The 35 Most Graphically Mind-Blowing NES Games

[@BitsBeats]

Although you will find some omissions, I hope you like the selection. I tried to make it as varied and balanced as possible. The NES catalog is spectacular! Enjoy

[@SparkyMK3]

I loved this video! Just when I thought ive seen everything, I see hardware pushers for the NES that Ive never even heard of before! This was super fun to watch!

[@BitsBeats]

@@SparkyMK3 I have one about the best graphics on the Neo Geo, but I will definitely make more videos about it. I love that machine. Many thanks Nicholas!

[@NobodyAtAll420]

Great video. Thank for showing me 3 games I've been missing out on. That usually doesn't happen. 👉🏆

[@Gojiro7]

you really should have highlighted the Famicom version of contra since it has multiple stages with animated backgrounds and story cutscenes

[@ratix98]

Not bad I was surprised to see cosmic epsilon but if you really want to get your mind blown and see what the nes/famicom can truly churn out and not have slowdown check out tetrastar. It's the same as epsilon as it's the same team behind it.

[@Nails077]

I remember when 3D graphics first started to become common. Everybody thought polygons were the future and that 2D spritework was outdated. Makes it kind of funny that NES visuals has aged a lot better than those very early polygon visuals.

[@vangelis7]

I hated the first gen of 3d games and how ugly they looked. At the time I thought it was big mistake to abandon 2d games.

[@youcantspellghostwithoutgo26]

Remember 3D World Runner?

[@ZeroConZx]

Mmm I love Bubsy 3D

[@lfhip-hop6794]

You mean you don't like Bubsy 3d?!

[@Fear2Stop]

Not for nothing, the ps1 era has dated the worst IMHO

[@kakolicht]

Most of the games on this list are from Konami, a reminder that it was once a respectful game company, not the cheap deceitful crap we have today.

[@Hammi4Real]

Capcom should just do us all a favour and buy their IPs out of their hands, hell their entire library off the dusty shelves. I'm sure Konami wouldn't mind if deep pockets are involved.

[@bangrojai]

Konami really had it in the time of winning eleven....sadly....they didnt make the right choice that time

[@MrZeroExe]

Deceitful? Lmfao!!!! How have they “deceived you” oh hyperbolic one? We know what we’re getting from the now, crap. Not to mention that you can always wait for reviews which at the very least, come out the day of the release of them game. No one is deceiving you, you’re simply not smart.

[@Wallriss]

@@MrZeroExe Deceitful because Konami used to be a sign of quality. Now they create trash under the same name.

[@retro9173]

@@MrZeroExe - Heard they wronged Hideo Kojima ..

[@EsmeAmelia]

I love the way NES games look in general. Yes, I grew up in the 80's and 90's, so I might have a nostalgic bias, but there's a certain charm about NES graphics.

[@JNAMOTORSPORTS]

A lot of these games has charm and it wasn’t about zombies and gore It was just plain fun

[@jasonsaunders3611]

i completely agree and the music of the 8 bit era had some of the best game music.

[@Vik1919]

I was born in 99 but I still love NES.

[@Vik1919]

@@JNAMOTORSPORTS Zombies and gore can be fun, too. Besides, "zombies and gore" was in Castlevania as well. I like to give credit where it's due.

[@jasonsaunders3611]

@@Vik1919 the nes diffinitly has charm i was born in 83 its always nice to see people who were born later share the same love for the system even with all the current systems out there its always nice to akways come back to the 8 bit goodness:)

[@coct444]

Agree with this one, especially with Kirby's Adventure and Battletoads. Those two are the winner for me. Castlevania 3 is my personal favorite. A perfect combination between awesome graphic, awesome gameplay, and awesome music.

[@gustavonunez5959]

And replay value.

[@AngryCalvin]

Castlevania 3 was the NES game I played the most. And it was one of the last games I bought even when it was on sale for $20. I was really happy with the Castlevania Aniversary Collection especially since the Japanese Famicom version of Castlevania 3 is even better.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Check out SOLSTICE to see the best graphics on the NES. Not the most technical game but the music also rocks

[@goldenturdZeniru]

Castlevania 3, Batman and Mario 3 and TMNT and megaman 2, for me...

[@DenverStarkey]

one that always impressed me graphically was Battle of Olympus. It has such a massive color palette for an 8 bit game it also had a good number of enemies and varied landscapes.

[@mkapper9800]

Totally agree. One of the best for sure.

[@deadsirius3531]

All this 8-bit music and imagery just makes me feel 11 years old again. If you're a bit younger it may be hard to understand but as primitive as this stuff looks today, if you were a kid back when this was the peak of home gaming, it was mesmerizing

[@ophidianmind333]

This is a nice list with many classic games on it. Batman: Return of the Joker on the NES surprisingly both looks and plays better than the Genesis version of the game. It's also nice to see Crystalis getting some attention, it's one of the best games on the NES in my opinion and it often gets overlooked. For some more visually impressive NES/Famicom games, check out: Metal Slader Glory (this game required a much larger than usual Famicom cartridge to case the extra hardware required to display the graphics), The Immortal, Getsu Fuuma Den, Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei II, Sweet Home (the battle graphics are great), Xexyz, Nightshade, Gargoyle's Quest II, and Zen: Intergalactic Ninja.

[@BitsBeats]

Every time many of you recommend games I realize more and more how presumptuous or bombastic my video titles are (maybe I should change that even if I end up getting penalized on KZbin SEO). Be that as it may, it's always a pleasure to learn from you guys and contrast video game choices.

[@sithlord1051]

Crystalis is an underrated gem! Faxanadu, too.

[@GreyWolfLeaderTW]

You can tell the makers of Little Sampson were so proud of those 360 degree spin animations. They work them into as many scenarios as they can.

[@jaredt2590]

Little Samson is such a technical marvel, if you can get a copy grab it. Top tier nes game that showcases the best of the system.

[@pivotalpancake5454]

The team behind Castlevania 3's pixel art really made sure that the limitations of the pixel art would benefit a lot giving the game it's atmosphere. The sharp shading, the bright colors, the disturbing content, it almost reminds me of Caravaggio's pieces funnily enough.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

METROID and KID ICARUS are some of the best looking NES games and they were FIRST. They use a different graphics technique but no extra chips

[@TheMichaelJordanofGambling]

Willow is omitted pretty regularly, but it’s probably the best looking NES title. I thought it was a SNES game when I first saw a play through, it’s that impressive.

[@OGM_OriginalGameMusic]

Crisis Force in particular blows me away. there's a proper sense of depth with the pixel art. amazing

[@hkoizumi3134]

I used to program games in Assembly and I can appreciate these amazing visual more than average people. Some of the things that seem unnecessary was done just because it looks much more realistic. Such as splashes around the platform under waterfall. It's incredible!

[@codmott286]

you can tell the coders are flexing, like a sort of unwritten competition between developers that they all silently acknowledged.

[@gurvmlk]

The tiniest details usually make the biggest difference.

[@nikolaikalashnikov4253]

I wonder if their build script calculated the all the sizes (code, gfx, sfx, music) so that it'd make it easier to identify where they had to make changes during the development process ?

[@AzzureSky]

Good to see Kick Master getting on the list! It's one of better looking NES games I've ever see and barely anybody talks about it.

[@richardmeyerii5622]

I actually own it. Definitely good looking. A bit tough at times, but fun.

[@jasonsaunders3611]

i am also a big fan of kickmaster an amazing game

[@jasonsaunders3611]

@@richardmeyerii5622 i own it as well it goes for a pretty penny these days

[@Rahul016-d6k]

Same. I used to play it.

[@Rahul016-d6k]

@nemo pouncey LOL gameplay was top notch in nes days ; now it feels akward playing with thumbstick instead of D-Pad.

[@jitheshkumar4059]

Darwing Duck, Tiny Toon Adventures 1 & 2, Shadow of Ninja, Kunio Kun no Nekketsu Soccer League, Duck Tales, Mickey's Safari in Letterland, Double Dragon 3, Rush'n Attack.

[@DJZeeJay]

I'm happy to see Captain Tsubasa on this list. One of the best looking games on the NES. Always blew me away how good the effects for the special shots looked.

[@louiszc999]

and the brillianr soundtrack- my fav game on nes

[@Vik1919]

I never got past those twin players. They were tough.

[@BrendanKSeguin]

A NES game I find had amazing visual and presentation is Gargoyles Quest II. I played it recently and was so surprised with how good it looks

[@arnausfr9224]

my visor detected a pure botasequies

[@dropkickrabbit6168]

It really is incredible how they were able to pull off these kinds of graphics on 8-bit hardware back in the day, especially with Revenge of the Joker, Metal Storm, Gradius II and Kirby’s Adventure.

[@goatbone]

The Japanese version of Contra has animated trees in the opening level, probably should have shown that one.

[@danielmilyutin9914]

I recall some more: Power blade 2 Mortal Arms Prisoners of war TMNT tournament fighters Namco games (dirty football and many more)

[@kosiak10851]

1994 was one of the best years in gaming. I was given a brand new NES, and all of those newly came out games of 1990-1993 were available to me

[@scorpionwins6378]

You got a Nintendo system in 1994?? Man you joined in pretty late. By that time all of the kids had nearly forgotten about the NES and were caught up in the next-gen console craze!

[@NavinBasnetTarku555]

Awesome list ! glad you included the OG - Contra 🔥🔥🔥🔥⭐⭐⭐⭐❤️❤️.

[@Usualsuspect101]

Im upset that you didn't include Nekketsu games like Goal3, Gnabre dunks and Crash n Boys games those were the epic gaming days on my childhood, played with lot of my cousins and elder brothers, those Nostalgia man!

[@FoundOasis]

One of the best KZbin channels of all time so underrated I swear

[@Halbared]

Marvellous vid, out of all of these I had; Super Mario Bros 3, Blaster Master and Gremlins 2. I so wish I had gotten Castlevania 3 and Batman 2 back then. It was a mistake not to. Gimmick looks fun. Sunsoft, Rare and Konami did amazing stuff. You should do a follow up video.

[@fritzeyok]

4:21 journey to sirius was AWESOME. Awesome gameplay, awesome music, awesome graphics. It was definitely a 16 bits game.

[@feenix219]

If they hadn't lost the movie license for Terminator, it would have been the one movie based game that didn't suck!

[@noaht2005]

Your misspelling makes me wander if it was meant to be Journey to Sirius and the Japanese developers got the l and r confused

[@adamlach6572]

The music is super awesome and the gameplay is really good

[@ScarfboyMrReese]

"Totally Rad" and "The Guardian Legend" might make this list for different reasons. "Double Dragon 2" is also a very nice looking game.

[@blackenedheart9592]

Totally Rad had some amazing graphical bosses.

[@gurvmlk]

Whenever I revisit Guardian Legend, there are certain stages that have so much happening on the screen that I'm just like, "How is the game speed not chugging?"

[@vguyver2]

Ninja Gaiden 2 as well though it's a bit redundant given NG3. But there are some things graphically done in that game that weren't done on NG3. Also the Megaman games started becoming more graphically impressive starting with MM4. Yes, MM1 was great, and MM2 and MM3 revolutionized gameplay for the franchise and future MM titles, but but people forget just how nice MM4-MM6 really looked.

[@Yoursoul101]

Makes you really see what it's like to have people who love their job with management who isn't pushing deadlines down their throats.

[@SunnyTacos]

9:48 didn't know Tien/Tenshinhan had his own game.

[@bluenothing720]

This collaboration is great. Thanks

[@liususanto]

surprised too. I thought I already knew all the NES games 😍 apparently there are still many games with good graphics, with moving backgrounds too. Here are my recommendations, I think the graphics are good 😀: 1. Zen Intergalactic Ninja 2. Power Blazer 3. Argus no Senshi

[@ocramknight]

Good selection! I've also seen from a collection at a friend's house that Battletoads vs Double Dragon pushed even further at the time.

[@Elephra]

Simply amazing. I had most of these gems back in the day. A truly nostalgic and inspiring time travel to the golden age of gaming. Thank you so much for this. 😃

[@arnausfr9224]

yor foquin moma is may niu bitech

[@leestevenson1236]

A system with a truly magical graphic style. It’s full of charm, character and clarity. When people have less, we create more.

[@Thewickedjon]

kirby's adventure pushed the NES harder than anything else before or since. The game is a technical marvel and a masterclass in programming.

[@mr.voidout4739]

I remember the last boss of Kirby being crazy when I was a little kid. It stuck out more than anything I had played.

[@annstevens6223]

It’s hard to beat SMB3. Amazing graphics and gameplay and controls. Not to mention replayability. Almost the perfect game.

[@xsytrance175]

I'm very shocked to not see Little Nemo on here. Nice list though!

[@frun]

Mitsume ga toru is INSANE! Kickmaster and Backe-o-hare are awesome. Castlevania III is in reality Castlevania I 0:18

[@kistar3460]

Great list, but I miss Track n field II in it, that game has some nice graphics and was ahead of its time.

[@MKF30]

Great video! Some nes games look like snes at times which is crazy.

[@soulreaver1983]

Awesome!!! I always really loved the castlevania one ! Where Trevor is in meditation in front of the cross before the battle!!!!😎👍👍

[@fthprodphoto-video5357]

Return of the joker is probably the most impressive Nes game ever made. It came out very late (like castlevania 3) and I can still remember to purchase both of them brand new for 19.99$ (actually CHF in Switzerland) the SNES was already there since 1 year and nobody cared about Nes games anymore...we sold out Nes to get the snes but purchased the Nes again new for 59$ to be able to play Castlevania 3 but Batman impressed me even more technically !

[@Dembilaja]

All six Mega Man games were looking great on NES. Battletoads was probably best looking NES game, not only that it looked like it wasn't NES title, but it didn't played either. Oh yeah, Kirby also looked great on NES.

[@samus-rd1channel]

3:41 Wow, I didn't know this game existed, it looks amazing, that intro was great!

[@PONTOCRITICO]

Famicom is one of the most reputable consoles in history especially for what its hardware was able to do. In fact, it went far beyond what was expected and was much brighter than its 16-bit successor, which had its project flaws there. Sometimes it is unbelievable to see certain games that were held for Famicom and say that they ran in such a simple system, but at the same time so elaborate and efficient.

[@pemegangkoencisyurga]

Captain Tsubasa Vol. II is the best thing that ever happened to my childhood. A Turn-Based Sport Simulator game with char just like the anime itself? Who would have thought? in fricking NES?

[@emmanuelaguirre9691]

I love your content and also every detail of your edition style. I hope one day you have more subscribers, you're awesome.

[@BitsBeats]

Many thanks Emmanuel :))

[@ultimosis]

I really like that you considered games from the entire Famicom library. Great video.

[@StoicNatsoc]

I was not expecting to see Shatterhand on this list. but i am so very glad i did. Its my favorite NES game and the one i played the most during the later 90s and start of 2000s

[@lastclassairman]

Metal Storm is such an underrated adventure title. Love these videos.

[@johanneshiden]

I remember a games magazine telling how Castlevania 3 would have exceptional graphics also on a technical level, but the aspect that hit me much more in the game was its awesome soundtrack.

[@bradsullivan2298]

This video was so well done.Thanks for sharing!

[@jaya_surya_a5118]

I d know who's that composing behind Konami games and sunsoft....deserves an award 😅 for best song composition

[@64retrogamer11]

You forgot to mention "Street Fighter 2010 the Final Fight" that game was so colorful for an NES game.

[@Dj.D25]

Agree, looks great for the time it was released.

[@____orphevs]

How did recca achieve that background effect on the nes?

[@Peter_1986]

It used a bunch of visual tricks, like for example the "wavy" motions on Area 2 in this video are actually rectangular pieces that slide left and right in a specific rhythm, and you can see some of those pieces if you look carefully. It also had most of the enemies make vertical motions, so that there weren't too many enemies on the same scanlines at the same time.

[@Pliskins024]

Love the list of selection 100%!!Captain tsubasa is my fav NES game of all time and to see tht on the list makes me happy..Gonna try the others on this list on emulation..😊

[@BlankSpacePub]

Good list. I might add River City Ransom. Its graphics were simple but stylish.

[@wobblingpixels3921]

Good selection mate. I consider Batman still the best looking NES game IMO.

[@mastrorj68]

I loved that game but man was it tough lol have you ever played gi Joe?

[@AlexanderKontsevoy]

Batman is definitely a gem for NES, animation and gameplay are so smooth. Honestly, I’d change a lot of game titles in this list: Battle Toads & Double Dragon looks more superior and polished than first Battle Toads; Zen Intergalactic Ninja looks really good; and for the real masterpieces - Crash and The Boys game series from Technos Japan.

[@ivanb8126]

I support your comment 100%. I was looking for the first Sunsoft Batman on the list and I was going to write a comment claiming its deserved place. I'm glad to know that other people feel alike. Batman has one of the best 8 bit graphics ever, second to none. A very unique style in NES graphics that would be great to see in new indie games. Best

[@NeoAF10]

What an awesome compilation you created, thanks!

[@rgerber]

Rad Racer - which is basically Outrun on the NES and especially the first stage but also night levels are mighty impressive for 8-bit!

[@scottythegreat1]

When Square hired Nasir, Masafumi Miyamoto wanted to show off Nasir's 3D programming abilities (they also used this on 3D World Runner).

[@ghaleon1103]

Great video showcase, I just wish that you showed bosses in some of the games where you said the bosses look good. Looks like a great channel that I'm glad I stumbled upon. Liked, subscribed, commenting for the algorithm.

[@skyhighnightlight]

Thanks so interesting for games ive never played.

[@nezahual2000]

Amazing recopilation, but I really think you could have added "Tecmo Super Bowl" and "Double Dragon 2 or 3" (maybe the one with the Battletoads). Apart from that, great vid! 👍

[@mentalhell4846]

I'm shocked by there graphics because I spent my childhood playing low graphics quality games with very simple graphics like Donkey Kong. NES is quite a beast.

[@GurdevSeepersaud]

Stained glass in Dracula's Curse is gorgeous to this day

[@jaredt2590]

It looks nice but is just a simple mapper trick and nothing mind blowing. Sword master with the scrolling 8-bit background is mind blowing.

[@Kohgilofi]

great video! "Werewolf: the last warrior" was amazing too!

[@Liferapmalawi]

Great selection 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@michaelmcgee2026]

Never heard of moon crystal. It's amazing that after all these years I'm still finding out about new games

[@HipsterBlackMetalOfficial]

Am I the only one who thinks Castlevania 3 looks... meh.. looks like Castlevania 1 just a little more enhanced. I'm also one of those people who finds the atmosphere and aesthetic of games like Bram Stokers Dracula more true to horror on the nes.

[@Sam1787]

Blaster master and Crystalis- 2 of my favorite games from the NES. Criminally underrated. Love the gameplay and control over the characters is so smooth.

[@danwatts9537]

I like how this is just all of the games we all played and not really anything specific. It goes to show how great the graphics were in general.

[@williamcrowe2576]

Graphically, Battletoads was impressive. Difficulty-wise, it was punishing.

[@maevethefox5912]

So many levels that I had no idea existed until I saw them on KZbin at 35 hahaha

[@Mistraker]

Kirby's Adventure has all the visual appeal without the punishing difficulty. Super fun, and a normal human can beat it without having to memorize the entire game by dying over and over again.

[@vguyver2]

@@maevethefox5912 It also had some fatal Glitches. Even if you mastered the game, you would fail in 2 player due to them.

[@AngryCalvin]

Most of my favorite game rentals of all time are on this list. I see games like Shatterhand, GI Joe, Vice Project Doom, Kick Master, Gremlins 2 wishing they were still available. I have over 100 NES games but missing these ones. I have Castlevania 3, Super Mario Bros 3, Kirbys Adventure, Battletoads, Contra, which are still favorites of mine. I like everything on this list except Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers, Kid Dracula, and Slalam I also own all 3 of them. Wish I could trade them for some of the others. Otherwise this is a great list. I would have put Double Dragon II, Snake Rattle and Roll, and Punch Out over the 3 bad games on this list and would easily call them superior in every way possible. I guess my disappointment in Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers is because I was 15 when it came out not a kiddie. No nostalgia here but I cringe at this game. I was disappointed it wasn't DuckTales which is the only series of Disney games I will play. GI Joe games were really awesome! I doubt they will ever see the light of day again due to legal reasons. It would be a miracle if they were not to remain abandonware forever.

[@Bloodreign1]

I wasn't a kid when Chip N Dale 1 came out on the NES, didn't like it back then, but you know what, they grew on me as I got older. I have both games in the series, as well as Kid Dracula, and Slalom, would not get rid of them for anything. I had that same feeling years later with Yoshi's Island that I did with Chip and Dale (and Duck Tales, a friend of mine had it and C&D), but wouldn't you know it, Yoshi's Island grew on me, and I got to feel like a kid again, even though Yoshi's Island basically came out when I was around 20 years old. Age should not deter you from liking a game, hell sometimes later in life you start to appreciate the games you didn't back then, unless it's something like Hydlide, which is terrible at any age, and one I am unfortunate enough to own a copy of, thanks to a friend giving me it, and Ghosts N Goblins when his bike, a backpack full of his games, plus my copy of Super C NES, all got stolen.

[@bredenis5]

I really enjoyed this video. The production was impeccably done as well!

[@phil_matic]

Honestly... 2002-2004 was a great time for retro gaming because there were plenty of NES/Super Nes games showing up in Gamestop and man I was able to play them while I was in high school.

[@TopStilers]

Mitsume Ga Tooru, Kick Master, Battletoads проходил, нравятся эти игры))

[@MrDuneedon]

Terrific video-lotta great nostalgia here!

[@fiftyshadesofurban]

Some of the best gfx here are seen in Batman and Crisis Force. The way they made it look like it has parallax scrolling is brilliant. Basically they created an animation a few frames long that makes it look like this huge moving clouds that are in 3D. Moon Crystal has really super nice animation, so smooth for an NES title. Not even SNES games had that level of animation most of the time.

[@mikevogler5455]

Great video. Was so happy to see that Bucky O' Hare made your list! I went in, wondering if it'd be included or not. Such a beautifully animated and underrated game, as well as an underated cartoon too. I miss the '80s dang it! 🙂 Lol.

[@tony_bologna]

Great list of games. I grabbed the roms for a couple of the famicom titles so I can experience them myself on my MiSTer.

[@zavidmirza9516]

Thankyou for giving my greatest memory back to me❤

[@Peter_1986]

I like how this video showed the Famicom version of "Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse" (or "Akumajô Densetsu = "The Legend Of The Devil's Castle", as it is called in Japan"); the sound in that version really takes the whole game to another level.

[@rwilcox_71]

That G.I. Joe game had some really high level pixel art! The red highlighted background cave walls looked like something out of a comic book! Great stuff here!

[@chrisd6287]

So many cool games I never even knew about. And that's why the NES and retro gaming for that matter is so amazing!

[@triniborn76]

Lets talk about the music!!! Incredible video 👍👍

[@privatejokerful]

How I loved "Little Samson". It is an all time favorite

[@malejo7]

Excellent selection of games

[@mothinMSX]

Is the music/sound playing in the background during your message "all footages, game curation & ...." from a game? I like your videos.. great work

[@BitsBeats]

No, is not from a game. Aries Beats "Synthwave Dreams 2020" Thanks!

[@Autotrope]

Happy to see blaster master on here. It's the one NES game I reference as being a game that could easily have been made as a modern day indie game

[@matts9382]

There's a few games I have never heard of. I assume Famicom for some of these? Great video!!!

[@BitsBeats]

Indeed, there's Famicom games too. Many thanks!

[@Dagasm]

Super Spy Hunter is one that always comes to mind. I first played it not long after the SNES was released and thought it could pass graphically as an SNES game. It was a great game as well and a sizable upgrade over the original Spy Hunter for NES.

[@YoursInYeshua]

Why have I never heard of MOON CRYSTAL??!?!?!?! 🤯

[@AzureSymbiote]

Thanks for the video. A lot of good games to get to. And I had completely forgotten of having played Mitsume Ga Tooru!

[@diegofloor]

Awesome selection! really cool looking games indeed. (btw, were you playing with only your left hand? lol sorry, couldn't resist making fun)

[@BitsBeats]

I'm better doing video editing 😂👍

[@Mitsuraga]

Both Moon Crystal and Comic Epsilon are games I've never heard of, but look totally up my alley. Side note, I love how the music in Captain Tsubasa goes perfectly with the player's run cycle.

[@DarthEquus]

You should mention that many of these games use enhancement chips. It doesn't make them any less impressive, but Crisis Force and Cosmic Epsilon would have been impossible to do on stock NES hardware.

[@wiremesh2]

Should have included the Japanese versions of Castlevania 3 and Contra. In Japan they had the freedom to produce their own mappers, so CV3 (Akumajo Densetsu) got extra sound channels for upgraded music and Contra featured extra scenes and background animation.

[@cynicalguy9509]

If you notice, a lot of the games with the cool graphics were released around 1990-1992. I remember reading somewhere that it was around those years when game devs really mastered the NES system. It definitely shows.

[@2kBofFun]

Which is amazing as the system goes back to 1983. You can almost say there was a NES 1.0, the years they had no clue, with titles like Super Mario Bros, Duckhunt, Legend of Zelda, with graphics more like an Atari 2600, and the NES 2.0, running in parallel to the SNES, with titles often outperforming the 16-bit baby brother. Double Dragon 2, Isolated Warrior, Power Blade, Felix the Cat, Duck Tales, games that were so good I wonder if they could actually be ported to the SNES.

[@brettvogel8418]

​@@2kBofFunlol have you seen atari graphics? Zelda and mario bros easily blew them out of the water.

[@2kBofFun]

@@brettvogel8418 2600 was really bad, but a game like Zelda looks as 2600-ish compared to a game like Power Blade, which invades SNES territory.

[@brettvogel8418]

@@2kBofFun if you compare it to an atari 2600 game side by side, no it doesn't. What a ridiculous claim.

[@2kBofFun]

@@brettvogel8418 It is a nice progression. The distance Atari 2600->Zelda is about the same as Zelda->Power Blade and the like. From a late 1990's NES perspective, early NES games are unbearable visually. Every bit as much as the NES walked over the 2600. No other console has such a huge leap within the lifespan.

[@hydeks]

Decent list, but I'm pretty disappointed you didn't add Zen Intergalactic Ninja

[@BitsBeats]

🙏