Kid Icarus
Every system out there has at least one wildly overrated game, and on the NES its Kid Icarus. Whilst a very good game with some interesting ideas and elements (the adventure game style weapons and health upgrades are very well implemented), as an overall experience its heavily brought down by some niggling issues which hold it back from the status of being the true classic that many people make it out to be (earlier levels are actually harder than later ones, imprecise controls, frustrations such as off screen deaths and enemies which randomly steal your money, lazy graphics obviously recycled from Metroid). Still certainly a very solid game though.

Enix prove again their mastery of 8-bit JRPG's with this, another classic iteration of their excellent Dragon Quest series. Notably the game's storyline is split into chapters each from the perspective of a different character, with them only coming together towards the end, this helps to create a richer and more interesting plot experience to hold your attention.

What we know as Earthbound in the west is actually the sequel to this RPG that never left Japan (until a Virtual Console release on Wii U last year). What does an American childhood look like through the prism of a Japanese ad-man? Baseball, hippies, and pizza delivery.

Metroid was a very clever platformer that incorporated a lot of adventuring elements. It has you explore the massive level looking for new upgrades and abilities, each one upon finding gives you access to new sections of the level. As engrossing as it its the game does tend to be frustrating at times and is a little dated, so those lacking patience and perseverance may be best to look elsewhere for their adventuring needs.

The original Micro Machines was already pretty much fully formed even at this stage, containing much of what made the series the success it was, simple but fun top down racing game play with miniature cars, fun courses taking place in oversized environments, and a fantastic multiplayer.

One of the main problems I usually find with many beat-em-up's is a general lack of variation, this is thankfully not a problem with Battletoads as the play styles vary considerably from one level to the next, here you'll be abseiling one moment and riding a high speed jet bike the next. Unfortunately they did however end up substituting one problem for another as they made the game a little too difficult for the average gamer, making this more of a game for experienced players only.

An awesome two player game that was pretty much everything the NES version of Ikari Warriors had failed to be, instead of the slow game play and atrocious controls which had come to define that game, here you find fast and frenetic game play with responsive controls and great graphics. It even had you playing as Che Guevara and Castro in the original Japanese version.

One of the best scrolling shmups on the NES, Over Horizon has the classic combination of excellent power-ups, clever level designs, great bosses and smattering of unique ideas which separate the stand-outs of its genre from the generic, it also utilizes a system where the two buttons are assigned to forwards and backwards firing which works pretty excellently.

Contra fans wouldn’t know what the term “couch co-op” meant in 1988, but they would definitely know what it felt like. Between that beautifully designed tandem action, the varying points of view and scrolling orientations, and the diverse collection of memorable guns, Contra was an instant NES smash at the time, and still holds up better than games that are decades younger.

This heralded a really brave change in direction for the series from Nintendo, acting like a hybrid of the first game and Metroid, it took a top down view for the traveling sections in the over world, and a side scrolling platformer view during the action sections. In hindsight the game probably didn't get as much credit as it deserved as its inspiration can be seen in many other games which came afterwards, such as Gargoyles Quest for instance.

If Battle of Olympus reminds you of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, well, that makes sense: the two were created with the same game engine. It’s a deep, side-scrolling action RPG based on Greek mythology, and it also didn’t have to deal with the confusion of Zelda fans upset with how thoroughly different Zelda II was from the original.

There are very few games that allow you to address the tyranny of toys, small boxes, and cats in tuxedo shirts. This one of them. This game is known for letting players drop down into a metal barrel as a defensive measure, and it’s a shame that more games don’t allow that kind of behavior.

Big, complicated, and tough as nails, Final Fantasy III took the six character archetypes from the first game and heaped on another sixteen, letting you switch classes on the fly and proving you should never send an Onion Kid to do a Ninja’s job.

What more can be said about Tetris that hasn't been already? made by some guy in Russia, Tetris basically has you slotting different shapes together to try to create lines. It is in my opinion one of the absolute pinnacle designs for a puzzle game.

Most definitely the most impressive graphics on the system, HAL Laboratory really went to town with the visuals in this game, and created a game play experience where fun and accessibility were obviously the main focuses, the difficulty curve is much more forgiving than most other NES games mainly owing to the fairness and length afforded by its battery backed up save (a rarity with NES platformers). Also experienced players need not worry about the game being breezed through as finding all the secrets adds to the longevity.

Faxanadu is a platforming adventure game which is an offshoot of the Xanadu series (the title being a combination of Famicom and Xanadu) its very well put together and has a pretty nice and unique style of its own created by its earthy colour use.

One of the greatest puzzle games in existence, the design and idea behind the game, which has you trying to protect and guide the lemmings from the entrance to the exit was just flawless. I found all the moves you could give the little guys very impressive for the time (I don't remember any other game of its era allowing you to change and affect the environment quite to this level before) and the NES version, whilst suffering a little from the lack of mouse control, doesn't detract from the greatness of the original too much.

Blaster Master is another excellent platforming adventure game for NES, here you control a little guy driving a tank searching the levels for items and such. There's multiple level styles, some side scrolling and others from an overhead perspective and you can even exit the tank and travel through the levels at will

Popular puzzle game which is similar in game play to falling block games like Tetris and Columns, though as opposed to those games Klax incorporates a conveyer belt instead of the more regular enter from the top of the screen set-up. When you get three of the same colour vertically, horizontally or diagonally you get a "klax".

The second game in the seminal Double Dragon series, a series that popularized the whole beat-em-up genre when originally released at the arcades. As an original game designed for the NES and not a true arcade sequel this was a pretty good game all things considered, with some nice graphics and great colour use throughout.

The US version of Metal Gear might be a spliced up, bowdlerized version of Hideo Kojima’s original game, but we didn’t know that in 1988. What matters is how it combines the 1980s fixation on paramilitary action with an adventure almost as sprawling and mysterious as Legend of Zelda, while also basically introducing the entire stealth genre. It’s deep and inscrutable, infuriating and glorious, and a fine start to a great series.

When I was a kid, in my eyes this was as good as sports games could get, humiliate your friends by scoring loads, then beat the hell outta' their players just to rub it in! The game play is fast and responsive and you feel that important level of control needed for a good sports game experience.

Rygar is an open world adventure game similar to games such as Faxanadu, and Metroid, its a very good game but has one big fault many of its peers lacked, namely no kind of save feature, a feature that a game of this scope very much needs.

Archon is a pretty difficult game to explain, its kind of like a cross between Chess and top down shooters, having you move your pieces around a board in a chess style, but taking full control when a battle occurs. It shouldn't really work, but somehow really does perfectly.

Everything that was good about the original game was built upon and improved here, in surely what must be the greatest iteration of the Castlevania series on the NES. The level designs themselves were far better designed and more interesting this time around, you could now pick up friends throughout the game each with varying abilities and play as them, and the story was much more fleshed out than before.

Batman the 1989 film by Tim Burton may have had songs by Prince (R.I.P.), but Batman the 1990 game by Sunsoft may well have the better soundtrack. You can stuff Rocksteady’s Arkham games in a sack; I’ll take this one any day.

The original Ninja Gaiden had the feeling of a fantasy epic starring a ninja, but Dark Sword of Chaos is like a Troma film that also happens to star a ninja. It’s dark and industrial, and the main antagonist looks like he might be a magical dinosaur. It’s a little cleaner, a little more bizarre, and very fun.

Ufouria is another of the widely under-appreciated games on the NES, the design is similar in some ways to that of the Metroid series, you explore the world with not all sections available at the beginning, but as time goes on these sections become available. Unlike Metroid, which has you searching for power-ups, Ufouria has you searching for your lost friends, each of which become playable and have their own abilities. The game is permeated by an endearingly kooky Japanese charm, with dopey looking characters and enemies creating an excellent atmosphere.

A pretty impressive version of the popular space exploration game. Its a bit inaccessible and dated these days but still even now represents a unique and interesting game play experience which contains an inordinate amount of freedom.

Definitely has to be the premier traditional into-the-screen racing game on the NES, it scales and moves pretty smoothly, the illusion of speed is there and the music in the game is also first rate.

One of the first extreme sports games and a timeless classic which must have been an inspiration for later games such as Tony Hawks Pro Skater. You have a bunch of different moves available and multiple excellent events to play.

A fantastic 3D platformer which contains an extremely well realized world to explore and has a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving. Its certainly heavily influenced by many of the earlier games by Rareware/Ultimate, and Bernie Drummond, but nevertheless contains many unique aspects of its own, not the easiest game for newcomers, check my tips section here to help you get started.

Disproving the axiom that licensed games are subpar, Capcom’s Scrooge McDuck-starring platformer is as beautiful, challenging and well-designed as any of its non-licensed games. It also features maybe the best soundtrack of the era

A classic beat-em-up that contains not only the usual recipe of side scrolling action and weapons, but a commendable amount of original elements such as the inclusions of shops and RPG like stats. You can also save the state of your character through the games password system. Its just a shame that later games of the genre didn't take some pointers from this game.

More in depth, and with more options than your average American Football game. Tecmo Super Bowl was just more fun and playable than everything else that was out there at the time. This really set the bench mark for all sports games that followed it.

This Capcom classic and it’s dashing, run-and-gun style was first released in arcades in 1985 and on the Nintendo Entertainment System the following year. It would go on to later influence many other shooter games, the game’s unlimited ammo allowing for a satisfying break-neck pace, and its isometric perspective facilitating an appeasing field of view that would later form a primer for the 3D games to come.

Crystalis is probably my favourite action RPG on the NES, its a very colourful, playable, slick and fast paced game, the graphics and sound are excellent and the storyline is actually pretty elaborate and in depth for an 8-bit NES game.

I've decided to go with this as the best of the Gradius styled games on NES, mainly because of its well judged difficulty curve, interesting biological atmosphere, variety of its level designs (featuring both upwards and sideways scrolling levels) and most importantly an excellent 2-player co-op.

Simple top down shooter, the basic premise is akin to "the Running Man" film where you play the poor bloke stuck in the game show who has to shoot anything that moves. It includes a cool duel controller option to replicate the arcade's multi-directional firing, which works pretty well.

Easily one of my favourite games ever made, the action and style were perfectly thought out, everything was bigger and better than the original, great set pieces (the dragon towards the end of the game was amazing at the time) and it was much more balanced and playable too, still not an easy game by any means though.

This game was an absolute tour-de-force of design and playability, the presentation was amazing for the time and the whole game shined with originality and new ideas, loved the Racoon suits, loved the Koopa Kid bosses, in fact I would say the game is pretty faultless on all levels. I still play this game on a relatively regular basis now.

Although not an ideal port, this got the basics right enough that nobody could really complain. It’s got overgrown beasts just beating the hell out of some skyscrapers, while also trying to swat away helicopters and stomp on tanks. It’s just more proof that aimless violence can be cathartic for all ages.

Don’t listen to those who pooh-pooh the Clu Clu. There’s nothing else like it in the history of videogames. Where else do you race through a labyrinth to uncover gems that form a picture all while being chased by Pac-Man-ish ghosts?

This game is about a Soviet strongman using his Soviet muscle to smash his way through the flesh and bones of his enemies. Some of those enemies are…dragons? And genies? And other strong men? It’s really hard, but if you persevere you can punch a snake thing to death at the end. This game seems like it’s probably a political metaphor. The strongman is a metaphor.

Classic cartoony boxing game with a really nice caricatured design for all the boxers. The game play is very reaction based with you dodging, jabbing and making sure you don't over exert yourself. Generally just an addictive game that's a lot of fun really.

Why thumbs were created. And you’ll use ‘em, since this Western gunslinger sim is a punishing riff on the “vertical walking shooter” sub-genre. Find your horse, upgrade your weapon, and dodge a hailstorm of bullets and knives while tracking down the latest Wanted Poster cover model.

A great scrolling shoot-em-up which has an excellent 2-player co-operative mode to its credit. Though one aspect the game certainly falls down in is originality as the basic game play whilst fun and polished is certainly nothing new of unique, which is why I dropped it places in this list.

Multiplayer classic from the 80's that started the whole mash two buttons as fast as possible style game play. The fact that this mechanic has remained virtually unchanged in olympics games up to this day is a testament to it's greatness.

Simple top down shooter, the basic premise is akin to "the Running Man" film where you play the poor bloke stuck in the game show who has to shoot anything that moves. It includes a cool duel controller option to replicate the arcade's multi-directional firing, which works pretty well.

A platform shooting affair similar to Mega Man, but with boomerangs and Contra's multi directional firing. Its actually a remade US version of a Japanese game called "Power Blazer" and must stand as one of the few occasions where the mucked about with version outdoes the original (another arguable one would be the Mega Drive's Decap Attack) this is due to Power Blade getting rid of many game play problems the original had.