Right off the bat Nintendo pumped out great titles that we could enjoy playing, not only alone, but with our friends and those annoying neighbourhood kids. Now I didn’t get to experience the NES until almost the end of its era; when Super Nintendo was released, however I got to play some fantastic games that I still play to date.
These are my top ten all time favourites and probably most gamers favourite NES games.
10. Mario Bros/Duck Hunt double cartridge
These two games were both original releases for the NES, and they were so popular they eventually made a double cartridge that released with almost every NES system from 1988 onwards; these are easy to find and most people have a few copies of them. Mario was something we had never played before and I feel it changed our childhood for the better; I remember my first time playing Mario bros and stomping on my first goomba, an experience every child should have.Duck hunt you got to use the cool Nintendo gun and actually shoot ducks on the screen, even though when you missed the dog would laugh at you. It wasn’t always your fault as the gun only worked sometimes.Both are fantastic games.
9. Battletoads
Released near the end of NES years, Battletoads starred 3 toads Rash, Pimple and Zitz. Ya these were gross names, but hey the game was fun. In my opinion this is one of the hardest NES games I've ever played. When I first played this game I found it very challenging; and even harder when you played with a friend. You can hit each other and never make it far. It's a beat 'em up style of game and back then we didn’t care if we beat the game or if we just spent hours playing. I don’t know anyone that’s actually beat this game.
8. Double Dragon
This is one of the games I had as a child and though it was great. Released in 1987, this game starred Billy and Jimmy as they fight to rescue there common love interest Marian. It is a beat 'em up style much like Battletoads; in fact they created a game called Battletoads/Double Dragon where the 5 of them team up in the ultimate fight! This game was equally as hard as Battletoads.
7. Contra
Never before had we seen or will see such a smooth shooting game like Contra. The controls and how they characters moved were fantastic; in fact many other shooter games tried and were unsuccessful. The player can jump, move, and fire in eight directions. You can also move or jump simultaneously while firing. The downside is one hit and your dead. Another 1987 released game. My first run through of this game I had trouble not dying but as you play it you learn tricks to keep going like: never stop shooting and keep moving or your dead.
6. Castlevania
This game has very different controls and it takes sometime to get use too. Castlevania was released in 1987 and was the jumping point for 2 sequels on the NES and more on other systems. You play a character called Simon Belmont who sets out to kill Dracula, and other various monsters on your journey
5. Metroid
A great first title for the series that had many more. When I first played this game I was kind of lost as it doesn’t really tell you where to go. Like most games and you spend a lot of time wandering around. This is the first time we got to play as Samus Aran; A mysterious character in a suit. To our surprise it was a girl character for once: her mission to retrieve the parasitic Metroid organisms that were stolen by Space Pirates
4. Ninja Gaiden
A great fast paced game that can be frustrating. My first play through of this was very irritating as I'm not one to rush through a level; but with this game you have to because if you stop the enemies respawn and kill you.A hard game to learn and master but a great one! You star as the character Ryu Hayabasu as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father.
3. Kirby’s adventure
Kirby had his debut with gameboy, however in 1993 he had his first home console debut and it was finally in color! Kirby is a fun character; he sucks up his enemies and uses their abilities to help him along his way to King Dedede. I personally love Kirby games they're not overly challenging but just a basic game that’s easy to learn and enjoy.
2. Zelda
One of my all time favourites, and one of the popular franchises in Nintendo history.You are Link, you wander into a cave to get a sword from an old man, and from there your adventure begins. You have to collect the tri force pieces, as well as various weapons and tools, solve puzzles and defeat tons of enemies and bosses to rescue Princess Zelda. I remember spending hours playing this game; it took that long to find where your going. There's secrets like burning a certain bush to unlock a level or solving the maze to get into the graveyard. Some parts were frustrating, but it’s the ultimate game none the less.
1. Mario 3
Mario taken to the next level, its probably one of the best made NES games. The previous Mario bros games were quite basic and couldn’t explore much, but with Mario 3’s world map and various level choices, items and power ups, and you were introduced to Bowser's children. It was a fun game you wanted to play over and over. When I got this game I could finally explore in levels instead of being pushed by the level to advance. The under water levels were a new feature, as well as cool new suits like the racoon and frog suit. Lots of fun to play.
And those are my Top Ten NES Games. Until the next one Gamers!
By: Chris Bingham