My Favorite Things: NES Games

 Ah, the good old Nintendo Entertainment System. For many nerds my age, it was their gateway into the world of video games. As I've written before, my video game journey was slightly different from the average gamer, but that doesn't mean I wasn't a fan of the NES. In fact, I have many fond memories of that system. So many, in fact that I've actually been driven to start collecting games for the system again after 30 years. In honour of those memories, and since it's been a while since I made one of these lists, I present my favourite NES games of all time.

Before we get started, I want to touch on a couple of things. First of all, this is strictly my opinion, and it's pretty biased. So, if you disagree with anything on the list, or if you feel I've made a particularly egregious omission, then suck it up. It's my list, and it's by no means extensive. 

Also, normally I make these lists only five items along with a few honourable mentions, but I'm expanding the length to 10 items this time around. I don't know why, really. What's life without whimsey?

Anyway, on to the list. Here are my favourite NES games, in no particular order:

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

I'm starting things off with a controversial inclusion. The problems with this game are well-trodden internet fodder at this point, with many pundits (including the AVGN) dumping hate towards this game. I can't say that I disagree with any of those criticisms, but I still rank this game as one of my favourites, mostly because it's one of the first NES games that I actually beat (with help from Nintendo Power) but also it has one of the best soundtracks on the platform. It's also an early attempt at an "open-world," which you didn't often see back in those days. Plus, I kinda liked the day/night cycle.

Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link

I've already written about why I love this game, so I won't go too much into detail here. It's an unusual pick that you won't find on many people's lists, but nostalgia feels too strong for me. It was my first NES game outside of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, and again, it was one of those rare open-world games for a system that wasn't known for it. Also, the music in it was fantastic, as was the case for most of the series.

Super Mario 3

Alright, I've made two unusual inclusions to start things off. How about one that just about everybody can agree with? Super Mario 3 is pretty much the gold standard by which 2D platformers are measured. It was challenging but not too challenging, had tons of great and unique power-ups, plenty of opportunities for 1UPs and eight different worlds to navigate. It really was a triumph of game design back in the day.

Little League Baseball: Championship Series

This is probably the only item on this list that most people haven't heard of. There were many baseball games developed for the NES, but most of them were hot trash, mostly due to poor controls or shitty presentation. LLB: CS was different, it had solid controls, and its tournament format worked really well. Yeah, there weren't any MLB teams or players, but I still had a blast spending many hours destroying my friend Shaun in this game.

Blades of Steel

Blades *cha-chink* of Steel! I'm not much of a hockey fan (I know, BAD Canadian), but I always had a blast playing this game. It was partly for the hockey, partly for the mini-shooter game you could play during the second intermission, but mostly for the fights. This was the first NES hockey game that I'm aware of to control your player during a fight. Plus, it was the loser of the fight sent to the penalty box, which was funny—lots of fond memories with this one.

Contra

Up, Up, Down, Down...well...you get it. This was THE run and gun game for the NES and bloody difficult. But that's what the Konami Code is for, right? If you could beat the game without using the code, you were considered a god amongst children. I never knew anybody that did it. I heard about a guy once....he may or may not have been real, though.

Double Dragon

This is the game Battletoads wished it was. A terrific beat 'em up that stands as a classic on the platform. The ability to beat the crap out of enemies with fists, bats, whips and knives was just so cool back then. I remember being a bit disappointed renting this with my friend and finding out that the main game wasn't two players. However, we still had fun trading off levels; plus, we soon discovered the "B" game's glory, which was basically a 2 player mini-fighting game.

Bionic Commando

I remember renting this game on a whim and loving it. It's so different than anything that was on the system at the time. Instead of jumping, you had a bionic arm that could grapple and swing onto surfaces. The game was pretty difficult (as were most NES games), but you were in for a pretty good time once you got used to the unusual controls.

Final Fantasy

I admit I don't like JRPGs all that much. In fact, I pretty much hate them. This game is one of the few exceptions. That's an odd thing to say because this game contains many aspects of the genre that I don't care for. It's grindy, the story is pretty weak, and the combat leaves a lot to be desired. Still, it was a very expansive game for the time, and I have many fond memories of playing it.

Mega Man 2

You could probably replace this one with any of the others in the series, but I'll stick with the second entry because it was the first one I played. Like many of its NES brethren, the game is punishingly difficult but not unfairly so, and you felt a real sense of accomplishment when you made progress. Plus, it was really cool how you could complete the levels in any order, and you could also pick up and use the weapons of the bosses you defeated.

So, that's my list. Agree? Disagree? Think the Sega Master System was the superior machine? Well, that's what the comments section is for.