Best Action games on SNES
The 20 best Action games on SNES, ranked from 8,887 critic and player ratings.
The best Action game on SNES right now is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, with a critic score of 100/100 — updated août 2026.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Venture back to Hyrule and an age of magic and heroes. The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom. Only you can prevent his evil plot from shattering the land of Hyrule. In your quest, you'll venture into twisting mazes, dungeons, palaces and shadowy forests. Test your mettle with mighty swords and magical weapons. Or heft a boulder and hurl it at your enemies. If the going gets tough, dive into a river - you can swim to escape! Learn powerful spells, locate magical artifacts and solve the mysteries of the evil magician and the hidden realm of Hyrule.
100
/100
02
Super Metroid
The Space Pirates, merciless agents of the evil Mother Brain, have stolen the last Metroid from a research station, and once again Mother Brain threatens the safety of the galaxy! Samus Aran must don her awesome array of high-tech weaponry to retrieve the deadly Metroid hidden deep within the cave-riddled planet Zebes. Super Metroid features excellent graphics, with a huge variety of enemies and worlds to explore. The side-view action will be familiar to many players, only now there are new weapons and items, including the Grappling Beam, which allows Samus to swing across large chasms, and the X-Ray Scope, which reveals secret passages.
100
/100
03
Castlevania: Dracula X
The Legend Returns... Rising up from his eternal sleep, Count Dracula is back again to battle the descendants of the great vampire-stalking Belmont family of the Castlevania series. He has summoned his dark minions-Cerberus, Minaurus, and the Salamander-to bring a reign of terror on the land. Grab your whip and try to defeat these dark forces in this new conversion of the hit Japanese game: DRACULA X. The 7+ stages unfold with myriad possibilities depending on the choices you make during the game. This multi-ending, multi-story feature takes you through many levels of adventure. You must strategically use magical tomes, mystical power-ups and titanic weapons to defeat the horrifying bosses and discover secret bonus levels.
90
/100
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3, the third entry in the Super Mario Bros. series and Super Mario franchise, sees Mario or Luigi navigate a nonlinear world map containing platforming levels and optional minigames and challenges. The game features more diverse movement options and new items alongside more complex level designs and boss battles.
89
/100
05
Super Mario Bros.
A side scrolling 2D platformer and first entry in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. follows Italian plumber Mario as he treks across many levels of platforming challenges featuring hostile enemies to rescue Princess Peach from the evil king Bowser.
84
/100
06
DOOM
83
/100
07
Worms
Worms combines the best elements from the very best games ever created. It requires great thought, strategy and elements of sheer outrageous fortune. It provides the players with an almost infinite range of playing possibilities. It does take a little while to get into the swing of things however and despite everyone’s insistence that you should not need to read a game manual to be able to play it. Worms can be played by 1-16 players at the same time - it’s a turn based game so you`ll only need one machine - but prepare to be at odds with your loved ones, get ready to shout abuse at your best friend and be willing to exact unadulterated terror on those who plot to hurt your worms. Team17 planned on producing Worms for the Virtual Boy back in 1995. Though, after a few weeks, they cancelled this plan due to the lack of interest of the publisher and the expected failure of the Virtual Boy.
80
/100
08
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1991)
78
/100
09
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, 2D platformer and sequel to Super Mario Bros. (1985), features 4 selectable characters (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad) as they navigate the dream world of Subcon to defeat the evil toad king Wart. Super Mario Bros. 2 features different ways interacting with enemies and the world, including an object carrying mechanic and more intricate level designs.
77
/100
10
Earthworm Jim
A crow is chasing a worm named Jim while in outer space Psy-Crow is chasing a renegade ship. The ship's captain has stolen an ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt has ordered Psy-Crow to get it, since it can make her more beautiful than Princess-What's-Her-Name. Psy-Crow blasts the captain and the suit falls to Planet Earth. Back on earth Jim wonders if he is finally safe when an ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit lands on him. Luckily Jim rests in the neck ring of the suit. Then the space particles begin interacting with Jim, causing a light-speed evolution. Jim soon realizes he is in control of the suit. Jim overhears the Queen's plans for the suit and decides to meet this Princess...
76
/100
11
The Lost Vikings
75
/100
12
Contra III: The Alien Wars
70
/100
13
Fatal Fury Special
70
/100
14
Lemmings
68
/100
15
Blackthorne
67
/100
16
Disney's Aladdin
59
/100
17
Mega Man X (1993)
55
/100
18
Earthworm Jim 2
45
/100
19
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
40
/100
20
The Chaos Engine
40
/100
What is the best Action game on SNES?
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 1,667 ratings. Ranking updated août 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.