20 NES Games Nobody Talks About - Nintendo Hidden Gems

[@NickRyderSGC]

Faxanadu was one of my favorite NES games (next to Super Mario 3) - when I played it I usually listened to my cassette walkman with the Ghostbusters 2 soundtrack - for some reason I thought it improved my game play and it set a different mood for the game. But I LOVE Faxanadu - I thought I lost my childhood copy so I found another - then I found it so I have two copies

[@r.l.royalljr.3905]

One of my friends in high school volunteered to help out at a retirement apartment complex in town. He had about 5 or 6 people he'd help clean up or just talk and visit but one old lady in particular had an NES with Faxanadu for when her grandson visited. He never visited though. So my friend would go over to visit the old lady twice a week and spend an hour talking with her and playing Faxanadu and I'd join him sometimes if it wasn't a day I worked after school. Sadly she passed away after we had left town for college. God rest you Nora, you were a grand dame.

[@tornadoalleystudios2283]

Haha I just mentioned the same thing. Faxanadu is the most under rated Nintendo game. I loved that game.

[@iiCkabodcrane]

I like the Bobby brown one better than the run dmc.

[@InJeffable]

Faxanadu is definitely in my top 5 NES games. I have some fond memories of that one. I didn't like Zelda II, but I guess there was something Faxanadu did right that Zelda II got wrong. It was such an interesting and complex (for the time) game, and I really liked the grittiness and detail of the graphics.

[@andymiddleton5677]

Mine as well. I still play it to this day! Very underated game

[@dartfrogger]

those Willow graphics are incredible!!! I can't believe I missed that one... and Faxanadu!! That game was incredible.... it has aged like a fine wine

[@JohnRiggs]

This is Part 1 for NES - if you have suggestions of games I've missed, let me know! Maybe they'll make it to the next video.

[@corrosyon]

Little Nemo: The Dream Master.

[@ostiariusalpha]

Super Spy Hunter, P.O.W.: Prisoner of War, Demon Sword, and Silkworm are all excellent games, but no one ever talks about them even on obscure hidden gem reviews.

[@GAMEPRODELTA]

New Ghostbusters 2.

[@GamesfromtheGrave]

Zen Intergalactic Ninja, Vice Project Doom

[@ChrisLeeW00]

I had an NES game called Orb 3d, and I've literally never heard anyone mention it before.

[@fatbrad412]

Kickle Cubicle has been one of my favorite NES games since I was a child. Such a classic that is rarely discussed

[@pappagetti]

The NES was special. It's not just nostalgia. My son picked it right up as if it was 1985.

[@boodro2122]

That's cool.

[@Mongo-pw9vh]

My son has been stuck on level 6 Ninja Gaiden for 3 days. He won't turn the NES off cause he doesn't want to start over. Lol. Brings back some memories.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

The NES's limitations forced developers to be creative in ways that you rarely see today when everyone tries to wow us with graphics, Hollywood caliber stories and the size of the game world.

[@AverageJoeDividends]

@@Mongo-pw9vh you need to get a NES or SNES classic so you can load games onto it and have save states. You could save at level 6 and start from there at any time.

[@abow6138]

@@AverageJoeDividends or a softmoded wii

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

Man Jackal is one of my groups all time favorites. We spent an entire year in college coming home after class and we'd play a couple rounds trying to beat the game and then eventually trying to do it faster and better. An absolute gem of a game.

[@thelegendkillersshittyduff1335]

Dude you was in college and you played games i mean a tad bit is ok but hello your in college you should have been getting with woman

[@jared1932]

@@thelegendkillersshittyduff1335 LOL why not do both

[@PinkyJujubean]

I had a bf in high school and my parents were away and he came over. I think we were expecting to spend the time making out or whatever. But somehow we ended up playing Jackal for like 3 hours

[@Joeljr110]

@@PinkyJujubean something tells me his hotdog didn't match some footlong expectations 🤣

[@PinkyJujubean]

@@Joeljr110 It was 10 inches. Sorry not sorry but it's footlong only

[@sethsassy]

Yes! Finally some love for 8 Eyes. I remember being like 8 years old going to "Electronics Boutique" (before they were EB even) with my uncle and buying that game. We went straight home to play I was the Eagle and it was awesome.

[@Dave-rf1zj]

That game looks sweet. When i discovered Holy Diver for Famicom, I thought that was an awesome second coming of Castlevania. Now i have to find 8 Eyes.

[@amishrobots]

Kickle Cubicle is such a great little game. The puzzle solving is fairly simple, but fun. the characters cute as hell, and the SOUND!! The background music is pleasant, calming, serene, and then the in-game noises, well, they match the name in a way that I can't really describe. Like there is a mouth-feel to them, and then the crunchy ASMR type sound when you beat a level is just so satisfying. Seriously, whoever did sound design on this game was an absolute genius!

[@nickmanzo8459]

Yes! Conquest of the Crystal Palace was and still is amazing. The lead programmer and the music director would eventually create the Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle series, and, my personal fave, the Final Fantasy Tactics games.

[@chiperwin1109]

Hey John, let me just start by saying thank you. Thank for the great content.... for the soothing way in which you present everything. I swear I could listen to you all day... it’s so comforting. So much of what you cover takes me back to simpler times. I love it. Please keep up the great videos. We all need it now more than ever. Thank you brother!

[@reagandow850]

Great list John. I’d love to see a part 2!!

[@Metallizombie]

My uncle recently passed away. He introduced me to Jackal. Love that game. The music is phenomenal.

[@Magnus_Ichiro]

This is great! I remember renting these games over and over again at my local grocery store.

[@josephdepaula9879]

Faxanadu was one of my favorite games growing up even though it took me forever to figure out how to use the winged boots

[@tigmo55]

Monster Party and Jackal are amazing! Both are immensely nostalgic and are genuinely great games in every way. Jackal is an underrated two-player game as well. Everyone played Contra but Jackal is equally fun with it comes to two player co-op. And you hit the nail on the head with Monster Party. The myriad of bosses and not having a flipping clue what's next made that game really special. Some of the dialogue is hilarious too (and what other game gives you the chance to fight an onion ring?!) :)

[@EugeneAxe]

Had forgotten all about Wrath of the Black Manta. Yes, similar to Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden. Great game.

[@ebestul84]

The Guardian Legend. Great shooter and good action RPG in one game.

[@LOVEinThisUsername]

That's a great one!

[@Drop_Table_accountsYT]

This one NOBODY talks about and it's such a fantastic game

[@kenterminateddq5311]

THANK YOU, ERIC!!!!! I thought that game was better than Zelda (yes, I said it. Fight me, Zelda fans).

[@rallyfeind]

So much replay value on this game.

[@kh7955]

@@kenterminateddq5311 agreed

[@johnschwartz1641]

Rescue the Embassy Mission - when I first got it, I couldn't figure it out, but it definitely grew on me.

[@studiokadaver]

Faxanadu, Air Fortress , were childhood favorites I also have 8 eyes it’s a good game.

[@Odog78]

Willow was legit. I believe i got it cheap at a yard sale at the time the SNES was already out. I ended up getting to the final level and really enjoyed it.

[@unknownstuntman3224]

Oh man I actually played most of these back in the day thanks for bringing a bit of attention to these forgotten gems of my past!

[@helioselexandros]

My dad bought me an nes back in late 80s and it was unbelievable. So many good memories and I'm happy I experienced it. There's something almost magical about the nes especially back then. I loved borrowing games from friends or going to rent one on Fri night's. It was definitely a special time that no other console can ever repeat

[@dmabrey007]

Love this!!!! Jackal was is one of my favorite games to play to relax. Also love some Gunsmoke!!!!

[@jamesbrooking1287]

Power Blade is a hidden gem of the NES

[@Jarod_Schultz]

Vice:Project Doom is a good game no one talks about. I also like Power Blade 1 and 2. Toki is another. Bubble Bobble 2 is a rare game that not many talk about. Target Renegade is a Double Dragon clone. Trojan and Kid Clown are also games I like.

[@whosaidthat84]

Back in 98-99, my dad owned a hauling business and one day on a job we found a box full of SNES and NES games! It was the freakin holy grail! Vice was on there and it became one of my favorite NES games ever!

[@billbobagggins99]

Vice basass

[@billcook4768]

Great list, as most of these are genuine "games that nobody talks about."

[@brian3310]

Well, the NES library has been examined so many times by KZbinrs that there isn't really any such thing as a "hidden gem" anymore. At this point, the ones that people haven't heard about are unknown for a reason.

[@thetramp123]

@@brian3310 I don't know, there still seems to be a handful of games that deserve more attention and credit. I still don't hear many people talk about Kick Master and I think that's one of the best games on the system.

[@corgibuttz2550]

Great list of games! Being a 39 year old myself I grew up with a bunch of these and have fond memories. I remember playing 8 Eyes with my dad when I was a kid. Probably one of my favorite gaming memories of him. I always demanded to play the bird ;) I always loved Wrath of the Black Manta because you had unlimited use of powers! Back in those NES days it felt like games were always limiting how much you could use your special moves. As a kid it blew my mind I could use my ninja powers as much as I wanted. One suggestion I'd like to put forward is Solar Jetman! I hardly ever see youtubers mention this game, or see it get brought up on reddit. It's such a unique game for the system, with space ship progression and upgrades, ect. Each planet having varying levels of gravity. The one problem I remember is your super thruster had to be used by pressing the thurster button while holding down the select button. An awkward combo for sure... and I was using the NES advantage... what a reach!

[@JohnRiggs]

What a great story!

[@ibookboyuk]

It is a great story. I agree.

[@SansSelf]

HFS, someone else played Solar Jetman?! Wow, I feel less alone in this universe. I came to comment about Kabuki: Quantum Fighter but now I'm remembering the insane boss-level fighting in Solar Jetman and I might have to go find a copy of both games now.

[@wiidlbeetle3857]

I rented Monster Party as a kid and loved it. When I got older I asked if anyone remembered it but nobody ever knew what I was talking about. Glad it’s on the list! Black Manta was also one of my faves but I never knew how to beat it as a kid. They kinda left out the clues on how to beat the final boss when they ported the game for the US. Great vid! Subbed to your channel now!

[@g.n.kgaming725]

Finally someone talks about the amazing Willow.

[@JohnRiggs]

Fantastic game, but WORST password selection music.

[@benjaminnelson2704]

I was impressed by the grass and tree animation. Detailed for an NES title!

[@richardxavier5442]

Hahaha I agree. That song on the password screen literally makes me angry. :-P

[@AdamAtrocity17]

Yess!

[@nicholasmiller10]

So glad you showed Rescue, that was one of my favorite games as a kid!

[@ganggreen1983]

I just discovered D&D Dragon Strike about a year ago. Awesome game! Tough as nails in later levels. Good list of games.

[@wukiefer]

Faxanadu and monster party were in my top 5 for nes. Good stuff man. Subbed

[@1gr8chef123]

i remember playing FAX on x-mas morning as a kid...SO good!

[@drfamicom]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see City Connection in your list! Along with Circus Charlie and Antarctic Adventure, it's been one of my favourite pick up and play games since I was a kid.

[@chewiebacca5841]

I never got a look at City Connection before, and now I want to find it.

[@i-evi-l]

Great list! Loved that you got some of my faves like Willow, Cowboy Kid and Lone Ranger in there. Honorable mentions for me are generally RPG genre, but not all. Star Voyager, TMNT 3, Road Runner, Chronicle of Radia War, Daydreaming Davey, Dig Dug 2, Golgo 13, Nobunagas Ambition, PIRATES!, Ultima Exodus, Ultima Quest of the Avatar!

Had Willow when I was a kid! Traded it by mistake and always wanted it back! I'll have to find it :)

[@James-ft4bu]

Forgot about Willow, there are so many underrated/forgotten treasures on NES. Good video thanks for bringing back some good memories.

[@LordJeet2]

Dragon Fighter has to be the most underrated NES game ever. It has an amazing soundtrack as well

[@Chojimaroji]

So many great memories of playing Jackal back in the day. Thank you for showcasing this game, truly one the best on the Nes.

[@PablOScar1]

Among the hidden gems for the NES, besides the ones you already covered on this video and the ones already mentioned here in the comments (VICE and Little Nemo are so awesome), I'll go with Isolated Warrior. Part shmup, part run and gun, part platformer, all fun.

[@Crusader228]

To this day I still hum all the tunes of 8 Eyes! One of my favorite games to play with my brother.

[@Pholiage]

6:46 "you become a sheriff and start attacking people.." I don't think that came out as expected

[@trommnorse]

I downloaded like 3 games straight up thanks to your recommendation. You're doing the god's work, my man.

[@DougjcFerguson]

Oh man, my favourite NES game is Bucky O'hare! It's a bit of a Megaman clone, but arguably does the genre even better. But I want to check some of these games out too! Thanks for the list!

[@Luxuriousentertainment]

That game is a classic.

[@SvennyMcG]

37 years old and I wasn't familiar with a lot of these! Thanks Riggs, going to check some out. Really liked that you made a lot of comparisons to other games in terms of gameplay (LOZ, Batman, Castlevania, Mega Man etc), really helps determine which I want to play

[@ARCWuLF]

"The Guardian Legend" is one of the best NES games I have ever played, but really doesn't get mentioned much on these lists (it might have something to do with it's horrible save system, though).

[@lynchie137]

Yeah. The password feature in it is God awful atrocious, and makes me thankful for save states and emulators. Fortunately, that's about the only thing wrong with that game..

[@rallyfeind]

@Justus Bowman It is 8 sets of 4 character strings with 64 characters to choose from. It and Metal Gear are my top 2 disliked ever in any game. I didn't love MegaMan X password entry interface for SNES as a nasty taste comparison.

[@brucewrigleysgumchewz4667]

Yeah.. PW system sucked for that game. Metroid had a crap password setup as well. Any game that has 24 or more positions in the PW itself and uses both CAPS and small characters plus various symbols is hell. Especially when some of the small characters resemble other characters. I can't remember how many times I screwed up entering the PW because a few of the characters looked like something else. Games that use objects as PW characters are also a damn pain. Like CV2..and I think one of the Mega Man games used that (but wasn't too bad).

[@ARCWuLF]

@@brucewrigleysgumchewz4667 Oh, it's even worse than that: The game HAS a battery backup, but all it does is save the most recent password that you have generated for comparison, meaning that after you generate a new password your old ones will no longer work. You messed up the password when writing it down? Tough: You have to start the game over from the beginning. The battery died? Guess you're never going to save again until you change the battery. It's truly the worst save system in any game I have ever played.

[@davezad]

Yes! I'm glad other people remember that game. It has one of the best soundtracks on the NES. Extremely difficult, also. We beat it just one time back in the day.

[@theacematt2]

Oh God I love Cobra Triangle, Jackal, and Conquest of the Crystal Palace. They definitely don't get enough recognition

[@dr.techgamer9092]

Little Samson is another underrated gem, mainly because it was released late into the NES life cycle and because of that it didn't sale as expected which resulted in the game becoming one of the most expensive titles to collect for your NES library nowadays. But aside from that the game is very well designed and a lot of fun, it combines elements from Mega man (which is no surprise since the game was made by a small company founded by ex Capcom employees who had a hand in creating Mega Man, Ghost n goblins and Stryder) it also combines elements from Castlevania because of character swapping and ninja gaiden because of wall climbing. Each character has different abilities as well as their pros and cons so you're gonna be switching between them constantly depending on the situation and because of that the game never feels repetitive, also it has a few branching paths and depending on the difficulty you choose different endings too so you get your fare share of replayability as well. P.S Astyanax is a pretty good underrated game as well. It's story is something that we've seen countless other times about saving a princess but the way the game delivered the story through it's cutscenes was pretty well done IMO, also it has a surprising moment near the end that took me by surprise just like in Little Samson. The boss fights were pretty fun too and I like how you have 3 spells always at your disposal and one of them allows you to stop time briefly and depending on what weapon upgrade you have your spells can use less MP at the cost of doing less weapon damage or vice versa which makes the game more balanced by giving you a choice depending on the situation and last but not least it has infinite continues but at the cost of having no passwords so you're gonna have to beat it in one sitting, thankfully the game is short and you can beat it in an hour or so. Little Samson is a much longer game but thankfully it has passwords that you get at the end of every stage and the best part is IT'S ONLY 4 DIGITS!!! not like most other NES games which had ridiculously long passwords.

[@thedylanshow1]

Thank you for taking the time to make this! Great video! Got to check out the Monster one.

[@GamesfromtheGrave]

There's good stuff in here. I really like these longer and more polished videos from you.

[@davidgrabhorn3165]

Amazing List! Monster Party, Boy and his Blob & 8 eyes are 3 of my favorite NES games and I never see them on peoples top 20.

[@swoll1980]

King of the Ring. Nothing better than getting dome shots between rounds.

[@owlison76]

That music from Cobra Command take me back. I played this game for hours and hours as a kid. Great vid. Take Care.

[@shawnschaller]

You're my hero, Mr. Riggs. I hope you and your family are well.

[@JohnRiggs]

we're good!

[@WiseAssGamer]

Faxanadu. My late grandmother gave me that game for Christmas back in 1989. I recently rebought it. And it has never lost its charm.

[@Matt-Rat]

Kickle Cubicle reminds me of Adventures of Lolo. Kickle uses an ice breath and Lolo turn enemies into eggs. They play similar to each other. I just realized you made a mistake on Codename Viper. You said it was made by Konami. It was published by Capcom. JACKAL?!?! I love that game. I played it in my childhood and I still play it today. Monster Party is a game not many liked but I thought it played good. Games I consider hidden gems are Darkwing Duck, Little Mermaid, Felix the Cat, Gyruss, Guardian Legend, Clash at Demonhead and Talespin (I liked it. Some people don't.)

[@selfan2005]

People will always remember Clash At Demonhead, because of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

[@frank68x]

Awesome list. Jackal's my favorite. Especially the intro: "This battle will make your blood boil. Good luck!" into the lvl 1 music.. damn, I'm pumped now..

[@DuoBeard]

Thank you, these are all amazing games I love Faxanadu

[@procow2274]

Faxanadu and astyanax are my top 2 nes games no one knows

[@cartoonguygaming9521]

I clicked on this video because I saw Faxanadu in the thumbnail. So happy to finally see someone cover that gem!

[@CapChronic]

One game I really enjoyed as a kid was Jacki Chans Action Kunfu on the nes.

[@nickparsons337]

Oh great game man!

[@nickparsons337]

Kickle is my favorite "puzzle" game ever. Good call man.

[@calimangrower1590]

Sold it in the 90s as a kid regretted it ever since

[@pop_ulation]

i rented that from blockbuster and it became legendary in my mind for the next 2 decades

[@nickparsons337]

@@calimangrower1590 You had a copy of Kickle Cubicle and sold it; or Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu? Either game; that's a loss man.

[@Berzerkir]

Tiny Toons get no where near the love it deserves, such a fun game!

[@Rufio1617]

I liked the editing good job!

[@UpIrons777]

Jackal is my absolute favorite NES game. I absolutely love it. I come back to it a lot even now in 2020. Out of all the different NES games, Jackal is my top favorite. Great catchy music, and great gameplay too. You can't go wrong with that game.

[@bencartner9204]

We have a inverse relationship with the Cobra games. I love Cobra Triangle, but get destroyed in Cobra Command.

[@brucewrigleysgumchewz4667]

Oh man.. Cobra Command is sooooo damn hard! I could never beat it. I watched a YT vid of someone playing through all the levels. I don't think I could ever muster the patience to get through that one. The later levels are BRUTAL!

[@HeathenDance]

In defense of Faxanadu's story, is not that simple lol. It's actually quite interesting: it is vaguely inspired by Norse Mythology, you have to save the Tree of Life, which is based on Yggdrasil. A mysterious and poisonous meteorite fell from the sky, infecting the tree of life and the waters. The Evil One and his legions of demons and dwarves, took advantage of it, and are taking over the lands. Your goal is to purify the waters, save the tree, the dying elves and life in general. Also by destroying the Evil One. So there's a LOT to it, really. It's also mentioned during the game that the Dark Legions "now worship the meteorite", which I always thought to be a cool detail to add.

[@RiseOfTriangle]

More NES games that nobody talks about: Rockin' Kats Crystalis Abadox Maniac Mansion RC Pro-AM 1&2 Can't really think of anything else.

[@ostiariusalpha]

Err... I think the R.C. Pro-Am series is pretty well known.

[@procow2274]

Crystalis is fairly well known now. Its on most "hidden" gem lists

[@TioRancio]

Abadox! Great and weird scrolling shooter but tough as hell

[@ostiariusalpha]

@@procow2274 Even back in the early 90's Crystalis was relatively popular for an action RPG. It was just in the 2000's that it seemed to fall off the mental map of a lot of gamers.

[@justincurcio6710]

I've owned about half the games on this list, and I always loved them. Another favorite that I don't think gets enough love is stinger

[@dav786]

emulation isnt evil

[@At_the_Bottom]

Tell that to Nintendo.. About a week or so ago they started their most recent assault on ROMs by attacking all the mainstream emulation sites and having them remove all the best franchises. Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Contra, D.K., Castlevania, Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, Mega man, just to name a few, all the "Big-N" franchises, gone. *All gone!* I know there are workarounds and other avenues of acquisition but roms are the easiest and most efficient method of enjoying long out of production, foreign, rare and/or otherwise forgotten retro games. Many many people have _actually been able_ to experience the magic of games like Little Samson, Dragon Warrior IV and FF1 *only through emulation* -games where acquiring the physical media/cartridge is nearly impossible due to rarity, price, or origin, without paying 100's or (in some cases) 1,000's of dollars on the collectors market. ...and now, the next generation and those who are just discovering retro games will have to defeat a significant barrier in order to be able to enjoy some of the greats. I get it, these titles are the intellectual properties of Nintendo inc. and they _do_ hold the rights.. BUT they haven't touched, profited, or even thought about these long out of production products in decades. They probably have no intent of porting, re-releasing, or doing anything with them.. This is being done to let us(consumers) know that THEY are in control, just like that time they threw a fit because people were archiving decades old issues of Nintendo Power magazine online. Actions like this hurt the Big-N more than poor sales of any sh!tty modern game ever could.

[@PapaBear187]

Emulation is the only thing keeping the retro market from exploding lol

[@Zemeya]

Agreed, if your not gonna sustain your older consoles or production of these like 25-30 year old games, emulations your best bet to enjoy them and bonus, it acts as an excellent archive for these relics in gaming history!

[@TheDarkchum1]

If it wasn’t for emulation then my life would be virtually retro game free and totally joyless.

[@doulim6797]

It never was...

[@the_coalheart]

Kabuki Quantum Fighter, one of my all time NES favorites!

[@not2tired]

Jackal. Get it. Yes, you, yes, right now.

[@dannykent6190]

Always love to see Faxanadu and Cobra Triangle get some love, but Lone Ranger still to this day remains one of my favorite games, and you are very correct that NOBODY talks about it. Thanks for knowing it exists. Made my day. The main one you're missing now is Rockin Kats.

[@jkajmo]

"Faxandu" & "Willow" are some of my fav NES games along with "Bucky O'hare" "Time Lord" (Amazing music) & "Iron Sword: Wizards & Warriors 2" (with even better music, but a terrible cover)

[@DavidRodriguez-jn7sg]

I discovered Faxanadu last year. I truly regret not having that game in my life until then.

[@procow2274]

@@DavidRodriguez-jn7sg try astysnax it and faxanadu are my top 2 nes games no one knows

[@B3nKen0bi]

Faxanadu ftw

[@mikecrane4480]

Happy to see Faxanadu on this list. It was one of my faves when I was younger. I just recently bought it again and I’m currently playing through it. Can’t get enough of it!

[@caligee7306]

🔥"Little Nemo The Dream Master" please

[@Shawnredfield98]

My all time favorite nes game. Hard but so damn good.

[@gilbertdimas9415]

The Dream Master🔥🔥🔥so much fun

[@kynmasters8670]

I have great memories of Kabuki Quantum Fighter. I rented it on my 11th birthday. We had just moved into a new neighborhood with more kids my age and my parents got me my favorite kind of pie. One of the best weekends of my youth.

[@johnforkner]

Kickle Cubicle is like Adventures of Lolo, not Bubble Bobble.

[@krisfrederick5001]

I saw 8 Eyes and clicked. Never played Castlevania as kids but I see now that it's so similar.

[@ClaerisGames]

WOO! Shoutout to Cobra Command! It's one of my childhood favs. Super hard, but that soundtrack gets me so pumped haha

[@MrMarkzilla]

From my personal collection:- Solstice, Trog, Boulderdash, Airwolf, High Speed Pinball, Mission Impossible, Captain Skyhawk, Solar Jetman and Low G Man (I'm from the UK so some of these may be UK PAL exclusive) I had more Sega Master System that NES titles and still do, the Master System had greater support over here but of those I mentioned Trog is an arcade conversion and I always forget how much fun it is, it's one of those "Has three hours gone already?" style of games. Airwolf is based on the TV series as is Mission Impossible which takes it's inspiration from Metal Gear. I also have Kabuki Quantum Fighter

[@Nesshole]

Thank you for mentioning Kabuki. Such a great game and Nobody talks about it.

[@EternalDarknessAboveTheBlueSky]

A Boy And His Blob has great graphics and character animations. All the different jelly beans to make your slime turn into things was a great idea and not something I've seen often, and that's way ahead of its time for an NES game. I think mixing jelly beans for various combos and finding new transformations would have been great as well.

[@zombiejlt1]

Stellar list John, I know a lot of these are not really talked about nor streamed. MONSTER PARTY is a definite for sure, I streamed it during October. Been wanting a remake and/or sequel for years. Very awesome choices, Ill be sure to stream more of these.

[@wadewatts1441]

I came here to hear about 8 eyes. My brother and I loved playing that. But I stayed for the rest. Thanks my man.

[@DanPantzig]

I have still, even on an emulator and save-scumming, never beaten the giant samurai boss in Conquest Of The Crystal Palace. Yet it remains one of my favorite childhood games.

[@WildcardZwei]

Metal Jesus NES hidden gems deja vu intensifies! Nothing wrong with sharing the lists again on your own channel. I just wanted to say, 'Mad props' for the incredible editing work. Definitely gonna check out Dragon Fighter and Conquest of the Crystal Palace next time I'm in an NES mood.

[@mathewdempsey16]

I got Faxanadu after watching one of the MJR nes hidden gems videos you did, and it does not disappoint, seriously one of my favorite nes games! Great music, challenging combat, it’s just great!

[@procow2274]

Faxanadu and astyanax my top 2 best nes games no one knows

[@lvitntnmrcls]

Loved Faxanadu. Bionic Commando is a gem I think

[@TheMountainDemon]

So glad you mentioned Black Manta. I spent a LOT of hours in that one as a kid. Been a couple years since I last played it. I should dig it out again.

[@Akuajin]

Monster Party Let’s Go Again is a spiritual homebrew successor to the original monster party game and it is phenomenal!

[@JohnRiggs]

It's fantastic. Love the Max Headroom boss.

[@AkamoriRivals]

Cowboy Kid was my favorite NES game in my entire collection. And I also loved Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, that shared an entire game-style with it. Two games I will never forget.

[@jaybrooks1098]

Riggs.. pong was 70’s.. 2600 came out in 79. Not trying to burst any bubbles.. love ya man..

[@mikeisernie]

Lone Ranger I rented a lot and loved it. I owned Rescue the Embassy Mission--so much fun. A friend had Monster Party and we played it all the time.

[@stevenbowen8098]

Awesome NES games list that nobody talks about is a underrated hidden gem

[@Corsina]

Of this list, my favorites are Faxanadu and Jackal. Always learn something new in your videos! Thank you for your lists!

[@boblangford5514]

Kickle Cubicle has always been one of my favorite games. I rented it once in 1989 and was hooked! Bought it a week later. Monster Party is one I recently discovered. I love that game now too.

[@aaryscare214]

I know I am late, but damn man... You just made me remember A Boy and his Blob!! Wow.

[@Casey388]

Sid Meier's Pirates! is one game that I loved for the original NES and the remake for the Xbox in the early 2000's. Loved the premise of the game and how I could spend days playing it.

[@saudal-mutawa3197]

Another superb top games video, Riggs. Almost ALL of the games you listed are completely new to me. In fact, I think I’ve only ever played one of them and that’s City Connection. I’m sure you have even more ideas for the NES. Maybe you should make one for Famicom games that never made it to the west? Keep up the good work.

[@jasonbuckenberger3122]

Really well done! My favorite video of yours so far. Definitely going to be trying some of these out. Thanks for showcasing actual real hidden gems!

[@menswear2112]

I love your work man: you’re funny, articulate and you don’t swear every chance you have. I wish I had a guy like you on my street 35 years ago.

[@maxpower10k]

I have very fond memories of Rescue and Code Name Viper. I completely forgot about Viper though but that music and muffled “thank you” brought me instantly back! Holy nostalgia! Haha 🍻