Okay, we've wanted one of these Bitmap Books for ages! The British retro game book publisher is celebrating its 10th year in 2025. And we celebrated by picking up The Unofficial SNES/Super Famicom visual compendium.
The Super Nintendo is one of our favourite games consoles. The little machine dominated the first half of the 1990s for us, providing us with masterpiece after masterpiece of a game.
Nintendo's little wonder had so many era-defining games it was unreal. And behind each one was a team of developers working with 16-bits. All to deliver some of the most beautiful pixel art ever seen.
The Unofficial Guide to the SNES/Super Famicom's Pixelated World
The book arrives in some amazing packaging. Bitmap Books really keep the thing well protected in transit! Once you're inside you access the fantastic tome and its lenticular printed cover.
As with Bitmap's other books (of which there are many) this is a celebration of pixel art.
It costs £29.99 and you also get a complete PDF copy of the book with your physical copy. That's handy for this post so we can flag up this glorious tribute to video game art.
Again, we got the SNES/Super Famicom visual compendium (as we cover the bottom of this feature there are many other tomes available to suit your gaming interests). The book isn't heavy on words, instead it moves through the console's library of games. With each page turn you're treated to some gigantised images and reflective comments from some of the game's developers.
You can't underestimate the impact of the Super Nintendo on the gaming industry. The legacy is still felt to this day, from the indie games paying homage to its titles (see the highly popular Metroidvania genre) to those who played SNES games and became developers. An example? Thomas Mahler of Moon Studios and the exceptional Ori games (see Ori and the Will of the Wisps).
As Bitmap Books notes in its intro:
"The SNES introduced Westerners to the Japanese language and artwork, its mythology and characters; it set many people on the path to manga and anime, convinced them to become programmers and artists, and even persuaded a few to move and settle in Japan.
The SNES is still cited as the gaming community's favourite console, so whether you're looking for a bout of nostalgia, or to discover classic titles for the first time, we hope you enjoy this tribute to Nintendo's superlative games machine."
The art, then! Let's take a look at some of it (click on the image for an expansion, then use the arrow on the right to move through them).
Yoshi's Island
Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country 2
Super Star Wars
Romancng SaGa 2
Mega Man X
Paladin's Adventure
F-Zero
Super Castlevania IV
Super Mario Kart
Earthworm Jim
Super Metroid
Chrono Trigger
Magnificent, eh? Nintendo's exceptional titles for the console are what really stand out, but that's against the incredible backdrop of some stunning games.
The likes of the RPG Chrono Trigger (1995), for example, are legendary. And yet Nintendo's genius elevated games even above that.
Although on a visual front, Squaresoft's remarkable RPGs had some almost unmatchable work. Such as here with the iconic Secret of Mana (1994) box cover artwork.
But even the dodgy games had something visually interesting going on with them. Made all the more appealing once you see them in motion.
The Super Nintendo in Action
The Super Nintendo Classic Mini launched in 2017 and was a big hit, highlighting again how the console's chunky, vibrant visual style has ensured the games have aged very well.
Helped along by just how goods its games library remains.
When the original console launched in 1990 it was revolutionary. At the time, Nintendo was the industry-leading force in graphical enhancements. A stance it's moved away from entirely over the last decade, focussing its consoles instead on accessibility, innovation, and fun.
For the Super Nintendo, one of the launch titles was Nintendo's very own futuristic racer F-Zero. This boasted its famous Mode 7 graphics to help create a sense of in-game world depth.
Other titles, such as the masterpiece that is Super Metroid (1994), used the SNES' potential to full effect. As close to perfect as a game can get, it also boasts an iconic visual style.
These games are so influential they're ever-present in the indie game scene of modern gaming. You'll still find a lot of indie games launching with a distinct SNES visual homage.
It's obvious to see why. The SNES era, along with SEGA's Mega Drive console, just have a timeless quality to them. Whereas the next generation of consoles attempted 3D worlds for the first time.
The PlayStation, SEGA Saturn, and Nintendo 64 offered awkward, clunky polygons. Many of the games have aged atrociously, to the extent Sony's copycat PlayStation Mini Classic came across as an idiotic business decision.
Those consoles paved the way for modern gaming's exceptional graphical standards, yet we still prefer the visual style of pixel art. Just look at the classic Yoshi's Island (1995) here, still outstanding to look at.
That could really be released today as an indie game and everyone would remark on its beautiful appearance.
Yet that was almost 30 years ago, with Nintendo launching the console's final masterpiece in empathic fashion.
Marvellous memories, then, but these games are of such exceptional quality they do deserve this tribute. In book form, for posterity, although if you want to play the games... well, you can happily do so via the Nintendo Switch.
Bitmap Books: The Legends Behind These Retro Gaming Bibles
Bitmap Books cover all manner of retro gaming excellence. From the madness of the Commodore 64 early 1980s years to SEGA, point-and-click adventures, and '90s era FPS.
They're lovingly created and we want to own all of them, frankly, as these look magnificent on any book shelf.
The nostalgic appeal, the memories, the tribute to classic titles that continue to impress. If you're a retro gamer, you need at least one of these books in your life.
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