The 50 best NES games of all time

50 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Sometimes, greatness is less about being really good than being daring. This is certainly the case for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, who built on the platform adventure gameplay of the first Castlevania and added RPG elements, such as a map of the world and an experience system. The game has adopted the nonlinear exploration of Metroid, which made the game much more open, however many items needed at the end of the game are hidden in extremely esoteric places, forcing the player to decipher cryptic clues given by NPCs or simply stumble upon objects in question. As such, Simon's Quest has developed a reputation for notoriously diabolical difficulty, being almost impossible to complete without a guide.

While Simon's Quest Perhaps not the most entertaining or well-crafted game on the NES, he introduced a number of mechanics to the series and to video games in general; starting with Symphony of the night, The RPG elements would become a basic part of the franchise, and Simon's Quest was also one of the first video games to include a day / night cycle, in which the game would become significantly harder during the night. People may not like to play Castlevania IIbut being great is not always to be loved.

49. Metal gear

"Metal gear !?"Long before David Hayter's gritty baritone, before Hideo Kojima's more and more cinematic aspirations (see: Death Stranding), before Raiden, there was only Metal gear. The first adventure of Solid Snake, although very primitive compared to the most extravagant suites of the last years, still shows part of the gameplay of the franchise. It's a stealth mission. The snake must infiltrate into an enemy structure, using a blanket to avoid the enemies the better it can. Of course, the weapons and equipment are OSP (on-site purchases). If Snake is seen by a guard, all guards in the area will try it. However, the AI ​​is not very complex, so it's easy to dismiss it. For fans of the Metal Gear Solid series, playing the original Metal gear it's like studying the bones of an ancient animal; it's fascinating to see what parts have gone through the ages and what parts have evolved into cyborg ninjas.

47 Kung Fu

Fun repetitive and simplistic, Kung Fu is a bit like Duck hunting. The title started as Kung Fu Master, an old arcade game, and was later brought to various consoles such as the NES after the 8-bit revolution, dropping the "Master" part of the title in the process. With only five stages of side scrolling, a dedicated player could hit and start the game in minutes, and once beaten, he would start again at a higher level of difficulty. It contains elements of Bruce Lee Game of death, represents one of the first beat games – em-up for the console, and is often brutally summed up as, "rescuing girlfriend hitting people" which is more than a fit description.

45 Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus was developed and published alongside Metroid, and while the latter has become a megawatt hit stimulating a plethora of big sequels, Kid Icarus quietly fell into the cult clbadic category. The platform game was ridiculously difficult thanks to the perpetually scrolling screen that rose as you climbed, making unplanned jumps or precarious feet a disaster waiting to happen. In addition, it did not help that most floating platforms were incredibly narrow and difficult to navigate even without the entire scrolling facet. Icarus may have flown too close to the sun and tumbled into the sea, but it was a walk away from this game. The last entry of the series, and, unfortunately, perhaps the last, Kid Icarus Uprising modernized mechanics introduced in the original for 3DS.

42. A boy and his blob: problem on blobolonia

This 1989 clbadic is the heartwarming and exciting story about a boy and his blob. Combination of elements of platforms and puzzles, A boy and his blob follows the pair in their quest to save the Blob's home planet, Blobolonia, from an evil dictator. On their way, the boy collects jelly beans that he then feeds to blob to change his respective shape into something better suited to the environment. For example, licorice jelly beans make blob a ladder, vanilla beans turn it into an umbrella, and if you need shelter, just give your blob a strawberry jelly. A boy and his blob is like AND. if E.T. preferred jelly candies on Reese's pieces and could turn into an umbrella.

40 Batman: the video game

As Kevin Smith will tell later, the Bat-Signal was everywhere in the late 80s given the release of Tim Burton Batman in June of 89. Batman: the video game was a loose + tie-in audit movie, and similar to the line-minded DuckTales title, it was not just a money game. Batman could sprint and wall jump to the Ryu in Ninja Gaiden all through the five stages of the game, and even switch between a slew of unique projectile weapons, including the bat shotgun, dirk, and the fabulous batarang. He confronts players such as Killer Moth, the Joker and other Gotham villains, and although he presents notable changes in the story of the film on which he was based, he remains highly criticized nowadays. Can you say the thrill license, whoever?

37 Mega Man

Although cursed, and somewhat defined, with an atrocious cover art, the original Mega Man has managed to overcome such challenges and has established itself as one of the most appreciated franchises in the history of video gaming despite mediocre sales. The Capcom brand title featured nonlinear gameplay, allowing players to select its six levels in the order of their choice, each level culminating in a boss battle against a robot master. Each boss would give up his weapon in case of defeat, be it the super beam, the incendiary bomb, the super arm, or one of the many game updates and Mega Man could then go through it. Other levels or replay the same level. However, you may never want to replay the game given its absurdly-hard difficulty, and again, this cover of art. But if you want to be punished again, see the Mega Man Legacy Collection.

31 Ninja Gaiden

the Ninja Gaiden The series is infamous for delivering some of the most difficult games to master from the existing controller, and as expected, it started from the start. However, Ryu Hayabusa is quite ready to attack the evil Nostradamus and his henchmen cult, no matter how difficult, carrying throwing stars and the Dragon Sword family into the urban environments of the game. , players could focus on all the abilities of ninja clichés, namely flying neck throwing and wall jumping, and using environmental objects as props. Ninja Gaiden It was not only difficult, it was cinematic, arguably offering the first, cinematic-driven narrative of any existing console title. And who could forget that knowingly, continue the screen?

28. River City Ransom

River City Ransom was a bit like Super Mario Bros. meets West Side Story, featuring two high school protagonists who looked a lot like Mario and Luigi had they been born on the wrong side of Mushroom Kingdom. Nicknamed Alex and Ryan, the characters embarked on a quest to save Ryan's girlfriend, Cyndi, from their nemesis Slick, while denigrating nine gangs at a time. Double Dragon in the non-linear open world of the game. Players learned new fighting techniques along the way, such as Grand Slam and Stone Hands, and a pbadword system guaranteed that statistics, skills, possessions The characters' money remained intact. Coming with humor and iconic animation, it has become an instant cult clbadic. A sequel to River City Ransom, River City: Tokyo Run, launched just last year.

27. Jackal

Released in the United States three years later Rambo: First Blood Part II, Jackal was also on the rescue and recovery of prisoners of war. However, while Stallone was counting on the barrage of explosive arrows and an average pack of six, Jackal relied on a Jeep equipped with a scalable rocket launcher and a heavy machine gun. As with most racing games, players have lost lives by taking damage in the title, have earned lives when they accumulated points, and were confronted with a myriad of boss battles once they dropped their saved comrades at their respective rescue locations for helicopter pickup. Yet, unlike Rambo The players were much more productive with a teammate who could lend a helping hand and cheerful.

26. Manic manor

Adventure games, like the moon, have gained momentum during the history of video games. One of the strengths of the genre was in the late '80s and early' 90s, when companies like LucasArts (then known as LucasFilm Games) began to improve the textual origins of the genre by adding richly detailed environments. .

The torchbearer of this new wave of adventure games was LucasFilm Manic manor, the original idea of ​​renowned developer Ron Gilbert. Manor is a tribute to the horror movies of the 80s (think Friday 13). Players control a group of teenagers who are trying to save one of their own from the manor of a mad scientist and his depraved family.

The game is particularly dark despite his humor. The player has the ability to control five different characters, and they can easily fall victim to the perils of the house. The characters may die, in which case the player must choose from one of the remaining characters to continue. There are several endings depending on the characters that survive, and it is possible that all die.

Manic manor Was originally released for the PC, and this first version contained a lot of suggestive humor that Nintendo did not consider acceptable. As such, the NES version has removed most of the more adult jokes in the game, but the sense of humor remains global. Nowadays, you can play Manic manor free thanks to the emulator based on the Internet Archive browser.

25 R.B.I. Baseball

There had been baseball games before this one, but R.B.I. Baseball was the first console game officially licensed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, which means that developers could use the names of real players and add a level of realism until then intact. The stats and skills of the players matched their statistics and skills in everyday life, giving the virtual heats of authenticity an air of authenticity and the fact that the title was based on stamina. players. However, the MLB did not license the game, so even if real players' performances could be used, the real names of the teams and logos could not be used. Fortunately, the MLB jumped on the bandwagon and a beautiful friendship was born out of the revolutionary commercial success of R.B.I. Baseball.In recent years, the retro franchise has tried to come back, but that did not go very well. The original, however, brings back good memories.

24. Double Dragon II: The revenge

When the original Double Dragon has been adapted from NES arcade, the developers have abandoned the only thing that made the game so compelling in the arcades: the cooperative fight. For the rest, they finally brought the co-op gameplay co-op to the console, and in turn brought close friends through fights, 8-bit naughty. awww. However, the developers fleshed out the story with narrative sequences between stages, created three levels of difficulty and gave the fighting kinship new moves like the Hyper Uppercut and the Cyclone Spin Kick. In addition, they added new enemies, a final boss and, more importantly, a fairy tale that ends. The Double Dragon series looks and still plays today, thanks to the recent release Double Dragon IV.

19. Zelda II: The adventure of the link

You're not supposed to play with perfection, is not it? Well, after the phenomenal success of THE legend of Zelda, the developers decided to do exactly that for the future. Almost completely removing the downward gameplay, Zelda II: The adventure of the link is an amalgam of RPG and side scrolling, in which players must cross Hyrule in order to wake Princess Zelda from a sleep spell. It remains the only true continuation in the Zelda saga, and introduces branding elements that will then be incorporated into other games in the series (eg Dark Link, pivoting NPCs, the magic counter). However, although many gameplay elements were lost with the successor of the game, it offered a clash welcoming game genres and innovative ideas.

15 Final Fantasy II

Not that Final Fantasy II. The American public in the 90s missed the second and third installments of the long-term franchise, which is a shame. Although not as affectionately remembered as the original or IV (which represented a gigantic technological leap for the series) Final Fantasy II embodied the spirit of innovation that Square was known to return to in the late 80s.

The first noticeable change in the first Final Fantasy is the increased importance of the development of the plot and the character. Finish the dumb numbers of the first game; party members in II all have distinct personalities and arcs of characters. The premise of the story of a small kingdom bravely against an aggressive empire may be a little rote today, but at the time, it was a huge improvement over the years. 39, history of the first game to "collect these four crystals and … something happens".

II The gameplay also marked a radical change from its predecessor. While the player is still navigating through a series of menus, II dropped the leveling system based on the experience of Final Fantasy, replacing it with a system in which the characters improve according to what they do in combat. A character strikes an enemy with a sword and his strength increases. If a character takes a lot of blows, his maximum health will increase. Etc. The system has turned out to be very exploitable, and Square has removed it for future payments. However, it was a singular concept at that time, and an ancestor of skill-based leveling types that games such as the Old parchments franchise would come to experiment.

Today & # 39; hui, Final Fantasy II may be more useful as an intellectual curiosity than as a game we would really like to play. Yet, since the NES library is marred by primitive mechanics and botched design, an imperfect gem shines all the more.

14. Kirby's adventure

Kirby's adventure may have been a very swan song for the NES since the console would be interrupted only two years after the release of the title, but it was nonetheless beautiful. With The adventure of Kirby, The upset pink icon has gone beyond its roots on the Nintendo Game Boy, while running, jumping, sliding, vacuuming and absorbing enemy abilities across the seven Dreamland worlds in an effort to recover fragments Star Rod stolen. The title was based in magnificent animation, the use of parallax scrolling, and a phenomenal score, quickly becoming a clbadic despite being a title of last generation. It was also the first color in the Kirby series and, more importantly, the first to offer backup features. Thank God. Kirby's original formula continues to kick off today, as indicated by the upcoming Switch entry in the series.

11. Mother

the Mother The series remains one of the most confusing achievements of Nintendo. Created by a famous Japanese editor, the series broke with most of the RPG traditions of the time, avoiding a fantastic setting for the twentieth century US, and magic for psychic powers and aliens. It has become one of the most popular second-rate franchises of Nintendo. Despite this, only the second game, Attached to the land, has already been officially released outside of Japan. We watch you, Mother 3.

It all started with Mother. Released in 1989, the gameplay was inspired by the Dragon Quest series, which had become one of the most successful video game franchises in Japan. As in the latter case, players explore and map the overworld as they progress through the story, encountering random battles as they wander. The fight takes place in its own screen, where the player watches the action in the first person, selecting spells and abilities from a menu.

Despite the similarities in the gameplay, Mother is radically different in setting and tone. Instead of the traditional heroic tale of Dragon Quest Games Mother tells a humorous fantasy parody in which schoolchildren travel between dimensions, sharpening their psychic powers and thwarting an extraterrestrial invasion. The psychedelic visuals and soundtrack push Nintendo's material to its limits, and although they may seem dated today, they retain a certain charm that many of the games of the era do not have. have not. Mother remains one of the most creative RPGs ever made, and any fan of the genre should at least take a look at it.

9. Dragon Quest III

There have been many great rivalries in the history of video games. Nintendo against Sega, Playstation against Xbox, Metal gear against. The siphon filter (Agree, maybe the last one is a stretch), but one of the first and the longest term is between the two giants of Japanese RPG: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The American public may be much more familiar with the first, but Dragon Quest is a wholly owned industry in Japan: the demand for the third installment was so high that nearly 300 schoolchildren were arrested for truancy while they were cutting in clbad to queue for his release. It's hard to imagine anything other than a great game inspiring this kind of zeal.

And what a game it is! The Japanese RPGs of the old school are famous for their mbadive worlds and their long quests. Dragon Quest III is a perfect example of this: the hero's journey extends over two worlds and easily over fifty hours of play. Apart from the main quest, there are hundreds of secrets to find and plots to explore. Players with a lot of time on their hands will find a lot to do.

Dragon Quest III improved on its predecessors by increasing the size of the player's game from one to four. At the beginning of the game, the player can choose characters from a variety of clbades such as Fighters and Mages. These clbades have distinct roles and abilities in combat, which gives the player great flexibility in the way they play.

the Dragon Quest the franchise remains a jumble, with new titles coming out every few years. Although the developers make adjustments to the series, the basic elements remain the same, and many of these elements have been codified with Dragon Quest III, easily one of the best RPGs on the NES.

8. Castlevania III: Curse of Dracula

After experimenting with RPG elements and exploring with Simon's Quest, Konami braked the gameplay for the third installment of the Castlevania series, The curse of Dracula. Set before the first two games, the game follows the ancestor of Simon Belmont, Trevor, while he's looking to defeat Dracula. As usual for the series, the loser does not quite take it.

Despite returning to the basics of the platform, The curse of Dracula introduced some changes of his own to the Castlevania formula. The main character Trevor Belmont is joined by three new characters who can accompany him: Sypha Belnades, a witch with powerful spells; Grant Danasty, a strangely named hacker who can climb walls; and Alucard, Dracula's son who can shoot fireballs and fly like a bat.

Although the game is divided into simple levels like the original Castlevania, there are some points The curse of Dracula where the player can allow two different paths. This kind of branching gameplay adds variance to playthroughs, and there are different purposes depending on which companion Trevor travels with.

4. Metroid

One of the most influential titles to appear on the NES, Metroid drop the player into the dark depths of a strange planet and leave them to their own devices. There is no waypoint to follow, no goal other than a general goal to defeat the space pirate leader, Mother Brain. It is a dark and tense exploration game, in which the player has to find his own way through the sights and alien organisms on his way.

The game was the pioneer of the genre "Metroidvania" Castlevania later would help build on, giving players a great world to explore. There is an badortment of items and weapons scattered all over the world, which not only help combat, but also reach new areas. L & # 39; original Metroid est un peu rude sur les bords, avec des contrôles moins précis et des environnements plus terne que la suite de loin supérieure, Super Metroid. Mis à part quelques aspects du design primitif, c'est un jeu qui a lancé un millier d'imitateurs, et qui reste une aventure palpitante et stimulante. Compte tenu de son influence et de la popularité durable de la grande dame Samus Aran, il est un peu étrange que Nintendo ait été si réticente à publier de nouvelles entrées dans la franchise; encore mieux, alors, que ceux qu'ils ont faits sont si bons. Il semble que Nintendo a finalement écouté les fans par annoncé Metroid: Samus revientpour 3DS et Metroid Prime 4pour Nintendo Switch.

3. Mega Man 2

Cela vous surprendrait-il de savoir que Mega Man, le personnage qui sera pendant de nombreuses années la mascotte de facto de Capcom, était presque une merveille? Le premier jeu de la franchise s'est mal vendu, et Capcom n'a fait qu'éclairer une suite à la condition que l'équipe de développement le fbade sur le côté tout en se concentrant sur d'autres projets. Le créateur de la série, Keiji Inafune, affirme que l'équipe a pbadé 20 heures par jour à sacrifier sa vie personnelle pour s'badurer que le jeu se fbade. C'est une bonne chose qu'ils ont fait, comme Mega Man 2 mettre la franchise dans les grandes ligues, et à ce jour reste l'un des sommets de la série.

Comme l'original, Mega Man 2 donne au joueur l'option de choisir entre un groupe de différentes étapes, chacune étant couronnée par une bataille de boss. Chaque fois que le joueur bat un boss, il a accès à l'arme de ce boss, qu'il peut utiliser pour vaincre les autres boss plus facilement. Mega Man 2 Amélioré sur son prédécesseur en donnant aux joueurs de nouveaux éléments à utiliser tels que des capsules d'énergie, en augmentant le nombre de niveaux à compléter, et simplement regarder esthétiquement. C'est beaucoup plus coloré que l'original, avec un groupe de patrons plus excentrique à abattre. Assurez-vous simplement d'avoir un pot de juron prêt lorsque vous essayez l'étape de Quick Man. Si vous voulez une version modernisée de la franchise, jetez un coup d'œil aux fans adeptes Mega-Man 2.5D.

2. LA légende de Zelda

Nintendo a été dans l'industrie des jeux plus longtemps que la plupart, et certaines de leurs franchises les plus aimés couvrent des décennies. Certaines séries (notamment Metroid) ne sortent qu'occasionnellement du coffre de Nintendo, tandis que d'autres (en particulier Mario and LA légende de Zelda) sont les chevaux qui tirent le char d'or de Nintendo à travers les âges. Alors que Mario peut être le visage de l'entreprise, LA légende de Zelda est à bien des égards la franchise phare de Nintendo: l'annonce d'un nouveau jeu Mario est une routine, un nouveau jeu Zelda un événement.

En revenant sur l'original La légende de Zelda Pour la NES, il est facile de voir pourquoi la franchise a prospéré de jeu en jeu, de génération en génération. Tout est là dans cette simple boîte en or: le monde immense à explorer, les PNJs pour interagir avec les donjons avec leurs cbade-têtes et monstres uniques, l'arsenal d'armes intéressantes. C'est un jeu profond d'une ère connue pour la simplicité, et il s'est avéré être le modèle non seulement pour tous les futurs Zelda jeux, mais de nombreux jeux d'action-aventure et RPG à travers l'histoire. Et la meilleure partie de tous: elle tient toujours.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

Il n'y a probablement aucun personnage de jeu vidéo plus emblématique que Mario; le plombier courageux a été le visage de Nintendo pendant plus de trente ans. Mario Les jeux sont la franchise de jeu vidéo la plus vendue de tous les temps. Plates-formes, RPGS, jeux de sport, jeux de société: il n'y a apparemment aucun genre Nintendo ne branchera pas Mario. Le soleil ne se couche jamais sur Mario empire, et tout cela remonte à ces premiers joueurs de plates-formes, dont Super Mario Bros. 3 est sans doute le plus grand.

The first super Mario Bros. est un grand jeu en soi, mais après 3 il semble presque squelettique. SMB3 ajoute un certain nombre de petites fonctionnalités qui transforment la formule de ses prédécesseurs en quelque chose de vraiment spectaculaire. Plutôt qu'une progression linéaire à travers les niveaux, SMB3 introduit une carte Overworld où les joueurs peuvent se déplacer et sélectionner des niveaux, ainsi que des mini-jeux et des obstacles à surmonter.

Alors que le premier super Mario Bros. avaient quelques power-ups, ils étaient badez limités en termes d'effets. SMB3 A ajouté une pléthore de nouveaux objets pour Mario, y compris le costume iconique de Tanooki, qui permettait à Mario de voler et de trouver des secrets cachés hors des sentiers battus et parfois même hors écran. De plus, le jeu permettait de conserver des objets et de les utiliser dès que le joueur en avait envie.

the Super mario trilogie sur la NES est l'un des piliers fondamentaux de l'industrie du jeu vidéo. It ushered in a new wave of interest in games after the market crash of 1983 and solidified Nintendo’s place as a power player in the industry, a role they’ve maintained to this very day. Of that trilogy, Super Mario Bros. 3 is the pinnacle, showing off some of the most clever design and pleasant graphics on the system.