The Best NES Games Of All Time

The Best NES Games Of All Time

If you are a game enthusiast (or not!), you may know the Nintendo is one of the most popular gaming developers of all time. They entered the gaming market in 1991 and are still running strong. They are believed to be at their peak in the 90s and most games released that time has a very loyal following. Though the graphics were not that great during that era but certainly quite a few gamers are looking to have a go at the classic games that were built in the early ’90s.

Looking at this, Nintendo also released the classic console which packs 30 of its classic games. The developer has also gone ahead to launch an online subscription that can help you in accessing all the great NES games. We took a look at all the games that have been released so far and here are the top picks. Presenting the best NES games of all time! You can read about their latest console here.

1. Contra

Contra was released in the early ’90s was a massive hit, not only amongst the teens but also among those in their late 20’s. The game depicted the era with people having buffed up biceps and the concept caught on and became a major hit. There is no particular storyline to the game here but it was interesting to just carry out a machine gun and keep running to reach your end goal. You would encounter a few people who want to kill you so you need to avoid them and make it to the end. There would be difficulties and obstacles on the way. You could decide which level of difficulty you want to play with the hard one being the most challenging and fun to play.  

2. Jackal

Another action game that makes it to this list. This was released in the late ’90s in the United States. The game was all about retrieval and rescuing prisoner of wars or POWs. You are equipped with machine guns and upgradable rocket launchers. There were multiple boss battles that you would have to participate in to have the level completed and rescue a few people. The advantage of having a teammate equalised the gameplay.

3. Super Mario Bros.

How can we not include Mario in this list? This all-time favorite game is probably the most famous games across all the developers, let alone NES! With the rising popularity of the game, NES went on to do improvisations on the game. It was this game that made NES famous amongst all the gamers and in the industry. The game is quite easy to start and play without any fussy complex controls. It is also easy to learn. The difficulty of the game can be set according to your ability. Do keep in mind that although the game is easy to play, there have been a very few people who have been able to master the game. This is where everything gets interesting.

The main concept of the game is that you are playing the role of a plumber – named Mario. You are expected to travel through the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from the maniacal Bowser. All along the way, you will be able to collect coins and there will be guards who you have to escape from. The game cannot be classified into any particular genre. Any genre you take – it fits in!

There were many other releases of this game once since it became such a massive hit among the gamers. Version 3 of the game was a great improvisation and is considered to be one that was played the most at its time of release. You will still be able to find these games online on an internet emulated browser though the feel of playing it on the classic player is completely different.

4. Maniac Mansion

Let’s move on to the adventure genre of games that were released by NES. This humour-filled game that will keep you on your toes. You have five characters that you will be able to choose from. Once you die as a particular character, you will then have to choose from the remaining ones to continue with the game. This game was released only for PC. You can now try the game on an internet-based browser – thanks to the technology advancements.

5. Tetris

There is no doubt that this game is one of the most played puzzle games – even with today’s generation. While the game is fairly simple, it is also highly addictive at the same time. It is pretty much endless, and you can keep on playing for hours and hours, well, until you lose! There are tiles in the game which are shaped like tetrominoes. Each shape is built with four small square blocks each. A random piece of this shape falls from the top to the bottom of the screen.

The main objective of Tetris is to shape all these random shapes so that they form one single horizontal line without any gaps in between. You will be able to rotate the shapes and also move them from one side to another. The speed at which the shapes fall increases with every level. Once a solid line forms at the bottom of the screen, it disappears. The main objective of the game is to not let the tetrominoes reach the top of the screen.

6. Duck Hunt

If Mario has reminded you of your childhood, then we are sure Dunk Hunt will also. This was one of the most popular interactive games of the ’90s. The Nintendo gaming console had an additional gun with which you would be able to shoot the ducks that were on the screen. The main aim of the game was to shoot a set number of ducks within the given number of bullets. If you miss a duck while shooting, a dog’s face would pop up and laugh at you! Although this was not the toughest game but most of are sure to have fond memories of this as one the best games ever.

Honourable Mentions

There are many more games which have come under the NES production tag. We could never cover ALL the awesome games created by NES, but here are a few.

• Lode runner
• Castlevania
• Ninja Gaiden
• Kung Fu

There you go! How was that trip down the memory lane?