6 Best Licensed Super Nintendo Games That You Forgot

During the Super Nintendo era, many developers were looking to make a quick buck by picking up a massive license and shoving a game loosely based on it out the door. Getting through the muck wasn’t easy, but there were quite a few solid licensed games if you knew where to look. In fact, a few of these games stand out as some of the best games on the SNES.

Here are the six best licensed games on the Super Nintendo.

6) Goof Troop

You’re going to see a few Capcom games on this list, which makes sense considering the developer was in something of a golden age during the era. However, it’s worth pointing out that Goof Troop has one of the developer’s A-listers on the project. Goof Troop‘s designer was none other than Shinji Mikami, the guy who later went on to create Resident Evil.

Putting that aside, Goof Troop is one of the best co-op games on that platform. Imagine playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but with a friend at your side. It’s not quite as good as that all-time classic, but it’s close enough. If you don’t have a buddy around, it’s still a rock-solid action-puzzle game.

5) Super Star Wars

Super Star Wars didn’t earn many friends thanks to its overbearing difficulty, but once you learned its tricks, this is a solid take on one of the biggest media properties of all time. Yes, some of the gameplay is a bit too tough, but it’s worth remembering that the team was trying to do a lot, giving several different gameplay styles depending on the level.

Toss in an exceptional soundtrack and some of the best visuals of the era, and you have a phenomenal start to a series. LucasArts released two more games in the Super series, adapting the next two movies in the iconic trilogy that built on the legacy of the first game.

4) The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse

I told you we’d be talking about Capcom a few times. With The Magical Quest, the team partnered with Disney to make a chaotic platformer that pays homage to many of Mickey Mouse’s various escapades. Unlike Super Star Wars, this isn’t an adaptation of something specific, which means Capcom was free to have fun with the mouse.

That level of freedom extends to gameplay. The Magical Quest quickly moves beyond normal platforming, adding new wrinkles that’ll keep players on their toes. It might not be as widely remembered as some of Disney’s other games (which I’ll talk about shortly), but it’s better than most of them.

3) X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse

Look, another Capcom game! The developers really were on a tear during the SNES. X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse is a great beat ’em up that perfectly captures the popular cartoons and comics of the time. Importantly, you can play as five different X-Men, and they all have their own moveset. It’s not just a palette swap.

Each character has their own dedicated level, which helps get you used to how they fight. Then, you can branch out, letting players sort of take their own path through the game. This is how you do a brawler well. Capcom proved once again that it was the master of licensed games on the SNES.

2) Disney’s Aladdin

This is the last Capcom game, I swear. Aladdin is pure fun. It’s that perfect mix of easy to pick up but nearly impossible to master. Running through each level is a thrill, and Capcom does a phenomenal job making Agrabah feel like a real place and not something in the background of a hit movie.

At this point, it is worth noting that I’m not including Disney’s The Lion King on the list. Sure, that game has its fans, and visually it stands up well next to Aladdin. However, the frustrating difficulty spikes make it a lesser game than Aladdin, and I didn’t want to have too many Disney games. If you want, you can consider The Lion King as the unofficial seventh entry, but know that you’re better off playing Aladdin.

1) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

Capcom might have its name all over this list, but it’s Konami that takes the top spot. Turtles in Time is the classic beat ’em up on the Super Nintendo. This is the game you think about when you think about Friday nights at your friend’s house. There’s a big pizza and far too many Mountain Dew cans on the table, and Turtles in Time on the television.

Sure, the SNES version isn’t quite as polished as the arcade original, but that was largely the standard at the time. Like X-Men, each turtle feels like a unique character, and Konami does a bang-up job of incorporating the TMNT cartoon’s trademark humor. It’s not just the best licensed game on the SNES, it’s one of the best of all time.

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