You can get a SNES emulator for any smartphone or tablet. The trouble is that 20 years ago, SNES games were designed to be played with a controller, not a touch screen. If you were wondering what the best SNES games for Android or iOS devices are, this is the list.
If you just want to blast some old games on the bus, or whilst having a sneaky extended break on the khazi at work, you don’t want to be messing about with touch controls that the non-haptic screen just can’t deliver. So we’ve put together five of the best SNES games for Android, iPhone, iPad or tablet.
Best SNES Games for Android and iOS Touchscreen Emulators
Kirby’s Dream Course
We’re kicking off our list with Kirby’s Dream Course, purely because it’s the simplest, most casual game we can remember playing on the SNES. Nice easy controls, simple gameplay and a relaxing slow pace make Dream Course an easy choice when finding SNES games that play well on a touchscreen. Plus it’s Kirby and it’s a Golf Game all rolled into one, that’s a double-header starting you off right there.
Chrono Trigger
As soon as we started making this list, we knew RPGs were going to be an easy choice as they’re mostly turn-based. But, we didn’t want to make this whole video about SNES RPGs, especially considering that the SNES has about 12 million of the damn things. Even narrowing down one RPG from that library was tough. As much as I love Shadowrun, God that would suck on a touchscreen! No, we chose Chrono Trigger because it really feels like it almost benefits from the touch screen interface. The music, the pacing, that generous difficulty curve; everything about Chrono Trigger makes it a top SNES game for android touch screens. You’ll be playing this one for a while, no doubt.
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Another genre that gets a good innings on the SNES is the scrolling beat ‘em up. Final Fight, Knights of the Round, Double Dragon, Spider-Man – they all get a look in. Sat amongst these otherwise pretty tough titles though, sits Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. This SNES game is cake, but it’s still super-fun. Choose your favourite Hero in a Half Shell and kick Foot Soldier tail over ten different time periods. Due to its relative ease, Turtles in Time is a good SNES game to play on a touch screen before you pick up harder games, like Battletoads.
Pop n’ Twinbee
We wanted to try and have at least one slightly hardcore SNES game on this list. Seriously though, Super Probotector is hard enough and I don’t even want to imagine playing Super Star Wars on a touch screen. Considering the SNES has a wicked catalogue of shmups and my main man Raff has a bit of a penchant, we struggled through a long number of titles before we settled on… Pop n’ Twinbee. That’s right, whilst it’s not the most hardcore shooter on the SNES, we thought that the super-cute style, trimmed-down gameplay and the wicked graphics set Pop n’ Twinbee apart from its contemporaries. Not the easiest of the SNES games for android, it still gets our official seal of approval.
Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse
To top the best SNES games for android devices list, the game has to be excellent to look at, easy to play on a touchscreen but crucially needs to be a good game first. It’s a case of Disney to the rescue here as we chose the excellent Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse. We put together a best of the old school Disney games not long back and World of Illusion beat this game onto the list. Truly though, this is a classic Disney game that is certain to get played time and again. All the magic expected in a Disney game and no chore to play on a touchscreen, Magical Quest was the obvious choice for best SNES game on a touch screen.
Honourable Mentions
Bust-a-Move, Power Rangers, Unirally, Aladdin, Kirby All-Star, Zelda, Bomberman, Super Aleste, Sunset Riders, E.V.O, Goof Troop, Asterix, Lost Vikings, Mario RPG, (Final Fantasy) Mystic Quest Legend.
Whilst we tried to highlight five SNES games that you might not find by yourself, if goes without saying that the SNES has arguably the best library of games of any retro console. There are a ton of SNES games that are outrageously fun to play and should work really well on a touchscreen.
