The SNES Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

by Chris Scullion

"Without question, The SNES Every Game Released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System makes for an excellent video game library addition." ― Nintendo World Report

Following on from the previously released NES Encyclopedia , The SNES Encyclopedia is the ultimate resource for fans of Nintendo's second home video game console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Containing detailed information on all 780 games released for the SNES in the west, this enormous book is full of screenshots, trivia and charmingly bad jokes. It also includes a bonus section covering the entire 22-game library of the Virtual Boy, Nintendo's ill-fated 3D system which was released at the end of the SNES's life.

Genres: Video Games, Games, Reference, Gaming, Nonfiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2020

Reviews

[L.S. Popovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I'm one of the few people who would read this. As far as the book goes, hundreds of the games are of no interest. The short entries often serve as reminders about some of my favorite games. Sometimes the author goes into each game's innovations and quirky aspects, offering enough information to give a layman a general idea of a game they will likely never play. The SNES library is full of gems and classics, and includes my top five game Chrono Trigger.
Other life-changers include Super Mario World, Secret of Mana, Donkey Kong Country, Mega Man, Metroid, Earthbound, Final Fantasy, Zelda: Link to the Past, and who could forget Mystical Ninja. Seeing how much the cartridges go for on Ebay now I get that same sinking feeling of idiocy that covers all of the collectible now-retro stuff I hoarded and then gave away once upon a time.

I would have liked larger pictures and descriptions in this book, which is to say I wanted it to be twice as long, but for it's length it still hits the sweet spot.

I will be searching out the author's Sega and NES Encyclopedia as well. I would love it if there was an N64, and PSone encyclopedia like this. Or one for 8-bit versus 16-bit games.

[Gareth Houghtonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here we have an encyclopedia of every game officially released for the Super Nintendo. The book begins with a brief history of the SNES and then details each game in alphabetical order.

Most games get a quarter of a page each, and some of the more popular games get half a page or even a full page. We are given the games' release date, their publisher and developer, which regions they were released in, a brief info, and a fun fact.

We are also treated to bonus Virtual Boy pages at the end of the book, which is in the same format as the SNES section except much shorter, as the Virtual Boy only lasted five minutes and had hardly any games for it.

The info handed out in this book is basic and minimal. If you want the full, in-depth history of any SNES games, you'll have to go digging elsewhere. But this is a nice walk down memory lane, especially if you grew up playing Super Nintendo games like I did.

It's a cool looking book to own, and a pleasant, humourous read, although I did skip all the sports games (there's like 5000 versions of each sport). I'll probably pull it off my shelf every now and again and flip through it on the bog.

I need to get the NES and N64 versions now.

Wunderbar!

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this book claimed to be a catalog of every SNES game made commercially and it is certainly that. Each entry contains the title, year released, developer, brief description of the plot, a screenshot, and an interesting fact related to the game. That said though, this tends to get very boring very quickly when one realizes just how many seemingly identical sports games there are as well as variations on ninjas and kidnapped girlfriends. Having read it, I can now say I'm an expert on the differences between a league license and a player's association license--and if I never again hear or read the word "isometric" I can die a happy woman. Games are presented in alphabetical order, which can get tricky when sequels end up appearing before the original, but does one really want to read the multiple Madden entries back to back to back? I would have preferred to have these games broken out into chunks by genre or character, or original license--something to make it more palatable. The focus here is obsessively cataloging each game, but not necessarily revealing much more as to the history or impact of the game or even hearing from the developers. Aside from an out of place Prologue from one of the big name development houses at the time, there are no interviews with anyone in the gaming world and only a few quotes from developers make it in scattered amongst the facts. If you simply want to know every SNES game made, with the most basic of descriptors for each, then this is your book! But to me that seems to be a very limited audience of people.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third of these books by Scullian looking at the games for iconic game consoles of the 80s and 90s.

This one is an encyclopedia of all the games for the Super Nintendo System, as well as a bonus section on the Nintendo Virtual Boy.

I owned this system, but I didn’t know the library of this system as well as I did the NES or even the Sega Genesis. However this was a fun walk down memory lane of the games I did know, as well as checking out all the Mario iterations I didn’t know. And all the sports games. OMG, it feels like 2/3 of the SNES library was made of different versions of football, basketball, soccer, and baseball games.

[Phillip Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was late to the SNES fad when I was a kid. We typically got new technology after the novelty wore off and the prices came down. Coupled with the fact that I am mediocre, at best, playing video games, I didn’t experience more than a handful of the games released for the system. However, this book brought back memories of sitting in front of our TV trying to beat the games we had.

The SNES Encyclopedia is a thorough listing of the games that you could play, both the well known and the ones that never caught on. You’ll find descriptions, game play, and fun facts about the games. This is a great reminder of what was a staple console for many children. I enjoyed reading about the games I liked best, as well as ones that I missed out on playing.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another exceptionally researched reference tome from Chris Scullion. Much like the previous volume, this lists every official SNES game released outside of Japan (i.e. North America, Europe, and Australia) — plus the one unlicensed game for the system that was released during its lifetime. As an encyclopedia-style book, there are no deep dives into any one specific game here, but it makes an excellent reference guide. There’s also a section on the Virtual Boy library of games.

Unfortunately, quality control and editing seem to be an issue again. For a book released by a fairly notable UK publisher, there are multiple spelling and grammar errors. In addition, some of the screenshots chosen are quite muddy, making them appear as no more than black squares at the size that most are printed. Nonetheless, it's still an excellent resource.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

As well as being a book lover I also love my games, especially retro ones, so when I saw this book I had to read it. It is fantastic - with details on every SNES game including some facts I didn't know, it brings back so many memories and nostalgia. It also gave me ideas of games I could play (yes, I do still have my original SNES linked up!). A brilliant book for any SNES fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

[Henry Skey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge video game fan, so this was going to be right up my alley. Scullion did a great job here, it's no easy task tracking down EVERY single obscure game the SNES had to offer and do mini-write ups on each. He did a great job, I learned and laughed a lot at all the crazy game minutia and licensing mishaps involved with sports games in particular. Loved that the big games got full page write-ups.

[Michael Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! Informative, engaging and well-written; definitely up to the author's usual high quality on the subject.

[Federico Lucifredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who writes a book like this? More importantly, who reads it? :-D — Guilty as charged, a fun trip down into the 90s.

[Ezra Kaypaghian · Rating 4 out of 5]

love me a good nerd out coffee table book

[Stephen Paul Chase, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and its games for playing.