After Nintendo made the baffling decision to halt production of the NES Classic, it appears a new rumor has cropped up about the company making an Super Nintendo counterpart for the holiday season.  Although nothing is confirmed, I thought it would be fun to make a list of games I’d love to see on this console I’m sure no one will be able to find in any store because, if Nintendo is Nintendo, why would they ever do anything that made sense.  This isn’t a list I expect to happen.  Licensing fees would be a nightmare and the more obscure titles would likely never make the cut, but a man can dream.  Here are 30 games that should definitely be on the SNES Classic.

1. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

The best opening theme of all time.

A platforming staple, no SNES compilation would be complete without Bubsy and his sweet, sweet one-liners and terrible puns.  What could possibly go wrong?

2. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

This one is mostly for the music, but Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind has some truly excellent storytelling elements that rival other masterpieces like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy.

3. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I hated this game the first time I played it.  Only after I fully understood just how good the puns were on every level did I begin to appreciate it.  Plus, collecting yarn balls has never been more fun!

4. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I’d continue until the end of time.

Although I never much cared for the sequel, Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind stands the test of time with brilliant gameplay mechanics and beautiful art direction.  Not only that, but the t-shirt power-ups became a universally used tool of the platforming genre.

5. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Would licensing probably cause this to never be a viable option?  Probably.  Still, something with this much love from gamers deserves a place on the maybe-a-thing SNES Classic.  Hopefully Nintendo makes the right call.

6. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

We all knew this was coming.  Of course this would be included because it’s Bubsy.  I considered the often overlooked sequel as a contender, but this game just does everything so right and brings the nostalgia factor in to boot.  A must have.

7. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I’ll probably get some flak for this one, but I just don’t care.  It’s a childhood favorite of mine and any excuse to hear Bubsy say “Is there a veterinarian in the audience?” is enough for me.

8. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

The sheer amount of hours present here would make the system worth purchasing alone.  The deep RPG elements, t-shirt crafting and yarn spells just add to the ever growing love I have for this series favorite in the long running franchise.

9. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

No better way to fast travel!

The story is weak, but the strong shooting mechanics make up for it in spades.  Who wouldn’t want to relive the glory days of shooting Woolies out of the sky?

10. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Naturally this is here.

11. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I don’t think I expected a racing game to land on this list, but here we are.  I’ll admit this was no Super Mario Kart, but the chances it took to differentiate itself were amazing.  Using the Super Scope while driving?  Bravo.

12. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

The amount of joy you get from floating down with some of the most precise controls ever made to land right on top of a Woolie is reason enough for this game to make it in.

13. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Choo Choo!

There’s no way this is going to be short so strap yourself in.  Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind was one of the first games I ever played on the SNES.  The beautiful, funny, and amazingly written story about a bobcat and his journey to take back his prized balls of yarn from the galactic empire of Woolies is heartbreaking.  It’s real.  It pulls at my heartstrings.

I legitimately cried during certain sequences that I won’t spoil here (but let’s be honest, we know which ones I’m referring to and if you seriously haven’t played the game yet, fuckin’ come on man it’s been almost 14 years) and for me, it changed a lot of how I felt about games and the deep level of writing that could be possible in them.  It wasn’t all just Mario jumping on Goombas and saving the Princess.  There could be heart.  There could be loss.  There could be so many puns.

My father bought me the game during a random trip to Wal-Mart during the summer of ’93.  I was six.  He normally never just bought me a game out of the blue, but something about the box art on the game would soon be on everyone’s shelf drew him in.  “Do you know anything about this Bubsy thing?”  he asked.  Do I know anything?  I couldn’t contain my happiness as I got to explain Bubsy’s background, upbringing, and quest to regain something he held so dear in his life.  My father laughed at my terrible retelling of the classic tale, not fully aware of how it would shape my gaming years to come.  “I like the little shirt he has on.  Seems like a cool cat,”  he said.

Seems like a cool cat.  He couldn’t have been more right if he tried.

14. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Obviously.

15. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I don’t know what caused me to rent this from my local Blockbuster, but I’m sure glad I did.  Solid use of the Super FX coprocessor chip adds to the now legendary status of what is arguably the best platformer of its time.

16. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I remember just leaving this game on and letting the demo play out over and over again.  I just loved to see Bubsy float around in all his bobcat glory.

17. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Yikes! So many RPGs copied this game.

Released a few years before the Persona series took flight, Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind truly broke new ground in the RPG world.  One of the best dating sims available on the platform (with the added bonus of being able to date the villain), Bubsy was taking players to unexplored heights.  Plus, the 40 hour game coined the now iconic phrase, “Whoa, are you still playing this thing?”

18. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

It belongs on this list no matter what anyone says.  Disagree with me?  Well, as Bubsy famously said at start of the level A Fist Full of Yarn,  “Go ahead, make my day!”

19. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

My memory is somewhat hazy on the details of this game, but I’ll never forget the banjo-lead theme song of the forest levels.  I stopped playing the game, begged my parents to buy me a banjo (which was accomplished by doing a lot of extra chores), and sat down with the game at full volume to try and learn one of my all time favorite music licks.  It took weeks before I could even remotely play anything that didn’t sound like a dying elephant, but Bubsy was always there tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for me to master the song.

About two and a half years later, at my first banjo recital, I played the song flawlessly with a friend of mine accompanying me on violin.  I’m not sure I’ll ever be that proud or happy ever again.  I even managed to find an exclamation point t-shirt to wear for the big performance.  You could say the soundtrack has some meaning to me.

20. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

It feels obligatory, but I guess this kind of has to be on the list.

21. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Run, Bubsy, run!

There is a very vocal camp who says Bubsy II is the best game in the series.  Those people are wrong.  Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind has the better music, flight controls, and story.  While the sequel did its best to give Bubsy a fun new sidekick to freshen it up, it couldn’t live up to the perfection of the original.

22. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Donkey Kong Country almost edged this one out, but there can only be one true platforming king.  Besides Cool Spot of course.

23. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

A bizarre but welcome challenge to Mario Paint, the only game of its kind on the market at the time, Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind brought a strange level-based yarn painting mini-game style to the SNES.  Plus it was nice to be able to use the Super NES Mouse again!

24. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

The customer is always right!

SimTower was clearly inspired by this.  Managing a hotel of wild and restless Woolies would prove extremely difficult, and some of the artificial challenge added only to make the experience seem longer is archaic and frustrating now, but the game is still a truly unique SNES gem that deserves a place on anyone’s shelf.

25. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
    26. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind
    27. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

You might be concerned that I’m using three slots for this franchise, but the diversity in these games is why I feel comfortable having this many from one banner.  Bubsy has your plot-heavy side scrolling action, Bubsy is a glorious collection of mini-games, and Bubsy is one of the most interesting takes on tennis I’ve ever seen.

28. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

It’s essentially a mine cart racing game set in different caves around the world, but goddamnit is it fun.

29. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

What a plot twist! (spoilers sorry)

When I first rented this masterpiece I thought, “Hey, what could possibly go wrong?”  I took the plummet into a new game I’d never played, even though I had mentioned several times that I didn’t like heights.  I thought the bridge to exciting gameplay and story would be long, but it was…more like a bridge too short.  It was effortless.  Simple.  Exciting.

My friends, unbelievers at the time, thought, “Hey, whatever blows your hair back!”  I just had to convince them it wasn’t a mirage.  It’s not like I saw Elvis back there!  This was real!  This game was furless!  Wait, shouldn’t that be fearless?  Uh oh.  (edit this later idiot)  I wondered if I could intimidate them into playing.  “Well, it worked for Clint…”  I thought to myself.  I tried to scare them into playing it one day after school.  “Go ahead, make my day!” I yelled at them.  I should have said that my contract does not mention pain, because they beat the shit out of me.  Hey, I didn’t write this stuff!  It actually happened!  Next time, I’ll be sure to get a stunt-cat like Bubsy himself.

After my beating, I asked if there was a veterinarian in the audience.  Luckily, the school nurse was nearby to help.  As she patched me up, I mentioned this amazing game to her. Like my friends before her, she too was skeptical.  I pushed too hard and she left yelling, “That’s it!  I’m outta here!  You can’t make me!”  She was wrong however, and fired quickly after for abandoning a student in need.

Years later, when I became a third-rate hack fraud actor, I was trying to get Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind turned into a film.  All practical effects, no CGI bullshit.  My father begged and pleaded me with me to give up my “pointless, seriously pointless” dream of filmmaking, especially making a horrible movie about a game that just couldn’t be translated to the silver screen.  “What, and give up show business?” I said.  This was my passion!  Eventually, my father called upon the same friends that had beaten the shit out of me years earlier, knowing it was the only option he had.  They found me on set and proceeded to repeat history.  “Somebody dial 911!”  I yelled.  No one did.

Recovering from my second fatal attack, I returned to my SNES and Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind to soothe my wounds.  My friends came to visit, apologizing for being such assholes in the past.  They had recently played the game I loved so dearly and found that I was right all along.  It was perfect.  It was amazing.  They just never believed me until now.  Jason, noticing I had Bubsy slotted in my SNES, looked aghast.  “Whoa, are you still playing this thing?”  he asked.  “You’re goddamn right I am.”  I said, smiling.

30. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

I mean, come on.  It’s Bubsy.