The Top 66 NES games!

[Goemar]

Ok, so as some may know - the Classic NES Mini got a whole lot better recently. 
I have spent a long time thinking of the best 66 NES games (this allows 2 saves per game) to whack on it to have some good old retro-fuelled-fun.

As you may notice, there are no RPGs. Why? Firstly, because I'm not a massive RPG fan, and having played very few NES RPGs back in the day - I have no nostalgia for them, so, as they have all aged terribly, I'm passing.
There are also no MegaMan games - simply because I have the Legacy Collection on the PS4.
Games like Guardian Legend, though great, have also been skipped on as I have played them in the past - and don't really have a desire to play through them again.

Anyway, here is the list, if there any gems I have missed, please let me know:

1. Abadox
   
2. Adventure Island
   
3. Adventure Island II
   
4. Adventure Island III
   
5. Arkanoid II: Revenge of Doh
   
6. Astyanax
   
7. Balloon Fight
   
8. Batman
   
9. Battletoads
   
10. Bio Miracle: Bokutte Upa
    
11. Blaster Master
    
12. Bomberman 2
    
13. Bubble Bobble
    
14. Bucky O’Hare
    
15. Castlevania
    
16. Castlevania III
    
17. Choujin Sentai Jetman (J)
    
18. Contra
    
19. Crisis Force (J)
    
20. Double Dragon II
    
21. DuckTales
    
22. DuckTales 2
    
23. Gargoyle’s Quest II
    
24. Gimmick! (J)
    
25. Gradius
    
26. Gradius II
    
27. Gun.Smoke
    
28. Heavy Barrel
    
29. Ice Climber
    
30. Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu
    
31. Journey to Silius
    
32. Kabuki Quantum Fighter
    
33. Kid Icarus
    
34. Kirby’s Adventure
    
35. Kung Fu
    
36. Life Force
    
37. Little Samson
    
38. Legend of Zelda
    
39. Marble Madness
    
40. Metal Storm
    
41. Metroid
    
42. Micro Machines
    
43. Mighty Double Dragon
    
44. Monster in my Pocket
    
45. Moon Crystal
    
46. Ninja Gaiden
    
47. Ninja Gaiden II
    
48. Ninja Gaiden III (J)
    
49. Over Horizon (J)
    
50. Punch-Out!
    
51. R.C. Pro-Am 2
    
52. Road Fighter
    
53. Shatterhand
    
54. Snake Rattle N’ Roll
    
55. SonSon
    
56. SplatterHouse Wanpaku Graffiti (J)
    
57. Super C
    
58. Super Mario Bros.
    
59. Super Mario Bros. 2
    
60. Super Mario Bros. 3
    
61. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    
62. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
    
63. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
    
64. Wacky Races
    
65. Yume Penguin Monogatari (J+Patch?)
    
66. Xexyz
    

[miyabi95_]

i actually really like guardian legend. but it's definitely a game reserved for extremely skilled players. i can't even get through the second shmup sequence.

but my suggestion would be suguro quest! it's a cute fantasy boardgame with RPG elements. it's not at all a traditional RPG though. it moves really fast and it's arcade-y like mario party.

[Kriven]

I really like Tiny Toon Adventures and The Adventures of Dino Riki.

[Goemar]

I really like Tiny Toon Adventures and The Adventures of Dino Riki.

Tiny Toons and Rescue Rangers were heavily considered. Dino Riki rings a bell... will have to look into it...


Ok, so Dino Riki - going to pass. Had to Google it to remember it, but I think Gun.Smoke/Heavy Barrel scratches that itch.

I was tempted to have TwinBee/Toki on there, but I'm more a fan of the arcade version. (The reason why Gradius gets on is because I spent a lot of time with the NES versions as a young-ling).

[Gors]

have you added Recca? It's pretty fast-paced shooting game.

[Goemar]

That looks pretty damn sweet!

Might have to remove something for it... (looking at you Adventure Island...)

[Kosheh]

oh. hope you don't miss those savestate slots lol (that's where all the storage for those extra games are going)

First thing I did when I hacked the system was remove Punch-Out!! and replace it with the Mike Tyson one. That was a very, very good decision imo





also, Rescue Rangers is a good idea if you have friends. If you don't, then you could probably skip it
and if you're really strapped for space, the first TMNT game isn't all that great. consider replacing it with, oh i don't know

baby metroidvania with ridiculous spritework


also, i feel like monster party should be on the list, too, because, i mean, besides being piss hard, y'know, it's great playing around friends, or having them play and gauging their reactions

[Cloud6625]

You totally can't forget about River City Ransom. Best beat em up on the NES imo.

Zelda 2 also gets a lot of crap, but I think it's a pretty great platformer all things considered.

I do see Castlevania 3 on the list, but I feel inclined to mention the Japanese version Akumajō Densetsu 3. It has better music and some differences in gameplay that make it the superior version.

[miyabi95_]

arkista's ring is a cute arcade style puzzle-ish/action rpg-ish. the controls aren't great but getting through each level feels good enough that i'd put it on a list.

also the graphics style is unique in that it's western BUT heavily inspired by japanese anime fantasy styles.

[Goemar]

Good call, played quite a lot of that during the Dreamcast days.

---

oh. hope you don't miss those savestate slots lol (that's where all the storage for those extra games are going)

First thing I did when I hacked the system was remove Punch-Out!! and replace it with the Mike Tyson one. That was a very, very good decision imo





also, Rescue Rangers is a good idea if you have friends. If you don't, then you could probably skip it
and if you're really strapped for space, the first TMNT game isn't all that great. consider replacing it with, oh i don't know

baby metroidvania with ridiculous spritework


also, i feel like monster party should be on the list, too, because, i mean, besides being piss hard, y'know, it's great playing around friends, or having them play and gauging their reactions

Ufouria wouldn't work as it's PAL, so would have to be Hebereke - which is a great game and a translation patch probably exist.

Very heavily considered it before, though I have played it a LOT so I'm not sure how tempted I'd be to revisit it.

The first TMNT was the first NES game I owned (and completed) so it's more there for nostalgia sake then for actually being a good game.

66 titles were chosen as it gives 2 savestates per game (with all original titles 'hidden').

As for Monster Party - I really don't get that game, it's pretty terrible...

---

You totally can't forget about River City Ransom. Best beat em up on the NES imo.

Zelda 2 also gets a lot of crap, but I think it's a pretty great platformer all things considered.

I do see Castlevania 3 on the list, but I feel inclined to mention the Japanese version Akumajō Densetsu 3. It has better music and some differences in gameplay that make it the superior version.

Have played River City Ransom to death (I recall the GBA version being pretty good as well, though might have been a crazy dream...) so, probably not...

I'm not going to lie, I have never played Castlevania III - not even sure it had a UK release. If it has no in-game text of any importance I'll look into the Japanese one.

Not a fan of Zelda 2 - honestly think it deserves to get more shit, it's just not a good game.

[Kosheh]

Ufouria wouldn't work as it's PAL, so would have to be Hebereke - which is a great game and a translation patch probably exist.

i just need to stop you right there. i suppose i could say youve fallen into my carefully laid trap eheheh

i've got an NES mini myself and loaded Ufouria on there (it's one of my favorite games)
I'm in North America. I can confirm that it actually works. On the other hand, bootleg games (like Somari and Kart Fighter) don't have proper headers, so they aren't guaranteed to run on the NES mini.

In fact, they're actually the same exact unit!!! there's import stores here which literally imported NES classics from the UK and they'll tell you "yeah it's the exact same thing, you just need a different USB wall adapter plug"



So yeah, you can put Euro releases on there no problem and not have to worry about it

[Goemar]

I am well aware that the US/UK NES minis are the same, sorry when I said not sure it would work because it's PAL I meant the game being PAL and thus not working on a NTSC unit.

Anyway. Although it works (which is a bit surprising) - does it run at the correct speed? Or is it slightly too fast?

I'd also probably still choose Hebereke over Ufouria simply because the characters look better in the Japanese one.

[miyabi95_]

got another good one

tetris 2 + bombliss

tetris w/o bombs

or w/ bombs

both are super addicting

[Goemar]

Tetris... with bombs?
Tetris. With bombs?
What the bejebus - will have to look into that.

Also, man, forgot about Puyo Puyo - can't recall if the NES version is any good mind...

[miyabi95_]

it's ok i guess. no story mode or anything, just your run-of-the-mill 8-bit puzzle game with a single player endless mode or 2-player vs.