Monday, August 22, 2016

My Top NES Games Pt. 2

So, in Part 1 we covered my Top 15 NES games, and now we're going to round that out, with the next 15, leading to a total Top 30. It's worth mentioning that some of my inclusions (and exclusions), wound up surprising even myself. And away we go! 


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 16 – Game: Bonk’s Adventure, Publisher: Hudson, Originally Released: 1993

 Originally released in 1989 on a console that was, in many ways, Hudson Soft’s own console (they made many of the big hits for it), the Turbografx-16 (known in Japan as the “PC Engine”), Bonk’s Adventure was a fun and unique platformer. Bonk himself became something of a mascot for the TG16 in NA, as he would go on to have a trilogy of games for the console. But in 1993, Hudson, who had maintained friendly relations with Nintendo for most of their history, and had continued making games for their consoles as well, decided to release a slightly downsized (but still awesome) port of the game for NES. This version is missing a bit of content, but overall, it’s a very faithful port, and wall-biting, head-bonking action is every bit as fun.






 17 – Game: TMNT 2, Publisher: Konami, Originally Released: 1990

 One of the best arcade ports ever made, right up there with the SNES port of its sequel, “Turtles in Time”. Right in line with a lot of other weirdness of my childhood, directly to do with my grandmother and her inconsistent views, I was not allowed to watch the classic TMNT cartoon as a kid, which is a damn shame, because I likely would have loved it. But I DID get to experience the arcade game, both at a local Pizza Hut, and a local skating rink. And from what little I got to play it, I thought it was awesome. And this NES port, while certainly downsized, is very true to the arcade, even adding an extra level and boss or two. The final boss, Shredder, is an absolute son-of-a-bitch, but this game rocks. And FYI, I’m a Donnie guy.







 18 – Game: Monster Party, Publisher: Bandai, Originally Released: 1989

That one picture pretty much encapsulates everything this game is. An odd, obscure, out-of-left-field experience at every turn, and all the better for it. In this game, you play a young baseball playing boy named Mark, who is approached by a gargoyle looking alien (because why not), to come help him save his world. The alien melt-melds with the poor kid, and whisks him away. This game was a rental for me, never owning it till adulthood, but I fell in love with it based on the first level alone. The game starts very bright, cute, bouncy and colorful, with smiles everywhere and happy music. And then midway through, BOOM, the entire level transforms into blood, and darkness, and monsters, and creepy music.

It shocked me, but it also got me hooked. The game features a ton of little boss fights, almost all of them weird as hell, from killer Tempura, to dancing zombies that you don’t actually have to fight (spoilers), to an already-dead corpse that you literally don’t have to fight. The game’s difficulty isn’t too tough for much of it, as you shift between baseball kid and gargoyle with special pill power-ups. But lemme warn ya, late in the game, the last level especially, it becomes a very special brand of f***ed.






 19 – Game: Felix the Cat, Publisher: Hudson , Originally Released: 1992

Another rental of mine, this is another Hudson classic. And let me just take this opportunity to point out, that Hudson Soft really was one of the best developers of all time. Not just in anyone’s personal opinion, but objectively, beyond one of the most popular franchises of all time in “Bomberman”, they made such a high volume of quality games over the years (including the original “Mario Party” games). That said, this game is no different, cashing in on a slight Felix revival that was happening in the early 90s, and featuring his awesome magic bag from the old 50s cartoon, this is a very solid platformer, in which you can upgrade his bag into all sorts of powers, including a tank, plane, etc.







20 – Game: Duck Tales, Publisher: Capcom, Originally Released: 1989

 A game that I either never had the opportunity or just for some reason never chose to rent as a kid, and I really wish I would have. I loved the cartoon growing up, and this game is honestly one of Capcom’s best works. If you’ve ever played the recent hit indie game “Shovel Knight”, you’ll immediately recognize where the “pogo stick” action originated from, as Scrooge McDuck uses his ever-present cane to bounce around levels, on enemies, crushing blocks, you name it. Another fun, and for it’s time fairly unique game, that later got an equally great sequel, that happens to be one of the rarest (and most absurdly expensive) NES games to collect nowadays.






21 – Game: Godzilla, Publisher: Toho, Originally Released: 1988 (’89 in NA)


 Now this was a game I both rented, and later owned as a kid. Considering that around the same time that I got my NES, I was also REALLY getting into Godzilla movies (thanks to us getting a VCR, and marathons on TV), it was a no brainer that one of the first games I would ever choose to rent, would be a Godzilla one. This game is a childhood favorite of mine, even though the gameplay itself does admittedly get rather monotonous and repetitive. You play as Godzilla and Mothra, going through the planets of the solar system on your way to Planet X, battling through levels so that you can get to the important stuff: the monster fights (same as the movies). Not a GREAT game, by any measure, but it has a kick ass soundtrack, and I’m rather nostalgic for it because of my Godzilla love.







22 – Game: Xexyz, Publisher: Hudson, Originally Released: 1988 (’90 in NA)


 Probably one of the most obscure games, and certainly the most obscure Hudson game on my list, this was a game that I’m pretty sure I just somehow randomly came to own. There were multiple stores that went out of business in the early 90s in the town I grew up in, and I reaped the benefit of them having clearance sales. This may have been one of those. But regardless, it is a very unique sort of game, not fully comparable to anything else. It alternates between side-scrolling action/platformer levels, in which you must earn money to upgrade your weapons and abilities, and horizontal space shooter levels. Both of which task you with some pretty epic boss fights. And it’s all in the name of saving your love, and the world. Naturally. It’s a very little known, but really great game.






23 – Game: Zelda 2, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1987 (1988)


 This game got (and gets) a lot of flack, for being radically different than the original hit Zelda game. I’m sure the same was probably said, somewhat, of SMB2. But at least with that, it was still somewhat “Mario-like”. But for some gamers, Zelda 2 was too different for their tastes, going from an overhead to a side-scrolling view (at least for the levels, the map is overhead). Even the music is different, replacing the classic Zelda music with some wonky (but great) new tunes. The game also happens to be VERY hard, I would honestly call this one of the hardest games ever made. But unlike many other hard games (Ghosts n Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, etc.), that are hard in large part because of wonky controls or bullshit enemy respawns, Zelda 2, while very hard, is totally master-able. It’s even “fair”, in a way. You just have to REALLY master its precision-based attack/block system. And be able to take cryptic clues to figure out where to go or what the hell to do at times.

But for its flaws (it probably would have benefited from a longer development cycle), it is still a classic game, and in many ways was very ahead of its time. For one thing, it is one of the rare games that allows Link to manually JUMP. And it’s also the only Zelda to have real “rpg-like” stat systems, where you get experience for slaying enemies, and gain levels which you can use to boost your health, magic and strength.  If you’re looking for the classic Zelda experience, this certainly ain’t it. But this game DOES have a lot to offer, if you’ve got the patience to master it.






24 – Game: Little Nemo, Publisher: Capcom, Originally Released: 1990

 Another 8-bit Capcom classic (back when THEY made great games), and another odd-ball title. This game was somewhat a tie-in to an ’89/90 animated Nemo film that came out (which, by the way, is a really great film), though only somewhat. You still play Nemo, a little boy who was invited to Slumberland to be a friend (and future husband) to the Princess Camille. You still have to go after King Morpheus, who has been taken by the Nightmare, a force you accidentally set free. And in this game, similar to the movie, Nemo has the King’s magic scepter, but doesn’t know how to use it, so for most of the game, you can’t. Instead, you don’t attack enemies directly at all, instead feeding candy to certain monsters in the levels, and this allows you to take them over, as “suits”, similar to SMB3, which give you different powers. Very odd, but a very cool game.






25 – Game: Star Tropics 2, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1994

 The NES was such a popular console in its day, that unlike most systems, it actually enjoyed basically a full 10 years on the market. Its last new game in North America, was “Wario’s Woods”, which came out in December of 1994. The second to last Nintendo published NES game, was this little beauty. For some reason not as highly regarded as the original, it is actually in some ways superior. I would say that, personally, ST1 is an overall better game, with a cooler story, etc., but when I got ST2 in 94, I still loved it. It has a corny kind of “time travel” story going on, but that lends itself for some great, cheesy encounters with historical figures.

The game still has some truly devious puzzles to solve, and they actually upgraded your abilities a bit, such as giving you 8-directional walking, instead of 4, which can be very helpful in fighting monsters, but not always convenient when accidentally falling into water or things like that. If NES was going to have a “swan song”, shy of a new Mario or Zelda game, I would say that Star Tropics 2 is a fitting and respectable one. It’s a graphically beautiful game, and retains the same kind of charm and humor of the original.

It’s kind of like Ghostbusters 2 (the movie): The original is better, but it’s nice to have more adventures.







26 – Game: Bugs Bunny’s Birthday Blowout, Publisher: Kemco, Originally Released: 1990

 Not AS great a Kemco classic as Kid Klown, I will say that this is, to date, still the best Looney Tunes game I’ve ever played. I rented Kemco’s older “Crazy Castle” game as well, and while it has its own old school charm, it doesn’t hold a candle to this one. This was a title that I first rented, and wound up later owning, thanks to that awesome Christmas box that included Dr. Mario and SMB3 I mentioned earlier. The game stars Bugs, on his way to a birthday party (the game is celebrating his 50th anniversary), and his “friends”, the other Looney Tunes, seem to suddenly be out to get him, trying to stop his progress. You eventually face off against most of the LT greats, like Daffy, Elmer, Tweety, Sylvester, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn and Yosemite Sam. And you do get to bash everything with a huge hammer, so there’s that. Far from a genius classic, but an underrated gem that I still enjoy.







27 – Game: Flying Warriors, Publisher: Culture Brain, Originally Released: 1991

Yet another to put on the “What the hell?” obscure games list, and another game that I wound up discovering thanks to those clearance sales. Part of the greater, loosely connected (or sometimes not at all) Hiryu no Ken franchise in Japan, in America this game was called “Flying Warriors”. I actually came to own a kinda-but-not-really prequel to this, called “Flying Dragon”, which honestly kinda sucks by comparison.

Whereas Dragon was more of a straight up martial arts game, Warriors was transformed into more of a Power Rangers, super-hero type deal. It still retains a lot of the martial arts elements, including the awkward-but-kinda-cool, one on one fighting system. The game alternates between side-scrolling levels, tournament fights, and later, transforming into a bad ass superhero, and eventually even getting into weird rpg-like battles. Really getting into superheroes in the early 90s, mainly thanks to my love of the X-Men cartoon, this element of Warriors really sold me, and while it has some rougher edges, I quite enjoyed it.






28 – Game: Totally Rad, Publisher: Jaleco, Originally Released: 1990 (’91 in NA)


 Another random childhood rental, like Monster Party, this game released in the early 90s, but totally bleeds 80s. Originally a slightly more serious game called “Magic John” in Japan, for the NA port they decided to go HEAVY on that “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” vibe, especially the dialogue, as seen above. The game itself is really fun, and features a fairly unique magic system, wherein you start the game with access to pretty much all the spells you can use, but they’re all pretty weak, because you need to train and become better at magic.

As the game progresses, act by act, you progressively grow stronger, to the point that your elemental magic attacks, for example, are SUPER strong and take up the entire screen. The game is a side-scroller, and a damn hard one at that. But the magic system makes it pretty fun, once you get the hang of it. Though I’m not ashamed to admit, that a little Game Genie action for infinite magic (it runs out quick sometimes), is pretty damn helpful.






 29 – Game: Metroid, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1986 (’87 in NA)


In many ways, this game deserves to be MUCH higher on my list. While not as starkly innovative and genre-defining as Mario and Zelda, the original Metroid was still incredibly influential to the future of game design. It was a side-scrolling version, in some ways, of Zelda, as it was one of the first games to allow a more free-roaming, open-world environment, where you could explore at your leisure (provided you had the right items). And it featured, like Zelda, a progressive upgrade system, where power-ups were permanent, unlike Mario. This is a genuine classic, and the only real reason it doesn’t sit higher on my list, is because I didn’t really play it much as a kid. I played the hell out of Super Metroid (aka “Metroid III”) in my teens, and that game is still in my Top 10 favorites of all time. The original Metroid is fantastic, I simply don’t have the emotional connection to it that I got from Super Metroid at a young age. But it absolutely deserves mad kudos and respect, for the great game it is, and all the things it established.







 30 – Game: Quattro Arcade, Publisher: Camerica, Originally Released: 1992

 For the 30th and final entry, while there were many I could have included, I decided to go with another obscure, oddball choice. This little compilation, was by the great UK developer Codemasters, and came in one of those weird, unlicensed gold carts that had a little switch for channels in the back. The collection itself, featured four games, and as a kid, let me tell you, getting four games for the price of one seemed like a major steal to me. I thought I made out big. And luckily for me, unlike the poor bastards that probably bought “Action 52”, this little set is actually pretty good.

The four games featured are: Go, Dizzy Go!, a Pac-Man type game featuring Codemasters mascot egg-hero, Dizzy. F-16 Renegade, a very decent shoot ’em up that alternates between vertical scrolling stages, and forward view “Afterburner” type stages. Stunt Buggies, a weird top-down game where you have to navigate mazes with a little buggy. And the game shown above, C.J.’S Elephant Antics, a cute little platformer where you play a circus Elephant trying to get back to Africa. The games, individually, are somewhat short, and not worth full-price, but as a collection, it’s pretty solid, and I was quite happy with these games as a kid.


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Well that’s the Top 30 list that I’ve concocted. I probably “went all out” a little too much, as is sometimes my way. And there are MANY good NES games I could have included, that definitely deserve honorable mentions, but I chose what I chose because they were the games that stood out the most to me. I also chose a few based simply on the fact that I owned them as a kid, and played them a lot.

Honorable mentions include but are not limited to:

Castlevania, Gargoyle’s Quest II, Dragon Warrior, Gauntlet, Rampage, Battletoads, Battletoads-Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden, Power Blade, Super Spy Hunter, Super Dodge Ball, Shatterhand, Kickmaster, Breakthru, Kid Niki, Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers, Tiny Toon Adventures, Shadow of the Ninja, Clash at Demonhead, Rygar, Astynax, Contra, River City Ransom, Punch Out, Crystalis, RC Pro Am, MC Kids, Joe & Mac, Double Dragon, Mega Man 6,  etc. etc. etc.


Hope you enjoyed the list, and feel free to let me know what you think of the list, or comment on individual games. I’d love to hear some of your own favorite NES games as well. Cheers!

Monday, August 15, 2016

My Top NES Games Pt. 1





So, inspired by the announcement of Nintendo’s “NES Classic Mini”, coming in November, I decided to write this article, originally appearing on Skirmish Frogs, detailing My Top 30 Favorite NES games.

It’s funny, because just a week or so ago, I was hanging out with my long-time friend Harold (whom many of you have now “seen” in a couple of “Game Challenge” episodes, and currently starring in his first official RR Youtube playthrough, his favorite game of all time, MC Kids . We were recording a playthrough of the Japanese Famicom game “Mickey III”, which was repurposed in NA as the great classic Kid Klown. He suddenly posed the question to me, “What are your Top 10 NES games of all time”, or something along those lines, and for once, especially given this kind of subject matter, I actually found myself rather stumped. I didn’t have a full answer for him, and while it was no big deal, it bothered me a little bit. Mainly because, I guess I had up until that very moment, never really sat down and dedicated time to deciding what games DID make up my Top 10, or Top 20, or whatever.

I have, of course, I have in the past already nailed down what I more or less now consider to be my iron-clad Top 10 Favorite Games of All Time , for all platforms ever. And it just so happens that the Top 3 of those, are NES games. So the first three games in what will become my very own “Top NES Games Ever” list, are already decided.




 1 – Game: Super Mario Bros. 3, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1988 (’90 in NA)


Simply put, while SMB1 was the game that got me to become obsessed with gaming, SMB3 was the game that stole my heart, and made me fall in love with gaming. As far as I’m concerned, it is the greatest game, the MOST flawless video game ever crafted, of all time. This was Nintendo in their prime, at their absolute best, getting the most they could out of that NES hardware in the late 80s, and stuffing as much content as they could into that little gray plastic cartridge.

They perfected the platforming/side-scrolling controls and mechanics that they themselves had pioneered. They had honed the “Mario formula”, which they had been tweaking and messing with, down to it’s finest and most distilled elements. They took the ridiculously catchy nature of SMB1’s music, and composed a bouncy soundtrack that simply refuses to get the hell out of your head. They provided a wide array of worlds, with a plethora of challenges and unique experiences contained in each. They presented gamers with an enormous menagerie of different monsters to overcome, and a bad ass arsenal of new power-ups with which to do so. This game established so many precedents, such as the Mario Suits, the Koopa Kids, a fuller picture of what the Mushroom Kingdom/World actually looked like, etc.

Simply put, this game has a bit of everything, for everybody. And while it’s easy for anyone, of any gaming experience level, to just pick up and play, and enjoy, it also happens to be arguably the hardest Mario game ever made, as it has some downright sadistic levels contained within it. There was a time when I played this game SO often, that in my childhood years (ages 9-13), I got so good at it that I could go through the entire game, without warping or skipping levels, while losing very few lives at all. I’m not sure I’ve ever done a DEATHLESS run, but I was goddamn good at it. In my old age now? Not so much.

But as mad as this brilliant classic now makes me sometimes, I still love it to death, and I easily and gladly maintain that it is my very Favorite Game of All Time.






2 – Game: Mega Man 2, Publisher: Capcom, Originally Released: 1988 (’89 in NA)


Very similar to how SMB3 shows Nintendo at it’s finest, firing on all cylinders, you could easily make the same case for Mega Man 2. While later Mega Man games would, little by little, add neat little elements that more often than not really did add to the overall experience, such as the slide, the charged Mega-Buster shot, and Rush the robo-dog, MM2 really kinda was the old school Mega Man team at their very best. And while it seems popular to say that “MM2 is the best Mega Man ever”, it really kind of is, with there being some very specific reasons for saying so.

This game was, simply put, a pure passion project. This was Keiji Inafune and his team at their height of caring and dedication, as the original Mega Man was actually not a big hit, and Capcom did not desire a sequel. But Inafune-san more or less begged them to allow his team to make another game, and they gave him permission to do so, so long as they did so in their own free-time, while they were also working full-time on whatever game Capcom actually wanted them to make. And the very fact that this game was a passion project, bleeds through in every single pixel and bloop you experience.

Like SMB3, it takes the basic mechanics and formula that MM1 established, but refines and pretty much perfects them all. The controls are tighter, the bosses are cooler (all of them), the level designs are more intricate and creative, many of the boss powers tend to be far more useful. And the MUSIC! My god, the music. This game has the reputation, by many, of having the single greatest soundtrack of any game ever made, and while I’m not certain I would say THE SINGLE best of any game ever, personally, I absolutely will say it’s right up at the top. It isn’t just incredibly catchy, it’s actually damn good tunes! MM2 may not fully perfect and refine the Mega Man formula the way SMB3 did for Mario, as sliding, Rush, and Charge Shots are pretty damn cool/useful. But it IS, I would argue, the most “perfect”, top to bottom, for what it is,
of any Mega Man game, or for that matter most games ever made.

I think I would, in fact, actually go so far as to say that I think MM2 is the second greatest game ever made.





 3 – Game: Kirby’s Adventure, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1993


There may well be a recurring theme here, at least for these Top 3 games. The original game, Kirby’s Dreamland, released for the Game Boy in 1992, and was one of the earlier big hits for Nintendo’s original portable console. It was a fun, but short and very simplistic game, basically perfect for the “on the go fun” vibe that GB was originally all about. But it was with the NES sequel, Kirby’s Adventure, in it’s full glorious 8-bit color, that Iwata, Sakurai and Co. went absolutely nuts, making what would turn to be a rather huge game. In just about a year’s time, it would seem, they managed to churn out not just a “by the numbers” sequel, but to put it in modern gamer vernacular, a “Megaton”.

This was the same basic deal, in many ways, as MM2 and SMB3 before it, in that they took a formula, added to it, refined it, and perfected it. When I rented this game in the mid-90s, even though what I had seen of the SNES (didn’t own one yet) and Genesis and of course Arcades were “way ahead” of it, I was still blown away by this game. It floored me just how much content they stuffed in this game, from the fact that it has 20 (yes 20) different powers, a huge slate of enemies and bosses, a wide variety of very different and very creative levels, catchy tunes, hidden secrets, and awesome mini-games. The final (full) world, “Rainbow Resort” by itself, with it’s crazy level designs, even providing a “grayscale” Game Boy style level, really impressed me. What they achieved on aged NES hardware in 1993, was honestly every bit as impressive and innovative as anything that had been achieved during that same era on a variety of considerably more powerful consoles. It isn’t just a major achievement, I don’t mind calling it a masterpiece.

This instantly became one of my very favorite games of all time, permanently winning a spot in my heart, both for the Kirby character, but also for this game specifically. They even made an awesome remake of this, 16-bit style, on the Game Boy Advance, years later, called “Nightmare in Dreamland”. You even get to play as Meta Knight if you can 100% the game! However, no matter how many new Kirby games come out in the series, much like MM2 and SMB3, to me THIS game will always be the quintessential Kirby experience. It’s the best Kirby, in my opinion, ever created.
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So, that’s my Top 3, as I said, easy peasy, and I could honestly go on at far greater length about any one  of those games. Now, rounding out the Top 5 probably isn’t too terribly tough either, at least as far as filling in the spot for #4. There are probably several games that could make a case for these spots, but I’m pretty sure that these fit up at the top, the best.







4 – Game: Star Tropics, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1990


 I originally rented this game, and liked it a lot, even though it’s challenging, as a kid. I eventually wound up owning a copy, and beat the entire game. I don’t mind telling you that when I beat this game, it was a major childhood triumph, and to me at the time, the (unusually elaborate for the console) ending was totally worth it. Star Tropics is an oddity, in that it was developed in-house by Nintendo, but specifically for the “western” market, meaning that it was never originally released in Japan. Which of course makes zero sense, because I think Japanese gamers would have loved this gem just as much as Americans and Europeans did.

Now, this game may be an acquired taste for some. It features, to put it nicely, rather rigid gameplay, with a lot of well-timed jumping being the key to greatest success. It’s not quite as “pick up and play” as Mario or Zelda, or even Kirby. But it’s also not all that hard to get into, or get used to, and once you get the “cadence” of the jumping down, you really can conquer this game. The main challenge actually lies in a few moments of rather clever (and even devious) puzzle solving you are tasked with, including an infamous submarine code that could (originally) only be discovered by dampening a piece of paper that came with the game. But all in all, with it’s tongue-in-cheek, self-aware cheesy dialogue, catchy soundtrack, cool story, and sense of wonder and exploration, it’s a game that I would say any gamer should at least try.

It was a unique and fresh experience for it’s time, that still holds up to this day.





 5 – Game: Yoshi, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1990 (’91 in NA)


To be perfectly honest, there are probably many games that I could make an argument for deserving this Top 5 spot. Maybe even some games that, at some time or another, I have played the living shit out of and have loved more than this game. BUT, it just so happens that, behind only “Puzzle Bobble” (aka “Bust a Move” in NA), this game is probably my second favorite puzzle game of all time. Most people seem to know of it’s more bizarre cousin, “Yoshi’s Cookie”, which released on NES and SNES a year later, but somehow this little treasure is more obscure to the greater gaming consciousness.

And that’s a damn shame too, because it is, I don’t mind saying, a far better game than Cookie. Part of it’s immediate allure to me as a kid, of course, was that the puzzle “pieces” that you have to match up in this particular Tetris-inspired puzzler, happened to be actual, honest-to-Boswer enemies from Mario games. More specifically, their sprites were obviously inspired by the enemy designs of Super Mario Bros. 3, which just so happened to be my favorite game. The game featured Yoshi, an invention of “Super Mario Bros. 4” (World) on SNES, but it otherwise screamed SMB3, which suited me just fine.

But beyond aesthetics, it’s a genuinely fun, addicting, and clever puzzle game, wherein you have to stack up enemy monsters to clear the game board. That in and of itself isn’t terribly unique in a post-Tetris world, but the clever part of the gimmick, was that you could also sandwich monsters in between halves of a Yoshi egg, and depending on how many monsters you stacked before putting the top on, you would get a bigger Yoshi, and thus more points. If you brave enough to risk a game over by having the monsters reach the top of the board, you could get the biggest Yoshi and max points. The Yoshi’s went in order: Baby, Adult, Winged, and Star Yoshi.

Ultimately, this game gets the #5 spot because it’s damn fun, and in my opinion one of the best puzzle games ever made.
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SO, now that I’ve covered my Top 5, I’m going to cheat a bit, and not be quite so elaborate for the remaining games. I’m also, in the interest of time and space, not going to bother (for now) with making sure I place them all precisely where I think they belong numerically, in relation to one another. The remaining games on this list, will still be in some kind of descending order of greatness, in my opinion of course, but I’m not going to stress too much about making it a definitive, finalized list. Rather, I am going to list games that I love, played a shit-ton as a kid, or otherwise consider to be tops when it comes to the NES library. So away we go!





6 – Game: Mighty Final Fight, Publisher: Capcom, Originally Released: 1993


A late NES era rental that I fell in love with, Mighty Final Fight is a somewhat miniaturized port of the arcade classic. But in all honesty, while it is missing two-player, one of the areas from the arcade, it is still in many ways, at least in this man’s opinion, the best port of FF. The action is crisp and responsive, the soundtrack is rockin, and the game even features a “Double Dragon”-esque leveling system that is unique to this version. Plus, unlike the SNES port, you get to choose between all three characters, Cody, Guy, and Haggar. This game, while tough at times, gets my vote for best beat ’em up on the NES.




7 – Game: Final Fantasy, Publisher: Squaresoft, Originally Released: 1987 (’90 in NA)


This game gets up pretty high on the list for two reasons. The first being, it was basically the first console rpg I ever played. I had played a couple of old PC rpgs, such as Sorcerian (great game) and Times of Lore, but this was the first so-called “jrpg” styled game I experienced. The second reason being, while it is VERY “old school”, very simple and even obtuse in certain ways, it is still a really, really good game. Having to buy your magic sucks, and having to grind for days for levels and gold can get old, but the original Final Fantasy has a lot to offer, and hard-as-nails or not, it still captured my imagination, and I eventually beat it. I was rather proud of myself.





8 – Game: Super Mario Bros. 1, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1985


I wondered to myself which of the original two Mario games I thought should come before the other in this list, but the original won out. The primary reason being, as mentioned before, it was this game, specifically, that made me go from having a passing childhood interest in video games, thinking they were neat, and fun to play if I could get my hands on them, to growing into an outright childhood fixation. This game captured my attention upon first seeing it at my friend Harold's house, and captured my imagination and my heart, as soon as I was finally able to own an NES myself, a late-comer to the scene, in 1990.

This game drove me nuts at age 8/9, to the point at least once of crying when I got to one of the last levels and couldn’t beat it. But it also became ingrained in my psyche, as I would very often pass the time or distract myself from homework, etc., by imagining Mario running and jumping around my house, or wherever I happened to be at the time. The main Mario tune, in fact, to this day is still always somewhere playing in the back of my mind. And I was very proud that I was the first kid I knew to figure out that goddamn last castle, and beat the game. I even showed Harold and his brother how to beat it. I felt like I was the shit, for that.

But this is also THE game that more or less revived console gaming in the United States, and it also single-handedly made the NES the king of consoles in the mid-to-late 80s. It’s one of the best games ever made, and the only reason SMB3 tops it, is because it took everything about this game, and perfected it.





9 – Game: Adventure Island 2, Publisher: Hudson, Originally Released: 1991


The Adventure Island games are a classic part of gaming history. And the way they’re set up, you could argue they were some of the first to lend themselves to “speed running”, as that is literally what you have to do: run for your life and avoid obstacles before your meter runs out. Originally “Wonder Boy” in the arcades, published by Sega, the developers of that game split off, and continued and refined the formula as “Adventure Island” on the NES, while Wonder Boy actually went on to become something totally different on the Sega Master System. I actually only rented the first of this series myself as a kid, though I did play either 2 or 3 at a friend’s house. I chose AI2 because it’s my favorite, and my pick for best of the NES set, though they’re all highly fun (and challenging) games.





10 – Game: Tetris, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1988 (’89 in NA)


My grandmother had already discovered (and become hopelessly addicted to) “Dr. Mario” on a chance rental, and she later bought it for “me” (IE herself) as part of probably the most bad ass Christmas package I ever got (also came with Bugs Bunny and SMB3). She was so addicted to Dr. Mario, that she would sometimes play it for hours, and of course it being MY NES and all, and my not being allowed to have the NES hooked up to the TV in my room (believe me I tried), that did get a bit annoying to me. She would often rent other puzzle type games when she found them, though none stuck on her quite as much as the good Doctor. Tetris came close, but surprisingly, she never bought it. She DID however borrow my Game Boy she later got me often enough to play that version.

I would say that the NES version of Tetris is pretty much the definitive version, if not for two issues. The first being, unlike the unlicensed NES game, it's not 2-player, which is absurd. The other being, that while it has good music, it does NOT feature the tune most people identify as “The Tetris Song”, which was only in the Game Boy version for some stupid reason. But, I include it on this list because Tetris is probably my third favorite puzzle game of all time, and it’s otherwise a really good version of the game.






11 – Game: Arkista’s Ring, Publisher: American Sammy, Originally Released: 1990


The first games that I owned, were the SMB1/Duck Hunt cart that came with so many NES units. The other two earliest games I remember owning, were another Light Gun shooter called “To The Earth”, a space-based shooter that was hard as hell, but I did somehow beat, and this obscure gem. At first glance, I’m sure to some it seems like a Zelda clone. In fact, my grandmother stopped me from actually renting Zelda 1 myself (a heinous crime, to be certain), because she claimed it “looked too much like that other game you own, try something different”. However, it is actually not much like Zelda at all.

It’s an odd little game, that comes straight from the arcade era of gaming. It literally seems like it would be a port of a 1980s arcade game, as it has the style, the points, the simple, limited stages, etc. But nope, it’s an NES original, and it’s actually a lot of fun. You play Christine, a female warrior elf, trying to save the kingdom, etc. etc., you use a bow and arrow, though you can upgrade to fireballs and a couple other odd powers. The game features about 31 stages, and true to older type games, you have to beat it not twice, but THREE times over, to get the “Ending”. Otherwise, it’s a great, underrated gem that I think more people should try.





12 – Game: Monster in My Pocket, Publisher: Konami, Originally Released: 1992


As detailed here, probably my single favorite toys from my childhood, were a line of monster figures called “Monster in My Pocket”, released in the early 90s. Thankfully, someone decided to cash in on the (sadly) temporary craze, and made a game of it, because it turned out to be one of the best games I’ve ever played. Developed by Konami, back when they actually made good games (or actually made games at all, really), I would say this was one of the best games they ever put out. You play as Vampire and Frankenstein’s Monster, and go against a legion of other monsters from the set, all possessing the same point values the figures themselves did (nice touch). You journey through five or six stages of miniature mayhem, before finally taking on the master of disaster himself, the Warlock. It’s a great game, lots of fun, with co-op 2-player, and a bad ass soundtrack.





13 – Game: Kid Klown, Publisher: Kemco, Originally Released: 1992 (’93 in NA)


A very similar case to “our” Super Mario Bros. 2, this game was originally released in Japan as “Mickey Mouse III: Balloon Dreams”, and part of me wishes we had gotten this game, if only so that the NES would have had a GOOD Mickey game. But, I am alternatively glad we got a repurposed game, because on the one hand he’s a cool original character, and on the other, we got the amazing name for the new bad guy: The Night Mayor! That name alone sells the game all by itself, as far as I’m concerned.

But in all seriousness, this game is a LOT of fun, plays very well, and features a defining game mechanic that I have perhaps never seen a developer make better or more diverse use of, in any other game. Your main (only) weapon are red balloons, but with these balloons, you can throw them (including varying distances), you can hold them as a shield, you can drop them on the ground to jump on (giving you a boost), throw them straight down to jump on mid-air, and even hold them in the air to float-jump. If for no other reason than that multi-purpose balloon action, I would say retro game lovers owe it to themselves to try this game out.





14 – Game: Super Mario Bros. 2, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1987 (’88 in NA)


Speaking of which, here is Nintendo’s own repurposed game! And I’m very glad, personally, that this is the “Mario 2” that we got. Because, while not a bad game, in my opinion at least, what would later come to be known to us as “The Lost Levels”, the original Japanese Mario 2 is an uninspired, professional hack of Mario 1. Some people love it, and I can understand that, but I can also fully see and appreciate why Nintendo decided against bringing it stateside. Instead, they gave us THIS masterpiece, which was not originally a Mario game at all, but they covered it with Mario paint (pun-intended), and it is now forever part of Mario lore. I specifically remember originally renting this game and not liking it all that much, because “hey, THIS isn’t like Mario 1 and 3 at all!”

But I later came to own it, played it more, and came to appreciate it for the brilliant little platformer that it is. In fact, I really wish they would make another 2D Mario game in this style. Or hell, even a game starring Toad or SHY GUY (one of my fav. Mario enemies), so long as it has this same gameplay and takes place in Subcon, the land of dreams.





15 – Game: The Legend of Zelda, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1986 (’97 in NA)

The game that to many people, officially kicked off the “action/adventure” genre of gaming. As previous described, I was going to rent this once as a kid, and my grandmother cut me off, suggesting I rent something else. And for whatever reason, I never tried to rent it again. I actually DID later play Zelda 2, and my first “real” Zelda experience, is when I came to own “Link’s Awakening” on Game Boy, my favorite Zelda of all time. But, I eventually got to play Zelda 1 in my teens, and though compared to later Zeldas it’s very “rough” (IE few hints, etc), it is considered a classic and one of the best games ever made for a reason.

I really love Zelda 2, for all its ridiculous hardness, but I’ll put Zelda 1 higher simply because it’s Legendary (pun-intended) status deserves it. This, Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man and Tetris should all be requisite playing for serious gamers, so that they can fully appreciate gaming history.



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Well that's it for Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2, covering #16-30!