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There's no real way to type a real Top Ten, Top Fifteen, or even a Top FIFTY NES Games list without somebody bitching about one thing or another. Chances are that my list is different from yours and your list is different from some else's list. That's the beauty of the NES... everyone's list of favorite games will differ!
So if your #1 favorite isn't in my list, don't be a bitch and cry about it. Now for this list.. I went through some games and decided to pick one game per franchise. Check it out!
(Yes, I know, I'm using the tactics that ScrewAttack.com uses for their top ten.) 15. A Boy & His Blob We start of with an epic adventure that relies on teamwork, jellybeans, and dumb luck. A Boy & His Blob must find treasure in the under caves that have been somehow unfounded and buy an entire crapload of really expensive vitamins. The reason? To save Blobonia from an evil tyrant.
Doesn't make much sense, I know, but the game is surprisingly fun and very addictive! It's a simple puzzle game that every eight-year-old would get frustrated with, but once you get older, it's really pretty simple. That's not to say you won't die, though, because in order to go through the game, you have to take your chances. By taking these chances, you'll often fall to your death... a lot.
Because of its somewhat perfect balance of difficulty and simplicity, this makes A Boy & His Blob number fifteen on the list. 14. Mike Tyson's Punch Out
What do you get when you combine a man who bites off peoples' ears, a Rocky-like storyline, and Mario? You get Mike Tyson's Punch Out! One of the most memorable games in the NES, a lot of people still tend to forget about it when naming some of the best NES games of all time. Not because it's bad. but because of what it basically was.
It was just a punch-em 'til their down type of game, which was fun, but require little skill. At least until you get higher in the levels. You face some memorable characters with attacks being simply.. face punch, or gut bunch. You could dodge and block, too, but half the time you didn't need that.
Nothing's more satisfying that defeating the big bad crazy man known as Mike "NES" Tyson. That's why it's #14 on this list. 13. Whomp 'Em
A fun game that many consider a rip-off of MegaMan. While I won't deny that, it's still a fun game on its own. You lead a Native American, named Soaring Eagle, on a quest to collect magical totems and pass quests to prove himself to the tribal elders. With each quest (level) passed, he gains an ability... much like in MegaMan.
Ok, yeah, it is a MegaMan rip-off, but it's still a fun game. The designs of the enemies and the face Soaring Eagle makes when he dies is just hilarious. This game was made based of the novel, Journey to the West, which is the same novel the Son Goku from DragonBall (more so than DBZ) is inspired by. The soundtrack was fun to listen and its a great way to spend an hour if you're just wanting to kill time. While it was made in an attempt to gain American gamers, the samurai at the just screams "Nihon!" Even so, this game was fun, which is why it's #13 on the list. 12. Kung Fu
Kung-Fu on the NES was a fun and simple game. It was difficult, but still fun and simple. At first, you don't even know why a bunch of guys are trying to gang rape you or throw knives at you, but you eventually find out that your girlfriend, Sylvia, was taken hostage by a Mr. X.
It's repetitive, but it was just damn fun going around and punching midgets in the face while break dancing your way to victory. You eventually meet up with Mr. X, who's more less an evil twin version of Thomas, your character.
The best thing, though, is that after beating the game a mere 50 times, you can fight Sylvia. Jeez! 50!? 11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Now a lot of people hate this game. They bitch about it being "too hard." No it wasn't. It was fun. It was in your face, if-you-can't-pass-this-part-then-you-suck fun! The main reason people tend to dislike this game is because the AVGN used it in one of his Nerd videos, which is fine. I will admit that the game can be difficult to get at times, but it's not impossible... at least not on the same level as Ghost & Goblins or Battletoads.
All it takes is to use your brain and the game becomes relatively easy. I happen to enjoy using my brain, so this game wasn't too difficult for me. To me, the only downfall about the game is that the turtles seem completely unbalanced. Donatello, is easily the most favored turtle when attack speed isn't needed and rarely does Michelangelo ever see any action.
Despite being unfairly criticized, I think the first TMNT game was pretty good. I know a lot of people may hate this game and would completely disagree with it being on any "best of" list concerning the NES, but hey, I have my own opinions. 10. Legend of Zelda
I'll be honest with you. I'm not a huge fan of the Zelda series. I'm more of a platformer, fighting game, or beat 'em ups kinda guy. I won't lie to you, though, I did spend plenty of time playing Legend of Zelda. It was fun. Going around and killing things with a sword you can throw and find various old men that gave you some hints and tips over a certain part of the game. I always hated the assholes who charged you for breaking down their doorway.
Again, like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the series, but it definitely gets props for being a great game. 9. Double Dragon
I love beat-em-ups. I love beat-em-ups allow you to have a buddy. I love beat-em-ups that let you whip chicks, beat third rate knockoffs of The Thing from Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four sucks!), and look good while doing it. Double Dragon, to me, is what defines the beat-em-up genre. A couple of dudes (not to be confused with Bad Dudes), who go around and beat the shit out of people because their chick was kidnapped.
Police? Fuck the police! Just go after them and beat the crap out anyone - man, woman, or thing - and save your chick like a real man! Then in the end, you have to kick your brother's ass to get the chick. Now that's awesome! 8. Batman
Batman's been treated a hell of a lot better than Superman when it comes to being in video games. The NES version of Tim Burton's Batman is not only one the better Batman games, but it's one of the best movie-to-game adaptations ever! Even today with the PS3, X-Box, and Wii, it's still difficult to create as good of a movie adaptation as Burton's Batman on the NES.
The game was fun with Ninja Gaiden-like wall jumping and the ability to used different weapons. It was a tough game to beat, especially against the Joker. If you didn't have enough batarangs, you were done for.
The game gets props for being possibly the best movie-to-game adaptation, but as a game on its own, it's still great. It's one of the few times when you actually feel like Batman, going around and punching the hell out of people.
With fun game play, this game gets #8 on my list. 7. Metroid
Metroid was the shit! It was fun shooting things up and figuring out where the hell I was supposed to go half the time. When it came time to fight, it was exciting and thrilling. This is a unique entry because I'm not a huge fan of the Metroid series. The only other Metroid game I have is Metroid Prime for the Gamecube.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game or franchise, it's just not my style. Though the original Metroid was fun in every way. It took me a long-ass time to beat it, but when I did, I had to do it all over again because I heard about the reward for finishing the game quickly.
I never could finish it as quickly as I wanted to. Still a fun game! 6. Contra
You know what's fun? A game where all you do is go around and fill people with lead. Since you can't do that legally in real life unless you're Class A CIA agent, the closest substitute is Contra! In this game, you basically go around and shoot anything and everything. Sure, one hit kills ya, but it's not incredibly difficult. Yes, it's a hard game, but not in the way most people think.
When most people play this game for the first time, they find themselves getting frustrated because they just can't keep up with the fast paced environment which has bullets coming at you from all over the place. It's a good game and deserves a top ten spot in any NES top ten games list. 5. Ninja Gaiden
Most ninjas use stealth in their tactics. Rikimaru from Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven and Kurenai in Red Ninja the perfect example of the that. Ryu Hayabusa? He says "fuck all that!" and charges each enemy down like a pack of rats just waiting to be eliminated.
Ninja Gaiden sat the standards for all side-scrolling, ninja-related platformers to come on the NES and SNES for its quick responses, kickass music, great controls, and badass gameplay. In my eyes, if any ninja-based game doesn't seem to have a similar feature to Ninja Gaiden, it's not worth playing. As a bonus, the cut scenes in the game were the best during the times of the NES. Something which wouldn't be challenged again until Metal Gear Solid came out.
The game's tough, too. You're bound to get hit at least once and die a few times. First time players will end up dying rather quickly, but it's still worth patience to figure out everything and go on to finish the game. It's fun... damn fun. 4. Little Nemo Dream Master
It's a simple story about a boy who ends up going into this dream world. He feeds candy to certain monsters who help him collect keys and defeat the baddies, who apparently don't like the candy you offer the monsters who help. It seems like a kiddy game at first, but anyone who underestimates it will be surprised at just how difficult the game can be.
It was a highly underrated game that could match the same type of fun gameplay that matched S.M.B., MegaMan, and Whomp 'Em. It was released in the same year as Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Dick Tracy, Double Dragon III: The Revenge, MegaMan 3, Ninja Gaiden II, and Dr. Mario... all of which were more popular than this game at the time.
It's a shame, too, because this was and still is a great game. 3. Journey to Silius
Another victim of being buried in 1990, Journey to Silius is difficult without being too difficult. A hardcore gamer may go through it fairly quickly, but casual gamers like myself will end up learning through trial and error. It's a fun game with a simple story. You go around and blow things up. You collect better firearms later on and you need certain weapons to defeat certain bosses.
This was actually supposed to be a Terminator game, but when it came out, T2: Judgement Day was on the way out, so the company didn't want to focus on the previous story. So instead of scrapping the game altogether, they slapped a different label, changed the story a little and went ahead and released it.
It's highly underrated and highly overlooked, since it came out in 1990, year which many major, already established franchises were coming out with sequels like MegaMan 3, Castlevania III, and Ninja Gaiden II.
It eventually became, "do I want to get his game I never heard of before or do I want to see what sort of robot masters are used in MegaMan 3?" Which sucks because this game definitely deserves some credit and praise. 2. Super Mario Bros. 3
W-what!? How could S.M.B.3 NOT be number one!? It's because this is my list. I won't deny it though, Super Mario Brothers 3 is crazy fun with smooth gameplay, awesome soundtrack in each level and stage, and new tweaks when it comes to the power ups. The secrets have increased and still being found out to this day. It was so good, it required a movie to be made to announce it's release.
Many will argue that this is the best game of all time. Many more will argue that it's the best game on the NES. How could it not be? After all, when people think about games that effected the business, they think of Mario. And when you think of Mario, you think of either him in S.M.B. or S.M.B.3. It's a great game that allows you to either go through the entire length or let's you cheat and get directly to the last world and defeat Bowser once and for all (until the next game).
The thing that made SMB3 great is that you don't spend the whole game looking for the Princess. No, instead you spend the whole game rescuing the Kings of various lands (who somehow happen to have the same Princess Toadstool/Peach.. damn, if she dunno who her father is, the Queen must have been a whore).
Until the last level, when she gets kidnapped for the third, but not final, time. Dammit Princess, someone put a fucking leash on her! 1. MegaMan 2
Ok, a lot of people may be angry that SMB3 didn't make it to my list. Others may say that MegaMan 2 wasn't event the best game of the MegaMan franchise. After all, you can't slide and there's no Mega Buster, but you don't really need them. By limiting your basic moves to running, jumping, and shooting a normal buster cannon, you're forced to really think about these levels.
The robot masters were pretty neat, too, with unique thoughts behind them. The music was amazing and inspired countless remixes to be done for each level. I sometimes even search for the soundtrack on YouTube and listen to the whole thing while writing out blogs, columns, whatever.
The puzzles were fantastic and it's easy to get frustrated with some parts, especially Wily's castle. It was a game that was hard, but simple at the time. Trial and error was your friend here and you learn as you keep playing. It's a type of game where, after you beat Dr. Wily, you just want to leave the game on, listen to the soundtrack, and breath a sigh of relief after winning the game.
It may not be your favorite game, but I'm a huge fan of the MegaMan series and will prefer this over SMB3 any day. That's just me though. What's your top fifteen NES games? Feel free to express yourself!
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14. Contra
13. Solomon's Key
12. Ikari Warriors
11. Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight
10. Kid Icarus
9. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
8. Donkey Kong Classics
7. Tetris
6. Super Mario Bros. 2
5. The Legend of Zelda
4. Kirby's Adventure
3. Metroid
2. Super Mario Bros.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3