What in the pixilated world is Mode 7, you might ask? During the heyday of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the console had multiple ‘modes’ that the graphics presentation could operate with. Each mode featured different graphical effects and limitations. Mode 7 was special because it enabled the backgrounds to move, rotate, and even zoom in and out.
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Countless games made use of the mode to push the hardware to its limits. Manipulating the background around the character sprites enabled developers to transport players, create magical effects, and even simulate a three-dimensional plane. Some of the most notable games on the console used Mode 7.
10Super Mario Kart
At first blush, you probably can think of the most prominent Mode 7 title on the console: Super Mario Kart. The track and background were designed to give you a three-dimensional effect where none existed. This was accomplished through the usage of Mode 7, which allowed the track itself to move and rotate with your movements.
Think about it, hitting the gas button and banking left or right on the D-pad wasn’t actually moving your kart through space. It was moving the track itself. It’s a pretty nifty illusion to make you feel as though you’re racing across the Mushroom Kingdom.
9Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
Mario’s cutesy little dinosaur compadre beganthe first Yoshi-centricjourney on the SNES with Yoshi’s Island. The title is still highly respected to this day simply for its innovative use of the hardware.
Throughout the game, there are several instances in which Mode 7 comes into play. Most of these instances came during boss battles, like battling a giant bird on a rotating moon, or even the climactic challenge of lobbing eggs at a monstrous baby Bowser. And how could we forget the obnoxious white fuzzballs that made the world spin the moment you touched them?
8Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles In Time
Perhaps one of the most memorable beat ‘em ups on the platform, Turtles in Time took the four shell-kicking ninja bros from Manhattan through time. Much of the adventure is a side-scrolling romp. However, multiple levels, including a sewer surfing level and a stage where the turtles ride hoverboards, make wondrous use of Mode 7.
In effect, the turtles stay in place while baddies reappear as the background gives you the sensation of gliding through water or air. Mode 7 is even utilized in the runaway train stage, where the turtles fight from railcar to railcar just to face the formidable Leatherhead.
7Secret of Mana
This classic RPG focuses on theexploits of Randi, Primm, and Popoi, who must seal away evil while combating the wicked Sorceror named Thanatos. Most of the game is played from the top-down perspective as you travel across the land.
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However, Flammie, a small dragon, at one point, joins your party. you may then travel across an overworld rendered in Mode 7, flying in any direction you wish using Flammie. Mode 7 is used here not only to depict movement but also a three-dimensional world.
6Super Star Wars
We’ve seenStar Warsgames in just about every generation of gaming, and for good reason. It’s an all-star property. But during the SNES era, the monolithic franchise brought us some of the best side-scrolling action platformers of all time.
In Super Star Wars, the game periodically shifts from standard side-scrolling levels to flying an aircraft in three dimensions. The most memorable moment of these is when Luke, R2D2, and C3P-O fly in the land speeder across the Tatooine desert to catch up with Jawas in a sand crawler. Watch out for rocks, holes, and hostile Jawas along the way.
5Contra 3: The Alien Wars
Konami’s side-scrolling shooter featuring stereotypical ’80s and ’90s muscle-bound action heroes peaked with the third entry in theContraseries. In this3-decade-old romp, Aliens had invaded and devastated the world. Now it’s up to a couple of commandos to fend off a massive alien force across several death-defying levels.
This game mostly stayed within the side-scrolling arena. But there were a couple of stages that gave players a different perspective. This wasn’t a simple top-down perspective like you were used to. The camera is literally looking directly down onto the heads of your avatars. The characters stayed in the middle of the screen while Mode 7 was employed to move the ground beneath their feet.
4F-Zero
Set in the distant future,F-Zeroputs you in control of a high-tech racer. That’s right, this is a racing game; but it’s nothing quite like the Mario Kart you know. These vehicles hover over the track and use boosters to get the job done.
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Just like Super Mario Kart, however, the game employs Mode 7 heavily for the depiction of its tracks. Once again, movement is simulated through a shifting background that also makes you feel like you’re in a 3D space.
3Jurassic Park
For the good folks that lived through it,Jurassic Parkis a veritable nightmare. Luckily, gamers like you could partake in the dinosaur horror with the SNES title. As expected, you control Dr. Alan Grant. But unlike the film, he’s outfitted with an array of weapons to combat the Mesozoic element out in the jungle.
Part of the game takes the top-down approach. But the other portion involves a first-person 3D effect when entering facilities or buildings. Moving around these dark and murky areas, hoping to not be a raptor’s next meal, was achieved using Mode 7. It also made for an intriguing new way to see the dinos you’re typically seeing out in the park from the top-down view.
2Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Look, we all know that theGhosts ‘n Goblinsand Ghouls ‘n Ghosts games from Capcomwere the definitions of punishment long before Demon’s Souls arrived. Difficult platforming aside, you were tasked with bringing Arthur through a gauntlet of demon and goblin terrors to rescue the princess in this side-scrolling action platformer.
You might wonder where Mode 7 comes into play with this one. But in the latter portion of this title, you must endure a hellish stage where Arthur rides on a floating platform that twists and turns as the world reforms around him, introducing new terrors.
1Star Fox
Honestly, how couldStar Foxnot be on this list? The title is known for squeezing every last drop of power out of the platform. If you are unfamiliar with Star Fox, it is an aerial combat game featuring anthropomorphic animals as pilots, such as the lead character, Fox McCloud.
The background is ever-changing as new flying threats are introduced. While much of what thisgame accomplished is attributable to the Super FX chip, Mode 7 is still the basis for the end results. It’s basically the same concept as Super Mario Kart or F-Zero, but now you are taken to the skies with vertical movement possible.
