Top 20 Favorite Nintendo NES Games by Mike Matei

Mike Matei chooses his top 20 personal favorite Nintendo NES games!

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#retro #retrogaming #mikematei

[GameSack]

Good picks. Palamedes looks crazy fun. I knew about it back in the day but I have still never played it. But I can still visualize the magazine ad for it in my mind. Also agreed on Mega Man 2 vs other Mega Man games. Good reasoning. I would have probably crammed Castlevania 3 in with Castlevania 1 because both are awesome. If you like Kung Fu, try the sequel called Vigilante on the TurboGrafx-16... or Master System but the TG-16 version is better.

[Calcint]

Agree with #1 so hard. I think I was 5 years old when my dad got an NES and zelda, and pulling out that brand new gold cartridge and imagining all the treasures inspired so much wonder. The cartridge itself felt like a legendary treasure. For me, this game has to be the height of nostalgia

[Psychkemia]

The graphics for the NES Batman honestly look better than some super nintendo games. It's gorgeous.

[sweatervestfest]

My mom worked at a game rental" only" place when I was a kid in 1989 and it had a section where you could test the games before you rented them it was awesome

[WHAMBAMMY]

I'm glad you put both Contra and Super C in the same slot. They're both very well deserving of it! It's almost like dlc 20 years before it became a staple of gaming.

[baconpancake]

Zelda 1 was my favorite game growing up. my best friend in elementary school and I beat it over a few weeks after getting it and had a blast. I still go back and play it every few years, I typically play the original cart on the NES on a CRT. gotta keep it like it was for best results.

[hoplaaaa]

I was a bit surprised not to find a list of the games, so I made it. Here it is:

20 Palamedes 00:30
19 Bucky O'Hare 01:21
18 Krazy Kreatures 02:07
17 Kung Fu 03:00
16 Tetris 03:35
15 Kirby's Adventure 04:53
14 Solomon's Key 06:23
13 The Adventures of Lolo 07:39
12 Jackal 08:31
11 Castlevania 09:24
10 Zelda 2 10:37
09 Contra & Super C 12:09
08 TMNT 13:17
07 Megaman 2 14:23
06 Super Mario Bros 3 16:29
05 Batman 18:23
04 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 20:22
03 DuckTales 21:34
02 Ninja Gaiden 3 23:03
*honorable mentions* 24:14
01 The Legend of Zelda 24:43

My personal top 20 would probably have been a bit different. I would definitely have included Bubble Bobble, Dr Mario, and Double Dragon. I would have hesitated between placing the whole zelda/mario/megaman franchise and promoting titles such as bomberman, Kickle Cubicle, new zealand story, puyo puyo, snake rattle'n roll, the battle of olympus, chip'n dale rescue rangers, faxanadu, fester's quest, kid icarus, lemmings, or marble madness. And finally, there are titles that I definitely prefer on SNES... it's the case for Punch-Out! but also for Joe & Mac.

[subzero]

I love Jackyl for NES, it was one game that most of my friends had never heard of. I used to rent it from the little mom and pop stores around town. It is a very fun game, especially the two player mode. most people overlook this little gem.

[blanchfor]

The fact that these games are 30 years old... Thats just crazy to me

[humbughumbughumbug]

I'm kind of surprised that with DuckTales you didn't mention the golf swing cane mechanic. I loved that along with the pogo cane. It's very SMB2-ish because you're able to use your environment as a weapon.

[frozenaorta]

Everyone always praises Capcom, but no one ever mentions Little Nemo the Dream Master. Am I the only one that freaking LOVED that game? It's so good! Super underrated.

[arendecisive]

Mike, you really gotta play Crystalis.

[kca]

Oh my god! Zelda 2 came out when I was 9 years old and i spent more hours playing that game than any other game on the NES. Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 were also awesome.

[silverladderAZ]

I've been meaning to leave you a comment for a few years. My eight-year-old daughter frequently asks to watch this video and has done so for the last two years. She's a huge NES fan and loves this vid. So you've got some young fans out there. Well done countdown.

[XtremeConditions]

I have to say, some of these games really seem to push the NES to the absolute limit. Kirby's Dreamland looks absolutely gorgeous, as does Mario 3. If you looked from far away, they could easily be mistaken for an SNES game with their nice visuals and very nice animation.

[PierLuc]

Even today, it's impossible to play more recent Kirby game and not have a smile on your face.

Happy 25th to the most badass pink ball ever.

[speedwagon]

You should make this a series, going through all the classic consoles!

[ocarinaplaya]

Willow is still one of the best movie-to-game adaptations in gaming history.

[honeypower]

Finally some love for the original TMNT game...as difficult as it was it was always one of my favourites as a kid, never got the hate for it

[falkar]

man those kirby's adventure graphics are still impressive today!