3. Gradius III ($11)
There are better side-scrolling shooters on the SNES - R-Type III is a personal favorite - but for just over 10 bucks you can't really argue with Gradius III, which has all the trappings of Konami's best work of the era - fantastic sprite-based 2D visuals, brilliant music, and of course a rock-hard difficulty level. Shmups of this era required a certain kind of bloodyminded determination to succeed in, with none of the checkpointing and save-game stuff you might see in modern interpretations, but if you like the idea of mastering a difficult but beautiful dance through space, this is a cheap and cheerful way to get that hit.
4. Illusion of Gaia ($19)
There are a ton of killer RPGs on the SNES, from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana, but while they were popular enough to make Squaresoft (as it was then) rich in the 90s, they weren't as ubiquitous as platform games and they are also very desirable to collectors, so most of them are pretty expensive. Illusion of Gaia from Enix (also pre-merger) is a very playable exception, however, with a large cast of memorable characters, a gripping story and lovely visuals. Its relatively simple leveling system and combat give it a very different feel to Square's epics, but unless you're a real snob then this should give you enough of what you want.
5. Star Fox ($13)
The overhyped addition of Star Fox 2 to the recent SNES Classic may have left us a little sad - having it as a legend turned out to be better than reality - but it did at least encourage us to pick up the original game again, and it remains a fantastic achievement. Judged against modern 3D games it obviously cannot compete, but its rudimentary polygons, courtesy of the nascent Super FX chip, give it a very likable aesthetic, and it's impossible not to enjoy the company of Fox McCloud, Peppy and co - accompanied by another excellent SNES-era soundtrack - as they blast their way through the galaxy to defend Earth.
6. F-Zero ($11)
Another early Mode 7 classic, F-Zero remains incredibly playable. We picked it up again quite recently and ended up racing through every championship in sequence without taking a break. The speed and handling of the futuristic racing craft gives the game a unique feel and the simple, elegant track design, visuals and audio come together brilliantly. F-Zero has aged every bit as well as Super Mario Kart, and while we have a lot of time for later installments - particularly Amusement Vision's GameCube-era re-imagining in F-Zero GX - the original is still the best in our view.
