The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) was my first gaming console. I was late to the game, not getting my hands on this legendary 8bit Nintendo console until Christmas 1990. To this day it is one of my most played systems in my retro game collection so I thought I would share with you My Best NES Games of All Time.
Picking My Best NES Games of All Time
The NES has a huge catalogue of games but the choices for my best NES games of all time reflects the games I play and enjoyed the most on the system. These are NES games that I played back in the day and that I still play today.
More NES Gaming Fun:
- All You Need To Know About NES Black Box Games
- The Best NES Fighting and Beat Em Up Games
- The Best NES Ninja Games
- The Best NES Racing Games
- All NES WWF Games
10. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2 is a fun movie tie in but as with a lot of Sunsoft games things do get difficult. However, for this game it adds longevity to the game plus you are offered unlimited continues as well as a password system. The graphics and sound are to a very high standard making it a lot of fun as you control Gizmo clearing each level of those nasty Gremlins.
The best way to describe the gameplay is that it is an isometric action/platform style. A great NES game.
9. Ninja Gaiden/Shadow Warriors
Ninja Gaiden was exactly the type of game I could never get hold of for my first home system (the Acorn Electron). I love side scrolling action platformers and Ninja Gaiden doesn’t disappoint. Being a kid of the 80s I was always attracted to anything Ninja related and this NES game is a great Ninja video game. Yes, it can be punishing, but it is so rewarding as you eventually battle your way through the levels.
You really must play a game where you must avenge the death of your father and stop a plot that threatens the world. Ninja Gaiden on the NES is that game.
8. Super Mario Bros 2
I got my NES for Christmas 1990 and with it I got Super Mario Bros 2 and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (they weren’t Ninja Turtles in the UK). Of those two games it was Super Mario Bros 2 that got played the most over the Christmas holidays. This is fantastic game that often gets overlooked compared to the other NES Super Mario games but I love it.
You can select different characters who have different attributes. You can pull plants out of the ground to use as weapons as well as picking up and throwing your enemies too. The game also ramps up the difficulty really well making it challenging without being frustrating.
Super Mario Bros 2 was originally released in Japan as Doki Doki Panic for the Nintendo Famicom. It was then later re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA.
7. Star Wars
Throughout the 1980s my Star Wars gaming had been playing the Atari arcade games and then various home conversions of the original arcade game. When Star Wars was first featured in magazines in the early 90s, I was so excited as it was mostly a platform shooter following the story line of A New Hope (back then we still just called it Star Wars) and a world away from the original arcade game.
The game was expensive on release, but I would end up borrowing it on quite a few occasions and I enjoyed it so much. It wasn’t an easy game but with patience you could make progress and at the time it seemed like a big game too where the levels just kept coming. This was a game that I would spend all weekend playing as I knew I would have to give it back to its owner. I do own it now though along with the Sega Master System and Game Gear Versions too.
You can find my Top 10 Star Wars Retro Games here.
6. Maniac Mansion
Point and click games are not always a genre of video games that I shout about but Maniac Mansion is special. This Lucasfilm Games release is a sci fi, comedy and part horror story that pulls you in with its great story, funny characters and challenging puzzles.
As a kid I didn’t own this game but would borrow it from one of my younger brother’s friends. It has a save function which is absolutely needed as you play as Dave and his teenage friends as you attempt to rescue Sandy and discover the mysteries of the Edison family mansion. A great game with cut scenes, a great story and really funny characters.
5. Super Mario Bros
The game that is as memorable as the Nintendo Entertainment System itself. For many Super Mario Bros was the first game that they played on the NES. I can remember playing it on store displays many times before getting my own system. This game would have to be on anybody’s top 10 NES games list because it is as iconic as Mario himself.
Great playability, great music and great sprites gave the NES such a strong foundation to take on the world. Of course, this is also the title that really established Mario as the Nintendo Mascot that he is to this day.
4. Tetris
You can’t beat a good port of Tetris and the NES version is a very good one. Instantly playable as you would expect with catchy music too. Nowadays I play the NES version of Tetris more than the famous Gameboy version.
As simple as Tetris is there something very relaxing about the NES version that I love. It does get a little tense though as you move up the levels and the blocks start dropping faster. Tetris is timeless fun, and the NES games is my favourite version an the one I play the most in my retro gaming room.
You can find out more about my retro game collection on my YouTube channel here.
3. Batman
The NES version of Batman brings back so much nostalgia and excitement from back in the day. I can clearly remember seeing it in a local electronics store display. I can remember seeing the Batmobile intro and thinking wow that is cool. A lot like Ninja Gaiden in its gameplay Batman is a great action platformer that let’s you use a selection of weapons as you battle through each level.
Based on the 1989 Tim Burton movie your aim is to complete the game by reaching and defeating the final boss; The Joker at the top of Gotham Cathedral. My favourite NES action platformer game.
2. Super Mario Bros 3
The third Super Mario Bros game reaches heights of quality that make it one of (if not) the best Mario games across all the Nintendo systems past and present. Beautiful sprites and music along with some great level designs would be enough to put it on my list. However, you also have the little extra in games and map system too that makes Super Mario Bros 3 the pinnacle of the NES Super Mario Bros trilogy.
The Mean Machines magazine review of the game says it all:
1. Punch Out
Where do I start with Punch Out? This is one of my all-time favourite games of all time and on any system. The graphics are fantastic, it has great humour, and it starts off pretty easy but eventually gets quite tough as you try to progress Little Mac past each opponent. The later stages can be pretty unforgiving if you haven’t played for a while and you really have to remember your opponent’s fight patterns and be spot on with your reactions.
The characters really make the game too with such opponents as King Hippo, Don Flamenco and Bald Bull to name a few. Fortunately, the game also has a password system so that you don’t have to always start right at the beginning of the game when you return to it.
My Best NES Games of All Time
So, there we have my 10 best NES games of all time. I must admit it was hard to pick 10 NES games as there are so many titles I enjoy on the console. I am sure I have missed a lot of NES games that mean a lot to you, but these are genuinely the games I play the most in my retro gaming room.
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Keep it retro.
Daz
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