Nintendo NES Must Have Games!

[TL]

Ok its well known that I am not a fan of the NES in general but it dosn't mean that there arn't any games I enjoy on this machine. So here is my top 10 games for the console (in no order) and please post your own:

Ice Climber
Track & Field 2
Bionic Commando
Dr. Mario
Double Dragon 2
Blades Of Steel
Rad Racer
Tetris
Cobra Triangle
Micro Machines

[DEADDOLL666]

I never played the nes that muchas i was more into the master system but i did like
Tetris,mario and kirby

[davyk]

Don't have a NES anymore - seeing NESTER run on the Dreamcast was so good I ditched the hardware - the NES being an 8bit really benefits from the improved display of the DC, save states and the selection of available games!!

I had one for quite a while and look back on it fondly though - would probably pick up a US or JPN console if the chance came up ...

Anyhow my favourites (inc. the obvious ones!)

Super Mario Bros Yeah a bit obvious - thing is - this game really is that good, Sublime control with spot on inertia and pixel perfect placement of enemies in great levels means it is still an excellent game after all these years.
Super Mario Bros 3 Epic next step in the series. The over world map, the powerup suits, flight, bosses and mini-forts - all that was introduced here as the template for the later games. In fact this game saw the Mario universe expand greatly - so many new enemies were introduced here such as the boo ghosts etc. A massive number of levels, great graphics and sound. That trademark control and physics. Still puts many later platformers to shame.
Gradius Great old port of the arcade game. Flickers in places and slows down in others- but it feels like the arcade. Rock hard challenge.
Punch Out Legendary comic boxing game - this was a real crowd pleaser back in the day. One of the few games that made ever me laugh.
Solar Jet Man Massive gravity based shooter in the same vein as Gravitar and Thrust - only this takes the genre to it limits. Filled with different planets to explore and items to find in your quest to find battle ship parts. Weird humour and sound effects make for a very pleasing experience. Technically brilliant too - huge levels made navigable by the mapping facility and smooth 8-way scrolling was a big deal back then.
Solomon's Key Excellent port of the Tecmo platform puzzle game - pretty close in quality to the arcade game.
Balloon Fight Nintendo does Joust - and in some ways improves upon it. Faultless sense of inertia and the cute balloon grasping characters are more fun - and there's variety in the little bonus levels. Great 2 player dynamics as in Joust. Also features an extra little game called Balloon Flight which is a survival style "how far can you go" game that is seriously addictive.
Tetris Nintendo's version is great.Pity there's no 2 player mode but its a brilliant interpretation of the game which isn't a given even now - many later versions don't feel as good as this one.
Devil World Excellent maze game which is a clever development of Pacman. Another game with a great 2 player simultaneous mode.
Battletoads Great in 1 player but a riot in 2 player. Technically excellent multi-format game. It goes from a scrolling brawler to a cavern decent, to a bike ride, to a trad. platformer, to a hori shmup, to a river ride on a surfboard...... Too hard for its own good in places but a really entertaining game.
Boulderdash The NES got a great version of this. Really slick presentation - I'd say the best of the 8bit era at least.
Donkey Kong & Donkey Kong Jr On one cart. Good value at the time! DK has 1 level missing (as most versions do for some reason) but the star here is DK Jr. I think its a better game and it is complete here - all the levels. Spot on conversions.
Dropzone Stunning redux of Defender by Archer Maclean - the NES gets a lightening fast version that looks great, sounds great and controls great. Just writing this makes me want to get a NES again just to play this.
Dr. Mario Original version of this underrated puzzle game from Nintendo. Not quite Tetris but it outdoes many efforts by other dev houses. Highly addictive.
Ice Climber Lovely little vertically scrolling 2D platformer.  Great simultaneous 2 player mode that really changes how you play. Looks pretty good too - would like to see a remake of this.
NES open tournament golf Great later release for the NES. A full featured golf game with great graphics and control - ahead of its time.
Palamedes Clever dice based puzzle game with 2 player battle mode.
Probotector aka Contra War in a box - brilliant run and gun from Konami. Total action from start to finish and it has great variety in it levels. Has a 2 player simultaneous mode too.
Spelunker Cave based platformer with nice detailed graphics and a real sense of exploration. It can be a bit fussy - your character dies really easily (too easily in a fall) but its a great game and a hefty challenge.
Yoshi's Cookie and Wario's Woods Two top notch puzzlers that were late releases and so have really slick graphics and presentation.

[nakamura]

Two of my favourite NES games I mention over and over, both are utter class.

Street Gangs/River City Ransom is my favourite ever scrolling fighter. Just pipping the masterful Streets of Rage 2 and Batman Returns on SNES. It's a fighting RPG with Double Dragon elements and loads of superb moves.

Blue Shadow is an action platformer that to be honest I thought was better than Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi. Just so smooth to play and bags of fun. Great music and graphics too.

[onthinice]

To add to the list
A boy and His Blob
Archon
Batman
Bump 'n Jump
Caveman Games
Defender II
Defender of the Crown
Excitebike
Flintstones
Galaga
Genghis Khan
G.I. Joe
Gyruss
Indy Heat
Joust
Klax
Lone Ranger
Major League Baseball
Marbel madness
Millipede
Pac-Man
Pac-Mania
Panic Restaurant
PaperBoy
Pirates
Popeye
Q*Bert
R.C. Pro-Am I & II
Super Off-Road
Super Spint
Tecmo Bowl
Three Stooges
TMNT I, II and III
Toobin
WWF

[TL]

Big NES fan then Ice!  :10:

[onthinice]

Yep! 

[TrekMD]

There's a game I don't see listed here that I got, Rolling Thunder.  I haven't played it myself yet (waiting for arrival) but the videos I've seen are excellent.  Looks like a superb port of the arcade.

[TL]

There's a game I don't see listed here that I got, Rolling Thunder.  I haven't played it myself yet (waiting for arrival) but the videos I've seen are excellent.  Looks like a superb port of the arcade.

I LOVE Rolling Thunder! It's a bloody hard game but very original and great fun to play, it's very much like a Jams Bond game really. I had the Spectrum version back in the day and was so excited when it was announced for the Lynx, only to never come out  :16:

[TrekMD]

Very cool.  I actually have it on my PSP but it is hard to play (and the game is hard enough as it is!), so I'm hoping having a controller in my hand and a larger screen to play will let me survive longer than on the PSP. 

[TL]

Looks like I need the TMNT games. 

Not really, the original one is a very frustrating and highly flawed platform game (that I have reviewed here if you want more details). The sequel, which is actually a conversions of the arcade game, is a fairly good scrolling beat 'em up.

I saw you bought Vindicators and Indiana Jones, good call on both, but if you want to check out a couple more Tengen/Atari games that came out on the NES but were not released for any of the Atari consoles then pick up Skull & Crossbones, a great pirate themed fighting game that I really enjoy on the ST (Lynx versions was planned, and Toobin' which is an utterly fantastic and highly original game where you race down a river on a rubber ring!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU2kz_bitpc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u_p_5FY7LY

[TrekMD]

Cool, I'll have to search for those.    Thanks!

[Shadowrunner]

Before you buy a bunch of the Tengen NES games you might want to get just one first and try it with your system. I've read reviews of some of those clone systems and some people say the Tengen games don't work with them. Just a caution 

[TrekMD]

Before you buy a bunch of the Tengen NES games you might want to get just one first and try it with your system. I've read reviews of some of those clone systems and some people say the Tengen games don't work with them. Just a caution 

Good to know!  I've only gotten a handful and the system arrives on Friday.  I'll know by then whether or not they work.

[onthinice]

There are a few Tengen games, that I do not own. Rolling Thunder is one, along with Ms. Pac-Man, Gauntlet and couple of the RBI games. Some Tengen carts were also released as authorized Nintendo license releases.

Thanks for the info, Shadowrunner!