People love these top 10 lists and it looks like the one for the NES is over. Well, I’m making one anyway. This includes my personal favorites. I established a couple of ground rules before choosing them. First, I only pick one game per franchise. Second, I’m picking games that are still just as fun when you go back and play them. I’ve been playing a decent amount of NES games lately and many games just aren’t as fun as I remember them to be, while others are even more fun. Don’t like my list? Create your own, or leave me a comment explaining why I’m wrong.
#10 – Bionic Commando (1988)
Bionic Commando is great. However, it can be frustrating as hell. The premise is fantastic… kill Nazis (including a resurrected Hitler) while balancing on your bionic arm. The game recently received a facelift on XBLA. I highly recommend downloading it as it is worth every penny. The game also has fantastic music, and the mini stages break the game up into top-down and side-scrolling angles.
However, the controls are a bit clunky, you can’t jump, and the roll needs to be perfectly timed. Without going into a mini rant here, I don’t think this game will be a hit in today’s gaming culture. The games are too easy now and people don’t have the patience to measure the time and start over from the beginning. Hopefully, the resurrection of these games in HD on XBLA will bring out the greatness of these games for younger audiences.
#9 – Rygar (1987)
Rygar has a soft spot in my heart because I feel like I’m one of the few people who actually won this game. You see, this game did not contain any save system or password system. You have to play this game from start to finish or you start from the beginning. It’s screwed.
However, this game is progressing very well. The gameplay is fantastic and your main weapon is spinning blades on a chain. I spent a whole day with one of my cousins when we were young to beat this game and once we did it was the greatest sense of accomplishment I’ve gotten from any NES game.
With that being said, put this game only on an emulator or 100% working NES console. If your console freezes or just stops working for whatever reason (and we all know that happens often), you’ll have to start all over again.
However, I suggest staying away from the PS2 and Wii sequels.
#8 – Battletoads (1991)
Speaking of frustrating games, Battletoads kicked my butt. This game was released to compete with the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is a fantastic game with amazing graphics and especially amazing animation for the NES. The controls were fantastic and the attacks varied. It was always fun to end a combo with an oversized fist to the face, an oversized boot to the stomach, or ramming them with oversized ram horns that inexplicably grew out of your toad during that split second.
These toads were on roids, and this game blew Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles out of the water. The villains were funny and the evil queen was hot. This game was perfectly marketed for my age group. I was 12 when it came out, and the toads’ names were Rash, Zitz, and Pimple. Such immaturity has always attracted me (and I hope it always does).
HOWEVER, when you get to the speed bike level, you should put padding over anything breakable around you because you’ll want to throw your controller away. One hit and you’re dead, and you have to memorize EVERY MOVE! It’s like fighting Mike Tyson. Just look at this level below. Check about 3 minutes for the really fun part.
#7 – Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
Is it possible for a game to get more fun over time? If so, this is definitely the best example. Such a simple and brilliant gameplay and the impossible to stop zigzagging make this a classic. I play this game today more often than any other game on my list, and there’s a reason it’s the only sports game that measures up. It’s just FUN!
It’s also officially licensed by the NFL (something the recent Nintendo DS version lacks). This game holds a special place in my heart because it is so old that the Buffalo Bills were a good team back then. It seems like half the team are current or future Hall of Famers (including the coach and owner).
Everyone seems to think they have this game figured out. Some of my friends have “no plays”. Everyone has their defensive type to go to, everyone thinks he gets in your head and can pick your play. Everyone thinks they know how to block extra points (hint: YOU CAN’T!!).
All this is what makes this game so amazing. It’s a pick up and play game that can be as intense as you want it to be. There’s only one constant in this game… I always win and the Bills are always amazing.
#6 – Ninja Gaiden (1989)
From the looks of my list so far, I’ve been picking some pretty tough games. However, this one can take the cake. This game will kick your ass.
A difficult game could never be as good if it didn’t have fantastic controls. The controls of NES Ninja Gaidens are super tight. The levels are nice and varied and the secondary weapons are awesome. I love playing jump rope with the big orange shooting star.
The bosses in this game are tough as fuck too. The game has great sound and visuals and was the first game I can remember that had quality cutscenes.
This franchise is still alive and kicking on Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS. Games sure didn’t get any easier. In fact, Xbox 360 games took a step forward in their difficulty.
#5 – Mega Man II (1989)
This franchise never seems to die, with only Sinic the Hedgehog producing as many crap games as Mega Man.
It’s strange to see a video game series peak so early in its life cycle, especially with so many games. However, that is exactly what happened with Mega Man,
Mega Man II is by far the best in the series (some would say III is better, and I agree it’s a good choice as well). This game is not as difficult as the previous games on my list, although it still offers a good challenge. A game that would give you so many different weapons was a nice change for an NES game. It played a bit like an RPG as you were constantly leveling up your character.
The controls were also fantastic in this game, and the soundtrack is commonly known as one of the best of all time.
I am looking forward to playing the new Mega Man game that has been released on XBLA and WiiWare. I’ve heard good things and can appreciate the old school throwback.
In case you haven’t noticed, the box art is amazing too.
#4 – Child Icarus (1987)
The big mystery for me about this game, is how the hell did 22 years go by without a sequel?
Kid Icarus is a fantastic game. However, it has never made any sense to me. Why are we an angel fighting floating grim reapers and blue penguins? Better question… “who cares?”
I’m sure like really old NES games the story is in the manual, but who the hell reads the manual anyway? All I knew is that this game kicks ass. Its excellent platforming, character progression, dungeons, flying stages, and laser arrows are fired into Medusa’s ugly face.
This was another game that I absolutely won and felt an extreme sense of accomplishment doing it. This game is similar to Rygar with its mythological themes, strengthening your character, good control and difficulty. However, this game is better, AND you don’t have to start from the beginning every time. Kid Icarus is one of those password games. Start by entering the world’s longest password consisting of uppercase, lowercase, and numbers. On the fifth attempt to read your own handwriting, you’ll probably get it right.
Now please turn this game into a Mario Sunshine like 3D game. Nintendo would have another instant hit on their hands.
#3 – The Legend of Zelda (1987)
You could tell right from the start how amazing this game was going to be. It came in a gold cartridge.
When The Legend of Zelda was released, nothing like it had ever existed. There was no category for the game. Of course it’s different now, but this game was not only fantastic, it pioneered a whole genre. The pacing of this game was fantastic and it became a staple (in my opinion) for the biggest franchise in video game history.
All Zelda games follow the same pattern:
-Explore and discover where the danger is.
-Enter the dungeon
-Find a unique weapon in the dungeon.
-Use weapons to access new places and kill the boss.
-Get the special item that is for that game (in this case, the Triforce)
It just works great. The best thing about this game is that it’s not even the best game in the franchise, in fact it probably won’t even make the top 5. That’s how good this franchise is.
#2 – Super Mario Brothers 3 (1990)
This is probably the best game on the NES. It’s usually at the top of everyone’s list in these top 10. However, I have another game that is one of my favorites. Maybe I’m just trying to break the mold, maybe I’m just bringing a shower. In fact, it’s probably a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B.
Debuted in a terribly awesome movie, The Wizard, Super Mario Brothers 3 smashed all the hype around it. From top to bottom this game is just amazing. It took everything great from the first 2 Marios and brought them to about 10 levels. In Super Mario 3 ‘suits’ were introduced. You could be a raccoon (tanooki), a raccoon that turned into a statue, a frog, a boot, a hammer brother. etc… You can even fly with your raccoon. The game gad shortcuts galore. The levels are divided into worlds. The worlds could not be more varied.
The lumps were Bowser’s children. They would fly over the castles of each world in their wooden flying ships and eventually their wooden tank convoy. The more I think about this game, the more I realize how great it was. Before I change my mind, I need to go to my favorite NES game…….
#1 – Master of Explosion (1988)
Well, before you criticize me with this selection, hear me out. I’m sure everyone can agree that the above games on my list are fantastic in their own way.
Now Blaster Master takes all my favorite things from the previous games on my list and uses them in the game. For example, like Zelda, you can visit previous areas at will and explore areas you couldn’t access before. Like Mega Man, you gain abilities from the bosses you defeat. Like Rygar and Bionic Commando, you play from a top-down and side-scrolling perspective. Just like Rygar, Ninja Gaiden, and Battletoads, this game is HARD! Like all the previous games on the list, the game has fantastic controls.
Combine all of this and add a tank that can jump, and you have Blaster Master. What an amazing game. The graphics are great in both side scrolling and top down views. When playing from the side-scroll angle, you control a tank, however you can exit the tank at will. The scale of the levels is evident when your little one jumps.
In a perfect world, they’ll give Blaster Master the Bionic Commando-style facelift for XBLA.
This list was difficult to come up with and I’m sure most of you don’t agree with me. There were several that barely made the cut, like Duck Tales, Metroid, Contra, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Castlevania, etc. It is difficult to reduce it.