the Faerie Walnut items, which are the only items that replenish the Mana Points used to cast spells, follow the same rule. Throughout the game, the use of some items, such as the curatives and healing items, becomes less of a necessity as the player receives more elemental powers and their proficiency in them increases, particularly for Purim, who casts most, if not all, of the beneficial spells. For example, Undine's powers include Cure Water, which restores hit points, and Remedy, which removes status modifiers such as poison or petrification, are obtained early in the game; practicing these spells allows the player to stop relying on the curative Candy, Chocolate and Royal Jam items gradually, and the healing Medical Herb. Cups of Wishes, which revive fallen party members, are generally needed until near the end of the game, when the spell Revivifier is obtained, but still provide an alternative to the spell's high Mana Point cost. There are also two one-of-a-kind items that restore the special "midget" and "Moogle" status modifiers, namely the Midge Mallet and the Moogle Belt; however, their use on an unfettered character will shrink them and prevent the use of their weapons, or turn them into a Moogle respectively.

Unlike some other roleplaying games, weapons cannot be bought or sold; rather, an orb for one of the weapons is awarded or found and brought to Watts the Blacksmith, who will then irrevocably upgrade that weapon to a new, more powerful form. Armor, on the other hand, is either bought and sold through vendors, such as the travelling peddler Neko, or can only be found in chests left behind by defeated enemies. As the game progresses, more powerful armor is available either through chance in the looted treasure chests (the most powerful armor items in the game can only be found this way), or for purchase with the in-game currency of GP, and is then equipped on each character's head, body or arm, depending on the armor type. Some items of equipment, like the Spiked Vest, can be worn by all characters, but others, like the Tiger Bikini and Rabite Cap, are character specific.

Secret of Mana can be played simultaneously by one, two or three players. In order to support three players, a Super Multitap accessory must be plugged into the second controller port of the gaming console.[2] Otherwise, the game's artificial intelligence will exercise limited control over the one or two supporting characters. The AI is known for having a notoriously weak path-finding system, which quite often results in supporting characters getting stuck, forcing the player to switch control to them to unlodge them, as an invisible barrier prevents the player from becoming too separated from the other two characters. It is possible to adjust the aggression level of each AI-controlled character, but spell-casting must be performed manually.

Because of this auto-detection mechanism of the controllers, additional players could join or leave the game simply by plugging or unplugging their controller. Removal of the controller simply reverted that character back to AI control.

A young man (with a default name of Randi in the Japanese version of the game) is exploring the forbidden woods near his hometown of Potos with his companions, when he falls off a bridge over a waterfall. After surviving the fall, he finds his way back home blocked by undergrowth. He finds a sword in a stone in the middle of a nearby stream, and is prompted by a mysterious voice to take it. After pulling the rusty sword from the stone, the voice reveals itself as a ghostly figure, and is gone with a brilliant flash of light from the sword. The blade is sharp enough to cut through the undergrowth and he makes his way back to Potos, mystified by the sudden appearance of Rabites in the woods.

Upon returning to Potos, he finds the village under attack by monsters. He sees the Elder, who is thankful for his safe return, but is mortified to find that he is wielding the sword, which had acted as a totem to protect the village from monsters. Suddenly, there is an earthquake and Randi falls into an underground chamber with a monster called the Mantis Ant. Assisted by the enigmatic knight Jema, he defeats the creature and obtains an orb. Jema identifies the sword as none other than the Mana Sword, and encourages Randi to visit the Sage Luka at the nearby Water Palace for more information about it. After Jema departs, the villagers pressure the Elder to banish Randi from Potos as the monsters are after him because they are drawn to the Sword. The Elder relents, but before Randi leaves, he reveals that Randi was entrusted into his care by his mother and that he is an orphan.

Randi reaches the Water Palace and learns that the country simply known as The Empire is wishing to revive the Mana Fortress, and also of his fate: that he must "seal" all eight Mana Seeds across the world with the Mana Sword if he is to save it and restore the balance he disrupted by pulling the Sword. The Seeds also transmit their power to the Sword with each one he seals. He also learns that the orb he received from the Mantis Ant will help him to restore power to the Mana Sword and is encouraged to seek the assistance of the Dwarves in Gaia's Navel, where the next palace and its Seed, the Underground Palace, reside. He also receives a spear before he departs.

He heads for Gaia's Navel, but along the way he is kidnapped by goblins. Randi is freed by a mysterious girl who mistook him for someone else: Her lover, Major Dyluck, who was outside the Water Palace with a band of soldiers on a hunt for the witch, Elinee. Here, the story stops being completely linear, as the girl (called Purim by default in the Japanese version of the game) can join or leave the party in a number of locations along the way to Gaia's Navel, or just after it. With Purim and her glove weapon, or not, Randi travels to the Dwarf Village. There, he meets Watts the Blacksmith, who reforges the Mana Sword into a more powerful form, and subsequently reforms his smithing hammer into an axe after it received power from it. Randi then witnesses a sideshow and is tricked by the Dwarf Elder's money scam by a young sprite child (called Popoie by default in the Japanese version of the game). After revealing the ploy and having his money returned (and fighting another boss), Popoie joins the party with a boomerang and a bow and arrows in the hope of having his memories restored, knocked out of him by his being swept from home by a flood.

The way to the Underground Palace is blocked by Elinee's spell, however, and once Purim is in the party for good (the story becoming linear again), the three travel there to confront her to get her to revoke her spell. She spirits Dyluck away to her boss, Thanatos, and after her pet Spiky Tiger is defeated, her powers fade and she grants the party the use of a whip. However, Sage Luka calls Randi, and upon returning to the Water Palace area, the party gain the powers of the first Elemental spirit, Undine, who also gives a javelin. The party then returns to the Underground Palace, receive the powers of Gnome, and Popoie remembers his origins in the Great Forest of the Upper Land.

They then travel to Pandora, where Thanatos, one of the Imperial henchmen, is converting the city's citizens into mindless zombies obedient to him so as to stage an attack on the royal castle and assume control of the Kingdom; Jema is one of his captives. Once Thanatos' plans are foiled, he makes a hasty retreat with Dyluck and one of Purim's friends, Phanna. Randi then learns that the Water Seed has been stolen, and after retrieving it from the Scorpion Army at the Dwarf Village, he returns to the Water Palace. After foiling the plans of Geshtar, another Imperial henchman, Randi resumes his quest for the Mana Seeds, with the advice of Luka to seek Sage Joch in the Lofty Mountains, and travels to the Great Forest.

There, the party comes across the sprite's village, but is abandoned, its inhabitants presumably killed or eaten by the Spring Beak monster residing there. Upon its defeat, the party finds the Sprite Village elder in the Wind Palace, and gains the powers of Sylphid. Next, the party travels to nearby Matango and finds a baby Flammie in a cave - he is entrusted into the care of Matango's King Truffle.

Randi's quest resumes, and the storyline becomes non-linear once more, allowing the player to travel either to the Ice Country or Kakkara (rather, the deserts outside as the Cannon Travel agent does not use enough gunpowder). Whichever event the player attends to first, the party is pressganged into working on the Tasnican Republic's sandship in the desert (which is destroyed by Geshtar's attack), and also return the Fire Seed from the Ice Castle to its palace, from which it had been stolen by Santa Claus in the hope of forming a giant Christmas tree. Once returned, the story is linear again. While in the Ice Country, the party discover Salamando, who had been kidnapped by the Scorpion Army into providing a central heating source for its resort village.

After sealing the Fire Seed, the party go to confront the Emperor, Vandole. Along the way, they save Phanna from Thanatos, but not before Purim attacks Thanatos, is killed, and is revived by Dyluck's unexplained "special powers". Afterwards, though, Vandole makes a hasty retreat and after defeating Geshtar again, the Imperial castle goes up in flames. The party is rescued by Truffle aboard a fully-grown Flammie.

Then, the player is finally able to go to the Lofty Mountains and seek out Sage Joch. His assistant, Jehk, makes the party seek Joch in the Shadow, Light and Moon Palaces (where the powers of Shade, Lumina and Luna are gained and the Seeds are sealed), and also in Tasnica, where the party foils an Imperial overthrow by the henchman Sheex. After the party returns from these places, and fights clones of themselves in Joch's cave, Jehk reveals himself as Joch and that the process of seeking him out was to make the party stronger. He then tells them to go to the Tree Palace, atop the sunken continent.

Once there, the Empire goes to claim the power of the final Mana Seed, after breaking the seals in the other seven palaces. There, they defeat Sheex and gain Dryad's powers; however, her Mana Magic spell is sealed by Thanatos, preventing the true revival of the Mana Sword. After doing so, the party is too late to stop the Empire from raising the lost continent from the depths, the first step in resurrecting the Mana Fortress. They fight their way through the now Grand Palace, and atop it, they discover a dead Vandole - he was merely a puppet for Thanatos. Fanha, another henchman, attempts to stop the party from preventing Thanatos from taking the final step; she is defeated, but it is too late to stop Thanatos, and the Mana Fortress flies once more.

To restore all of the seals, the party must travel to the Pure Land and unite the Sword with the Mana Tree itself. After a long and arduous battle on their way there, they come to the Tree, only to have Thanatos and the Fortress fly over and fire its weapons upon it. Once the Fortress leaves, the Mana Tree (or what is left of it) reveals Randi's true heritage: he is of the Tribe of Mana, and the menfolk of the tribe wield the Mana Sword, while the womenfolk come together to make the Mana Tree; thus, the ghostly figure at the start of the game is his father, while the Tree itself is Randi's mother.

Then, the final "chapter" begins. The party fight their way through the Mana Fortress to Thanatos, whose spirit leaves the dying body of Thanatos to claim Dyluck's for his own. With his dying words, he banishes Thanatos' spirit from his body and reveals him (or more correctly, the Dark Lich) to be an ancient evil, someone who sold his soul to the Underworld in exchange for power. Upon defeating the Dark Lich, and the party's gaining the Mana Magic spell, the Mana Beast makes an appearance to destroy the Fortress and catastrophically restore the balance of Mana. Popoie reveals his fate, that upon its defeat he will depart the party for another plane of existence, in exchange for the world to be saved. Thus, once the Beast is felled with the fully revived Mana Sword, the final victory is pyrrhic: the world is saved, but Popoie is lost without so much as a goodbye and Purim's Dyluck is dead. It is also only then that Randi is able to return to his Potos, and return the Mana Sword to its plinth. The fate of the characters afterwards is unrevealed

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

18. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers

Super Street Fighter II is the penultimate release of a long string of fighting games in the Street Fighter II series.

In late 1993, Capcom released another version of Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. As the subtitle implies, four new characters were added: Cammy, Dee Jay, Fei Long and T. Hawk. The Super in the title suggested to gamers the graphical enhancements possible due to the new hardware (CPS-2) the game ran on. Though the game looked superficially similar, every character had in fact been redrawn and animations added to their repertoire. Some say the release of the game was made too early (rumors say that this was done because of the recent release of Mortal Kombat II) - several of the team working on the game later publicly stated that the Turbo version was the game originally intended for release.

Among the major changes were redrawn character portraits for the returning characters, 8 available colors for each character's costume (likely due to a version of the game called Super Street Fighter II: The Tournament Battle that featured interconnected arcade machines where up to 8 players fought to win the tournament), new endings for the boss characters, an alternate ending for Chun-Li, and new animations and special moves such as a Red Fireball for Ryu, a Flaming Dragon Punch for Ken, and a new fireball animation for Chun-Li. New dizzy animations were added (such as angels and reapers), as well as points incentives for achievements such as performing the first attack. This was also the first game in the series to formally incorporate a combo system; the HUD would show the number of attacks in a combo and award points bonuses accordingly. Another improvement from previous games was the reversal, allowing quick recovery into an attack after landing on the ground or blocking, thus negating the opportunity in previous incarnations of "ticking" one's opponent (i.e., hitting an opponent with a light attack and immediately throwing during their block animation).

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

17. Star Fox

Star Fox (¥¹¥¿©`¥Õ¥©¥Ã¥¯¥¹, Sut¨¡ Fokkusu?), released as Star Wing in Europe due to trademark issues, is the first game in the Star Fox series of video games. It was released in the spring of 1993 for the SNES. It was the first game to include the Super FX chip, a coprocessor used to accelerate graphics display. The complex display of three-dimensional models with polygons was still new and uncommon in console video games, and the game was much hyped as a result. Star Fox featured kemono character designs, music composed by Hajime Hirasawa and obstacle course style gameplay. Star Fox was developed by Argonaut Software and Nintendo, and was published by Nintendo.

The storyline involves Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team, who must defend their homeworld of Corneria against the attacking forces of Andross.

The game was very successful, and became one of Nintendo's major franchises with four sequels released to date.

Star Fox is a rail shooter in a third-person 3D perspective. The player must navigate his/her spacecraft, an Arwing, through environments while various enemies (spaceships, robots, creatures, etc.) attack him. Along the way various power-ups are placed in the stage to help the player. The player receives a score on each level based on how many enemies destroyed and how well the player has defended his/her teammates. At the end of each level there is a boss that the player must defeat before progressing to the next level.

There are unique elements of Star Fox that make it a little different from the standard scrolling shooter. Most scrolling shooters force the player forward at a constant speed. While this is true for Star Fox as well, there are thrusters and retro-rockets on the Arwing that allow the player to temporarily speed up and slow down accordingly. These can be used to maneuver around enemy attacks as well as other obstacles.

The damage model is another difference. In the standard scrolling shooter, touching almost any object (whether it be an enemy ship, enemy fire, or other obstacles) results in the destruction of the player's craft. In Star Fox, the Arwing has a certain amount of shield energy that represents how much damage can be absorbed before the destruction of the craft. The game also has a small degree of locational damage detection. For example, if the ship's wings clip too much against obstacles or the ground, they will break off. This slightly affects the flying ability of the craft and the ability to upgrade the weapons.

The difficulty in Star Fox is also set in a unique way. Most scrolling shooters, if they have selectable difficulty levels, allow the player to set it by choosing an option (e.g. "Easy," "Normal," and "Hard") at the beginning of the game. This option usually affects variables such as the number of lives a player has, the number of enemies encountered in the game, the speed of enemies, and so on. In contrast, at the beginning of Star Fox, the player is given a choice of one of three routes to take through the Lylat system. Each of these routes do correspond with a certain level of difficulty, but each route has its own series of unique levels.[1] This gives Star Fox somewhat more replay value than other scrolling shooters that have the same series of levels each time the game is played. The three game paths all contain the planet Corneria (the first level) and Venom (the last level), but they each have different versions depending on the path taken.

In each level, the player is accompanied by three computer-controlled wingmen: Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi. At certain pre-scripted points, one will fly into the player's view, often either chasing an enemy or being chased and asking for assistance. Ignoring a wingman's pleas will result in him taking damage, or being shot down. They cannot be damaged by the player's own lasers (they will notice it nonetheless). Regardless of their survival, wingmen are not present during boss battles but rejoin the player before the next stage. It is preferable to help your wingmen when they ask for assistance, as they will engage some of the enemies not destroyed by the player, and thereby make it easier to achieve maximum score in a given level. If a wingman gets shot down, he will not return for the rest of the game.

This game takes place in the Lylat system, a stellar system in the fictional Star Fox universe that is inhabitted by anthropomorphic animal races (i.e. foxes, frogs, dogs, birds, rabbits, apes, etc). It contains the planets Corneria and Venom, both representing good and evil, respectively. One can visit many other planets, asteroid belts, space stations, etc. while going through the course of the game.[1] Whichever path the player chooses affects what places they will encounter.

Star Fox is an elite mercenary unit hired by General Pepper to defeat Andross. Fox McCloud is the leader of the team, and he is accompanied by his teammates Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad. The player controls Fox, while Falco, Peppy and Slippy occasionally come to his aid or need his help.

The evil Andross has launched an attack against Corneria and the rest of the planets in the Lylat system, and it is up to Star Fox, an elite mercenary team led by Fox McCloud, to stop him. The battle begins on Corneria and proceeds through the system, eventually arriving at the planet Venom, location of Andross' headquarters, and culminating in a one-on-one battle against Andross himself.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

16. Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior

Street Fighter II is a 1991 competitive fighting game by Capcom. It is widely credited with launching the fighting genre into the mainstream and extending the life of the worldwide arcade scene for several years with its unique six button "combo" controls and revolutionary loser pays competitive gameplay. Its popularity far eclipsed that of its comparatively obscure predecessor, thanks in part to its inclusion of eight selectable characters (a number which increased in subsequent revisions of the game to 16) with their unique playing style and refinement of the unique play controls featured in the first game, setting the template for future fighting games. Its success also led to the production of several revised versions of the game (including home versions), as well as merchandising and cross-media adaptations (including two separately produced theatrical films).

Street Fighter II was followed by a prequel titled Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and a sequel titled Street Fighter III: The New Generation. Both games also inspired their own series of revisions.

As one of the most popular games of the early 1990s, Street Fighter II, released on Capcom's CPS-1 arcade board in February 1991, shaped the direction of arcade games for nearly a decade to follow. It is widely acknowledged as the premier fighting game of its era, due to its game balance with regard to the timing of attacks and blocks, which was unparalleled at the time; and due to "special moves" in which experienced players could execute complex fighting moves by moving the joystick and tapping the buttons in certain combinations. The game featured a six button layout, with punch buttons consisting of 'jab', 'strong', and 'fierce' and kick buttons consisting of 'short', 'forward', and 'roundhouse', in ascending order of strength. This was not new or exclusive to fighting games, but the way in which the game relied on them was. These complicated fighting moves were given names, such as the Shoryuken (the Rising Dragon Punch), the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku (the Tornado Whirlwind Kick) and the Hadouken (Wave-Motion Fist), which provided a framework for players to have conversations about their games. It also introduced the convention of "cancelling" or "interrupting" moves into other moves, which enabled a player to create sequences of continuous hits. This was the game which introduced the concept of the combo, a sequence of attacks which, when executed with proper timing, did not allow the opponent to interrupt the combination. Mastery of these techniques led almost directly to the high-level competition which has been a cornerstone of this type of game ever since.

The game features eight fighters that players can choose from: Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Zangief, Dhalsim, Guile, E. Honda, and Chun-Li), plus four bosses (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison). The character known as M. Bison in the original Japanese game was considered a legal liability by Capcom USA, because his name, backstory and appearance were very similar to that of professional boxer Mike Tyson. In order to pre-empt any lawsuits on the part of Tyson, the names of all the bosses except Sagat (who had been around since the original Street Fighter), were re-arranged, something which has since caused no shortage of confusion when attempting description. For the sake of reference, the Japanese bosses M. Bison, Balrog, and Vega became Balrog, Vega, and M. Bison, respectively.

Street Fighter II was followed by a slew of other games of similar design, some by Capcom, some by other companies. One of the most well-known competitors to Street Fighter II was Mortal Kombat. SNK developed a reputation for fighting games very soon after Capcom; Art of Fighting, The King of Fighters, and Fatal Fury are the three most notable examples, the first Fatal Fury game being released within months of SFII.

The last completely new Street Fighter game to be released was Street Fighter III: Third Strike in 1999. The characters from the Street Fighter universe have appeared in numerous other Capcom fighting games.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Now for the countdown update

150. King Of The Monsters
149. Captain America And The Avengers
148. Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage
147. Cannon Fodder
146. Wayne's World
145. Madden NFL 95
144. Metal Warriors
143. Super Godzilla
142. Spider-man & Venom: Separation Anxiety
141. Clay Fighter
140. Super Bomberman 2
139. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
138. Kirby's Avalanche
137. Striker
136. Fatal Fury Special
135. King Of Dragons
134. Rap Jam: Volume One
133. Disney's Magical Quest
132. Doom
131. Samurai Shodown
130. International Superstar Soccer
129. Breath Of Fire
128. Sim City 2000
127. U.N. Squadron
126. Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf
125. Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
124. Super Battleship
123. S.O.S.
122. Gradius III
121. Tetris 2
120. Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinistrels
119. The Lion King
118. Spider-man & Venom: Maximum Carnage
117. Demon's Crest
116. Pinball Fantasies
115. Inindo: Way Of The Ninja
114. World Cup Striker
113. Run Saber
112. NCAA Football
111. Krusty's Fun House
110. The Simpsons: Virtual Bart
109. Cool Spot
108. Tecmo Secret Of The Stars
107. Super Caesar's Palace
106. Pilotwings
105. Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
104. Romance Of The Three Kingdoms IV: Wall Of Fire
103. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
102. Riddick Bowe Boxing
101. Saturday Night Slam Masters
100. Super Return Of The Jedi
99. Shadowrun
98. Kirby's Dream Course
97. Rock N' Roll Racing
96. NHL 94
95. Madden NFL 97
94. Paladin's Quest
93. Axelay
92. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye Of The Beholder
91. Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game
90. FIFA International Soccer
89. Super Tennis
88. King Arthur's World
87. Terranigma
86. NBA Live 98
85. WWF Super Wrestlemania
84. Skyblazer
83. Madden NFL 98
82. Street Fighter Alpha 2
81. Soul Blazer
80. Secret Of Evermore
79. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
78. Final Fight 3
77. Illusion Of Gaia
76. Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
75. Front Mission
74. Harvest Moon
73. Earthworm Jim 2
72. Flashback: The Quest For Identity
71. Super R-Type
70. Mortal Kombat III
69. Super Smash TV
68. Breath Of Fire II
67. The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja
66. Super Empire Strikes Back
65. Final Fight 2
64. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
63. Mario Is Missing
62. Super Bomberman 3
61. Joe & Mac
60. Super Bomberman
59. Lufia & The Fortress Of Doom
58. R-Type III: The Third Lightning
57. Super Star Wars
56. Sunset Riders
55. Smash Tennis
54. Robotrek
53. Mega Man X3
52. Pocky & Rocky
51. Mega Man X2
50. Super Ghouls N' Ghosts
49. Earthworm Jim
48. Tetris Attack
47. Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
46. NBA Jam
45. International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
44. Uniracers
43. EVO: The Search For Eden
42. Wild Guns
41. Mario Paint
40. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
39. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
38. Mega Man 7
37. WWF Raw
36. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen
35. Ultimate Mortal Kombat III
34. Mortal Kombat
33. Final Fight
32. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
31. Killer Instinct
30. WWF Royal Rumble
29. F-Zero
28. Sim City
27. Kirby Superstar
26. Act Raiser
25. Contra III: The Alien Wars
24. Super Castlevania IV
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
22. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
21. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
20. Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting
19. Secret Of Mana
18. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
17. Star Fox
16. Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior

Here Are The Hints To The Next Five Games On Our List

* Baby Mario

* Love Between Cecil & Rosa

* Out-Punched

* Shao Khan Appears

* Sigma Attacks

[Deleted]

dibiaseisgood said:

How the s*** is UN Squadron only at 127? Damn, maybe I should have bothered voting.

Because I placed it 16th on my list

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

15. Super Punch Out!!

Super Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game for the Super NES. It was also released in Japan for the Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge series as well as the Super Famicom, the Japanese version of the Super NES. It is the fourth and latest game in the Punch-Out!! series, taking place after Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Like the protagonist of the Punch-Out!! arcade titles, the protagonist of the SNES title is a nameable boxer working his way up all four circuits of the NVBA (Nintendo Video Boxing Association). He faces a series of fictional boxers, culminating in a fight with the undefeated Nick Bruiser.

Like the previous titles in the Punch-Out!! series, Super Punch-Out!! requires good timing and pattern recognition skills to react to the attacks of each opponent. As the player proceeds through the game's circuits, the opponents become more difficult to react to and defeat. Some boxers are allowed to cheat, by doing some non-boxing moves. The most notable cheater for example is Dragon Chan, which utilizes kung-fu by doing some kicks. Followed by Masked Muscle, who attempts not only to spit in your face, but also headbutt you.

Some official, special features that were in previous Punch-Out!! titles returned in this Punch-Out!! title. These are:

* Knock Out Punch - Formally known as Right Hook/Uppercut in the arcade versions of Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!!, and formally (but unofficially) known as "Star Punch" or "Jumping Uppercut" in the Punch-Out!! titles for the NES/Famicom. The knockout punch is much more powerful than normal punches, but is also slower, and some opponents can easily evade it if they're not stunned. Unlike the NES/Famicom version of the game, you never lose meter power for throwing one of these punches, and can continue throwing them as often as you like until your meter decreases, such as from being hit by your opponent.

* Duck - First used in the arcade version of Super Punch-Out!!, this move allows you to crouch and dodge punches that cannot be blocked nor dodged sideways.

* Time Attack - Originally used in the Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!! arcades, as well as Nintendo's Arm Wrestling arcade. This feature will allow you to time your matches against boxers. This feature has been updated to allow you to select and play against any boxer, after you already beat a circuit you already finished. The more circuits you finish, the more boxers you'll play in Time Attack are unlocked. When all four circuits are finished, there will be no more boxers to unlock.

Some official, special features that other Punch-Out!! titles don't have that this Punch-Out!! title has are:

* Rapid Punch - This is similar to a knockout punch, but is performed by quickly double-tapping the knockout punch button when the meter is full. Rapid punches alternate in a left-right combination and hit faster and harder than standard punches, but not as hard as a full-power knockout punch. They are a good alternative to standard left-right combinations when attacking a stunned opponent.

* Counter Punch - By throwing a punch that directly opposes your opponent's punch, for example throwing a right jab when they're going for a left jab, you can catch them off-guard and stun them temporarily, granting you the ability to land several combination punches. Also, if you counter-punch an opponent several times in a row, it will daze them and, in many circumstances, set them up for a one-punch knockdown.

* Power Up - When the meter stays up to maximum for a certain amount of time, your icon on the upper-left part of the screen lights up and you will become stronger and faster.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

14. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, released in Japan as Super Mario: Yoshi Island, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super NES console. It was released on August 5, 1995 in Japan, October 4, 1995 in North America and October 6, 1995 in Europe. While featuring Nintendo's trademark Mario character, the game's innovative graphics and gameplay differed from all previous Mario games in that players control various Yoshi dinosaurs rather than Mario himself, who appears as a helpless infant. Yoshi's Island is chronologically the first game where Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Yoshi appear.

Yoshi's Island made Yoshi the main playable character for the first time in a Mario game. At the end of each level, Baby Mario is passed between different-colored Yoshis. All the Yoshis have the same range of moves, such as stomps and tongue-licks. If the player holds down the jump button the Yoshis pedal their feet furiously in the air to achieve a floating effect; this allows them to stay airborne for a couple of seconds and gain a little extra height. This floating maneuver may be performed multiple times if necessary.

Yoshi can collect eggs during their travels. These eggs follow Yoshi along until they were thrown. Many of the game's puzzles involve bouncing eggs around the levels or skimming them over water to hit distant enemies or objects. In addition to eggs, Yoshi may also collect keys to open locked doors. Finally, duck-like creatures (called Huffin' Puffins) exist in a few levels; these travel a short distance then return to you. Up to six objects can follow Yoshi at a time, whether they are eggs, keys, or Puffins.

Unlike other platform games in the Mario series, the player's character can be attacked an unlimited number of times by most enemies without harm. Whenever Yoshi is hit by an enemy, Baby Mario flies off his back, floating around the level in a bubble and wailing loudly as a countdown timer begins. If the countdown reaches zero before Yoshi tags the bubble, Kamek's servants capture Mario and the player loses a life. At the beginning of each level, the countdown timer begins at ten; the player can add time to the countdown to a maximum of thirty by collecting stars in each stage. If Yoshi rescues Baby Mario by touching the bubble when the countdown is less than ten, the timer is slowly replenished back to ten as long as Mario remains on Yoshi's back. Some traps, however, can kill Yoshi instantly, such as pits, spikes, and lava.

Yoshi also has the ability, at various points in the game, to transform into different vehicles. At these points, a bubble containing a graphical representation of the vehicle floats and upon bursting it, Yoshi becomes that vehicle. Vehicles include a helicopter, which enables him to fly; a racing car which has stilts for suspension (allowing for avoidance of the enemies up ahead in those sections); a submarine, which can fire homing torpedoes at the aquatic enemies; a train, which has to be navigated along tracks on the wall whilst avoiding the enemies who can move while the train is active; and finally, a 'Mole-Tank', which allows the player to dig through dirt. Whilst in these forms Yoshi has limited time to reach a block at the end of the section, and leaves baby Mario behind. If he runs out of time before getting where he needs to, he will be transported back and the bubble with the vehicle reappears. If he reaches the block at the end of the section, baby Mario is the one transported, Yoshi transforms back and the game carries on.

At the end of each level, the player jumps through a 'roulette' ring and the level is scored. The player earns points based on three criteria:

Every star, remaining on the countdown timer is worth one point. Up to thirty stars can be collected.
Scattered among the coins in each level are twenty special red coins; each one collected is worth one point.
Hidden throughout each stage are five flowers; each one collected is worth ten points, and for every flower collected you have another flower displayed on the roulette ring.
100 points is a perfect score in each level.

There are 10 places on the roulette wheel. If the roulette stops on a flower, the player plays a game to earn lives or items. Six different games are available, ranging from a scratch-card-type game to a memory-matching-type game.

There are 6 worlds in Yoshi's Island. Worlds 1 and 2 have no particular theme. World 3 has a jungle theme, World 4 has a mountain theme, World 5 opens with a snow theme before taking to the mountain peaks and the skies, and World 6 has a cave theme.

Unlike other games in the Super Mario Bros. series (that allows a player to "warp" ahead to higher levels), Yoshi's Island was the first game in the series that requires the player to play and complete all 48 regular stages in order to finish the game. While the six special stages are unlockable by getting a perfect score on all eight stages in a world, it is not required to complete the six secret stages to finish the game. The secret stages are more difficult than the normal ones, with many instant-death obstacles.

In the SNES version, there are nine stages in every world: eight regular stages and one unlockable extra stage,accessed by scoring a perfect 100 points in each of the world's regular stages. Also, upon getting a perfect score on each of the 7 levels, one of the roulette games becomes available to play indefinitely. In the Game Boy Advance version, however, a new "secret" stage was added to each of the six worlds for a total of ten stages per world and 61 stages in the entire game.

This game marks the debut of Poochy, a happy dog-like character who will let Yoshi ride him — in effect making Baby Mario riding Yoshi riding Poochy. Poochy shows up in later games, such as this game's sequel Yoshi's Story, as well.

A stork carries two babies across the sea, but the evil Magikoopa Kamek emerges, and steals baby Luigi, and baby Mario falls into an island in the middle of the sea, called Yoshi's Island, home to all Yoshis. He lands on a green Yoshi, and Mario and the rest of the Yoshi clan successfully rescue Baby Luigi and the stork back from Baby Bowser and Kamek.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

13. Mega Man X

Man X, released in 1993 by Capcom, is the first game in the Mega Man X series. The first subseries of the popular Mega Man series, it was made primarily as a stepping stone between the NES and SNES incarnations of the original series (Mega Man games were released on the NES as late as 1994). In Japan, it is titled Rockman X. It was released on the SNES first, then ported to the PC in 1995. The game was remade in 2006 as Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (Irregular Hunter X in Japan), for the PlayStation Portable.

The game was re-released on January 10, 2006 as part of the Mega Man X Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2.

In addition, the SNES PAL version of this game is published by Nintendo, instead of by Capcom.

The instruction manual for Mega Man X contains "The Journal of Dr. Cain", in which the story leading up to the events depicted in the game is narrated through excepts of Dr. Cain's personal journal. According to the journal, Dr. Cain, an archaeologist searching in the year 21XX for fossil records relating to Mesozoic plant life, accidentally discovered the ruins of a robotics research facility that had once been operated by the legendary robot designer Dr. Thomas Light. Among the ruins, Dr. Cain found a large capsule which contained a highly advanced robot the likes of which the world had never seen before. This robot, Mega Man X, had human-level intelligence and emotion. Fascinated by the genius of Dr. Light's design, Dr. Cain studied X and Dr. Light's few remaining notes. With X's help, some months later, the first "replicate android" or Reploid (in Japan, Repliroid), a robot who can think, feel, learn, and grow exactly like a human, was made. Within the year, the design had been standardized and Reploids were being mass-produced.

However, with the free will given to a Reploid came the possibility of criminal activity previously unknown to robots; such rogue Reploids were said to have "gone maverick" and were later referred to as Mavericks (in Japan, Irregulars). As the public outcry against the few Maverick incidents became too great to deny, the government stepped in, and under the advice of Dr. Cain, formed an elite military police organization called the Maverick Hunters. The Hunters would capture or disable any Reploids that posed a danger to humans, provide damage control at Maverick uprisings, help with disaster recovery, and perform other tasks as needed.

For the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Dr. Cain designed a very special Reploid, one with a very advanced thought system. This Reploid, thought to be immune to whatever defect of manufacture, design, or social conditioning caused Mavericks, was named Sigma. Sigma headed the Hunters for about three years before the very head of the Maverick Hunters himself became a Maverick, taking the vast majority of the other Hunters with him. Sigma seized control of a small island and drove all human occupants out. Claiming that the humans were "inferior" and that they were limiting the growth and potential of Reploids, he called for his followers to begin a massive extinction effort. It seemed, with only one remaining Hunter able to fight (the mysterious Zero of Unit 17), that all would be lost and human extinction would become inevitable. But X, guilt-ridden at having helped design such a ruthless and warlike race, decided to join forces with Zero and attempt to stop Sigma at any cost.

The Mega Man series has always been an action game that focuses on "run-and-gun" gameplay. The player takes control of Mega Man X ("X" for short), a Maverick Hunter who seeks to stop Sigma's rebellion against humans. After an introductory stage, the player is presented with a stage selection screen that depicts eight Maverick boss characters.

After the player selects a Maverick to battle, X is teleported into the Maverick's base of operations. The player must dodge obstacles, destroy enemies and other hazards, and keep their life bar as high as possible. Defeating a stage and its boss Maverick rewards X with the boss's weapon, which can be used in a rock-paper-scissors fashion to defeat other boss characters. This mechanic is carried over from the Mega Man Classic series; Capcom maintained the tradition throughout the new series, with a few twists. In the X series, completing a stage may affect the environment of other stages, possibly making them easier or more hazardous.

Also of note is the addition of hidden upgrade capsules in several stages, which display a holographic message from Dr. Light when found, and upgrade one of X's body parts, replacing his original blue armor (resembling that of the original Mega Man) by the white & gold armor seen on the game artwork, and granting X new abilities (such as the chestplate upgrade giving X more armor, his arm upgrade making the X Buster, his primary weapon, more powerful or his leg upgrade allowing him to dash). Fans commonly agree this is one of the best new features in the Mega Man X series (as opposed to the Classic series), because it adds a new layer of gameplay, and X's design after completing the armor shows a heroic tone.

The Mavericks Are:
* Boomer Kuwanger
* Sting Chameleon
* Storm Eagle
* Armored Armadillo
* Flame Mammoth
* Launch Octopus
* Chill Penguin
* Spark Mandrill

As a reference to the Capcom series Street Fighter, a hidden upgrade capsule housing the Hadouken Fireball (complete with X actually yelling "Hadouken!" in a high pitch voice) upgrade was placed into the game. The Dr. Light hologram that appears in the pod is dressed in garb that resembles Ryu from Street Fighter. When the button combination "Quarter-Circle Forward + Fire" is performed (the same action used to perform a Hadouken in the Street Fighter games) at full energy, X fires a small Hadouken-like projectile that can destroy almost any enemy in the game with a single hit. This fact makes the projectile the most powerful weapon in the game.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

12. Final Fantasy IV aka Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy IV is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in 1991 as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. The game first appeared on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, then was ported by TOSE with minor differences to the Sony PlayStation, the Bandai WonderSwan Color and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It was first released in North America as Final Fantasy II, although the original name was restored in later releases.

The player takes the role of Cecil, a Dark Knight from the kingdom of Baron, on his journey to save the world from the evil Golbez. Struggling to prevent Golbez from acquiring powerful Crystals, Cecil learns of his heritage and travels through three realms to battle Golbez's minions. His lover, best friend, and other warriors join him for the adventure.

Final Fantasy IV introduced innovations that became staples of the Final Fantasy series and role-playing games in general. Its "Active Time Battle" system was used in six subsequent Final Fantasy games. Its character-driven plot, use of the new technologies (such as Mode 7) and critically acclaimed score by Nobuo Uematsu have prompted critics to consider Final Fantasy IV one of the greatest games of all time. In 2007, Square-Enix announced that a remake will be made for the Nintendo DS.

In Final Fantasy IV, the player controls a large cast of characters and completes quests to advance the story. Characters move and interact with people and enemies on a field map, which may represent a variety of settings, such as towers, caves, and forests. Travel between areas occurs on a world map. The player can use towns to replenish strength, buy equipment, and discover clues about their next destination. Conversely, the player fights monsters at random intervals on the world map and in dungeons. In battle, the player has the option to fight, use magic or an item, retreat, change character positions, parry, or pause. Certain characters have special options. Player characters and monsters have HP or hit points (represented by a numerically based life bar); attacks reduce hit points until none are left, at which point the character faints or the monster dies. If all characters are defeated, the game must be restored from a saved game file. The player can restore the characters' hit points by having them sleep in an inn or use items in the party's inventory, such as a Potion. Equipment (such as swords or armor) bought in towns or found in dungeons can be used to minimize received damage or increase damage inflicted on monsters. The player can choose whether characters appear on the front line of a battle or in reserve. A character's placement impacts distribution of damage received and inflicted. The game's story is linear—the player can usually advance the game through only one path, although limited side quests are available.

Final Fantasy IV introduced Square's Active Time Battle (ATB) system designed by Hiroyuki Ito, who was one of the battle designers with Kazuhiko Aoki and Akihiko Matsui, which differed from the turn-based designs of previous RPGs. The ATB system centers around the player inputting orders for the characters in real time during battles. An important precedent, ATB was used in many subsequent Square games. Each character is balanced through certain strengths and weaknesses; for instance, a strong magic user may have low defense, while a physical fighter may have low agility. Like other Final Fantasy games, characters gain new, more powerful abilities with battle experience. Magic is classified as either "White" for healing and support; "Black" for offense; or "Summon" (or "call") for summoning monsters to attack or carry out specialized applications. A fourth type—"Ninjutsu"—consists of support and offensive magic and is available to only one character. Magic users, who account for eight of twelve playable characters, gain magic spells at preprogrammed experience levels or fixed story events. The developers have balanced point gains, items, and rewards to eliminate long sessions of gaining levels. Due to the Super Nintendo's greater processing power, Final Fantasy IV contains graphics improved over past Final Fantasy titles and concurrent Super Nintendo games. The game employs the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 technology to give enhanced magic spell visuals and to make airship travel more dramatic by scaling and tilting the ground for a bird's eye view.

Most of Final Fantasy IV takes place on Earth, also known as the Blue Planet, which consists of an upper world (or Overworld) and an underground world (or Underworld). The Overorld consists of territories populated by different character classes from the series. The Underworld is primarily inhabited by dwarves and is covered in rock and magma. A red, artificial moon orbits the planet, upon which people called the Lunarians and Hummingways live. A second, natural moon orbits as well, though it is never visited in the game. Travel among the three realms is accomplished through airships.

Final Fantasy IV offers twelve playable characters, each with a unique character class. The hero, Cecil Harvey, is a Dark Knight of Baron who serves the king alongside his childhood friend Kain Highwind. Kain was once asked to become a Dark Knight, but instead followed his father's example and became a Dragoon. Rosa Farrell is the heroine and Cecil's girlfriend; she became a white mage and archer to protect Cecil as her mother protected her father. Cecil is the captain of the "Red Wings", an elite air force unit constructed by his friend, the engineer Cid Pollendina.

During his quest, Cecil is joined by others. Kain joins very quickly, but is separated from Cecil soon afterwards. Rydia, a young Summoner from the village of Mist, joins shortly after Kain leaves. Cecil gains her trust by saving her life. Tellah is a legendary sage of Mysidia; he is very protective of his daughter Anna. Edward Chris von Muir, the prince of Damcyan, pursues her courtship and travels disguised as a bard. Yang Fang Leiden is the well-mannered head of the Monks of Fabul. Palom and Porom are twin wizards from Mysidia who assist Cecil in a difficult trial. Edward "Edge" Geraldine is the rowdy Ninja prince of Eblan who has a crush on Rydia. Lastly, FuSoYa is the guardian of the Lunarians during their long sleep.

Final Fantasy IV begins with the unmatched monarchy of Baron using the Red Wings to attack peaceful nations and find four powerful Crystals that correspond to the classical elements. Cecil questions the king's motives after stealing the Water Crystal from the wizards' town of Mysidia, murdering several in the process. He is stripped of his rank and sent with Kain to deliver a package to the Village of Mist.[15] To reach the mountain valley where the Village is located, the two traverse the Mist Cave and defeat the Mist Dragon that guards it. Upon reaching the village, they discover the package is actually a bomb, which explodes, resulting in the destruction of the town and the death of many of its inhabitants. In the ensuing chaos, Cecil and Kain encounter Rydia, a young female survivor standing over her mother's body. Rydia's mother was spiritually connected to the Mist Dragon; the dragon's death ended her life as well. The infuriated girl summons a monster to attack Cecil and Kain; it causes an earthquake, which cuts off the route back to Baron and knocks the three unconscious. When Cecil awakens, he discovers that Kain has disappeared and the girl is injured. He carries her to an inn at the town of Kaipo.

Soldiers from Baron arrive in the night to abduct the girl on orders from the king of Baron to kill all Summoners, and Cecil defeats them; impressed, Rydia joins him. While in Kaipo, Cecil discovers a bedridden Rosa. While searching for Cecil, she contracted an ailment curable only by the "Sand Ruby" jewel, released when the Antlion beast lays its eggs. Access to the Antlion's lair is controlled by the Kingdom of Damcyan, so Cecil and Rydia travel north to Damcyan through the desert and an underground waterway through the mountains. They meet Tellah, a sage, in the water pass, who is also travelling to Damcyan in search of his daughter Anna. The three arrive just in time to witness the Red Wings attacking the kingdom. In investigating the ruins of the castle, they discover that Anna was killed in the assault; Tellah blames her death on her lover, Prince Edward, the smitten bard. Edward explains that a warrior named Golbez orchestrated the attack to steal Damcyan's Fire Crystal, prompting Tellah to leave the party to seek vengeance on Golbez for her death. Edward joins Cecil and Rydia and helps them retrieve the Sand Ruby.

At Kaipo, the revived Rosa joins the party, which resolves to go to Fabul to protect the Wind Crystal from being stolen by Golbez and the Red Wings. Along the way, while crossing Mt. Hobs they encounter Yang, the head of the Fabul Monks, being ambushed by Golbez's monsters; the party helps him fight them off. Yang requests Cecil's help in defending Fabul after they inform him of Golbez's plot. At Fabul, the Red Wings attack and Cecil's party slowly retreats through the halls of the castle to the room containing the Wind Crystal, where he is confronted by his friend Kain and learns he is affiliated with the Red Wings. Kain challenges and defeats him in a duel. Golbez arrives, kidnaps Rosa, and steals the Wind Crystal. The next morning, Cecil and Yang decide to sneak into Baron to acquire an airship from Cid for a rescue attempt. After considering Baron's weak sea defenses, Yang charters a ship to take Cecil, Edward, Rydia, and himself to Baron. While sailing, they are attacked by the sea monster Leviathan and the party is scattered.

Cecil awakens on a beach near Mysidia, where he is met with contempt by the town's wizards for stealing the Water Crystal earlier. However, the Mysidian elder understands Cecil's plight, and tells him that to defeat Golbez, Cecil must climb Mt. Ordeals, surrender his dark sword and become a Paladin. The elder sends twin wizards Palom and Porom to assist and spy on Cecil. On the mountain, they encounter Tellah, who is searching for the legendary spell Meteor to defeat Golbez. Golbez attempts to stop the party by sending Scarmiglione, the Fiend of Earth, to stop them, but the party defeats the demon, Cecil completes the trials, and becomes a Paladin; in the process, Tellah also learns the secret of Meteor.

Upon returning to Mysidia, the town elder is impressed that Cecil successfully became a Paladin and allows him the use of the "Serpent Path," a teleporter that takes the party to Baron. There, Cecil learns that Cid has been arrested and Yang brainwashed into the service of Baron. After helping Yang recover, Cecil, Yang, and the others infiltrate the castle and discover that the king is actually the Fiend of Water, Cagnazzo. After defeating him, Cid is freed and takes Cecil and his friends to his newest airship. Before dying, Cagnazzo causes the walls of the castle to move with the intent of crushing the party. Palom and Porom petrify themselves to halt the trap.

Cecil takes command of the airship and is met at takeoff by the brainwashed Kain, who demands Cecil retrieve the final Crystal in exchange for Rosa's life. Cecil heads for Troia, where the Earth Crystal is enshrined. He learns the Crystal was stolen by the Dark Elf, and his friends and he retrieve it. Kain leads the group to the Tower of Zot, where Rosa is imprisoned. After the party battles to the tower's summit, Golbez takes the Crystal and attempts to flee. Tellah tries to kill Golbez by using Meteor. The spell kills Tellah and weakens Golbez, shattering his control over Kain's mind. Kain helps Cecil rescue Rosa and, after defeating the Fiend of Wind, Barbariccia (SNES version name is Valvalis), the party escapes to Baron.

In Baron, Kain reveals that Golbez must also obtain four subterranean "Dark Crystals" to achieve his goal. Cecil swears to defend the Crystals; Kain gives him a "Magma Rock" he obtained while in the service of Golbez that is instrumental to accessing the Underworld. The party is initially unsure of how to use it, but they eventually discover the town of Agart, whose inhabitants claim descent from the dwarves of the Underworld. Thinking this town may have the secret to accessing the Underworld, Cecil drops the Magma Rock into the town's exceptionally deep well, triggering an earthquake that opens a passage to the Underworld. They fly through the opening, but their airship is soon damaged while caught in the cross-fire of a battle between the Dwarves' tanks and the airships of the Red Wings, forcing it to crash outside the Castle of Dwarves. King Giott of the dwarves accepts Cecil's offer to guard the Crystals. Cid departs to repair and upgrade the airship; soon after he leaves, Cecil, Rosa, Yang, and Kain discover Golbez has infiltrated the dwarves' crystal room and try to stop his theft of their Crystal. During the battle they are joined by Rydia, who was sucked into the Underworld by Leviathan. However, Golbez escapes with the Dwarves' Dark Crystal, and Cecil sets out to the Tower of Babel to retrieve the lost crystals. King Giott offers the services of his tanks to draw the fire of the tower's defenses while the party infiltrates it. While inside, the party confronts Golbez's servant Dr. Lugae, and after defeating him they are informed the crystals have been moved to that portion of the Tower that is above ground; as his last act, Dr. Lugae orders that the Tower's Super Cannon destroy the dwarf tanks. Yang volunteers to stay behind and destroy the Super Cannon while the party escapes, and is presumed dead.

Upon escaping the Tower the party is met by Cid and a repaired airship. They are pursued by the Red Wings and fly back to the upper world to escape them; Cid throws himself overboard and detonates a bomb to re-seal the passage, apparently sacrificing himself. Back on the surface, they find the path to the Tower of Babel's upper half. While following it they encounter Edge, the ninja prince of Eblan, who seeks revenge on Rubicante for the death of his parents; Edge joins the party. Inside the tower, the party defeats Rubicante but falls through a trap door to an Underground portion of the Tower and finds an abandoned Red Wing airship. After returning in it to the Castle of Dwarves and consulting with King Giott, Cecil and the others decide to go to the Underground's Sealed Cave and retrieve the eighth and final crystal before Golbez gets to it. After they succeed in doing so, however, Golbez reassumes control over Kain and forces him to steal the Crystal. Back at the Dwarf castle, Giott tells Cecil of the Lunar Whale, a "ship of light" designed to take travelers to and from the moon. Cid, who was found by the dwarves and nursed by them back to health, fits their airship with a drill and the party drills their way back to the surface. Cecil returns to Mysidia to pray for the Lunar Whale's appearance. It rises from the ocean, and Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge board it to travel to the moon.

Upon arriving on the moon, the party enters the only visible structure, the Lunar Palace, and there the party meets an elderly man named FuSoYa who explains that Cecil's father is a heroic but deceased Lunarian. FuSoYa also explains that a Lunarian named Zemus plans to destroy life on the Blue Planet to facilitate Lunarian inhabitation. To achieve this, Zemus manipulated Golbez and Kain to obtain the Crystals needed to revive a giant destructive android, the Giant of Babel. Meanwhile on Earth, the forces of the world, including some characters (Yang, Palom, Porom) thought to have died, hopelessly attack the unleashed Giant. FuSoYa, Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge enter and destroy the Giant. FuSoYa breaks Zemus' control over Golbez and Kain, and Cecil learns that Golbez is his brother. After destroying the Giant, Golbez and FuSoYa head to the core of the moon to defeat Zemus. Cecil's party follows after reuniting with Kain. After battling to the moon's core, the party witnesses Golbez and FuSoYa defeat Zemus but quickly lose to his ultimate form, Zeromus. With the united life force of all beings combined with a special Crystal provided by Golbez, Cecil and his party defeat Zeromus. Following the conflict, Golbez decides to remain dormant along with the other Lunarians, as he would not be welcome on Earth. One year later, the heroes reunite for Cecil and Rosa's wedding and coronation as Baron's king and queen.

Because the previous two installments of the Final Fantasy series had not been localized and released in North America at the time, Final Fantasy IV was distributed as Final Fantasy II to maintain naming continuity. Later remakes of the game have been released in North America under the original title. While the game retains the storyline, graphics, and sound of the original, developers have significantly reduced the difficulty for beginning gamers. Certain items are less expensive or rare, and several battle commands have been removed—including Tellah's Recall (allowing him to use a random magic spell), Edward's Medicine (which used Potions from the player's inventory to heal the entire party), and Cecil's DarkWave (an attack which targeted all enemies but sacrificed a portion of his health). Several enemies and bosses have been reduced in strength and assigned special weaknesses. Entrances to secret passages on field maps are outlined in blue, whereas they are invisible in the original Japanese version. The translation has been changed in accordance with Nintendo of America's censorship policies (at the time before the formation of the ESRB and its rating system), and certain errors have been introduced during localization.

Certain character descriptions and elements of backstory have been cut due to space limitations. For instance, Kain's background and relationship with his father and the motivations for Zemus's plans to colonize Earth are not in the game.[65] The logo for the U.S. version features the same font and sword-letter-T emblem used in the Game Boy Final Fantasy Legend series rather than an image of Kain, which was used for the Final Fantasy IV title logo (and was used for its later releases as well). Other changes include the removal of overt Judeo-Christian religious references and certain potentially objectionable graphics. The magic spell Holy has been renamed White. All references to prayer are eliminated; the Tower of Prayers in Mysidia is renamed the Tower of Wishes, though the White Mage in the tower still calls it "Tower of Prayers" and Rosa's Pray command is absent. Direct references to death are omitted, although several characters clearly die over the course of the game. Anything considered too risqué has been censored, such as bikinis on town dancers (replaced by leotards). The Programmers' Room special feature (in which the player can find a Porno Magazine) has been removed. New promotional character art was made for published previews.

In addition to the content edits, one major gameplay function was altered: The multiplayer option, which operated similarly to the same option in Final Fantasy VI, was completely removed, as was the ability to edit controller settings.

These edits prompted the creation of an English language fan translation of the original script, produced by J2e Translations. The fan translation uses the original version of the game and not the Easytype.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Good lord amazing job at giving that much information about FF4 !!

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

11. Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II (also referred to as MKII or Mortal Kombat 2) is an arcade game and the second title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Storywise, the events before and during this game are portrayed in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.

Following his defeat (in the first Mortal Kombat game), Shang Tsung begs his master, Shao Kahn, to spare his life. He tells Shao Kahn that the invitation for Mortal Kombat cannot be turned down, and if they hold it in Outworld, the Earthrealm warriors must attend. Kahn agrees to this plan, and restores Tsung's youth. He extends the invitation to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them into Outworld. The tournament is dangerous, as Shao Kahn has the "home field advantage", and an Outworld victory will unbalance the furies and allow Outworld to subsume Earthrealm.

Mortal Kombat II follows Mortal Kombat and precedes Mortal Kombat 3. The story is similar to Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, though some fans argue that the latter has many contradictions to the events in the Mortal Kombat storyline.

The SNES version was developed by Sculptured Software. Unlike the Super NES port of the original Mortal Kombat, Nintendo didn't censor the blood and fatalities this time around. However, they applied a warning label in the front of the game box to warn parents of the game’s mature content. The Japanese version, however, is censored to a degree, with green blood for all fighters, as well as the screen colors turning black and white for fatalities.

This particular port has a secret intro if the two L and R buttons are held down after turning on the game. A scene between Shao Khan and Kintaro will take place during the Acclaim logo. Also, a special team mode is unlocked by holding down these buttons when pressing Start on the Start/Options screen.

Also exclusive to this port is the use of the Super Nintendo's Mode 7, a texture mapping graphics mode, during the overhead fall on the Pit II's stage fatality. When the opponent is falling, the background scales forward and rotates slightly counter-clockwise. In the arcade, the background only scaled forward.

This version also changed the colours of Cage's costume. In Arcade version, Cage's primary costume is black and blue, and his second costume is black and red. In SNES version, Cage's primary costume is black and red, and his second costume is black and blue.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Now for the countdown update

150. King Of The Monsters
149. Captain America And The Avengers
148. Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage
147. Cannon Fodder
146. Wayne's World
145. Madden NFL 95
144. Metal Warriors
143. Super Godzilla
142. Spider-man & Venom: Separation Anxiety
141. Clay Fighter
140. Super Bomberman 2
139. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
138. Kirby's Avalanche
137. Striker
136. Fatal Fury Special
135. King Of Dragons
134. Rap Jam: Volume One
133. Disney's Magical Quest
132. Doom
131. Samurai Shodown
130. International Superstar Soccer
129. Breath Of Fire
128. Sim City 2000
127. U.N. Squadron
126. Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf
125. Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
124. Super Battleship
123. S.O.S.
122. Gradius III
121. Tetris 2
120. Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinistrels
119. The Lion King
118. Spider-man & Venom: Maximum Carnage
117. Demon's Crest
116. Pinball Fantasies
115. Inindo: Way Of The Ninja
114. World Cup Striker
113. Run Saber
112. NCAA Football
111. Krusty's Fun House
110. The Simpsons: Virtual Bart
109. Cool Spot
108. Tecmo Secret Of The Stars
107. Super Caesar's Palace
106. Pilotwings
105. Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
104. Romance Of The Three Kingdoms IV: Wall Of Fire
103. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
102. Riddick Bowe Boxing
101. Saturday Night Slam Masters
100. Super Return Of The Jedi
99. Shadowrun
98. Kirby's Dream Course
97. Rock N' Roll Racing
96. NHL 94
95. Madden NFL 97
94. Paladin's Quest
93. Axelay
92. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye Of The Beholder
91. Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game
90. FIFA International Soccer
89. Super Tennis
88. King Arthur's World
87. Terranigma
86. NBA Live 98
85. WWF Super Wrestlemania
84. Skyblazer
83. Madden NFL 98
82. Street Fighter Alpha 2
81. Soul Blazer
80. Secret Of Evermore
79. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
78. Final Fight 3
77. Illusion Of Gaia
76. Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
75. Front Mission
74. Harvest Moon
73. Earthworm Jim 2
72. Flashback: The Quest For Identity
71. Super R-Type
70. Mortal Kombat III
69. Super Smash TV
68. Breath Of Fire II
67. The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja
66. Super Empire Strikes Back
65. Final Fight 2
64. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
63. Mario Is Missing
62. Super Bomberman 3
61. Joe & Mac
60. Super Bomberman
59. Lufia & The Fortress Of Doom
58. R-Type III: The Third Lightning
57. Super Star Wars
56. Sunset Riders
55. Smash Tennis
54. Robotrek
53. Mega Man X3
52. Pocky & Rocky
51. Mega Man X2
50. Super Ghouls N' Ghosts
49. Earthworm Jim
48. Tetris Attack
47. Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
46. NBA Jam
45. International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
44. Uniracers
43. EVO: The Search For Eden
42. Wild Guns
41. Mario Paint
40. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
39. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
38. Mega Man 7
37. WWF Raw
36. Ogre Battle: March Of The Black Queen
35. Ultimate Mortal Kombat III
34. Mortal Kombat
33. Final Fight
32. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
31. Killer Instinct
30. WWF Royal Rumble
29. F-Zero
28. Sim City
27. Kirby Superstar
26. Act Raiser
25. Contra III: The Alien Wars
24. Super Castlevania IV
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
22. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
21. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
20. Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting
19. Secret Of Mana
18. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
17. Star Fox
16. Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
15. Super Punch-Out!!
14. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
13. Mega Man X
12. Final Fantasy VI aka Final Fantasy II
11. Mortal Kombat II

Get Those Cheat Codes Ready As We Are About To Enter The Top 10.

Here Are The Hints To The Next Five Games On Our List

* All Star Plumber

* Bound For Earth

* Kefka Is An Asshole

* The Country Of Kong

* Triggering Chronological Events

[Deleted]

Super Mario All Stars
EarthBound
FF3/6
Donkey Kong Country
Chrono Trigger

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

10. Super Mario All Stars

Super Mario All-Stars, known in Japan as Super Mario Collection, is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It contains enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Japanese: Super Mario Bros. 2), Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese: Super Mario USA), and Super Mario Bros. 3. There was also an alternate version (entitled Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World) bundled with the Super Nintendo in December 1994 that included Super Mario World.

Due to processor and clock differences between the NES and SNES, the original game engine was not faithfully emulated, making slight changes noticeable to avid players of the original games.

Several changes were made to Super Mario Bros. for this enhanced remake.

The player now gains 50 points for every second left on the timer after the last level of each world. Unlike the original game, the player now gets this time bonus after finishing each World's big castle (World x-4) as well. Players no longer need to hold A while pressing Start to continue, because they can now continue from a saved game.
Bowser, Princess Peach, and the Toads have been given new animations, and new background music plays during encounters with Bowser.
Level introductions now include a preview of the level that allows you to see where the level will take place (outside, underground, etc.) and which enemies will be encountered.
Maze levels such as World 4-4 and 7-4 in Super Mario Bros., now have sound effects that indicate the correct path for Mario or Luigi to take, a trait which was carried over to Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and New Super Mario Bros. A "thud" sound would play if the wrong path was taken, and a chime would sound if the right path was taken.
When Super Mario breaks through bricks, his jump continues for a moment and he passes partially through the space the bricks were occupying. In the original when Super Mario broke bricks he met immediate resistance and bounced off just as he would when encountering solid and question mark blocks.
Collisions with the pipe-plants include the top eight pixels. Essentially, if Mario or Luigi jumps and lands directly on the top of a Piranha Plant, he will be unharmed and fall through (in the original, all enemies except Bowser collided as 16x16, even if they looked larger).
The Minus world glitch for Super Mario Bros. was removed from the game when it made its transition to All-Stars, as was the small Fire Mario glitch. However, a similar glitch reappeared in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.
In the original Japanese version, the title screen shows "Super Mario Bros. 2 for Super Players", which is named after the medal on the original version's box that said "for Super Players".
Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in the All-Star Collection share sprites, all sound effects, and other landmark attributes that were not the same in their original 8-bit versions (such as mushrooms, backgrounds, or the ground). Luigi is also taller than Mario. The endings for both games are also exactly the same now, and a little bit different than both of the originals. This makes the two games more cosmetically uniform than they originally were.

* Poison Mushrooms in The Lost Levels originally had black dots; now they are blue with a skull and angry face for easier identification. Super Mushrooms and 1-Up Mushrooms now look exactly like their Super Mario Bros. 3 counterparts.

* In the original version of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, when a player loses all of his or her lives, he or she has to restart from the beginning of the world, as the player would in Super Mario Bros. In the Super Mario All-Stars version, he or she can restart in the level he or she lost on. The same goes for saving the game. The player still has to restart from the beginning of the world in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros.

* In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Fantasy World (AKA "World 9") was a hidden world that could only be reached if players played through the game to Bowser without using any Warp Zones. In this version, if players did use any Warp Zones (forward or backward), they would skip World 9 to World A. Because of the saving feature, the player can go back and complete any missed worlds to reach World 9. This version also carries over any lives that the player may be holding; in the original, the player only had one life for it. The special Game Over screen was also taken out of this version, where the Mario staff would congratulate the player for making it that far anyway. World 9 is a strange world in that Bowser is not fought in his castle, nor the final level: Bowser is fought in World 9-3, without a bridge, and there is a flagpole at the end. It is also a mostly underwater world, but with enemies normally seen on land.

* After the release of Super Mario All-Stars in the U.S., Nintendo Power challenged subscribers to reach World 9, take a picture of the screen and mail it in. Those who did so received a special commemorative "World 9 Challenge" iron-on patch.

* In the original version of Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, the player had to start from World 1-1 and beat World 8-4 at least eight times. Then, when the title screen has eight stars on it, holding A and pressing start will access World A and the rest of the game. In this version, the game sends the player to the next World as a more difficult quest directly after World 8-4 like in Super Mario Bros.. If the requirements for Fantasy World are met, then that world is also included as the first of the second set.

* The Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World version of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels has a very minor difference. In the game select screen, the box art for the game says "unreleased in Europe/the USA".

* Because of the increased difficulty, The Lost Levels allow you to continue at any stage, not just at the beginning of a world like all the other All-Stars games.

Super Mario Bros. 2, or Super Mario USA (as it is known in Japan), was arguably given the most enhancement.

* Level introductions now feature a colorized and animated level representation.
* Upon using a warp, a colorful screen with Birdo will appear telling the player "Warp World x" instead of just a blank black screen with "WARP WORLD x" like the original NES version.
* The slot machine bonus game has been enhanced, including enlarged slots and icons, and a new "7" icon. In the Famicom/NES version, the player can only get up to five extra lives; however, in the Super Famicom/SNES version, with the addition of the "7" icon, the player can now get up to ten extra lives.
* As for continuing after losing the last life, on the Famicom/NES version, the player can only continue twice per game. However, on the Super Famicom/SNES version, the player can continue the game any number of times, because he or she can continue from a saved game.
* In the Famicom/NES version, the player can select a character at the beginning of each level, but must play as the character for the length of the level. In the Super Famicom/SNES version, the player can select a character at the beginning of each level and may change the character upon losing a life.

Super Mario Advance is a port of the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 2. Also note that the US version of Super Mario Brothers 2 was originally Yume Kôjô: Doki Doki Panic, but Nintendo changed the characters. This is why the gameplay and enemies are so different from other games in the Mario series.

While Super Mario Bros. 3 had significant graphical enhancements, the game wasn't given upgrades to the extent that Super Mario Bros. 2 was as the original SMB3 game had very advanced graphics (relatively speaking) to begin with.

* The airships at the end of each world as well as the Koopa Air Force stage in World 8 now have thunder/lightning effects.
* The secret White Toad Houses in the original SMB3 are now blue.
* Inspired by Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi is now slightly taller than Mario and the screen reads, "Mario/Luigi Start!" after entering each action scene.
* The scoreboard at the bottom of the screen is now full-color.
The action scenes, spade panels, and other world map elements have been animated.
* The kings' original animal forms were replaced with monsters from other various Mario games such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario World; for instance, the king in World 7 is now transformed into a Yoshi instead of a Piranha Plant, as he was in the Famicom/NES version, which pre-dates the time Shigefumi Hino created Yoshi.

The Super Famicom/SNES version is closer to the Japanese Famicom version than to the American NES version, but is still a combination of the two.

* The "suit flying off" animation that was on the Japanese Famicom version was dummied out of the American NES version, but it was put back in on the Super Famicom/SNES version.
* In the end credits, the worlds all have their original names (which is seen in the Japanese Famicom version and the first release of the American NES version), since re-releases of the NES version oddly changed the names. The only altered name is World 3, Ocean Side (which is now Sea Side).

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 is a port of the Super Famicom/SNES version of Super Mario Bros. 3. Parallax scrolling in the backgrounds, a graphical capability that was used in this version, was taken out of most levels in the GBA version, making the game look slightly worse in terms of depth. The parallax scrolling is comparable to Super Mario World which only had 2 layers throughout each level. However, some players may notice that clouds in the background "overlap" the mountains when they fly up.

In some copies of All-Stars, the Select button causes Mario to cycle through the various transformations

Super Mario World is only included in the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World pack that was bundled with the SNES in December 1994 which was released in the United States, and was not released in Japan. There are fewer layers of parallax scrolling than the other games, making the graphics slightly worse in terms of depth. The only graphical difference is that the game contains unique sprites for Luigi (the second player), making him taller and slimmer than Mario, whereas the original version of the game used palette swapped Mario sprites for him. In addition, there are some different animations for Luigi's moves compared to Mario's. For instance, Luigi does not hold his fist in the air while jumping and he slides down hills on his knees. Note that these sprites were not included in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, which used a different set almost identical to Luigi's sprites from Super Mario Bros. 2. This version also included four save files (instead of three). Additionally, by pressing the select button while on a map screen, players can access a menu that has the option of quitting the game. The Nintendo logo also does not show up when starting the game.

A retail boxed version of Super Mario All Stars + Super Mario World was sold in the UK shortly after it was bundled with the console. This appears to be a very rare version that came in a mostly red coloured box/packaging.[citation needed]

The universal debug mode that is hidden in the game's code has been completely removed from the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World version. It was only accessed with a Game Genie.

Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World was never released in Japan.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

9. Earthbound

EarthBound, released in Japan as MOTHER 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushû!, is a role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. While it is known as EarthBound in the United States, it is the second game in the Mother series. The game was never released in Europe.

EarthBound is a sequel to the original Mother, a Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System title released only in Japan. Mother and EarthBound are not directly connected. One of the only connections plotwise between the two is Giygas, the primary antagonist in both games, who was also significantly changed between the first and second games.

The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka and Keiichi Suzuki and was available on CD in Japan, as were manga comics.

EarthBound is set in the year "199X" in the small town of Onett, part of Eagleland. The main character, Ness, wakes up when a meteor falls close to his house in the middle of the night. He heads out to investigate the meteor, but not before his mother reminds him to change out of his pajamas. At the crash site, he meets an insect named Buzz Buzz from ten years in the future who sends him on a quest to defeat the intergalactic destroyer Giygas in this time, because he is too powerful in the time that Buzz Buzz came from. Ness must then journey through the world, seeking his eight "sanctuaries" where the Earth's power is strongest in order to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength needed to confront Giygas.

Ness finds the first sanctuary in Onett and then moves on to Twoson. He rescues a girl named Paula from the Happy Happyist Cult in Happy Happy Village and finds the second sanctuary there. Then, they move on to Threed, which is overrun by zombies. When Ness and Paula are captured, Paula sends a telepathic message to Jeff in Winters, who uses Dr. Andonuts(his father)'s Sky Runner to reach Threed and rescue Ness and Paula. The three of them travel to Saturn Valley, which is populated by a bizarre race of creatures called Mr. Saturns, who have been going missing recently. A massive pile of vomit named Belch has been kidnapping them, and has also given life to the zombies to attack Threed. Ness defeats him by using a jar of fly honey, and Ness finds the third sanctuary in Saturn valley. He moves on to Fourside. Once there, he discovers that Fourside's Mayor, Monotoli has been taken over by a strange item called the Mani Mani Statue. Ness frees Monotoli, who tells Ness to go to a pyramid in a desert.

Ness finds the fourth and fifth sanctuaries in Winters and Fourside, respectively. Ness returns to Threed and fixes the Skyrunner to go to Summers. Ness falls unconscious in Summers and dreams of a far-off land known as Dalaam, where Prince Poo has completed his 'Mu' training and joins Ness on his quest. The four of them find a boat and go to Scaraba and Ness finds the pyramid, where he learns how to defeat Giygas. Ness returns to Dalaam and finds the sixth sanctuary there. He uses a submarine to go to Deep Darkness, where he meets Belch again. Once Belch is defeated, Ness finds the Tenda Village. Only the people of Tenda can open the way to the Seventh Sanctuary, but they're all too shy. Apple Kid has a book about overcoming shyness, but is kidnapped by Giygas. Ness returns to Winters and rescues Apple Kid, and Dr. Andonuts, who begins building the Phase Distorter, a machine that is essential to defeating Giygas. Ness uses the book to convince the Tenda to open the way to the Seventh Sanctuary. Once he activates it, he finds the eighth and final sancutary in the lost underworld.

When Ness activates the final sanctuary, he is teleported to a world made out of his dreams, Magicant. He destroys the evil Mani Mani Statue there, which destroys Magicant but also makes Ness very strong. Dr Andonuts finishes the Phase Distorter and uses it to send Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo back into the past. The four of them find that Ness's neighbor, Pokey has allied himself with Giygas. Giygas becomes so powerful that his mind is completely destroyed. Paula begins praying, which weakens Giygas's defenses. When the player begins praying too (via on-screen text), Giygas is completely eradicated. Pokey escapes, and Ness and his friends safely return home.

EarthBound breaks the escapist, fantasy-oriented tendencies and themes of most RPGs by placing the action in a modern day world. These changes to typical RPG stories are often taken to an absurd extreme in EarthBound, such as the inclusion of baseball bats and yo-yos as weapons instead of swords or magical staffs.

The game has a cast of four permanent playable characters. Ness is the silent protagonist of the game. He wakes up when a meteor crashes behind his house, setting him off on his adventure. He comes into contact with Paula, Jeff, and Poo, who decide to join him.

Many of the RPG elements featured in EarthBound are very traditional. In towns, players can purchase items, recharge energy, or gather information from various non-player characters. Many other aspects of the gameplay, however, are somewhat unconventional. Battles are not random because the enemies are visible in the navigation portion of the game. When the characters encounter an enemy, a battle starts. The player can be at an advantage or disadvantage when the battle starts: If the enemy is approached from behind, the player gets an extra turn at the beginning of the battle and vice versa. As Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won immediately, skipping the entire battle sequence altogether.

The battle system is very similar to the Dragon Quest series, in the sense that the player's characters are not shown onscreen. Once all actions are input, the protagonists and the enemies perform their actions in an order weighted by each character's speed. Once the battle is won, players receive experience points in order to level up their characters and improve attributes.

As the game progresses, it becomes necessary to increase levels in order to cope with stronger enemies. An interesting aspect is the HP and PP, represented by counters that resemble odometers. When the character takes damage, their HP meter "rolls" down to the new number over a short time rather than jumping directly to it. When a character takes a hit that deals more damage than their current HP (referred to as mortal damage), they do not actually die until their meter rolls down to zero. This means that if the battle ends before the counter reaches zero, the character survives. It also gives the player an opportunity to heal their character before they die. This creates some intense moments in gameplay as the player is forced to go through turns as fast as possible in order to heal, especially since there are enemies that can deplete any character's entire HP with one hit.

One traditional RPG element not present in EarthBound is an overworld. Instead, players follow a path through a seamless world, occasionally branching off in some areas. Later on in the game, PSI Teleport helps players return to previous areas quickly.

Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection, while most 2-D RPGs use a top down view on a grid or an isometric perspective.

Releasing the game in the United States was considered somewhat of a gamble, as the game's graphics were very simple, especially compared to other role-playing games of the time, such as Final Fantasy VI. Additionally, the humor of the game is tied to its quirky portrayal of the West, which may not have translated to that region. In an attempt to increase sales, the game was also extensively promoted within Nintendo Power, with various special offers such as a $10 off coupon, a contest involving scratch-and-sniff stickers, as well as a Nintendo Power-published player's guide that was included as a pack-in with the initial American release to boost sales and assist players. Despite these marketing efforts, the game did not sell well in the United States. The game has since gone on to gain a cult popularity, recently being ranked the thirty-third best game of all time by the IGN website. The complete American package of game, box, and player's guide has become a collector's set among some gamers, regularly selling in the area of $100 US on eBay.