Super Nova on SNES is one of those space shooters that nails the retro arcade feel—fast, chaotic, and just the right amount of "what the heck was that?" when some alien monstrosity drifts onto the screen. You start off with this dinky little ship, weaving through asteroid fields that actually feel dangerous (none of that slow-drifting space rock nonsense).

The first level throws these weird, pulsing alien ships at you, and I swear they move in patterns that shouldn’t make sense—but somehow, after a few deaths, you start anticipating them. The power-ups are simple but satisfying—grab the blue orb and suddenly your shots split into three, turning you into a makeshift bullet hell machine.

Graphically, it’s peak 16-bit charm: neon explosions, chunky pixel planets, and bosses that fill half the screen. The music’s got that synth-heavy, vaguely ominous vibe that makes you feel like you’re piloting the last ship in some doomed fleet. It’s not the deepest shooter out there, but it’s got that addictive "one more try" pull when you barely scrape past a boss with a sliver of health left.

If you’ve got a soft spot for SNES-era shooters, this one’s a solid time capsule of frantic lasers and questionable alien biology.