Man, I'm an idiot. I totally forgot about Contra! Yeah, I'd replace Metal Gear with that for sure.

Here's the definite list ;)

SMB
SMB3
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Gun.Smoke
Contra (Probotector)
Metroid
Duck Tales
Ninja Gaiden (Shadow Warriors)
Castlevania


If I was to put in a few favorites of mine I would put in Turtles 2, Little Nemo, Star Tropics and Shatterhand.

Battletoads wasn't that good. I'd take Double Dragon over it any day of the week. Also, as everyone has already said, Contra belongs near the top. It's in my top 5 NES games.

Personally, I'd add Shadow of the Ninja but I doubt many others would agree.

Only one mentioned Super Mario Bros 3.... i'm never gonna talk again with the others..

My list would have SMB3, Contra, the two first Ninja Gaidens, Life Force, many ones already mentioned like Mega Man 2, Battletoads, Turtles and one that cannot be out: Batman. Heck, Sunsoft was a devil developer and Journey to Sirious was just as good as Batman, with a better soundtrack if that was even possible.

Metal Gear was actually regarded as a bad game at the time

Funny you should mention that game, me and my friend actually played it just yesterday =)

Great soundtrack as per usual from Natsume to a great co-op plattformer. A bit challenging as well. Nice Pick!

And also some trivia, it was called Blue Shadow in Europe =)

you can't have an NES classics without Contra, LifeForce and SMB3. TMNT and TMNT 2 were good in different ways, and Duck Tales was a classic.

I feel the need to mention Rad Racer, Kid Icarus, SMB2, Zelda 2 and Mega Man 2 as true classics as well. MM2 in particular was vastly better than the first.

I think the list also needs more Blaster Master, but that's just me.

Metal Gear and Battletoads, while notable, were hardly among the elite of the day.

No love for Punch-Out? C'mon guys.

The Essentials:

Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3
Megaman 1-4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1/2
Final Fantasy
Dragon Quest/Warrior
Contra/Super C
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!
Ninja Gaiden
Double Dragon II
Wizards & Warriors
Metal Gear
Legend of Zelda I/II
Kirby
Duck Hunt
Metroid
Duck Tales
Dr. Mario
Castlevania
Tetris

Sleepers:

Baseball Stars I/II
Blades of Steel
Maniac Mansion
Star Tropics
Master Blaster
RC Pro Am (Rareware)
Superspike V-Ball
Rivercity Ransom
Batman
Tecmo Bowl
Ice Climbers
Rad Racer
1943
Bionic Commando
Ghosts N' Goblins
The Goonies II
Kid Icarus

Battetoads