My 15 Favorite NES Games

[@RetroGameCorps]

So...did anyone notice that there are 17 games on this list?

[@Taragas]

So which 2 games will you have to jettison?

[@guywhoisnotbob]

She had sixteen points to make Five were heads, the other ten were snakes

[@maginist]

@@guywhoisnotbob Didn't come into this video expecting Rishloo but here we are

[@guywhoisnotbob]

@@maginist it's always a good time for Rishloo

[@WillC1020]

Yeah as I watched I began thinking this seems more than 15, but hey whose counting 😂

[@sstepoutside]

Wow, talking about actual games now! I'm going to love this series.

[@Micchi-]

Wait.. you're not supposed to play the games, you just sort it and scrape every box art then buy another device.

[@wooordwooord4712]

@@Micchi-this is the way

[@mindyournose]

😂😂😂😂

[@ShadyRapture]

@@Micchi-facts no printer

[@traviscunningham_1]

One thing I really like about this video, is the stories about your history with these games, and your memories with your siblings, and the parts you recall.

[@skycloud4802]

It seems actually personalised and not something gleaned and regurgitated from the web. I like this. People are quick to forget that video games are subjective, just like art. Some people's idea of good games can and should vary from person to person.

[@ChurchWorshipandvideo]

I’m also enjoying it’s a list like I would make where it’s about my favorites that I actually played as a kid versus a list of the “best” NES games.

[@gregbryant909]

I think sometimes we get way too wrapped up in the hardware…what’s next, what’s better…forgetting sometimes that games are why we do this. This series will be fun!

[@Omar-Asim]

Or get wrapped up in the software...endlessly hoarding ROMs, trying to make the perfect looking frontend etc.

[@chlorophyllphile]

​@@Omar-AsimPart of the fun tho

[@dishwater63]

@@Omar-Asim The thrill of the hunt. But yes, I'm notoriously known in my friend circle to do everything known to man for video games EXCEPT actually play the damn things, lol. But that's part of the fun, right? Collecting all the ROMs, making it look great in a frontend, showing it off to the friends, but then it's onto the next latest/greatest emulator, adding the last metadata that couldn't be automatically scraped, etc and so forth

[@sandman8920]

Definitely I’ve actually stopped buying modern hardware. I’m content with what we had before I’m actually playing my nes snes 64 and OG Xbox most at the moment and I’m often going back to gameboy games

[@BoanergesTWELF12]

I personally have nes tg16 and gameboy games in my Zelda G&W and have a blast, because the screen works well, sturdy, and super slim (definitely a project console but cool points goes through the roof)

[@54raynor]

The first Double Dragon game was not co-op on NES. It was actually the biggest criticism of the game at the time. The only two-player simultaneous mode was the battle mode, which was way ahead of its time but not a substitute for co-op.

[@josephbradshaw6985]

Yeah he's confusing the 2 games, or maybe the arcade.

[@cjhatesu]

I like lists like this that aren't just reiterating the same popular titles. It's also fun hearing your childhood memories that made these games your favorites. Kinda reminds me of the channel "My Retro Life".

[@JoeyRock333]

This is a great idea Russ. Reminds me of games I need to go back and replay. Can't wait to see all the future shows in the series.

[@PeeJaySpear]

I was literally just thinking the other day how I want a lot of the emulation / retro handheld KZbinrs to talk about their favorite games on each platform. As someone who grew up starting with later consoles and limited access to them and now loves video game history, it’s really cool to see what people’s favorite games and memories they have with them are. Definitely makes me want to play them; please continue the series!

[@wdwmainline]

Russ, you need to keep doing videos like these. I love how your love for these games naturally unfold in your dialogue. I do love the hardware vids, but I would love a series on this channel dedicated to the retro games themselves. Seriously phenomenal job, my man. My list would definitely include Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Warrior, and my number 1 game on the NES would be Duck Tales. The music and mechanics in that game really pushed. the NES to another level

[@kylesmith3045]

Great video, and series concept! I love the discussion about the most relevant devices for the system

[@sotosmatthew3046]

Great idea for the new series,its always interesting to me what people prefer to play.

[@AphexSchwinn]

I loved this!! I’m your age, and it’s so cool to hear someone recommend NES games that aren’t the typical top 10. I’ve always appreciated personal favorite recommendations over the objectively “best” games, so this was a lot of fun. A lot of these were games I remember seeing at friends houses but never really playing and wasn’t familiar with. I’ll definitely be playing through a few of these now that I know a bit more about them. Baster Master and Shadow of the Ninja look amazing!

[@DonkeyRhubarb21]

I'm really happy to see that being the age I am, the praise of gaming history is coming into its own. I love and appreciate it all. What a time to be alive.

[@Boyiaka97]

Russ, you’re absolutely one of my favorite KZbinrs at the moment, not just because of your in-depth and thoughtful reviews, but for these videos too (including the Q&A) where we get to go down memory lane with you. I’m definitely down for more of these kinds of videos.

[@rangoononline]

Great list. Dragon Warrior 4 is my favorite in the series.

[@ThCrimsonReaper]

Amazing new series, can't wait to see the videos for each console

[@acidbern12]

I’m so glad TMNT made it to this list of your favourites! I enjoyed playing it when it first released as well!

[@matthagen67]

Happy to see "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" getting some love. I played this game all the time as a kid. I've beaten it twice.

[@jonbon7219]

the horse chase aspect is the hardest part lol.... ur first playthrough, everyone was like WTF!!???

[@robert.sec2]

Very excited for this. I love that these videos are starting to take off in this hobby; I, and I imagine so many, love the idea of retrogaming, but often have massive blindspots for different systems, don't know where to begin

[@WMARUoriginal]

Oh man great idea Russ! Would love to see more like this.

[@traviscunningham_1]

A Boy And His Blob would be an obscure game on my list. I feel like nobody owned or played it, but lots of memories with this one.

[@tompadfoot3065]

Omg I played this all the time. I remember one time I managed to get Blob to eat the Ketchup jelly bean that permanently turned him into a wall and being so sad

[@jason_mc77]

This was a nice trip down memory lane. I forgot about Wizards and Warriors and yeah it was ridiculously hard. In no particular order: 1. Mike Tysons Punch-Out 2. RC Pro-Am 3. Pro Wrestling 4. Super Mario 2 and 3 equally 5. Ninja Gaiden 6. Dragon Warrior 7. Super Tecmo Bowl 8. The Legend of Zelda 9. Double Dragon 2 10. Ring King 11. Contra 12. Mega Man 2 13. Kings of The Beach 14. Final Fantasy 15. Baseball Stars

[@Dang0thebepis]

I *really* enjoyed this video. It's so refreshing and wholesome to hear about your memories of these games, with beautiful captures

[@ConnattyProductions]

Such a great video, you did great job capturing the feeling of playing games as a kid, got me full of nostalgia! Would love to see you do more of these with other systems

[@davidmathis7780]

Duuude no way! I JUST went through the NES catalog a couple days ago myself! I was assembling my own curated playlist for NES, either games I have fond memories of (like Blaster Master, Little Nemo) or games I missed that and want to try to find (Dragon Warrior, Castlevania). Love this idea for a series

[@damondelgado4603]

That's what I did the other day with castlevania. I got all the way up to dracula before the power went out in my neighborhood. I'm going to have to revisit this one and beat it for sure.

[@YouTubeCensors]

Ninja Gaiden 1-2, SMB 2-3, Mike Tyson's punch out, Zanac, Zelda 1-2, Life Force, Adventures of Bayou Billy, Slalom, Battle of Olympus, Willow, Goonies 2, Tetris. Off the top of my head. I might have changed a couple if I thought about it longer.

[@YouTubeCensors]

And I was right as soon as you started. Blaster Master! I literally still have the Nintendo Power Poster plastered at my folks home 😂. Also Contra, Castlevania, Mega Man as very worthy options as well

[@gloamingtime]

Little Nemo was one of my favorite movies as a kid, I loved the NES game but it was so hard to figure out when I was young. As I got older I got super excited to find a DVD copy of the movie at a highway convenience stop of all places. I still have it and I've watched it with my own kid. The making of the movie is really interesting as it's somewhat an anime produced for the American market.

[@briandrumgold642]

Mario 2 was my favorite as well. Love the music when you go inside the door to the cave. I love tmnt 2, Mike.Tyson Punch Out, Megaman 2 and for Castlevania....Super Castlevania.4 is my all time favorite and that games soundtrack still BANGS!!

[@mikeh.9954]

Enjoyed this clip (as well as your other content)!

[@unclerukmer]

Noticed you playing with Retro Achievements. Can't praise that site enough. It makes going back to old games really fun.

[@drukharimatter2962]

First time finding your channel! I honestly just love the fact that you are straight, to the point and not over the top/fake. Thanks for just straight up honest opinions and info!

[@scottpetrovic]

Yes! I have actually been getting a bit of review-fatigue. It is nice to get ideas or opinions on some good gems to try out.

[@JetAnhyzer]

You single handedly gave me a new hobby and love for retro gaming and retro gaming handhelds. Thank you

[@PongbyAtari]

Its really fun to see you share your favorites looking forward to more videos on other systems like this. Happy Holidays!

[@maxducoudray]

Top 5 I’d add to the list: Zelda, Kirby, River City Random (all of which you mentioned), plus Excite Bike and Bionic Commando.

[@JGLCSW]

Spectacular list. One correction however, Double Dragon 1 on the NES was only one player. I know, because that was my first NES game.

[@Incense3]

Yeah that was so disappointing. It had the one on one fighting game mode thing, but that wasn’t the same. I loved the 2 player co-op in the arcade and on pretty much every other port. Fun game though!

[@Bushidounohana]

Love your perspective and the invitation to meander down memory lane … what a different world gaming once was! As a fellow 80s and 90s kid, I remember the schoolyard serving as the precursor to Internet forums, the video store expanding our play experiences one weekend at a time, and the long lost juxtaposition of impossible to beat and 30 minute romps, often in the same game, separated by cheat codes. And the reminiscing on co-op play with siblings really brings it home-that’s one of the top reasons that I emulate today. Holidays and family gatherings still hold that communal gaming goodness when I bring along a laptop or Steam Deck to plug into the big screen. Great stuff, as always, Russ, looking forward to your further explorations on the topic! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

[@chuvinho10]

Fun to listen to your experience of gaming with your brothers. Very nostalgic for me as my family did the same. What a cool era we grew up in.

[@TheBlargMarg]

I still love Gunnac. It's a phenomenal shmup (shoot em up). Very technical game with its power system, challenging but not impossible, looks great, and has a great sound track.

[@rvreqTheSheepo]

I didn't beat Expert with ricochets to this day 😢

[@damondelgado4603]

It is also pretty expensive these days

[@kevino8420]

I kept seeing the thumbnail for this video and didn't realize it was yours, so I've been ignoring it! Glad I finally clicked, and I'm looking forward to seeing the series continue!

[@spartaninvirginia]

A video I didn't know I wanted. Nice. Merry Christmas, Russ

[@NobleEinherjar0]

I can't wait to see more from this series. I love your hardware reviews. They've helped me make a few purchases for my personal use cases. So it's fun to see what games you might be using all of your own devices for. Whether I learn about new games or not, whether I like the same games or not, I just really like seeing what people love.

[@Ash_1277]

Gonna absolutely love this series man!

[@Sneakers8b]

I really hope you do more of these, I love hearing about your history with gaming. A lot of us born in the 80s can reminisce, I would love to see your sega favorites. I’m a bit younger than you, so I know some of my memorial gaming moments you would have been in college, or serving for our country, but that’s alright.

[@MrDiegoM1978]

I was expecting a video like this! Amazing, as always. All the best! Greetings, from Argentina.

[@AphexSchwinn]

The stories how you played these games really took me back. There’s something so special about those games you could only play at a friends house, or rent and play with brothers. I love the games that are special to people just because those are the ones we happened to have at home.

[@highsurf]

looking forward to future episodes of this!!

[@kleenbeats]

I remember getting super Mario brothers 2 for my birthday. We had Pizza Hut for dinner and I was able to stay up late playing the game (even after I switched it off briefly to watch Doogie Howser MD, haha). I still rank it as one of the happiest moments of my life for some reason (despite accomplishing much in my life). Happiness as a kid always beats happiness as an adult!

[@WickedGamerCollector]

Love this kind of video's ... bring back the nostalgia !

[@mattb6522]

Great video! I love the idea of this series and I hope you continue with other classic systems like the Genesis, SNES, and GameBoy! I was also an '80s kid that grew up with many of these games either by friends or family. I have very fond memories of Life Force, Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros 2, Little Nemo, Castlevania and Contra as well! Some of my absolute favorites were Kirby's Adventure, Bubble Bobble, Mega Man 3, DuckTales, Adventure Island II, Adventures of Lolo, Shatterhand, and Super Mario Bros 3. The great thing about NES games now is that there are so many awesome rom hacks for many of these games that breathe new life into them and provide a new spin on an old classic!

[@hotchoclateguy]

This is really helpful. I never played too many NES games and now don’t know where to start. Appreciate your help.

[@steveandrade3477]

I was also 9 when the first Batman movie came out. Great video. It brought back memories of maddening difficulty, cheat codes, asking friends at school how far they got in a game, borrowing a friend's Game Genie to beat a game, reading game mags in Walgreens, and staying up late at my friend's house playing Contra.

[@bdanka50]

This is going to be amazing seeing your videos about games too! Very excited. Couple of nitpicks... 1) Double Dragon NES didn't have 2 player 🤨 2) Contra impossible on three lives? 😎 Love your videos and channel. Happy Holidays Russ!

[@PlasmaSnake369]

Maybe he's thinking of the Genesis version

[@FreimannMusic]

Please create more videos for this series! Amazing, this is just what I missed from you

[@HypocritesExposd]

Definitely down for more of these types for videos. Between my cousin and I as kids, we had well over 50 NES games, yet you listed at least 5 that I’ve never played or even heard of.

[@NoelTugy]

I received my Odin 2 today and I'm so excited to start playing with it💖

[@SwordSaint892]

More of these, this was fun and I learned about some cool games I hadn't heard of before :) The storytelling about your family/friends playing the games was a blast too.

[@tysonb1460]

Great video, made me recall a lot of the nostalgia I had with my friend and games like excitebike, RC Pro am, etc. also I loved Robin Hood when I was younger and I was starting to think I was the only one!

[@Jeremy_Hopkins]

This is a fun idea for a series! A couple games I really enjoy that don't often make lists are Legacy of the Wizard and The Guardian Legend.

[@lostworldvideogames]

This is not the list I wanted, this is the list I needed. Going to have a Russ marathon and play these on the steam deck while on holiday time off.

[@broncosbreaks]

Thanks for recognizing tecmo Super Bowl. It doesn’t get nearly as much love as it deserves. You highlighted the facts well, and your identification of replayability speaks to why this should be acknowledged as a top tier game

[@Muneeb100]

Another amazing video Russ. Keep it up man

[@benjaminjohnson6936]

Love this kind of video, and it goes so nicely with the hardware reviews and emulation guides. I know my favorite games from the old school systems, but there's always something new and weird to discover, since, like you mentioned, these were before the internet and it was actually super hard to discover games beyond going to someone's house that had some weird game, or randomly renting a game based off its cover.

[@bruxolabs-thedefitribunal]

wizard and warriors!! My dad randomly bought this game, it holds a special place in my heart lol Great video.

[@jmxtoob]

Man we're the same age but you hide it better! Another great year for another great channel, and, maybe because it's exactly the same nostalgia but love the top game format. Have a safe and happy holidays

[@estylegreesye4384]

Great video and great idea with this new series. Not only talking about hardware all the time, but more about the games, as well. Man, I love Chip 'n Dale 1 + 2 by CAPCOM on the NES. I've played it a thousand times and still play it. Just an awesome game!

[@zwallop]

This is such a fun list! I have a Miyoo Mini Plus and a buddy of mine recently got the Anbernic 35XX Plus and we were able to play NES Contra together over Netplay! It was such a hoot.

[@theovermatt]

Always love videos like this and it's cool to hear your stories about them, bring on the ones for other consoles! One slightly more obscure series I'd recommend for folks checking out the NES is StarTropics, 2 games that were kind of Zelda mixed with a JRPG. The first one even had a moment where you had to dip a letter that came in the game box into water to reveal a secret code to advance, which was wild.

[@NonyaDamnbusiness]

From 1992 to 2013 I was either in the Army overseas or deployed or working as a GS or as a contractor overseas and didn't really have time for games. Plus I traveled around so much back then that most of the time I was living out of a duffel bag or suitcase between "go here, do this" jobs. I use my retro handhelds to catch up on what I missed. I did have a Sega CD as a young private but that was stolen from me in Germany by a corrupt NCO who broke into our stored-in-the-attic household goods when we were deployed to Bosnia back in '95. Man, I loved the Sega CD. Had original copies of Snatcher, Sonic, Night Trap, etc. All gone, stolen by that complete and utter b@st@rd and sold in pawnshops/shops across Hesse. But I can play them all on my RGB30 or Pocket 3+ Metal. That NCO went AWOL and fled, and was later "dropped-from-rolls" as a deserter but a group of us were able to track him down in the Netherlands and drag him back and hand him over to the MPs for prosecution. But that's a tale for another time...

[@pholly]

Dragon Warrior was also my first RPG, I love everything about that game except the convoluted controls. There is a rom hack that makes it so that you can automatically walk up and down stairs just by walking on the icon that helps tremendously. I thought I was the only person who liked Shadowgate on NES, I love the soundtrack especially. I played it too many times to count but could never finish it, I'll probably have to play it again one day.

[@rossmessing]

It’s interesting to see that the most detail oriented, passionate hardware reviewer on the scene has almost the same video game biases and preferences as I do. Mario 2 over Mario 3 is a controversial choice, and I’d have replaced Shadow of the Ninja (which I’ve never heard of, but sounds like Ninja Gaiden X Castlevania) with Bubble Bobble. You even reminded me of Robin Hood, which was, as you said, a great rental. I feel like this video fleshed you out in more 3D as a gamer, for me. I’d be really curious to see your top lists on other consoles. For nostalgia and comparison, SNES first. But now that I know how to assess our relative preferences better, I’d be really interested in your recommendations for consoles that were less popular, and thus caused me to miss some “hidden gems”.

[@mattiez7295]

Loved this list! Definitely titles I've never even heard of or even thought to try. I'd love to see more of this - along with your other videos, of course!

[@ryanyarnell4446]

Love the idea for this series!

[@asdfasdfsdflk]

hell yeah, blaster master might be my fav nes game

[@Opebin]

I gotta say this is content I love to hear about. We all know the "showcasable" games for handhelds but it's cool seeing every so often what you're interested in playing leaking into the videos

[@thatsgoodpocky]

Thanks Russ, that was a fun video. It was nice hearing the stories behind your picks. We had a Commodore 64 during this period so I didn’t play the NES much apart from a little kiosk that was set up in our local supermarket that only ever had Gremlins 2 set up in it.

[@joshd.642]

Great video. Especially the parts where you talk about recommended handhelds based on the system. Look forward to seeing for other systems in the future. Another great series approach would be to go over different handhelds based on lifestyle. Like someone looking for something to play around the house vs someone looking to play from business travel, etc.

[@benc.5558]

"Now, we all love buying and setting up gaming handhelds, but did you know you can play games on them too? It's true!"

[@BulldogBadger]

I was today years old…

[@daniltaru]

Great video, Russ! Please do make more of such "my favourite games on console X"! And my personal favourite NES game would probably be Battle City. It never came out in the West, only Japan, but we had it on the pirate cartridges that were sold everywhere in the post-Soviet countries together with the pirate Taiwanese and Chinese Famicom clones. It was a lot of fun!

[@conza1989]

Great series idea Russ, looking forward to the next one, especially since everyone is a different age, had Nintendo, Sega, Sony or Microsoft potentially, but necessarily all or even multiples, different systems will hit different, and coming to a system with or without nostalgia too

[@woody9437]

Dude...Wizards and Warriors was a game my brother and I played all the time. I loved it so much. I didn't think anyone else knew about it.

[@viktorpede1840]

Love the series already as it gives us a good idea for interesting games to play on all the Retrohandhelds you are introducing. Please keep on going and cover other systems like GB, GBC, GBA, SNES, Genesis, etc

[@dawnyfrogmouth]

I really enjoyed hearing your personal stories around each of these games. :)

[@troybishop9644]

Great list. A lot of my favorites were on there. Look forward to more videos in this series.

[@ilpastor]

It has just started and I already love it! Keep going Russ, have a happy Christmas holiday and a happy new year!

[@AgingBoy]

Double dragon and contra brings back a lot of childhood memories. Looking forward to your GBA and GC games

[@JetSpiegel88]

Love this video because it reminded me of the era of owning games that were so hard that even after years we wouldn't beat them. We had Ironsword and never beat that. Another in that category is James Bond Jr.

[@qhoton]

Ues please! Very interesting series, would like to see more this kind of format from you. Enjoyed it alot!

[@paperoverflow]

All I can say is yeeeeeeeah, when I saw the thumbnail my eyes were glimmering with 8 bit stars 🤩👾 Merry Christmas also 🌲✨️🎅🏼☃️🦌

[@joemayne2265]

Love the video Russ. Brought back a lot of memories of walking down to the video store and renting NES games ($2.12 per game for two days rental). Got to add a couple recommendations. Instead of Wizards and Warriors, how about Faxanadu? And if you like Blaster Master, try The Guardian Legend for that multiple format game! Little Nemo and Tecmo Super Bowl were favorites of mine too. And while I had Dragon Warrior I, I destroyed II, III and IV too ! Good times.

[@percillo]

The NES was my first console and it came with a 42 games cartridge, probably pirated games. My favorites were Balloon Fight, Super Spy Hunter, Blades of Steel and Contra

[@MikeySaxMusic]

Wow! Incredible picks. I had some clue about most, but not one clue about that Mac port! Russ, keep doing these! This will train us all that it’s not the shell we play the game on, but the game itself.

[@serpserpserp]

Watching this reminded me that I had the Power Glove at one stage for the NES. It was a bit shoddy looking back at it, but I was the most popular kid in my neighbourhood for awhile! Punch Out was probably the most fun with the glove.

[@rylch44]

What a great list! So many good ones on here. Well done on the video. So cool.

[@afasico9669]

I love that you're making these videos. I like how well made your videos are, but I'm not looking into buying more consoles at the moment, so I don't really watch most of your videos. Looking forward to seeing which games resonate with you.

[@uncme123]

I’m the same age and this speaks to my heart. So glad to see Tecmo Super Bowl on this list! Some games I loved that weren’t on here and often get skipped: Gunsmoke -With an NES Advantage and turbo to the max, so much fun Jackal - Jeeps, grenades, and missiles while saving POWs…what’s not to love Tetris - The music in this game is stuck in my head to this day Golf - first time playing golf and I loved it Excitebike - it had a course editor!

[@SuperSkip64]

Not in any particular order, I just needed to keep track haha I’ll avoid attaching a memory or story to each game but one about the system: I was born 1991 so when I was able to play games the SNES and N64 were more current but my dad still had the NES out playing Duck Hunt and Zelda. He gave me his NES and SNES when he and my mother divorced and I still put lots of hours into it. Unfortunately when I was around 12 I saw an ad for the new GameBoy advanced SP. I gathered up my NES and sold it on eBay. Biggest regret of my life, especially since my dad is no longer here. But everytime I hear that click and the Zelda music start I feel home again :) Great video, I loved hearing the reflections instead of a cold read of some facts 1-Legend of Zelda 2-Punch Out 3-Mario Bros 3 4-Duck Tales 5-Duck Hunt 6-Mega Man 2 7-Donkey Kong 8-Mario Bros 9-Kung-Fu 10-DigDug

[@grzegorz__]

This is fantastic list and video! You see, there are people from different parts of the world (such as me) who didn't have a chance to play NES as a kids. We had ZX Spectrum / Commodore C64 / Atari 800XL - so microcomputers. Game consoles were pretty much unkown. Now, as a grown man ;p, well it started in pandemy, I'm exploring all of these systems I didn't have chance to play. BUT there is one issue. There are tons of lists, hidden gems etc. but it is actually rather hard to find the videos where somebody just tells which exact games he did play in his childhood. This video fills the gap very well :) Now I know that in some parallel world, as a 8-9 year old kid having NES, I would for example play Dragon Warrior or Contra :) instead for example Green Beret or Commando (on C64).

[@there615]

Thank you so much for posting this. I asked you for something similar a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to the other videos! All the best from Israel.

[@SteveC-x6t]

Fairly new retro gamer and love these types of vids for good games please keep em coming! 👍🙂