Nintendo had released tons of SNES games to play in the early 1990s. But with the passing of time, many of these games have become limited in the gaming market. This is due to cease in the production of SNES games and constant upgrades in the gaming hardware. However, you can still find some of the best rare SNES games in 2022 are:
But are they worth buying in 2022? To figure it out, we will look into each of them and discuss why you should buy these rare SNES games even today.
Best Rare SNES Games To Buy
We have rounded up some of the best rare SNES games to buy and enjoy retro gaming on your SNES gaming console. Let’s dig into the details of these games here…
1. Star Fox
Star Fox is a three-dimensional space shooting game. This game was exclusively designed for the special edition of the SNES gaming system back in the 1990s. And that’s why this game in the gaming market is still explicitly rare and expensive.
You’ll take the role of Fox McCloud and travel with your companions – Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi, and Peppy Hare – across the space. Explore different planets, space warps and collect a lot of intriguing power-ups for your Airwing on the way.
But watch out! Other creatures lurking in space will attack you with lasers and bombs. The real challenge is to attack them before they get you. Not only that, but you will also stumble on challenging bosses. Defeat them to get to level up in the game.
A mix of space and shootings, the Star Fox keeps you entertained through each level. It has a high replay value that makes you come back to this game from time to time.
2. Blackthorne
Blackthorne is also known as the Blackhawk in some regions. It is a cinematic game released by Blizzard Entertainment – famous for the Diablo and Warcraft series. Another reason for this game’s popularity is the fabulous game cover. It was designed by a famous comic artist of the X-men comics, known as Jim Lee.
In the game, the prince holds the white stone, which is sacred and must be protected from black stone holders. After 20 years, the white stone king summons the prince to put an end to all the violence and evil caused by black stone holders. You must defeat the Sarlacc and his minions to free your enslaved people.
With Blackthorne, you get to see actions, shootings, and an intriguing storyline. Some gamers also refer to this game as the classic version of Prince of Persia. Because of its fluid animation and gameplay. However, this game has an edge because of leaning against wall action to dodge enemy attacks.
Blizzard Entertainment did a great job with Blackthrone’s graphics and music at that time. So playing this game is highly entertaining if you are a fan of 2D scrolling style gaming with a great storyline.
3. Earthworm Jim
Even though Earthworm Jim was not exclusive to the SNES platform, it pretty much did a great job on this platform too. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and released on SNES in 1994.
The storyline begins with a special suit crashing on the earth, which mutates Jim and gives it superhuman strength. Now, Jim can run, shoot, and travel across the lands. But things get serious when Jim has to rescue the princess from the evil Queen.
What’s unique? The main lead of this is a worm called Jim – which was weird back then. But this was the very reason that made this game stand out in the market, with a good number of sales on the SNES platform.
Earthworm Jim has the most versatile actions, praising animations, long levels, and warped sense of humor than any other game back in the 1990s. And the killer soundtrack with nostalgia fun makes Earthworm Jim one of the best rare SNES games to buy and play for retro fun!
4. Space Invaders
Nintendo has a thing to bring back the 70’s and 80’s shooting games on their newer consoles with better retro graphics. In the early 1990s, the original Space Invader for SNES was developed by Taito and published in Japan only. Luckily, this game is now available for all regions.
Just like its name, Space Invaders, you have to wipe out all the invaders in space. Sounds easy? Interestingly, this game is not as simple as you think. Because you don’t face just one enemy at a time, but a WAVE of fighter spaceships – a lot of them.
And apart from killing swarms of invaders, you have to survive as long as you can to gain more points while killing lots of enemies. So, it’s a classic loop – breaking your own record every time you play this game.
Overall, the Space Invader is one of the all-time favorite SNES shooting games with high replay values. And the retro graphics and classic shootings keep you hooked and entertained at each level of the game.
5. Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country was not only exclusive for the SNES platform, but it is one of the highest graphic quality games. Rare and Nintendo put a lot of effort into this game. And they even made a particular clamshell case, which is rarer than the game cartridge.
Unlike its previous releases, Donkey Kong had now become a hip-hop-loving banana craving hero with his own family and a stylish necktie. He goes on a quest to retrieve his sword of golden bananas that have been stolen by his enemy, the tyrannical crocodile King K Rool. You can either roll, jump or throw barrels at the enemies.
The game’s graphics of Donkey Kong Country are a bit special. Because that made this game such a smash hit that skyrocketed the sales of the SNES. Its visual and audio presentation with detailed 3D models and rendering into a 2D space made it one of the most visually impressive games of its generation. While the dynamic weather, collectible items, and challenging bosses keep you stuck to the game till the very end.
Besides being rare, Donkey Kong Country’s detailed graphics make it one of the best rare SNES games to buy.
FAQs About Best Rare SNES Games To Buy
Want to ask some more questions about buying the best rare SNES games? Let’s go through the FAQs below to get the answers that you are looking for:
The all-time hardest and challenging games on SNES include The Lion King, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Earthworm Jim 2, Jurassic Park, and ActRaiser 2. These games are listed as the top 6 hard-to-best games on various retro gaming forums.
Nintendo officially released the last game across the North American region for the SNES gaming console in 1998. The title of the last SNES game is Frogger, which depicts the frog crossing the busy city roads to reach its home in the wild. However, the frog faces many obstacles, including turtles, snakes, and whatnot. The frog must dodge and overcome these hurdles to make its way home safe and sound.
Around 1999, the Nintendo company officially discontinued the production of the SNES games. While the last two game titles for the SNES platform in North America include Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (1997) and Frogger (1998) from the third-party developers.
Apparently, Nintendo developed an enormous number of SNES games during the 1990s. These varieties of valuable games made the SNES the most sold home console in the past. But due to multiple reasons such as production discontinuation and old gaming hardware, the SNES games became rare and expensive over time.
To Wrap Up
Adding the factors of aging, value, and rarity makes the SNES games not only appealing as a collector’s item. But it also has extraordinary worth for retro gamers. So holding at least one of these valuable and rare SNES games in your retro game collection makes them deserving enough to buy even in 2022.
