NES game suggestions

[rock_nog]

This is gonna sound a little odd, but I could use some suggestions for NES games to acquire. I mean, I've got the system and all the games I originally ordered now, which is awesome, but obviously I'd like to expand my collection. However, I'm having to do it kinda slowly, because NES games are more expensive now than they used to be (God I miss the days when you could get NES games for like a buck). So anyway, since I'm having difficulties deciding, I thought I'd just open this up for suggestions, maybe that'll help me narrow my selection or something. Otherwise, obviously, there's tons of games I want but it's hard to try to decide which ones to get first.

For reference, here's my current collection:
Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (should really get a zapper, come to think of it)
Super Mario Bros. 3
Double Dragon II
Marble Madness
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Punch-Out
Oh, and a Game Genie (not technically a game, but thought it'd be fun to fool around with, and I always wanted one as a kid)

So yeah, there are tons of games I'd like to have, but I need guidance to help narrow my choices.

[CJC]

I liked Xenophobe.

[The Satellite]

The Megaman series. Little Nemo: The Dream Master. And my personal favorite, Contra. All great games and pretty challenging as well.

[bigjoe]

Little Nemo: The Dream Master.

That game is pretty amazing. I remember playing it in a store on an NES that had some kind of countdown timer on it with a bunch of games. I had to have it.

As for my suggestions:
Castlevania 3
The Legend of Zelda(no NES collection is complete without it)
Zelda 2
Ninja Gaiden
Life Force

[rock_nog]

Speaking of Legend of Zelda, how the heck is it that after all these years, there are still copies with functioning battery backups? I mean, I don't have a copy now, but before my illness and having to move, I had copies of both Zelda and Zelda II, and the battery-backups for both were working just fine. This was like last year, and I swear I thought the batteries were supposed to die after a few years - the games themselves had to be at least 20 years old, but their batteries were still working. I guess it's possible someone may have replaced the batteries before they came into my possession, but still, I remember that striking me as somewhat odd, because growing up I kept hearing about and reading warnings about how the batteries will eventually crap out and then you won't be able to save your games. *shrug*

[erm2003]

My old LoZ games have working battery backups too... as far as I know. Last I checked was probably a few years ago now but they were still working.

Note on the zapper. What kind of TV did you hook this up to? If it's an older TV then you are fine, but the zapper won't work on newer tvs because of the difference in the display.

As for games, the recommendations already mentioned are great. I also enjoyed Castlevania 2 though I know die hard fans don't enjoy that entry into the original series as much as I do. But I also agree with trying to find games from the Mega Man series or even the other TMNT games. 2 and 3 were more modeled after the arcade type games and they were both well done.

[rock_nog]

I have a plasma TV, so I know the zapper won't work with it, but there is an older CRT in the house if I ever wanted to play Duck Hunt. Ugh.. Castlevania 2... I don't know... I WANT to like it. I desperately want to like it. It has so many unique concepts and whatnot, but I just can't get into it. And yeah, I definitely need to get TMNT 2, but I never really liked TMNT 3 - I don't know why. Maybe it's because they nerfed the special attack, maybe it's because I didn't grow up with it, I dunno. Definitely also need to get my Mega Mans on. Oh shoot, I needa get Duck Tales, too, speaking of Capcom. One of the best damn licensed games of all time.

[Brasel]

My suggestions:

Crystalis - This is an action adventure RPG. It's really really good. It uses a top down view, and just feels like a more mature Legend of Zelda. I HIGHLY recommend it if you've never played it.

The Castlevania games are all great additions.

The Guardian Legend is a shmup mashed together with an action RPG. It's pretty bizzarre. It's pretty tough too, but it's worth playing.

Journey to Silius is a platform shooter kind of like Mega Man. It was originally going to be the NES Terminator game before they lost the rights to it. It's really good so far, and pretty tough, but worth playing.

Legendary Wings is a vertical shooter that I've played since I was a kid. Its not overly punishing, and it's got some great graphics and music for the time.

Willow is loosely based of the Ron Howard/George Lucas movie. It's another top down action RPG that plays a lot like Zelda. It's more linear, but it's still pretty fun.

Faxanadu is looking pretty good, actually. I had never heard of it until I started collecting about a year ago. It's a side scrolling adventure RPG much like Zelda II, but it's a bit more elaborate. It works on a password system, so you don't have to worry about the battery, but the passwords are a pain to write down.

Duck Tales and Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers are both good Disney platformers. I still don't have Duck Tales, but I plan to get it eventually. They aren't really hard games, but they're worth playing.

[Aliem]

The first four Dragon Quest games are pretty solid JRPGs. The first Final Fantasy is decent.
Star Tropics and its sequel are both outstanding.
Kirby's Adventure is one of my personal favorite NES titles :p
Tiny Toon Adventures is a fantastic title as well.

[mrz84]

Solar Jetman, Xenophobe, Kid Icarus, Super Dodge Ball, Little Nemo, Snake Rattle N' Roll , Super C, Batman, Gargoyle's Quest 2, River City Ransom, Blaster Master, Metroid, Bionic Commando. I've played these games several times, both on the NES and via roms, and they are (for the most part) fun games to play. I tried to list games that weren't mentioned yet/obvious choices.

[Dechipher]

Ah you guys make me miss my NES (it's in Florida while I am in OKC, heading back after this week.)

[Chris Miller]

Castlevania 1 & 3
A few good ones:
Life Force
TMNT 2
Xexyz
Yoshi's Cookie
Ninja Gaiden trilogy

[King Aquamentus]

common games you should check out

Gradius
Megaman 2 3 and 6
Batman (oh yes)
Bionic Commando
The Goonies II
Rad Racer
Metroid (the rerelease is probably more common than the original; look for a yellow label with dark blue text.)
Clash at Demonhead
TMNT 2: The Arcade Game
TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project

uncommon games you should be aware of

Contra
Bubble Bobble
Megaman 4 and 5
Dragon Spirit: the new legend
Maniac Mansion
Faxanadu
The Guardian Legend
S.C.A.T/Action in New York (I have no idea which is the North American name)
Power Blade
Shatter Hand
Kickmaster
Metal Storm
CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE
Batman: Return of the Joker
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior II and III

Games you should avoid

Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates (especially on a 3rd party NES.)
The Adventures of Bayou Billy (Konami title, but offset by deliberate difficulty. They can't all be good, Konami)
Ghostbusters (Ghostbusters II is... alright. don't get the first one though.)
Metal Gear. Kojima had little to do with the NES adaptation and generally does not acknowledge it. Like Bayou Billy there are parts that just completely stack against you.
Ikari Warriors II. 1 is alright... 3 is awesome if you can find it.
Sadly far more than this

[Matteo]

Tecmo Super Bowl.
best football game ever made

[Tim]

I'm glad someone else likes Chip N' Dale... I've been known to fly through that game in about 15~20 minutes.

[rock_nog]

Chip N' Dale's pretty good... not my favorite game ever, but it's pretty fun. I have to confess, though, I actually like the original Ghostbusters game. Not so much Ghostbusters 2, though I wouldn't pass it up... As bad as those games are, they're too much a part of my childhood.

[King Aquamentus]

I couldn't understand all the hype around that game. I mean it isn't a bad game at all, quite excellent, but it isn't like ERMAGHERD CHIPANDDALE RESCHUE RANGHERSSHH!!! or anything.

I also picked up Strider several months back. While I can understand some of the cool factor behind it (your base is an orbiting space station SHAPED LIKE A DRAGON), the game itself has really wonky jump physics and many of the graphics seem kinda flat. It's almost like a Sci-fi version of Bionic Commando.

[MasterSwordUltima]

I second Star Tropics and it's sequel. For some reason I have three copies of the original, so if you want I'll totally sell you one for peanuts (or perhaps trade NES carts).

Dragon Warrior series is splendid. Final Fantasy (1) is also great.

If you ever find yourself getting into reproduction carts (which is turning out to be a really cool niche market) - I suggest a copy of Radia Senki (The Chronicles of Radia War), it's an amazing little action RPG that was never officially translated into english (hence the need for a repro cart).

Oh gosh, how could I forget one of my favorites; Adventure Island II. Shit is so cash with the dinosaurs, and the music.

[King Aquamentus]

Oh gosh, how could I forget one of my favorites; Adventure Island II. Shit is so cash with the dinosaurs, and the music.

I thought about including that one, but then I thought about Super Adventure Island II... Yeah the dinosaurs are cool till you get them wet.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/256/0/e/adventure_island_ii_by_rustedsoda-d6m783i.jpg

[SUCCESSOR]

Anyone say RC Pro Am? I spent many hours of enjoyment on that game when I was a young'n. I don't know how it's held up as i haven't played it since but I still have fond fond memories.

[Brasel]

I didn't mention the Adventures of Lolo series. There are three of them on the NES. The first one is easier to find and not too expensive, but I think the last two are a bit pricey. The first one is fairly short, but it's a fun playthrough. I recommend it if you can find it for a reasonable price. I haven't played the other two in years, so I really can't say whether or not they're worth playing.

[mrz84]

I played RC Pro Am so much as a kid...I can't believe I forgot to mention that one. I never made it too far into it, but it was still fun.

[mitsymckenzie777]

A lot of these are awesome choices. Has anyone mentioned Arkista's Ring it's fun and challenging.

[erm2003]

Another racing game that just popped into my head the other day... Super Off Road. My friends and I used to play it all the time because we could do 4-player, one of the few amazing 4-player games for that system.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEg-xMxCXk

[rock_nog]

Never played Super Off Road 4-player, but my friend and I used to have a blast with that game. Now though, I dunno, there's just something about it I find infuriating. Between the kinda weird steering controls (that actually make sense, it just takes some getting used to) and always losing track of which truck is mine, any time I play that game anymore, I just end up wanting to hurl the controller.

[erm2003]

Never played Super Off Road 4-player, but my friend and I used to have a blast with that game. Now though, I dunno, there's just something about it I find infuriating. Between the kinda weird steering controls (that actually make sense, it just takes some getting used to) and always losing track of which truck is mine, any time I play that game anymore, I just end up wanting to hurl the controller.

It was a challenging game, I will give you that. There were just some races that you were going to lose unless you maxed everything out and had a chance to stock up on nitro. I also remember that for some reason the grey car would be green when it was a human player...