Just to be extra cool, and to remind you you're still in the '80s. I played Super Mario Bros. 2 for the first time while in the hospital following open-heart surgery, so I have very personal feelings about the game. The sluggish junker you start out with is soon augmented with shields and weapons of your choosing. Each world in SMB3 features a unique style, and Mario's quest takes him through desert, grasslands, above the clouds and below the sea – there's so much to explore that we still make discoveries every time we dust off the cartridge today. And woe is the gamer who forgot to hold down the Reset button when turning off his NES. And some were fortunate enough to have friends who knew answers. The music is as memorable as anything from Nintendo. You took on the role of a nameless hero setting off to save a village of Elves who are slowly being poisoned by the magic of the malevolent Evil One. The Big N's amazing 1980s home console reinvigorated the videogame market with classic, genre-defining games including Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Viewing it from afar, I was disappointed, thinking she bought Track and Field. How could I forget the cutscenes? You could jump, cling to walls, spew fireballs and hover with your demon wings in action stages and then chat it up with the denizens of the Demon Realm, earn upgrades and items and more. Kirby's Adventure was an epic, beautifully colorful swansong for the NES that focused on that new power for its vacuum-suction hero, as Kirby sucked up his foes, swallowed them, and then found that he could wield their signature weapons and powers himself. This kiddie Capcom platformer gave Mega Man a run for his money, though, and while I'm still not sure who this Nemo dude is, I had a great time pelting animals with candy all the same. Demon Sword is a ninja action game that plays out at a break-neck speed compared to some of its contemporaries (cough – Kung-Fu – cough). Although I initially displayed the poster of IronSword's cover art that shipped with the game on my wall, Fabio's polished pectorals quickly became a discomforting presence in my bedroom. Unlike DuckTales, however, Rescue Rangers is basically linear. The Ninja Turtles do love their pizza. Crazy how that happens, no? Things just get weirder from there, with household appliances eventually standing between you and whatever your adorable goal may be. You have to deal with enemies galore and traps aplenty; the game even gave the player the option to kill his or her character off by pressing the Select button if they found themselves trapped or unable to proceed, a true testament to Lolo 3's deep and difficult gameplay built on a deceivingly-childlike facade. In an era of 8-bit graphics and MIDI music, Konami crafted a game that immersed you in the horror of Dracula's castle, while all you were looking at and hearing was an artful combination of the typical sights and sounds of the day. Ah, Kid Niki, with your crazy hair and your even wackier spinning sword. Any discussion of Contra wouldn't be complete without a nod to its iconic 8-bit soundtrack. Unnecessary, sure, but so necessary. It was even more awesome when you drive far enough to reach the boathouse and change into the speedboat. - Sam Claiborn, Associate IGN Game Help Editor. If you can get past the partially naked winged dudes, Legendary Wings offers some other treats as well. You know that random guy named Captain Commando in the Marvel vs. Capcom fighting games? This is another one that really paved the way for others too. Perhaps the one NES classic most on the minds of gamers in 2009 thanks to the recent release of its incredible Wii sequel/remake, Punch-Out!! I always thought Ice Climber was just another way to repackage Mario Bros. "It's just the same game with a bunch of white," I thought. You have to go back and read that title again, a couple of times, and imagine it being spoken by a scratchy, synthesized 8-bit voice clip. Not too shabby. A complete reworking of an inferior arcade brawler of the same name, Rygar for the NES tells the heroic story of a man and his deadly yo-yo shield. Though the company's probably best known for its stint as a Nintendo second-party developer in the SNES and N64 eras when it produced the Donkey Kong Country series, Killer Instinct, Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day, there was an earlier age when Rare was making the kinds of games that made Nintendo take notice to begin with, with games like Cobra Triangle. In fact, I'm not sure I ever bought it, so if anyone ever sees Andy Folkers can you tell him I still have his copy of one of the best NES games of all time? The catastrophic data loss that resulted ruined many a gamers' month. Unfortunately, virtually all televisions today render the game unplayable, so a new generation of gamer has yet to be exposed to the wonder of duck hunting and skeet shooting. This makes it all the more mysterious that he appears as a strapping naked dude on the cover, but hey, those were different times. Gargoyle's Quest II was the sequel to the Game Boy original Gargoyle's Quest, a game that was itself a spin-off of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins starring that series' infamous flying red demon as its hero. What resulted was a crisp experience in NES gameplay that still stands up today. As a kid, Shadowgate was straight spooky. The sequel to the original Mega Man was quick on the heels of the first, with barely a year in between the release of the two titles in the United States. Pro-Am, and cast players as the captains of a high-speed, heavily-armored attack ship cutting through tropical waters to take on sharks, rival watercrafts and giant sea serpents. Jackal's premise is that the resolution to all conflict lies in explosions – lots and lots of explosions. If Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team strikes you as a bit gimmicky, we've got news for you: it is! The pseudo-3D levels that broke up the side-scrolling action in Contra are replaced with vertical-scrolling levels, but the graphical style, gameplay and even the guns all remain identical to the original. And then there was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the follow-up to the smash hit The Legend of Zelda. An arcade system board by Sammy, based on Sega's NAOMI hardware, that was used for a variety of arcade games in the 2000's. Dragon Warrior is an old-school grinding RPG that necessitated acute attention to leveling up, equipment management and smart planning. From the pdf on Nintendo.com (), there's a total of 671.Add in the 3 (temporary) licensed Tengen games, and you get 674. I was totally paranoid that I'd come back from school (or day care or whatever) and the game would be turned off. Crap… I should really get this awesome gem of a game back to him. The Game Pak is truly worth tracking down for its multiplayer selection, including a wacky cooperative mode. A key eye for subtle detail was needed for success, as your exploration could often come to a sudden and gruesome end if you missed even a single key weapon or item early in the labyrinth. These days, though, I can't help but chuckle at the highly suggestive between-round power-ups. But, for now, it stands as a hidden gem that only the hardcore faithful got to experience 20 years ago. Metroid proved to be one of the biggest and most daunting games early in the NES' lifecycle. Goonies never say die! Instead of being an arcade-style driving game (such as Rad Racer, Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing or Formula 1: Built To Win), World GP more closely resembled a simulation Kind of like Pixar's Toy Story, this was a world seen from a toy's perspective – races took place on top of massive billiards tables or in backyard with gigantic, looming flowers and blades of grass. But for the most part, early Zelda gamers had nothing but their own ingenuity to rely on. The current-day Ninja Gaidens have a reputation for being overly-difficult, but it was this NES original that initially set the trend. Don't worry, Fred! Fast forward another 15 years or so and I spend my nights playing Call of Duty 4 while he frequents games like BlazBlue. It was devastating playing through dozens of races only to have the game slowly start blanking out its colors until I was left with a locked-up, unplayable graphic mess on my screen. Plus, the guy who lost the fight was the one sent to the penalty box, whether he started the brawl or not. In the late 1980s Goonies mania was in full swing, which helps explain the countless after school sessions I spent with this perplexing Konami cash-in. If you rammed into a player often enough in a round of Blades, he'd lose it, throw down his gloves and start pummeling the snot out of you right on the spot. Once again I say "screw you Angry Nintendo Nerd" with this one. Clouding Dr. Wily's actual involvement in the nefarious deeds coursing through the game's loose story, a Faux Protoman leads Mega Man on for most of the game until – surprise! Known as Dragon Quest in Japan, Dragon Warrior was one of the NES's early smash hits that didn't come from Nintendo itself, even though it was released nearly three years after it saw the light of day on its native Japanese Famicom. Early adopters who made the next-gen leap without looking back missed an incredible game design. Metroid was unique for so many reasons, among them the ability to explore at your own pace. Tecmo's long dead and more recently revived series Ninja Gaiden got its start on the NES in 1989 with what's considered one of the best, most difficult action platformers ever. Kickle Cubicle's appeal seemed to be centered in its balanced approach. It's effectively a full Battletoads follow up with our boys Billy and Jimmy Lee along for the ride. Once all four had been collected, the legendary titular sword "Crystalis" could be created. When Ikari Warriors came out I went berserk for it, and having no income of my own I had to beg my brother Matt (12 years older than me) to go out and rent it, which he denied time and time again. When the eight stage select-bound stages were defeated, players entered a more linear part of the game, where both Protoman's and Dr. Wily's multi-stage castles had to be completed for the gamer to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually I did finish it – five years after the game was released. You were fighting the clock, too, and if you ever ran out of torches then it was Game Over for you. Not one, not two, but three games in one. This made it a prime game for high score hunting, with certain parts of the experience that were of the make and break variety. My brother and I used to go there on weekends to rent games, and we rented Mega Man 2 so many times that the owners of the store eventually offered to sell it to us. Mega Man 6 is considered by many to be the last worthwhile NES release in the catalog, and though that's not saying much when looking at the title's contemporaries, Mega Man 6 is still as good as it gets in many respects. Gamers new to this unique genre could easily access the game, but gamers who were veterans of the genre could find enjoyment in the game as well, collecting items in order to reach each subsequent stage. I lived in Maine when Mega Man 5 came out, which was an SNES-dominated era in my life. Choreographing delicate rescue operations with my cousin was a blast, sending one Jeep to collect P.O.W.s while the other threw out cover in the form of myriad bullets and grenades. put you in the rookie shoes of underweight title contender Little Mac and challenged you to duck, dodge, jab, hook and uppercut your way to success against one of the greatest rogues' galleries of ridiculous opponents ever assembled for any videogame, ever. With the 8-bit rendition of the Cyndi Lauper theme from the movie blaring, lead Goony Mikey sets out to rescue the remaining kids, and, for some reason, a Mermaid, from the Fratelli family. Sammy Nes is on Facebook. The most anticipated game on the NES, SMB3 had nothing short of a feature length film (The Wizard) plugging it before it hit store shelves. Rocket? R.C. For as much as I played this one as a kid, it had to make the list. When the game culminates on the sixth and final stage, Scrooge is a force to be reckoned with. Every Ice Hockey player discovered their own perfect combination of men, and then it was on to the ice. River City offered a city to explore filled with rival gangs more than happy to smash things over your head if you happen into their territory. There is an art to snagging territory, and players eventually must learn how to manipulate the irrepressible Qix itself. The entire game fit on an infinitesimally small cartridge sized at 192 kilobits. And who could forget Mr. X's maniacal laughter each time he defeated Thomas, keeping his kidnapped girlfriend for his own. Because of that, there was no rushing around; Dragon Warrior was for patient gamers only. In other words, it's just about everything. It was like memorizing pi but the password was completely useless beyond this game. What's more, it was a fledgling HAL Laboratory that created the series, a company more popularly-known today for the Lolo-like character Kirby. Because it came out on the NES after the SNES had already arrived, you may have missed out even if you were around and gaming on Nintendo systems 17 years ago, but Kirby's Adventure is one that can't be missed. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before a videogame followed the television show and toys. My earliest forays into the Cave of Monsters were rarely solo. Rankings - A list of games ranked by rating, difficulty, and length as chosen by our users. In fact, Tecmo took a page from the book of another successful action-platformer of the day, Konami's Castlevania, and mimicked its special weapon system almost to a tee. I guess some things never change, eh Ikari Warriors? Though the dog, mocking me with laughter, encouraged delinquency. Instead of a game that relied on epic, blind exploration and top-down dungeon-crawling action, Zelda II introduced a completely new idea for the series, and one that hasn't been revisited since. Haha, the box art to this game was awful (just a guy that looks like Iceman from Top Gun with enormous sunglasses). We would have like to see more from our little balloon-riding friend. There's nothing wrong with combining RC Pro-AM with boats, guns, and dragons. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES … In it, our metal-clad protagonist, Kuros, sets out on a quest to save not one, but several distressed damsels (and we're not talking about some ugly dude in mushroom regalia). Completely unlike anything else at the time. Fast moving platforms, icy terrain and blocks that couldn't be broken by your mallet ruled the day, and Ice Climber got excruciatingly hard in the latter stages. If you've played and enjoyed ExciteTruck or ExciteBots: Trick Racing on your Wii, this is the original you have to thank for them. Finally we rented it, played co-op, and dominated the game, even leaving the NES on overnight during the dreaded "Everyone looks like player 1 and 2" level. Oh, and they advertised this sucker like crazy in comic books at the time (no, really). A small contingent of NES gamers actually prefer Klax to its main competitors – the simple, but accessible, Dr. Mario and even to the great Tetris, which does seem a little stuffy when stacked against the Day-Glo extravaganza that is Klax. Not one, not two, but three games in one. We'd head to Mr. Movies in Minnesota, I'd see the box art, freak out, and he'd pick up something else. The visuals weren't as vibrant and the animations weren't as fluid, but the gameplay was spot-on. And yes, it was awesome. In Kid Icarus, gamers take the role of Pit. Sure, it borrowed from Mega Man apart from the engine – selecting stage orders, for instance – but standing on its own, Duck Tales is one of the must-have games in any NES aficionado's library. was a knock-out even without his celebrity status. A uniquely saccharine shooter, Stinger pits two quite capable, but very pastel space cruisers against some deceptively cute enemy forces. What were they thinking? The game has been enjoyed by more players over the years than any other game on the NES, and its greatness can be experienced by anyone who picks up a control pad today. I never got into Journey to Silius as a kid (my brother may have rented it once?) The point-and-click adventure genre seems to be in the midst of something of a renaissance, as developers like Telltale Games are working tirelessly to bring series like Sam & Max, Monkey Island and Strongbad's Cool Game for Attractive People to modern platforms. Meanwhile, the company worked rapidly behind the scenes to override Nintendo's infamous lockout device that kept unofficial cartridges from being played on its console. While it's undeniable that Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! All of the Adventures of Lolo games were great, but the third chapter has the best puzzles of the whole series – and almost the most difficult. One of the few games I remembered beating without the Game Genie (but done on an NES Advantage for sake of the turbo function). What's funny about The Legend of Zelda's title was that the gamer played as a character named Link, who was in turn trying to save the famed princess named Zelda. Others called Nintendo's own hotline for help or consulted a magazine. In the realm of 8-bit graphics and extremely limited storage space, Nintendo RPGs (and other RPGs of the time) had a difficult time telling expansive, immersive stories. After all, with the exception of Pit's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the last Kid Icarus game was released on Game Boy nearly two decades ago. Konami's The Goonies II followed on the heels of a little-known Goonies game for Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade machines. Along the way, he encounters a v My mom and one of my sisters were out all day, and when they came home, my mom had an NES box in her hand. It had two player support – so even when my feeble, under-developed child hands couldn't hack it my bro could step up and dominate – and the addition of not only top view but also side scrolling portions sent my infant-like brain into convulsions. This NES follow-up refined and focused what started on the portable platform, offering a polished action experience married with overhead map and town exploration ripped right out of the best RPGs of the age. Years before Yoshi first crammed a fat plumber on his back, Adventure Island II offered some of the coolest dinosaur wrangling in the business. Super Mario Bros. 3 does everything an NES game possibly can, and pushes the NES to the very limits of its capabilities, and we can unequivocally call it the greatest NES game of all time. One of the unsung heroes of the action/RPG genre from the NES era, Crystalis was such an intriguing and unique adventure in its first release in 1990 that Nintendo itself actually went back, got the rights to it, and re-released it ten years later as a first-party Game Boy Color port. Your character's primary weapon is a common yo-yo, and his secondary items are equally ordinary – baseballs, baseball bats and spiked cleats are all notable entries into your arsenal. We celebrate 100 of our favorites in the pages that follow with our list of the best games for Nintendo's killer system. 2004. 607: How Can Perfect Dark Stay Perfect? Why is Baseball Stars so important? It was the first game I ever played with an NES Advantage. 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