Popular SNES Games I Won't Play Again | hungrygoriya 

"When a video game starts to feel like work, I'd rather be doing something else" Yep. That feeling happens pretty quick for me in fact.

ActRaiser is a case of a game being greater than the sum of its parts for me. Both the side-scrolling and sim stuff would be too basic to work as a standalone release, but alternating between the two has a hypnotic yin-yang groove to it that keeps me glued to my seat. The music helps, too.

Biggest problem with Secret of Mana's story for me is how rushed most of it is. Until the final dungeon, every single cutscene is over with as quickly as it starts, so even the emotional moments don't hit as hard as they should. I heard this was because apparently, the people behind it were rushed to release it in time for the holidays, so they were forced to condense all dialog to only contain plot-relevant lines, so anything relating to characters' personalities was minimal at best. Probably the most egregious is the meeting with Krissy where she first accuses the group of being imperial spies, then Randi shouts 'HARDLY', and somehow this makes her instantly realize he's the Mana Knight. Seriously, that is some of the most awkward writing I have ever read in anything.

Love how you composed your thoughts on these beloved titles. I really enjoy how different your YT content is from your streams. Keep up the great work.

You summed up my feelings about yoshi's island completely without me even realizing thats why I never get very far in any play through

If you only knew the nightmare backstory behind Secret of Mana's development. It explains so much

I only played Yoshi's Island once. It was in the 90's, and I was at a friends house. I remember it being difficult. Just had a flashback to that day....

As a lifelong Nintendo fan who grew up with the NES and later SNES, I hate to admit it but I've always struggled to play or enjoy Yoshi's Island despite its charming visuals and music, and you perfectly articulated why. I feel that Secret of Mana, despite its many flaws, is held in such high regard partially because it was one of the first MULTIPLAYER action RPGs to hit the mainstream. And if you're looking for a challenge with FFIII, consider giving the GBA port a go- the postgame dungeon and bosses will give you quite a run for your money! 😅

So happy to see (and hear) that The 7th Saga is one of your off-the-beaten-path games. I really enjoyed it, but it felt like no one else knew about it. Great video!

What an excellent video! I really enjoyed it. At the end of the chapter on Yoshi's Island, I chortled audibly when the cursor selected 'no'. I love those little touches! Seeing a few views of the consoles, cartridges and the gaming area really added something, too.

Great video. Love the bits with your collection. Yoshi's Island was always asking way more of me than I had to give.

Secret Of Mana was originally being developed for the planned SNES CD add on. There was a lot more content planned and programmed. Then Square and Nasir got the news the plans for the SNES CD add on was scrapped, so a hatchet job was done to fit it into a cartridge. I don’t expect to change your mind with this revelation, but I thought you should know about it just in case you didn’t. 🙂

3 of these 5 games are some of my favorites I’ve played, and you make excellent, salient points about them. Very well done and logically put!

Let me sum it up for you - Back in the day - you played the game you just paid a very high price for, you played it to death - flaws and all and you took a positive outlook simply because you may only get to play a small number of games per year due to the high pricing and no other way of playing the game (no emulation, no internet etc) - in other words you took the absolute best from it and it is that which original back in the day gamers remember - good games were very treasured

Always glad to see new Hungry Goriya videos!

It’s very interesting to hear opinions of someone who actually didn’t grow up with these games and not experiencing the nostalgia that many others have had. It strips the game down to it’s raw content, and makes me see them without the rose coloured glasses I’m used to seeing them in. Also, I love the way you commentate in the videos (even the live videos). It’s particularly articulate, very insightful and the tone of your voice is warm and soothing. Keep it up.

Awesome video! I grew up on Yoshi's Island and freaking loved it. I replayed it again very recently for the first time in about 20 years. I found it fun but a bit tedious and that bothered me, haha. I guess the first games we play in childhood introduce us to the magic of video games, and it's next to impossible to recapture that sense of wonder. Nostalgia is indeed a powerful thing. Keep up the awesome content! 😎

Great video! I got nervous while watching the intro because I saw Chrono Trigger and Super Mario World because those I grew up with and loved. I am happy they weren't part of your list, and it was really interesting to hear your opinions on FF3/6.

i just found your channel this is all great stuff! cant wait to check out all your vids!

Just found the channel - I love it. This is a great concept for a video. Thanks!

Just wanted to say I've recently discovered your channel and have been binging your review videos all day. I love the way you present your experiences! You've made me want to revisit a BUNCH of games that I'd maybe misjudged, like Legacy of the Wizard and Shining in the Darkness. Keep up the awesome work! 😁

Couple tips for Yoshi's Island: 7:15 That blue block to the left can be headbutted or shot with an egg to become a moving platform. It makes that jump a lot easier. 8:04 When Yoshi bounces off an enemy, he can flutter MUCH higher than if he does a regular jump. I don't really have any tips for getting around the slow, calculated way you have to get through the game though, since the bonus levels require finding all of the flowers and red coins. Magnifying Glasses are good for hidden clouds and red coins, but you'd have to spend time getting them in the minigames.

Always a pleasure. Looking forward to the next video!

Always looking out for your next post. Your channel is great

FF6 is one of my very favorites and I still teach everyone ultima on most playthroughs. I love everything about it, and if I ever want to challenge myself I can change up the espers and just not level as much. To me it's a very versatile game and is somehow even greater than the sum of it's parts. I'm sad to see you didn't like this or Yoshi's Island.

This is interesting because these are all very valid complaints. It's also interesting because as someone who was in the scene when these games came out and then was playing them through any means necessary back in the late nineties, breath of fire 1 and actraiser were often talked about as "good if you can deal with the parts that suck." And I think the ff6 opinion is more common than you might think. There have been mods made to change how levelling and espers work in ff6 for the exact reasons you mention.

A few of these do sting a little to hear of in such a way, but I get where you are coming from. The fact that you calmly bring attention to and discuss your issues with even the games you dislike is something I consider quite respectable. That and I've watched a few of your reviews as it is. Good stuff overall.

My issue with Secret of Mana is how you spend 50% of every boss battle in the spell menu and the other 50% waiting for spells to finish casting so you can go back to into the spell menu. Even with that said, still one of my all time favorites.

Loved hearing a modern perspective on these games that isn't rose tinted in some way. I am a Breath of Fire series fan and have to say you nailed everything about it haha!

Excelent video, Hungry! It's nice to see your opinions on this, altough I had SNES during my childhood, I haven't played any of these games 😅 But I could relate to what you said for them specially Yoshi's Island, probably a game I wouldn't enjoy much to play as well..

I love Actraiser in concept, its a very fun blend of two genres that you wouldn't expect to go together, but you're absolutely right that the platforming sections are frustrating to deal with. If you enjoy the music, I highly recommend looking up the orchestrated OST, its masterfully put together.

Every mention for Yoshi's Island is very true, and why it is one of my favorite Nintendo games of all time, as the slower pace is by design, and the complete opposite of standard 2D Mario games. Yi was something really new for the company, as it included tried and true platforming, with shooting mechanics, and a focus on exploration. All 2D Mario games have timers, so under even the best of situations, the game forces you to move quickly(So secrets to find, but an urgency in the process). Yi has an urgency, but only when you lose Mario, and so long as you get him back, the emergency is over. And to get 100% in each level, with Baby Mario, is the good and bad of it I suppose, and the slow exploration is why I like it over standard 2D Mario games. As it isn't meant to be played like any other Mario game, because it isn't, Mario isn't the hero, Yoshi is(different feel, mechanics, and gameplay). I can no longer play "NEW" 2D Mario games, as the DS game, is pretty much the same as the one from the Wii U, Switch, etc. So while I personally don't play Yi much anymore, that's only because I got 100%, and once I do that, I've seen all the game has to offer, so I move on. I rarely if ever 100% games, and when I do, it means the game made me want to meet the challenge and over come it(without pulling my hair out), and this game most certainly did. This game was a 10 for me at the time, and one of Nintendo's finest efforts that was new, unique, and well made. Something I haven't been able to say about this company for probably 20+ years, but that's a story for another day. LOL

The issue with Secret of Mana was the fact that it was originally supposed to be part of a SNES CD add on. CDs have larger data space, and when Hiroshi Yamauchi tore up the contract, that was the end of it. In the end, Secret of Mana was still a large game for 1993, and yes, they had to remove several story line elements in order to fit the cartridge space. Ive often suspected there was to be a lot more at the Moon Palace as there was no boss there (we will never know). Many of these story elements were put into Trials of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 3 (or so Ive heard). I still love both SNES mana games, but if Secret of Mana seemed rushed, play a translated version (or the remake) of Trials of Mana.

Consider giving Ultima: Runes of Virtue 2 for SNES (it's also on Game Boy) a try. I consider it the most hidden of hidden gems and I now impart this mystic knowledge to you.

While I may not agree with most of your viewpoints, I loved the video and hearing your thoughts. Subbed! Great video.

Late to the party but I loved this video. I know the thought in the back of my head is that presentation really carried these some of these games for their time, and I'm glad you were able to dive more into of the mechanical or story aspects of these games and their drawbacks.

Hi Hun, nice video, i think you made some valid and fair points in general, a lot of things get overlooked because of nostalgia. Personally i agree about your points with SMW2, it seemed too tedious of a game to get through, where the older games i had no problem replaying them. As for FF, it always was very hard for me to get into any of them, the battle system and stories never clicked for me (unlike say Phantasy Star's battle system), also i prefer synth music over the (usually too compressed) sample based music.

You nailed my feelings about Yoshi's Island. It's a great game, well worth completing...once. The stage intricacies really does end up making it feel like work and the game design is the antithesis of something like a Genesis Sonic game, which I could still play at any time.

Hello! Super late to the party here. I get what you're saying with all of these (well the one's I've played at least). When you have to make yourself 'like' a game, it makes you want to play it less. But the thing about Secret of Mana that you mentioned about it feeling 'not complete' is actually accurate. During the making of Secret of Mana, Nintendo had a contract with Sony to make something called the "Super Nintendo CD ROM". It was basically a CD player peripheral that was attached to the SNES where most of the game data was stored on the CD, but it still required a cartridge to 'load' the game (to stop burning/pirating CD's I think). But something happened and the contract ended up getting dissolved. So they had all this game data that they couldn't use because it couldn't fit on an SNES cartridge which was only a few megabytes, compared to the CD holding several hundred megabytes. They ended up removing between 40 - 60'ish % of the game, as well as some voice work and cinematics. So yes, it is basically an incomplete game, and they just cobbled together an ending. I still have a lot of fun playing it regardless.

you're collection is really cool! I like seeing it in the background

Totally agree with your rationale and you're not missing something. There's a lot of rose tinted glasses / miss conceptions about what was popular back then. I both played and sold (retail shop) SNES games back in the 90's and sales vs hype didn't line up.

ActRaiser?! Really? Man I love that game. And I didn't grow up with it, either. The side scrolling levels were very Super Castlevania 4 esque. And the overworld part was great as well, obviously.

“Having to check every inch of a level to reveal secrets slows the pace…don’t want to play anymore”. Wouldn’t this also describe the Legend of Zelda 2nd quest, which is so beloved?

My favorite Final Fantasy of all time has always been 4, and one of the main examples I've always used is the one you pointed out how 6's characters abilities matter very little in end game, Edgar and Locke are super shocked that Terra can cast magic, but by the end everyone can, so she loses out in that uniqueness.

Secret of Mana is so much fun, and I can play it over and over.

Great video. Final Fantasy 3 is my second all time favorite FF game after FFIV, but i agree with your criticism about all characters kind of being the same in the end. It wasn't so much about their individual skills anymore when all of them could just cast ultima and win the game. Don't get me wrong, that's very fun to do but you know.

great channel, keep it on!

The point of the espers in Final Fantasy III isn't just to give the characters spells. It is to give them better stats that play to each of their strengths.

Everyone has there preferences :) Honestly surprised with your thoughts on Yoshi's Island & Final Fantasy 3 as I really adore both of those games. Interesting video.

12:29 My biggest problem with Secret of Mana (and I agree with your comments too) is the grinding. It's really required and really boring... I am glad I played and finished the game but this is a game I never wanted to play again and I will never play again. Even if I am happy I played it. I have no regrets. But...

I forget if I said this in a different video or not, but the thing that killed _Secret of Mana_ was the split in Square's staff. They were trying to do another _Final Fantasy_ and _Chrono Trigger_ around the time _Secret of Mana_ was being developed, and once more staff was needed for those games, _Secref of Mana_ kind of got shafted. It's a real shame, too. It was supposed to be "bigger and grander" than _Final Fantasy Legend_ - its predecessor - but honestly? It's just an okay sequel with prettier graphics and more gameplay options. And yer, somehow, I wound up deeply bonding with the game and was incredibly sad it was over, by the end. I genuinely can't explain it. I even tear up whenever I heard "Angel's Fear", the opening theme. So confusing…

Wonderful, thoughtful content ❤️

I think a big part is simply that games back then were vastly different than games are now. Same with movies, TV, and pretty much all other media. Games considered amazing and legendary for players at the time can seem archaic and awkward today. Maybe we just didn't know how much better things would be in 20 years lol.

I can definitely see the many good points you make. I'd have to say that maybe you just missed the nostalgia factor that was had when the SNES first came out. It's not always easy to engulf what was amazing and groundbreaking back then and make it feel just as amazing now, after many decades. Most of what we experience as children or young teens are pure nostalgia growing up. I loved so many games on the SNES but I can't imagine myself going back now and replaying a lot of them with the same feeling I had the first time through. Other than that, I feel like you enjoyed the games as much as you possibly could in this era.

This is a really interesting topic, without any kind of nostalgia playing a part, I think it’s incredibly difficult for 30+ year old games to live up to expectations.

Each of the games you listed have been in my collection or on my "to-do" list for a very long time. Thank you for your perspective! :-)

I bought Actraiser when it was released and finished it that same weekend. I was less than impressed and I've replayed it a few times over the years and I still find it disappointing so you're not alone there. I know that some people really love it but I've always felt the game was put on a pedestal it doesn't deserve. I've never played Yoshi's Island but the other titles you mentioned I played briefly but never completed because I got bored. But I did play the hell out of 7th Saga despite its many flaws.

You were incredible fair with your criticisms even when it stung a little haha. I went from nodding in agreement (Actraiser) to having my eyeballs popping out in horror 10 seconds later (Yoshi's Island). But yeah I agree - I like that game mostly for the artstyle + music + 'childlike feel'. The SNES game I get into heated debates is Super Castlevania IV. Not a good classic vania imo. Please consider playing "Another World" AKA "Out of this World" and maybe even gracing us with one of your great reviews. I remembered it because of your use of the expression "front loaded". However the first two thirds of that title are great.

It's a great video. I have a lot of favorites from the snes and you have a couple of them on your list. I think the issue that adds to this is you don't get to experience how new and different some games on the snes felt back then. As gaming advances and, well, just gets better overall, it's hard to go back and see how some games might have felt before the standards were raised. Loved breath of fire and final fantasy back then while i ate up anything jrpg at the time. Going back they aren't the first go to things because games have gotten so much better since then. I expect more so for the reasons you describe you see the cracks in what was once a favorite.

I think the difference is that for people that grew up when the SNES came out, these games were huge leaps forward or completely new play experiences. They were also hyped to the moon. As a young kid growing up in that era it was core memory after core memory. The experiences have been diluted and relegated to nostalgia mostly since then. People who didn't grow up playing these games in those times either don't understand (I'm guessing you) or they are throwback fan boys who are just extolling something they didn't truly experience in it's essence.

“Sees final fantasy III on the list” so this is going to be my favorite video ever. In all seriousness, you make some excellent points, and I find myself agreeing with you on nearly all of them! I love all the cool shots of your setup and hardware too. Thank you for sharing.

Really good takes, not everyone is going to experience all of the classics the same way- and definitely going back without the nostalgia effect forgiving some broken mechanics is a big difference.

Very eloquently put at the very end, it is a feeling I have in regards to not only gaming: We may indeed have lost the time to be hooked on games. I myself consider my time playing games now as mostly an historical thing... to see how it was at the time or to the consoles i did not had as a child (I was a sega genesis kid) and it is getting harder and harder for me to feel invested in new games. Got hooked. Very well-written and elaborated.

Everyone watching this video likely already knows, but on the off chance it went under your radar, as it did mine; a game called "G.O.D: Grow Or Devolve" was recently translated. I would not put this up on a comment section, but that game is an actual "Mother" or "Earthbound" clone for the SNES. I've never played one before, but this game itches all of my Mother scratches I had, and didn't know I had, so I'm sharing it here in case another Earthbound fan missed it coming out. Very fun game.

Dragon View is definitely a very underappreciated soundtrack, good musical choice

I replay ff6 and ff4 every couple years. Very fond memories of my snes days as a kid.

Fun fact. Secret of Mana is actually missing half of its script in the US version. There is a ROM hack though that restored the missing story dialogue.

Woah, I never noticed that eclipsed moon in the Actraiser boss rush. That's neat.

You know, I was getting nervous about what you would say about FF3, but holy crap, you were spot on with the whole individuality of characters being tossed out when all you gotta do is just learn all the magic you could want. It made it too easy and erased your need for characters

When I go back and play the games of my childhood like Secret of Mana and FF6 they just aren’t the same. For their time they were great games but there’s no way you can experience them the same way it would have been in the 90s in this day and age. To understand what they were truly about, that time has passed.

Thank you for sharing your insights and experience with some famous games! FFVI will always be a personal favourite, but that is a really good criticism of it that you are not the first person I’ve heard having with it. I’ve tried Super Mario World 2 a few times, but could never get into it. Now I don’t feel so weird about it. I really liked seeing 7th Saga at the end of the video, one of my favs!

Hi Hungry Goriya, Welcome back hope you enjoying your new year :-)

I actually like Yoshis Island. The gameplay was intentionally tidious or “calculated” so the gameplay is fresh and interesting and not repetitive as previous Mario’s. Also because he’s caring a baby (Mario) so patience and strategy is needed to care for a baby. It makes the game more of a challenge. And was designed that way. Because if you rush through the game without obstacles and taking the time to analyze the situations to get to the end safely, then it’s just a typical running platformer and you arent appreciating the gameplay and situations let alone helping a baby to keep safe

I'm a huge SNES fan boy and I was kind of shocked by a couple of those xhooces but I think your reasoning was fair. Its definitely nostalgia driven for sure. Coming from 8bit to 16bit most of these games were epic! I think playing now from a fresh perspective they do all have their flaws. But to us that played them for hours as kids they've burnt a hole in our minds!! 😆

I appreciate your perspectives. You’ve played for more games than I’ve played, and I suspect your frame for comparison and context as a reviewer is very developed. Secret of Mana happens to be one of my favorite games ever. I understand your grievances though. When I was introduced to the game, I was young enough that grinding was part of the fun. I could sit around leveling up magic instead of doing my homework. I replayed the game not long ago, and I definitely didn’t bother as much with that element of things. I get it.

7th Saga music at the end is an awesome touch, love that game.

Wasn't Secret of Mana originally meant to be released for the SNES CD add-on, but when it was cancelled was chopped up and rushed to fit on a cartridge?

Contra 3 will always fit in this category for me. It’s often hailed as the best in the series and while it is a solid game in it’s own right, I still think Contra: Hard Corps on the genesis is the far superior game.

I’m a little surprised at your gripes of certain SNES titles but they are arguably very valid points. Me personally I’ll never play Metroid on NES ever again because of how big of a headache it was to beat it. It beat my ass as a kid but years later i was able to conquer it. No guide, no maps or pen and paper, just hours of endlessly bombing walls and walking and re-walking through the same damn room repeatedly. Even that one stupid section you can lift yourself through with bombs only to find out you come out through that end through a different path.

Where did the opening jingle of your videos come from? Is it made up or is it a familair 8 bit piece that I can't place from my memory?

The angry Hungorian nerd the agry rpg hating goria. The hungrygorian ..........

Oh... You're one of those people who pronounces Mario that way. Great as always!

I was able to play Secret of Mana with two of my friends when it first released. That has always been a formative experience for me with the SNES and the game itself. Playing it later with my wife, I saw many of the issues with the gameplay and story, but just being able to MP an action RPG like this still makes it a favorite. FF3 and Breath of Fire were always just beautiful stories for me. The character bluring of the gameplay never had a significant deterring effect on my enjoyment. This might be the first time I've ever heard that take on these two games and I find it very interesting to think about.

Nice video HG! Yoshi's Island is a pretty similar case for me. In my case, I felt that most things in the game were too annoying for me to deal with all the time... the stars being part of the rating, for example, did not make me want to play carefully or anything, it just made me grind the +20 stars bonuses in the minigames. It's a lovely game, but indeed feels like a chore. And as a chore, one does not want to do it more than once. As for the "getting" those games you didn't grow up with, I think it's a very complicated and personal kind of thing. In my case I do try to temper my expectations and have come forward with some new favs, but it doesn't work for every game (You don't want to hear my opinions on A Link to the Past). I would love to explain what works for me, but even I'm not sure about it. Still, if this makes you enjoy the not-as-popular games because of the lack of hype, then I think it's a victory for you in the end.

Great video, just never understood why some call Mario "Mare-e-o"

The key to the Snes era was being there when it was new. Coming from the previous tech iterations, it was soo much better in every category that it was almost unbelievable, comparatively speaking. Super Metroid was decent for the time/tech. Super Castlevania IV, and you covered FF3(FF6), and LOZ:L2P these were critical to the time/tech of the Snes! Honorable mention F-ZeroX. Those titles were really beautiful creations for the new eyes of the days gone by...dam Im old, and now Im sad on top of that..du_ub Time, you pitiless equal opportunity destroyer...(shaking fist in the sky) dò_ób

"heard about games being praised to the moon and back but didn't quite live up to the expectation." Show Chrono Trigger... my heart breaks.

I have to commend you on your courage to give some hot takes on beloved Snes titles. I actually agree with you. Yoshi's island looks great today on an old CRT and I feel a lot of CRT enthusiasts prop it up, but I always found the gameplay just not fun at all. About the other RPGs, I think its one of those genres where an RPG either grabs you or it doesn't. However I do think some titles are so talked up, everyone feels like they have to like those games or be labeled a philistine.

FF3 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time and was the first game that just blew my mind in 1994. Easily the best FF game of all time. It had such a huge impact that it's impossible to ever look at it as someone would who never played it when it was released - but I'm still confident it would be my favorite because the story was just so great, the characters were fantastic, and the music was a nonstop list of bangers - from all the character themes, to the overworld, to the phantom forest...just incredible. It was a golden age for Square and I remember wondering what amazing new games they would make in the future. HOWEVER I agree 100% on the characters losing their uniqueness once you started teaching everyone magic - FF7/8 went balls deep into this awful system too and I hated it. 9 brought that back, but they haven't really gone back to the style of 9 in 22 years Breath of Fire was a great rental but wasn't really that great of an RPG especially compared to square.

Your Secret of Mana comments make me very interested to know what you'd think of Xenogears. By the way, the recent remake of Secret of Mana did more or less get to retranslate the game without any of the space/technical limitations that made it harder in the SNES original. One of the things I really liked in the remake was that they added extra conversations between the characters whenever you sleep at an in, before bedtime. It added a lot to their personalities, and helped keep the player informed about what was going on in the world, and what they needed to be doing. (A lot of people seemed to dislike the remake, but I thought it was well done.)

Appreciating the Faxanadu mantra music in your intro. I can just hear the clicking sound of inputting letters as we speak.

What you seem to be missing is that most of us played these games 30 years ago, before any of the games they influenced were made. You're coming at something old with a lot more experience, so you aren't feeling the sense of discovery and novelty that we did when this stuff was brand new and not an old cliche.

Nostalgia glasses definitely play a big part in games we loved as kids. I grew up with this list, but finding snes games I never played in my prime, are very difficult to get into. Likewise, I own three versions of FF3(6), and fully plan on spending money on the pixel remaster AND 2DHD Remake that comes next. Such a slave :(

I've also played games I didn't appreciate as much as the general consensus would have led me to believe. Interestingly, this also works the other way around. I've really enjoyed some games which are generally perceived to have been a disappointment. Not having nostalgia or expectations around some games really influences your experience.

As someone who loves Secret of Mana, you summed up how I feel about the latter half of Secret of Mana perfectly, Mrs. Goriya. The reason the first four Mana Seeds take a while to find, wile the last four don't is because originally, Secret of Mana was being developed for the Super Nintendo Play Station add-on, but since it never saw the light of day and Square still had to finish the game, they had to remove a lot of the game's content and storytelling, up to about 33-40% of it, to be specific. To this day, people still wonder about what that extra 33-40% of cut content would've been like, myself included. This was a great video! Keep up the good work!

As a die-hard Super Nintendo fan I actually really loved this video, I really love and appreciate how you critique things and your videos also dragon view is such an awesome game

Definitely agree with the points in this video, and I had some similar critique of FF3 back in the day. I was used to the locked character classes of FF2, so it was a bit strange to basically build the characters into anything, with little regard to their base stats. For me, that was more of a minor concern though. The story and the pacing really carry this one. You have to try defeating Kefka with all of your characters transformed into ‘imp’ status with the respective imp armor and imp halberds equipped. It’s a sight to behold. Regarding Secret of Mana, I still play through this one at least once every other year. For me, it’s all about the music and the general vibe - less about the story. Each area is so memorable. Finding those secret weapon orbs, leveling up the magic to Level 8 for the change in effect. The game truly comes alive on the 3 player mode. Give it a shot with a couple of friends. It won’t change the story, but it completely changes the dynamic. Makes it much more of a challenge and teamwork becomes crucial.

One game I fell in love with was Zelda ii. I never played it as a kid. All I heard was how bad the game sucks. Yes, it has a high difficulty curve, but once you figure it out, it’s great. If you have played a lot of nes games, the difficulty isn’t anything too crazy.

The dude at the end of the Kefka cult tower dies casting Ultima for 5000 damage on everyone. Otherwise, he spams "ga" spells and shifts his elemental resistances/absorptions around. I was very proud of that time I built up all my people to 6000 hp, equipped Reflect Rings on everyone, and just let him kill himself while I watched :P

Thee good news is, the snes library is so vast that this is just the top of the pile as you mentioned, and even still I also wouldn't put any of these as my top replayers. Plenty of good stuff from super famicom as well such as magical pop'n also round out an interesting library. And then the true glory will be when you finally get a chance to play equinox :D. I'd say secret of mana was the most disappointed I was with any game on the snes, I got to the tiger and was getting smashed everytime since a lot of his things are undodgeable. Learning that you HAVE to grind to beat him made me not even bother continuing with it. The sequel seiken densetsu 3 (trials of mana in english) I did finish though and found it to be a blast.