Top 111 NES Games, #50-41

50. Final Fantasy III (Square, 1990 in Japan)

The last of the Final Fantasy games released for the Famicom, and definitely the best one it had there.  After the relatively unpopular second entry tried to change up the gameplay and design (with not-so-great results), Final Fantasy III goes back to basics a bit, reintroducing the class system and overall aesthetic of the first while giving it a major upgrade in visual and sound fidelity.  The class sytem is much more in-depth now, though, including nineteen classes in total.  All the classics from the first return and many new ones are introduced that would become series mainstays, like the Ranger, Geomancer, Bard and Sage classes.  A much larger world than the first two games is on display too, as are plenty of dungeons and hidden secrets to find.  It's not regarded by too many people as one of the best in the franchise, but it's certainly the best you're going to find on the original Famicom.

49. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (Konami, 1990)

Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a pretty big hit in the arcades, capturing the energy and outlandish nature of the cartoon in the gameplay of a side scrolling beat-em-up.  Porting it to home platforms was certainly no small task either, but Konami did an amazing job with the NES port; in fact, I still maintain that it's even better than the original arcade version.  They replicated the animation and music of the arcade version on the hardware pretty well overall, and the gameplay is polished up quite a bit, with tighter hit detection and far fewer cheap hits.  They even added in two new stages that weren't present in the arcade - a snow-themed level and one set in a martial arts dojo full of traps, and three new boss fights to cap it off and make it a more substantive experience.

48. Pirates! (Microprose/Rare, 1991)

Originally released in 1987 for various computer platforms, Sid Meier's Pirates was a pretty novel game for its time - a heavily randomized sandbox adventure where you choose a name, a nationality and a skill, and from there you were basically just set loose on the Caribbean to make a name for yourself.  You could take on the role of a treasure hunter, a privateer, a pirate hunter, become a pirate yourself, or any combination of the above, taking part in sea battles, sword duels, city raids and treasure hunts to pursue your goals.  Once you retired (whether by choice or old age) you're given a rank depending on how much gold, influence, rescued family and land you acquired over the course of your career; anywhere from becoming a lowly pauper to a king's advisor.  The 1991 NES port was handled by Rare and published by Konami, and as usual they did a fantastic job - it looks and sounds great and plays smoothly while keeping everything that made the original a classic.

47. Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Shima IV (Now Production, 1994 in Japan)

Just about everyone knows about Adventure Island - a popular series of fast paced NES platformers by Now Production and published by Hudson Soft.  Not quite as many people know it had a fourth entry on the Famicom; mostly because it came out very late in the system's life (the very last game released for it, in fact) and is now pretty hard to find.  It definitely doesn't follow the same gameplay style as the first three games, though, being retooled into more of a Metroid-like format.  You now have a proper health bar (expandable by finding heart containers) and numerous new items to clear paths and make traveling around easier - from a torchs that light up dark areas (but only if you can find a sconce on the wall to light up with it), a hammer that can smash rocks and a snowboard that lets you make large jumps over tricky snowy areas.  You can also earn powerups by completing a handful of minigames, including ones that let you set a teleport point to quickly return to or just have a handy way to restore health on the fly.

46. Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (Rare, 1993)

One of the earliest video game crossovers I remember seeing, and at the time, it was certainly one to celebrate.  One of the best beat-em-up franchises of the era alongside the ultra-tough action masterpiece Battletoads?  I was definitely on-board as a fan of both.  While the gameplay is primarily based on Battletoads, it puts a much heavier emphasis on its beat-em-up elements this time around, ensuring the gameplay is fast-paced, hard-hitting and consistently fun.  Not to say that there are a shortage of obstacle course setpieces, of course, as you get a toned-down version of the Turbo Tunnel, a top-down shooter segment that feels like a cross between Asteroids and Solar Jetman, and some rappelling segments too.  Just a fun and solidly-crafted game in general with no shortage of challenge; it's just a shame it came out so late in the system's life.

 45. Bubble Bobble Part II (Taito, 1993)

Not to be confused with the relatively common "Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble II", Bubble Bobble Part 2 is one of the infamous "Taito Four", a set of four Taito-published games that were released late in the NES' lifespan in extremely limited quantities, and as a result now command outrageous prices online; it's not uncommon to see each one selling for upwards of $200. A shame in this one's case, as it's an update of Bubble Bobble with improved visuals and music and the same addictive gameplay qualities that made the original a hit. There are even boss battles added in every twenty stages and minigames that can be played to earn extra lives, giving it a slight Mario-esque feel as well. The only real letdown is the two player mode, which no longer allows for two players to take on levels simultaneously - instead you're stuck alternating turns whenever one player dies. Still, Bubble Bobble Part II is a beautiful game and very fun to play, and well worth checking out if you can get your hands on it.

44. Uninvited (ICOM, 1991)

Another game in the legendary "ICOM Trilogy" for the NES, and it's a good one alright. A horror-themed point and click adventure game that has you exploring a haunted mansion in search of your sister, it was also notable for featuring some surprisingly gruesome sights for an NES game. The animation is minimal at best, but the well-written narrative, atmospheric music and tense, dark story kept you engrossed throughout. It all makes me glad the point-and-click adventure genre is finally getting the revival it deserves in more modern times - younger gamers really were missing out on something special.

43. Castlevania (Konami, 1987)

Perhaps the most well known Konami franchise for its sheer prevalence, and it all began with this gem. Well, technically it began on the MSX with "Vampire Killer", but this is the one everybody remembers, largely because it was so damn impressive for its time. Heavily detailed graphics, an excellent soundtrack, and gameplay that walked the fine line between being a ton of fun and very challenging - perfectly timed attacks and movement were the order of the day here. Particularly because your hero's weapon was somewhat unwieldy compared to most video game weapons and there was a short delay between pressing the button and landing a hit. Still, it was all worth it just to say you persevered through the challenge and beat up horror icons like the creature from the black lagoon, Frankenstein's monster, the mummy, and even the grim reaper himself. Oh, and Dracula, of course.

42. Adventure Island II/III (Now Production, 1991/1992)

Adventure Island is one branch of the Wonder Boy series that spun off into its own series of games.  While Adventure Island mostly stuck to platforming, Wonder Boy branched out into numerous other genres including side-scrolling shmups and action-RPG territory, and mostly appeared on Sega consoles and the Turbografx-16 while Adventure Island primarily appeared on Nintendo consoles. They're all quite good, but  Adventure Island is a fun, fast-paced platformer series with colorful graphics and some creative gameplay elements.  2 introduced the ability to store and use powerups later on (a la Mario 3) and dinosaur buddies that can breathe fire, fly, tail whip and move faster underwater (not unlike Yoshi from Super Mario World).  3 didn't add a lot of new elements to the gameplay over 2, but it was still a lot of fun, so I'm certainly not complaining.

41. Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo, 1988)

The first in a legendary NES trilogy, Ninja Gaiden quickly became as well-known for its high production budget and gripping storyline (a rarity at the time) as for its absurd difficulty - enemy patterns start off relatively manageable, but quickly become downright vicious, requiring spot-on execution with jumps, attacks and special weapons to even have a chance of seeing it through to the end.  To say nothing of the final boss gauntlet, which also requires strict adherence to a pattern and punishes the player for death by sending them all the way back to the beginning of the stage.  Still, those who could persevere found a game worthy of hanging with the best in the action genre even now, almost thirty years after its original release.

Previous - Next