NES Games You were Playing in 1989

1989 may have been the best year for video games in general. So many fantastic games came out in 1989. Here's a look at just some of the ones you were playing on NES.
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[@JohnRiggs]

The NES games you were playing in 1988 kzbin.info/www/bejne/joOQeZl9mZeLbbs

[@JoHnAnDjAnEdOe81]

Any games from you like AVGN for PS5?

[@Scaash]

8:07 your surpise reaction: NANI?????

[@Rinavani]

Everytime I watch your videos I’m overwhelmed with nostalgia. I’ll be 42 tomorrow so I grew up through the entire NES/SNES era.

[@scranberry6536]

Happy early Birthday!!!

[@Nick_Nightingale]

Happy Birthday, Bud! 👍

[@jeremyhansen2611]

I just turned 45 this year same here bud

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

I have more fun watching your NES game videos than I do when I actually play them when you talk about NES it's kinda comforting to listen too 😉

[@hank1537]

I’ve been watching your channel since 1998

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

I remember renting NES games at the local grocery store man I sure miss that for sure 😃

[@stripedrajang3571]

Local grocery store? Wow. I'm from the 80's and 90's, and I don't remember them doing that. However, I do remember local mom and pop general stores renting and selling videogames. It blows my mind now.

[@egocide9034]

One of the best experiences on the NES back in the day was playing Shadowgate alone in the dark around age 5-10... Anyone who did, you know what I mean.

[@johnvaldez90]

Rented it numerous times never made it through the second door until adulthood

[@Mindblazter80]

The music was awsome..

[@TheSlashTraxNetwork]

Uninvited as well

[@JoeSmith-bb8gg]

And stuff like that .

[@solearesoul]

Shadowgate is a masterpiece. One of my favorite NES games.

[@Wavetheory85]

Im so glad to see johns channel blow up over the past few years. It seems like 50k to 193k subscribers went quite fast. He earned it.

[@ThatOneDude219]

I just found him about 3 months ago. Been loving his content

[@alannaramone3821]

Rikki choshoe was a famous Korean born Japanese wrestler of the 1950s and 60s he was murdered by the yakuza in the late 60s If I remember correctly?? Great video love your stuff Riggs.

[@PCGamer77]

Christmas 1988 was when I got my NES and Super Mario Bros. 2. Christmas 1989 was when I got SO MANY great NES games. I owned and loved Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man 2, Strider, TMNT, Guerrilla War, Dragon Warrior, Faxanadu, P.O.W., Sky Shark, and Ironsword. Thanks for the terrific nostalgia trip Riggs!

[@HulkHands54]

Nothing will compare to being a kid in the 80s, Christmas day, and finding a NES in your presents. Best. Christmas. Ever.

[@yogidemis8513]

I'm stoked that I was a 80s kid and a 90s teen. It's was a different time back then. A great era!

[@stinkypinkeee5085]

One time playing Wrestlemania, I was Andre The Giant and my Friend was Honky Tonk Man...he threw one running back elbow and pinned me in five seconds...never happened again, after trying multiple attempts at recreating the moment...I had fun with that rotten game...

[@cheshiredon]

Such a great year for the NES. Some of my favorite games of all time on here. Battle of Olympus, Shadowgate, Faxanadu and more. So good.

[@JoshWeeks]

Dude, you are 100% right about Techmo Bowl. I've never cared about watching football, but I loved techmo bowl. And I'd say it's probably the reason I liked playing little league and high school football.

[@blitheringrando1410]

Guerilla War was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. I played it at my dads friends house and borrowed it once. I legit had dreams about that game. So fun.

[@stephen9302]

I miss Friday afternoons after school and my Mom saying "Do you want to rent a game for the weekend"? Good times 😊

[@nomadofnuketown]

Bringing out the nostalgia in fashion my brother. Great video!

[@patrickhenry1030]

My dad bought an NES for my brother and I around '87 or '88. It came with a grey zapper and the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridge. The only console we had played up until that point was the Atari 2600, so we were all blown away.

[@chrismidyette1098]

DuckTales with such a well-done game. Live long in my memory fun entertaining and challenging. Also remember figuring out you can control the duck with the second controller in Duck Hunt it was so much fun making the Dog laugh at your friends

[@tcdahn7]

We got our Nintendo in 1987. My best friend got his in 1989 and his grandma bought him a new game every 2 weeks that year. He had twice as many games as I did by Christmas.

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

I had never played star soldier until I got my Switch and man it's a really great game been playing the heck out of it... gives me arcade vibes love it and it's all because I saw your videos talking about it...

[@kushviper]

Dragon Warrior completely captivated me as a 9 year old in 89. It’s easily a top 10 NES title for me.

[@Magnetar_StarHeart]

Yes I remember the dragon warrior commercials and getting it some time after christmas.

[@Broomba51]

Got my NES for Christmas in 1986 and Zelda 1 gold cartridge in Aug 1987. I was 14 years in 86, and 15 in 87.

[@MattyIcecubes]

I got my NES in July 1988 and it was a great time to get one

[@lonreed9743]

I think it was Xmas of ‘86 -‘87 our mom got us the NES Power Set w/ SMB/DuckHunt/WCTM and the PAD, along with Tyson’s Punch-Out and Rad Racer. That’s when I knew I’d be a gamer forever.

[@jasonjones7461]

1989 was a terrific year for nintendo. The Gameboy released in 89 as well. I was 4 years old and wanted one SO badly because the NES was my older brothers and I could always play it whenever i wanted. I finally got one the next year for Christmas and it is one of my favorite memories. It was my own console that i could play anytime and anywhere! I was 5 years old and could sit and play tetris for over an hour. Can you imagine 5 year old kids of today having the attention span to do that? Haha. Shortly after i got two other games. Super Mario Land and the infamous Castlevania: The Adventure. I loved them both despite never getting by the second stage in Castlevania haha. Fast forward to today, im 38 and i still have that same Gameboy and it still works perfectly and i play it very often and still buy games to add to my arsenal.

[@WiseAssGamer]

Christmas, 1988. 11 years old. The day I knew, I was a gamer for life. Me and my siblings got an NES. And all through 1989 and beyond. I even remember the games that we got. Karnov, Ice Hockey, the original Baseball, and the Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt that came with the system. We weren’t rich growing up, so getting a new game was few and far between.

[@roar1149]

Me too. I got an NES for my birthday and just the Mario bros./ duck hunt game that came with it. I got really good at it because it’s all I had. Over the course of 4 years I only had 4 games total, Zelda, Trojan, and RC Pro Am. Then I had a tag sale and made $30 went straight to a store and bought excite bike. That was my biggest purchase for years to come hah.

[@sourandbitter3062]

I got an NES Everdrive years ago but Legacy of the Wizard is the only game I had to have in original cartridge. I tell myself the same, "one of these days I'll use a guide". The music is great, left a huge impression on young me.

[@yogidemis8513]

LOTW is one of my favorite Nes games, it's definitely a challenge but rewarding when you figure it out. The music is great, I use the dungeon theme as my alarm clock. Hope you finally get to beat the game someday.

[@lyrand6408]

I got my own NES in December 1991. The system had been out on the American market for a good 5 years at that point. The very best games has been out for a while, and the beauty about it is that I _didn't know_ about it. The first time I walked in the NES section of my local games stores to rent my first NES game I was a literal kid in a candy store not knowing where to start. Everything was there. The best ones, and the popular ones in multiple copies next to each others; probably 3 to 4 SMB3s next to each others on the shelves, same with Mega Mans, Castlevanias, the Zeldas, Contras, TMNTs, all categorized, from first to last in their series; along with the independent gems... it was all there. And I thought it was all 'recent' lol. I didn't know, and it was a blast in my mind.

[@davidlinehat4657]

Dragon Warrior is my favorite game of all time. I was 7 years old and played it everyday. The story sparked my imagination and every saturday we'd wander around the woods pretending to be Erderick. I found my cartridge when I was 20, and with the help of online maps, I finally beat it in 2003

[@joesshows6793]

The amount of bangers that came out this year is off the charts

[@aprichman]

Somehow I got the Three Stooges NES game for Christmas or maybe a birthday? It was so random but pretty fun. 😂

[@comicschris77]

Adams Family came out in 91. Festers Quest was based on the original show in the 60s. I also loved that game even though it can be very unfair at times.

[@iamthebiggs252]

I was just thinking this same thing.

[@ztyphoon8982]

In 1989 I was playing a game called Escape my Mother’s Womb. I finally beat the game in July.

[@natecw4164]

Got mine 12/25/89. Mario & Duck Hunt with the old-school grey light gun. One of the best Christmases ever! PS, although I couldn't beat Friday the 13th as a kid, it sure did the job of scaring me!!

[@kendo7964]

Same here i played it forever and never couod figure it out. tlThat game made me so mad. Had to find out how it ends 30 years later on KZbin.

[@ErikRosenquist-c3n]

John, these NES games are fire!!!!!!! How can you not like these timeless classics? Plus, Bam Bam Bigelow's the perfect wrestler with freakish agility & speed for a big man.

[@darktetsuya]

some great games for sure! TMNT 1, the cover art comes from one of the comics and they all wore the same color in those days prior to the cartoon series.

[@albericozapata4086]

Dragon warrior was a game that got me into RPG's but more due to the Dragon Quest: adventures of Dai anime. I recognized the soundtrack from the anime and it kept me interested in the series. Till this day I still Play every released version. DQ monsters on the switch is out and im hooked. Salutations John.

[@IntriguedGaming]

So many awesome games I didn't realize released in 89. Good Stuff!

[@michaelsuder486]

Love Dragon Warrior and its sequels. Still play them

[@mrnobodytheuser2950]

Cristmas 1989 I was playing Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt Zelda Gradius and Ghost N Goblins as thats when I got my beloved NES which I still have.

[@mamoruisamu1]

I believe I got my NES in 1989. I believe I got Silent Service and Air Fortress as $20 games from Lionel Play World. I like them both and still have them.

[@TimothySmiths]

For me we rented from a mom and Pop video store mainly, or borrowed games from friends, although we did also have a local comic store that bought used games and we could bring in games to trade, maybe pay a buck or two out of pocket, so we would turn over games a lot that way too.Addams family game came out before the movies, the first movie wasnt till 199,so that's why it is more based on the TV series.

[@leonjohnsonjr3331]

Shadowgate was the game i love it

[@Gamingwithgleez]

My mom brought me to Toys R Us for my birthday in 1989 to pick any game I wanted. I picked Predator. I loved the movie and thought the game would play like Contra. It didn't play like Contra. I learned to enjoy it though.

[@robertcatania1120]

it was definitely "grindy" but I have a great nostalgia for the OG Dragon Warrior. I still have all the guides, maps, index card that Nintendo Power sent with the game.

[@seanshankredemption1603]

Just hearing the phrase "couch co-op" makes me feel bad for the kiddos today. Online is fun but couch co-op was FAR superior.

[@TheJamesShow00]

This was the year we got the NES for christmas. Got f13, kung fu heroes and jaws in addition to the pack in mario duckhunt. love those games to this day no matter what anyone says and still have the carts of them

[@dacatindahat8275]

Hope you had a good holiday Mr. Riggs. Looking forward to your content in the new year brother!!!

[@rhysm.5915]

My dad already had one when I was born, so I had the incredible privilege of growing up with a kick-ass library of games for as long as I can remember. It makes me laugh now to think about the time I played Super Mario World on my brother's friend's SNES then got so angry when I couldn't ride the koopas like Yoshi on the NES Mario Bros. I was like four years old screaming at the TV, "Mario, you ride that Yoshi! RIGHT. NOW!"😂😂😂

[@Nick_Nightingale]

Yup. 1989 was the year I got mine. Great year for music, movies, tv and video games.

[@mattnova18]

I really need to watch your videos with a pad of paper! so many games I didn't know about! I didn't game a lot until the Genesis came out, but nowadays I'm always looking for a "hidden gem" for nes

[@bigjplay]

This video is my late Christmas present! Thank you very much!

[@bigzizzo]

Tecmo Bowl and Baseball Stars are two of my favorite games of all time!!!

[@R3troZone]

1989 is when I got my NES. I turned 12 that September but I worked the whole summer on a farm milking cows and stacking hay bales in order to pay for it. That's also when they lowered the price from $150 to $120 so that's probably when a lot of people got there's, after the first big price drop.

[@spoonshiro]

Much as I love Fist of the North Star it has very few worthwhile video games. Also the original version of Dragon Quest/Warrior was even more primitive. All characters faced toward the screen at all times so you had to pick a direction every time you wanted to talk or interact with something, and there was no battery save - you had to punch in a password!

[@steveb7932]

keep the videos comin john

[@toddburgess5056]

Excellent video, thanks for the memories 🕹️ 👾

[@vivsavage13]

1989 was a great year. For games and for just about everything. Tecmo Bowl was my favorite, and I did use the Dolphins. 🐬

[@mattchalucha894]

I suck at most video games, but I love classic game visuals! Thank you for these awesome videos!

[@retroraider5313]

Hop3 to see you in 2024 John!! Love the tattoo

[@retrojoe85]

A lot of great games, I bet that this video requested more efforts than usual.

[@goldengirl8355]

Good point!

[@88cutty]

I got mine for my 10th birthday in 89. I wanted it because of Tecmo Bowl. I also got my Nintendo Power subscription because of Dragon Warrior. The bonus maps and book were very helpful.

[@burner9147]

We love you John

[@trapbartedlifts6038]

Great memories. As a ww2 junky at an early age, I loved silent service. It was a pretty difficult and had a lot of replay value.

[@Retro_Beek]

Always love these videos! Thank you for sharing.

[@thommccarthy1139]

Festers Quest OST absolutely rips. It's tough but manageable with a turbo controller/4 player adapter jawn.

[@georged7627]

Cobra triangle is one of Nintendos best 🙏🏾duck tales is a masterpiece

[@sesa2984]

Bonberman (and Mario 2) was my favorite Nintendo game. Perfectly fit my brain.

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

Got some kind of flu crud sitting here eating homemade potato soup and enjoying the video nice and relaxing thanks 👍

[@fatfurie]

why did i like bambam and hacksaw so much lol..wasnt even a huge fan but they stuck out so much for me

[@krisfrederick5001]

I love Marble Madness, it wasn't even about the graphics, it was about the competition. I'm still playing them in 2023~Soon to be 2024! I'm waiting to see your opinion of The Black Bass.

[@forcedfeedbackclassicgamer5499]

So many great games for the NES that year. I got my NES that year, too. Fyi, Fester's Quest did NOT coincide with the release of the Addams Family movie. The first film with Raul Julia, Angelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd didn't hit theaters until 1991, two years AFTER the NES game came out... Still a fun (albeit brutally difficult at times) game, though.

[@JohnRiggs]

oh yeah, huh.

[@grey_wulf]

Ultima Exodus was pretty dope back in the day.

[@WalkingRoscoe]

Thank you for the memories.

[@Trailblazer162]

I was 5 in 1989 and the Friday the 13th game terrified me. I remember Marble Madness. That was a cool game for the time. Ninja Gaiden is a classic now. I loved Mega Man 2. It's cool to see the games I loved as a kid that were new and unknown that are huge now. Like my favorite game in the 80s was the first Zelda game and to see how popular the franchise has become is incredible.

[@MCastleberry1980]

My best friend got Faxanadu... man, were obsessed with that game, right until he got SMB3.

[@whitemeteocrazy256]

My dad bought a NES in December 1988 at a Toys r Us in Fresno California. He also bought some games for the console.

[@arlichar11]

its wild to think back on it.. i was maybe one of the few luckiest kids, we rented games at local place and we ran up mega bills but we could keep game for like a week, not just 2 days ... we did this so much they became friends with my dad and then we really had the hookup.. for movies and collectables,, alll kinds of crazy good stuff! but the point i got try alot of games, but never owned or bought any games.. now im curious to play all the games i didnt know about lol

[@jamesmoss3424]

Ninja 🥷 Gaiden, TMNT, Boomerman, and more are the best ones of 1989.😀👍🎮

[@ThePhalanx2006]

I got my NES Christmas 1988. I got SMB/DH and LJN Magic League Baseball. It was horrible, but we didn’t know any better. In 1989 we got The Legend of Zelda and Back to the Future.

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

Oh I am so glad I have an excuse to talk about a doom mod made for this game and it fantastic how he remade it feels like 3d fps remake of the nes game even with a nice update to music from the game too. You just either need a copy of doom 2 or free Doom 2. And one of the whatever they call gzdoom to run it threw. But boy it is awesome. I wish I could figure out how to play it in away to advance the game cuse that part is confusing but dang it if it isn't fun to run around the nes firday the 13th in 3d. A game that was a big part of my childhood

[@OkieSmoken]

I got the nes for my 8th birthday in 1988. The snes was Christmas 1993. Ironically that was the last Christmas list I made.

[@JohnHenrySheridan]

1989, quite an extraordinary year for Nintendo and video games in general!

[@popeye5274]

I got my NES in 1989! Great year in my childhood.

[@themidcentrist]

In my opinion, Friday the 13th actually does a great job of making you feel like you are in a Friday the 13th movie. It nails the atmosphere of dread it is going for. I think it's biggest flaw is how obtuse the game is in a Castlevania II or Atari 2600 E.T. kind of way. I also think it wasn't a good game for kids at a time when video game consoles were mainly played by kids. I think it is a good game as long as you get on the internet and learn how to play it, but at the time I don't think Nintendo should have allowed it to be released but It could have been great on the Commodore 64

[@kendo7964]

I hate Friday the 13th. I never could figure it out as a kid and hate it to this day. Had to find someone on KZbin to show me how the game ends 30 something years later. 😂

[@themidcentrist]

@@kendo7964 I didn't like it as a kid either, but after learning how it works as an adult I appreciate what Atlus was going for. It really needed some polish and play testing but in hindsight it was one of the few LJN games on the NES that wasn't horrible IMO

[@robertoperezjr.1119]

I remember when Ninja Gaiden came out. My best friend, who lived a few houses away got it and I was blown away by the whole game. It was sooo hard. I still haven't beaten it. hehee

[@Rountree1985]

I got mine a few years later, probably 91. The games I got were Mario/Duck Hunt, Mario 3 and Adventures of Lolo

[@OldSchoolCurt]

That hat is fire! I may have to get one! I think it’s awesome you like monster party! That game is so underrated!

[@joshualake237]

I appreciate the Friday the 13th love. I still enjoy it.

[@isd8894]

Back in the day, I hated that game, so I understand where the folks who have a negative opinion are coming from. Rented it several times, because I loved the movies, and could never get into it, largely because I had no idea what TF I was doing. After getting an understanding from some playthroughs, though, I bought the game earlier this year, and now really enjoy it. 😄

[@nike80nl]

Super great review of all nes games 👍.

[@johndiggle4229]

Just picked up a top loader perfect timing for this video

[@ZakkHung]

I love love love Kings of the Beach.

[@duckhive]

1989 was an incredible year for the present, as well as looking to the future: NEO GEO / Mega Drive / PC-Engine / Mario 3 / etc

[@MotherKojiro]

Legacy of the Wizard is, for my money, the best NES game we got; Esper Dream 2 just barely edges it out as my favorite on the system. There's such a huge, interesting world to explore, and yeah, some of the glove sections can be infuriating at times, but it's just fun to wander; I had the game for years before I found any of the four crowns you need to progress, and still loved it. Also, I'm that weirdo who kinda liked the X-Men game on NES. The gameplay sure wasn't great, but if you picked a character who could shoot, and had Nightcrawler as your companion (you could drag him through walls), it was alright, and the worlds were just so bizarre and fascinating that I enjoyed just exploring them, even if boss fights were agonizing.

[@ryandavis8658]

Incredible year in gaming! Hard to believe I was 9 years old. 😅

[@StusGameReviews]

I got my NES in 1989 - a friend was trying to save up to buy a Genesis and he sold me his NES and like 10 games for something like $20 total. :)

[@thatwasprettyneat]

THANK YOU, JOHN RIGGS

[@GhostJamm]

I was 5 in 1989, I totally rented that Sesame Street game all the time. Game rentals were $1 back then at the corner store.

[@ithydoodles]

I got a few of these new but a lot of them we found preowned at yard sales and flea markets. Our town was tiny. 15:06 ugh that water level. It took us hundreds of times to get through it. 18:34 I didn't get that game until jr high. For $1 or so.

[@necogreendragon]

Shout out to Safeway. I used to buy comics there. They had on of those pick 10 NES arcade cabinets.

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

This was not the only fist of the north star we got in north America there was also a Gameboy game about fist of the north star I know cause I use to rent it from my local video game store as a kid.

[@johnps1670]

1989 I had a real computer. Never had a NES.

[@lgmediapcsalon9440]

pcmr lol

[@isd8894]

I had both a PC/AT and an NES at the time. I loved the PC for the variety of quirky, esoteric shareware games, but at that time, nearly no PC game was as polished or involved as a decent NES title.