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10 bucket list NES games you need to play
The Famicom classics you absolutely must play once in your lifetime.
Grab your NES pad and get playing these classics
© toastytreat/Arielle Fragassi/Flickr
The recent arrival of the NES Classic Mini has revived interest in Nintendo's 8-bit classic, and while the micro-console has 30 of the best NES games pre-installed, it's a crying shame that there's no means of adding more titles to that total. However, every cloud has a silver lining and the limitations of the Classic Mini's software library should encourage a new legion of players to seek out the original console and explore its vibrant and eclectic selection of AAA classics – and with that in mind, allow us to present 10 NES games you absolutely have to play before you shake off your mortal coil. Don't assume these are necessarily the 10 best NES games, or even the 10 most famous releases on the format – we've deliberately picked a few left-field options to keep things interesting and varied.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
The original NES Castlevania is a stone-cold classic and certainly deserves its place in the NES Mini's software library, but it's a long way from being the best 8-bit instalment. That honour arguably goes to Castlevania III, which arrived in the latter years of the NES era and expands on the core gameplay of the first title. The semi-RPG elements seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest are abandoned in favour of straight platform-action, with the unique hook being a non-linear level structure and additional characters to play as, one of which is none other than Dracula's son Alucard, who would later become the hero of the PlayStation title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – often regarded as the best entry in the whole franchise. Boasting amazing music and excellent visuals, Castlevania III is one of the best action games the NES ever produced.
River City Ransom
The history of River City Ransom is entwined with that of Technōs Japan's Kunio-kun series, which has previously been localised in the west as Renegade. Based on the Japanese game Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, River City Ransom is a non-linear side-scrolling fighter with RPG overtones. You are free to explore the titular River City and confront the various gangs which inhabit its districts, but unlike most traditional brawlers you can learn new moves and boost your stats by using loot to make purchases at the various shops dotted around the game world. Released in Europe under the title Street Gangs, River City Ransom remains a cult classic even to this day, and is an incredibly inventive title given that it was released at a time when most developers were perfectly content creating repetitive side-scrollers with little innovation or humour.
Blaster Master
The amazing popularity of the NES and its Japanese equivalent, the Famicom, resulted in developers taking bigger risks than they might normally have done, and this meant 8-bit players were gifted with some truly unique gameplay experiences. Blaster Master is one such game, expertly mixing together side-scrolling and top-down perspectives in an action adventure which sees you piloting the incredibly cool tank called "Sophia the 3rd". A nonlinear structure keeps things interesting, and the player is expected to explore and backtrack in order to discover secrets and gain weapons vital to defeating the game's evil bosses. Despite sequels and reboots – the latest of which is Blaster Master Zero, which is expected next year from Mighty No. 9 developer Inti Creates – the 1988 original remains the best.
Faxanadu
Despite gaining some incredibly positive reviews upon launch, this side-scrolling action RPG isn't as well regarded as some of the other examples of the genre on the NES, like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Perhaps it's the rather odd name – a combination of "Famicom" and "Xanadu", the latter of which was a popular RPG series in Japan derived from Falcom's Dragon Slayer franchise – and the overly brown visuals are to blame, but whatever the real reason, this is a title you ignore at your peril. It's got a fantastic soundtrack and a surprisingly deep and involving storyline, making it a true hidden gem in the well-stocked role-playing library of the NES.
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Capcom produced some amazing Disney-licensed games for the NES, the most famous of which is unquestionably DuckTales. However, a game that is often forgotten about these days is Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, a thematically similar 2D platformer which hosts an excellent co-operative two-player mode and some seriously slick gameplay. While it lacks the nonlinear freedom of some of Capcom's other NES outings, Rescue Rangers has a perfectly-pitched difficulty level, eye-catching visuals and imaginative level design, all of which make it well worth a look even by today's standards. If you've got a like-minded friend to play along with then it's even more enjoyable.
Batman: The Video Game
Sunsoft secured the licence to create Batman video games around the same time that Tim Burton's blockbusting 1989 movie hit cinemas, and the Japanese developer duly pushed adaptations onto pretty much every home console of the period, including the NES. While it is best described as having only very loose links to the plot of the film, Batman: The Video Game sets the bar high when it comes to entertainment; the platforming action takes inspiration from Tecmo's seminal Ninja Gaiden, giving Batman the power to wall-jump in order to reach higher areas. This agility fits the character perfectly and gives the game a brisk pace which not only makes it more exciting, but also dials up the need for precise inputs. The dark and moody graphics are thankfully devoid of comic-book brightness – just like Burton's movie, in fact – and the final confrontation with The Joker is a real highlight. Batman: The Video Game was something of an anomaly at the time of release – a movie and comic book licence that wasn't terrible – but what's really remarkable is how playable it remains even after all this time.
Mighty Final Fight
Capcom's Final Fight is perhaps the quintessential arcade title of the late '80s and early '90s. Taking the template laid down by Double Dragon and Renegade, it introduced massive, screen-filling sprites, complex moves and a stern challenge. Of course, all of that was never going to be possible on the humble NES hardware – especially when you consider that the 1990 Super NES port of the arcade game was missing a character, stage and the all-important two-player mode – but what 8-bit players got was something even more special. Mighty Final Fight adopts a cute visual style and uses a levelling system which means your character becomes more powerful as the game progresses. Sadly there's no two-player option, but all three heroes are present and correct, which is something the SNES port couldn't claim.
The Guardian Legend
Like Blaster Master, Compile's The Guardian Legend is noteworthy because it mixes two genres which normally are kept apart: the vertically-scrolling shooter and top-down action RPG. Fusing these two gameplay styles could have resulted in disaster, but The Guardian Legend pulls it off with aplomb. Assuming the role of the titular Guardian, you have to explore overworld levels from a top-down perspective which isn't entirely dissimilar to The Legend of Zelda. However, once you've found your goal you move onto the shooter section, which plays more like a traditional 2D shooter, with powerups to collect and bosses to destroy. While the game's clunky password system is a bit of a pain, the unique combination of genres twinned with high production values and superb playability make this something of an underrated masterpiece.
Crystalis
Developed by SNK – a company more famous for its fighting and action games – Crystalis is easily overlooked on a console which has Zelda, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest in its RPG library. However, it's actually one of the better examples on the NES, boasting smooth, eight-way movement, a unique storyline and a focus on skill rather than cerebral puzzle-solving. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where nuclear war has returned mankind to a medieval standard of life, Crystalis tasks the player with defeating the sinister Draygonia Empire and restore balance to the world. A Game Boy Color remake was released in 2000 but is largely inferior to the NES original, which should certainly be sought out if you're looking for a more action-oriented take on the role-playing template.
Super Dodge Ball
Like River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball is part of the Kunio-kun series of the video games, which is incredibly popular in its native Japan. Putting the stars of a side-scrolling fighter into a sports setting of this type might seem odd at first, but makes more sense when you realise that the objective is to hit opponents with the ball, removing them from play. Power shots increase your chances of taking a rival player out, and it's possible to intercept incoming balls, pass to fellow teammates and dash to add potency to your throws; combining all of these skills allows you to create intricate manoeuvres to wrong-foot the opposition. The perfect two-player experience, Super Dodge Ball is an essential NES party game.
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