When the video game industry crashed in 1983, video games were seen as nothing more than a passing fad that had no real longevity. Nintendo ended all of that talk with the wildly successful NES. This console single-handedly brought the video game industry back from an early grave, and it has its large library of fantastic games to thank for that achievement.
Nowadays, many of the games haven't aged quite as well as certain nostalgia-heavy gamers may have you believe. The technology at the time greatly limited what could be put into a game. Very few games allowed saving, and many games resorted to difficulty levels that bordered on or completely crossed the line into extremely unfair in order to justify how little there actually was on the cartridge in terms of levels and space. Still, some games managed to overcome the odds to become classics of their day and today. Let's look at some of the best examples.
Updated May 5, 2022, by Nickolas "Saz" Davis: Public opinion about the NES library of games continues to shift as time goes on, and we have more time to re-evaluate what makes a good game and what all these four-decade-old games truly have to offer. Is the difficulty fair or contrived? What's the line between a fun-but-difficult NES game and one that's just too much? The answer is that it's all subjective, but there are certainly some games for this console that are more loved than others. This list will delve into many of those, and maybe a few personal picks as well.
12 StarTropics
StarTropics is one of the most underrated Nintendo-developed games and deserves a lot more attention. You play as Mike Jones who is on a mission to find his lost father. You traverse an open world with your ROB-like robot and submarine in search of clues that will point you in the right direction of your dad.
StarTropics plays similarly to The Legend of Zelda but instead of swords and bombs, you fight using yo-yos and baseball bats. The game was also notable for having a manual that you must moisten in order to find a secret message.
11 Metroid
In Metroid, you explore an alien world and look for upgrades that will allow you to progress to previously inaccessible areas of the game - effectively making the most popular indie genre, the Metroidvania.
The game has a robotic, minimal soundtrack that really makes you feel like you are alone on an alien planet. You play as Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who is hunting Metroids. It takes a lot of inspiration from the Alien movies which can be seen in the enemy design, the female lead, and more. While the Metroid series isn’t entirely forgotten, Nintendo seems to give it very little attention.
10 Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy was heavily inspired by Enix’s Dragon Quest series of games. You play through an epic story, travel through different towns, explore a large overworld, and get into random battles. The game was also notable for having an amazing soundtrack and laying the groundwork that the rest of the series followed.
At this point, the Final Fantasy series is one of the biggest in gaming with 15 mainline entries and countless side games that have their own sequels and spin-offs. While Final Fantasy is rough around the edges and rather antiquated, it deserves a lot of respect.
9 Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden has an entire trilogy on the NES with the original possibly being the best among them. You are Ryu, a young ninja who sets out to find out the whereabouts of his father.
As you make your way through the game you are presented with cutscenes that play out the story - something that was very revolutionary for the time. In Ninja Gaiden, you are given a sword and ninjitsu that you must use to make your way through six incredibly difficult stages, each requiring complete mastery before you are able to progress.
8 Castlevania
Castlevania takes a lot of its inspiration from classic horror movies, with many of the monsters featured in them appearing as bosses in the game. There is Medusa, Frankenstein, the Mummy, Death, and of course the main villain of the game, Dracula.
You play as Simon Belmont who must enter Dracula’s castle and take out all of his minions as all previous Belmonts have done before you. The game is expertly crafted with an amazing soundtrack that helps portray the gothic horror atmosphere that permeates throughout the game.
7 Contra
Starting off as an arcade game, Contra was later brought home to the NES. Not only did Konami create a fantastic game, but they also created an entirely new genre in the process called the run and gun.
You play as one of two action hero stereotypes, which were both based on Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and must destroy all of the aliens in your path. The game was very difficult and requires dedication if you want to see the ending - or you could just use the Konami code and get 30 lives.
6 Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2 took everything established in the first game and greatly improved upon it. No longer were bosses based on elements, making the order to beat them a simple process. Instead, you would have to try out different techniques for beating bosses, providing the opportunity to tackle the game in many different ways.
While every Mega Man on the NES is a fantastic experience with great music and some of the best graphics the system has to offer, the fan favorite is always Mega Man 2 thanks to its tight gameplay and innovative level design.
5 Duck Tales
In the '80s and '90s, Capcom and Disney collaborated to make some of the best games in their respective generations, with Duck Tales being one of the finest among them. Like in Mega Man, you have the choice to play from any of the first few levels to start with, allowing for variety.
You play as Scrooge McDuck as he goes through levels attempting to collect as much cash and treasure as he can to add to his already impressive fortune. As you make your way through the game you run into Huey, Dewey, Louie, Launchpad, and more.
4 The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda took what was established in Atari's Adventure and the limited number of other adventure RPGs at the time and created something entirely new and epic. You play as Link and are given free rein to explore the world known as Hyrule in any way you please, finding treasure, weapons, equipment, and more as you do so all with the single quest in mind: to save Princess Zelda and find the Triforce.
As this list has shown, the NES started many amazing franchises that are still ongoing to this day, with The Legend of Zelda being one of the biggest among them.
3 Super Mario 3
Super Mario 3 created the basis for all other future Mario side scrollers, with the formula it created still being used today. An overworld was added to Super Mario to help the world feel cohesive as well as many different power-ups that give Mario different abilities, with the Super Leaf being the most useful and popular among them.
When Super Mario 3 was released, it was the largest video game released ever up to that point. The game was revealed in a Hollywood movie, a cartoon was made about it, and marketing for it was everywhere.
2 Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus is one of the most difficult games on this list. And this is an NES list, so that's saying something. While the adventure platformer is full of enemies that will make you want to rage quit forever, it actually does manage to feel like a fair difficulty throughout most of its run. Keyword "most" because there are certainly some moments in this game that are just downright not cool.
Overall, the game is imaginative, the art and soundtrack are beautiful, and even if you're stuck on the first two levels for days they're endlessly fun to replay.
1 Kirby's Adventure
While Kirby has had many fantastic adventures over the years, the original Kirby's Adventure continues to stick out as one of the best titles the pink puffball has ever had. It's also a technical marvel for the NES as it is one of the only games for the console with a save function.
This is Kirby's second game and the very first Kirby title to include the Copy Ability feature. This is the feature that would go on to define Kirby, so its seamless inclusion in this game can't be overstated. This game made Kirby a Nintendo icon.