The NES console saved videogaming in 1983 and now it's time to to reveal your top 10 best NES games of all time.
10. Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus has an interesting history as it was created using the same game engine as Metroid and was released on the same day as Samus Aran's debut game. It even featured music from the same composer.
While Samus Aran went on to enjoy a successful career on SNES and GameCube, Pit returned on Game Boy Color in 1991 only to go missing for 16 years when he made a comeback in Smash Bros Brawl.
For years we head rumours about the return of Kid Icarus and the fact that Sakurai chose to include him in Brawl just shows that the fans were missing Pit. It's easy to see why. This cult classic has challenged gamers for generations as Pit, a young angel imprisoned in the Underworld by the evil Medusa, breaks out of prison with the help of Palutena The Goddess Of Light.
Attempting to find and defeat Medusa is a tough job as the screen scrolls upwards, meaning any fall leads to instant death. Unforgiving but unforgettable.
You say: The original rage game. It seemed so easy at the beginning (oh, I can withstand numerous hits and attack slow enemies at distance) but about 20 seconds later you were sneaking past deadly enemies and jumping onto platforms that were impossibly narrow. Nothing, NOTHING ever came as close to this until the Dark Souls series and you know what? Kid Icarus is harder..
9. Duck Tales
Thought Pit had been away for a long time? Duck Tales is another series that has had a 20 year break between releases.For the HD remake of the classic original will be released this summer, 20 years after Duck Tales 2 came out for NES and Game Boy.
You'd expect a game based on a kid's TV show to be rubbish but Duck Tales is the exception. Capcom took Disney's characters, handed development duties over to the Mega Man crew and they created a game that played like Mega Man with a pogo stick.
It also offered an alternative to the princess rescuing of the Mario games as Scrooge McDuck was motivated by greed, travelling all over the world in a bid to become the world's richest duck. You really will feel great if you manage to get the great ending (one of three), collecting all the hidden treasures and at least $10,000,000. The music wasn't bad either.
You say: The fact that a Disney game is worthy of a remake so many years later is enough of a sign of how good this is.
8. Castlevania
Enjoyed Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow: Mirror Of Fate? Why not go back to where it all started with the original Castlevania game. Clearly it looks poor next to the recently released 3DS game but Simon Belmont's battle through Dracula's castle is still compelling.
Originally released in Japan in 1986, you play as Belmont who uses his whip to destroy hordes of undead who stand between him and Dracula. As well as his whip, he could use secondary weapons such as daggers, Holy Water, a flying axe and a flying cross which comes back to the holder like a boomerang.
Unlike subsequent Castlevania games, your journey through the castle is linear as you tackle the six levels in order but it does get very tricky.
You say: Still one of the kings of game design to this date - just about every screen requires thinking, strategy and caution. One of the most stressful, satisfying games and a true prodigy of game design.
7. Metroid
The ending to Metroid is one of the most memorable moments in videogame history. Of course, Samus Aran has been unmasked in games such as Metroid: Other M and Smash Bros Brawl so playing it today removes the surprise.
Not that it matters because the build up is extraordinary and, at the time, it was unlike anything we'd seen before. Everyone had played side-scrolling platformers like the Mario games and we'd experienced open-ended exploration in The Legend Of Zelda but not both in the same game.
There was the shooting, curling up into a morph ball to roll around the levels, your power suit which could be upgraded with power-ups, great bosses to defeat and five multiple endings.
This was just the beginning for Samus Aran. Nintendo improved on the first game with the stunning Super Metroid and then handed development duties over to Retro who would shake things up with the epic first-person adventures of the Prime series. Yet still people yearn for a return to the 2D style. This was the game that started it all.
You say: A brilliant game full of exploration and the music was pretty good. It served as a brilliant introduction to a very fun universe with lots of lore and of course everyone's favourite evil, invincible, purple space dragon Ridley.
6. Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros 2 is unlike any other Mario game. For starters, you didn't just play as Mario and Luigi but you could also control Peach and a Toad as you attempted to save the world of Subcon from the evil frog tyrant Wart.
Mario is famous for bouncing in his foe's heads but in this game you could pick up vegetables and lob them at enemies, including Shy Guys. There was a reason why it stood out - because it was originally Doki Doki Panic, a platformer that was given the Mario treatment after Nintendo Of America decided that the Japanese follow up to Super Mario Bros (now known as Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels) was too difficult.
That said, Super Mario Bros 2 is quite tricky. And enormous fun, of course.
You say: It was a nice change to the series and I'm glad Shy Guys and other items became common staples of the Mario series because of that game.
5. Megaman 2
Nintendo Of America thought Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (as it became known) was too tough to release but Capcom clearly believed that gamers could handle the challenge. For Mega Man 2 is one of the toughest platformers of all time.
Released in an era when most platformers were pretty tricky, Mega Man 2 stood out. Partly because Mega Man himself is a bit rubbish. He can't jump very high, he's slow, he can't duck and he can only shoot his gun left and right. But, he can defeat one of Dr Wily's Robot Monsters, nick their signature move and use it against other Masters.
You can play the levels in any order you like but the key is working out which weapons work well against which masters. That and staying alive.
From Air Man to Quick Man and Metal Man, all the Robot Masters are memorable, the platforming is excellent and nearly 25 years on from the original release, it is still probably the best game in the Mega Man series
You say: I only first played Mega Man about two years ago but already I'm a huge fan, and that's probably down to choosing this as my first experience with the Blue Bomber. It takes the best parts of the first game and refines them to make a game that is hard, but not unfair.
The music is much more memorable than anything in the first game too, and all the weapons you collect are cool, interesting and useful. I've replayed it over and over again and the last time I did I was able to get through the entire game in one sitting without a single Game Over, and I've perfected my route through the Robot Masters to make sure I can reach all the E-Tanks and 1Ups with the necessary Items equipped. As for one reason why I love this game; Metal Blades, aww yeah!!
4. Duck Hunt
One of the most iconic games of the NES era. Who can forget that dog who laughed if you failed to shoot down any of the ducks? And who tried to shoot it?
This is the only game on this list which hasn't been re-released for the Virtual Console, mainly because you needed the NES Zapper to play it. You used the peripheral to shoot down the ducks as they appeared on screen, receiving points for each duck downed. There would be no points for dog shooting, however.
Nintendo don't tend to go in for guns but this has everything you'd expect from a Nintendo game, offering charming visuals, bags of character (you'll love to hate that dog) and brilliant simplicity.
You say: Had so much fun playing this as a kid with my dad. It's my childhood in a game. Even the sound effects are still clear in my mind, especially that laugh...
3. The Legend Of Zelda
One of the most important Nintendo games of all time, introducing us to a legendary hero in an adventure which let you travel wherever you like. That first screen sums it up. There is a cave and a number of exits and it's up to you to decide where to go next as you try to seek out all the dungeons.
Influenced by fantasy tales such as The Lord Of The Rings and Peter Pan as well as taking inspiration from Miyamoto's own childhood expeditions around the caves and lakes of Sonobe, it was the first game to give you such a choice.
The amazing thing when you turn it on today is the lack of any signposts. You have no idea where to go next, although pretty much everyone enters that cave. If you do give it a go, you'll recognise many of the enemies that would go on to become legendary as you defeat Dodongo and Ganon on the way to rescuing the princess, Perhaps not that much has changed after all.
You say: It's amazing how vastly different this is to modern Zelda. No restrictions, no hand-holding, no hour-long tutorials, no cumbersome setting up of the plot - this is just you and your wits (and your sword of course, it's dangerous to go alone) in an adventure that actually feels like an adventure.
The linearity of modern Zelda (Skyward Sword in particular) takes away the feeling of exploration but in The Legend of Zelda I feel like I am discovering all these secrets - because there are no hints, only my mind to see me through. It's refreshing to play this game today where you can you do whatever you like and be on your way straight away. The save system was phenomenal the time and it introduced us to that masterful main theme. What's not to love?
2. Super Mario Bros.
Famicom was released alongside Mario Bros. Two years later, Super Mario Bros blew it away with a platformer that is still amazing to play today.
You may have heard about Nintendo saving the games industry with Famicom - really it was this game which did it. You see, the games industry crashed because the games that were being released at the time were rubbish. Super Mario Bros set the standard for platforming for the next 20-odd years.
So why is it so good? Most importantly, the levels are beautifully designed that you'll want to replay them time and again to improve your time. When you do, you may find more hidden secrets that were tucked away to reward the skilled gamer.
This is a game that's so easy to pick up and play but one that has more to offer if you look hard enough. Is it the best platformer ever? It's pretty close. Is it the most important? Definitely.
You say: The original is still the best for me. It has everything that makes a platformer great: tight controls, well designed levels and a good pace. This is what makes it a reminder of how it should be done even now.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros might be the most important Nintendo game of all time but Super Mario Bros 3 is not only your favourite NES platformer but it's your best NES game of all time.
Arguably it is the game that influences the modern Mario games more than any other as it was the first to introduce the Koopalings, Bowser's minions who were named after famous musicians. Beat Ludwig, Lemmy and Iggy and you'd face Bowser at the climax of this magical platformer.
Throw in the memorable Tanooki Suit plus the brilliant Frog Suit and you've got a game that was more fun than anything that had gone before it.
Super Mario World added the World Map (with all its hidden exits) and Yoshi but fans still argue about what is the greatest Mario platformer to this day. Is it Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros 3? Let's save that for another day. There will be enough to argue about in this list.
You say: By far the best videogame sequel on the NES. I enjoyed all the different levels, power-ups and little secrets here and there. Kuribo's Shoe and the Tanooki suit were very enjoyable to use and each map has its own unique theme that presents new challenges to the player. Everyone remembers the evil sun that tries to kill you and those annoying little black and white flowers that tried to bite you!
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