When I was a kid I had Nintendo Power. While the magazine was mostly awesome (in both a helpful and an 80′s sort of way), it always had a list of all the games I didn’t have. I dreamed of one day owning every single game. You know, when I got older and was rich. I was so excited when I learned about emulators. Imagine my disappointment when I realized most NES games sucked hard.
There are 785 titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that doesn’t include Famicom titles that didn’t make it over from Japan (I decided not to include Famicom titles). And I think 781 of them are either shooters or platformers. I don’t have anything against those two genres (in fact, many will make my list), but if the NES library came to life it would be attack of the clones. I have not played every game. However, I have played many of them, if not to completion, at least long enough to know they sucked.
A lot of sites will break down scores for graphics, sound, control, etc. when reviewing games. Bah. The only score that matters is “How likely am I to want to play this?” All of those subcategories affect my enjoyment, but I like different games for different reasons. For example, there’s one game with atrocious sound and underwhelming graphics that is in my Top 20.
I hope you will join me in fondly remembering and discussing these classic games. I hope there are some hidden gems you’ll discover. I hope that there are some hidden gems that you all can educate me about.
Enjoy this list, and boot up your emulators, because now you’re playing with power!
Games That Probably Would Have Made List if I Had Played Them
Mega Man 4, 5, 6
Zoda’s Revenge: Startropics II
Crystalis
Nightshade
The List
100: Bubble Bobble
99: Batman
98: R.B.I. Baseball 3
97: Hogan’s Alley
96: Lode Runner
95: Captain Skyhawk
94: Bump N Jump
93: Double Dribble
92: Adventure Island 2
91: Bases Loaded
90: Solomon’s Key
89: Déjà Vu
88: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
87: Boulderdash
86: Marble Madness
85: Track & Field
84: Paperboy
83: Tecmo NBA Basketball
82: Micro Machines
81: Guerrilla War
80: Skate or Die (plus half-pipe from Skate or Die 2)
79: Gradius
78: Jackal
77: Nintendo World Cup
76: Abadox
75: Danny Sullivan’s Indy Heat
74: Cobra Triangle
73: Legacy of the Wizard
72: Ice Hockey
71: Tecmo Cup Soccer Game
70: Dr. Mario
69: Baseball Stars
68: Goal!
67: Blaster Master
66: 1943: The Battle of Midway
65: Journey to Silius
64: Vegas Dream
63: Metal Storm
62: Kickle Cubicle
61: A Boy and His Blob
60: Super C
59: Blades of Steel
58: Tecmo Bowl
57: Mega Man III
56: Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers
55: Snake Rattle N Roll
54: Excitebike
53: Ninja Gaiden II
52: The Guardian Legend
51: Power Blade
50: Dragon Warrior
49: Super Mario Bros.
48: Pinball Quest
47: Tiny Toon Adventures
46: Side Pocket
45: Wizards & Warriors
44: Duck Tales
43: Battletoads
42: Shatterhand
41: Tetris
40: River City Ransom
39: Vice: Project Doom
38: Double Dragon II: The Revenge
37: R.B.I. Baseball
36: Pro Wrestling
35: Castlevania
34: Dragon Warrior II
33: Dusty Diamond’s All-Star Softball
32: Kirby’s Adventure
31: Adventures of Lolo 2 & 3
30: The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner
29: Arkanoid
28: Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
27: Life Force
26: Little Samson
25: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
24: Faxanadu
23: Adventures of Lolo
22: R.C. Pro-Am
21: Baseball Simulator 1.000
20: Mega Man II
19: Metroid
18: Kid Icarus
17: Bionic Commando
16: Super Spike V’Ball
15: Super Mario Bros. 3
14: Rygar
13: Final Fantasy
12: Dragon Warrior III
11: Willow
10: Contra
9: Fire ‘N Ice
8: Super Mario Bros. 2
7: Shadowgate
6: The Legend of Zelda
5: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
4: Startropics
3: Ninja Gaiden
2: Dragon Warrior IV
1: Urban Champion1: Tecmo Super Bowl
Death By Troggles 
I didn’t play a lot of the games on your NES: Top 100, but off your list, if I were to rate the ones I enjoyed playing the most, my top ten would be (sort of in this order, but Legend of Zelda and Willow are totally my 2 favorites!):
1. Legend of Zelda
2. Willow (and Ryan is still bitching about that ring!)
3. Faxanadu
4. Rygar (I have to grapple bad)
5. Super Mario Brothers
6. Final Fantasy
7. Fire ‘N Ice
8. Kid Icarus
9. Dragon Warrior
10. Side Pocket
I didn’t get into the sports games, but I did enjoy watching you guys play RBI baseball! I pretty much sucked at it! Well, I sucked at Super Mario Brothers, too, never won it, but it was fun trying. I didn’t include Zelda II- The Adventures of Link in my top 10 . . . even though I enjoyed playing it for a spell, I thought it lame, compared to the Legend of Zelda, and thus a disappointment in the long run. The best thrill I got out of that game was when you and Ryan opened it up on Christmas Day.