Gradius is a classic, though not quite as good as its successor, LifeForce, which allows two player co-op. LF was one of my favorite NES titles. Batman was also good, but I don't know if I would love it as much without the massive hype for the original move that was going around at the time. Wizard and Warriors offers a great example of what it was like to be a gamer in the NES days. It's classic NES gameplay that has been a bit forgotten by time since it's not Mario or Zelda. Same thing with Legacy of the Wizard. Gremlins too is solid for a licenced game, but not one I was a huge fan of. The gameplay of Jackal was very satisfying to me back in the day, driving a jeep, shooting exploding rockets, and best of all driving right over pedestrians way before GTA made it cool. I just like the concept of driving a rescue vehicle, saving POWs while under fire from the enemy. Little Nemo is one of the absolute prettiest NES games with solid Mario-style gameplay, but it has a bad taste in my mouth because I rented it when I was home sick from school, so playing it makes me think of nausea, lol.
My top picks there for classics would be Gradius, Wizards and Warriors, and Nemo. Oh, and Batman.
