It’s hard to describe just how exciting Zelda was to young people now. When it first came out there was nothing like it. The closest was adventure on the Atari 2600 and that was incredibly simple. Zelda was so revolutionary. It created a new genre
Other than the game boy additions (which I never got into). I have played (and conquered) every Zelda game since the first one. Were you not fascinated by that shiny GOLD cartridge?
It is DEFINITELY one of the greatest games ever! Lolo defined that kind of character-based puzzle game. Before that, most puzzle games were things like Tetris. No hate on Tetris, it's great. But the idea of moving a character around in an environment to solve complex puzzles with (potentially) multiple solutions, items, enemies, etc.. what a wild ride in the 80s. I went back and played the original again last year and it was still great.
If im not mistaken, it was developed during the latter part of the NES lifespan. Devs pretty much know how to maximize all NES resources by that point.
What did Rare have on the SNES? The three DKC games, sure. Those are amazing. What did Konami have, though? Super Castlevania IV and Dracula X, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (and all other Goemon games that stayed in Japan), Contra III, Pop'n Twinbee, 3 Parodius games, Tiny Toon Adventures, Sparkster, and Gradius III. I think that's a better lineup.
@@Krisipoke Battle Toad was also on the SNES and Killer Instinc. But still, my point was that Konami back in the day was a legacy. That logo meant quality.
Now that I think about it. Mario 3 is a game I've played on NES, SNES, GBA, WII and now the switch. Easily one of the most replay-able games of all time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
chip n dale , TMNT, Mega man 2. punch out, mario bros, battletoads, little nemo dream master, Duck Tales, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, paper boy, double dragon, and others…… so many childhood memories
As a die hard megaman fan who played the entire series as a child, mega man 3 was the one that captured me the most. It had all the awesome elements of megaman 2 and improved upon it.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Castlevania is a literal case study on how sound design can make or break a game. The literal impact you feel with that PERFECT sound that the crack of the whip makes any time it makes contact with something is absolutely perfect & is one of the reasons that game is so great! Without that one simple thing, the game would not be nearly as good. It's the same way for games like Streets of Rage 2, one of the key factors of that one is the sheer impact of the punches & kicks & the sound they make. Stuff like that elevates games from being good to being fantastic.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Look at how he made the music for EB, there is a whole video on it. If you are a fan of music (The Beatles for example) it will blow your mind. Genius and it really shows the power of the snes apu, which was a decade ahead of pc sound!
@@leeartlee915 Oh yeah. Thats them. The Earthbound one is very memorable. The SNES had sampling capability, and many of the songs are actual recordings from real songs (*remixed obviously).
Contra and Excitebike were my 2 favorites growing up. I loved how Contra started over after you beat it but was harder and started to send men after you from behind. My record was beating the game 3 times without dying one time. Good memories.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Chip and Dale rescue rangers is one of my all time favorite NES game (along side DuckTales, Startropics, and SMB 3) so happy to see it included in a list finally!
The original games of those series aren't that great anymore. Even among NES games, there are lots of other games that have aged a lot better. "Metroid" is still currently ranked 29th, though.
@Tom Ffrench I haven't played DQ 4 yet but I definitely agree with you about 3. Final Fantasy was way more popular in the West though, which is why I'm surprised more people didn't vote for it for this list.
Gimmick! is my favorite NES/Famicom game. It's a game with such an astounding amount of attention to detail for an NES game. It was a late title, releasing in 1992 in Japan, and it shows. It looks and sounds amazing. It's a very hard game, but I have played it so many times I can beat it only dying once or twice (I could definitely beat it deathless if I tried more) I think it's definitely a game you might want to use savestates your first time getting the true ending. (Which requires not getting a game over and collecting a hidden item in each stage) Other favorites would probably be SMB3, SMB2, Castlevania 3, Mother 1, Dragon Quest 3, Little Samson, and Mega Man 3. I have a pretty hard time accurately ranking things, so I'm sure I'm forgetting something that'd be in the same range as those for me.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
It's a shame most NES enthousiasts outside of Japan did not play Gimmick!. I discovered it recently, just thought I'd give it a try because it looks beautiful and I liked the music. Well I was hooked. I'm in awe, best game I have played in a while. Very difficult and very rewarding. It's much easier once you know the levels and get better at riding the star but man did I curse at my tv screen the first time. Totally agree, it's my favorite NES/Famicom game as well.
"Super Mario Bros. 2" will always be one of the best NES games to me, and I think it deserves as much love as the other games in the series regardless of it being a re-skin of the Famicom Disk System game "Doki Doki Panic", especially since there was more to its development than one may realize.
Yeah, like how actually ORIGINALLY it was supposed to be a Mario game, but then got shelved, then brought back and turned into Doki Doki Panic as a licensed game. So really, the Mario version, SMB2, is arguably what the game was originally supposed to be in the first place. Heck, even Doki Doki had some Mario items in it that were not added in the SMB2 reskinning, such as the starman and pow block, those were in Doki Doki Panic and were already-established Mario items.
@@legoboy7107 Exactly, and I think it's also surprising that most people fail to realize that "Doki Doki Panic" was actually made by the same development team that worked on the original SMB game, especially since Shigeru Miyamoto was even more involved in the game that he was in the Japanese version of SMB2, which was released in America under the name "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" (to which the US version of SMB2 was actually renamed as "Super Mario USA" when it was released in Japan).
@@mikeypierce3635 I still love playing "Super Mario Bros. 3" from time to time, especially since it has some of the best power-ups that Mario is able to use such as the Super Leaf, Frog Suit, and Hammer Suit. The problem with that game, however, is that it's way too long to beat on a single setting (unlike the SNES and Game Boy Advance versions, which have a save feature), and the fact that Luigi still looks like a pallet-swap of Mario despite his redesign in "Super Mario Bros. 2".
Super Tecmo Bowl didn't make this list?!?! Most addicting NES game I owned or played. All my friends agreed. More addicting than even Zelda or Super Mario Bros. And the most underrated NES game of all time was Super Sprint. Golgo 13 could have made this list as well. I'm guessing the guys who made this list were not the generation that grew up with it.
My top 5: Super Mario Bros. 3 Dragon Warrior IV Mega Man 3 Castlevania Kirby Adventure I wish Zelda and Metroid hadn't aged like milk and were possible to beat without a guide or farming.
As someone who was born in 95, this really brought home just how young videogames are as a medium to me. Like, I already knew, but in the context of how long I've been alive vs how long home console gaming has been a thing... it's pretty wild to think about. (I know some consoles came before NES, though admittedly I don't know a lot about them.)
As someone born in 1980 who remembers a world before Nintendo, it's been quite a ride. I personally miss the simpler, fun times of gaming over the modern scene.
Same, I was born in 93 and grew up in the PS1/N64 era and as a kid NES era felt like a long time ago, when it really wasn't... I think that's probably because of the massive advances made in graphics/hardware capabilities in the late 80s-mid 90s. We'll never see a jump like that again.
Here's a fact that might blow your mind (sorry for being two years late): the earliest video games were built out of radar equipment in the mid 20th century. Google "tennis for two" and enjoy the rabbit hole. ❤
@@Heliocentric I played Zanac as a youngin' and then 13 years later picked it back up, just messing around one day...and I beat it! I was bonkers. I didn't think it was possible but it happened. It was like I was in a zone. When the game sees you doing well, it goes ape trying to throw everything at you. I somehow kept dodging everything for what seemed like forever...
As someone who has owned and beaten Crystalis, I think it’s fun, quirky and interesting. But forced level grinding, obtuse puzzles, and the absurd difficulty spike once you hit Dragonia make it more of a cult classic than “best ever.”
Hey Zion, you should do a video on the NES homebrew community! Some of the best NES games I’ve played have been developed in the last 10 years (yes, games developed to run specifically on an NES). It would be a great way to shed light on some incredible indie developers!
Well, they aren't really NES games, then. It's cool people do that, but you can't take design philosophy and even comprehension of the hardware nearly 40 years after a system debuts and compare it directly to what people were doing and could do then. In terms of them being counted as some of the best "NES" games.
@@DeltathRiylaan They are though. They use the exact same limitations as NES designers had back then. Look up the video “How we fit an NES game into 40 kilobytes” and you’ll see what I mean.
@@benhmedia My point is they have almost FOUR DECADES of game history, design philosophy as well as the inspiration of every NES game every made, plus decades of understanding the capabilities and limits of what an NES can and can't do, plus the software and technology to reproduce that work for an insignificant fraction of the budget and effort that went into it in the 80s. It's not a fair comparison. You may as well take two students in a classroom and give one a supercomputer and six weeks to study for a math test then give the other student an abacus and no time at all to study for the same test and then grade them both just as harshly. Just look at the games made at the start of a console generation versus the ones from just a few years later. The difference can be staggering in a few years with the same hardware as costs go down, developers understand the tools more, inspiration comes from other released games, etc. I'm not saying they aren't good or that they can't be amazing, but they can never and will never be true NES games that can be compared or contrasted and placed on lists of "best NES games of all time".
@@DeltathRiylaan That is a reasonable comparison, and I do see your point. I guess I should have been more clear in my original comment: I think NintendoLife should make a completely separate video highlighting the NES homebrew community, and how they bring fresh modern game design to an old console.
Crystalis, The Guardian Legend, Faxanadu, and Battle of Olympus are absent from this relatively mainstream list, which gives me the impression whoever decided this list probably didn't grow up with the NES because those were some of the best games on it.
This is more of a "which games held up best" with a few early classics thrown in, made by younger people who didn't grow up with the nes, at the time. There were definitely games that were considered far and away better than a lot of the games on the list, back in the nes's day. To me, Kid Icarus, double dragon 2 and mario 2 has to make any top 20 list.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 I get that. Honestly the fact that I can play 3 while my wife tries to kill me with the Debug mode makes it all the sweeter to me!
a Megami Tensei game on the nes??? I honestly never knew. I am going year by year until I get to the wii bcz thats the era I was alive for and played. And I thought I had to wait for the SNES to dive into Tensei-
@@gonkdroidincarnate4237 well... it was the Famicom. We didn't get digital devil story megami tensei 1 or 2. But it was remade on the super Famicom. Play that version.
Superb list! So many games could've been included (Battletoads, Metroid, Super Tecmo Bowl, etc.). Maybe seperate lists for different categories of NES games (sports, action/adventure, quest, fighting, games based on films/tv shows, shooters, etc.)? Great content, keep it coming!
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Really solid list. Having two best Megamans and Castlevanias is ok, but strange. Mighty Final Fight is technical wonder, but kinda obscure to add in. Where's River City Ransom, Tecmo Super Bowl and NES Open?
"River City Ransom" currently ranks 36th. "NES Open Tournament Golf" isn't ranked within the Top 50. "Tecmo Super Bowl" still needs 3 more reviews to qualify for the list, at which point it would actually rank 2nd or 3rd!
Blaster Master, Faxanadu, Solomon's key, Final Fantasy, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Rad Racer, Milon's Secret Castle. Those were my young days, truly amazing games.
I think that Metroid is the best NES game, right up with Kirby’s Adventure. While I think Kirby’s easier to come back to, Metroid’s huge map is just amazing.
I can't believe it wasn't on this list! If you were a kid in the 80s and got that game, you didn't really know what it was and it sucked you in for many many hours
Quite solid list. Personally I missed some great shmups: Gun Nac, Crisis Force, Over Horizon. And good platform games: Felix the Cat, Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, U-four-ia, Moon Crystal. Interesting European games - James Bond jr. and Hook. And Capcom's classic dream world game - Little Nemo. Oh, almost forgot New Ghostbusters II.
Its a great game... but it was more popular for the gameboy once it came out. I remember playing a lot of tetris for gb.... after that I remember wondering about the nes one.
Bionic Commando and the Lolo games are some of my personal favorites that never seem to make these lists. More people should check them out! Particularly Lolo, since it's on Nintendo Switch Online at least.
Fun list and great delivery as always, Zion! Love that you all take time to make content about games from all generations. There’s stuff worth playing everywhere!
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Why yes, a few of my favorites DID make the list! I don't have just one favorite game on the NES, best I can do is narrow it down to just a handful. That handful includes, in no particular order: Legend of Zelda, Zelda2: the Adventure of Link, Dragon Warrior 4(I own Complete in box copy for NES), Dragon Warrior 3, Crystalis, Little Samson, Metroid.. and a bunch more, but those start to drop off of my "favorites" list and fall more into "love it" territory. Awesome video, great list, thanks for this post👌👍✌
@Tom Ffrench I absolutely love the DQ series, but I always preferred the contemporary settings of the Mother trilogy. It just gives a sense of familiarity and relatability that DQ just doesn't give me. While I acknowledge that DQ was what helped inspire the Mother games to begin with, Mother is what molded that framework into something even better, in my personal opinion.
Metroid, Final Fantasy, Faxanadu, and Destiny of an Emperor are ones I keep coming back to. Dragon Warrior I, Super Mario 2, and Mega Man 1 also. You guys should probably have picked River City Ransom over Mighty Final Fight, but it's hard to go wrong with your choices.
It doesn't belong on the list but I had very fond memories of Legend of Zelda 2, Adventures of Link. I played it more than the regular game. Other honorable mentions would be Narc, Mario 2, and Final Fantasy. However, this list was pretty good.
River City Ransom was awesome! It should've been on this list for sure. It was more then just your typical side scrolling beat'em up game, it has substance in it as well.
Wonderful video! I'm now 48 years old and still have my vintage NES and my clean collection of games and I play them often and it's the best console ever. Best console ever and I still play the classics and always come back to them. Thumbs Up and Shared! A++++
Some of my all-time favorite NES games: Mega Man 3>Mega Man 2 Super Mario Bros. 3 Ninja Gaiden Ninja Gaiden II Duck Tales Little Nemo and the Dream Master Tetris Rescue Rangers Double Dragon II Contra Super C Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade The Legend of Zelda Mike Tyson’s Punch Out Wrath of the Black Ninja
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge I Hate Shredder Revenge I Hate Indie Games I Hate Tribute Games I Hate Dotemu I Hate Action Brawler I Hate Brawler I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games) I Hate Compilation Games I Hate Digital Eclipse I Hate Konami I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I miss Captain Skyhawk. It was the 1st NES game I ever beat without cheat codes & also my introduction to the existence of cheat codes from a friend who burrowed my game for a few days just to tell me he discovered a code while using the old arcade joystick controller he had, while I only had the standard d-pad controller. Captain Skyhawk was a better version of any Top gun style aircraft game back then & I loved it. My friend told me that he was just impatiently spinning his controller during the disclaimer credits screen that comes on once you turn on the console...10 second boredom wait to get to the start screen. So (where 7 & 8 years old) I tested his description of this discovered cheat code... UP, RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT, UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, Up. I did that with the normal controller!!! : ) Invincible, unlimited missiles for all 3 classes, but only level 4 machine gun... You fly to stock up on everything you can hold when you can, dodging whatever planet or space, arming yourself to defend your home planet from some spaceship with eyeballs to shoot at... God memory sucks. After Burn just wasn't cutting it., Air Combat, Ace Combat... You and your team all try to have a good day/night. : )
@@chadbizeau5997 And respawning on the spot and the ability to recover Options that you held in your previous life. Maybe that's less fun to hardcore shmup players, but it's among the most accessible and satisfying of its genre to me.
I still remember the very day that I first played Legend of Zelda. Christmas morning, 1987. I don't remember very much about being 7 years old, but oh man do I remember playing Zelda with dad. THAT is how big Zelda was and how awesome it still is
At the end, lists like this comes to more to what ppl know. Sure all games here listed are good, but if i think about NES, there are alot other great Games not many ppl played or even heared of. Like: Vice, Shatterhand, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, Guardian Legend and so on. But i must say, that im surprised that Gargoyles Quest 2 is on the list. Maybe it got more attention since most ppl know the first on the Game Boy.
Nintendo World Cup is a forgotten gem on the NES, as is Faxanadu. Parasol Stars was also a great game and one of the best Taito games not to get an arcade release!
- Super Mario Bros. - Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Metroid - Mega Man 2 - Mega Man 3 - The Legend of Zelda - Kirby’s Adventure - Castlevania 3 - Contra - Tetris
One of the best NES games that I never see on any list is Bucky O'Hare. An Amazing action-platformer made by Konami so you know it's gonna be good, I highly recommend it. Also Adventure Island 2 & 3, at least one of them should have been in the list.
Yeah, it really dissapoints me to never see it on any lists. Bucky O’Hare is my second favorite NES game, and belongs in my top 10 of the best games of all time. I really love that game!!
Well, these lists are literally popularity contests. They take votes on the community's choices and then tally them up. Games like Bucky O'Hare were never well known enough, despite being great. For me, the worst omission will always be Bionic Commando. It never makes lists either and it's one of Capcom's greatest.
@Tom Ffrench I wasn't saying they aren't. Just that they'll always be populated by the better known good games. Hard to vote for a game if someone hasn't played it and Bucky O'Hare is just a lesser known title.
The Nintendo Entertainment System is full of wonderful classic games. I love Super Mario 3, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man games, Castlevania , Contra, Tetris and many other amazing classic games. Great NES list. Cool video. ^_^
For those bored w the earlier Zelda titles, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Randomizers for each game. They roll a brand new game with each and every one & basically give you a completely new & random adventure each and every time! They are so damn good that I can't even play the original versions anymore! They are just that much fun! The Randomizer for the SNES A Link to the Past is by FAR the best one though. It's so good that it almost feels like the game was originally designed with it in mind! The entire game is set up in a way that makes randomization work absolutely perfectly, and it makes you have to complete the game in totally different ways each and every time! It's just amazing!
Cool trivia fact about Kirby: He was named after the American lawyer John Kirby who helped represent Nintendo and was insanely good at his job. He was the reason Nintendo won the Universal City Studios v. Nintendo case where Universal was trying to say Donkey Kong was a rip off of King Kong. Kirby did such a good job that Miyamoto honored him by naming a video game character after him. That character is the enemy inhaling pink puffball we've grown to love.
If you are like me and feel an OCD need to watch all these videos in a series, here ya go! 21 Best Nes Games ua-cam.com/video/1cjcr-XtVQw/v-deo.html 26 Best Game Boy Games ua-cam.com/video/JEHFv10kUS0/v-deo.html 21 Best Super Nintendo Games ua-cam.com/video/23DYpTkUosk/v-deo.html 21 Best N64 Games ua-cam.com/video/vEee42ub-Hw/v-deo.html 26 Best GBA Games ua-cam.com/video/bhK3W_3CW7w/v-deo.html 21 Best Gamecube Games ua-cam.com/video/2FTBspZymlg/v-deo.html 21 Best Nintendo Ds Games ua-cam.com/video/PA87rC9nG4k/v-deo.html 21 Best Wii Games ua-cam.com/video/L6F_QBKeXfU/v-deo.html 25 Best Nintendo 3ds Definitive (they have an older list) ua-cam.com/video/rsFcYrj6oHY/v-deo.html 31 Best Nintendo 3DS Games (Older Version) ua-cam.com/video/vnapSYqTBZU/v-deo.html
I grew up pretty poor, so our game library was limited. Tecmo Bowl, RBI Baseball, RC Pro-Am, Wrestlemania, Pro Wrestling, Punch Out and SMB stood out. Track and Field too. it was fun competing directly against my brother, cousins and friends in games that had two player mode.
The music not matching up to the actual games being shown is really messing me up.
@@SgtSega Its like input lag I tell ya!! :)
@@Shankbuster i was about to say the same
I kind of stopped paying attention to it
Was just gonna say the same thing lol
Yeah like the ducktales moon theme that starts at lifeforce (although ducktales would end up being next anyway, but still)
This list is missing:
Metroid
Kid Icarus
Final Fantasy
River City Ransom
Blaster master
Bionic Commando
Double Dragon
The NES had some classic games..
Isn't the original metroid pretty bad, though?
@@BenjaminAnderson21 hell no
I'm a huge fan of The Guardian Legend, but I understand it's not one of the "big name" NES games
Metroid is amazing
and Double Dribble, Blades of Steel, Jackal, and Metal Gear
It’s hard to describe just how exciting Zelda was to young people now. When it first came out there was nothing like it. The closest was adventure on the Atari 2600 and that was incredibly simple. Zelda was so revolutionary. It created a new genre
Other than the game boy additions (which I never got into). I have played (and conquered) every Zelda game since the first one. Were you not fascinated by that shiny GOLD cartridge?
@@aubreyholman1951 I still am, and treasure it very much
Action adventure games weren't good untill then
@@aubreyholman1951 i beaten 99 NES games. You? Have u beaten one?
@@doom5895 yes. In 1986 it was still amazing.
It may not be one of the greatest games ever, but I have fond memories of "The Adventures of LoLo".
It is DEFINITELY one of the greatest games ever! Lolo defined that kind of character-based puzzle game. Before that, most puzzle games were things like Tetris. No hate on Tetris, it's great. But the idea of moving a character around in an environment to solve complex puzzles with (potentially) multiple solutions, items, enemies, etc.. what a wild ride in the 80s. I went back and played the original again last year and it was still great.
LOVED that series. There are even more games that released in Japan under the "Eggerland" name. Worth checking out.
Amazing puzzle game!
Yeah, the second installment of this series I played with my dad and have a lot of fond memories from.
@@DeltathRiylaan hi Deltath. Have u beaten any NES games yet? I have. 99.
Kirby looks way too damn good to be an NES game lol.
Aside from sprite flickering and the screen edges popping in, it’s indistinguishable.
@@denimchicken104 but at the cost of low framerate
It’s kind of crazy that Kirby’s Adventure runs on an NES. It was a very late game, but probably the one that’s aged best.
fr
If im not mistaken, it was developed during the latter part of the NES lifespan. Devs pretty much know how to maximize all NES resources by that point.
Konami was to the NES what RARE was to the SNES and the N64.
Konami was to the NES what Konami was to the SNES to be fair
What did Rare have on the SNES? The three DKC games, sure. Those are amazing.
What did Konami have, though? Super Castlevania IV and Dracula X, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (and all other Goemon games that stayed in Japan), Contra III, Pop'n Twinbee, 3 Parodius games, Tiny Toon Adventures, Sparkster, and Gradius III. I think that's a better lineup.
@@Krisipoke Battle Toad was also on the SNES and Killer Instinc. But still, my point was that Konami back in the day was a legacy. That logo meant quality.
I can say the same thing about Capcom being to the NES as well.
@@Ninten70 capcom and Konami are so close, I give the edge to Konami I think but i could probably go either way depending on the day
Mario 3 is the Citizen Kane of NES games. The people who made it gave the world a gift that people to this day are still enjoying.
I just bought a Nintendo specifically for that game 💯
Now that I think about it. Mario 3 is a game I've played on NES, SNES, GBA, WII and now the switch. Easily one of the most replay-able games of all time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Except Mario 3 wasn’t really a failure like Citizen Kane was at first.
Greatest video game of all time.
chip n dale , TMNT, Mega man 2. punch out, mario bros, battletoads, little nemo dream master, Duck Tales, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, paper boy, double dragon, and others…… so many childhood memories
As a die hard megaman fan who played the entire series as a child, mega man 3 was the one that captured me the most. It had all the awesome elements of megaman 2 and improved upon it.
Until it was surpassed by 5
Sweet_Sukeban i really liked 4 and 5 too. They were all good TBH. Though i didnt care for 7 & 8.
My main problem with 3 was the frame rate.
My problem with 3 is that it brought back a lot of the cheap deaths. Such as the final boss having spikes come from the side of the screen.
@@sweet_sukeban4022 exactly. Althought I liked the Charge system from 4 over 5, as you didn't lose charge upon hit.
Kirby and Super Mario Bros 3 have aged so well, they look like SNES classics more than NES
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
@@Ihatevideogames334 💀💀💀
@@Ihatevideogames334OK Kendrick
Castlevania is a literal case study on how sound design can make or break a game. The literal impact you feel with that PERFECT sound that the crack of the whip makes any time it makes contact with something is absolutely perfect & is one of the reasons that game is so great! Without that one simple thing, the game would not be nearly as good.
It's the same way for games like Streets of Rage 2, one of the key factors of that one is the sheer impact of the punches & kicks & the sound they make. Stuff like that elevates games from being good to being fantastic.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
And sf2ww
River city ransom was and is still my personal all time nes favorite. The mix of Rpg and beat em up is fantastic.
If I create one similar to that nowadays, will you play it and buy it for $5?
@@elmalloc if it's look decent , yeah , I've got the RCR underground and both City girls on steam , great games.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Don't know y this 1 didn't make the list
I didn’t know the guy who did the music for Metroid & Earthbound did Tetris. Cool stuff.
Neither did I, and I've been playing NES Tetris for years.
Look at how he made the music for EB, there is a whole video on it. If you are a fan of music (The Beatles for example) it will blow your mind. Genius and it really shows the power of the snes apu, which was a decade ahead of pc sound!
@@timmyp6297 I haven’t seen that video but I have watched a lot of ‘how it was made” videos. The one on Tim Foley is amazing.
@@leeartlee915 Oh yeah. Thats them. The Earthbound one is very memorable. The SNES had sampling capability, and many of the songs are actual recordings from real songs (*remixed obviously).
Damn
Contra and Excitebike were my 2 favorites growing up. I loved how Contra started over after you beat it but was harder and started to send men after you from behind. My record was beating the game 3 times without dying one time. Good memories.
That’s impressive because I can’t get through the first level without starting over 😂 being 40 sucks
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Chip and Dale rescue rangers is one of my all time favorite NES game (along side DuckTales, Startropics, and SMB 3) so happy to see it included in a list finally!
You might also like Felix the Cat.
@@attackofthetheeyecreatures3472 i didnt even know there was a felix the cat game, ill check it out!
@@attackofthetheeyecreatures3472 yes. Is Ninja Gaiden NES have the same violent GAME OVER screen like in arcade? Or just a generic game over screen?
@@bru_boi 👍👍
No Metroid or Final Fantasy? Crazy.
Completely agree. Final Fantasy 1 was THE game for me what I was a kid.
The original games of those series aren't that great anymore. Even among NES games, there are lots of other games that have aged a lot better.
"Metroid" is still currently ranked 29th, though.
@Craig Adams me too.. what happened?
@Tom Ffrench I haven't played DQ 4 yet but I definitely agree with you about 3. Final Fantasy was way more popular in the West though, which is why I'm surprised more people didn't vote for it for this list.
Gimmick! is my favorite NES/Famicom game. It's a game with such an astounding amount of attention to detail for an NES game. It was a late title, releasing in 1992 in Japan, and it shows. It looks and sounds amazing. It's a very hard game, but I have played it so many times I can beat it only dying once or twice (I could definitely beat it deathless if I tried more) I think it's definitely a game you might want to use savestates your first time getting the true ending. (Which requires not getting a game over and collecting a hidden item in each stage)
Other favorites would probably be SMB3, SMB2, Castlevania 3, Mother 1, Dragon Quest 3, Little Samson, and Mega Man 3. I have a pretty hard time accurately ranking things, so I'm sure I'm forgetting something that'd be in the same range as those for me.
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
It's a shame most NES enthousiasts outside of Japan did not play Gimmick!.
I discovered it recently, just thought I'd give it a try because it looks beautiful and I liked the music. Well I was hooked. I'm in awe, best game I have played in a while. Very difficult and very rewarding. It's much easier once you know the levels and get better at riding the star but man did I curse at my tv screen the first time. Totally agree, it's my favorite NES/Famicom game as well.
Just hearing the Zelda intro theme gives me goosebumps and takes me back to simpler times.
"Super Mario Bros. 2" will always be one of the best NES games to me, and I think it deserves as much love as the other games in the series regardless of it being a re-skin of the Famicom Disk System game "Doki Doki Panic", especially since there was more to its development than one may realize.
Yeah, like how actually ORIGINALLY it was supposed to be a Mario game, but then got shelved, then brought back and turned into Doki Doki Panic as a licensed game. So really, the Mario version, SMB2, is arguably what the game was originally supposed to be in the first place. Heck, even Doki Doki had some Mario items in it that were not added in the SMB2 reskinning, such as the starman and pow block, those were in Doki Doki Panic and were already-established Mario items.
@@legoboy7107 Exactly, and I think it's also surprising that most people fail to realize that "Doki Doki Panic" was actually made by the same development team that worked on the original SMB game, especially since Shigeru Miyamoto was even more involved in the game that he was in the Japanese version of SMB2, which was released in America under the name "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" (to which the US version of SMB2 was actually renamed as "Super Mario USA" when it was released in Japan).
What about Mario 3?
@@mikeypierce3635 I still love playing "Super Mario Bros. 3" from time to time, especially since it has some of the best power-ups that Mario is able to use such as the Super Leaf, Frog Suit, and Hammer Suit. The problem with that game, however, is that it's way too long to beat on a single setting (unlike the SNES and Game Boy Advance versions, which have a save feature), and the fact that Luigi still looks like a pallet-swap of Mario despite his redesign in "Super Mario Bros. 2".
@@mikeypierce3635 yes. SM3 (Super Mario 3), another legendary NES platform game.
Super Tecmo Bowl didn't make this list?!?! Most addicting NES game I owned or played. All my friends agreed. More addicting than even Zelda or Super Mario Bros. And the most underrated NES game of all time was Super Sprint. Golgo 13 could have made this list as well. I'm guessing the guys who made this list were not the generation that grew up with it.
Kirby is amazing.
I like how Jon just came in when Zion mentioned Panel de Pon. That was funny!
My top 5:
Super Mario Bros. 3
Dragon Warrior IV
Mega Man 3
Castlevania
Kirby Adventure
I wish Zelda and Metroid hadn't aged like milk and were possible to beat without a guide or farming.
Mariio 3 was and still is one of my favorite games
As someone who was born in 95, this really brought home just how young videogames are as a medium to me. Like, I already knew, but in the context of how long I've been alive vs how long home console gaming has been a thing... it's pretty wild to think about.
(I know some consoles came before NES, though admittedly I don't know a lot about them.)
As someone born in 1980 who remembers a world before Nintendo, it's been quite a ride. I personally miss the simpler, fun times of gaming over the modern scene.
Same, I was born in 93 and grew up in the PS1/N64 era and as a kid NES era felt like a long time ago, when it really wasn't... I think that's probably because of the massive advances made in graphics/hardware capabilities in the late 80s-mid 90s. We'll never see a jump like that again.
Here's a fact that might blow your mind (sorry for being two years late): the earliest video games were built out of radar equipment in the mid 20th century. Google "tennis for two" and enjoy the rabbit hole. ❤
The Guardian Legend will forever be my favorite NES game
Gun-Nac is pretty damn good, too.
Zanac was great too, if not impossibly difficult.
@@Heliocentric I played Zanac as a youngin' and then 13 years later picked it back up, just messing around one day...and I beat it! I was bonkers. I didn't think it was possible but it happened. It was like I was in a zone. When the game sees you doing well, it goes ape trying to throw everything at you. I somehow kept dodging everything for what seemed like forever...
One of my favorite games by far is Crystalis. It’s a shame that nobody knows the game, or else it’d be on many, many lists
worst part is it's on NSO, so most people should know about it
As someone who has owned and beaten Crystalis, I think it’s fun, quirky and interesting. But forced level grinding, obtuse puzzles, and the absurd difficulty spike once you hit Dragonia make it more of a cult classic than “best ever.”
Its on the nes app (switch online) as well. There is also a game boy color version of crystalis so your not alone my friend
@@jaxxh6529 I actually got in contact with the game from Switch Online
Blame (most of) the Nintendo fanbase for refusing to try anything niche or obscure.
Hey Zion, you should do a video on the NES homebrew community! Some of the best NES games I’ve played have been developed in the last 10 years (yes, games developed to run specifically on an NES). It would be a great way to shed light on some incredible indie developers!
Well, they aren't really NES games, then. It's cool people do that, but you can't take design philosophy and even comprehension of the hardware nearly 40 years after a system debuts and compare it directly to what people were doing and could do then. In terms of them being counted as some of the best "NES" games.
@@DeltathRiylaan They are though. They use the exact same limitations as NES designers had back then. Look up the video “How we fit an NES game into 40 kilobytes” and you’ll see what I mean.
@@benhmedia My point is they have almost FOUR DECADES of game history, design philosophy as well as the inspiration of every NES game every made, plus decades of understanding the capabilities and limits of what an NES can and can't do, plus the software and technology to reproduce that work for an insignificant fraction of the budget and effort that went into it in the 80s.
It's not a fair comparison. You may as well take two students in a classroom and give one a supercomputer and six weeks to study for a math test then give the other student an abacus and no time at all to study for the same test and then grade them both just as harshly.
Just look at the games made at the start of a console generation versus the ones from just a few years later. The difference can be staggering in a few years with the same hardware as costs go down, developers understand the tools more, inspiration comes from other released games, etc.
I'm not saying they aren't good or that they can't be amazing, but they can never and will never be true NES games that can be compared or contrasted and placed on lists of "best NES games of all time".
@@DeltathRiylaan That is a reasonable comparison, and I do see your point. I guess I should have been more clear in my original comment: I think NintendoLife should make a completely separate video highlighting the NES homebrew community, and how they bring fresh modern game design to an old console.
I don't think they would be able to cover that since it might burn the bridge they have with nintendo
Contra, my favorite couch co-op game ever. Great presentation and vid!
Crystalis, The Guardian Legend, Faxanadu, and Battle of Olympus are absent from this relatively mainstream list, which gives me the impression whoever decided this list probably didn't grow up with the NES because those were some of the best games on it.
"Faxandanu" currently ranks 46th. The others haven't yet received the 25 user reviews needed to qualify
Dr Mario is all my parents would play aswell everyday for hours on end!
This is more of a "which games held up best" with a few early classics thrown in, made by younger people who didn't grow up with the nes, at the time. There were definitely games that were considered far and away better than a lot of the games on the list, back in the nes's day. To me, Kid Icarus, double dragon 2 and mario 2 has to make any top 20 list.
Wasn’t expecting Mega Man 3 to show up on here but I’m glad it did. It’s overall my favorite Megaman game from the classic series
I like Mega Man 3 a lot, but its lack of polish makes it difficult for me to rate is as highly as 4.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 I get that. Honestly the fact that I can play 3 while my wife tries to kill me with the Debug mode makes it all the sweeter to me!
4:01 returned to MM2 music during kirby review 🤣 👍
For me it's:
Zelda 1
Mother 1
Digital devil story megami tensei 2
Final fantasy 1
Mega man 2
I'm happy to see someone else have Earthbound Beginnings on their list! I also love Mega Man 2 as well
Mega Man 2 is a great game. BUT, when paired with other NES Mega Man games like 4, it looks really poor.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 i can see where you're coming from.
a Megami Tensei game on the nes??? I honestly never knew. I am going year by year until I get to the wii bcz thats the era I was alive for and played. And I thought I had to wait for the SNES to dive into Tensei-
@@gonkdroidincarnate4237 well... it was the Famicom. We didn't get digital devil story megami tensei 1 or 2. But it was remade on the super Famicom. Play that version.
I personally really enjoyed the first TMNTs NES game but it was super difficult. The swimming levels were just horrible.
Oh and hi Grandpa Jack.
Ninja gaiden is my childhood. They even gave us some cutscreens, that atmosphere in pixel is awesome.
Watching this because the creator recently passed away. It set the future for gaming consoles ❤
Superb list! So many games could've been included (Battletoads, Metroid, Super Tecmo Bowl, etc.). Maybe seperate lists for different categories of NES games (sports, action/adventure, quest, fighting, games based on films/tv shows, shooters, etc.)? Great content, keep it coming!
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Tecmo Super Bowl, IIS Off Road, Excite Bike, Battletoads, Arch Rivals, and my favorite Final Fantasy.
Really solid list.
Having two best Megamans and Castlevanias is ok, but strange.
Mighty Final Fight is technical wonder, but kinda obscure to add in.
Where's River City Ransom, Tecmo Super Bowl and NES Open?
I agree with everything except NES Open. It doesn't hold up like the rest.
"River City Ransom" currently ranks 36th. "NES Open Tournament Golf" isn't ranked within the Top 50. "Tecmo Super Bowl" still needs 3 more reviews to qualify for the list, at which point it would actually rank 2nd or 3rd!
Make your own video then perhaps.. be ready for all the comments that will follow 🫣🫡
When the NES came out in 1983 I was blown away by it's power had it as my main system for over 10 years.
Nice! Just got my nes back and was looking for games to start collecting.
Me too Bro!! I'm looking for Wall Street Kid!
Blaster Master, Faxanadu, Solomon's key, Final Fantasy, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Rad Racer, Milon's Secret Castle. Those were my young days, truly amazing games.
Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario Word are still challenging for me even if I already beat them.
Great games.
I love both of those games.
I think that Metroid is the best NES game, right up with Kirby’s Adventure. While I think Kirby’s easier to come back to, Metroid’s huge map is just amazing.
I can't believe it wasn't on this list! If you were a kid in the 80s and got that game, you didn't really know what it was and it sucked you in for many many hours
Quite solid list. Personally I missed some great shmups: Gun Nac, Crisis Force, Over Horizon. And good platform games: Felix the Cat, Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, U-four-ia, Moon Crystal. Interesting European games - James Bond jr. and Hook. And Capcom's classic dream world game - Little Nemo. Oh, almost forgot New Ghostbusters II.
Love the selection, i grew up playing Mario 3, Batman and punch out so i really love to see them in the video!
Bionic Commando is one of my favourite NES games.
METALSTORM was pretty badass as well. If you've never played it, it's worth going back to. Oh, and hi grandpa jack!
The reverse gravity was pretty cool.
That cartridge lick had a more priceless reaction than 99% of reactions to Metroid 5. Great video!
Awesome to see Gargoyles Quest II here! Extremely bogus to not see Dragon Quest III, Megami Tensei II and Earthbound Beginnings though...
This was NES titles. Stuff that was only on the Famicon are not listed.
Volbound. Dragon Warriors 3 was released on the NES.
Im sad that I missed Gargoyles Quest II back in the day... it looks amazing for the time
Hi Grandpa Jack! Tetris is an all time classic, and one of the first things I ever played. :) (And I still play it all the time now.)
Its a great game... but it was more popular for the gameboy once it came out. I remember playing a lot of tetris for gb.... after that I remember wondering about the nes one.
@@xolrak There we’re 2 Tetris games for the NES. It was the basis for one of the biggest lawsuits in videogame history!
Bionic Commando and the Lolo games are some of my personal favorites that never seem to make these lists. More people should check them out! Particularly Lolo, since it's on Nintendo Switch Online at least.
I'm impressed with your knowledge young man. I was there in the 80's and you have it all pretty spot on! Nice work.
Mario 3 is one of my all-time favorite games, I still play it to this day.
Dragon Warrior IV. My favorite of all time. Hunted down a used copy 24 years ago for $55. Now looks like it goes for around $200
I got it when it was released,. Still have box and contents in mint condition for being opened.
Looking back at lists like these remind me how good we had it when we were kids in the 80s and 90s!
Fun list and great delivery as always, Zion! Love that you all take time to make content about games from all generations. There’s stuff worth playing everywhere!
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
Why yes, a few of my favorites DID make the list! I don't have just one favorite game on the NES, best I can do is narrow it down to just a handful. That handful includes, in no particular order: Legend of Zelda, Zelda2: the Adventure of Link, Dragon Warrior 4(I own Complete in box copy for NES), Dragon Warrior 3, Crystalis, Little Samson, Metroid.. and a bunch more, but those start to drop off of my "favorites" list and fall more into "love it" territory.
Awesome video, great list, thanks for this post👌👍✌
My favorite is Earthbound Beginnings 😁
@Tom Ffrench I absolutely love the DQ series, but I always preferred the contemporary settings of the Mother trilogy. It just gives a sense of familiarity and relatability that DQ just doesn't give me. While I acknowledge that DQ was what helped inspire the Mother games to begin with, Mother is what molded that framework into something even better, in my personal opinion.
Metroid, Final Fantasy, Faxanadu, and Destiny of an Emperor are ones I keep coming back to. Dragon Warrior I, Super Mario 2, and Mega Man 1 also. You guys should probably have picked River City Ransom over Mighty Final Fight, but it's hard to go wrong with your choices.
Faxanadu had my attention for years as a kid.
It doesn't belong on the list but I had very fond memories of Legend of Zelda 2, Adventures of Link. I played it more than the regular game. Other honorable mentions would be Narc, Mario 2, and Final Fantasy. However, this list was pretty good.
I'm over 40 years old and I had a NES when I was a young child. I still remember those catchy tunes from some of these games
Gremlins 2 is one of the best games on NES very underrated
River City Ransom was awesome! It should've been on this list for sure. It was more then just your typical side scrolling beat'em up game, it has substance in it as well.
Agreed, had so many great moments with River City Ransom. Loved how the game felt open world, even though it was very linear.
Those spicy sauna breaks haha
Looking good, Grandpa Jack! Keep enjoying those puzzle games!
Wonderful video! I'm now 48 years old and still have my vintage NES and my clean collection of games and I play them often and it's the best console ever. Best console ever and I still play the classics and always come back to them. Thumbs Up and Shared! A++++
Bucky O’ Hare deserved a spot on this list.
Classic
Haha, I hated that game as a kid.
Could never beat the final escape sequence. Killer soundtrack, though.
Bucky O'Hare was a masterpiece in my humble opinion.
Great list. My only additions would be Double Dragon and Little Nemo Dream Master.
Did someone say Super Mario Bro’s is number 1, no?! Well it is for me 😊
duck tales, mario 3, chip and dale and punchout were my favorite NES games, but i didnt expect him to mention Batman 3!!, great catch!!!
Some of my all-time favorite NES games:
Mega Man 3>Mega Man 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden II
Duck Tales
Little Nemo and the Dream Master
Tetris
Rescue Rangers
Double Dragon II
Contra
Super C
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade
The Legend of Zelda
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out
Wrath of the Black Ninja
Mega Man 4>3=1>2
Wrath of the Black Manta*
There's one nes game I really like called Gimmick. It's not really brought up too often
dude we have the same brain i ADORE gimmick
I made a comment about it! It's my favorite NES/Famicom game.
This is a great list, all these give me so much nostalgia
Really enjoyed this video!! Thank you for bringing back all the good memories:)
Damn! The nostalgia of playing nes back in the early 90s. One of my best childhood memories
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder Revenge
I Hate Shredder Revenge
I Hate Indie Games
I Hate Tribute Games
I Hate Dotemu
I Hate Action Brawler
I Hate Brawler
I Hate Arcade Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Retro Beat Em Up Game
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade Games)
I Hate Compilation Games
I Hate Digital Eclipse
I Hate Konami
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Cowabunga Collection
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtle in Time
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The HYPERSTONE Heist
I Hate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games
List some underrated titles next list: 1) Moon Crystal
I miss Captain Skyhawk. It was the 1st NES game I ever beat without cheat codes & also my introduction to the existence of cheat codes from a friend who burrowed my game for a few days just to tell me he discovered a code while using the old arcade joystick controller he had, while I only had the standard d-pad controller. Captain Skyhawk was a better version of any Top gun style aircraft game back then & I loved it. My friend told me that he was just impatiently spinning his controller during the disclaimer credits screen that comes on once you turn on the console...10 second boredom wait to get to the start screen. So (where 7 & 8 years old) I tested his description of this discovered cheat code...
UP, RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT, UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, Up.
I did that with the normal controller!!! : )
Invincible, unlimited missiles for all 3 classes, but only level 4 machine gun...
You fly to stock up on everything you can hold when you can, dodging whatever planet or space, arming yourself to defend your home planet from some spaceship with eyeballs to shoot at...
God memory sucks.
After Burn just wasn't cutting it., Air Combat, Ace Combat...
You and your team all try to have a good day/night.
: )
25 best nes games:
1)Dragon quest 4
2)Super Mario 3
3)Super Mario 2
4)Dragon Quest 3
5)Final Fantasy 1
6)Crystalis
7)Tecmo Super Bowl
8)Little League Baseball
9)Megaman 4
10)Kirby
11)Duck tales 2
12)Flying warriors
13)Double Dragon 2
14)River City Ransom
15)Castlevania 3
16)Star tropics
17)TMNT 3
18)TMNT 1
19)Chip and Dale rescue rangers 2
20)Nes Open
21)Contra
22)Punchout
23)Little Nemos dream master
24)Zelda
25)Tetris (Tengen Version)
I'm SO GLAD Dragon Warrior IV made the list! It's BY FAR my favorite of the 4 NES games in the series!
New ranking video! So hype!
Maniac Mansion is my favorite NES game. That game is such a vibe and it was my first point and click adventure.
You missed Lifeforce was co op! That was why it was so fun!
And it also had the Konami code
@@chadbizeau5997 And respawning on the spot and the ability to recover Options that you held in your previous life. Maybe that's less fun to hardcore shmup players, but it's among the most accessible and satisfying of its genre to me.
Excellent list! I might throw a few into the mix, but all of these are prime and deserved on someone's list!
Even a digital library of NES games emanates legacy
I still remember the very day that I first played Legend of Zelda. Christmas morning, 1987. I don't remember very much about being 7 years old, but oh man do I remember playing Zelda with dad. THAT is how big Zelda was and how awesome it still is
At the end, lists like this comes to more to what ppl know. Sure all games here listed are good, but if i think about NES, there are alot other great Games not many ppl played or even heared of. Like: Vice, Shatterhand, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, Guardian Legend and so on.
But i must say, that im surprised that Gargoyles Quest 2 is on the list. Maybe it got more attention since most ppl know the first on the Game Boy.
Man, this takes me back to my childhood. The NES hasn't aged well but god damn if there weren't some great games for it.
The "Chicken" in 🏰-vania is actually a Pork Chop.
The more you know!
Nintendo World Cup is a forgotten gem on the NES, as is Faxanadu. Parasol Stars was also a great game and one of the best Taito games not to get an arcade release!
SMB3 is the best 2D platformer of all time, at least in my opinion
better than celeste or shovel knight? hm...
@@thebuccaneersden Yes
For me it's dkc2
I don't think there is much debate about that.
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Metroid
- Mega Man 2
- Mega Man 3
- The Legend of Zelda
- Kirby’s Adventure
- Castlevania 3
- Contra
- Tetris
One of the best NES games that I never see on any list is Bucky O'Hare. An Amazing action-platformer made by Konami so you know it's gonna be good, I highly recommend it.
Also Adventure Island 2 & 3, at least one of them should have been in the list.
Yeah, it really dissapoints me to never see it on any lists. Bucky O’Hare is my second favorite NES game, and belongs in my top 10 of the best games of all time. I really love that game!!
Agreed
Well, these lists are literally popularity contests. They take votes on the community's choices and then tally them up. Games like Bucky O'Hare were never well known enough, despite being great. For me, the worst omission will always be Bionic Commando. It never makes lists either and it's one of Capcom's greatest.
@@DeltathRiylaan But a lot are personal lists and I don't see it there either. I guess I'll make my own list haha
@Tom Ffrench I wasn't saying they aren't. Just that they'll always be populated by the better known good games. Hard to vote for a game if someone hasn't played it and Bucky O'Hare is just a lesser known title.
The Nintendo Entertainment System is full of wonderful classic games. I love Super Mario 3, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man games, Castlevania , Contra, Tetris and many other amazing classic games. Great NES list. Cool video. ^_^
For those bored w the earlier Zelda titles, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Randomizers for each game. They roll a brand new game with each and every one & basically give you a completely new & random adventure each and every time! They are so damn good that I can't even play the original versions anymore! They are just that much fun!
The Randomizer for the SNES A Link to the Past is by FAR the best one though. It's so good that it almost feels like the game was originally designed with it in mind! The entire game is set up in a way that makes randomization work absolutely perfectly, and it makes you have to complete the game in totally different ways each and every time! It's just amazing!
Cool trivia fact about Kirby: He was named after the American lawyer John Kirby who helped represent Nintendo and was insanely good at his job.
He was the reason Nintendo won the Universal City Studios v. Nintendo case where Universal was trying to say Donkey Kong was a rip off of King Kong.
Kirby did such a good job that Miyamoto honored him by naming a video game character after him.
That character is the enemy inhaling pink puffball we've grown to love.
If you are like me and feel an OCD need to watch all these videos in a series, here ya go!
21 Best Nes Games
ua-cam.com/video/1cjcr-XtVQw/v-deo.html
26 Best Game Boy Games
ua-cam.com/video/JEHFv10kUS0/v-deo.html
21 Best Super Nintendo Games
ua-cam.com/video/23DYpTkUosk/v-deo.html
21 Best N64 Games
ua-cam.com/video/vEee42ub-Hw/v-deo.html
26 Best GBA Games
ua-cam.com/video/bhK3W_3CW7w/v-deo.html
21 Best Gamecube Games
ua-cam.com/video/2FTBspZymlg/v-deo.html
21 Best Nintendo Ds Games
ua-cam.com/video/PA87rC9nG4k/v-deo.html
21 Best Wii Games
ua-cam.com/video/L6F_QBKeXfU/v-deo.html
25 Best Nintendo 3ds Definitive (they have an older list)
ua-cam.com/video/rsFcYrj6oHY/v-deo.html
31 Best Nintendo 3DS Games (Older Version)
ua-cam.com/video/vnapSYqTBZU/v-deo.html
I grew up pretty poor, so our game library was limited. Tecmo Bowl, RBI Baseball, RC Pro-Am, Wrestlemania, Pro Wrestling, Punch Out and SMB stood out. Track and Field too. it was fun competing directly against my brother, cousins and friends in games that had two player mode.
Where is Metroid at….I love that game