I plan on giving a Super Nintendo as a gift to a friend along with 10 games. What 10 games should I include that epitomize the system and the era of the late 80's and early 90's?

Super Mario World, A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong Country to name a few popular titles.

earthbound, megaman X3, super copa, aero fighters, castlevania dracula x, harvest moon, ogre battle, ninja gaiden trilogy, chrono trigger, and Brunswick World Tournament of Champions

Super Mario World 1 & 2, Super Metroid, Megaman X, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2, Super Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, and Starfox. Those will keep him busy for a very long time...

I am pretty sure he doesn't want to drop like $600  on this gift haha.

^ well thats why I figured I would give him a break on the 10th game.

Why not a NES if you want to epitomize that area?  I associate the SNES with the mid to late 90's.

Need to get Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. That is my favorite game on the SNES. Ninja Warrior is pretty kick-ass too.

Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals

Super Metroid
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Final Fantasy 3
Mega Man X
F Zero
Gradius 3
Super Castlevania 4
Donkey Kong Country

Super Mario Allstars
Super Metroid
Super Mario World
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Mega Man X
TMNT Tournament Fighters/Mortal Kombat 3
Super Castlevania 4
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 3
Battletoads/Double Dragon

those would probably be the 10 I would pick tho in all seriousness. I also really enjoyed Aladdin as a kid.

I'll try to name some cheap ones that nobody else has named

NBA Jam Tournament Edition (One of the only sports games I like)
The Legend Of Mystical Ninja
Uniracers
Sunset Ridgers
Turtles In Time
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Killer Instinct/Mortal Kombat 2/ Street Fighter 2
Knights Of The Round
Tetris/Dr. Mario (A little more expensive but still a good game to have)
Super Mario All Stars + Super Mario World

You might find Pilot Wings cheap

This must be a damn-good friend..

I'm pretty sure that games like Super Copa and Brunswick World Tournament of Champions are not his idea of the top 10 snes games. Hell, I would recommend getting the NES Ninja Gaiden games over Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. Plus Castlevania IV >> Dracula X. (hint, he wasn't asking for a list of very pricy games)

My top snes game list would include games like Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Final Fantasy II and III, Chrono Trigger, Castlevania IV, Uniracers, Super Mario RPG, Illusion of Gaia, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Umihara Kawase, Super Metroid, F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country 2, Secret of Mana, Top Gear 2, Earthworm Jim 2, TMNT 4, and Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

I think that no matter what games are on the list, you'd at least need these classics:

Zelda A Link to the Past
Super Mario World
Super Mario All-Stars
Donkey Kong Country
Super Mario RPG

Then I'd probably throw in another RPG like Final Fantasy II/III or Chrono Trigger.

Throw in a good beat em up like TMNT IV or Battletoads / DD.

Probably one good fighter, like SFII or MK2.

Another platformer, Mega Man X is popular but I personally recommend Earthworm Jim (probably the 2nd one). If I had to downsize my SNES collection to one game only, it'd be EWJ or EWJ2.

And Super Metroid seems to warrant a purchase.

What about Mario Kart? SNES would be tough to come up with 10 games, it is an awesome system!

True, but I went NES -> Genny -> N64 as a kid and I find Mario Kart 64 and Starfox 64 to render their SNES counterparts unplayable.  I popped both in and tried them and didn't make it more than about 5 minutes into each.

Unless you have some nostalgia in those games, I'd highly recommend the N64 versions.  I'm sure if I had played the SNES ones before N64 then I'd probably like them both.

Kinda like Metroid.  I've never played the series but people have told me to play Super Metroid and forget about the NES version if I was looking for a good game.  Yet those who grew up on NES Metroid will probably swear up and down that it is a terrific game.

Here's a good mix, including at least one that hasn't been mentioned yet, but should have been:

Super Mario World
Super Mario All-Stars
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Mega Man X
Super Metroid
Donkey Kong Country
Final Fantasy III
Actraiser
Soul Blazer (or Illusion of Gaia)
TMNT IV: Turtles in Time

Metroid and FF2 are a must.

You should also look for some of the more obscure games, a lot of the most unknown games are actually the best. (Like Ninja Warrior)

Ca't believe no one mentioned those earlier. Early 90s were defined by the arcade fighter.

I am still trying to fathom why he would want to give 10 titles with it, especially if they are going to be the pricier games that everyone has named.. (Or at least, quite pricey once you add them all up)..

Super Mario World/All-Stars
Mega Man X
Tetris Attack
TMNT 4
Super Metroid
Zombies Ate My Neighbors or Ghoul Patrol
Mystical Ninja
R-Type 3
Rock N Roll Racing
Top Gear