Top 111 NES Games, #70-61

70. GI Joe: A Real American Hero (KID, 1991)

The first of the two NES GI Joe games, and it was a fine representation of the franchise, letting you pick a team of three characters as you completed various missions.  Mostly in the form of side-scrolling platforming stages and boss fights with the franchise's iconic villains, but throughout you'd also have to infiltrate bases and plant bombs, then defeat the boss and make your escape before they detonated, which was quite cool to see.  Each team member also had different abilities - Snake Eyes could jump the highest and had relatively long melee range with his sword, Duke and Gridiron are relatively well balanced, while Rock&Roll has overall low stats but the most powerful weapon in the game when fully powered up.  The final stage also lets you take control of General Hawk, who flies around with a jetpack, adding another layer of fun.  A solid, well-made game that for some reason never got much attention.

69. M.C. Kids (Virgin Games, 1992)

M.C. Kids is a game that's frequently overlooked, but I can't give people too much crap for that.  Between its late release and being an advergame for McDonalds, it's one that few people paid any mind to in the 90s and most who learned of it later dismiss immediately.  However, those who gave it a chance found a highly polished and fun platformer that takes several cues from the Super Mario Bros series.  One can pick up and throw blocks to defeat enemies or weigh themselves down to spring higher on springs, flip their own gravity and traverse stages upside-down, and of course find a huge plethora of secrets and bonuses in each level.  Even the visual style is similar, with some smoothly animated characters and detailed sprites.  Virgin would go on to make several highly-acclaimed games (most notably Aladdin on the Sega Genesis), but M.C. Kids never quite got its due.

68. 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.

67. Mega Man (Capcom, 1987)

Mega Man is probably better remembered today for its infamously terrible box art than for the game itself, but it shouldn't be; it kicked off a fantastic series of action-platformers and was a fine title in its own right.  It laid the groundwork for the series, featuring a protagonist who could defeat bosses and then take their weapons for himself, not only making later levels easier to deal with, but making him better prepared to take out other bosses who were weak against that particular weapon.  Bombs, fireballs, whirling scissors, lightning, an ice beam that could freeze enemies in place and, perhaps coolest of all, the ability to pick up and throw blocks bigger than himself to clobber foes.  It wasn't the most refined game ever - some bosses were monstrously difficult and it lacked several later series refinements like a password system or post-hit immunity protecting from spikes - but it was a great game anyway.

66. 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.

65. 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.

64. 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... 

63. 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.)

62. 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.

61. 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.

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