Today I have compiled my ‘Top Ten’ favorite NES games of all time. This is not a “Best games ever for the NES” list, as I did not play a lot of the popular franchise games such as Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda until after the NES was old news and SNES ruled the world. While there are many other great games, this Top Ten list is based on the games i came across as a kid in the 80’s in the NES heyday, and still love going back to play through even to this day. This list is in no particular order, as i pop in and play all of these titles still on a regular basis.
1. Pipe Dream
In a time where i thought Tetris was the end-all puzzle game and no other puzzle game could even come close, a friend showed me Pipe Dream. It’s simple yet addictive. You connect pipe parts to control the flow of … green … sewer … grossness and funnel it to the outside of the screen, or if given, and end piece. The parts flow a-la Tetris style and its a blast. The cover art shown above is for when it was released on Nintendo, as it is a port from PC. Its bland cover art, but the original cover art could be submitted for best cover art ever.
2. Donkey Kong Classics
This was first NES game I ever owned. Even though my NES came with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, I didn’t see it in the Nintendo box while opening it like a madman, and my mom through the box away. My dad felt bad I didn’t have a game to play, so he went to the store and recognized Donkey Kong from the arcade he played after work. The cartridge has both Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr. in it, and has multiple game modes along with a two player mode. It’s still fun and quite challenging to play even though each game is fairly short.
3. TMNT 2: The Arcade Game
I can still remember the commercial for this game. It’s actually the first video game commercial I can ever remember seeing. There is all kinds of bad guys jumping into an arcade cabinet, then they showed game play on its screen. If that didn’t make me want the game bad enough, being a huge Turtles fan, the commercial ends by telling you they have included a free pizza coupon in the box. That was it for me. The pepperoni on the pizza is that the game is A BLAST to play, and for me the music is very memorable.
4. Shadowgate
It wasn’t until 20 years later i would actually meet a person who played this game when they were younger. I never saw it in the store (probably because it is a PC port and not a popular one at that), my grandma of all people found it at a garage sale and sent it to me. I had never seen a “Point and click” game before (even though it’s listed as an adventure game) and since there was no Internet, and I knew no one to ask, I couldn’t get passed the first couple of screens for months. It is still today what i would consider one of the hardest games for the NES. Go ahead try to play it. It is a sad thing your adventures have to end there.
5. Super Mario Bros. 3
This game is no secret, but never the less I had to play it at 3 different people’s houses before i finally convinced my parents to buy it. It is a top-notch game in every category, and has sealed the Mario franchise into greatness. Though there are MANY great Mario titles, this one is my favorite.
6. Bionic Commando
I stared at the cover art for this game many times before slamming it into my NES. The action in this game is intense, and since there is no jumping, you have to use your ‘Bionic Arm’ to get across gaps and climb up to parts of the stage. You have to find secret radio rooms, and find the right combination of levels to play, as the enemy moves around. This is also the fist time I started keeping track of a Companies releases, as Capcom released many more greats for the NES.
7. Dig Dug II: Trouble in Paradise
Remember the times of renting games from the local grocery store? Do you also remember the Frustration of your favorite game to rent always being rented out? Well once I realized I was never going to be able to rent Mega Man again, the only game that looked remotely interesting (box art wise) was this game. I put this game in and the fun never stopped. You get a jack hammer to create fault lines and sink land into the ocean, killing everything on that land. You get a pump you shove in an enemies mouth, and inflate him till he explodes. And best of all, just to screw you out of a couple hundred of points, enemies COMMIT SUICIDE by jumping off the land into the ocean when there are just a few of them left. How did that get past Nintendo’s strict content policies??
8. Bomberman
Yet another game i played at a friend’s house. Did my parents EVER buy me anything? (well, other than food and clothes and shelter). This game has spawned a massive list of sequels that are all fun, but nothing beats the original right? In this game you get to bomb and burn enemies for points. What else could a growing boy ask for? …oh, except for the game itself.
9. Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers
I loved the cartoon, and I saw that it was a Capcom game. I was sold. And so was the game when i got it for Christmas. (Finally my parents bought me a game!). The game has GREAT game play, as two people can play cooperative, and the levels are fun and challenging. This game’s replay value is high, and it feels a lot like Super Mario Bros.
10. BreakThru
This game is hard, but insanely fun. You control a dune buggy on all kinds of different terrain trying to get past little army guys with guns, tanks, helicopters and all kinds of stuff trying to stop you. It has 5 levels, and to this day I can’t beat the fifth level. I still try and I still fail. What a blast!
