NES Games

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the first video game system I ever played.  It's so far back in my memory that the earliest recollection I have of it was playing it on Saturdays with my brother when I was about 6.  According to my parents, however, I actually beat Super Mario Bros when I was 2 years old.  With a library of hundreds of games, choosing my personal top 5 is a lot harder then it seems.  Keep in mind that these are the 5 games that I enjoyed, not necessarily the ones I think are most influential or even best designed.  With that in mind here are the games that didnt make the list:

*these are GREAT games, just not my personal favorites

Mega Man 2: One of the best soundtracks of all-time, tight controls, ridiculously fun and hard.  Beat it and loved it as a teen but it lacks a nostalgic factor due to me playing it so late.

Castlevania Series: Loved Symphony of the Night on PS, but sadly didn't really get into the originals as a kid.

Metroid: Sorry..it kinda, just bored me as a kid.  Made it up to Mother Brain as an adult, but nowadays its pretty unplayable.

Legend of Zelda: WHAT? Yeah I love/loved this game, but it just barely missed the cut along with..

Punch-Out: So much fun, but you're ranked number 7 right behind..

Double Dragon 2: I had so much fun with this game.  Like Battletoads this was one of my favorite side scrolling beat em ups.

**I didn't own these games below, therefore no matter how great they were, I wouldn't know (some I've tried recently and they are excellent, just don't hold up well to me today)

Ninja Gaiden Series
Duck Tales/Rescue Rangers
Journey to Silius
Star Tropics

With those out of the way, lets start our list off with..

NUMBER 5

BUBBLE BOBBLE

Taito - 1986

My brother and I used to argue a lot, but one thing that helped shut us up was playing video games.  Bubble Bobble is one of those games that forces you to play with a partner (only way to gain the happy ending) meaning me and Michael had to stop arguing and work together.  Literally, even if you went through all the levels, beat the final boss, and saved the girls, your ending is not complete unless you beat it with a friend.  You play as Bub and Bob (creative names huh?), two dragons who use bubbles to trap enemies and burst them through 100 levels on your quest to save your girlfriends.  Simple enough premise right?  Along the way you gain powerups, need to use precise platforming skills, and sometimes teamwork to defeat each enemy to move onto the next level.  The sound effects are enjoyable along with a catchy tune that loops throughout the games entirety (besides the final boss).  It recently was rereleased on the XBLA so I recommend you check out the redone Bubble Bobble. 

NUMBER 4

CONTRA

Konami - 1987

Contra is by far one of the greatest co-op games (and series for that matter) ever created.  For those who played the arcade version, I'm sorry to tell you, you missed out.  Contra on the NES was close to the arcade version but with longer levels, more bosses, and better in pretty much every way imaginable.  Awesome soundtrack, tight controls, fun and varied levels, great visuals, and very minimal story (at least in the American version.)  This was one of those games where all you needed to do was push start (or put the konami code in first) and drop right into the action.  You run and gun to the right (some segments require you progress forward) as you pick up powerups (everyone loved the Spread) and face up against epic bosses.  My brother and I spent days playing this game over and over and could easily pick the game up today and have a blast.  If you didn't play Contra on the NES as a kid, hunt down a copy and enjoy some of the best co-op gaming from the '80s. 

NUMBER 3

SUPER MARIO BROS 3

Nintendo - 1988 (Japan) 1990 (US)

Most of you are probably surprised by this selection aren't you?  Not because it's on my list (frankly it should be on every top 5 best NES games) but because it's ranked as low as it is.  Regarded not only as one of the best NES games, but one of the greatest games of all time, it's understandable as to why people would argue it's low ranking here.  Don't get me wrong though, I loved SMB3 and still have fun playing it today.  Great soundtrack, incredibly creative and sometimes odd powerups (Tanooki suit?) and characters, this game was insane.  There were tricks and secrets hidden all over, multiple worlds with different themes, minigames, new characters (Koopa Kids), and timelessly tight controls.  The fact of the matter is, I do feel it should be regarded as one of the best of all time.  However, I honestly didn't find myself popping this cartridge into my system as often as my 2nd and 1st choice.  After I would beat this game, I'd kinda get bored and not touch it for a few months.  Amazing game regardless of ranking.

NUMBER 2

RIVER CITY RANSOM

Technos - 1989 (Japan) 1990 (US)

Wow look at that awesomely bad box art!  Pretty horrible huh?  Don't let the art fool you though because inside the box was one of the best side scrolling co-op brawlers released on the NES.  Taking cues from games like Double Dragon (even having you fight the "Dragon Twins" as bosses) River City Ransom had everything Mikey and I could want in a two-player game.  You play Alex and Ryan as they try to save River City High and Ryan's girlfriend from rival gangs.  The controls are similar to Double Dragon's giving you free control along the screen letting you jump, kick and punch enemies along the way.  The game also has many RPG elements allowing players to upgrade their stats as well as purchase new moves.  These upgrades can be purchased in towns (as well as some secret areas) and there are even other people to talk to.  This game doesn't take itself too seriously and because of this there are lots of genuinely funny moments especially in the dialogue.  Funny story, great gameplay, multiple upgrades, and tight controls make up one of my favorite NES games of all time.

As you could tell, multiplayer (primarily co-op) played a huge role in many of my choices.  However, this last game is a single player game and I'm sure pretty much no one out there will agree with my number 1 choice. 

Let's see that drumroll..

NUMBER 1

KIRBY'S ADVENTURE

Hal Laboratory (Nintendo) - 1992 (Jap) 1993 (US)

 

Show of hands on how many expected this?  No one?  No one out there believes thinks this should be number 1?  I can't begin to describe to you how much fun I had with this game.  Nintendo was already well on their way with the Super NES and most forgot about the NES by '93 but Hal Labs was working on a 2nd title (first being on the GameBoy) to their Kirby franchise.  One day Kirby wakes up from a nap realizing that he didn't dream.  Kirby decides to investigate the Fountain of Dreams and finds out that King Dedede has stolen the Star Rod and broken it into 7 different pieces, giving 6 to his friends and keeping one for himself.  The Star Rod is the source of the fountains power and without it everyone has grown restless.  Kirby sets off on an adventure to recover the Rod from Dedede!  This was the premise of Kirby's Adventure and it was a great way to start this incredible journey.  You travel through different worlds, each bright and beautiful, battling different waves of enemies, minibosses and final bosses.  Much to peoples surprise, Kirby didn't gain the power to absorb his enemies abilities until his second romp (along with his now trademark pink shade.)  I remember many weekends spent playing through this game, trying to find all the secrets, increasing my high score, enjoying the minigames, and being genuinely surprised at the ending (play the game, or if you have to, youtube it.)  The soundtrack was a joy to listen to as was experimenting with all the cool powerups.  This was classic Nintendo platforming and a true testament to how much life the NES still had at this time.  Some have argued that this game is great, but lacking in depth; I think this game has a lot of replayability and can be enjoyed multiple times through.  Kirby's Adventure had multiple save files too so you could easily just save and continue another day (don't laugh! This wasn't a mandatory feature in all NES games!)  There's so much more I could go on about with Kirby like the fun bosses, great and funny characters, perfect controls (balancing jumping, flying, inhaling, attacking, etc) but if you haven't played this game, do yourself a favor and check it out.  Classic NES gaming at it's finest and if you can't locate an original copy, download it on the Virtual Console or track down the GBA remake. 

I'm sure there are tons of opinions out there and most likely all of you probably disagreed with my choices.  Try to understand that nostalgia played a key factor into many of these choices so if you don't like mine, why not list your top 5 below?  It's a lot harder then it looks considering the crazy amount of great NES titles there are.  Thanks for reading and I'll be posting a new game list within the week!