The Super Nintendo turns 35 in 2026, making it a good time to look beyond the familiar platformers and movie tie-ins. Its library contains plenty of unusual experiments, forgotten imports and genre oddities.
These five games stood out during a tour of the SNES catalogue available through Nintendo Switch Online. Some are rough around the edges, while others reveal just how inventive 16-bit developers could be. If you enjoy exploring overlooked classics, you may also find useful ideas in RETROCADE’s arcade blog and compact bartop arcades.
5. Cosmo Gang The Puzzle
Namco’s space-themed puzzler initially looks like a simple falling-block alternative to Tetris. Its clever rules make it considerably more interesting. Every falling piece is a horizontal or vertical 2×1 block, decorated with aliens, metal, arrows or a mixture of these elements.
Metal blocks disappear when they complete a line. Alien blocks require an arrow: place one beside an alien and it travels along connected alien squares in a cardinal direction, clearing more targets until a metal block interrupts its path.
That extra requirement creates a satisfying layer of planning. It has some of the chain-building appeal associated with Puyo Puyo, while feeling more deliberate than a standard Tetris session. A quick trial can easily turn into repeated attempts to improve your score.
4. Mario and Wario
This Game Freak production is one of the strangest entries in the Mario catalogue, particularly because it was designed around the SNES Mouse. Wario causes trouble by dropping an object over Mario, Princess Toadstool or Yoshi, leaving Wanda to guide the blinded character through each course.
Wanda uses her wand to activate blocks, break rocks and deal with enemies. Luigi waits at the finish to remove the obstruction, although the process is destined to happen again. The mouse is the only way to control Wanda, and that decision is not especially comfortable. A directional-pad option would have made the game much easier to manage.
The result is a stressful experience in which Wanda often seems slightly behind her charge. The art direction remains appealing, and the game is an interesting early idea that points towards the later Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. Three stages may be enough for most players, but a short visit is worthwhile as a piece of Nintendo hardware history.
3. Uncharted Waters: New Horizons
Koei built a strong reputation for historical strategy games during the 1990s, and Uncharted Waters: New Horizons shows the company applying that approach to the Age of Exploration.
Set in the 16th century, it lets players choose from several adventurers pursuing different ambitions. You might seek fame through naval battles, search for artefacts, chart the globe or build a large trading empire. Each character has a distinct scenario and different strengths, giving the game more variety than its first impression suggests.
One campaign follows Otto Baynes, an older adventurer asked in London by a character resembling Henry VIII to oppose the Spanish by any available means. Another follows Ernst Von Bohr, a Dutch cartographer whose priority is mapping the world rather than serving kings or fighting wars.
Behind those storylines sits a surprisingly demanding management simulator, supported by exploration and respectable naval combat. It may ask for more patience than a typical SNES game, but its unusual depth makes it a compelling example of Koei’s strategy ambitions.
2. Wild Guns
Natsume’s Wild Guns combines the Old West with science fiction, or perhaps steampunk, and the mix is far more entertaining than it sounds. Clint the cowboy and Annie, who is not a cowboy, take on stages packed with gunslingers, machines and enormous enemies.
Both characters carry a gun and a lasso for holding targets in place. Annie also has a powerful explosive weapon, while Clint uses TNT for a screen-clearing attack. Machine guns and other heavy firepower round out the arsenal.
The stages place saloons and street thugs alongside futuristic tanks, turret-filled shells and giant robots dressed in western gear. Action is rapid and demanding without being inaccessible. For players who assumed shooting galleries were limited to older light-gun attractions, Wild Guns is an excellent reminder that the format could work brilliantly with a standard controller. RETROCADE’s arcade light guns collection offers another route into that style of play.
1. Amazing Hebereke
Amazing Hebereke is a colourful fighting game starring a cast of cute animals. The Japanese-only text makes the story difficult to follow, but the basic idea appears to be a tournament on a fantasy island where cheerful creatures settle things by hitting one another.
Players choose a fighter and face an opponent in a match that requires three victories. Later rounds introduce several combatants and environmental obstacles, though the game never becomes especially intimidating. It is a much gentler proposition than a serious competitive fighter.
That accessibility is part of its appeal. The characters can perform aerial kicks, punch combinations, backflips and stranger attacks, including a move that sends a head forward on an extendable neck. Pastel visuals and soft music give the action a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere.
Amazing Hebereke is an easy recommendation for anyone who finds traditional fighting games demanding. It is odd, approachable and packed with enough character variety to make a full run through the roster appealing. For more ideas about bringing classic play into a home setup, see RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide and browse the wider range of arcade machines.
A worthwhile detour through the SNES library
These games show five very different sides of the Super Nintendo: inventive puzzle design, unusual controller support, historical simulation, arcade shooting and friendly competitive combat. They may not all become favourites, but each offers a useful reminder that the console’s library extends well beyond its most famous releases.
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