Top 85 NES Games, #60-51

60. Kid Icarus (Nintendo/TOSE, 1987)

A relatively early Nintendo title that didn't get a whole lot of attention at the time of its release despite combining elements of several other popular games.  It had the dungeon-crawling element of Zelda, the platforming of Mario and the plethora of hidden secrets and tricks akin to Metroid, and even a side-scrolling shooting stage akin to Gradius or Life Force.  However, it was hampered by a high level of difficulty overall and some rather frustrating elements to its design (Particularly the notorious eggplant wizards and Pluton flies, which turn you into a harmless eggplant until you visit a hospital and steal your items respectively).  Still, those who could adapt found a worthy adventure to undertake, with multiple endings endings giving it some extra challenge and replay value.  It may not be the most beloved Nintendo IP out there, but Kid Icarus is still a game worth checking out.

59. Dr. Mario (Nintendo, 1988)

While I'm not a huge player of competitive puzzle games, there's no denying that Dr. Mario has that good old addictive charm to it. There's a true sense of frantic challenge as you try to clear an entire screen of colored viruses, trying not to let your pills fall in the wrong place and create obstacles that will take a significant amount of time and effort to clear (and probably gum up your efforts even more as you do so). Hell, there was even a two-player competitive mode, which couldn't be said for Nintendo's version of Tetris. I also both praise and curse it for having one of the catchiest tunes in all of gaming; I first played this game over thirty years ago and I still have that Fever tune stuck in my head... 

58. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Konami, 1988)

The sequel to the original classic Castlevania, which, like Zelda II, tried to change up its action-driven format into something more akin to an RPG.  Also like Zelda II, it wasn't quite as well-received by fans for a number of reasons, chief among them being its lackluster translation that made a number of essential clues much more difficult to decipher.  Still, those who could persevere through that found a game with a lot to offer- the same high-quality presentation that became a series trademark, a number of dungeons to explore, a couple of big bosses to fight, and a lot of creative upgrades and sub-weapons to unlock throughout.  It may not be regarded as one of the franchise's best by many of its fans, but it's certainly worth a look for fans of action-adventure titles.

(Fans of ROM hacks may also want to check out "Castlevania II Redaction", which addresses several criticized elements of the game - notably speeding up the text and day/night transitions and rewriting much of the dialog to provide useful clues.)

57. Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers (Capcom, 1990)

One of many Disney-licensed platformers on the NES by Capcom, and one I rented many times as a kid because it was just a fun and addicting game.  Capcom's strong level design shines through here, delivering some creative stages like a kitchen (with faucets you have to turn off to pass through safely), a toy factory and treetops with attacking flying squirrels.  Some solid music and visuals also complete the package, as does a two-player simultaneous play option that makes for a fun romp, even if you tend to get in each other's way more than help.  The game is ultimately fairly short and not especially difficult to complete, but I still pop it in and play it to this day because it's a nostalgic favorite and a pretty damn fun platformer.

56. Guerilla War (SNK, 1987)

Named "Guevara" in Japan and appropriately starring Che Guevara and Fidel Castro as they waged a two-man battle to liberate Cuba, SNK quite wisely decided to remove all real-life references when they brought the game to America in both arcade and NES form. The arcade version of the game featured a rotary joystick that allowed the player to move in one direction and fire in another at the same time, something they attempted to recreate in the first two Ikari Warriors games on NES with pretty terrible results. Thankfully, the port of Guerilla War abandons this idea and just has four-directional movement and firing, as well as considerably quicker gameplay speed. It's great, fast-paced fun, especially with two players blowing up everything in their path.

55. 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 system is much more in-depth now, though, including nineteen classes in total and having you gradually unlock more as the game progresses.  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 the best one you're going to find on the original Famicom.

54. Ufouria: the Saga (Sunsoft, 1991 in Japan, 1992 in Europe/Australia)

A Sunsoft-developed game, which of course means it has a high degree of polish to it and some fantastic visuals and music.  Ufouria also has a pretty distinct visual style, with simple yet expressive character designs and some stretch-and-squash animation reminiscent of western cartoons.  It's also just a well-made Metroid-esque game, starring four characters with distinct abilities - Bop-Louie is a relatively fast walker and can climb walls once a certain items is found; Freeon-Leon can swim through water and tread on ice without slipping; Shades jumps high and glides slowly downward which can allow him to cross long gaps; and Gil can dive beneath the water to reach new areas and blow open certain walls with bombs.  While overall rather short and easy compared to others on the platform (and especially most Sunsoft games), the charming presentation and quirky humor it presents have made it into a cult classic for the system.

53. Felix the Cat (Hudson Soft, 1992)

A game loosely based on the iconic cartoon character and likely made to cash in on the film released a few years prior (though the game has no connection to the movie's plot).  Felix stood out for its high-quality presentation, with some fluid animation and amazing music for the NES, and for being a fun platformer with some creative design.  Collecting Felix icons allows Felix to transform his magic bag into new armaments, changing up his attacks - you start with a basic punching glove, upgrade to a magic wand that spreads stars in all directions, upgrade again to a car with a long-ranged horn, and finally to a tank on land, with sky and underwater stages having their own sequence of transformations.  While not a very difficult game overall - it's very generous with powerups and extra lives - it's a well-made platformer with a lot of charm, and it's a shame it never really got that much attention owing to its late release.

52. Super C (Konami, 1990)

The strangely-titled sequel to Contra (so named because Konami didn't want to associate themselves with the Iran-Contra scandal of the time), Super C wasn't quite as memorable as the original game, but still a very worthwhile run-and-gun title in itself.  Several of the less-prestigious weapons of the original were powered up - the Flamethrower in particular now fires an exploding shot and can be charged to deal more damage, for example.  The over-the-shoulder view levels were also replaced with top-down shooting segments, and levels became more dynamic in general, with segments like an elevator and a falling ceiling that can severely hamper your movement.   Konami were masters of making home ports of arcade games that somehow surpassed the originals in quality, and Super C is another fine example of that.

51. Summer Carnival '92: Recca (Naxatsoft, 1992)

Recca is a game known for three things: Giving the Genesis's Blast Processing a run for its money with the fluidity in its gameplay and animations, being extremely rare (only seeing limited release as part of a Japanese competition) and its monstrous difficulty.   From beginning to end this game's action is utterly relentless, with constant swarms of enemy ships and bullets flooding the screen amongst a plethora of flashy visual effects and intense, pulse-pounding music, and it all blazes along at speeds the hardware doesn't even seem like it should be capable of at all!  If you want a game that will push your reflexes and shoot-em-up skills to their limits (and if you can find a copy), look no further than Recca, because it is truly one-of-a-kind.

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