# How many NES games do you remember? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501 "2007-05-25T16:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/1 "2007-05-25T16:56:59Z")
This is a thread I had been meaning to post a while back, and I was reminded of it while looking at **fusoya** ’s [NES-a-day thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422228). There were approximately 750 games released for the NES in the US, and I’m not sure how many are still memorable. Shall we try to build a list? I’m holding off on contributing for right now because I’ve been thinking about this lately and probably remember more now than I would otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Gundam\_Cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@Gundam\_Cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundam_Cricket)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/2 "2007-05-25T17:09:26Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] This is a thread I had been meaning to post a while back, and I was reminded of it while looking at **fusoya** ’s [NES-a-day thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422228). There were approximately 750 games released for the NES in the US, and I’m not sure how many are still memorable. Shall we try to build a list? I’m holding off on contributing for right now because I’ve been thinking about this lately and probably remember more now than I would otherwise. [/QUOTE] Heh, I actually went through every single game released in the US a month or two ago; an artist-buddy of mine was trying to decide which NES game he wanted to draw up some art for so we went through the list together. I’ll throw down a few off the top of my head that I was a big fan of, instead of naming off all the ones I can remember: (links are to art my friend has done for that game) Bubble Bobble Wrecking Crew Joust [River City Ransom](http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/39039832/) Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!! Dragon Spirit Final Fantasy (of course) T&C Surf Design’s[T&C Surf Design’s Wood, Water, & Rage](http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/48597659/) StarTropics and quite possibly my two all-time favorites: Tecmo Super Bowl Baseball Stars 2 ---
**Author:** ![recessiveMeme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@recessiveMeme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recessiveMeme)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/3 "2007-05-25T17:31:43Z")
The games I had, from memory:[ul] [li]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I & II[/li][li]Castlevanias I, II (“Simon’s Quest”), & III (“Forgettable subscript”)[/li][li]Megamans I, II & III[/li][li]Contra[/li][li]Kid Icarus[/li][li]Metal Storm[/li][li]Karnov[/li][li]Bayou Billy[/li][li]Rygar[/li][li]Kabuki Quantum Fighter (I only remember this one because the other thread reminded me)[/li][li]Super Mario Brothers I, II, & III[/li][li]Bionic Commando[/li][li]Legend of Kage[/li][li]Punch-Out[/li][li]Bad Dudes[/li][li]Doubles Dragon I, II, & III[/li][li]Ice Hockey[/li][li]Tennis[/li][li]Stryder (Strider?)[/li][li]Zeldas I & II[/li][li]Ninjas Gaiden I, II, & III[/li][li]Dragons Warrior I, II, & III (there’s a lot of “I, II, & III” on this list, huh?)[/li][li]Batman[/li][li]The Goonies[/li][li]Excite Bike[/li][li]Rad Racer[/li][li]Faxanadu[/li][li]Metroid[/li][li]Tetris[/li][li]Gradius[/ul][/li] …and they say I wasted my youth. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/4 "2007-05-26T11:28:46Z")
Oh, yeah, StarTropics was a good one. We rented it, though, and some jerk had removed the special paperwork you had to put in hot water (or something like that) to find the frequency to set the radio to, so we were unable to complete it until we bought our own copy of the game. Grr… The game I found most memorable was an obscure little game called Athena, where you played a chick (presumably Athena) wandering through sidescrolling levels and battling various bad guys with various weapons and helmets and crap. It had a bunch of stuff like wings hidden in obscure maze-like locations… Anyway. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/5 "2007-05-26T14:30:48Z")
[QUOTE=recessiveMeme] [li]Castlevanias I, II (“Simon’s Quest”), & III (“Forgettable subscript”)[/li][/QUOTE] Dracula’s Curse. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/6 "2007-05-26T15:35:49Z")
So, so many. I still have my original carts, and I’ve recently bought a bunch of old favorites off of Ebay. I was never one of those kids that actually owned a lot of games - I still think they’re expensive now at $50 each, so I can’t even imagine what that was like for my parents in pre-inflation 1988 - so I got maybe one game a year or so. But between renting games and trading with friends and so on, I played hundreds. Favorites: Baseball Stars - the best baseball game on the NES. Basically a baseball RPG. Maniac Mansion - I just played through this again last year, and it holds up 100%. Hilarious, wonderful, weird, engrossing game. It makes me sad that this whole genre of games has all-but vanished from the modern scene. Faxanadu - A really underrated side-scrolling RPG based on quasi-norse mythology. Dragon Warrior III and IV - the best RPG’s that the NES ever saw. They came out SO late over here (around '92) that they never made a big splash, but they were absolutely killer. I re-played them last year, and MAN, are they hard. Star Tropics - already mentioned. Great action-RPG game with a totally weird story and unique tropical setting. Crystalis - probably the best action/adventure/RPG game for the system. Like Zelda on acid and steroids at the same time. Compelling game-play, great story, huge world. Really legendary game. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/7 "2007-05-26T17:52:30Z")
My brother and I had a NES and a SNES, and I sold the systems and all our games on eBay last year. We made a tidy profit, too, but I feel like we might have gotten even more a few years ago. This is what we had: NES with Zapper gun and NES Advantage joystick Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt Super Mario Bros. 2 Super Mario Bros. 3 Legend of Zelda Zelda II: The Adventures of Link Metroid Dragon Warrior Dragon Warrior II Dragon Warrior III Dragon Warrior IV Final Fantasy Ultima: Exodus Ultima: Quest of the Avatar Tetris (the Nintendo version, not the superior, unlicensed Tengen version) Bubble Bobble Contra Karnov Wizards and Warriors Pac-Man (the unlicensed Tengen version) Double Dragon Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse Deja Vu Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out Operation Wolf Jeopardy Metal Storm Kabuki Quantum Fighter World Class Track Meet (with the Power Pad) Some of my favorite games that we didn’t have: Bionic Commando Strider Mega Man 2 (I played all six NES Mega Man games, but most were too hard to be much fun.) Ninja Gaiden Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins River City Ransom (“Barf!”) Galaga And a few of the worst games ever: Superman (made by a company called Kemco-Seika; absolutely horrible!) Burgertime (never understood why it was supposed to be fun.) Captain Comic (made by a Christian-themed company called Color Dreams; this 2-D platformer was pretty pointless.) ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/8 "2007-05-26T17:56:15Z")
Most of the ones I can remember offhand have already been mentioned. I do have one more to contribute, though: The Magic of Scheherazade I don’t know how popular this game was, but I found it to be really enjoyable. LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/9 "2007-05-26T18:04:05Z")
Loved the Dragon Warrior games. Also the first Final Fantasy. What I can remember, not already mentioned: Klax (IT IS THE NINETIES AND THERE IS TIME FOR KLAX) Little League Baseball (a mediocre baseball game my brother had) Back to the Future (nigh on impossible) Back to the Future II and III (one game, two movies) Track and Field (Power Pad!) Ironsword Wizards and Warriors (these two were in the same world) Q-bert Dr. Mario Jaws The NES was what my life was all about for…let’s see…three years? I spent so much time playing those games… ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/10 "2007-05-26T18:18:41Z")
Was Strider the one where you had the deadly yo-yo? Whatever that game was, it rocked my world. Also, Blaster Master deserves a place of honor on any such list. I still every few years have a dream based on Blaster Master. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/11 "2007-05-26T18:27:40Z")
Lode Runner Super Pitfall What was the game with black funny shaped cartridge, it was a racing game like Pole Position. Ooo, and what was the game in the movie when they showed the Power Glove for the first time, and what was the movie for that matter? ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/12 "2007-05-26T18:31:12Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] Was Strider the one where you had the deadly yo-yo? Whatever that game was, it rocked my world. [/quote] No, you’re thinking of _Rygar_. Strider was the one where it looked like you were attacking with some sort of arc. 🙂 > [@Joey P](#): > > Ooo, and what was the game in the movie when they showed the Power Glove for the first time, and what was the movie for that matter? [The Wizard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/). I envied that kid. LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/13 "2007-05-26T20:47:08Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Ooo, and what was the game in the movie when they showed the Power Glove for the first time, and what was the movie for that matter? [/QUOTE] “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad,” famously uttered _The Wizard_’s Lucas. The game he played was _Rad Racer._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/14 "2007-05-26T21:44:05Z")
I could sit here all day and name off NES titles, but a few that have been missed: Super C (sequel to Contra) Lifeforce (sequel to Gradius) Shadowgate (the game the engine for Deja Vu came from) Double Dragon 2 and 3 Mega Man 4, 5, and 6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 Gauntlet 1 and 2 Afterburner Alien Syndrome Rolling Thunder Shinobi Vindicaters And how about some release titles? Gyromite and Stack-Up (the two games that use R.O.B.) Balloon Fight Kung Fu Hogan’s Ally Ice Climber And the creatively named Baseball, Golf, and Pinball. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/15 "2007-05-26T22:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad,” famously uttered _The Wizard_’s Lucas. The game he played was _Rad Racer._ [/QUOTE] The girl in that movie was Jenny Lewis, who grew up to become the gorgeous redheaded singer of indie rock band Rilo Kiley, as well as embarking on her own alt-country solo career. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/16 "2007-05-26T22:45:38Z")
I can remember all the games I had like it was yesterday. My NES was given to me by my uncle, who was 12 when I was 7. It came with the following games: Bionic Commando (Frustrating side scroller where you have to use your extendable bionic arm to jump from platform to platform. I don’t think ever I got past the first level.) Rush’N’Attack (a side-scrolling game where you played a commando who parachuted into a Russian base armed only with a knife, and who died if he walked into an enemy. I’m convinced to this day that the music in the second level was directly plagiarized from part of the guitar solo on Steely Dan’s _Reelin’ In The Years._) Super Mario Bros. (Duck Hunt not included.) R.B.I. Baseball (I don’t think I played this game even one time, but it had a really cool black cartridge.) Jaws (Had awesome intro music and great gameplay. Only loosely based on the film, you played as a scuba diver who had to shoot undersea creatures with a harpoon gun. Every few levels, you got to play a bonus round where you could massacre hordes of sea anemones.) Later, my dad took me to ToysR’Us and bought me Super Mario Bros. 3, which I thought was the most badass game of all time. Shortly thereafter, though, my parents decided that I spent too much time playing the NES, and prohibited me from playing it. By the time they rescinded this policy, I had long since lost interest in NES after playing my friends’ Super NES. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/17 "2007-05-27T00:14:00Z")
Nobunaga’s Ambition 1 and 2 Ghengis Khan Shingen the Ruler Romance of the Three Kingdoms 1 and 2 Snake, Rattle, and Roll Cobra Triangle Dig Dug Karate Champ Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Pool of Radiance (possibly the best role playing game ever) Excitebike Paperboy Goonies 1 and 2 Willow Batman 1 and 2 Darkwing Duck ShatterFist I’ll stop now. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/18 "2007-05-27T01:00:11Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I can remember all the games I had like it was yesterday. My NES was given to me by my uncle, who was 12 when I was 7. It came with the following games: Bionic Commando (Frustrating side scroller where you have to use your extendable bionic arm to jump from platform to platform. I don’t think ever I got past the first level.) [/QUOTE] I hated Bionic Commando when I rented it as a kid. Couldn’t get very far at all due to the odd arm-swinging instead of typical NES-game jumping. But I revisited it a couple years ago on an emulator and completely fell in love with the game. It’s ridiculously fun once you get used to the controls – easily one of the great NES platformers of all time, with a unique gimmick. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/19 "2007-05-27T02:53:48Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] The girl in that movie was Jenny Lewis, who grew up to become the gorgeous redheaded singer of indie rock band Rilo Kiley, as well as embarking on her own alt-country solo career. [/QUOTE] As long as we’re talking about people who got a start in films, one of Lucas’s friends (I don’t know which one) was played by Tobey Maguire, who later grew up to be…Tobey Maguire. Or Spider-Man. Either one’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501/20 "2007-05-27T04:27:40Z")
[QUOTE=LilShieste] No, you’re thinking of _Rygar_. [The Wizard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/). I envied that kid. LilShieste [/QUOTE] That would explain why everythime I try to remember the movie, Pinball Wizard comes to mind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-nes-games-do-you-remember/405501.md?page=2)