Throughout its lengthy history, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) features thousands of playable games from all genres. Horror, RPG, action-adventure, and more; some hail from big studios, while others were created through the blood, sweat, and tears of indie operations. With so many games to play, however, some were bound to get left behind.
These forgotten titles weren't poorly produced. Their lack of reception largely boils down to failures in marketing, and legal or localization challenges that made them impossible to enjoy. These failures also include their release timeframe. Maybe some of these forgotten titles were ahead of their time, breaking boundaries that players of the time weren't ready for or comfortable with. Whatever the case may be, I have rounded up a few SNES titles that almost nobody played for one reason or another, suffering a fate in the gaming world worse than death.
Point-and-click survival horror game Clock Tower was released for the SNES back in 1995. This game made my list for one major blunder: localization. You see, this Human Entertainment title was a smash hit in Japan upon its release, performing so well that it launched a hit franchise. Despite its success in Japan, the game found its growth stunted because it was famously never localized in the United States or Europe, leaving out a massive chunk of survival horror fans who were ready, willing, and able to play the title in full. It was only thanks to fan translations later on that this experimental game saw the light of day outside of Japanese audiences.
According to creator Hifumi Kono, Clock Tower also suffered from a lack of funding and was produced by a tiny group of staff, forcing the project to shrink significantly. Through and through, the game was wholly experimental, which could also speak to its lack of widespread popularity.
There is no dedicated combat system in this game; rather, players are forced to run and hide. There are no weapons and no health bar, only dynamic panic and stamina bars. Run for too long, and players will exhaust and frighten young Jennifer, the story's protagonist, thrusting her into the clutches of Scissorman. This lack of combat served as a stark contrast to many of the popular titles of the time, à la Mortal Kombat 3, Chrono Trigger, and Mega Man 7, which encouraged players to stand their ground.
Action RPG Terranigma suffered a similar fate to Clock Tower when it was released in 1996. In short, the title didn't get the widespread North American release it seemingly deserved, thanks in part to the game's parent company, Enix, closing its US branch. That poorly-timed closure stunted sales, since the RPG was left without a publisher capable of handling logistics. Eventually, Nintendo did pick up the game, launching it for European and Australian markets. This is why an official English version is available for curious gamers to play today. Still, this left out the United States and other countries entirely, which dropped the game's notoriety globally, tanking sales.
While I think Terranigma is quite beautiful, with fully-fleshed-out graphics, an addicting soundtrack, and gorgeous set pieces, it also suffered largely because it seemed too archaic upon its release. Zooming out into the gaming zeitgeist of the time, Nintendo had just launched the Nintendo 64, which left 16-bit games like Terranigma in the dust. 3D graphics were all the rage, and by the time Terranigma was released, it was already behind the times.
Sailor Moon is an institution. The magical girl franchise is unshakable, boasting a massive fanbase. While this is largely true for most of the franchise's endeavors, the release of the SNES game didn't feature the same star power. Launched in 1993, the title featured all the colorful characters from the manga and anime brought to life in a side-scrolling beat-em-up game. While I am a massive fan of the world of Sailor Moon, the eventual fighting game spin-off lacked the magic I loved about the series. The developers behind the game, Angel, a video game subsidiary of Bandai, banked on the blind support of fans to get Sailor Moon through. If they loved the manga and anime, they'd surely love the SNES game, right?
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