VGS's Top NES/Famicom Games List (post your top 10 here)

[scaryice | 579]

10 hours ago, MagusSmurf said:

I'm assuming we can update our lists later if we change our mind?

Yes! Though, it's easier for me if you just make a new post rather than just editing it.

[scaryice | 579]

7 hours ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

I don't feel really confident about a possible top 10 since I haven't been playing NES games for long and I haven't played many of the big games either.

You say that, and yet you put more effort into explaining your thoughts than anyone else. I appreciate the detailed post! I personally don't like DQ4 as much mainly due to its linear nature compared to 2-3.

[scaryice | 579]

4 hours ago, Tanooki said:

This is something I'd have to really think about for a bit, but I do have a question about this.

Could there have been the option for TWO lists for NES and Famicom?  I think it would spark a lot more variety and with variety, discovery.  Largely we have US/EU members here, few who have been Famicom centric over the NES so the lists will largely wash out the Japanese choices.

I don't think most people here have enough experience with Famicom stuff to make a top list of those exclusives. My goal is just to get an accurate measure of what the community thinks for the system as a whole. Also, I feel there's been a decent amount of those games listed here already, like Gimmick/Recca/Splatterhouse. It's possible me just putting "Famicom" in the title makes people more likely to include those games.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,504]

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
3. Mega Man 2
4. Contra
5. Battletoads
6. Ninja Gaiden
7. The Legend of Zelda
8. Gradius
9. Tecmo Super Bowl
10. Mega Man 3

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

First of all, huge disclaimer. There are many "good" NES games that I haven't played yet, so my list is going to miss some heavy hitters that I probably would have on there had I played them (most notably SMB3, I know I know).

1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Mega Man 2
3. Mega Man
4. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
5. The Battle of Olympus
6. Tetris
7. Q*bert
8. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
9. Dr. Mario
10. Yoshi's Cookie

[PII | 1,883]

Wow, only 10 makes this seem So cut-throat.  Hafta leave out So many Goodies...

1. Castlevania III

2. Milon's Secret Castle

3. Adventures Of Dino Riki

4. Double Dragon III

5. Galaxy 5000

6. Ghosts 'N Goblins

7. Ninja Gaiden

8. Loopz

9. Snake Rattle N Roll

10. Dragon Warrior III

[OptOut | 8,879]

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Dr. Mario
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. Batman
5. Super Mario Bros. 2
6. Ducktales
7. Lode Runner
8. Bucky o Hare
9. Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
10. Power Blade

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,066]

1 hour ago, scaryice said:

You say that, and yet you put more effort into explaining your thoughts than anyone else. I appreciate the detailed post! I personally don't like DQ4 as much mainly due to its linear nature compared to 2-3.

Thanks! One thing that I really liked about DQ4 was how it started out humbly with five different stories that all lead together. My personal favorite part of most RPGs is actually the beginning and this game offered several of those. Somehow I just really like it, when the game is still relatively simple and you start out weak while slowly building up your character.

The linear nature may be a small drawback, but DQ2 had its own set of problems, imho. For example how poorly balanced the characters were in the NES version, how some of the hiding spots for the emblems are pretty obscure and of course the massive difficulty spike near the end. I still really like it though. I just wouldn't quite put it in a top 10.

Fire Emblem I was also a part of my considerations at the beginning, but I left it out since I haven't beaten the original Famicom version, yet.

[Sumez | 2,928]

My "official" top list for the NES groups very similar games in order to make it less superfluous, specifically the Mega Man Games and Ninja Gaiden ones. If I didn't, they'd dominate the top of the list, making other games come across less relevant.
No such rule in this thread I guess, so if I have to spread out those games, this is how I'd place them:

1. Super Mario Bros 3
2. Mega Man 4
3. Mega Man 3
4. Gimmick!
5. Ninja Gaiden
6. Ninja Gaiden 2
7. Castlevania 3
8. Contra
9. Mega Man 2
10. Ninja Gaiden 3

Too bad, leaves out a lot of my genuine favourite games  

I'd love to go into explanations similar to what @Gaia Gensouki has done, but I think so many of these games are almost a given it's self explanatory.

Having Ninja Gaiden 3 in the bottom of the list IMO really speaks to how strong the top field of the NES library is.
SMB3 being in the top of the list is a really, really boring choice, but it's impossible to ignore just how sprawling and well designed that game is, it really is a game for everybody.
Regarding the Mega Man games I agree with Gaia that 3 is the better game compared to 2 which suffers from a couple of really scrappy stages. 4 is the game that just perfects the formula and displays what a truly polished MM game is like, but honestly the entire NES series is great. It's worthy of its own thread, but I think it's already been discussed very frequently.
Gimmick! could easily have been in the top #1 spot, and occasionally that's where I have it. I could speak for ages about the game, and did make a detailed blog post some years ago about everything I love about it, so that's another thing we can keep for another day. There just aren't really any other games like it, and that is kind of sad.
Ninja Gaiden is a very very strong example of a subgenre of action platformers that really only ever existed in the NES generation. There are very few games released later on that fits so snuggly into the same combination of tight strategic action focus with a similar compact player sprite giving you the same amount of insight into what's going on around it.
The first 2 games especially stand out due to the unique enemy spawning mechanics that catch a lot of players off guard first time they play it, but ultimately really work in favor of the action. Again, there are no other games like these, and they are absolute timeless examples of near perfection.
Castlevania 3 and Contra go without saying. CV3 is another game to occasionally contest for the top #1 spot, so we are still really high up here. Contra would be a stronger contender if it were a bit more challenging off the bat, it's a little too fast to master, but still a fantastic all-time classic.

There are a TON of NES/FC games out there, so I wouldn't claim I've played most of the library, but I'd definitely say I've been through nearly all of the most interesting parts of it, including a lot of shitty ones. I keep a backlog of the games I'm still interested in trying, and they become increasingly awkward and obscure as time goes on. At this point, I'm not expecting Cosmo Police Galivan, Monster Party, or Hello Kitty World to break my top 10.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Sumez

[Sumez | 2,928]

8 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Largely we have US/EU members here, few who have been Famicom centric over the NES so the lists will largely wash out the Japanese choices.

I can think of at least one member here who'd disagree with me, but as much as I love Famicom cartridges, the highest actually JP exclusive title on my NES top 100 is placed at #27 (or #34 is you don't count the MM/NG series as one). It's a good game, but not really able to touch the top 10. All the best games on the platform made it out of Japan. Hell, some are even exclusive to the west (StarTropics, Tetris).

EDIT: Wow, can't believe I forgot about the JP Super Mario Bros. 2. I have that game on #12, so that's at least one that's a clear top contender. Fantastic game.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Sumez

[Jaden | 151]

1. Kirby's Adventure

2. Gun-Nac

3. Super Mario Bros.

4. Gyruss

5. Fire 'n Ice

6. Super Mario Bros. 3

7. Super Mario Bros. 2

8. Rolling Thunder

9. Klax

10. Tetris

 

Kind of a really lame list. There's a lot of other great games that I want to include, but I guess this will do for now. These are all still games that I love, but I may change this list in the future.

[Strikezone1 | 154]

21 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Gun-Nac is fun, but Zanac gave me much more of a sense of accomplishment when I finally beat it.

 

I could flip them depending on my mood.

I think Zanac is much better than Gun-Nac.

Re: difficulty/beating Gun-Nac - It is too easy on the Intermediate (default) difficulty setting, but obnoxiously-unfairly-difficult on Expert. Going by the criteria of seeing the true/ultimate ending (shown by beating it on Expert), Gun-Nac is easily one of the hardest games on the NES. 

[Strikezone1 | 154]

1. Mega Man 4
2. TMNT III: Manhattan Project
3. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
4. Super C
5. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
6. Life Force
7. Burai Fighter
8. Bucky O'Hare
9. Dragon Fighter
10. Double Dragon III

It's tough for me to narrow it to 10, there's so many games I've enjoyed playing. But those are what I'll go with. 

[T-Pac | 7,510]

1 ) Abadox
-basically everything I could want in a strategic space-shooter
2 ) Solomon's Key 2 [Fire 'N Ice]
-perfect slow-paced action-puzzling that's easy enough for my goldfish brain to enjoy
3 ) Bubble Bobble
-straightforward arcade action that never gets old
4 ) Star Soldier
-my ideal pick-up-and-play space-shooter
5 ) Robocco Wars
-space-shooting, platforming train mechs are a win-win-win-win
6 ) Metal Storm
-the full package for mecha aesthetics and buttery-smooth animation / controls
7 ) Dynowarz
-a campy 8-bit "so bad it's good" masterpiece
8 ) Felix the Cat 
-a cartoony platformer that's based on one of animation's pioneering characters AND is easy enough for me to actually finish? Sign me up!
9 ) Darkwing Duck
-Disney's Mega Man - what's not to love?
10 ) Image Fight
-a typical Irem 'thinking-man' space-shooter that's infinitely more approachable than R-Type

I realize I'm skewing our results away from the average "top NES/FC" list given our small sample-size, but at least I'm not the only one with some bizarre picks haha.

-CasualCart

 

[Sumez | 2,928]

11 hours ago, CasualCart said:

I realize I'm skewing our results away from the average "top NES/FC" list given our small sample-size, but at least I'm not the only one with some bizarre picks haha.

At least most of them are really good games. Maybe not top 10 material considering the crazy output on the platform, but all good stuff! 

[nesmaster14 | 432]

1. Mega Man 2 - Pure gameplay and music goodness.  The final area where it becomes quiet except for the ambient drips from the ceiling, really takes the game to even higher levels in its design.  You can tell they enjoyed making it.
2. Castlevania III - Epic platformer, incredible atmosphere and music.
3. Summer Carnival '92: Recca (FC) - I can jump into this game anytime and have a blast.  Yet, the challenge and strategy is there I can also stick with it and get immersed.
4. Gradius - In my humble opinion it's the best version.  The gameplay is so good and strategic.  Took me years to beat but finally did and felt great.  Another one I can pick up and enjoy easily.
5. Super Bat Puncher (Homebrew) - This blew me away when it was first released.  Still is top-tier 10+ years later.
6. Sqoon - I haven't played another shooter like it, great depth of mechanics, and super charming.  
7. Ninja Gaiden III (North America) - Epic platformer, took me awhile to beat but was worth it.  It's challenging, but not unfair, and the levels/story/music elevate it. 
8. Super Mario Bros. - Hard to not enjoy this one.  Actually didn't beat it warpless until many years later. The many secrets and simplicity, yet depth in gameplay. Classic.  Note, I'd still like to try SMB2 (Japan), which could rank higher.
9. Crisis Force (FC) - Stellar shmup with cool FX and level design.  The ending credits music is one of my favorites.  
10. Kabuki Quantum Fighter - Headbanging enemies with your long blood-red hair, intense platform perils n aerobatics a plenty.  Jammin' soundtrack.  A game that probably deserves a sequel (was hinted at but we never got it).

This was tough, I could maybe change the order, they're all so close.

[WhyNotZoidberg | 585]

1. Zelda II

2. Super Mario Bros 2

3. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

4. Life Force

5. Gun.Smoke

6. Destiny of an Emperor

7. Pinball

8. Duck Tales

9. Bubble Bobble

10. Power Blade

 

This is super farking hard and the top 10 list would be different every week if we did this every week. Except the first 3 spots. I just went with a mix of obvious quality and my personal feels. I was very tempted to throw a B-Wings in there and I had to fight the urge to include Romance of the Three Kingdoms II but I think I prefer the SNES version so I decided not to put it in there. I wanted a proper JRPG so I put my favorite Destiny of an Emperor in there mostly for genre representation.

Edited November 3, 2021 by WhyNotZoidberg

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
3. The Legend of Zelda
4. Contra
5. Castlevania
6. Mega Man 2
7. Excitebike
8. Double Dragon II
9. Tecmo Super Bowl
10. Ninja Gaiden

[G-type | 2,476]

1. Legacy of the Wizard
2. StarTropics
3. Battletoads
4. Punch-Out!
5. Super Mario 2
6. Megaman 2
7. Adventures of Lolo
8. Bubble Bobble
9. Ducktales
10. Legend of Zelda

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I'm gonna need to think about this for a while before posting. So many great games to consider.

[fox | 1,664]

1. Shatterhand
2. Cowboy Kid
3. Rockin' Kats
4. GI Joe
5. Power Blade
6. Life Force
7. Metal Strom
8. Kickle Cubicle
9. Snow Bros
10. Fire N Ice

[Foochie776 | 1,051]

This was kind of tough but I think this would be mine.. 

 

1. Super Mario Bros 3

2. Felix the Cat

3. Rainbow Islands

4. Dr. Mario 

5. Adventure Island

6. Ducktales

7. Rescue Ranger

8. paperboy 

9. Mike Tyson’s Punchout

10. Kirby’s Adventure

[rdrunner | 422]

1. Legend of Zelda
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
3. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
4. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
5. Super Mario Bros.
6. Ninja Gaiden
7. Castlevania
8. Mega Man 2
9. Contra
10. Adventures of Lolo 3

Sooo many awesome games, it's a shame to only pick 10.  Maybe after the top 10 shakes out we could "freeze" the list and vote on the next 15 for a top 25?  These lists get much more interesting the longer they go.

[Khromak | 768]

I'm definitely iffy on the ranking here, some of them really could move up/down a level, depending on many factors, but this is where I ended up. I think if I were to do a list of "objectively" best games, the rankings would change significantly, but with nostalgia factored in, here we are. For example I think Little Samson is better than MM2, but the nostalgia and music wouldn't let me drop it any more ranks.

1. Dragon Warrior 3
2. The Legend of Zelda
3. Battle Kid 2
4. Mega Man 2
5. Little Samson
6. The Guardian Legend 
7. Ninja Gaiden 2
8. Super Mario Bros 3
9. Adventures of Lolo 2
10. Castlevania 3

[JeremiahJT | 75]

³The NES is probably the second hardest system for me to do a top ten after the 2600. Here goes my list as constituted this day.

1. Dragon Warrior-This will always be my number one.

2. Super Mario Bros.-Great pick up and play platformer.

3. Dragon Warrior II-So close to the second spot. Maybe my favorite story of all the Dragon Warriors.

4. Mega Man-This is the highest I have ever had this one. I love to pop this one in just to beat it. Unfortunately it usually leads to doing the rest of the NES series too.

5. Super Mario Bros. 3-Excellent evolution for the series. I love doing this warpless, but it is time consuming.

6. Dragon Warrior III-What can I say, I love this series.

7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-I never actually beat it until adulthood, but it was not for a lack of trying.

8. Dragon Warrior IV-My least favorite of the four, but still an all-time favorite.

9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game-Played this one like crazy in the arcade, and this port is almost as good.

10. Castlevania-This barely edges out Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros. 2, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 3, and Zelda II.

I know my list has a lot of Dragon Warriors, but it is my favorite NES series by far.