Best NES Games -- *Master List*

[sigloiv]

Alright. I've recently...uh, acquired a bunch of NES games and I really don't know where to start. I say we just amass a master list of awesome NES games, obvious and hidden gems. Anyways, I may as well list a bunch alphabetically right here. I'll edit in any that anyone adds.

Adventures of Bayou Billy, The
Adventures of Lolo
Adventures of Lolo 2
Adventures of Lolo 3
Air Fortress
Archon
Baseball Stars
Baseball Stars II
Batman
Batman: Return of the Joker
Battletoads
Bionic Commando
Blades of Steel
Blaster Master
Bomberman
Bubble Bobble
Bubble Bobble Part 2
Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, The
Burgertime
Castlevania
Castlevania II - Simon's Quest
Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Clash at Demonhead
Contra
Contra Force
Crystalis
Darkwing Duck
Defender of the Crown
Dig Dug
Dig Dug II
Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dragon II - The Revenge
Double Dribble
Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior II
Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior IV
Duck Hunt
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Dudes With Attitude
Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
Earthbound Zero (it's a prototype ROM)
Excitebike
Faxanadu
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy II (use a translation patch)
Final Fantasy III (use a translation patch)
Freedom Force
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe - The Atlantis Factor
Golf
Golgo 13
Goonies II, The
Gradius
Guardian Legend, The
Guerilla War
Gumshoe
Gun.Smoke
Hogan's Alley
Ice Hockey
Ikari Warriors
Kickle Cubicle
Kid Icarus
Kid Niki
Kirby's Adventure
Legacy of the Wizard
Legend of Zelda, The
Life Force
Little Nemo
Little Ninja Brothers
Maniac Mansion
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Mega Man 7
Mendel Palace
Metal Gear
Metal Storm
Metroid
Micro Machines
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Milon's Secret Castle
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden 2 - The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden 3 - The Ancient Ship of Doom
Pac-Mania
Paperboy
Pirates!
Popeye
Power Blade
Pro Wrestling
R.C. Pro-Am
R.C. Pro-Am 2
Rad Racer
RBI Baseball
Ring King
River City Ransom
Rush and Attack
Rygar
Section Z
Shatterhand
Short Order - Eggsplode
Slalom
Snow Bros
Solar Jetman
Solomon's Key
StarTropics
Stinger
Strider
Super C
Super Dodge Ball
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Super Bowl
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Arcade Game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - The Manhattan Project
Tetris
Trojan
Trolls on Treasure Island
Vice: Project Doom
Wall Street Kid
Wild Gunman
Willow
Wizards and Warriors
Wrecking Crew
Xexyz
Zelda II - Link's Awakening

Thanks for the help everyone! The list is really coming along. :)

Also, I'd like to somehow re-organize the list, either by quality or genre (probably the latter considering the former is very subjective). Given its current size, it's very difficult for me (and probably others) to traverse it.

[CappyCobra]

BIONIC COMMANDO
CONTRA
MEGAMAN SERIES
Little Nemo
Rygar
Solomon's Key
Tetris
TMNT
Rush and Attack
Bayou Billy
Castlevania I,II,III

[marten]

The Guardian Legend
The Dragon Warrior series
Legacy of the Wizard
Milon's Secret Castle (I actually liked this game...it pissed me off to no end...)

[HumanSnatcher]

Lemme dig into my massive rom list...:

Battle Toads
Metal Gear
River City Ransom

I swear, barring the ongoing and continuing amount of custom hacks, I've got all the games ever released for NES.

[GuilewasNK]

Tecmo Super Bowl
Mendel Palace

[Tarsus]

Crystalis
Power Blade
StarTropics

[Sleepkyng]

did anyone say Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle?

also Duck Tales.

[HumanSnatcher]

did anyone say Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle?

also Duck Tales.

I loved those games as a kid. I remember that Duck Tales had that totally insane bonus ending if you got like a billion points. I don't think I ever had the stamina to try for that...

Chip and Dales Rescue Rangers was fun if you wanted to kill 30 mins (45 if you always beat every single level like I did)

Does Action 52 count?? (j/k)

[javeryh]

Baseball Stars = Best baseball game ever.
Double Dribble
Blades of Steel
Ikari Warriors
R.C. Pro Am
Super Dodge Ball
Pro Wrestling
Wizards and Warriors
Stinger
Section Z
Strider
Trojan
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Blaster Master
Life Force
Goonies II
Gunsmoke
Bomberman
Crystalis
Excitebike
Gumshoe
Hogan's Alley

I can probably think of more but this is a good start...

[hero101]

Did they ever release a street fighter II for nes? It might have been an April Fools joke since I saw it in a magazine before.

[smaaug]

Bubble Bobble
Contra Force

[ZForce]

Why did I have to go like 9 posts down to get a mention of Mike Tyson's Punchout? :)

[raregamergirl]

Lolo 1, 2 and 3, Dig Dug 1 and 2, Contra Force, Dusty Diamonds Softball, Baseball Stars 1 and 2, Bubble Bobble 1 and 2, TMNT 3 Manhatten Project, Pirates, GI joe 1 and atlantic factor, Golf, Paperboy, RC pro am 1 and 2, snow brothers, kid icarus, dodge ball, many many many more.

[HumanSnatcher]

Did they ever release a street fighter II for nes? It might have been an April Fools joke since I saw it in a magazine before.

It was released, but its a pirate copy. You know the crap they do in Hong Kong.

Searching my rom folder, I have version of that, Alpha 1&2, SF3...all pirate versions that have been done over seas. I've fired them up a time or two, and dude, they are so not worth the time.

[Ikohn4ever]

Did they ever release a street fighter II for nes? It might have been an April Fools joke since I saw it in a magazine before.

they had this okay game called like Street fighter 2010, nothin to do with the street fighter series besides being made by Capcom

[sigloiv]

Thanks for the help everyone! I really appreciate it.

Also, I don't mind if you post a game that someone else already has (I can pretty much remember what I have and haven't added), but if you see one that was posted but wasn't added to the list, just let me know with another post.

Once again, the list really looks like it's coming along, and I really thank everyone who's helping with it.

[Tarsus]

Thought of some more.

Vice: Project Doom, which was a lot like Bayou Billy but much more polished.

And if you are going to include Duck Tales, you have to include Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers.

Also, I see you listed Contra and Contra Force, but forgot Super C.

[Number83]

Wild Gunman
Freedom Force
XEXZY
Wall Street Kid
Slalom (Rare's First Game)
Ring King
Ninja Gaiden II
Rad Racer (Square's first Game)
Golgo 13
Ice hockey
Faxanadu
Defender of the Crown

More coming...Stay Tuned!

[SpreadTheWord]

MegaMan 2!
Bubble Bobble

[Who's The Twitch Now?]

Air Fortress.

[converge]

Earthbound zero

[SMMM]

Mega Man 7 was SNES

[javeryh]

Mega Man 7 was SNES

Good call. I really lost interest in the series after Mega Man 5. It just seemed to be the same game over and over again. I haven't played one since...

I still love the original Mega Man box art. It's like they vaguely described the game to someone who obviously never played it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ea/MegamanBox.jpg/200px-MegamanBox.jpg

[E-Z-B]

Faxanadu.

[E-Z-B]

Battletoads was old-school difficult. I don't know if I'd include that in this "best" list.

Though I did beat the game, it still haunts me 15+ years later...

[DT778]

Batman and Zelda not listed :shame:. This isn't a master list.

[E-Z-B]

The first Batman was another game that was difficult. I managed to beat the Joker once, but never could do so again.

Batman: Return of the Joker was good.

[E-Z-B]

Just remembered another one: Willow. The game that should've been the sequel to the 1st Zelda.

[Slash]

The Digital Press NES Top 50 List ( Note: In alphabetical order | www.digitpress.com ):


Archon
Baseball Stars
Battletoads
Bionic Commando
Blaster Master
Bubble Bobble (series)
Burgertime
Castlevania (series)
Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers
Contra (series)
Crystalis
Double Dragon 2
Dragon Warrior (series)
Duck Tales 2
Dudes with Attitude/Trolls on Treasure Island
Excitebike
Faxanadu
Final Fantasy
Goonies 2
Gradius
Guardian Legend
Guerilla War
Ice Hockey
Kickle Cubical
Kid Niki
Kirby's Adventure
Legacy of the Wizard
Legend of Zelda
Life Force
Little Ninja Brothers
Maniac Mansion
Mega Man (series)
Metal Gear
Metroid
Micro Machines
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Ninja Gaiden (series)
Pac-Mania
Pirates!
River City Ransom
Rygar
Short Order / Egg-Splode
Solar Jetman
Solomon's Key
Star Tropics
Super Mario Brothers (series)
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tetris (Tengen)
Wizards & Warriors
Wrecking Crew

[sigloiv]

Mega Man 7 was SNES
Thanks. All my ROMs are in .7z, so when I was looking I just saw the "7" after Megaman.

Batman and Zelda not listed :shame:. This isn't a master list.
Look under L for "Legend". ;)

[MarioColbert]

DARKWING DUCK

I know this sounds lame or whatever, but it's really a hell of a side-scroller, and the bosses are hard as shit. Was one of my childhood favorites, and I played it again on September 10th 2001 (video proof available) and still had fun with it.

[Whambamm]

I didn't study the list, but I did notice one glaring omission.

Metalstorm.

An absolutely great sidescroller.

[niceguyshawne]

How about Popeye and Donkey Kong Classics?

[E-Z-B]

I LOVED Clash at Demonhead. Great game.

[E-Z-B]

Also didn't see TMNT II on that list. That's the best one.

[4tygames]

This is the compatibility list (http://www.playmessiah.com/onlinestore/gnex_faq-chart.htm) for the Generation NEX. It may be helpful in the search for the awesome NES game master list.


Don't forget to add Nintendo World Championships 1990. If you can find this game, it would be an awesome addition to any collection!

Also Tengen Tetris! Many say that it is better than Nintendo's Tetris.


Are the Ducktales and Star Trek games any good? I have Ducktales 2 for the Game Boy and it is fun to play, don't know about the NES version.

[j_factor]

I really enjoyed Shatterhand.

[sigloiv]

4tygames: Well, I have a complete NES romset on my hard drive, so having a list of games to pick from isn't a problem...it's just a matter of which suck and which don't. :)

[Riyonuk]

Hmm best nes games? I cant remmebr the name, but you play as like a gang and go around beating people up and throwing trash cans, I liked it. Where is the best snes game list :p

[SMMM]

Hmm best nes games? I cant remmebr the name, but you play as like a gang and go around beating people up and throwing trash cans, I liked it. Where is the best snes game list :p

River City Ransom?

[Mookyjooky]

Legend of Kage was the game that got me into gaming... so thats on my list.

This stopped being a master list of the best games on the Nintendo when I saw this atrosity - "The Adventures of Bayou Billy"

[Riyonuk]

Are you grading them? Metroid gets a D? WTF is wrong with you >_>

And SMMM yeah thats the one I'm talking about, good memories with that game.

[CardThrower21]

I'm surprised no one said Panic Restaurant yet.

The Battle of Mount Olympus
Star Tropics II - Zoda's Revenge

And just to throw in one of my personal favorite, multiplayer, NES games. Donkey Kong Jr. Math.

[floormat]

cobra triangle

back when rare was still making good games

[snotknocker]

Here's some of my favorites. IMO all great games

Jackal
Shadow of the Ninja
1942
1943
Rolling Thunder
Bad Dudes
Narc
Kung Fu
Bucky O Hare
Karnov
Low G Man
Rush N Attack
Monster Party
Shadowgate
Code Name Viper
Wrath of the Black Manta
Millipede
Whomp em
Adventure island
Robo warrior
POW
Breakthru
Fist of the Northstar