The Super Nintendo (SNES) is considered by many to be the "Golden Age" of video games. This console brought the video game world into a whole new world by introducing new gaming concepts and ideas. It focused mainly on game play rather than graphics, and is still popular to this day among Nintendo Fans, collectors, and emulation users.

History of the Super Nintendo

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released on North America in 1991 around the same time as the Sega Genesis. There was a huge war going on between the SNES and Sega Genesis. Even though the Sega Genesis was released earlier giving it more game selection and lower price, the Super Nintendo held its own. As we all know, in the end Nintendo completely dominated the 16-bit video game market and remained extremely popular even into the 32-bit era.

Nintendo has always been considered a more "child friendly" video game brand. During the war between Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis claimed to have more "adult oriented" games. The result being that Super Nintendo dominated the Sega Genesis, we can clearly see that game design and concept has far more significance than a targeted age group. Nintendo has always focused on creating new gaming concepts even until this day, and it is a major reason for its huge and sustained success.

Notable Games

The SNES has an ungodly amount of games, including one of the best video games of all time: Super Mario World. Super Mario World was absolutely ground breaking at the time of its release, and is still played by many gamers even today whether by the console itself or through emulation software. The Super Nintendo also gave birth to the first of the Mario Kart games. Perhaps one of the most legendary games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was released for the Super Nintendo as a continuation to the original Nintendo version.

Let's just cut to the chase and admit that the list of groundbreaking and legendary games released this amazing console is massive. It is safe to say that most of these games will not drop off the radar for many decades to come.

Emulation Software

Because SNES games are no longer in production, emulation software has become extremely popular in being used to play older video game consoles. Emulation software is usually free to download to your computer, allowing you to load up all of your favorite games. All you need is some sort of USB adapter to fit your Super Nintendo controller, or some other sort of computer controller with enough buttons to cover the functions of the SNES.

The most popular Super Nintendo emulator out there currently is the ZSNES emulator. This software will run flawlessly on any average computer system of today. ZNES even has an addon that allows you to play with other players over the internet as if they were sitting right next to you. This really brings back the good old memories of playing with friends and family.

Summary

In summary it is no surprise that many consider the Super Nintendo system to be the Golden Age of video games. It is always fun to return now and then to play your favorite Nintendo games, and thanks to emulation software it is certain that these games will live on forever!