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What are the weirdest and most unusual games on the SNES? Here's 20 suggestions

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:18:31 AM
Svankmajer (0)
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< Meka Chicken >
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What are the weirdest and most unusual Super Nintendo games out there? I've been looking through most of the library and here's 20 suggestions of what could potentially be it.



Super 3D Noah's Ark (Wisdom Tree, 1994)





When it comes to sheer weirdness its hard to top Super 3D Noah's Ark. First off: its perhaps the only unlicensed Super Nintendo game, and you have to put another game on top of the cart to play it, to overrun the lockout function. This makes the game-cart looks weird in it self.





The real weirdness however comes with it being a religiously themed game, based on Noah's Ark.. naturally, but is put on top of Wolfenstein 3D, a game where you kill nazi soldiers and eventually Hitler. Its no parody, and its no joke. Its made by Wisdom Tree, a real christian game company. In the game Noah is on the ark and he is shooting animals to sleep with a slingshot, or else they will kill Noah. Its an unlikely plot for a game, but yet this game exists. Rumor had it ID Software, makers of Wolfenstein 3D gave the code to Wisdom Tree as a joke. Wisdom Tree then did their best to make a religious game out of Wolfenstein 3D. That is crazy.





Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure (Interplay Entertainment, 1994)





Disgusting is the name of the game in Boogerman, and its a bit of an unknown SNES title.
(It was also released on Sega Genesis.) It's a platformer with some cartoony and pretty well made animation for its time. Is it weird? Well, considering your weapons include farts, burps and throwing green snots at your enemies then yes, probably. The levels themselves are filled with green landslides of snot, slime and boogers... and icky slime is also hanging from the roof, trees and such. Its everywhere. In one level you wander through the sewer systems in some levels fighting muddy creatures coming out of a toilet. They didn't aim for classiness with this game. It's a pretty childish game, but it's a mystery who the target market was for these games, because as far as I understood it Boogerman never became a huge commercial success. Who'd guess?





Captain Novolin (Sculptured Software, 1992)





Captain Novocain is another certified weird entry in the SNES library. You are a superhero with diabetes, so you need to keep your blood sugar level under control. So who are you enemies? Of course, junk food, hamburgers, donuts and so on. Don't touch them! You'll die! From diabetes! As goals of the level you’ll be ordered to get apples, vegetables and your insulin medicine, and you'll learn about diabetes between the levels. Very educational, right? A superhero with diabetes. What a strange concept for a game. 







Packy and Marlon (Health Hero Network Inc, 1995)





Would you believe that Captain Novolin is not the only platformer game on Super Nintendo about taking insulin, keeping blood sugar low and having diabetes? Well, Packy and Marlon are two fat elephants and they are also struggling with their diabetes. This game is made by a different company three years later, and to my knowledge unrelated! Its crazy that two games ended up having the same absurd plot. Did they think children find this type of stuff fun? Were they trying to be educational? Difficult to say. Weird nonetheless.





Parodius (Konami, 1990)





Parodius is a zany series of games. Its like the title indicates more of a parody of 'shmups' (shoot-em-ups), so we’ll have to grant that the weirdness is intentional, as its a "parody", but its still so insane, wacky and all over the place you’ll go «wtf» quite frequently. Anything happens basically.





Chou Aniki (Masaya, 1995)





The Chou Aniki games are almost iconic in the gaming world for their bizarreness, and they probably top some kind of All Times weird games list. The one for SNES is more like a Street Fighter-ish fighter game, while later installments are more like shooters. (At least thats my impression.) They’re full of over-the-top craziness. In what way? Most notably is that they are very "gay". Thats the way people put it anyway. In this context that means very muscular men in nude often acting very feminine. There's quite a few crazy sexual innuendos too. Its a very strange game, and some of your characters are quite out there. 





Besides the gay bodybuilders, there’s also a playable character this mix of a submarine and a woman.. with some muscular passengers on board!





Uniracers (Nintendo, 1994)





You’re a unicycle without a cyclist doing races on a rainbow? Yes, its quite weird.



Earthbound (Shigesato Itoi, 1994)





Earthbound. Not your typical RPG. You play as a little school kid in modern times, and you fight all types of people like hippies, a "happy cult", rabid dogs, corrupt politicians.. but also monsters of all sorts.. In the evenings you have to go home to your mother and go home once in a while or you’ll get homesick. The story and the humor is very weird but doesn’t take itself too seriously. When you get to a city called Moonside you have entered one of the weirdest places in video game history, so look out for that. The game was pretty huge in Japan, but never really succeeded on the same level in the west. The game has a gained strong cult-following though, and quite a few people claim its one of the better games on the console, or even one of the best games ever made. Its full of weird stuff though, and thats the important part here...



Mega Man Soccer (Capcom, 1994)





As someone who really likes the Mega Man games but isn't a fan of soccer this one is a painful combination to take... but even if you like soccer its surely a strange combination you have to admit. Whats next? Ninja Gaiden Ice-Hockey? Or Ghost N Goblins Bowling? Super Mario Go Kart ? (Wait, that one exists, right&hellip  Weird idea. Another strange SNES combination that didn't make the list is a Power Rangers Racing game, but Mega Man Soccer takes the cake. 





Shaq Fu (Electronic Arts, 1994)





Shaq Fu! The infamously stupid and bizarre concept where basketball star Shaquille O'Neal has his own Street Fighter themed game. There's even a corny storyline. Shaquille has to go rescue some little asian boy, and have to fight a lot of martial arts masters for whatever reason to do it. Strangely enough you can even fight the boy at some point too, which makes absolutely no sense. So you can be Shaquille O'Neal beating up a little child you're supposed to rescue. Bizarre? Yes. 





Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball (Hudson Soft, 1991)





Futuristic robot COMBAT basketball. This game is odd. 



Mohawk And Headphone Jack (THQ, 1995)





This is Mohawk. He is a yellow muscular naked guy without penis but with sunglasses , earplugs and a strange but kind of cool hairdo. He is also a weird Sonic The Hedgehog rip-off. Well, he is actually a "morph", and all the music is stolen from his funky species, so Mohawk has to get them back by collecting thousands of records through the levels. Its an odd concept for sure, and the level designs and the game music is quite acid and weird as well. Bonus: Here's an inspired Mohawk hairdo on a sculpture.





Lester The Unlikely (Visual Concepts, 1994)





Lester is a wimpy nerd stranded on an isolate island. An unlikely hero for a video game for sure. His walkcycle is like a lazy Steve Urkel, and if you come close to small enemies(crabs, turtles, etc) he'll sometimes shriek and run away. If you jump down from platforms he'll get hurt, so Lester is not your strongest protagonist. In fact a seagull can get him and fly him back to the beginning of the level. 





Pac Attack (NAMCO, 1994)





You like Tetris? You like Pacman? What about a deranged mixture of both?
Not sure if this was an original idea or an unoriginal idea. 



Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon (Sculptured Software, 1994)





So, you’re a shrunk down cleaning-up dude inside a sick body and you are fixing teeth cavities and stuff. On one level you have to fire weapons at disgusting tar building up from smoking and other mouth diseases... and it supposedly gets even weirder later on. Its experimental surgery after all! Also: This is Mutant Virus for Super Nintendo.





SUPER Solitaire (Krome Studios Melbourne, 1994)



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OK. Imagine three kids back in the 90s talking about what Super Nintendo game they got for christmas. Timmy, John and Christopher. Little Timmy says proudly he got Mario Kart and Super Castlevania for christmas. John says he got Street Fighter 2, and he's so excited... and then Christopher is asked what Super Nintendo game he got for Christmas, and he answers "Oh, I got Super Solitaire!" Christopher must have been a naughty boy that year. Honestly, not dissing on Solitaire or anything, but who requested a port for Super Nintendo when basically every PC of the 90s had it for free? Well, lets not forget this is SUPER Solitaire. 



EVO (Enix, 1992)





An RPG about the theory evolution is be an interesting and unusual idea. So, in "Evo" you start as a lower lifeform and evolve your way into more and more complex forms until you're a human or whatever else. Except this isn't really the typical Charles Darwin theory. This is more like Pokemon evolution edition of evolution when it comes down to it. Meaning its the same creature evolving all the way! Thats not what Darwin was talking about as far as I've gathered it. So its bizarro evolution then? Okay, at least it then deserves a spot on the list.



Home Improvement (Absolute Entertainment, 1994)





A Super Nintendo platformer based on the Home Improvement Comedy sitcom with Tim Allen is certainly odd in itself. How that got passed even brainstorming is mysterious, but it did.



You play as Tim Allen’s character getting lost on other TV sets, which certainly is silly. Most people don't get past the dinosaur stage. Supposedly a live animatronic set with dinosaurs that somehow is able to kill you, despite not being real dinosaurs but still acting like ones. Strange, yes. Your weapon? A nail gun of course. This game could just as well have been called "Handy Men With Nail Guns In Jurassic Park". 





Another odd fact: The manual for the game has a huge sign that says «Real Men Don’t Need Instructions».





Power Instinct (Atlus, 1993)





Power Instinct is not your average fighting game. You might do ok on your first battles, but then you meet the sweet old lady Otune. Then its game over. So you're fighting an old lady? Yes, and she'll wreck you. Some of her special attacks is slurping on your face and shooting her dentures out at you. She'll make you cry. This is not you average kiddy game like Mortal Kombat. Otune is seriously mean. Stay away.





Some bonuses:



Phalanx (Kemco, Zoom, 1991)





This is a shoot-em up. A space shoot em up. So why is there an old man with a banjo on the cover? What kind of weird marketing plot where they going for here? Reverse bizarro psychology? 



Street Hockey '95 (GTE Interactive Media, 1994)





Look out. Its Rastafarian street hockey, mon.



UFO Kamen Yakisoban: Kettler no Kuroi Inbou (KID, 1994)





Only for Super Famicom, but the weirdness of the cover alone trancends any regions of the console. Seriously Japan, WTF..



Edited: 01/14/2017 at 05:15 AM by Svankmajer

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:20:05 AM
NostalgicMachine (8)
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You might have actually nailed them all, OP.

I came in here to say "Uniracers!" but saw it on the list already!  

There's some seriously weird shit on here, lol.

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:23:31 AM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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I do love me some Chou Aniki! It is so awesome and so in line with my interests.  

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:26:53 AM
NostalgicMachine (8)
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< Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

I do love me some Chou Aniki! It is so awesome and so in line with my interests.  
That's actually the one that's caught my eye most on this list. The sprites and art look amazing!   I'm such a sucker for well-rendered pixel art lol.

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:32:42 AM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

I do love me some Chou Aniki! It is so awesome and so in line with my interests.  
That's actually the one that's caught my eye most on this list. The sprites and art look amazing!   I'm such a sucker for well-rendered pixel art lol.

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:45:16 AM
NostalgicMachine (8)
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< Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: Bea_Iank
 
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

I do love me some Chou Aniki! It is so awesome and so in line with my interests.  
That's actually the one that's caught my eye most on this list. The sprites and art look amazing!   I'm such a sucker for well-rendered pixel art lol.

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 
I can't lie, as a bodybuilder, I was immediately drawn to the physiques lol  

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:51:41 AM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 
I can't lie, as a bodybuilder, I was immediately drawn to the physiques lol  

I am more of a power lifter, but yeah, really tough to not glance over those near perfect pixel rendering of almost anatomically correct, if a bit exagerated, sculptured bodies.  
 

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Jan 14, 2017 at 4:55:22 AM
NostalgicMachine (8)
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< Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: Bea_Iank
 
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 
I can't lie, as a bodybuilder, I was immediately drawn to the physiques lol  

I am more of a power lifter, but yeah, really tough to not glance over those near perfect pixel rendering of almost anatomically correct, if a bit exagerated, sculptured bodies.  
 
Correct. I'm 100% hetero (I love women WAY too much, lol) but I definitely glare a bit long when it comes to physiques of both sexes lol. I guess I'm just comfortable. That stuff is ART, people!

Jan 14, 2017 at 5:00:11 AM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank
 
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 
I can't lie, as a bodybuilder, I was immediately drawn to the physiques lol  

I am more of a power lifter, but yeah, really tough to not glance over those near perfect pixel rendering of almost anatomically correct, if a bit exagerated, sculptured bodies.  
 
Correct. I'm 100% hetero (I love women WAY too much, lol) but I definitely glare a bit long when it comes to physiques of both sexes lol. I guess I'm just comfortable. That stuff is ART, people!

Well, what is ART for if not to be glared and admired!
And body building is pure art!
 

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Jan 14, 2017 at 5:28:42 AM
Svankmajer (0)
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< Meka Chicken >
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I didn't expect the comments to be weirder than the games. Well, thats cool.

Jan 14, 2017 at 5:49:39 AM
NostalgicMachine (8)
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Originally posted by: Bea_Iank
 
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank
 
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
 
Originally posted by: Bea_Iank

Manly, muscular men acting all gay in a game full of innuendo. All my "hell yes" please for Chou Aniki.  
 
I can't lie, as a bodybuilder, I was immediately drawn to the physiques lol  

I am more of a power lifter, but yeah, really tough to not glance over those near perfect pixel rendering of almost anatomically correct, if a bit exagerated, sculptured bodies.  
 
Correct. I'm 100% hetero (I love women WAY too much, lol) but I definitely glare a bit long when it comes to physiques of both sexes lol. I guess I'm just comfortable. That stuff is ART, people!

Well, what is ART for if not to be glared and admired!
And body building is pure art!
 
High-five, Bea!  

Jan 14, 2017 at 8:34:19 AM
NESking80 (15)
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Just look up wordtris, it is pretty strange

Jan 14, 2017 at 9:19:19 AM
Lonsta (182)
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Fun list, thanks for writing and sharing!

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Jan 14, 2017 at 9:52:21 AM
profholt82 (59)
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Super Nintendo, eh? Well, I remember playing this weird game once where you're a plumber in this crazy colorful world, and you jump around like a kangaroo and eat magic mushrooms. It was wild.

Jan 14, 2017 at 11:33:28 AM
bubbapauls (21)
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I always thought SOS was pretty unique. Personally I had not seen any other game like it before it was released.

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Jan 14, 2017 at 12:41:32 PM
Brock Landers (61)
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Yet again no mention of Ultimate Fighter. Apparently I'm the only person who's ever played it. That's my #1

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Writing about every SNES game - Volume VIII (#400-351) - Migrating to snesrankings.com as we speak
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Jan 14, 2017 at 12:58:22 PM
DarkTone (2)
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None of these come off as weird. None.

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Jan 14, 2017 at 1:10:18 PM
bronzeshield (44)
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Originally posted by: Svankmajer

I didn't expect the comments to be weirder than the games. Well, thats cool.
That got an actual LOL from me.   With affection for all involved, of course.

As for weird games on the SNES, Drakkhen has to be in the mix somewhere. The stars (i.e. constellations) themselves attack you! Giant evil panther heads appear in the midst of desolate plains! Bosses sound like they've got the dry heaves! And much of the music sounds like it was written by Brian Eno in his Music for Airports phase, at least at night.

I'm sure there are Japanese exclusives that get even stranger. We need more deep mining of the Super Famicom library for sure.  


Edited: 01/14/2017 at 01:10 PM by bronzeshield

Jan 14, 2017 at 1:12:19 PM
Bea_Iank (4)
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(Beatrice Bueno Iank) < Master Higgins >
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Chou Aniki is love. Chou Aniki is life.  

-------------------------
A paragon of purity, chastity and innocence.
Fair reminder that I don't weigh the same as a duck, so I am not made of wood and therefore I am no witch.
Sometimes I don't know where in the world I am.

Jan 14, 2017 at 1:14:45 PM
mbd39 (1)
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"Besides the gay bodybuilders, there's also a playable character this mix of a submarine and a woman.. with some muscular passengers on board!"




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Reigning NA 2018 Beat Em Up Champion


 

Jan 14, 2017 at 1:29:45 PM
Bort License Plate (56)
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theres a Chou Aniki on SFC? now I've seen everything

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Jan 14, 2017 at 1:30:36 PM
mbd39 (1)
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Super Solitaire is the kind of game that moms would be into rather than kids. Thankfully it's compatible with the SNES mouse.

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Jan 14, 2017 at 2:34:52 PM
rockyyaknow (79)
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Uniracers is one of my favorites on the system, definitely a weird game.

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My NES no death runs

Mega Man 1   6/29/18   00:43:30   Mega Man 2   5/10/18   00:46:08   Mega Man 2   8/18/18   00:43:35 (difficult)   
Mega Man 3   6/25/18   01:13:32   Mega Man 4   6/02/18   01:23:13   Mega Man 5   6/17/18   01:01:09
Mega Man 6   6/22/18   01:09:55   Mega Man 7   7/18/18   01:19:09   Mega Man In the Mushroom Kingdom 7/01/18  00:40:50
Duck Tales     1/05/19   00:15:49   Chip n Dale    1/06/19   00:16:18   Duck Tales 2  1/09/19   00:23:18

Mega Man X   8/28/18   01:39:02   Mega Man x2  9/01/18   01:27:32  Mega Man x3  9/12/18   01:46:40
Mega Man 11 6/24/19   01:00:31

 

Jan 14, 2017 at 2:36:30 PM
SNESfinder- (87)
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Originally posted by: mbd39

Super Solitaire is the kind of game that moms would be into rather than kids. Thankfully it's compatible with the SNES mouse.





My mom was seriously addicted to it back in the mid 90s, ( PC ) and that just isn't like her, but it's amazing how fast she got with it

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Jan 14, 2017 at 2:46:22 PM
XYZ (76)
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Nice list! The title i think of thats weird is SOS, not the Sink or Swim puzzle game, but the other one involving a sinking ship in a survival horror setup.