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It was so influential that game developers all these years later are looking back to their childhood. They find inspiration in the aesthetics and gameplay of SNES games. While they might seem graphically inferior to modern games, these SNES-inspired games are anything but simple.
7 Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is one of the most popular farming-life-simulator games ever released, and creator Eric Barone says that the game’s pixel art style was entirely inspired by the beautiful graphics of the Super Nintendo and other pixel-based gaming systems of his childhood.
The game was also inspired by the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons series, which Barone said were among his favorite games growing up. The SNES inspiration reveals itself in the character dialogue screens and character sprites themselves. These look almost as if they could have been ripped from a SNES game and updated.
6 Cosmic Star Heroine
Cosmic Star Heroine is an RPG featuring many staples of the SNES era. These include a focus on Mechs, turn-based combat, pixel art fused with hand-drawn art that is then turned into pixel art. Instantly recognizable character sprites and specialty dialogue sprites also add to the feel.
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Zeboyd Games has released a few games that take inspiration from this era of gaming, including the comedy RPGs Cthulu Saves the World and Breath Of Death XII. While Cosmic Star Heroine puts its own spin on the SNES-style graphics, Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death XII could have easily been released on the system all those years ago.
5 Golf Story
Golf Story is a recent game that turns the RPG genre on its head in a few ways. As the title suggests, it’s an RPG based on golf. Somehow, that concept lends itself to an amazing and well-developed storyline following the main character’s journey on the course. The game’s SNES inspiration comes through in its gameplay mechanics and the style of character sprites.
The game is designed around a grid system, like many of the SNES RPGs of the ’80s. Unlike Cosmic Star Heroine or Stardew Valley, the game’s pixel art is not refined – perhaps to better envoke nostalgic feelings for the Super Nintendo. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic out-of-nowhere game that will blow players’ expectations out of the water.
4 Octopath Traveler
Octopath Traveler is a recent SNES-inspired game. It almost one-for-one replicates the aesthetic of those old games, but with 2D elements made to appear in the 3D plane. The game itself is very reminiscent of old JRPGs like the original Final Fantasy series, and it doesn’t add much to the turn-based formula.
The parallax effects and filters make the game appear stunningly beautiful. However, it does little to improve upon games from the SNES era. One could almost say that it is less inspired by SNES games, and more of a game that should have come out decades ago (without the special effects, of course).
3 Shadows of Adam
Shadows of Adam is a vibrant, colorful SNES-inspired game. It successfully uses the style of SNES JRPGs, while adding much-needed changes to the JRPG formula. Turn-based combat gets tiresome, especially when compared to the fast-paced combat of modern games. Meanwhile, Shadows of Adam turns turn-based combat into a spectacle.
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Shadows of Adam takes itself seriously, for the most part. However, there are comedic characters and moments throughout that pop in. This isn’t a negative, though. If anything, it’s an homage to the intentional goofiness of the dialogue of some of those pioneering ’80s games.
2 The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is one of the most famous indie games ever made, but it wasn’t created out of thin air. Creator Edmund McMillen originally wanted to replicate the feeling of being in a dungeon in the original Legend of Zelda titles. He sought to create a game that encapsulated this feeling and expanded it.
The game and its many DLC expansions don’t take a lot of visual cues from the SNES era. However, they do draw inspiration from level layouts and gameplay mechanics of that time period. The randomly generated aspect of the game makes it infinitely replayable. Even a few items directly reference the SNES and old Nintendo media.
1 Super House of Dead Ninjas
Super House of Dead Ninjas is an Adult Swim Games game that has stayed under the radar of the mainstream for a long time. Initially released in 2013, the game’s art style is exactly like ninja games from the SNES era. Its gameplay is addictive and compelling.
In Super House of Dead Ninjas, the player controls the Crimson Ninja as they descend through an almost endless series of floors in a tall tower. It’s a simple concept that just works. Those nostalgic for this era of gaming will find hours upon hours of enjoyment in this game. Even the title itself is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the SNES.
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