As long-time readers of this very site will be aware, Chris Scullion really knows his stuff. That's why we get him to fill these hallowed pages with lovely words; he's something of a boffin when it comes to the world of Nintendo, having worked at Official Nintendo Magazine during its heyday.
Scullion has been putting his massive gaming-focused noggin to good use in other ways, too – he penned the utterly superb NES Encyclopedia a while back, and has returned in 2020 with a follow-up tome which performs the same trick, this time looking at every game released on the massively popular Super Nintendo (in the west, at least). Including all of the Japanese titles would have been nice – especially as there are a great many amazing titles which never made it to the west – but given that most people will have only played North American and European titles back in the day, it's not a deal-breaker.
Even without Japanese releases, the book covers a whopping 780 games, each one with its own description, screenshot and fun factoid. Some of the bigger releases have box art, too, and there's a bonus Virtual Boy section at the back which details the 22 games released for that ill-fated console.
Like the NES book, this proves to be an exhaustive reference when it comes to picking out the very best SNES titles, so if you're a newcomer to the format, then leafing through its 264 pages is going to be a revelatory experience – as well as highly entertaining, as Scullion's writing is infused with plenty of humour.
However, unlike a lot of gaming writers who trade laughs for knowledge, Scullion clearly knows his stuff and does an excellent job of summing up precisely why you should (or shouldn't) seek out a particular game. While we all have fond memories of titles such as Super Mario World, Zelda: Link to the Past and Secret of Mana, there are a shocking number of duds on Nintendo's 16-bit powerhouse, so Scullion's book should help you pick out the gems and avoid the duffers.
Just like its predecessor, the SNES Encyclopedia comes in hardback format and is printed on high-quality, glossy paper stock, making it the ideal coffee-table tome for anyone who is even remotely interested in video games or Nintendo consoles. Scullion's next project tackles the SNES' rival, the Mega Drive / Genesis, and we can't wait to get our hands on that.
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Comments 35
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Even without the japanese Titles this seems to be a nice effort. Thanks for the article.
Still my favorite home console! Soooo many great memories and wonderful games on that thing. Forget PS5. If i could only play one system the rest of my life it would be Snes! Back when games weren't trying to be movies. They were trying and succeeding to be games!
Oh and you don't need an encyclopedia. There's video compilations on youtube of every entire game released for whatever system you're looking for!
Definitely adding this to the Christmas list, I love this sort of thing.
Looks very good. Might set aside some cash for this one... and the Mega Drive one too whenever it gets a release.
That's something I'd sure like to sit down and read through on a Christmas morning.
Yummy , do want!
@Zeldafan79 I'm totally with you on this. Snes without a doubt is still my favourite console of all time.
I need this...but for Sega Genesis. Sorry, Super Nintendo, you’re just not first in my heart.
The NES Encyclopedia was amazing. I can't wait for the SNES one to arrive. And having a section to cover the Virtual Boy? What an awesome bonus. Hope it sells well Mr. Scullion.
To include Virtual Boy games, but not Japanese SNES games is really quite bizarre.
I have the Nes book and it’s awesome!
I will buy this one too!
And there’s a great bonus! 22 Virtual Boy games covered!
Such knowledge I already feel more smart.
This will look good next to my copy of a certain SNES guide book. Will definitely be getting this at some point as I do enjoy books like this.
The SNES is my favorite console of all-time, I would definitely love to own this.
There is an overabundance of these types of books nowadays.
@Zeldafan79
So true
Love this System.
It is a shame that i have to hide it because of the Yellowing.
But the Mini sits there as a Placeholder to have it all the Time in my View
Maybe i'll crack the 80 Mark this year with Games on my Libary
Thanks for the lovely words, everyone.
@Franklin There were 22 Virtual Boy games, and nearly 1000 Japan-exclusive Super Famicom games. One of them was just a little bonus at the end of the book, the other would have required at least another year and a half of work, much of which would have been taken up trying to explain Japanese RPGs that very few people would want to play anyway. The book is enormous as it is without making it more than double the size: hope that explains it
As someone who eagerly snapped up his NES book, this looks great. I really need to get my hands on this.
Loved his NES book and will be picking this up soon to go with my Nintendo related Hardback Book Collection.
@Franklin Indeed it is!
@Kabloop Thats right it does
@ShinyUmbreon You spoke good england
@Zeldafan79 I 100% second this. Im always singing the SNES's praises. Such an incredible console. Donkey Kong Country STILL has amazing graphics and Mario World's sheer size still staggers me today
Might look into it. Love the super Mario bro’s encyclopedia.
@scully1888 That’s a Clamping 👊
@scully1888
Yes, I've heard encyclopedias do take work and tend to be quite substantial in size
The point of an encyclopedia is to be comprehensive, otherwise it's just a book.
@Franklin It is comprehensive. It's the SNES Encyclopedia, not the Super Famicom Encyclopedia. You have to draw a line somewhere. If I'd added the extra 1000 or so Japan-exclusive games in there it would have taken another two years to write, would have been about 600 pages long and would have cost about $65-70, which very few people would spend on a book. It would have been far more work and probably resulted in far fewer sales.
As a child of the 80s, NES was a revelation but SNES was sublime. Games were awesome, there were so many gems. The N64 was also mind blowning but by comparison had so few titles.
Well done to Chris for creating this body of work. Definitely something to be proud of. It probably didn’t even feel like work given how all around awesome the SNES is
@scully1888
"It's the SNES Encyclopedia, not the Super Famicom Encyclopedia."
Fair enough.
@Sun-WuGoku why thank you..
Hmmmmm....how will I fit this into my Christmas stocking 😉
Looking forward to getting this, the SNES is still my favourite console and IMHO along with the PS2 has the greatest library of games of any system.
@NinChocolate The next book in the series is going to be the Megadrive/Genesis.
Had a pre-order in with Amazon for this for a supposed end of sept release. Still waiting. Hope it's not delayed much longer.
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