Because Chrono Trigger, that's why!

And also a metric f-ton of other awesome and amazing stuff. The leap to 16 bit from 8 bit is probably one of the greatest generational leaps to ever hit video gaming. I was like, 8 or 10 or something, and it literally blew my mind the first time I played F-zero and Battleclash. I thought it couldn't possibly get any more awesome.

And then Super Metroid happened. Mind=blown again.

To me it seemed like the best console for RPGs ever.

even the lesser known ones like Robotek were pretty inventive and great.

Also had E.V.O.  which was awesome.

It's was probably the only game that pissed off both the Pope and Charles Darwin until Pokemon came out.

That game was so good and to this day creationists still use it as reference material when they attempt to ridicule the theory of evolution with statements like "Evolution doesn't work, you really think a fish jumped out of water and legs magically grew instantly?"

"it did and then it grew a horn and scales and beat the shit out of a T-Rex."

I really did like Enix better then Square, despite how awesome the square RPGs were.

DQ, Ogre Battle series, EVO, everything they made seemed golden.

The SNES probably has the best overal library of any system ever. Well balanced with superb games in any genre.

A lot of 'best games of all times' have their home on the system. While I think the N64 takes the Best Console crown for personal reasons (and the fact it has OoT and SM64 on it), I think objectively the SNES is the peak in gaming thus far.

Best games in my opinion (from best to... Not best):
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Super Mario Kart
- Street Fighter 2
- Donkey Kong Country
- Secret of Evermore
- Secret of Mana
- Starwing (Star Fox)
- Super Metroid
- Super Castlevania IV

Because I live in Europe, sadly we never got Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, so I didn't get to experience them. Also, Super Mario World is not on my list, because I don't hold it to the usual high esteem. It's a great game, sure, but vastly outshined by the brilliant Yoshi's Island.

Besides the list, and Super Mario World, other games that hold a nice place in my memory are Super Mario All-Stars, F Zero, the other two Donkey Kong Countries, Pilotwings, Mario Paint, The Lion King, Aladdin and a niche game called 'Super Aleste' ('Space Megaforce' (lame name I know) in USA and JP). Super Aleste is, today kind of a rare game, a vertical scrolling shooter akin to things like Xevious. Not a very special or even good game, but me and my cousins spent hours on the game. Sadly, it's one of the games I lost over the years.

I still play the console fairly regularly, I'm now in the process to beat A Link to the Past for the third time ever. About to kick Agahnim's ass. Awesome as ever.

Neo Geo was better!

There was a ton of innovation in the gaming industry at that time. Nintendo realised their flaws with their previous incarnation and made an innovative system that could expand its capabilities through the use of the expansion pins in the cartridge (why we could add chips like SuperFX to games on a per-need basis).

Also, as controversial as it is, perhaps it was Nintendo's tight leash on third parties that created good games from them. Think about it: with all the freedom that third parties have now, they can pretty much release what they want whenever they want. Back in the days of the SNES, regulation was so tight that many (successful) third parties worked hard for the little profits they got after paying for a Nintendo license, cartridge costs, etc.

Act Raiser, yo.

(But I still prefer Squaresoft.)

To be fair... Act Raiser 2 sucked.  They took out the part that set it apart.

Though I feel like it only sucked because Act Raiser 1 was so great.

I never even bothered with Act Raiser 2, actually. Did they take out the strategy aspect or something?

Illusion of Gaia was Enix, too, right? They were pretty rocking back then. (But were still no Squaresoft.)