Continuing our listings of the best Nintendo games of all time, we venture further back into gaming history to give you our rundown of the finest titles NES had to offer. Let the arguments commence!
Super Mario Bros 3
Pub: Nintendo
What more can we say about Mario Bros 3? It was so far ahead of anything else on NES that our distant predecessor Total! felt moved to give it 99%. (It would have got more, but for an ancient sacrosanct rule that forbids any magazine from giving a game 100%). Mario Bros 3 is platforming perfection. It was the game everyone else ripped off, and plays as well today as it did 20 years ago.
Metroid
Pub: Nintendo
Nintendo did well to draw this much atmosphere from a cartridge boasting fewer kilobytes than a Word file listing decent episodes of Pan-Am.
Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse
Pub: Konami
Castlevania I was too simple, II too obtuse. But like so many third things, Castlevania III was just right. An adventure packed with variety and excitement.
Mega Man 3
Pub: Capcom
The original 8-bit Mega Men were tough but resolutely fair (unlike the WiiWare rehashes). They’re all of a muchness, so, um, here’s MM3.
Final Fantasy
Pub: Square
More a historical curio nowadays, but there’s no denying this RPG heavyweight’s early influence.
Bubble Bobble
Pub: Taito
Encase enemies in airtight bubbles, and then pop ’em with your dino spikes. ‘Cute’.
Crystalis
Pub: SNK
RPG. You awaken from your cryochamber into a post-apocalyptic world. It is 1997.
Startropics
Pub: Nintendo
The American equivalent of Zelda 1 is a bit ‘dude!’, but it’s also a fair bit more fun.
Super Mario Bros
Pub: Nintendo
Basic and bodged together with memory restraints – yet it’s somehow incredible.
Shadowgate
Pub: Kemco
Coffee kings Kemco brew up a classic text adventure. [That’s Kenco, you imbecile – Ed]
Metal Gear
Pub: Konami
The first true stealth game. Sneak into a compound without setting off too many exclamation marks.
Gradius
Pub: Konami
Frantic shoot-’em-up. Its customisable powerup system distanced it from the competition.
Maniac Mansion
Pub: Jaleco
Point ’n’ click prototype. Hapless teens have a real bad time in a regulation spooky mansion.
Mike Tyson’s Punch out!!
Pub: Nintendo
Cartoon brawler where you KO boxers three times your size. Mario’s the ref.
Contra
Pub: Konami
Original run and gunner is surprisingly advanced for its time, but remains unsurprisingly brutal.
The Legend of Zelda
Pub: Nintendo
A green and beige dreamland perfectly ripe for Triforce- plundering.
Mighty Bombjack
Pub: Tecmo
Meet Jack, your trusty bomb defusal expert. He can jump nine times his height. Gosh.
Paperboy
Pub: Mindscape
‘No news is good news’, or so they say. So that’s why this street is trying to kill their paperboy.
Duck Tales
Pub: Capcom
Chirpy platformer where Scrooge rides his walking cane like it’s a pogo stick. Benefit fraud?
Super Mario Bros 2
Pub: Nintendo
This enjoyable adventure introduced us to Bob-Ombs, Toad and (shiver) Birdo.
Kid Icarus
Pub: Nintendo
Horribly tough (but compelling) platformer with a curious wraparound action area.
RC Pro-Am
Pub: Nintendo
Overhead racer was one of the first to feature weapons, and was a direct influence on Mario Kart.
Blades of Steel
Pub: Konami
Slick three-on-three ice hockey slap-off with fighting (of course!) and a cheeky Contra reference.
Solstice Quest For The Staff Of Demnos
Pub: Nintendo
Find the Staff Of Demnos to defeat the wizard in this isometric puzzler.
Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll
Pub: Nintendo
From the ‘before they were famous’ file: Rare’s isometric snake- ’em-up. Tricky!
Any thoughts? Agree/disagree?
