Must Play Obscure NES Games.

Mr Unoriginal

Mr Unoriginal

CAGiversary!
Feedback
111 (100%)
I got back into emulation and have been playing a lot of NES games. I had always thought I've played most of the classics and plenty of other weird or crappy games, but my friend recently introduced me to Guardian Legend which is great and I had never played before.

I'm looking for some more lesser known NES games that you would consider a must-play.
 
Not sure how much you know about NES, but one game I enjoyed a lot that a lot of other people also like is Little Samson. Very hard to find, but great game nonetheless. I also liked Ultimate Stuntman, Crash n' the Boys Street Challlenge, and Cowboy Kid. There's a LOT of great games on NES, but that's a couple of "rare but fun" ones.
 
U-027-S-03860-A.jpg
 
Power Blade and Shatterhand are great games along the lines of Ninja Gaiden and Megaman.

The Magic of Scheherazade was a fun game that had equal parts Final Fantasy-esque RPG with Zelda-like action sequences.

And if you want a good sci-fi strategy game, I absolutely loved Overlord.
 
My friend got this game for having diabetes that was sorta like an RPG where you had to take care of your main character with diabetes or something. He said it was really shitty and sold it to a mom and pop game store for $100 something last year.
 
Star Voyager
---(some awesome gameplay, but ultimately frustrating due to near impossible difficulty and total lack of storyline...but if you figure out the gameplay its awesome for its time)

Captain Skyhawk
---(made by Rare...nuff said)

The Immortal
---(isometric dungeon crawler with great graphics)

Clu Clu Land
---(classic arcade game overshadowed by Mario, DK, etc...)

Conquet of the Crystal Palace
---(awesome music, but a hard game)

Metal Storm
---(seconded from above...cool physics and nice pace of gameplay...but hard)

Batman
---(amazing gameplay for the time...not THAT unknown I guess)

T&C Surf Design
---(fun gameplay)

WWF Wrestlemania Challenge
---(I loved it as a kid, but its probably crappy in everyone else's eyes)
 
There are just an absurd number of awesome let little-known NES games out there. I'd agree with a lot of those that have been mentioned.

But one hasn't been mentioned that is one of my favorite games on any system, and that is Battle of Olympus. A side-scrolling action/RPG, this game destroys Zelda II in every way - great graphics, music and most importantly gameplay. The only annoying thing is the crappy l-o-n-g password system. But fantastic, fantastic game.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I got back into emulation and have been playing a lot of NES games. I had always thought I've played most of the classics and plenty of other weird or crappy games, but my friend recently introduced me to Guardian Legend which is great and I had never played before.

I'm looking for some more lesser known NES games that you would consider a must-play.[/QUOTE]


BTW, best NES emulator, hands down, no debate, is Nestopia:

nestopia.sourceforge.net

Most accurate and stable and the most well-programmed by far. Still updated quite regularly.
 
Some good suggestions so far and a few I haven't heard of.

Metal Storm is amazing looking and really smooth for an NES game.

I always loved Battle of Olympus as a kid and tried desperately to beat it because I like mythology so much. I could get far but when you have to get snake skins and tons of olives to buy the better equipment I usually gave up.

I am using Nestopia by the way and its working great so far.
 
Solar Jetman = my personal favorite!!! Lunar Lander meets time pilot (or something like that)

Cobra Triangle - Shooter with a boat

Snake Rattle and Roll - Made by Rare. Very cutesy great sound and graphics.

Journey to Silius - Side scrolling shoot em up. Was originally going to be a Terminator game.

Crystalius - another great Zelda type

And obviously R.C. Pro Am but I'm sure you've heard of it.

Jackyl - Another good overhead shooter
 
seconded captain skyhawk. definitely holds up as a fast paced shooter.

Kickmaster was good too. it's an action game, but you level up and get all these weird kick moves.

and for the sheer ridiculousness factor-- Cheetahmen

Cheetahmen_NES_2.png
 
Try Conquest of the Crystal Palace. It is definitely one of the weirder decent games for the NES. I don't know why I ever bought it as a little kid (though it was a reward for a good report card, and I'm sure the cover was the reason, since I didn't really read video game magazines at the time). I still love the music and the gameplay is quite servicable for an action platformer.

Also, a game called Shatterhand. Actually a lot of fun because your weapons are your fists, and enemies fly backwards and explode after just a punch or two. Viscerally rewarding, but of course, dated in almost every respect.
 
Nightshade. It was an attempt at a NES adventure game that was way too ambitious, but the dialouge is hilarious.
 
I can't believe I forgot this one earlier... Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball. Freakin' sweet game. You can play as totally random characters (Satan, a witch, miner, pig, etc) on some fun playing surfaces. A game where the designers pulled out all of the stops.
 
[quote name='dobiewan']I can't believe I forgot this one earlier... Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball. Freakin' sweet game. You can play as totally random characters (Satan, a witch, miner, pig, etc) on some fun playing surfaces. A game where the designers pulled out all of the stops.[/QUOTE]

I think I used to play this when I was younger. Could you jump really high to make a play?
 
Life Force - This was the first shmup I ever played. Developed by Konami, complete with the Moai heads.
Air Fortress
Monster Truck Rally
Darkwing Duck
Jackal
Formula One: Built To Win - Recommended if you enjoyed Outrun and Rad Racer, as it's similar to those titles.
Spy vs. Spy - This is especially fun in multiplayer.
Kings Of The Beach - Top-notch Konami Volleyball title (published under the Ultra Games brand). Another fun multiplayer game.
Guerilla War - Similar to Ikari Warriors.
Pin Bot - Pretty accurate simulation of the Williams pinball table - well, as accurate as you could pull off on an NES cart, anyways.
The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout - Kemco celebrated Bugs Bunny's 50'th birthday with the release of this platformer with a good amount of challenge.
Sky Shark - Like difficult vertical shmups? This is for you.
Tiger-Heli - Another overlooked vertical-shmup that's worth a try.
Tiny Toon Adventures - Another fun Konami title.
Remote Control - Decent quiz game, but only recommended depending on how well your knowledge of classic TV is.
Willow - An action RPG. Imo, this was better than the movie. Wish it had used a battery save instead of the long password system, though.

And not to play the "OMG! REPOST!" card, but here's a similar thread from a while back you might want to look through, as there's some other stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet:

The Definitive List of Great, Obscure NES Games
 
Zanac is still a great shooter with lots of strategy from power ups. I always liked Athena, but haven't played it lately so don't know how well it holds up. And I can't wait for Solomon's Key to come to the Wii VC. As I recall it was alot like the GB DK puzzler.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm looking for some more lesser known NES games that you would consider a must-play.[/quote]

Mendel Palace

[MEDIA]http://youtube.com/watch?v=0JYIMCGpGX4[/MEDIA]

Solomon's Key

[MEDIA]http://youtube.com/watch?v=rV1lzZo-D5w[/MEDIA]
 
A few that may not be that obscure, but come to mind as good games you may forget are:
Duck Tales (1 and 2)
Legacy of the Wizard
Little Ninja Brothers
P.O.W. Prisoners of War
River City Ransom
Doki Doki Panic II (might as well see what Mario 2 started as)
 
Alot of good ones have been posted, wanted to mention.

Lunar pool
galaxy 5000
micro machines
crystalis
super dodge ball
north & south
pipe dream


Here are some off the top of my head that had not been mentioned if i think of anymore i will post them.
 
I always wanted to play Maniac Mansion to see what it was like.


River City Ransom was good too - Action with rpg elements

Low G Man was weird too.
 
I don't know how obscure you'd consider it, because I'm sure it's been heard of ... but I loved Little Nemo: The Dream Master, when I was a kid. Kind of a childish side scroller, but you could turn into all kinds of shit. I don't think I ever finished it, but I do remember getting to the final level. And man that train level was a pain.
 
Dr. Chaos. I liked it as a kid.

Phantom Fighter.

Milon's Secret Castle.

And I'd like to "co-sign" Clash at Demonhead.

Monster Party was fun, too.
 
Twin Cobra, same idea as 1942 and captain skyhawk, but not as cool as captain skyhawk.

Lunar Pool rules earth although it's pool on the moon. great game!

T. Foolery
 
Apparently I had a lot of obscure-ish games when I was a kid.

Crystalis is still probably my all time favorite game.

I have a good deal of all of these listed, and got most of them when I was a kid.

Another good weird/obscure one is Athena
 
I think I have played almost every game that has been listed here. Conquest of the Crystal Palace WAS quite awesome.
How about
Gemfire?
It was semi-obscure but a really deep strategy game. I never owned it because it retailed for like $80 when it was released, but rented it frequently. a
 
Gemfire is badass on SNES, still awesome on NES.

Shadow of the Ninja is one I liked, especially 2 player. Destiiny of an Emperor is a good RPG; don't know how it holds up now though.

Ice Hockey, while not obscure, is great with a friend. Still my favorite hockey game.

I have also played every game mentioned, simply because when I was growing up, I got to rent 3 games every weekend from Friday to Monday for $2 each. I played a shitload of NES games due to that.
 
Some of these have been mentioned already but what the hey:

Monster Party
The Adventures of Dino Riki
Dynowarz
Rainbow Islands
Maniac Mansion
Yo Noid!
Adventures of Lolo series (from HAL labs, the creators of Kirby and the original Smash Bros!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top