Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 12 of 29 game consoles by recommenders
People recommend it for fun games that kids and players love and its sturdy build; critics note PAL versions run slow and parts are hard to find.
People recommend it for fun games that kids and players love and its sturdy build; critics note PAL versions run slow and parts are hard to find.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun for kids and players
“children love it and don't feel left out of digital entertainment”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Retro-Tech Parenting” “kids have more fun with a SNES than they do with a PS5”
Comment from 27 Oct 2026 in “Micron Taiwan increasing salaries for factory workers by 2.7X” “I definitely put more hours into my Super Nintendo”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop” - Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Python running on the Super Nintendo (in-browser demo)”
Favorite console for many
“my all-time favorite consoles are the SNES and the Switch”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “PlayStation 2 Recompilation Project Is Absolutely Incredible” “The SNES OTOH was the first Nintendo console I loved.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “How Donkey Kong Toppled Atari” Strong hardware and well-loved games
“everyone I knew got a snes and street fighter 2 for Xmas one year”
Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Ghosts'n Goblins – "Worse danger is ahead"” “The SNES, by comparison, uses high-quality 16-bit 32kHz samples”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Introduction to Nintendo DS Programming” “SNES games look more sleek and "modern" today.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Quake Shareware, a CD-ROM just a little too full” - Comment from 9 May 2026 in “PC Engine CPU”
Reliable cartridges, solid build
“The build quality of Nintendo devices ... is worlds beyond what Atari was able to pull off”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “How Donkey Kong Toppled Atari” “Nintendo SNES cartridge games that worked flawless”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Consoles continue their trend of just becoming worse PCs”
Other game consoles people recommend
The four most recommended other game consoles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valve Steam Machine | 326 | 240 | 58% | 12 | 1 mo5 owners | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 121 | 181 | 40% | 12 | 3 yrs8 owners | — |
| Xbox console | 62 | 212 | 23% | 12 | 21 yrs6 owners | — |
| Xbox 360 | 41 | 19 | 68% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThis page | 17 | 4 | 81% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
22 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“kids have more fun with a SNES than they do with a PS5”
“PS4, Switch, and Super Nintendo get honorable mentions.”
“SNES games look more sleek and "modern" today.”
“The SNES OTOH was the first Nintendo console I loved.”
“The build quality of Nintendo devices ... is worlds beyond what Atari was able to pull off”
“The SNES was the fun target though”
“Nintendo SNES cartridge games that worked flawless”
“both the snes and N64 definitely negatively affected my attainment in school”
“children love it and don't feel left out of digital entertainment”
“I wished the SNES had the MD‘s CPU, with transparency and SPC700 this would have been even better.”
“The SNES also could do layer blending effects.”
“stuck with pal 50hz squished slow versions”
“fast action games like shooters play a lot more smoothly on the PC Engine than on the SNES”
“I definitely put more hours into my Super Nintendo”
“They were a big step up from the original nintendo cartridges”
“Pretty quick read, and a delight if you're fan of anything Nintendo.”
“It felt almost like what going from a NES to a Super Nintendo to a N64 felt like.”
“The SNES, by comparison, uses high-quality 16-bit 32kHz samples”
“That's pretty annoying because the only way to get replacement parts is from a donor console.”
“everyone I knew got a snes and street fighter 2 for Xmas one year”
“my all-time favorite consoles are the SNES and the Switch”
“not so much from a player's perspective”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.