Just a list, like the Sega and Game Boy lists I already did. Keeping the entries short and simple for this one.
Good things that won't be appearing cause I didn't play them: Crystalis, Blaster Master, Ultima III+IV, Punch-Out, Bubble Bobble (That sure is fun to say IRL)
#80. The Terminator - My least-favorite NES game is based on one of the best action/sci-fi/horror movies from the 1980's. This game should have been great, but instead it's horrendous, with terrible controls, ear-grating sound, muddy graphics, and hit detection that feels like it was the first week on the job for the dev team. Considering this is probably in my top five favorite movies, the game is at the bottom of the abyss. And this is why Terminator 2D: No Fate was such a cathartic post for me to write.
#79. Predator - And this one is based on probably the most iconic action movie out there that doesn't involve terminators or xenomorphs or James Cameron. This game, however, is bizarre and has you going through WAY too many levels of boring jungle gameplay where you mostly fight bugs. Most annoying of all, you lose all your weapons every time you clear a stage. Then there's the constant need to break bricks with grenades, which are extremely hard to aim correctly. The only slightly-redeeming thing about this game is the occasional "Big Mode" fights with the Predator. Maybe those sections should have been the whole game.
#78. Double Dragon 3 - An awful game where you have one life. ONE LIFE. And everything gangs up on you from the word go, so good luck making it anywhere in this without cheating your way through it. If you listen closely, you can hear the screams of all the families that bought this game at full price and couldn't get anywhere with it.
#77. TMNT: Tournament Fighters - A pretty shoddy fighting game that has very little point in existing when there's a WAY superior SNES game of the same name. It looks pretty good in stills, at least.
#75. BAD DUDES - A beat 'em up where you play as a couple of BAD DUDES as they try to rescue The President. Will they succeed, or will he end up being a Saint Ronnie-Burger? The comic possibilities of this game are endless and it's entertaining enough, but it's a pretty low-level game when you look beyond all the memeing. Post HERE.
#74. Contra Force - This is very much a "what the hell happened" type of game. The Contra series is usually awesome, but they really fumbled with this one. By this point the SNES and Contra III (a great game) were already out, and this game was like the toxic sludge runoff in comparison.
#73. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-Kun (Kid Dracula) - A short, alright romp without much to it. It's a basic platformer with a short list of special abilities, and won't challenge anybody very much. Kind of a curiosity for Castlevania fanatics, and that's about it. It exists.
#72. Batman: Return of the Joker - The sequel to Sunsoft's Batman, this one gets a lot less attention for a reason. It's super-hard and not very intuitive. Graphics are good, at least. Other than that good luck getting out of level 1, or figuring out what to do with those damn gargoyle statues.
#71. Silver Surfer - I maintain that this game isn't actually bad. You just need a turbo controller for it, and it more or less only exists to sell turbo controllers. With a turbo controller, it turns into a pretty standard shooter. Yeah, it isn't well-designed or anything, and walls obliterating you was a bad choice (especially when it's hard to tell what's a wall and what isn't) but I actually had a decent time running this with turbo-fire.
#70. Kid Icarus - An experimental, mostly-vertical game that came out around the same time as Metroid and a few other early-gen games, but didn't catch on or get the fanbase of any of Nintendo's other signature star players at the time. Not a lot of people seem to be fans of this one, and I suspect it's because most of the game is vertical and too many of the enemies fly in that nefarious "wave beam pattern" that nobody likes. All of that said, I can tell it shares a ton of design DNA with Metroid, which makes it an interesting curiosity.
#69. Dragonball Z RPG 3 - Ressen Jinzouningen - Another bad DBZ RPG, this one covering the Android Saga. Has less grinding, padding, and empty space than the Saiyan Saga game. However, it's too short, and ends abruptly during the early Cell forms. I think Cell Form 2 (with Trunks and Vegeta) is the final boss, but I'm probably wrong. It's somewhere in there. Feels like the second half of the game is missing. This is because the game was actually in development during the initial release of this part of the manga, so they straight-up couldn't continue / finish the saga because it hadn't been made yet. Too bad this never got a sequel. ...or they could have waited a little bit to greenlight this. Geez.
#68. Dragonball Z RPG Gaiden - Plan to Destroy the Saiyans - Basically what should have been the second half of the previous game, retooled into a game about a TV special. Everyone's got their late Cell Saga powers here so it really is the next step in the story...only without the story. It's a better game than the previous, and controlling a bunch of Super Saiyans is pretty cool, but it's also hampered by being about a TV special with basically no significance to the overall story. Not sure why that TV special wasn't just another DBZ movie. It stands out from the pack a bit more, and yet nobody remembers it.
#67. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - A game I liked, as long as I had a guide handy to not get lost. The level-grinding is fun and the Flame Whip is one of the coolest weapons on the NES. However, the large, sometimes-empty environments bring it down, along with the isoteric gameplay that often leaves you wondering what you're supposed to be doing. A game that really should have been a more straightforward action game, but hey, it's the proto-genesis of Metroidvania type games (well, along with the significantly-better Metroid).
#65, 66. Zanac + Gun Nac - I can't really tell these apart. They're Compile shooters, they're good, and they're also super hard. They're also barebones. Some folks love 'em, I found them to be alright. In a world that contains Space Megaforce, I can't get excited about these.
#64. Mighty Final Fight - A chibi version of Final Fight, with little NES-ized characters. Plays fine, is a perfectly decent game, but also has little reason to exist and even less to remember it by.
#63. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - This game has a rep for being horrible, and some parts of it are (the water level, some of the sewer sections). However, overall, I had a bit of fun with this one. The four turtle setup is interesting, with the player being able to switch between them at will (so you can swap out a turtle that's low on life, for example). It has some moments, and it feels a bit deeper than the beat 'em up sequels even if it isn't as fun.
#62. Super Mario Bros 2 (The Famicom one) - The game that became The Lost Levels is basically an expansion pack to Super Mario Bros and picks up right where it left off with eight more worlds (actually it has a few more than that, depending on if you use warps or not, but yeah). This game is super hard and can get frustrating, especially the levels with wind in them. That said, it's more SMB, and SMB is fun, so I can't rate it too close to the bottom. Way better on the SNES in the Super Mario All-Stars version, since you can save after every level in that version. This one on the other hand is just a debacle to get through unless you use emulator features.
#61. Final Fantasy II - The worst game in the FF series, but it still has some appeal. Introduces the sort of narrative that would become the series standard from FFIV onward. Some memorable set pieces, events, and areas here, with a menacing villain, an insurmountable empire, and likeable main characters given the tech limitations. What brings it down are the leveling system (especially the tedium of raising magic spells), the jankyness of the battles, and that horrendously depressing overworld music.
#60. Mega Man - The very first of the Mega Men, this is a true classic...that I don't like. No charged shot, no slide, no Rush. Just six bosses, six weapons (only half of which are useful outside of the boss fight they're strong against), and four very tough Wily stages. Also tons and tons of spikes. Compared to the rest of the series, it's lacking, but compared to other NES games at the time, this really stands out. The stage select was very innovative, and appealed to kids like me who worried about being stuck on one level forever.
#59. SCAT: Special Cybernetic Attack Team - The worst-named game on this list, this is a fun shooter that doesn't get enough praise. It's inspired by the action movies of the 1980's, with characters named "Arnold" and "Sigorney" donning jetpacks and blasting their way through space shooter type stages as enemies relentlessly charge in. Basically a much better version of Silver Surfer gameplay-wise. The levels are kind of uninteresting though and I can't remember any of them, so it's hard to rank it any higher.
#58. Sword Master - A short, simple side-scroller where you engage in a long line of sword-duels with various monsters straight out of RPGs. It's a cool game with big ideas even if it can't realize any of them.
#55, 56, 57. Gradius, Life Force, Gradius 2 - Hard for me to tell the difference between these three, but they're all at similar levels of fun shooter gameplay. For the longest time I thought that Life Force WAS Gradius 2, but nope, they're two different games. Since we didn't get Gradius 2 on NES in the U.S. at the time, I think a lot of NES players just chalked up Life Force as the second game by default.
#54. Double Dragon 2: The Revenge - Kind of a weird game here. It's good, but it has a lot of vertical areas and I like the first one a lot more.
#53. Mega Man 5 - My least-favorite Mega Man game on the NES, it's still an objectively better game than the very first one due to all the improvements. Has two fortresses and some cool bosses/weapons, but it doesn't do anything new whatsoever compared to the awesome Mega Man 4 and feels like a step down if you play them back to back. What really kills it is how you lose your charged shot every time you get hit. The previous game didn't do that, so what a downgrade. The "charge-up" sound is also obnoxious, and you'll hear it in your sleep (probably getting interrupted over and over by damage).
#52. Power Blade 2 - One of the most expensive games on the NES today, this can't really hold a candle to the first one. The environments are more detailed visually, but also less interesting/diverse. I can't tell most of them apart. It's all just "machinery environment", the same issue I had with Mega Man V on the Game Boy. This is a game that's just kind of...there. It has its fans, for sure.
#51. Darkwing Duck - Basically a clone of Mega Man 3, with a stage select and a who's-who of villains from the show. No Negaduck though, (instead we get lame Steelbeak) probably because they were saving him for a sequel. This game is fine, but it's really difficult, and the special weapons are pretty weak. Basically makes most of the Mega Man games look better in comparison.
#50. Journey to Silius - Infamously started life as a Terminator game before being changed due to losing the license. Is easily better than any of the actual Terminator games on the system, but also doesn't have a whole lot to it and is over quickly. The music is the main thing that lifts this up.
#49. Shadow of the Ninja - One of the first 3 NES games I ever played (along with Super Mario Bros and Destiny of an Emperor) in a doctor's waiting room when I was like 5. It's more or less a Ninja Gaiden clone, though not as much so as the next game on the list. I like this game for having more than one character to choose from and the ability to grab and swing up onto ledges. Mobility is good.
#48. Kick Master - Fun action game that uses all kinds of kicks as attacks, with a level-up system that adds a little depth to it. Basically the foot equivalent of Shatterhand. Better than I expected, that's for sure.
#44-47. Adventure Island 1, 2, 3, 4 - I can't tell any of these apart. The first one is the only one I really have any vivid memory of it, because it got hyped up so much as a "Mario killer" when it first arrived (it isn't). All of these games are fun romps, but be warned, they're also ridiculously hard. Having to constantly grab food or die is kind of ridiculous, and means these games are constantly stressful. There were some levels where I could barely get to the end without being near-death for pretty much the entire last part of the level, due to lack of food. The fourth game was Japan only, if I'm not mistaken, and it's too bad because I think I liked that one the most of the four.
#43. Vice: Project Doom - Surprisingly good clone of the Ninja Gaiden series, with cutscenes, a dramatic story, and platforming gameplay. While it isn't as good as any of that trilogy, it punches above its weight and deserves more credit than it gets. Considering how sci-fi it ends up being, it's a bit humorous that it starts out with you playing as a vice cop (aka going after drug pushers) just to capitalize on the popularity of Miami Vice.
#42. Mega Man 6 - A bit better than Mega Man 5, while still sharing a lot of the same problems. I really like the robot master set for this game, with some memorable stages like Tomahawk Man. The soundtrack is in top form, and the new Rush hybrid-abilities are fun. Rush Jet is the main thing that elevates this one further above Mega Man 5.
#41. The Little Mermaid - A good first game for a little kid, this is a short, easy game with very little to it. It plays well, though, and there's really nothing wrong with it.
#40. Double Dragon. Solid beat 'em up here that spawned an entire series. It's a good time and I'm always down for a quick run at it. That said, it's a lot lower on the list than it should be because of how bad the platforming is, and late-game it pushes quite a bit of said platforming on you.
#39. Dragon Warrior 2 - The worst game in the DQ series (then again, I'd rather replay this than DQ6 or DQ7...), this is a game that I like a lot in spite of its problems. Lot of jank here as the series moved from the basic solo-character gameplay to a group-based dynamic, with uneven difficulty and characters that are wildly unbalanced. The Prince of Cannock is borderline useless compared to the other two, for example. All of that said, this game is pretty charming, and there's a good time buried in there. It later got some much better remakes.
#38. DuckTales - Classic pogo-jumping gameplay with Scrooge McDuck. Another game that is a lot of fun and over too fast. I find this one a little overrated, personally, but just a bit. It's a good game and a fun hour or so, but it isn't going to rock your socks off.
#37. Dr. Mario - Great puzzle game where you match colors to eliminate viruses. While I vastly prefer Tetris, this one has its own appeal. My hot babysitter was really into this game when I was 13 or so, which elevates it a bit.
#36. TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project - Fun beat 'em up that I like, but for me it lives in the shadow of Turtles in Time on the SNES. It's pretty solid for the NES though. One issue with it is that it overstays its welcome, while TMNT 2 is just right.
#35. TMNT 2: The Arcade Game - Another beat 'em up. Played these back-to-back a while ago. I remember preferring this one slightly over the sequel, maybe because I played it first so it was fresher. Also, like I said, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and leaves you wanting more.
#34. Shatterhand - This could pretty much be called "Punch Master" as this one is all about punching. It's a really surprising game, in a good way. On the surface it looks like a pretty standard action game, but it has some awesome powerups and fun gameplay that elevate it above most of the generic action games on the system.
#33. Destiny of an Emperor - Very unique RPG that does things differently than anything else on the system. Almost ventures into the realm of Romance of the Three Kingdoms style simulations at times, but not really. The gameplay stays firmly rooted in the more easily-playable realm of, say, Dragon Warrior. It's a good one that most people slept on.
#32. Metroid - The worst game in the Metroid series, but still good for the time. This has an interesting world to explore and great powerups that have stood the test of time (and continued to appear throughout the series). The main downside to this game is that the rest of the series obsoletes it - sometimes directly, like Zero Mission. Also that whole "start with 30 health every time you die" thing is super annoying. Other than that, the game is a good time, especially with Nintendo Power maps in tow.
#31. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - Jason Graves' #1 NES game of all time is my #26 game. I like the RPG mechanics that they added to this one, and the side-scrolling gameplay can be decent, but it also has a lot of issues. Glad they didn't keep pursuing this direction for future games and went back to the standard overhead view for future Zeldas.
#30. Dragonball Z RPG 2 - Gekishin Freeza - The "good one" out of the NES DBZ RPG set. The Freeza Saga is the one most conducive to RPG gameplay, given that Freeza has an army of minions and Namek makes for a solid overworld map. This one was enjoyable from start to finish. The soundtrack is especially good. Why couldn't the rest be this good? I mean, they were alright, but this game is actually really good.
#29. Ghosts n' Goblins - Super-hard game that is also a legit thrill to try and get through. Unlimited continues mean this 20 minute game can take as long as it needs to, even if you die a hundred times. Every level feels like a huge accomplishment, and the gameplay is tight. The only problem is the endgame, where the last level requires you to get the Shield weapon (and thus heavily gimp yourself) to fight the actual final boss. Putting all that weird, ill-advised stuff aside, most of the game really stands the test of time.
#28. Castlevania - The first of its name, and surprisingly good despite being archaic. All of the gameplay elements that became standard for this series began here, with an outstanding soundtrack to top it off. Alas, it isn't as fun to play as it should be, due to the knockback when getting hit, and it can't be as high up the list as I'd like it to be. Later games do it better, especially the third one.
#27. Super Mario Bros - The game that redefined gaming after years of single-screen Atari games, this is #1 in a historical importance sense. The game itself, though? Kinda mid. That's right, I said it. Was never a fan of how much Mario slides around, and most of the levels look alike. The game is top-heavy on difficulty, with World 8 posing most of the challenge (mainly 8-3 and 8-4). It can also be finished in under ten minutes with warp zones. All of that said, it's still a good game today, worth a quick jaunt every so often. Later games do it better, especially the third one.
#26. Batman - Sunsoft's acclaimed action-platformer, this is a great game along the lines of Power Blade. It's a bit on the tough side though. This game deserves credit for two things in particular: The wall-jumping mechanics (which it makes better use of than maybe any other game on the NES), and the color scheme. Given how dark the game's background is, it uses a lot of bright vibrant foreground colors that really pop off the screen in an "80's arcade game" sort of way.
#25. The Legend of Zelda - Another "go out, explore, and have fun" type of open-world game, like Dragon Warrior. This game had a certain mystique back in the day and felt like it had secrets behind every corner. As an adult, I know where most of the secrets are, so a lot of that mystique is gone. Still, it's another wildly-influential beginning to greatness. But, you guessed it, later games in the series did it (a lot) better.
#24. Gargoyle's Quest II - A very underrated adventure-platformer. It's so underrated that it's only getting 4 sentences here because I honestly can't remember enough to say anything about it. But it's really solid, just like the Game Boy one but not as much so as the SNES sequel. Worth a play some time for Halloween or something, it'll bring you back in time.
#23. Final Fantasy III - Perhaps the toughest game in the series, the high point of this game is the class system that lets you change classes at will, adapting your strategy as the game goes on. It doesn't require you to invest in class changes the way, say, Dragon Warrior III does (which I prefer because it requires commitment), but it does allow for more creative party composition on the fly. This is a big, meaty game that feels truly epic.
#22. Ninja Gaiden - Solid platformer that emphasizes story/cutscenes in a way that hadn't been done before. Unlimited continues, some iconic bosses, and a story that gets you invested all combine to make a game worth playing. Unfortunately, the endgame kinda kills a lot of this game's appeal. Because of a really unfortunate bug in the coding, game overing at any of the final bosses inexplicably puts you back several stages instead of keeping you at the stage you're on. At least the final bosses stay down once defeated (there are three of them) but most people will have to go through the last few stages many times over. Much like Ghosts n' Goblins, this is a great game that gets knocked down quite a bit by the endgame.
#21. Dragon Warrior - This game may be rudimentary, but it's also a bit timeless. It's fun to speedrun, completable in a few short hours. Everything about it is tight and cohesive and serves a purpose, with you the player choosing the route you take through the world en route to the final goal that you can see right from the beginning. In that sense it's the genesis of things like Elden Ring.
#20. Earthbound Zero/Beginnings - An underrated RPG that deserves more credit than it's ever really gotten. It has some early NES jank like being slow and requiring lots of grinding, but it's also the genesis of everything that made Earthbound great. It's a charming game that feels ahead of the time, with a real-world setting that is appealing. Hope you like grinding though. (I do)
#19. Mega Man 3 - This used to be my favorite of the NES Mega Mans by a longshot due to playing it the most as a kid. Now I've got it in third place. It's a great game with a killer soundtrack, appealing bosses, and some of the better special weapons in the series. A few things bring it down, like the Doc Robot stages that I'm not a fan of.
#18. Startropics - A forgotten series that deserves way more love from Nintendo, this was a great couple of top-down adventure games that had your hero exploring various worlds, talking to lots of NPCs, taking on dungeons, and slaying bosses. It's a bit like Zelda, but has a design and personality all its own. Zoda is an underrated villain. How about a Startropics 3 at some point, Nintendo?
#17. Kirby's Adventure - A huge step up from Kirby's Dream Land, this adds the power-absorption abilities Kirby is known for (along with his pink color). It's a terrific game that's always fun to revisit even today.
#16 Ninja Gaiden II - More of what made the first good, adding some new powerups (the dopplegangers are particularly great) and continuing a story full of twists and turns. While the first is more memorable, this is a better game overall.
#15. Destiny of an Emperor 2 - Takes everything the first did and enhances it, with better graphics and more polished gameplay.
#14. Super Mario Bros 2 (The NES one) - Totally different from the first game, and started life as a non-Mario game. Either way, it's fantastic to play through, and the four characters give it a ton of replay value. Like so many other essential NES serieses, this series goes out and takes risks with the second game by going in a different direction. Unlike most of the other twos that took risks, this one actually paid off and made for a super fun game. The new direction still didn't carry over into future titles, though.
#13. Mega Man 2 - Has some perfect, timeless design, great special weapons, and so many iconic moments that defined this series after the first game didn't quite find its footing yet. Loses some ground for not having the slide (and that terrible Crash Bomb boss) but overall I find this game to edge out Mega Man 3 in terms of level design and fun factor. Big fan of the green dragon robot, who I always fight with Quick Boomerangs.
#12. Power Blade - This underrated game is far better than its sequel. It was on the cover of the first Nintendo Power I ever read, and I was obsessed with it as a kid. So much so that when emulation became a thing some 7 years later, I think this might have been the first thing I played (yes, ahead of Metroid and Mega Man 3). A stage select gives you lots of freedom on how to play this game, and the huge stages have diverse environments with some super-memorable bosses. The boomerang is a sweet weapon (and kinda unique for the time) and the levels are fun to explore and figure out. Nothing is entirely straightforward, but they aren't mazes you get lost in either. This one is just rad.
#11. Ninja Gaiden III - I almost ranked this much lower. What kills it is the limited continues. Why did they decide to go that route? The first two were fine with unlimited continues. Putting that aside, the overall level-to-level difficulty is actually lower than the first two by a noticeable margin (it's still harder than they are due to the continues issue, unless you're playing on emulator, in which case this is the easiest of the three). All of that said, the story in this one might be my favorite of the three, and it gets truly creepy as it goes on. Focuses a lot more on technology, while the first two were more mysticism-focused, which can be hit or miss. It also fixes pretty much all of the problems with the first two games. What puts it over the top is the Super Sword powerup, which for the first time in the trilogy makes your regular sword attacks a big arc rather than a stabby motion. The game is so much more fun with that change alone.
#10. Contra - As far as pure fun goes, it doesn't get much better than Contra. They landed the formula on the first try with this series. Yeah, it's pretty difficult, but you get 30 lives (damn right I'm using the code) and as you get better and better, that's more than enough to get through it after a few runs.
#9. Super C - AKA "Contra 2" except not in name. More of the same, only better, with more stage types and more variety in general. I particularly enjoy all of the Xenomorph references in this game. These two are a perfect one-two punch of 80's sci-fi distilled down to video game form, and completely annihilate all of the licensed games based on the movies that inspired them which is kind of hilarious.
#8. Startropics 2 Zoda's Revenge - I'm not exactly picking the most flattering screenshot of the game here, lul. Don't be fooled, this is a fantastic top-down action RPG, and the visuals get more close-up and robust during the dungeons. Continues the story of Startropics and does more of the same, only better. I always preferred this one, at least. It's very late in the NES lifespan so it has great visuals/sound, along with an assortment of "Zoda Clone" bosses that have to be felled en route to the big guy himself. Of everything on this list, this is #1 of things I haven't covered on this site and would really like to. Just need to find a place and time for it. Figuring out what to make room for and cover is difficult, and the competition is fierce. Like being the 7th kitten, trying to get to the 6th available cat nipple at supper time.
#7. Dragon Warrior 4 - A lot of people's number one on the NES - and 15 years ago I would have said the same - this is the high point for RPG narratives on the system. The inability to control your characters (aside from the lead) in the main chapter of the game brings it down a lot in the gameplay department, as does the lack of a class system. However, the characters, story, and world are all great.
#6. Mega Man 4 - The best of the six NES Mega Mans, this has all the QOL without getting redundant like the last two. Your charge shot doesn't get interrupted, and it has my favorite Robot Master (Pharoah Man). Both of the two (yes, two) fortresses are well-designed and fun to go through. This is just a great game from top to bottom, with no weaknesses. One of the Mega Mans had to shoot for the moon on this list and this was the standout.
#5. Final Fantasy - While FFIII does a lot of the same things with improvements, I kinda like that this one makes you stick with the same classes for the entire game. It actually gives it replay value as you try finishing the game with different classes. I've probably beaten this game more than any other RPG, with just about every possible class permutation, and to this very day it's still fun to run through it every so often. Just about the only real negative about it, aside from some early-era QOL issues, is that the Thief class is pretty bad/useless. I struggled more with 4x Thief than I did with 4x White Mage, a lot more. They become pretty decent once they reach the Ninja class-up, at least. Solid B+ players at that point. This game is great, and I wasn't kidding that I've finished it more than any other RPG out there. My total playthroughs probably number around 20; I think only Super Metroid is higher.
#4. Dragon Warrior 3 - While I think Dragon Warrior 4 is a better RPG, I think this one is a better game (this principle will happen again near the top of the SNES list...yeah I have one of those in the works too). It's fun to plan out your class composition over the course of the game. I particularly liked running this with the Hero + 3x Goof-Offs, then blasting everything with 3x Sages lategame. Lastly, there are some super-memorable areas like the Pyramid, some interesting stories, and some stunning revelations. Touring real-world analogues like Jipang (Japan) added to the mystique of it all.
#3. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - Falls into that Ghosts n' Goblins category of super hard game that pushes you to the limit. Every level you finish feels like an accomplishment. Improving on Castlevania in every possible way, this is the NES 'Vania to play, no doubt about it. Unlimited continues means you can keep swinging at this for hours and hours if you want to, and it never stops being fun or gorgeous to look at even as it punishes you. Out of your Gaidens and Vanias and Goblins, this is the one I'd reach for if I want a blistering challenge. Only Ninja Gaiden III might be competition for it, but the limited continues knocked that one out of contention.
#2. Super Mario Bros 3 - The game I think of when I think "NES". No other game is so synonymous with the system and what it represents. This is the peak of platformers on the system without a doubt, with highly-memorable worlds and bosses. I'd go so far as to say this might be better than Super Mario World on the SNES in everything except visuals. It's the NES reaching for the sky. Admit it, looking at this shot, you want to finish the level to get that third star.
#1. Tetris - IMO the best version of Tetris on any retro systems, this one plays perfectly and is still used for competitive tournaments today. Probably the #1 "pick up and play" game on the system. I like this version a lot more than the Game Boy version, portability be darned, because the colors help. I always end up relying way too much on line-blocks until I end up letting things inevitably get out of control while waiting for more of 'em. As far as something literally anyone can play and enjoy, this might be the only thing that manages to pass Mario 3 for me.
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