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My Top 5 NES Games


On 12/12/2013 at 03:46 PM by Casey Curran

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So with the Retron 5 coming....eventually, I thought I'd do a few blogs on my favorite games for each system it supports. For the others I'm going to be doing top 10 lists, but I'll be honest, there's not much I like a whole lot on the NES. I get its place in history, my problem was I started with SNES, which I think is better in every way. There's a few games I haven't played and I'd probably enjoy, but as is, I'm just doing a top 5 for the system or else I'll have to be reaching.

Honorable Mention: Bionic Commando

I'm sure if I played the original version it would be on this list, but as I only played Rearmed I'm just going to mention it here. It was a blast to play and I'm sure the original is a great amount of fun as well. Wish they included the original in the remake unless I missed something when playing.

5. Castlevania 3

Castlevania has that NES clunkiness which is the reason I cannot get into so many NES games. It feels just a little too stiff and limited, especially compared to its SNES counterpart (which in every case for an NES game, I played before). Yet I still had a blast with the game between the great level design, branching paths, and ability to swtich between characters. One of my favorite Castlevania games.

4. Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Punch Out is one of the best games of memorizing patterns and reacting absurdly quickly to them. Usually this turns me off to a game because it feels like the game is cheap more than challenging too often, but Punch Out pulls it off well. Play conservatively early on until you can find the weak spot and you can pull it off with a bit of practice. Then when you finally knock the other guy out it is so damn satisfying.

3. Super Mario Bros 2

While it's the odd ball of the original Mario trilogy, there's no denying the amount of polish and quality level design that went into this game. Having 4 different characters gives it a great amount of replay value. 2 also has a goofier quality I love to it, some of the random crap you pull instead of a plant is always good fun and the enemies have a more offbeat design than the other NES Mario games which I really enjoy.

2. Kirby's Adventure

Kirby may not be the best of Nintendo's franchises, but he is definitely the most consistently good of them. There's not a single bad entry in the series and the NES classic remains one of his top installments. Like other Kirby games, it is light on challenge, but is so much fun I can't complain about it.

1. Super Mario Bros 3

Really, what else could it be? Even though I prefer World, there's no denying that 3 was one hell of a game, especially for the NES. It feels like a huge leap above every other NES game, in terms of controls, graphics, and content. Then there's all the power ups and secret paths, there's so much to this game that makes it incredible.


 

Comments

Matt Snee Staff Writer

12/12/2013 at 05:01 PM

I played Bionic Commando a thousand times when I was a kid.  I beat it over and over.  Loved it, loved the music, everything about it.  It is by no means the perfect game, but it was one of my favorites.  

Good list!

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 12:59 AM

I really enjoyed the remake. It was a lot of fun. May have to try the original.

Cary Woodham

12/12/2013 at 06:39 PM

Some of my favorites NES games include the original Legend of Zelda, Mario 2, Little Nemo: The Dream Master, Chip N Dale, DuckTales, Kirby's Adventure, Mega Man games.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:00 AM

I can't really enjoy the original Zelda the way I can the post LttP ones. I get its place in time, but just not for me.

Aboboisdaman

12/12/2013 at 07:08 PM

Nice list Casey. I actually prefer the original NES version of Bionic Commando over Rearmed due to various reasons. I got Castlevania 3 the other day in the mail. It seems great from what I played of it. You can't go wrong with Punch Out and Mario 3.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:00 AM

I'll have to get the original then.

mothman

12/12/2013 at 09:00 PM

I'm definitely in on choices 1,2 and 3. Never actually played the other two.

Mario 3 got played constantly at my house. That was back when my wife was still gaming. She kicked ass at Mario and Crash games.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:01 AM

Mario and Crash, my two favorite games to go for my platforming fix.

Alex-C25

12/12/2013 at 09:57 PM

I definitly agree with Super Mario Bros 3. After playing it again, I started to apreciate the level design, gameplay and just the content the game has. Definitly a masterpiece.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:01 AM

It is a classic. Probably my third favorite Mario, maybe fourth.

KnightDriver

12/13/2013 at 02:57 AM

I keep my NES around mainly for Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:01 AM

Never even heard of that one. May have to look it up.

KnightDriver

12/15/2013 at 04:33 AM

wiznes

TripOpt55

12/13/2013 at 09:26 AM

Great picks. My top two would be the same. Punchout would be in my top five too.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:03 AM

It's funny how Mario and Kirby as my top two on a platform got repeated on the Wii.

jgusw

12/13/2013 at 10:44 AM

I played all those games except Kirby.  Nice list. Cool

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:03 AM

Kirby's definitely worth a try sometime. Maybe next time it's a Club Nintendo reward check it out.

NSonic79

12/13/2013 at 10:30 PM

if that retron 5 can play castlevania 3 then I think I could see myself looking into such a device.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:04 AM

It can play a lot of things.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

12/13/2013 at 11:01 PM

I don't dislike anything here. I'm not the biggest SMB 2 fan, but I can't really explain why. I think it's because I am bad at it.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 01:04 AM

SMB2 isn't my favorite Mario by any means, but I love its visual style a lot and the gameplay, while different, is really good. I'd love to see Nintendo give it a NSMB style sequel.

leeradical42

12/14/2013 at 01:25 AM

Mario 2 and three awesome games punch out and Castlevania 3 also awesome I wish next gen systems would do like the nes and ps2 and diversify there games .....sigh......

Casey Curran Staff Writer

12/14/2013 at 02:07 AM

I wouldn't really call NES that diverse. How many of its games are 2D sidescrollers/platformers?

SanAndreas

12/14/2013 at 04:01 AM

My favorite NES games were SMB3, the two Zelda games, Kid Icarus, Punch-Out!!, and Dragon (Quest) Warrior III. Oh, and Bionic Commando.

I'm actually with you on the NES. I enjoyed playing my best friend's NES a lot when I was in grade school. I started gaming on Atari machines, namely the 2600 and Atari's 8-bit home computers, and the NES was admittedly a big improvement over those. Even so, I still don't have a great deal of nostalgia for the NES other than the titles I named above. My nostalgia trips are generally taken on the original PlayStation, and the SNES to a somewhat lesser degree. Part of it is that I always had to play other people's NES games, having never owned one myself. The first console I actually owned was the SNES. But the fact is, even the best NES games were generally far exceeded in every way on the SNES and PS1. It's tough to play the original Zelda again once you've tasted A Link to the Past, likewise with Metroid versus Super Metroid.

goaztecs

12/14/2013 at 01:33 PM

You know, I've never played Kirby...good list, I spent many days playing those games either at a friend's house, or when we finally got an NES. Oh Bionic Commando was tons of fun growing up, and years later when I finally found a copy at a thrift store.

transmet2033

12/16/2013 at 09:43 AM

Super Mario Bros. 2 is probably my favorite Mario game on the NES.  I can appreciate 3, but I don't like it as much as 2 or World.

Journey to Silius is probably the one NES game that I love even though it never seems to be on anybody else's lists. 

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