If someone were to start talking about big box releases for video games, one might assume they were talking about PC games. Big box PC games was a common term in the height of the 80s and 90s and usually meant those releases were packed with extra goodies for gamers, from stickers to maps to even guides. They weren’t special editions like console games see today; they were just boxes that included cool items for those who purchased them.

It was something console players could get jealous over. However, many may not know that in other territories, like in Europe, the Super Nintendo got this big box treatment as well. Some of the more famous SNES video game series included are Zelda, Metroid, Mario, EarthBound, Donkey Kong, and many others.

10 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

This SNES big box version of The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past came with everything from standard boxes like the game and map of Hyrule. The biggest addition to this exclusive PAL version from Europe was the strategy guide. This series has always been one where strategy guides were a must in order to find everything. The Europeans had it easy then with this bundle.

9 Super Metroid

This big box version of Super Metroid also came with a guide. The thing that was most useful about it were not the tips, but the map layouts. It’s very easy to get lost in this game and in any Metroidvania for that matter.

So, once again this PAL version is better than any other release. As an extra bit of trivia, Europe also sold a double pack with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in an even bigger box. That version didn’t come with Zelda’s strategy guide though.

8 Secret Of Mana

This was another SNES European exclusive that came with a guide. Secret of Mana itself is pretty straightforward with not a lot of side quests off the beaten path. Still, any guide book is better than nothing like for figuring our boss weaknesses at least. While it’s not exactly tied to the Mana franchise, it should be noted that Secret of Evermore got a big box release with a strategy guide as well.

7 EarthBound

EarthBound was actually a North American big box release. It was one of very few as compared to Europe. It came with a guide which is infamous for also including scratch and sniff stickers. EarthBound isn’t a hard game to figure out and in terms of RPGs, the battle difficulty isn’t too challenging. A guide could help level the playing field for younger audiences though which is always appreciated.

6 Super Bomberman Party Pack

This was another North American big box release but it wasn’t the typical strategy guide bonus type. It instead came with a four-player multitap accessory for the SNES. This was because Super Bomberman was designed to be played with multiple people and the console only had two plug-ins. This accessory was praised when it released and helped make this entry in the franchise one of the most memorable.

5 Lethal Enforcers

This was a light gun game from Konami about becoming a cop in the line of fire. It was released in North America in a big box SNES bundle with a gun accessory. This blue revolver was called the Konami Justifier. Players could mail away for a second gun which was colored pink. Most versions of this game were packaged with the accessory including the Sega Genesis.

4 Mario & Wario

Japan has a couple of big box releases for the SNES and both pertained to the same accessory. Mario & Wario came with a mouse for the SNES along with a pad. The mouse was necessary to play this Japanese exclusive as players had to navigate an angel around a puzzle map to prevent Mario from getting hurt. The other game that came with a mouse in Japan was Mario Paint which also got a big box release in North America.

3 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

2 Terranigma

Not only did Europe get a big box version of this game with a strategy guide, but they got the game in general. It released in 1995 in Japan and a year later in Europe.

Thankfully fans have translated it into English via patches even though the PAL version would have been good enough. This was a game developed by Quintet who worked with Enix on some other SNES RPGs before Enix merged and became Square Enix.

1 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest

This final SNES big box release was another European exclusive. The guide included could help find secrets like in Yoshi’s Island but there is only so much a game guide can do with a game like this. That means that these Donkey Kong Country games are infamously challenging. Knowing where a secret is does not make it any easier to get to it if the area in question is brutal but again, getting a guide is at least something.