The Top 20 Best NES Games Ever (Top 50 best NES games continued)

Wow, the top 20 Nintendo games! Now we are getting into the real masterpieces. The NES necessities, the NESessities? Wow I'm awesome... But not as awesome as these cool classics!

20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles screenshot of that damned dam level, complete with the deadly seaweed BS and deadly electric bolts to send our terrific turtles to a watery grave

So I remember being super disappointed when I realized that the totally awesome TMNT arcade game I had been playing in the arcades was not the same game I had just acquired for my NES on my birthday. But then I actually played it and it was a lot of fun! Also... probably the most difficult game I had ever played at the time. That damn dam stage! And it was only the second level... It just gets worse (I mean better!). While probably not a “better” game than many of the games lower on my list, the pure nostalgia factor and the fact that it was a Ninja Turtles game skyrocket this game into the top 20!

19. Rampage

Rampage screenshot where our King Kong ripoff giant gorilla is climing a sky scraper to punch holes in it and eat the delicious toilet found within

Yeah the game gets repetitive, but destroying city after city as a towering ape or lizard was one of the most satisfying gaming experiences of my young life. And of course the game included the simple but sadistic ability to attack your ally which is still included in games today (i.e. throwing your “friend” down a pit in The New Super Mario Bros.). Many gaming marathons were had where I watched the country slowly get conquered by the destructive duo, only to have the NES glitch or freeze up near the very end of the game. :(

18. Bionic Commando

Bionic Commando screenshot of our hero trying his best to swing across a chasm with his bionic grappling hook hand that he wished was still a real hand so he could hold his children one last time

So taking the jump button out of a platforming game should have been a mess of an idea. And in less capable hands than Capcom it probably would have been terrible. But alas they pretty much had the genre down into an art form at the time, and Bionic Commando with his grappling hook arm was a fun and creative play. Also, apparently you got to fight Nazis in the Japanese version which must have made this game even cooler.

17. River City Ransom

River City Ransom screenshot of some kiddos beating the shiz out of each other with sticks for money and to impress thier girlfriends

It should be a general rule that when someone dies or is defeated in a video game (or real life) they drop coins. Coins that can be used to buy super moves and weapons to defeat more enemies! Made by the team who would go on to make one of my other favorites Crash 'N The Boys, it was mostly better as it had more focus as a straight brawler.

16. Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Simon's Quest screenshot where Slayer Simon realizes what a horrible night it is to have a curse

I'm sure this is probably most gamers least favorite Castlevania on the system, and it probably only ranks so highly on my list because of the nostalgia factor, but darn it I had fun with this game! It was the first with a non-linear approach that I played, where I was basically just thrown into the action and could choose for myself which way to go. I really liked the day night cycles, and the mystery of how to progress through certain parts of the game intrigued me as a kid.

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Arcade

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Arcade game screenshot of Donatello looking confused as to why he's fighting a giant anthropomorphic snow wolf aclad in leather; a real leather-baddy

Finally, the “real” Ninja Turtles game was released and it was almost as good as the arcade version (minus the four player mode of course)! It was so much less difficult than the crazy first one, and looked and played so much better. I fell in a lot of manholes (manholes being something I avoid with a passion in real life), but still had a great time. As with all beat em ups, it is best played with a friend. Now if only they had released the Simpsons Arcade game on NES...

14. Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers screenshot amidst flowers and robot dogs where Chip is happily carrying around Dale, totally not intending to throw him at an enemy or off a cliff

Such an innovative game for the time. A cooperative platformer, decades before New Super Mario Bros? Yep! And it was fun too, albeit a bit easier to play/beat than many other NES platformers. It was so much fun hiding in boxes, throwing boxes at mechanical bulldogs, throwing your friends at mechanical bulldogs...

13. Excite Bike

Excitebike screenshot of some of the rad ramps and such these bikes can crash against as their motorcycle overheats again and again

This is still one of my favorite racing games to this day. Not only could you race around on your bike with a turbo button and ramp over crazy obstacles, but you could also create your very own race tracks with the level editor. How innovative was that? Games like Trials and Joe Danger owe a little bit of their success (and royalties again?) to this early pioneer of the genre.

12. Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros 2 screenshot of a short dumpy Mario in a weird land of turnips, cherries, and beanstalks

Wow, the “sequel” (of course, later I realized it really wasn't) to The Super Mario Bros. Which looked and played nothing like it but just happened to have Mario characters thrown in! But... it was still a lot of fun to play, and there were still warp zones darn it! And I have to admit that having four playable characters (with Mario possibly being the most useless), each with a different ability, made for some fun gameplay. Finally Luigi and Peach got their moment to shine in a Mario game!

11. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link

Zelda II The Adventure of Link screenshot where link is gently stabbing a spider friend to gain its wisdom and experience points

I know it was a pretty controversial move to change the top down gameplay (well, it's there sort of) from the first Zelda game into a action RPG sidescroller (a fantastic combination), but it was still a lot of fun to play. It was like Castlevania, but with more RPG elements like experience points and leveling up. In this game you learn what a stand up guy Link is, because even though Zelda is obviously passed out drunk in her bed after what must have been an awesome party, Link doesn't even try to take advantage of her! Though I guess he does Triforce her later...

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