Board 8 > Alright here's MY top 100 NES games

(+) Yeah! (+)

I meant to finish this yesterday but got unexpectedly busy so I'm finishing it today instead lol

15) Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

The sheer ambition of this game is ridiculous. Multiple characters with multiple abilities, multiple different paths that lead to multiple endings. Is it even legal to do all that on the NES? The game's environments still look great and the soundtrack is one of the best on the NES in both its 2A03 and VRC6 formats. The only thing that holds this game back for me a little is that it's really bad-frustrating in a couple of parts; the level after the one where you recruit Alucard is ridiculous unless you play perfectly or take it excrutiatingly slowly and the last couple of levels are brutal. Still an insane upgrade over the original and one of the best games on the platform. It's kind of like FF3 for me where it's ahead of its time and you can really start to see the tone and feel of modern Castlevania taking shape.

14) Tecmo Super Bowl

Like I said in my Tecmo Bowl writeup, I could see someone saying that this version is inferior just because it has a lot of sprite flickering issues and the like, but fuck it, this game is really where it's at imo. It almost doesn't seem possible given the modern state of the NFL and its licensing rights that this game managed to get the NFL license and all of the teams' licenses as well as the players; it's surreal how 'real' it feels. This game is more fun than any Madden game will ever be. The action is just so fast and fun and while it's hardly a real football sim, it comes damn closer than any NES game should have the right to. The presentation is great too; the cutscenes, the music, they just really nailed game feel here. There's a reason people keep updating this game with new rosters - it holds up.

13) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

It's unbelievable how nuanced and interesting this game is even today. I went from basically never having played it before back in 2020 to having to learn how to beat Mike Tyson for the Big 20 race (I swear it's the last time I'll bring that up) and by the time I'd spent like a solid 10-15 hours practicing the weeniest strat for it, I not only managed to do it, but I was able to do it on command during the race in two attempts. I felt like I'd climbed Mt. Everest. I don't know how people were even supposed to do this back in the day. The speed strats in this game are some of the most fascinating that exist in a game and it's wild how much stuff there is to think about - I can't believe how well designed this game is for 1987.

12) Dr. Mario

Okay again you have to hear me out on this. Dr. Mario is absolutely garbage as a single-player, casual puzzle game; the fact that the levels only get easier the longer you play makes them completely trivial, once you've started to clear out the viruses you basically can't lose anymore, it's all just a matter of cleanup. The game really needed to have the floor of the puzzle raise slowly over time to give it a ticking clock and have the viruses at the bottom get closer and closer at the top. The secret to Dr. Mario is that you have to either play it multiplayer, or speedrun it. In multiplayer, you're racing against the other person to clear the level the fastest while dropping garbage for chains, and speedrunning it you're just competing against your own personal best. Adding the element of the clock to Dr. Mario completely changes the game and makes it extremely fun. Suddenly, planning ahead where you're going to drop your pills MATTERS and there's a hell of a lot of ways you can plan an attack on any situation. This was always my favorite puzzle game on the NES as a kid and it remains that way as an adult - I still speedrun this game from time to time.

11) Mega Man 6

Finally, the unspoken punchline of this entire list! Yeah that's right, sorry not sorry, the most mid Mega Man game is still hands down one of the best games on the system. Mega Man 6 is kind of a rushed mess in a lot of ways, the level design feels really unfinished in a lot of places and the physics of controlling Mega Man feel a lot worse than in previous games... but the Mega Man games are just so fucking good that it doesn't matter. I've spent my entire adult life looking for games on this system that can match their overall quality and I've come up short.

If you can't guess what the remaining 10 games on this list are (not necessarily their order) I weep for you

Paratroopa1 posted...

If you can't guess what the remaining 10 games on this list are (not necessarily their order) I weep for you

i can think of one that will definitely jape people

NFUN posted...

i can think of one that will definitely jape people

There's a handful of popular games that didn't make my list but I feel like there's exactly 10 games left that are just obviously on it

I was wondering when the procession of mega men would start

I see we have just a couple of them up there in the top 10, eh

Mega Man 6 has wonderful backgrounds/environments. Also combining with Rush is pretty cool.

10 Mega Man
9 Mega Man 4
8 Mega Man 10
7 Mega Man 5
6 Mega Man 9
5 Mega Man 3
4 Mega Man 11
3 Mega Man 8
2 Mega Man 7
1 Mega Man 2

7
1
4
&B
6
11
3
8
5
10
2
9

10) Mega Man

I still believe in my heart of hearts that history will vindicate the original Mega Man. It only gets the flack that it does because it's being compared to its sequels, which I will remind you, are among the greatest games on the console. Is it janky? Yes, but no more than most NES games. Is it frustrating? Sometimes, but no more than most NES games. By the standards of 1987, this game is one of the best games out there, and if its sequels didn't blow it out of the water so hard it'd still be regarded as a cult classic.

9) Metroid

Oh sure, everyone bitches about this game not having a map and being really hard, but when Dark Souls does it you're all suddenly cool with it! Much like Mega Man, I firmly believe that history will vindicate the original Metroid. Okay, yes, starting with 30 energy when you die really sucks, I'll grant that - if there's a mod out there that gives you full energy when you restart I'd totally play that. Other than that I wouldn't change a damn thing about Metroid, one of the most important and ahead-of-its-time games ever made. I wish I had played this as a young kid - I first picked it up as a Metroid Prime bonus, when I was 14 in 2002, and I absolutely loved it just as much as I love Prime. It really took me back to being a kid and the feeling of being FUCKING LOST in a video game and having no idea what to do, and loving it (except for the parts where I had to farm energy). There are very few modern games that can really achieve the sense of largeness and depth to the world that the original Metroid still evokes in me.

8) Mega Man 4

You know what? It's awesome, actually, that they made so many fucking Mega Man games. I remember people at the time dismissed the series for being so samey and repetitive releasing games year after year but now, in an era where we have to wait 10+ years for sequels, seems pretty fucking nice doesn't it! It's great to have all these games that are minor iterations on the same concept, that reuse the same engine and some assets but tweaking everything and making new stuff and giving a brand new adventure to play through. I truly TREASURE the fact that there are six of these fucking things. It's awesome to have six different Mega Man games on the NES to play through. It's awesome to play through all of them in a row and enjoy them kind of like one long game with a few different twists in each iteration. (I don't really have a lot to say specifically about Mega Man 4 except that I love Toad Man)

7) Super Mario Bros.

Perhaps the most important game in the gaming canon, now and maybe forever, and that alone gives it a fascination value that will never cease to dazzle me. It's maybe the most thoroughly explored game ever made - speedrunners and enthusiasts know just about everything about this game that it is even possible to know. It's been picked over and analyzed from so many different angles. Currently, it's the only tool-assisted speedrun that I believe will NEVER be improved (okay and maybe MTPO but that's it). And yet, I keep coming back to it. Something about this game keeps me coming back to it. It's Super Mario Bros, you know? It's the ur-game of gaming history as we know it. And it's still great. There's a reason every game after 1985 had to model itself to be more like Super Mario Bros. This game changed everything and it's possibly the oldest game that I think is still excellent in every way.

6) Mega Man 5

I am, as previously stated, a big fan of how many Mega Man games they released, but man they were really cooking with Mega Man 5 especially. I sort of lament that I don't have more spaces to put between it and 4/6, because the gap is big, for me. Mega Man 5 is simply an all-timer. They got everything right here - the level design is the best in the series, the controls are overall the best of the NES games, and the music. The music! I have spent my entire *life* being most influenced in my musical style by this game specifically, even over the others. Most people don't consider this game much more than a merely good entry in the series but for me it's life changing (and still only the 6th game on this list somehow).

looks like a pretty cookie cutter top 5! I hope the 5th is what I think it is

A non-exhaustive list of NES games not making the list that feel like they should be remarked upon (not an honorable mentions list)

In no particular order.

Bionic Commando

I've tried to get into Bionic Commando before, but it just didn't take for me - I was never able to figure out how to use the swinging arm properly and even when I did kind of get the hang of it it never felt as good to use as just jumping around. As someone who likes the really jank jumping physics of Castlevania because of how it requires you to carefully think about your movement, I SHOULD like Bionic Commando, but it just falls flat for me. Couldn't tell you why. It's probably surprising that that it didn't make the list.

River City Ransom

I honest to god have no idea why this one is considered such a classic. I find it extremely slow and boring and clunky and just not that fun to play, and I've half-wondered if the appeal of it is just the modern setting being a novelty or the weird humor of people yelling BARF when they die. Don't get it, probably never will.

DuckTales

This is another one I just don't 'get.' I've beaten it and felt thoroughly underwhelmed by it. It's a bad combination of being too easy while having too unforgiving a lives/continues system, which is to say, it doesn't have continues at all. I just don't find it that interesting, the fact that it has good music isn't enough to carry it. (I haven't played DuckTales 2, either)

Rygar

I sort of hate Rygar? It's another one that I don't understand why it's sometimes regarded as a classic. It's janky in a bad way and I REALLY hate the music. One of the thing that connects nearly every game on my list is that, with only a very few exceptions, they nearly all have excellent music - that's a huge thing about NES games that keeps me coming back. Rygar's music is garbage and that really turns me off to it.

Dragon Quest series

Mentioned it already but I'll mention it again. I have a lot of RESPECT for the Dragon Quest series but no PERSONAL AFFINITY for it - I tried to play them once some time ago but they were just a little too slow for me even by the standards of RPGs. Clunky menus, too much grinding, etc. I totally get why their flaws are overlooked by people who particularly love them, but I think the time has passed when I could call these games a favorite of mine.

Double Dragon series

Similarly to River City Ransom, I find these games really slow, boring and clunky, and I don't get them at all. There aren't really a lot of beat-em-ups on my list in general - I'm not against them but most of the ones people consider to be great on the NES I kind of hate.

StarTropics

I didn't like this one as much as I thought I would! I dunno why. It just wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. This is another case where I haven't played the sequel, although the sequel interests me just because it's such a late-era NES game that I kinda want to know what's up with it.

Final Fantasy II

I ranked FF1 and FF3 primarily just for being interesting cultural artifacts, and I COULD have done that with FF2, but the difference is... uh... that I sort of like FF1 and FF3 and I don't like FF2 much at all.

The Guardian Legend

This is another one that I just didn't like as much as I thought I was going to! Out of all the games on this list, this is probably the one I'm most inclined to give a second chance, just because the combination of shmup and top-down action should in theory be right up my alley, but for some reason it just didn't click with me. Maybe I was just in a bad mood.

Vice: Project Doom

Already mentioned it earlier that it was one of the borderline games on this list - I thought it was okay but I didn't love it. That's about all I have to say on it really.

Ghosts 'n Goblins

It's interesting, but not very likeable, imo. I do appreciate just how old it is - it's one of earliest games on the NES that has like, a campaign (in the sense that you play through bespoke levels and then there's a final boss at the end). But even as much as I appreciate old games I just can't get into Ghosts 'n Goblins. It's... a little too old.

Solomon's Key

I might like this game if I understood what the fuck was even going on it. Fire 'n Ice is more my speed I'm afraid, Solomon's Key just didn't really do it for me. I don't really love these "100 different levels" games the NES has going on, they just feel so endless sometimes.

Legacy of the Wizard

I tried to get into this one once, failed, but I still think it's one I might enjoy someday.

Faxanadu

Same as above. I couldn't get into it when I tried it but it might be good!

Ice Climber

A *slightly* overhated game, I still think it's at least kinda fun when played co-op (yes, I have found a person to willingly play Ice Climber with me before). But it's still not... *great.* Like Bubble Bobble was just on the edge of this list and I'd WAY rather play Bubble Bobble.

Balloon Fight

It's alright, it's playable, but it's not the best thing in Nintendo's early history.

Donkey Kong

Inferior port. A perfect port of the arcade version would maybe *barely* crack the top 100... maybe. Like anyone who's 100%ed Donkey Kong 64, I know how to beat Donkey Kong, but I still have to be sort of coerced into doing it. (Ironically, I would also have to be coerced into playing Donkey Kong 64 nowadays)

Arkanoid

Never liked it, sorry.

Spy Hunter

Actually, haven't played! I dunno, seems like it could be cool! Might be a miss.

Kung Fu

This is one that I'm surprised gets brought up as an NES classic a lot. I think it does kinda have something going for it in the sheer simplicity of its platformer/beat em up type gameplay where it's more or less all about timing your punches and kicks correctly and figuring out how to deal with combinations of enemies coming at you. But I only find it a moderate amusement in the year of our lord 2024.

Cobra Triangle

This was the last game I eliminated from the list, actually. It's not bad but for some reason I often find the controls kinda annoying and a lot of things hard to aim at.

Maniac Mansion

Never played! I'm sure it's good or whatever but I don't really feel like playing another adventure game on the NES.

Snake Rattle 'n Roll

Ugggh, the controls. Controls something in an isometric world like this where down actually means down-left and down-left actually means left just immediately puts me off the whole thing.

Willow

Tried to get into it once, didn't hook me.

Any baseball game

I don't really like baseball games unless they're being played by Peanut Butter the dog. (You could also say this about Gyromite)

ah darn, I was hoping the 5th would be guardian legend. it's an acquired taste for sure, but that game shines in its back half, kinda like how a metroidvania does once you get lots of upgrades

Paratroopa1 posted...

Oh sure, everyone bitches about this game not having a map and being really hard, but when Dark Souls does it you're all suddenly cool with it!

Untrue, I think both of those games really fuckin need maps! But at least Metroid course corrects a few games later!

transience posted...

ah darn, I was hoping the 5th would be guardian legend. it's an acquired taste for sure, but that game shines in its back half, kinda like how a metroidvania does once you get lots of upgrades

I'm fascinated to imagine which one of my actual top 5 you thought wouldn't be there, lol

But yeah, The Guardian Legend is a game I'll give another chance at some point I think. It's one of the games not appearing on this list along with Bionic Commando that makes me go "hmm, am I the one that's wrong here?"

Paratroopa1 posted...

River City Ransom

I replayed this just last week on NSO and it was actually more fun than I remember. It's primitive, and gets repetitive too quickly, but to have a beat 'em up with RPG elements so early on is pretty neat. Probably top 50 for me.

Paratroopa1 posted...

DuckTales

I'm overly nostalgic about this one - the gameplay is....odd, but it'd still definitely make my top 100 at least. The Moon theme is so good, it's a rare case where a single track would boost the game up several spots.

Paratroopa1 posted...

15) Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Yeah, I prefer the original to III, but the VRC6 version of III's soundtrack (I think that's the one with extra memory) is pretty insane. No other NES game sounds like it, you'd think it was 16-bit.

You know what? It's awesome, actually, that they made so many fucking Mega Man games. I remember people at the time dismissed the series for being so samey and repetitive releasing games year after year but now, in an era where we have to wait 10+ years for sequels, seems pretty fucking nice doesn't it! It's great to have all these games that are minor iterations on the same concept, that reuse the same engine and some assets but tweaking everything and making new stuff and giving a brand new adventure to play through. I truly TREASURE the fact that there are six of these fucking things. It's awesome to have six different Mega Man games on the NES to play through. It's awesome to play through all of them in a row and enjoy them kind of like one long game with a few different twists in each iteration.

Preach it

My favorite thing about MM4 is the sound design. It was always the thing that stuck to me the most about that game. It's a little obnoxious at first, but I really grew to love it and kinda wish it was in more soundtracks

Paratroopa1 posted...

I'm fascinated to imagine which one of my actual top 5 you thought wouldn't be there, lol

But yeah, The Guardian Legend is a game I'll give another chance at some point I think. It's one of the games not appearing on this list along with Bionic Commando that makes me go "hmm, am I the one that's wrong here?"

to be fair, I made a quick mental list in like 15 seconds, counted to 5 and posted

Bionic Commado does seem like it would be your jam, as a mechanics-heavy game with amazing feel if you can get the hang of the arm. it's okay to not go along with the flow though, obviously

Yeah Bionic Commando is a game I'm still trying to 'get' but I just couldn't get into the flow and it's also another one of those "one hit you die" games that I'm less fond of

Paratroopa1 posted...

I'm fascinated to imagine which one of my actual top 5 you thought wouldn't be there, lol

But yeah, The Guardian Legend is a game I'll give another chance at some point I think. It's one of the games not appearing on this list along with Bionic Commando that makes me go "hmm, am I the one that's wrong here?"

The maze can be a little off-putting. I get that. It's a decent game, and probably worth revisiting.

5) Mega Man 3

If they had just given this one like, one more month - even a couple more weeks of dev time, considering how fast things went back then - this game might have been perfect. It just needs endgame levels that don't feel quite so rushed, it needs to run better and not have so much slowdown when there's multiple enemies on screen, and a few other small polish touches here and there - having an actual intro cutscene instead of just a title screen, not having Protoman's theme at the end cut out before it's done, etc. If it JUST did those little things... damn. Even in spite of this game being rushed (no pun intended), it's like... damn near perfect. The most exhilarating boss fights on the NES. Some of the coolest music and environments. The slide is an amazing addition to the series formula. It's great.

4) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

There's a lot of misunderstood games on the NES but this is the most misunderstood of all. And I used to be one of them! I picked this game up when I was 7 and was disappointed that it wasn't like the other Zeldas (I'd played all the others up to Link's Awakening up to that point). And I was getting my ass kicked by the first Iron Knuckle. But I gave it a few months, sat on it, and came back to it later and wow, something clicked in a big way. I got obsessed with this game. It has some of the most satisfying and flowing combat on the NES (especially once you get the vaunted downstab, the one idea everyone agrees was good out of this game) and the RPG mechanics do add an interesting flavor to the Zelda formula. Most of all I just like this game's feeling of danger - when you get into the really deep places in this game, it feels like you've traveled a far way to get there and you're not sure if you'll be able to get through it alive. I play this game mostly as a randomized game nowadays and I don't think I'll ever tire of it. Zelda II's an amazing game that really deserves more respect.

3) The Legend of Zelda

Buuuuut it's not as good as Zelda 1. People do have complaints about this game that are kinda legit - figuring out bomb spots on the overworld is blind luck for instance and the fact that half of them just take your rupees is demoralizing (though you don't need to do them to beat the game). But like, man, there's just something about this game that scratches an itch that no other Zelda game does. I love the way that combat is actually challenging in this game, you just go into a room and see five darknuts and it's just like, okay, this is the exact situation and I gotta actually play well and use my resources well to win. And unlike modern Zelda games, at least for me, the dungeons really feel big and complicated and maze-like and satisfying to explore. I love that getting items in this game actually feels like a huge power upgrade, not just something you have to collect to advance (aside from the items that explicitly are like that, like the Raft). I love the instruction manual and all its esoteric hints that help you in the game (shoutouts to Tunic). I love that they added a second quest that remixes all the dungeons and is super hard. They didn't need to add that, but they did! There's just so much going on here. Zelda 1's a fucking masterpiece and I'll die on this hill.

2) Mega Man 2

I really need Europeans to understand that there was a brief window of time, in 1989, where this game was THE MOST popular video game. Basically between when it came out and when Super Mario Bros 3 was released, this was #1, and for good reason. I have yet to come across any game in the NES's library that has this game's style, its flair, its panache. It is simply so much more polished than anything else that had come out then. It's on another level. This is probably the singular most important game of my childhood; I was just two years old when my mom would play it for me every night because I loved it so much. Other kids had Disney movies but I had Mega Man 2. I beat this game when I was 5 because I could replicate what she was doing to beat it and it was the first game I ever beat. I think there are other Mega Man games that get some of the technical aspects better, and have some less frustrating elements (Quick lasers, Boobeam trap), but none of them match how much this one *means* to me. And none of the match the soundtrack either, which is one of the canonical gaming soundtracks for a reason. None of them are able to match just how good, overall, Mega Man 2 is. Mega Man 2 taught me both to love video games and to love music at the same time.

1) Super Mario Bros. 3

It's a boring answer, but for me, it's the right answer. MM2 and Zelda 1 are basically 1b and 1c, but I can't deny SMB3 the throne. No NES game has aged as well as this, period. If I had one chance to convince a gen alpha kid of the worthiness of the NES, this would be my one shot. Maybe it won't work, but it's got the best chance. Mario is a storied franchise, but every Mario game since this one has been chasing this one's greatness, in my opinion. Everything about it is perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about the way Mario controls. I wouldn't change a single thing about the way the levels are designed, with all their secrets. I wouldn't change a thing about this game's flawless presentation. It's just *perfect.* The fact that this came out in Japan in 1988 is insane. It should've been impossible for this game to be this good. Man I fucking love the NES.

MM2 is the best game of the 80s. But yay Zelda 2! Such an underrates game.

ya go my Mario 3

The whole list:

1) Super Mario Bros. 3
2) Mega Man 2
3) The Legend of Zelda
4) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
5) Mega Man 3
6) Mega Man 5
7) Super Mario Bros.
8) Mega Man 4
9) Metroid
10) Mega Man
11) Mega Man 6
12) Dr. Mario
13) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
14) Tecmo Super Bowl
15) Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
16) Super Mario Bros. 2
17) Castlevania
18) Kirby's Adventure
19) Shadowgate
20) Contra
21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
22) Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
23) Wario's Woods
24) Yoshi's Cookie
25) Tetris
26) Shatterhand
27) Fire 'n Ice
28) Final Fantasy III
29) 1943
30) R.C. Pro-Am
31) U-four-ia: The Saga
32) Little Samson
33) Adventure Island 3
34) Adventure Island 2
35) Gimmick!
36) Crisis Force
37) Super C
38) Excitebike
39) Wrecking Crew
40) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
41) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
42) Tecmo Bowl
43) Galaga
44) Blaster Master
45) Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
46) Metal Storm
47) Gun-Nac
48) Duck Hunt
49) Kid Icarus
50) Crystalis
51) Moon Crystal
52) S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team
53) Shadow of the Ninja
54) Ice Hockey
55) Blades of Steel
56) Kick Master
57) Bomberman II
58) Adventure Island 4
59) Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
60) Summer Carnival '92 - Recca
61) Pinball
62) R.C. Pro-Am II
63) Clu Clu Land
64) Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2
65) Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
66) Ninja Gaiden
67) Life Force
68) Batman: The Video Game
69) Sweet Home
70) Uninvited
71) Deja Vu
72) Gradius
73) Metal Gear
74) Wily & Light no Rockboard: That's Paradise!
75) Micro Machines
76) Power Blade
77) Dragon Fighter
78) Lagrange Point
79) Bubble Bobble Part 2
80) Marble Madness
81) Final Fantasy
82) Battletoads
83) Bucky O'Hare
84) Batman: Return of the Joker
85) Jackal
86) NES Open Tournament Golf
87) Darkwing Duck
88) Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers
89) Tennis
90) Famicom Wars
91) The Little Mermaid
92) Gun.Smoke
93) TwinBee
94) Mario Bros.
95) Bubble Bobble
96) Ms. Pac-Man
97) Double Dare
98) Rad Racer
99) Zombie Nation
100) Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

good stuff. I forgot Zelda 2, naturally

Good Zelda II and Metroid appreciation

It's insane how good Mega Man 2 is coming immediately after Mega Man 1. Like they really only needed one revision on that formula to absolutely hit it out of the park. (Then they don't quite get that same level of quality again until MM9, unfortunately, though 3-6 are all at least decent, and some of them great.)

Zelda 2 is so good if you can force yourself to get past the first hour or so. I think a lot of people believe those first few minutes to be representative of the entire game's combat because lots of NES games do shackle you with a pitifully tiny weapon and lack of tools for the entire game. I wouldn't have had the patience either, as a kid, but I played this one when I was like 20 so I was able to get through the tough start.

As usual when Zelda 2 is mentioned I need to plug Elliot Quest, which is kind of a spiritual successor indie game. It wisely gives you a ranged weapon right from the start but it's still a challenge and still very much has Zelda 2's sense of adventure and danger.

I have SMB 1st and SMB3 4th so pretty good

Kenri posted...

Zelda 2 is so good if you can force yourself to get past the first hour or so. I think a lot of people believe those first few minutes to be representative of the entire game's combat because lots of NES games do shackle you with a pitifully tiny weapon and lack of tools for the entire game. I wouldn't have had the patience either, as a kid, but I played this one when I was like 20 so I was able to get through the tough start.

I think Zelda 2 becomes pretty tolerable for the most part once you have a strategy for defeating Iron Knuckles. I'm not really sure how they INTENDED you to beat them, because they're so good at blocking your straightforward attacks, but it didn't take me too much experimenting as a kid to realize that if I jumped and attacked it would go through their blocks, and even better if I was crouch stabbing while flying at them. It's a bit silly, but it's almost always better to be in the air in Zelda II to avoid the lag on your attacks - the regular standing swing is just the worst option by far in almost every situation!

Re:River City Ransom - I just like its physics. Is it clunky? Absolutely. But I love how the combat feels: the sound of a metal bat, the tossing of a tire and avoiding its bounce back, using a trash can as a platform, tossing around opponents (or friends). While it does get repetitive, stores are a guessing game, and knowing where to go next is a total crapshoot, I just enjoy the feel of it.

Writing this I realize the only other game I can think of that really scratched the itch was Little Fighter 2.

The one thing I want in Metroid is swapping beams.

Cookie cutter top is fine, it's Cookie for a reason. SMB3 is unmatched.

ctesjbuvf posted...

The one thing I want in Metroid is swapping beams.

Oh yeah, that would be good. It's annoying that the ice beam is kind of a double edged sword but that you also sorta feel like you need it and getting the wave beam is a bad idea.

I just wished you at least mentioned Destiny of an Emperor, Ultima: QOA and Goonies 2.

Anyways my top 10. Note that I haven't played any of these on a NES console since the early 90s.

1) Mega Man 2
2) Super Mario Bros. 3
3) Legend of Zelda
4) Crystalis
5) Super Mario Bros.
6) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
7) Metroid
8) River City Ransom
9) Contra
X) Super Mario Bros. 2

HMs: Bionic Commando, Destiny of an Emperor, Duck Tales, Mega Man 3, Ninja Gaiden

FLOUR posted...

I just wished you at least mentioned Destiny of an Emperor, Ultima: QOA and Goonies 2.

Never heard of it, know absolutely nothing about it, know absolutely nothing about it

Destiny of an Emperor is a Capcom JRPG set in Three Kingdoms Era China (technically, its based on a manga with that setting), with a fairly unique battle system. Its cool, theres a sequel too that was only on Famicom

Goonies 2 sucks. Sorry to all the gooners out there but its true

the first person stuff kinda sucks, but the rest of goonies is really cool to me

Actually it's not true that I know nothing about Goonies 2, I've occasionally seen clips/playthroughs of it, but I legit thought it was like a kusoge or something, it looks bad lol

I don't get people who like goonies 2, but it has an audience for sure. I think you had to play it when you were young because it is so trial and error-y

I do really appreciate OUCH! WHAT DO YOU DO? though

ProfessorRetro broke the Goonies 2 speedrun so hard they had to make a new category

pjbasis posted...

the first person stuff kinda sucks, but the rest of goonies is really cool to me

At that point, Id rather just play Goonies 1

A bit late but I completed Crystalis yesterday and I agree it is very good. While the appreciation might have been different back then, I had a blast. The overworld theme is indeed fantastic. The only issue I had was not being able to do bosses anything if you were too low leveled, seemed to be no way to really know.

WazzupGenius00 posted...

At that point, Id rather just play Goonies 1

The stage based stuff isn't as interesting to me as the connected map metroidvania style. I haven't actually played Goonies 1 though. Do want to sometime!

Nice! Crystalis is actually one of the games on this list that I never beat, I played it like halfway-ish and I remember really liking it but I didn't finish it for some reason

ctesjbuvf posted...

A bit late but I completed Crystalis yesterday and I agree it is very good. While the appreciation might have been different back then, I had a blast. The overworld theme is indeed fantastic. The only issue I had was not being able to do bosses anything if you were too low leveled, seemed to be no way to really know.

were you playing with the sound off? they make a pinging sound when they can't be hurt

Ah no, I heard that, same if you're using the wrong weapon, I meant no way to know in advance, and you still had to go up against them to find out (and ocassionally I died before trying every sword lol). I'd heavily prefer just damaging less than being able to do no damage, assuming you were using the correct weapon, rather than being forced to back and grind.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Ah no, I heard that, same if you're using the wrong weapon, I meant no way to know in advance, and you still had to go up against them to find out (and ocassionally I died before trying every sword lol). I'd heavily prefer just damaging less than being able to do no damage, assuming you were using the correct weapon, rather than being forced to back and grind.

A few enemies even get stronger if you use the wrong blade. I distinctly remember certain blue slimes getting bigger and more dangerous.

it would be nice to not be bound to level requirements, yeah. a rom hack has to be out there that addresses that issue.

though, I do kinda like the feedback that im under leveled as compared to bashing my head against it. maybe a better solution is to just double the exp tables.

Great list!

With Recca, MetalStorm, ShatterHand, and Gimmick! on your list, I think you managed to get my whole top 10 in there.

Nice!

Wanted to save this list for a bit

Reminded of it because of Gerstmann playing it: what are your thoughts on Battle of Olympus