10 NES Games You've Never Heard Of

With 678 licensed games for the NES, and even more unlicensed, you'd figured you can't be that familiar with every game. Here's a look at 10 games that most haven't heard of. Have you heard of any of these NES games?
Buy RIGGS Edition 1up Cards! amzn.to/3x16CUm
Buy me a beer on Patreon / johnblueriggs
Join my LIVE auctions on Whatnot and get $10 for new sign-ups whatnot.com/in...
Book a Cameo www.cameo.com/...
Buy the games I've streamed in my Capcom Creators affiliate store - www.nexus.gg/riggs
Website (linktree): riggdgames.com
Twitch: / johnblueriggs
Twitter: / johnblueriggs
Facebook: / riggstalgic
Instagram: / johnblueriggs
Discord: / discord
MAILING ADDRESS
John Riggs
4010 Summitview Ave
Yakima, WA 98908
Most of my videos are filmed with a Canon M50 - amzn.to/31ko1eH
Buying a Quest 2? Use my referral link so we both get Quest Store credit for games -www.oculus.com...
Supported by VR Covers for all your VR needs vrcover.com/#r...
Assume all links are affiliate links.

[@shawnpaulzuccarellorizzo]

Funny thing is...I've heard of them all and even rented them back in the 80s. Now Princess Tomato...that's a gem.

[@heidibenner1577]

Princess Tomato is an amazing game that no one really talks about. Definitely a hidden gem.

[@timferrari6442]

Nobody talks about Solar Jetman! I loved that game, and my friends that still retro play have never heard of it until I showed them. Great old game. Definitely(to me at least) a hidden jem.

[@johnc.hammersticks]

That game is almost endless and really takes skill. I played it for hours as a kid.

[@SNESdrunk]

Dude, that hat is mint!! Love it. The NES Alfred Chicken looks a lot more fun than the SNES version. Also King's Knight looks friggin awesome

[@themcadamsminute8494]

You and Riggs have the best gaming channel Snes drunk!

[@longshotomega4258]

Whenever I hear "play by any means necessary" I always interpret that as a low-key SNES drunk shout out.

[@snoozy04]

SSSSSSSSSSNES DRUNK!

[@zackschilling4376]

@SNES Drunk - Definitely read the manual or watch a review (ProJared has a great one) of King's Knight cuz there are some very weird mechanics in that game like not all "powerups" help you, some will make your shot less powerful, or slow you down, etc.

[@EddyHamilton123]

I bet the inside of that hat stinks

[@manitobafats]

The Blue Marlin, such a fun game with an amazing sound track

[@Bobbypinker]

So insane that there were 2 Last Crusade games for the same console. There has to be an interesting story behind that flub.

[@LordHuggington]

I loved Mendel Palace growing up and I feel like no one ever talks about that crazy game.

[@heidibenner1577]

Ah yes, Mendel Palace. Not sure if I remember the gameplay off hand. Have to look up this one again, I do remember it being a very cool game. Thanks for reminding me.

[@johnc.hammersticks]

I just came here to say that. The shuffling floor tiles, that was a great game.

[@ARNFjB]

Same guy that created pokemon

[@Argonova]

Tombs and Treasures. I absolutely loved that game. Together with the Mysterious Cities of Gold, it sparked within me a life-long fascination with Mayan culture. The NES truly had something for everyone.

[@marcellachine5718]

Same here, loved tombs and treasure. Love south American history.

[@AllenMartin]

I played this as well... Loved it!

[@golvellius6855]

Yes an awesome game, love it

[@TheMaskedheel]

Yeah my brother loved it. He’s a geologist/ cartographer. He also loved Godzilla, robots, d&d, and Iron Maiden. Go figure.....

[@marcellachine5718]

@@TheMaskedheel yep, robots, (and Transformers) d&d, magic the gathering, and a hobbyist geologist. Maps are cool.tooo. also love metal detecting. And ya, iron maiden is the best.

[@005ruffy]

I had Ultimate Air Combat on my nes, loved that game. The fact it changed to an Isometric view was a great change to the gameplay once you shot all the fighters down in the cockpit view.

[@nicholasm.9274]

I thought it was weird that Riggs didn't talk about that, it's the more innovative part of the game.

[@buckv9494]

Omg the game in the thumb nail , I been trying to remember it's name since I was a kid. I loved that game but 30 years dims the memories , you sir are a legend

[@beebopcola]

Ultimate Air Combat! Almost never hear this one talked about, well done! If you get past the dog fighting you progress to the mission objective part of the stage which switches to an overhead view and your plane controls completely different. Not bad per se, just takes a second to get the hang of it. Beat all four missions and you get some sweet upgrades to all three of your planes. Then the difficulty ramps up with four new missions. Learned about this from a friend who let me borrow it in the 90s. Good times! Thanks Riggs!

[@jonboftwt]

One obscure game that comes to mind. Gun-Nac, created by Compile, released by Nexoft. People must know it exists, because it is an expensive collectable. But yet, so few talk about it. Highly recommended to those who loved the vertical scroller stages of The Guardian Legend.

[@Alucard24601]

Robin Hood Prince of Thieves on the Nes is a great game. Its hard and a bit clunky, but still a fun action rpg style game. It feels almost like an Nes version of Skyrim in a way where you have to go out and do quests

[@alexattewell8607]

Ultimate Air Combat was one of my favourite games as a kid. I like the way it changes into an isometric top down shooter on the second half of the level (you need to show that). As a child I was amazed! It was like a two in one game.

[@EddyHamilton123]

He only plays the games for a few minutes, he almost always misses to point out when a game has multiple play styles, he has no time to properly play games because he's too busy traveling to dork conventions and shoving anything edible down his throat with his ebegged patreon money

[@JustMe99999]

@@EddyHamilton123 Yikes! Show us where the bad man touched you!

[@LVPB]

​@@EddyHamilton123 Danm...who pissed in you're Cheerios

[@TheMaskedheel]

My brother was a nerd for Tombs and Treasure. I remember it being featured in Nintendo Power.

[@DiRF]

Definitely heard of Nintendo World Cup, because I had it as part of a double-game cartridge with Super Spike V-Ball.

[@andylfu]

Elevator Action! This game was always interesting to me as a kid. Can’t remember why. I might need to pop that game in some time soon!

[@GeovaneSanciniSR]

You should play the sequel, Elevator Action Returns, it's on Saturn and Arcade (and probably in some Taito collection)

[@TheMaskedheel]

This is one of those games fun to go back and play as an adult. My Brookshire's Brothers grocery store in Texas had this and Ghost N Goblins for a couple of years.

[@cratedivizion]

Image fight is a cool lesser mentioned title. Mendel Palace is another. The Lone Ranger is a total gem as well

[@christopherrobinmarriott7218]

Rescue was always one of my favorites. The 3 levels with differing play styles (sniper, stealth, 1st person siege) was revolutionary… for me at least. It was so unique

[@punkydudester3]

Tombs and treasures was the game we discovered when we were very new into the NES. And I'm not sure how we came across it but it became a family favorite between my brothers and I. It's very mysterious and cryptic, There are puzzles Is galore to solve. I would love to see a modern day remake or sequel.

[@kyleellingsworth6496]

Loved this game, but the ending.... The idea of what happens creeps me out.

[@roberthunter479]

They did remake it, for the Saturn.

[@rod980]

I think 'Arkista's Ring' is another NES game no one speaks of. And it's really neat.

[@VRLunatic]

I wish that someone would release the rom for the NES port of Leisure Suit Larry. Seems extremely hard to get the physical (or even digital) version.

[@spineknife2386]

I loved tombs and treasures. I was lucky enough to rent it randomly as a kid. I was so mad when I got trapped in the room you can't exit if you do it wrong lol

[@kylekostamo1880]

ninja crusaders is still one of my top 5 nes games. played it so much growing up in the 90s. highly underrated and not spoken of enough. most of my gamer friends have never played it, some have heard of it. it kinda reminds me of a ninja version of contra in a sense. awesome game!

[@chrisbonde7488]

I LOVED "King's Knight", whenever I reminisce about it nobody remembers it! Awesome to see it on this video.

[@Jarod_Schultz]

Nintendo World Cup is a fun game. I never thought I would be interested in soccer games, but when I tried it, I was laughing when I found out you can sweep the other characters, and they just lay there on the field. Normally retro gamers don't care about sports games, but I recently have been playing some, and I found some fun games. Looney Toons B-ball and Nolan Ryans baseball are fun on SNES.

[@seamushadron]

World Cup was sold in Italy in cartridges with also Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt together, don't know about US or Japan... Puzznic i think is a masterpiece of puzzle games, there was a version on C64 and i guess surely Amiga

[@Hollywood1651]

Mississippi Satsujin Jiken (Murder on the Mississippi), a Famicom game but there's English translations and it's on some of the older PCs. It's a murder mystery, P.I., adventure game. You walk all over a ship questioning suspects to find the killer. I hadn't seen anything like that on consoles for a long time, now it's common.

[@exodous02]

The Last Crusade game looks like it was ported from a computer, like one of the ones from the UK.

[@sergeleon1163]

In Europe Nintendo World Cup was very common, while soccer or football as we call it is the biggest sport over here. Played it tons on the GameBoy back in the day.

[@kajukenpo7]

The box art for King's Knight is pretty epic!

[@heckensteiner4713]

King's Knight looks incredible. Never heard of it. Thanks!

[@tonymarascio8911]

I really enjoyed a game named “Solstice” on the NES when I was a kid It’s an Isometric action adventure game with puzzles.

[@heidibenner1577]

Solstice is so awesome. But very difficult for sure. If I remember correctly, there was a sequel for the SNES. Called Equinox.

[@RussMan276]

The only one of these games that I've heard of is World Cup, but haven't played any of them. looks like a few gems. The flying game reminds me a bit of the Captain Skyhawk combat levels. Skyhawk I feel is an underrated game that I played a ton of as a kid. Great video John!

[@spockhozzer7207]

Dr. Chaos. Once you learn how the first person Goonies-like areas control, it's a fun game

[@syadkir]

I've had Tombs&Treasures since 1990...as good as new yet.

[@Bangcat]

Soccer game was in the Kunio Collection recently. Not sure why they didn't wrap it closer to the very River City Ransom aka Kunio origions that it actually was back in it's age in the west. The game however was included on the same Nintendo Cartridge as a rather keen Volly Ball game.

[@dangerzone24]

World Cup's best/funniest thing was when an injured player just stayed down/died on the field and you didn't notice until you moved back onto that side of the field and he was still down LOL

[@aaron71]

I had totally forgotten about King's Knight till I saw that gameplay footage! Played that so much as a kid. I'm digging that one out!

[@tigmo55]

Dude!! I absolutely loved Thrilla Safari as I rented that one back during the summer of 1992! It's such an underrated game and I love the fact that you mentioned it here!

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I just loved how he would explode into pieces when you failed. That always makes me laugh still to this day.

[@ZBR_ProXP]

One of the best games ever if you stick with it. So smooth.

[@chuckburgundy]

My childhood friend and I used to play Ninja Crusaders a lot when we were kids. The dragon was the best!

[@SeeTheWorldAsIDo78]

I don't know why I'm just now catching this video but I'm super glad that I did. One of the games that you covered (King's Knight) was a game that my parents bought for me and my brother. I had actually forgot the name of it until I saw the gameplay and the name and let me tell you that the nostalgia came over me like a tsunami wave!!

[@adultmoshifan87]

Alfred Chicken was also released for the SNES! Quite a few early 90s games were released for the NES and SNES, including Mario is Missing and Krusty’s Fun House! Robocop vs. The Terminator, while it did get an SNES release, was due an NES release too but that was cancelled! Alfred Chicken and Puzznic were later remade for the PlayStation, and the Lynx version of Jimmy Connor’s Tennis is now available for the Evercade as part of one of the Lynx Collections!

[@scottg7660]

You’re on a content roll; keep it coming big dawg.

[@mvgsports]

Jimmy Connors Tennis is awesome...I only discovered it like 10 years ago, but it's great, you nailed it. More great content, Big Riggs...great job!

[@reyvgm]

Zombie Nation. One of the weirdest NES games ever made.

[@heidibenner1577]

And super super fun too.

[@Glaugan]

King's Knight was featured in James and Mike's Mondays

[@SmokeBreakWithHuck]

I recently found an old notebook page in my storage with a couple passwords and clues I wrote down when I played Tombs and Treasures back in the day! Now to find another copy...

[@LifeWithMatthew]

I love World Cup! I especially liked the super kicks you do if a teammate passed the ball to you and you kicked it while it was still in the air. The kick made it almost impossible for the goalie to block it.

[@bernietoth]

It was one of my FAVORITE games to play!

[@broncosbreaks]

Yes! I just could never beat the hardest levels. They got ridiculously hard, but the music still resonates within me today!

[@garyw595]

Best NES soccer game for sure. I remember saving up and buying it one summer at a huge flea market in the south. Wow, played it forever! Super kicks were the best.

[@joshwinter693]

Great video! When I saw the title I thought I wasn't going to learn anything because I thought I knew the NES so well. It turns out 8 of 10 I had no clue. Would love to see another one like this - maybe for another system?

[@odnetnin4720]

World Cup was the best. Bicycle kick and knocking out plays for the rest of the game was awesome. I bought it for switch in the combo release. Well worth the price of admission.

[@TimBitten]

Archon: The Light and the Dark (which is ONLY fun vs a human player 2), Conquest of the Crystal Palace, Magic of Scheherazade, Abadox, The Battle of Olympus, The Blue Marlin, Code Name: Viper, Faxanadu, Flying Warriors, Frankenstein: The Monster Returns, Isolated Warrior, Ghost Lion, Mechanized Attack, Mendel Palace, Mystery Quest, RoadBlasters, Robowarrior, Seicross, Silkworm, Solomon’s Key, Sword Master, Target: Renegade, To the Earth, Trojan, Wrath of the Black Manta, and Zombie Nation are my picks for least-known.

[@techmaester]

I had King’s Knight long time ago, found it hilarious when you died not figuring out how to pass that barrier in the final dungeon: “All of you are dead!”

[@Naedlus]

Ah, T&C Surf Designs... makes me think of that odd 90's Hanna Barbara cartoon where Magilla Gorilla showed up as "Magilla Ice"

[@peteyquills]

Thrillas Surfari was one of my favorites in my collection as a kid!

[@TheMaskedheel]

No one talks about Shingen The Ruler. When the new generation discovers it they just whine about the interface and don’t take time to rule the kingdom. It’s turn based military combat like Advanced wars. I could never manage to rule more than 3 countries. Loved it....was my Jr year in high school vice.

[@johnhoggurt203]

Tomb and treasure was so freaky as a kid to me but I never seen it heard of it again after the one time I tried it. Nice to know it wasn't a dream.

[@IdentityCrisis1581]

The legend of ghost lion.(white lion in japan) Interesting rpg. Never finished it but it has a neat battle concept where you summon the ghosts of dead worriors to do different things in battle. Plus the usa cover art. That girl cant look any more 80s than that.

[@Bryan-lu4du]

Silkworm is another great not many have heard of

[@vinycr4400]

8 Eyes, The Mafat Conspiracy and Kickle Cubicle ( bought following your suggestion)

[@papa_sloth_gaming547]

I didn't know about Tomb and Treasures. Also you're bang on with Indy originally being a Gameboy title.

[@RickyRicardo135]

Kabuki Quantum Fighter. Never heard of it but quite surprised it has Ninja Gaiden style gameplay with a strange story. Kind of a hidden gem.

[@Glaugan]

Kid Klown was featured in the Spawn AVGN episode

[@themrnails]

i'm always up for a "Games You've Never Heard Of" video. I was surprised to find I didn't have King's Knight. Thanks for the hidden "gems"!

[@the_hiroman]

Alfred Chicken was advertised as hell back in the days. Seen the ad in almost all mags.

[@RichRetr0]

I can't believe I forgot about Kings Knight, I used to play that game a lot!

[@JamesLewis2]

I had heard of the soccer game, Puzznic, Kid Klown, and Alfred Chicken (this last one I even read about in gaming magazines at the time).

[@its-the-FNG]

Dude! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been trying to remember the name of Ninja Crusaders. I played this game at a friends house as a kid and loved it. You have solved a great mystery for me

[@harrysweep5846]

I vaguely remember borrowing Tombs & Treasure in 2nd grade from a friend, bringing it home and just being so frustrated with it. As an adult I can finally appreciate it! Pretty obscure title tho

[@bevorules77]

Guess I'm not the only one who thinks a pickleball game on a classic system would be cool! Watching players in an intense game near the kitchen lines reminds me of Pong in real life!

[@cMa7os]

Indiana Jones kind of looks like a Spectrum game to me...

[@andyfritter]

I've never seen "TROG!" mentioned, I know it's a port of an arcade game but I never hear anyone talk about the arcade version either! I love the cover art for it on NES

[@odnetnin4720]

Had not heard of any of them until World Cup. That game is great.

[@rsoffiatto]

I have a Videomation cart since 1994. I also remember a cousin renting Super Cars back then and hating it...

[@notmynameX]

man that Nintendo Worldcup game i've been searching for for 25+ years. I used to play that at my neighbours house before school around 95

[@djmiggy1778]

Clash At Demonhead! Always a favorite of mine!

[@TwistedIdentity]

Wow Ultimate Air Combat looks great for a NES game. I'm going to check it out.

[@aaroncaldwell8035]

Plot twist: All the puns were intended.

[@kenwheeler3637]

Alfred Chicken is awesome. Also on GB, GBC, SNES, PS1 and Amiga.

[@zombieboyfiend]

King's Knight got a "re-release" as a mobile game a few years back. It had updated graphics but it didn't last long and was shut down.

[@michaelsegal3558]

9:19 that game was in John’s video when he was ranking American Sammy games

[@PhillBowser]

Kings Knight looks like a fun twist on a genre, similar to Pinball Quest

[@Elositofluffy]

Tombs and Treasures I love the the music, sometimes repetitive but good. Nintendo World cup I still have it since I was a kid, I have the one the comes with Super spike V' ball. I love them both. Even memorize all passwords, for the matches.

[@CSLucasEpic]

A rare, basically unknown, NES puzzle game is Flipull. It is simple but very fun to play.

[@CharlieWestGaming]

Your right...I've never heard of these! But now my interest is peaked!

[@matthewstone5310]

I've always liked "Totally Rad." A horror game for the NES nobody talks about is "Werewolf: The Last Warrior." I've never played the "Last Crusade" NES game you showed here. (AVGN reviewed it, too.) I played the other one. Not bad, but very difficult. The "Choose Your Own Path" feature was very interesting. You can actually skip major points from the movie if you want, but you won't get the best ending. Basically, if you watched the Grail Temple scene, with the three trials, you can get through the Grail Temple in the game. True story: I finished this game when I was growing up. But, I got a bad ending where the Grail Knight berated me because I skipped the German castle and didn't save Indy's father! (That castle is a MAZE!!!) LOL

[@heavysystemsinc.]

Werewolf is pretty advanced platformer, but very difficult and the story is lulz. But definitely fun to play. It feels like a modern indie retro game, but instead is a legit retro game.

[@johnnyfatsacks5209]

Not sure of any games for this list... though there's a few I _wish_ I never heard of!

[@shinjiblack9460]

I remember World Cup. I actually had it with the combo pack with Super Spike Volleyball

[@Sarcophagus74]

That Kunio kun soccer looks funj. I worked in a secondhand video game store and I never even heard of it. You get cool points for that one.

[@mtshark7]

Awesome list John! One that no one talks about is Dragon Spirit The New Legend.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

4:21 Unfortunately, ProJared fans have heard of King's Knight. I remember Jared not having a lot of fun while playing it lol. Has anyone else seen ProJared's video of King's Knight?

[@JohnRiggs]

I haven't but I didn't get into KZbin until I started making videos and discovering people who have been around longer after that.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

@@JohnRiggs You should watch it, Riggs. You might disagree with ProJared's views (I'm one of 'em at times) but I like his channel and your channel equally. :)

[@GameHammerCG]

Weirdly enough, that double outline style on Indiana Jones was very common on the ZX Spectrum but that’s not the Spectrum version of the game!

[@TheLastLineLive]

Yeah, I was thinking the look is more reminiscent of a Speccy game.

[@theianmeister]

CRASH AND THE BOYS! Nobody ever talks about this game. I can't tell you how many times I had friends over and played this.

[@JohnRiggs]

Certainly wasn't as popular as Super Dodge Ball or River City Ransom.

[@joshuarobinson1689]

This game was so fun. The swimming and fighting events always stood out to me.

[@kingjaekob]

Rc Pro am II, platoon, rad racer II, ski or die, top gun II,

[@MotherKojiro]

Legacy of the Wizard and Magic of Scheherazade are finally starting to get some attention, so my votes go to Ufouria, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, and the Esper Dream series. If games that never made it to North America don't count, I'd say Wurm and maybe Vice: Project Doom. Castlequest and Mystery Quest don't get a whole lot of coverage, either, and I'd love to see a newer game in the style of the former.

[@BaronLector]

Nintendo World Cup was one of the first ROM updates I did, basing it on the 2014 World Cup.

[@ArlanKels]

Just going to throw it out there, looking for an NES 2D sidescroller/platformer type game where as you play through the game there are also items you have to pick up, like a..magic hat or staff or something, and if you don't collect all of the magic items by the time you beat the game the game sends you right back to the start. Remember a relative playing it, but can't remember the name at all.

[@aewtech]

As a kid someone I knew had world cup soccer and the 4 score, we played 4 player mode to death. Good times.

[@SpeedyDePalma]

Congrats on your win at SummerSlarm.

[@Lost_n_Found_1]

Anticipation! It's a draw and guess game, like Pictionary, but better. It's quite fun for up to 4 friends! Ironically, there is an actual Pictionary game on NES, and it's not very fun at all.

[@ZBR_ProXP]

Stanley, Isolated Warrior, Wrath of the Black Manta, Toobin, Dr Chaos