These are the 10 best racing games ever made for SNES

There's just something about the SNES-era racing games that no modern title can quite replicate. Maybe it's the charming simplicity of the 16-bit graphics that tried to capture the sense of speed in different ways. Or maybe it's the way every menu music takes you back into your childhood living room, competing with your siblings and friends.

It's also because these games were all gas, no brakes, no noise. There were no season passes, no 100 GB updates to download — it was just you, a controller, and the pixelated road ahead. Many of them rose up to become the greatest, most memorable games on the SNES, and you might be surprised by just how well they hold up today.

10 Stunt Race FX (1994)

This game was flexing some serious polygons on the SNES

Stunt Race FX might just be the weakest game on this list, but it's in very elite company. Still, I've spent more hours than I care to admit in the game's bug-eyed car, flinging it into corners like I'm playing an insurance-fraud simulator. There's something deeply satisfying about the way your chassis flails around as you whip it into a corner, desperately trying to stay on track as you fly over boosts and keep your opponents firmly behind your rear bumper.

Stun Race FX is fun in the best way, and the experience only becomes sweeter thanks to the fifteen tracks and five vehicle types you get to mess around with. This game was flexing some serious polygons, and even though it's riddled with jank, the chaos is all part of the charm.

9 Street Racer (1994)

Rocket League before Rocket League

Before Rocket League was even a thing, Street Racer was out here doing car-based soccer with pixelated style and pure, unfiltered chaos. This game gave you soccer modes, rumble-style madness, and a head-to-head mode that became dangerously addictive once I got the hang of the road physics.

Heck, there's even the ability to "walk the track" during level selection, which was such a cool little touch for the time. However, the ultimate thrill in playing Street Racer, even in 2025, lies in wiping the smug smirk off of Hodja's mustachioed face — be it in a head-to-head or in a soccer derby. Street Racer was loud and unhinged, and that's why it remains one of the greatest racing classics on the SNES.

8 Micro Machines (1991)

Tiny blizzards on the breakfast table

Micro Machines is one of the most delightfully chaotic racing games ever made, and its SNES version absolutely nails it over the head. It's quite apparent why the game is still the favorite for fellow XDA writer Claudio Andone — the joy of piloting tiny toy cars across breakfast tables, desktops, and garage floors never goes away. Whether you're zipping over waffles or dodging spilled OJ, Micro Machines has a way of being such an endearing experience that you never want to put down the controller.

The "just one more race" energy is at its highest in multiplayer, where Micro Machines really shines. Getting bumped by a friend mid-race and then going tumbling down the desk is rage-inducing and hilarious at the same time. Very few games turn everyday items into an obstacle course quite like Micro Machines did, and it's clear why the game spawned so many clones across several generations of gaming.

7 Rock n' Roll Racing (1993)

Isometric truck racing that's never dull

"Viper is dominating!" — If I had a dollar for every time the announcer yelled that while I was eating Viper's dust, I could afford a Switch 2, with the camera attachment. Rock n' Roll racing gives players isometric mayhem and vehicular carnage — all set to some of the best and crunchiest guitar riffs you'll ever hear. It's loud, it's fast, and boy, it's never, ever dull.

Snagging a win from Viper by either blasting him with my plasma gun or just locking in for the final lap is one of the most satisfying feelings ever. Furthermore, this game looked amazing for its time — 2.5D visuals on the SNES back in '93? Ridiculous.

6 Super Off Road (1991)

Tired of losing to the silver truck

One of my favorite racing games on the SNES, Super Off Road is endlessly replayable and limitlessly fun. No other game has kept me engaged for so long, and rage so much at a silver truck coming in first every time. There's just no way to be first past the finish line in the game if you don't spend all your money on nitrous, and even when I'd tell myself I was saving money for the next race, all my self-control would vanish when those upgrade screens popped up.

However, it's in two-player mode that the game really shines — wrecking the squad, lapping them on tight corners, and still burning nitrous for the sheer flex of it. In Super Off Road, the races are short, the loop is addictive, and hours melt away faster than the money you make in-between races.

5 Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing (1995)

My very own zero-to-hero story

Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing is the one game on the SNES that I have the most amount of memories with. I played this racing game like it was my personal underdog movie — intentionally qualifying last, and then gunning for the front in the race. There's just no better feeling than hearing the announcer scream that you've overtaken Kyle Petty himself. It's like the game knew exactly how to hype you up — cheering for every overtake as it came.

No Fear Racing was also absurdly realistic for its time. We had to tune the car, find the right lines, and actually manage tire wear, too. Through all of that, the most fun part of this game was slingshotting past the pack, number by number.

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4 Top Gear (1992)

As good as racing games got on the SNES

I'll say it as loudly as I can — Top Gear on the SNES is one of the greatest racing games ever made. It looked ridiculously good for its time, felt lightning-fast, and managed to keep the tension as tight as your foot on the gas pedal. One wrong flick, and you'd find yourself gently entering the pit lane while you were just hurtling at 200+mph speeds just a few seconds prior, and when that happened, may god protect the controller.

Playing Top Gear on the SNES was a well-rounded experience — memorizing cheat codes for each track and difficulty, the whole world tour structure, and that absolutely goated soundtrack that remains one of the most memorable, even today.

3 Super Mario Kart (1992)

The Mario Kart game that started it all

Super Mario Kart was the Mario Kart game that started it all. Believe it or not, it's still one of the best, and is just as enjoyable today as it was back in 1992. The game still holds the same charm and chaos 33 years later, and the thrill of launching a perfectly-timed red shell just before the finish line is just as sweet in 2025.

No Switch? No problem — I played Super Mario Kart on a flight with just a DualSense controller and my iPhone, and as I lined the track with banana peels, I felt like the coolest cat on the plane, cheering for my Donkey Kong Jr. as he raised his tiny gorilla arms in sweet, pixelated victory.

2 Top Gear 2 (1993)

Top Gear 2 managed to improve on perfection

The sequel to one of the greatest racing games on the SNES, and a fantastic title in its own right, Top Gear 2 might just be the superior entry in the franchise, but its predecessor does trump it in the charm department. Regardless, it's a fantastic game, and one I can't live without on my RetroArch app. I may have enjoyed shifting up and down in the first game, but for Top Gear 2, I kept things automatic, drowning out the voices in my head calling me a cop out.

But who cares? Auto or manual, Top Gear 2 is fantastic from start to finish, as I raced through Las Vegas to unlock every track and set off on a glorious, pixelated world tour. Just one year apart from the original, Top Gear 2 managed to look significantly different and better, and thank the gods for the clean, uninterrupted full-screen view without the 'computer' hogging up the lower half of the frame.

1 F-Zero (1991)

The fastest racing game on the SNES, bar none

F-Zero is perhaps the greatest racing game on the SNES, and as someone with childhood memories of playing Tanaka 3D and tens of hours sunk into Redout, I can't help but love F-Zero. It's also the fastest game on the SNES, making all the others on this list feel like go-karts by comparison. You're flying through courses at 250+mph speeds, managing the tiniest inputs to stay glued to the track, praying you hit the next jump with perfect timing while avoiding the magnetic edges of the roads.

In F-Zero, the Knight League gets you comfortable, and the King League throws you into the fire. If you're a fan of modern arcade racers, F-Zero is where it all began. Play it once, and you won't be able to let it go.

The SNES took us into a new era for racing games

When the SNES jumped to 16 bits from the NES's 8 bits, it wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel — it was just trying to make the wheels go faster. Even today, these epic racing games deliver tight gameplay, absurd charm, and the kind of pick-and-play magic that's pretty much disappeared from modern gaming.

Racing games have gotten grander and more realistic with every subsequent generation, but there's just no beating the magic of playing these fantastic SNES racers.