The NES helped to save gaming as we know it and it's definitely partially responsible for starting the gaming boom of the 90s. Once developers realized that the NES was here to stay and that an abundance of money was simply floating through the air around the iconic system, they began to crank out games as quickly as possible.
The "boom" would, unfortunately, see some lower-quality productions throughout the years and there were some developers that were definitely more imaginative than others.
It's no wonder we ended up with a slew of strange and off-putting releases. We figured we would revisit some of these odd NES classics as some gamers have likely forgotten some of these titles existed in the first place!
10 A Boy And His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia
What better way to start off this list than with a game that many players are convinced they hallucinated in some sort of strange fever dream. No, you didn't make up a really obscure adventure game with super catchy music under the influence of too much allergy medicine one hot Summer night. A Boy and His Blob: Trouble On Blobolonia is a real NES title, and honestly, it's pretty good.
Those of you unfamiliar with (or not into) adventure/puzzle/platformers will likely feel out of place with this release but it's definitely worth giving it a shot. There is a strange charm about feeding an alien blob jellybeans and watching it transform into household objects.
9 Little Nemo The Dream Master
From a game that everyone thought they dreamed up to a game quite literally about dreams, we have the obscure gem Little Nemo the Dream Master. It's odd enough that this title was based on a lesser-known comic strip from 1905 but the gameplay is what really classifies it as off-the-wall.
Little Nemo the Dream Master feels like a traditional platformer but you don't actually be able to do much as the titular protagonist himself. Instead, to progress and survive in the strange world that is Nemo's mind, you'll need to befriend a variety of animals by feeding them candy and then riding them off into battle.
8 Zombie Nation
This game is likely better-known than most of the other titles on this list but it's simply too weird and off-putting not to include. Simply put, Zombie Nation looks like a video game that someone dreamed up as a joke. It's the type of "what the heck is going on" mentality that you would expect to find hastily coded and slapped on a flash games website that no one really visits.
You play as a disembodied head of a Japanese samurai and blast your way through hordes of aliens in an attempt to save the world from utter destruction. There is something eerie about the way this game is presented and it's only made worse by its odd color-scheme that features a red, glowing floating head and a health bar comprised of smaller, equally alarming faces.
7 Yo! Noid
Nowadays, Capcom is known for a rather particular lineup of games and many gamers know what to expect from the company when a new IP is announced or a sequel makes its way to the market. Back during the NES era, though? Capcom slapped its name on practically anything it could and tried its best to infiltrate the bulk of the home console market with an array of platforming games.
We had gems like Mega Man and Ducktales, paired alongside (for some unknown reason) Domino Pizza's Noid mascot. You know, the Noid that would ruin a pizza's freshness if you weren't keeping a close eye on it? Yeah, that Noid. He received his own game via Capcom. The real kicker? It's actually not half bad thanks to the developer's penchant for creating solid platformers.
6 Totally Rad
Have you ever seen a company that isn't geared towards children or teens suddenly try their hardest to pander to that generation? The end result is usually something incredibly awkward that involves as many buzzwords, slang, and colorful language as possible, usually enveloped in bright colors and whatever else seems "hip and cool" at the time.
Totally Rad is the absolute personification of this practice and it dropped for the NES in the 90s, so you can imagine how "totally rad" it really is. Our protagonist (who looks like an extra from a Bill and Ted movie) sets out to save his girlfriend some a mysterious wizard. It's very Mega Man-like, but with many more "dudes" and "righteous" filling the dialogue.
5 Solstice
Solstice is one of those strange games that had its own cult-following but was largely ignored by the rest of the NES community at the time. Perhaps it was the strange puzzle-platforming gameplay or the wacky off-putting music and sound effects. Whatever the reasoning, Solstice was at least beloved by some.
The main premise of the game sees you taking control of a wizard, on a quest to save a loved one. There isn't really much more to the backstory and good luck getting any lore out of the gameplay itself. This is definitely one of the weirder titles on this list from a gameplay, visual, sound, and story standpoint.
4 Uninvited
There were a few "point-and-click" adventure games ported to the NES, with one of the most famous (or infamous depending on who you talk to) being Maniac Mansion. That game was unsettling enough as it trapped players in a house full of blue-skinned creepers and tasked them with escaping as unscathed as possible (there were many lives to be lost).
Uninvited, however, was much more terrifying (by NES standards). The Mysterious Lady, who was quite literally just a screaming skull in a wig, was sure to give you bigger jumpscares than a ragtag group of cartoony killers.
3 Fester's Quest
And now for something completely weird. The Addams Family saw a couple of forays into the video game world but one developer felt like the strange Uncle Fester should get his own self-starring release. The finished product was a shoot em' up adventure that saw the iconic oddball taking the fight to a slew of invading aliens.
The premise alone was strange enough but things would get really odd whenever you would enter a hospital (the prelude to a boss fight). The game would swap to first person and force you to navigate a series of strange mazelike corridors before thrusting you into a pitch black room against a grotesque alien baddie.
2 Wall Street Kid
Kids love to play pretend and to be fair, video games take pretend to the next level. We live in a modern world filled to the brim with simulators of all shapes and sizes. If you want to "pretend" to be a doctor, you can do so. If you feel like opening a farm, you can grow corn and harvest crops without even getting dirty.
Simulators aren't anything new, though, as proven by this gem from Nintendo. Wall Street Kid puts you in the shoes of an up-and-coming stockbroker. Enjoy all of the ups and downs of a volatile market while also balancing your personal life.
Yes, it's all as weird as it sounds, especially with the limited hardware of the NES.
1 Princess Tomato In The Salad Kingdom
Let's close this list with a weird point-and-click adventure game that revolves around anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables. Games like Maniac Mansion and Uninvited, Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom is, well, unsettling in parts.
The game has developed a bit of a cult following in recent years as more and more individuals discover it, and it's definitely a game to try if you're into wacky (and sometimes envelope-pushing) Japanese humor.