Top 10 NES Games
10. Double Dragon (1988) -
Double Dragon had it all: Jump kicks, nunchucks, purple-headed women that attack you with whips, big bald bosses named Abobo. Sure, the NES version doesn’t include 2-player cooperative gameplay (For some god-awful reason. There is a 2-player mode in the main game, but you take turns instead of fighting simultaneously, and a 2-player competitive mode that consists of fighting in an enclosed area, but it’s not very fun or memorable.), but that doesn’t prevent this game from being one of the funnest that the NES had to offer. Double Dragon follows Billy Lee (and his brother Jimmy in the original) on his journey to save his girlfriend from the gang that kidnapped her. What follows is 4 missions that take place in a variety of settings, ultimately leading to a face off with the people who took your girlfriend. Double Dragon defined the beat ‘em up genre and that alone is enough to land it on this list.
9. Bionic Commando (1988) -
Bionic Commando is possibly the most underrated game to grace Nintendo’s first console. Up to this point, gamers had come to understand that side-scrolling platformers offered you the luxury of jumping to traverse pits and reach higher ground, but Bionic Commando throws that out the window in lieu of a bionic grappling arm that allows you to swing across gaps and climb up platforms, all while you use your trusty gun to slay Nazi’s (well, they were Nazi’s in the Japanese version, but all Nazi references were taken out of the game when it was localized) in an attempt to rescue a special commando who was captured by the enemy, Super Joe, and foil the plot to resurrect the ultimate bad guy in history, Adolf Hitler (Named Master-D in the American version). While the grappling arm gives Bionic Commando a steeper learning curve compared to traditional platformers of the day, once you get used to it, you will no longer lament the lack of a jump button as you fly through the skies like Spiderman in fatigues.
8. Castlevania 2 (1988) -
Probably the most highly debated game on the system, Castlevania 2 is a love-it-or-hate-it title. The debate over the game was further polarized by the review of the game offered up by the stupid angry video game nerd, formerly known as the angry nintendo nerd, soon to be the artist formerly known as nerd, or “Ñ”. In his simplistic review, he exaggerates the shortfalls of the game to the point of reducing Castlevania 2 to utter rubbish. This depiction has led to fanboys who haven’t even played the title to label it one of the worst games ever. Contrary to said review, Castlevania 2 has a lot to offer: A free-roaming world to explore instead of the linear levels seen in the 1st and 3rd entries, RPG elements such as character levels, buyable items and weapons, and a night/day system that had the player facing harder enemies at night. The exploration factor of Castlevania 2 nudges it barely above Castlevania 3, a fantastic game in it’s own right.
7. Metroid (1987) -
Samus Aran’s first quest is a memorable one, up until the very end (Though it’s common knowledge today that Samus is a woman, players could only find this out be receiving the best 3 of the 5 available endings, when Samus would remove her helmet, revealing to the player that the character they’ve been kicking ass as is a WOMAN!). Metroid featured a free-roaming world and a bevy of power-ups, including the missile, energy tanks, and the morph ball, which allowed you to curl up into a ball that could reach smaller areas that were previously inaccessible. Progress in the game stems from the discovery of new items and weapons that will allow you to access new areas as you traverse the planet Zebes, fighting off space pirates in an effort to reach and destroy Mother Brain, the force behind the Space Pirates and their fortress.
6. Contra (1988) -
One of the first games to utilize cooperative gameplay with 2nd player with success, Contra is a blast to play with a friend as you annihilate humans, machines, and aliens alike while trying to keep up with each other through the levels. The best feature of Contra is the arsenal of weapons that you can find floating in the air in the form of capsules that you can shoot down. While one weapon is just a rapid-firing version of the original gun, the best weapon in the game, the appropriately named spread gun, allows you to fire 5 shots at a time that travel at different angles, giving you the ability to take out multiple enemies on the screen at once. With tons of enemies, one-hit kills, no saving, and the fact you lose your powered up weapon when you do die (which you’ll do a lot of), this is easily one of the hardest games on the NES, and the difficulty seemingly increases with the addition of a 2nd player, most notably in the vertical levels, where traveling too far above your ally would cause him to fall off the bottom of the screen and die.
5. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (1987) -
How the mighty have fallen. In the late 80’s, heavyweight pugilist Mike Tyson had his own video game, and now all he’s known for is biting a guy’s ear off and getting a freaky face tattoo. Though the game is named after Tyson, the titular character is actually the boss of the game, and the player controls Little Mac as he rises through the boxing ranks until he’s good enough to face Kid Dynamite himself. With a simple, yet very satisfying control scheme, you dodge enemy attacks while waiting for an opening to pummel your opponent. In the beginning, the opponents don’t cover up much, and seldom make you pay for throwing sloppy punches, but as the game goes on, it gets harder, leading up to the final fight with the biggest freak in the game. Not only is his defense nearly impeccable, but Tyson’s uppercut is barely telegraphed and will knock Little Mac on his little butt no matter how much health you have left. The worst part? That’s the only punch he throws for the entire first half of round 1. Surviving that minute and a half is quite the task, but your work is only partway done if you can survive that long, you still have to KO the king, as it’s virtually impossible to win a decision against him.
4. Bubble Bobble (1988) -
While Bubble Bobble might turn potential players off with its simplistic gameplay and style, it’s a horribly addicting affair that has you trapping your enemies in bubbles and popping them to their death and transforming them into fruit. 100 levels not including a special set of levels that can be accessed by a secret door on level 99, a really hard final boss, and a 2nd campaign that you can access after completing the game, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with Bubble Bobble. One of the most satisfying cooperative styles of gameplay rounds this title off as one of the best games to ever hit the NES (and literally dozens of other systems as this is one of the most ported games ever).
3. Mega Man 2 (1989) -
The best-selling Mega Man title, Mega Man 2 took every thing the original Mega Man did well and made it better. 8 bosses instead of 6; introduction of the E-tank, which would become the ultimate health icon of the series; new items that would eventually give rise to Mega Man’s dog companion, Rush, in future titles; the teleport room, where you fought the 8 stage bosses over again in the order of your choice; and most importantly, the password system that ensured that you wouldn’t have to beat the game in one sitting. Mega Man 2 features one of the best soundtracks on the NES and is generally regarded as the marquee title of the series.
2. The Legend of Zelda (1987) -
The first of many adventures for our hero in the green cap, The Legend of Zelda follows Link through his conquest to find the 8 shards of the Triforce of Wisdom before the mighty Ganon can, and his effort to infiltrate Ganon’s lair to free Princess Zelda. A revolutionary game on many fronts, The Legend of Zelda introduced or expanded on many key features. This was one of the first titles that would allow you to save your progress so you wouldn’t have to start your whole quest over after turning off your NES (just remember to hold down that reset button when you turn it off!). After you beat the game, you unlocked a second quest that was completely different than the first, increasing replay value by a lot. The ability to switch your secondary weapon as needed opened up a lot of possibilities. The game polished many features that would eventually become mainstays in role playing titles: Collecting money to buy new items, a sword that grows in power as the game goes on, the ability to increase the maximum amount of health you have, as well as others.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990) -
The pinnacle of gaming on the NES, Super Mario Bros. 3 has players guiding everyone’s favorite plumber through 8 unique worlds in a quest to free the princess from the clutches of the evil King Bowser. Not only was the level design better than the original Super Mario Bros., but Mario 3 also introduced some revolutionary power-ups that forever changed the franchise, most importantly, the leaf, which turned ordinary Mario into “Raccoon Mario” with the ability to fly for a short amount of time using his tail after getting a running start. Almost every game in the series since has seen Mario flying in some capacity. Other notable items are the warp whistle, which allowed you skip worlds to get to Bowser faster, the Frog Suit, which turned Mario into a master swimmer, and the Tanooki Suit, which allowed Mario all the benefits of the Racoon Suit, but also gave him the ability to turn into an invincible statue while enemies walk right by.
(Honorable Mentions: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Battletoads, Castlevania 3)
No Comments
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
