Definitive Top 100 NES Games

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

I've been mining eBay data again and I decided to tabulate all 677 licensed US NES games, and the "classical" 91 unlicensed games to see where everything sits in terms of general availability, and popularity.

I have a very strict search policy with a lot of disqualifiers but I'll leave that a mystery until I'm asked later on in the comments.

For those interested in the raw data, here it is:

Joseph Leo's eBay Rarity & Hype Guide

 

So without further delay, here are my findings.

Rank	Title	90 Days Sold
1	Super Mario Bros. 3	2096
2	Super Mario Bros. 2	1531
3	Legend of Zelda	1179
4	Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt	924
5	Super Mario Bros	753
6	Tetris	721
7	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!	666
8	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	642
9	Metroid	568
10	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	526
11	Contra	497
12	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game	485
13	Final Fantasy	378
14	Dr. Mario	367
15	Excitebike	360
16	Castlevania	359
17	Mega Man 2	348
18	Dragon Warrior	334
19	Double Dragon II: The Revenge	322
20	Tecmo Super Bowl	322
21	Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	299
22	Mega Man 3	292
23	Double Dragon	286
24	Super C	278
25	Punch-Out!!	268
26	Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse	258
27	Ninja Gaiden	249
28	Paperboy	244
29	Batman: The Video Game	242
30	Top Gun	241
31	DuckTales	231
32	Golf	223
33	Kung Fu	220
34	Ghosts 'n Goblins	218
35	Donkey Kong Classics	216
36	Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos	212
37	Friday the 13th	212
38	Metal Gear	208
39	Kirby's Adventure	204
40	Tecmo Bowl	202
41	Simpsons: Bart Vs. the Space Mutants	201
42	Duck Hunt	195
43	Double Dribble	194
44	Battletoads	194
45	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project	191
46	Marble Madness	190
47	R.C. Pro-Am	189
48	Rad Racer	187
49	Blaster Master	187
50	Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers	187
51	Donkey Kong	179
52	Gyromite	178
53	Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones	174
54	Hogan's Alley	167
55	Little Nemo: The Dream Master	167
56	Mario Bros.	167
57	Kid Icarus	165
58	Mega Man	162
59	Blades of Steel	161
60	Pro Wrestling	160
61	Skate or Die	157
62	Goonies II	157
63	Ice Hockey	156
64	Adventures of Bayou Billy	153
65	Mega Man 4	151
66	Pinball	150
67	Fester's Quest	150
68	RoboCop	150
69	Bubble Bobble	149
70	Jaws	149
71	Rampage	145
72	Life Force	139
73	Bionic Commando	137
74	Spy Hunter	136
75	Crystalis	136
76	Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword	133
77	Top Gun: The Second Mission	133
78	Wizards & Warriors	133
79	Faxanadu	133
80	Yoshi	130
81	Mickey Mousecapade	129
82	BurgerTime	127
83	Jackal	127
84	Back to the Future	127
85	Maniac Mansion	127
86	Tetris 2	126
87	Karate Kid	124
88	Rygar	124
89	Dragon Warrior II	124
90	Mega Man 6	124
91	Baseball	122
92	Adventure Island	122
93	Commando	120
94	Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road	120
95	Shadowgate	116
96	Monopoly	115
97	Mega Man 5	115
98	Pac-Man [Tengen]	113
99	Bad Dudes	112
100	Star Tropics	109

 

 

 

Notice not a single unlicensed game made its way to the top 100...the Tengen Pac-Man is the licensed Tengen Pac-Man count and it was counted manually.

But what are the most commonly available games?

Well, here are the top 50 most commonly available NES games on eBay

Rank	Title	Available
1	Super Mario Bros. 3	2507
2	Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt	2289
3	Tetris	1469
4	Super Mario Bros	1272
5	Super Mario Bros. 2	1250
6	Dr. Mario	1218
7	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	1128
8	Dragon Warrior	985
9	Golf	934
10	Legend of Zelda	931
11	Top Gun	770
12	Double Dribble	760
13	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game	704
14	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	687
15	R.C. Pro-Am	630
16	Rad Racer	626
17	Ice Hockey	621
18	Excitebike	611
19	Skate or Die	602
20	Major League Baseball	578
21	Silent Service	555
22	Blades of Steel	551
23	Captain Skyhawk	547
24	Double Dragon II: The Revenge	531
25	Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	528
26	Gyromite	517
27	Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword	513
28	Bases Loaded	496
29	Adventures of Bayou Billy	483
30	NES Play Action Football	478
31	Metroid	476
32	Pinball	470
33	Bases Loaded II: Second Season	455
34	Kung Fu	454
35	Baseball	446
36	Marble Madness	441
37	John Elway's Quarterback	431
38	Top Gun: The Second Mission	429
39	Duck Hunt	424
40	Track & Field II	419
41	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!	417
42	Double Dragon	416
43	Operation Wolf	415
44	Tecmo Bowl	412
45	Punch-Out!!	409
46	Fester's Quest	407
47	RoboCop	400
48	Mickey Mousecapade	382
49	Hogan's Alley	376
50	Wheel of Fortune	376

 

Once again, not a single unlicensed item.

 

NOTE: Your top 100 may look completely different, but this is a mostly unbiased poll from the entirety of the United States purchase activity on eBay. Even if you compile your top 100 list it would only contribute 1 single point to each game, which would have effectively zero impact.

Edited November 30, 2022 by ThePhleo