The Super Nintendo had a vast library of games for gamers to choose from. This included smash hits like Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country, to more than a few lesser-known titles and hidden gems. Let's not forget the many tie-in games based on all sorts of licensed properties that were also popular during its tenure.
So the very thought of adding to that library seems a tad superfluous if we are being honest. That is until you consider the many canceled games that never quite got to see the light of day on the console. Some of these could've been bona fide hits and critical darlings, or misfires so huge that their cancelation would've been justified. Today, we are concerned with the former, so what follows are a few canceled SNES games that sound amazing - at least on paper.
5 Akira
You didn't have to be a fan of anime to appreciate the 1988 Japanese animated film, Akira, at the time of its release. Till today, the film is still regarded by many as one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made.
So for many fans, the prospect of actually getting to explore and play through its dystopian cyberpunk setting was the stuff of dreams. And one of the platforms where that would have been possible was on the SNES. Unfortunately, though, that particular version was never meant to be, as it was canceled midway through its development, to the disappointment of many fans. At least they did manage to get a version for the game on the NES in 1988, and another for the Amiga and Amiga CD32 in 1994, so it wasn't a total loss.
4 Killer Instinct 2
Fighting games were a must-play for most owners of the Super Nintendo back in its day. And one of the more innovative ones to grace the console was Killer Instinct by Rare, a game that had to go through a number of intuitive changes to fit the limitations of the hardware.
Released on arcades in 1994 and a year later on the SNES, the game quickly grew to become a critical and commercial success. Its easy-to-learn combo system, as well as its unique visuals and roster of characters, had helped to set it apart from other fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. But while those other games had received multiple entries on the console, the sequel to Killer Instinct was reserved for arcade machines and most notably the Nintendo 64, where it was renamed Killer Instinct Gold.
3 Super Battletoads
Also known as Battletoads Arcade, Super Battletoads was an arcade game based on the Battletoads beat 'em up series. It was the last entry released in the series before its lengthy 26-year hiatus, with some going as far as blaming it for that extended break.
The game was coming off the heels of the success of several Battletoads games on the NES, Game Boy, and SNES, but it was never released on the SNES, due mainly to poor reception at the arcades, where it struggled to compete with other beat 'em ups and fighting games. The game would eventually resurface as part of the Rare Replay compilation on the Xbox One in 2015, while the series itself was eventually revitalized with the 2020 release of Battletoads on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
2 Batman: Revenge Of The Joker
Long before the Caped Crusader was served some much-needed justice by Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games, he had been relegated to a number of fairly rudimentary games on the NES and SNES. And Batman: Return of the Joker was one of the better ones.
Released on the NES in 1991, the game had ditched the film roots of its predecessor, choosing to go with an original story that pulled more from the comic books than anything else. The game was subsequently remade on the Sega Genesis as Batman: Revenge of the Joker, with improved 16-bit graphics and controls. But a SNES version of that remake was never released, despite being completed and ready to go.
1 Steven Seagal Is The Final Option
With a title as on-the-nose as Steven Seagal Is The Final Option, it is no wonder why the game got canned. But we'd be lying if we said we weren't at all curious to find out what this game would've had to offer, other than beating wave after wave of faceless goons to a pulp.
But as it turned out, this particular licensed game wasn't properly licensed at all. The game was merely going to feature the name and likeness of its titular figure, with zero actual involvement from the man himself. It was planned for release during the height of the action star's reign over the box office, so it is somewhat understandable why he wasn't able to find the time to come in to get rotoscoped or record a few lines of heavily compressed dialogue.