That's where Nintendo stepped in and published the game itself for a spring 1994 release. But Klax is more than just the sum of its '90s neon parts. Instead of a game that relied on epic, blind exploration and top-down dungeon-crawling action, Zelda II introduced a completely new idea for the series, and one that hasn't been revisited since. Of course, you don't have to hit the mean streets of River City alone. Your objective is to take them all down for the joy of the audience. Shotgun, Mario. Duck Hunt is the game that immortalized forever Nintendo's light gun called the Zapper, and was certainly the game that used the underused peripheral more than any other. When you aren't pounding all manner of non-amphibious fauna, you are racing speeding vehicles, repelling down pits and performing various other stunts uncharacteristic of your every day brawler. Mega Man 2 built upon it. Wizards & Warriors is the debut title of a classic, if depressingly anti-climatic NES trilogy. One of the counter-examples to this argument is Mario Bros., an NES port that's not perfect when compared to the 1983 arcade original, but one that is about as close as can be expected, with smooth gameplay and crisp graphics that do the original proud. In addition to exceptionally hard feats of platforming, Ninja Gaiden's fast and furious action was made all the more difficult by its vast army of wily enemies. One uppercase letter mistaken for a lowercase one, and your experience is over. Pocky & Rocky is a top-down shooter in which you choose to play as either a young girl named Pocky or her tanuki named Rocky. I didn't care that it was ugly (and it was), the platforming goodness of Mickey Mousecapade was surprisingly addictive. Now if I could only figure out what that tank game with huge bosses was. Its top-down view makes it a bit of an action-shooter, while its emphasis on collecting items and upgrading weapons lends it more to the RPG and adventure crowd. It was rudimentary, yes, but it extended Lode Runner's life indefinitely. And yes, it was awesome. Metal Gear created the stealth genre, paving the way for Metal Gear Solid to later revolutionize and refine it. River City Ransom's excellent amalgamation of action, adventure, beat-em-up and RPG game elements has won it many vocal supporters, yet it seems destined to remain in the shadow of big name brawlers like Double Dragon. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before a videogame followed the television show and toys. My earliest forays into the Cave of Monsters were rarely solo. More importantly, this clever title takes platforming's greatest crutch gravity and turns it on its head. - Colin Moriarty, IGN Guides Associate Editor. It's like Marble Madness turned into a platformerand it worked! These sequences were parlayed into the game's labyrinthine dungeons as well. Excitebike was one of the 18 launch titles for the NES here in America, and distanced itself from the pack by offering truly addictive motocross gameplay. Demon Sword is a ninja action game that plays out at a break-neck speed compared to some of its contemporaries (cough Kung-Fu cough). "Daggers and wingboots, mantras and monsters await you." Thankfully, Rad Racer turned out to be a great racing game that was my second-favorite racer of the generation, right after OutRun on the Master System. If there was ever a more perfect title for an NES game, we don't know what it was Kid Niki: Radical Ninja got it exactly right. Perhaps the best example of the NES's capability at adapting and even improving on arcade games of its era, Contra offers the best shooting action on the NES and is also the console's definitive multiplayer experience. An item-based menu allowed you to equip gems, whips and special weapons. Grant, Sypha and Alucard all made their first appearances in Dracula's Curse, but you might not ever necessarily meet them all. Friggin' troll, I've got only a copper coin! 8 posts Page 1 of 1. 9 Darius Twin I guess since it was an unlicensed Nintendo game, Codemasters had a hard time getting retailers interested in stocking it. This made it a prime game for high score hunting, with certain parts of the experience that were of the make and break variety. To capitalize on the puzzle trend, Nintendo threw its first-party hat into the ring and released Dr. Mario on the console just in time for the 1990 holiday season. Mega Man is one of the few franchises on the NES that made it to four games. The Double Dragon characters are capable of kicking butt to be sure, but the unique brawling, racing and, yes, spelunking action that Rash, Pimple, and Zits introduced in their first outing is the main attraction in this crossover. I think I've got the same fond memory for this one as everyone else does: skinny dude, medium dude, and fat dude. Year: 1992 Genre: Shooter. On horseback, must prevent 3 bandits from boarding the train. You were fighting the clock, too, and if you ever ran out of torches then it was Game Over for you. And explore you did. Baseball Stars is unequivocally the best baseball game, and overall sports simulation, the NES ever saw. Snake parachuted into the jungle fortress of Outer Heaven with nothing but his courage and a pack of smokes, and skillfully avoided detection while sneaking through the enemy encampment to find and destroy the titular weapon of mass destruction or, if sneaking didn't work, he beat the snot out of the soldiers in his way. I only bought this game several years later, but in the meantime, I got a Mega Man 5 sticker in a box of Apple Jacks, and stuck it to a shelf in my room. Years before Yoshi first crammed a fat plumber on his back, Adventure Island II offered some of the coolest dinosaur wrangling in the business. It's bright, colorful aesthetic, awesome enemy designs, amazing music and incredible replay value are all storied parts of the game's history. Weird, right? Rocket? Completely unlike anything else at the time. Once all four had been collected, the legendary titular sword "Crystalis" could be created. Although you can't tackle Gradius with a pal, you can outfit your ship with "options" mindless, floating turrets that flank your ship. Oops. And Christmas of 1990 was when I finally got my hands on the game I would be obsessed with until this day. When colors are matched you guessed it they disappear. Metroid proved to be one of the biggest and most daunting games early in the NES' lifecycle. In a sort of desperate-sounding effort to distinguish itself from other puzzle games that may happen to feature falling colored blocks, Klax's title screen boldly proclaims that "It is the nineties, and there is time for Klax." While it was known mainly for platformers such as Super Mario Bros. and the like, it had a decent selection of shooters. I can remember looking at the Rad Racer flap at Toys R Us (remember the old system of flaps and slips?) Honestly, that still amazes me, it was so much better than all of those it was nuts. Doctor Hauzer. It was the first game I ever played with an NES Advantage. Although it's actually the second entry in the predominately Japanese TwinBee series, the re-branded Stinger was the only entry that saw release on the North American NES. These mysterious monoliths eventually became a series standard. We could only afford a new game every few months growing up, and when we were stuck with a game like Kung Fu, you might think we were disappointed. Although Nintendo's licensed, "official" version of Tetris was ubiquitous, happening upon this strange, black cartridge in the cobwebby recesses of a used game joint proved an eye-opening experience for this young NES collector-to-be. Your character's primary weapon is a common yo-yo, and his secondary items are equally ordinary baseballs, baseball bats and spiked cleats are all notable entries into your arsenal. Many gamers of today's generation know Popo and Nana best for their recurring role in the Super Smash Bros. franchise. A key eye for subtle detail was needed for success, as your exploration could often come to a sudden and gruesome end if you missed even a single key weapon or item early in the labyrinth. Although the game offers a fairly decent challenge, the experience of kicking serious alien ass can be had by less talented players, thanks to the legendary Konami Code, which, in its most famous implementation, gives you 30 lives to burn through as you please. I played this game for the first time on a vacation to Wisconsin (that was back when most kids had three NES games total, and liked it), and dug the game so much I had to own it. This one's a classic in both gameplay and theme. Have you played the Lost Levels? Someone brought a copy in, I played it, and instantly fell in love with it, playing over and over until I got my speed run down to around 14 mins on a real cart. I obsessed over Metroid for months, explored every nook and cranny of the game world, bested Mother Brain in battle dozens of times and still couldn't get enough. This is a game that looks,. Little Samson arrived at the tail-end of the NES era, when most gamers had moved on to newer, although not necessarily better, consoles. In fact, all the negative feelings around this one almost kept it off the list, but when it comes down to it Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the greats, and a dang good title. The Game Pak is truly worth tracking down for its multiplayer selection, including a wacky cooperative mode. - Levi Buchanan, IGN Wireless & Retro Editor. If you nibble enough of the Nibbleys, your snake's body would grow, his tail extending longer and longer behind his comical head and forked tongue. SMB2 offers greater diversity in graphics and gameplay than the original, making it a great bridge game between the other NES Mario titles. Turned off? With Mega Man veterans like Keiji Inafune and Yoshihiro Sakaguchi getting the most out of the technology, Duck Tales proved to be an amazing game in its own right. But when something isn't broken, you shouldn't attempt to fix it, and Capcom released what was in essence the same experience from the three earlier titles in the series. Admittedly, the exhilaration of burning past the beach-going VW beetles in your red Ferrari 328 (the F1 was significantly less radical) is indeed worthy of such high self praise. When I lived in New Hampshire, there was a videostore that rented NES games well into the PSX era. You can't beat that. The NES had its fair share of unique puzzle games, and Adventures of Lolo 3 might take the cake as the genre's quintessential title on the console. Perhaps the NES's only intentional B-game, Zombie Nation is actually pretty fun, and always good for a laugh. Before long your middling grenades are replaced by sleek missiles capable of taking out even the largest of enemy tanks. In a cool adventure gaming twist, you'll need to meet a certain booty (diamonds, not damsels) quota before being able to exit each area, but don't expect a sign reading "Here Be Treasure." The fourth game in the franchise had little to offer fans that was different, other than a new cast of interesting Robot Masters, a new character (Eddie) and a new ability for Mega Man to exploit (charging your arm cannon). It was sort of like Mega Man meets Strider, which I thought was spectacular for the time. As much as I enjoyed, I honestly don't believe I ever beat it. Take that, Zero Suit Samus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl developer Aicom had you beat to the punch nearly two decades ago. Legendary Wings may have the distinct honor of being the weirdest result of Capcom's efforts to diversify shooters in the 1980s. I should fix that Near the end of the NES' lifecycle, puzzle games were THE craze. And this time Mario doesn't steal the spotlight. So what if it wasn't originally a Mario game? Batman taught me the meaning of "envy;" I went to a neighbor's house and played it all day, mastering the diabolical wall jump platforming challenges, and I wanted the game for myself. An irate watermelon spits seed at you at the end of one level, while a very angry water faucet lurks at the conclusion of another. technology that allows it to flip from floor to ceiling with abandon. This is also one of those games that might not have been given a lot of attention if it weren't for the influence of the magazine, Nintendo Power, which featured it on the cover of its April 1991 issue. What stuck out most for me about Double Dragon II was how varied the game was. Strongbad may be cool today, but LucasArts' SCUMM adventure ported to the NES set the bar over 20 years ago. Kung Fu proved how good even the most simple games can be, and it's still a title I go back and play often to this day. Gradius' unique power-up system makes for some tough decisions: do you beef up your defenses in order to tough out that inevitable meteor shower? It wasn't only the aesthetics that made the original Castlevania a great game, one that spawned one of the most popular and well-known series in gaming history. It was essentially a late generation Mega Man-esque science-fiction platform/actioner at its best. I had hoped there might be some special secret, which there wasn't. The drama surrounding Tetris is one of the most storied sagas in the history of the NES. The Deadly Tower of Monsters. Let me make sure I'm using the correct term. I was one of those poor saps that actually enjoyed a similar and ultimately less impressive game, Legend of Kage, so I took to this game immediately. Evidence of this is all over the place, from the enemies to some of the music. But even if we never see it again, it's earned its spot on this countdown. Simple, straightforward side-scrolling action, lots of baddies to send flying off the screen with a quick swipe of your blade, and stylish graphics for its time. Mega Man's unique approach is what initially made it so interesting to gamers. Just be careful writing down those passwords! It would be great to see Nintendo revive the Faxanadu concept someday. A thinly-veiled plot about the resurrection of Adolf Hitler and an epic soundtrack go a long way towards making Bionic Commando a totally unique experience on the NES. This was so I could put on different weapons and gloat (because once you don the final tier of weapons and armor, you can't remove them). But in reality, the games were different enough, and Ice Climber so much better to me when I finally played it, that I felt silly for ever thinking that. So when I saw the commercials for the system air with footage from Super Mario Bros, I couldn't believe that it looked identical. Genre : Action role-playing game, Indie game, Adventure game, Shooter Video Game, Simulation Video Game. In this way, Castlevania III was like the original game on a considerable amount of steroids, with plenty of replay value to boot. As expected, Spy Hunter still stood out as one of the NES's greatest driving games even though it had aged a bit. chasersgaming. As a kid, I'd go to my grandparents' house for a big Italian dinner every Sunday. I was so bored with Tetris. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a smash phenomenon in the late 1980s. Each world in SMB3 features a unique style, and Mario's quest takes him through desert, grasslands, above the clouds and below the sea there's so much to explore that we still make discoveries every time we dust off the cartridge today. Half RPG, half Ghosts & Goblins-inspired gameplay Gargoyle's Quest is another hard to beat, yet totally memorable experience. River City offered a city to explore filled with rival gangs more than happy to smash things over your head if you happen into their territory. Dracula is the bad guy? The great thing about TMNT was its ability to let gamers use all four Ninja Turtles at will, even though it was only a one-player action game. Doesn't quite fit the "spacesuit" description however. TMNT II: The Arcade Game for the NES was an incredibly impressive 8-bit conversion of one of the most popular coin-op cabinets ever created the original side-scrolling Turtles brawler from the early '90s arcade scene. Saturday Night Slam Masters 1993 | Capcom Ad Ad - content continues below Wrestling games were extremely hit or miss in the 8-bit and 16-bit. - Craig Harris, IGN Nintendo Executive Editor. When the game culminates on the sixth and final stage, Scrooge is a force to be reckoned with. And you had side-scrolling stages, the core of the game, in which your character ran, jumped and attacked the invading alien hordes with a laser-whip. Because of that, there was no rushing around; Dragon Warrior was for patient gamers only. One of the NES's premier racing games may have a peculiar title, but we pose this question: would a racer by any other name be quite as rad? You'd leap off the peaks in your path and go flying through the air, and have to adjust the angle of your descent in order to maintain your momentum and keep from crashing and you'd also have to keep an eye on your engine's temperature gauge all the while, as overheating would cause lengthy cool-down delays that would likely keep you from claiming first place. Every self-respecting gamer has fond memories of Bionic Commando, and most of the time those memories are of the first 12 minutes of the game or so. Super Mario Bros. was a smash hit, and its American sequel was a completely different type of game. We're still eagerly awaiting a Goonies III. After all, Dr. Mario had a two player mode. It's these adventure game elements that make River City Ransom the thinking man's beat-em-up. Thankfully, Sunsoft didn't throw this game into the dumpster after losing the Terminator license, because Journey to Silius is one of those seldom-played but everyone-should-play-it NES gems. Willow on the NES, then, was notable for having the likeness to both actors, as well as many of the supporting cast from the film it was a movie tie-in adventure developed by Capcom, and was in many ways that company's take on Nintendo's Legend of Zelda formula. From the blade-throwing Cutter to the hard-pounding Stone, the prickly-bodied Needle to the electrifying Spark nearly all of Kirby's classic transformations owe their origin to this late 1992 NES release. For me, just making it to level 2 was a major accomplishment that I reveled in let alone, the brutality that I had to overcome in future levels (especially that darned Ice Cavern). Linux Xbox One Nintendo Switch stadia vita Playstation 3 Playstation 4 PC Windows Mac OS. Using your own bubbles to bounce your way up to out of reach platforms takes some serious platforming skills. A great, overlooked game that deserves more recognition today than it got back in 1992. The top-loading NES replaced the classic system, the Super Nintendo was over two years old, and the 16-bit battle was waging all around it in full force. You could upgrade its engine, increase the rate of fire of its bullets, increase the number of its bullets, give it the power to fire secondary missiles and even wrap it in a force field. My greatest memory of this game is trying to convince a dozen IGN editors why this game was so awesome nearly 20 years ago. The answer is multifaceted it's the ability to play a season and track statistics. The music rocks, the night/day system inspired my brother's own work with Shantae, and like Zelda II it's truly unique among the series. As for "greenish" color palette and "guy in spacesuit," Section-Z comes to mind, but there is no vertical scrolling shooter segments in that . Our own Mark Bozon has been working diligently to bring this title back to life, perhaps by way of the Virtual Console. Eventually I did finish it five years after the game was released. Platformers were my favorite genre during the 8-bit generation thanks to Mario and Alex Kidd, so why wouldn't I fall for Castlevania? Each can be one of six diverse character classes, which dictates their role on the frontlines. Platform : PC. It was a darker game, with less glitzy Robot Masters. Whether or not the game was a blast to play is how we decided the order of our beloved NES carts - so don't be surprised if you see an important or influential title below something we loved to play over and over and over again. While many of you are still waiting for Neeso Games awesome looking Arcade platformer of 'Super Delivery Boy', which is due for release towards the end of this year. , so why would n't I fall for Castlevania when I lived in New Hampshire, there was a hit. Game that deserves more recognition today than it got back in 1992 ( remember the system! 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