15 Best NES Games! [TOP GAMES]

[@ketchupguns]

it is completely heart-warming to see how happy you look talking about these games, man.

[@andrieffendi9542]

Yesss i think we also feel the excitement, reminiscence of your childhood memories when you are watching video game show on tv

[@RetroBreak]

Thanks both! Be sure to check out last weeks episode too for more childhood memories! :D

[@TimelordUK]

This is what I like about him too

[@colinspotswood9893]

Truth!

[@adamkane7513]

Yes, life seemed so much simpler back then. For a start there were only _two_ genders...

[@leogolive]

I'm 47 years old and still have my original NES and a ton of games!

[@ApplesauceNinja]

It is a breath of fresh air to see one of these top 10 videos that isn't a rehash of the same ten classics. Very well done!

[@spice_krispies]

The same games top the lists bc they're great for a reason. Rating other games on purpose to null the other good games importance is silly. In that case just do list not including the obvious choices

[@M4staBruce]

Always love your videos brotha. You can tell you truly have a love of gaming and you dont just pick the usual suspects. Keep up the good work!

[@RetroBreak]

Thanks so much! I’m working on a very interesting list at the moment! Hope you’ll enjoy when it’s live! :)

[@erikondrums]

Dude, I think hanging your place growing up would have been so much fun. Great taste in games as well as a great hang. Mega man is the GOAT as well.

[@alexisfranchino9537]

DEAR RETRO BREAK, FOR YEARS THE DREAM MASTER WAS IN MY HEAD GOING THROUGH ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN I HAD WITH IT AS A CHILD, BUT I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ITS NAME AND I WAS NEVER ABLE TO PLAY IT AGAIN, THANKS TO YOU I JUST DOWNLOADED IT ON MY PC, YOU EARNED A SUBSCRIBER AND MY GRATITUDE

[@jacobwebb2623]

I am a visually impaired gamer, and a huge fan of the NES. I wanted to thank you for mentioning an often over looked aspect of games, the music. There are many, many tracks I found back in the day and I still listen to today. Again great review.

[@josephpowers7155]

photophobia over here// i empathize with yoy bud, have a good 1

[@jacobwebb2623]

@@josephpowers7155 Yeah, there is not enough room for me to put down all I have, but lets just say I've confused Johns Hopkins twice, as well as scared the carp out of numerous eye doctors. That being said I am an avid gamer and LOVE,,,,,,, well what is considered now,,,,, "retro" games. Thanks for the response.

[@josephpowers7155]

@@jacobwebb2623 have a nice day bud, we will get through.

[@rogerbronchal9628]

A couple of game that I always miss in the top games list is Chip and Dale (1) and Jackie Chan action kung fu. Both are a lot of fun. Specially the first one that allows cooperative 2-player game which is quite rare in the platform.

[@leinz]

Although Zelda is a glaring miss, I’m glad you didn’t put it just to do so. This is your list and I’m happy it’s authentic. Nice video.

[@starfire6674]

Blue shadow... so that's how it is called. I always wondered. I so it just i few times when some bigger kids were playing it. Thanks. My favorite one by the way is the one where you transform into animals "Nemo" or something. It is getting hard at the end.

[@Shorty_Hutch]

I managed to complete ninja gaiden a year or two ago after a long time of learning the tactics. and after getting meningitis a few months back and having a bit of a hazy memory as a result, I was happy that I could still complete it :)

[@RetroBreak]

That’s awesome! I’ve never completed it, I’ve finished the Master System one though, which I think is even better, but it’s definitely a lot easier

[@Shorty_Hutch]

@@RetroBreak once you learn the specific paths it's manageable :) I'd love to try the master system version, I know there was an arcade version but not sure if its the same as the master system or not

[@bastian_anibal]

Played Kabuki and Blaster master on late summer 1997, Kabuki is a game i personal would say if you train good enough you can beat it (which i did) that summer at age 13, but blaster master was impossible, not until around 2007 with save state i could finish it LOL

[@genevadayburch]

I totally agree with the #1 spot!!! I freaking LOVE MEGAMAN!!!! You left out a few classics tho imo such as: Battletoads Super Contra Mickey Mouse: Adventures in Magic Kingdom Overall great selection of games!!!

[@djredshow]

Hats off the the 13 year old who beat freaking tetris. Played that for hours when it was new and all these years later this young man does the unthinkable. Congrats to him.

[@kylehill3883]

Bubble Bobble is a Arcade game. I remember sinking quarters on that game at the race track as a kid.

[@DAVEDigitalandVinylExpert]

Great choices, but I would have to have TMNT, Zelda and Link. 😊

[@kurtniekamp249]

I loved Contra, Jackal and many sports games….Tecmo Super Bowl. So many great NES titles

[@AliasEville]

absolutely spot-on with the bubble bobble soundtrack 😍😍

[@MrSilverberg]

I love this list of games, the best nes games I've ever played😊

[@09Joshmark]

Swordmaster and Cocoron, are just great

[@akhandtripathipyz9888]

My top 10 1: Super Mario Bros 3 2: Mega Man 2 3: Contra 4: Kirby's adventure 5: Akomajou Densetsu 6: Ninja Gaiden 3 (Japanese) 7: Legend of Zelda 8: Duck tales 9: Batman 10: Castlevania

[@ez-t1455]

Great list I will find some of these games

[@thegamingconnoisseur4151]

I'm inspired to make my own list of the top 10 to 15 or even 20 out of the 750 or so NES games

[@gilbertalcaraz5674]

i agree with your choices... great top 15...

[@American_Mike]

Blaster Master!! What a game! That was the first game where I found a bug. If you throw a grenade on a boss and hit pause the grenade will continue to do damage. Wait long enough and the boss dies.

[@hdofu]

Blue Shadow has an interesting connection with to Ninja Gaiden, Being called Shadow of the Ninja in the US, it was converted for the GB and called Ninja Gaiden Shadow

[@MegaKirbySuperstar]

Kirby's Adventure and Mario 3 are my favorite NES titles. Still so good.

[@isd8894]

I would have put Batman *a lot* higher, but apart from that, great list!

[@jrvbamafan1]

Seeing someone that genuinely loves these games makes the video so much better. You can tell you have a real respect for these early games, and it comes through. Subbed and gonna check out some of your other videos

[@isayoldchap1]

"I found this one later in life" - amusing to me as a guy in his late 40s and you being around 30 or so.

[@mattwilson174]

You forgot Kickle Cubicle, Bucky O’Hare, The Adventures of Lolo series, Battletoads and Shadowgate 😉

[@chancepaladin]

Kabuki Quantum Fighter is one of my all time favorite games, period.

[@OMGILOVEBANANAS]

nice vid, good energy, you seem actually genuine

[@Des_Zee]

I would call Bubble Bobble an action puzzler/platformer. Loved playing it in arcade back in the day. Nice list👍

[@loudorchen9897]

I remember my friend Dave Huber from Guelph had bubble Bobble, that soundtrack will always remind me of Saturday mornings at his house as a kid. He also had contra 2 which was pretty cool.

[@alexpine8295]

Love NES lists like this! Bubble Bobble and DuckTales are great editions to the list that I really need to get back to! So many classics like Tetris and Kirby’s Adventure, the NES is fantastic! Thanks for showing me some new games to check out! Keep up the great work!

[@thesonofdormammu5475]

I missed out on that Little Nemo game, when it came out my friends and I were teens and no way would we be caught playing a "little kid" game like that. It's a really solid game though.

[@kwazhims3lf]

you missed out on nothing... nemo sucks

[@Ramjet164]

It’s a great list tbf I’d have double dragon 2, contra, journey to silius, punch out & Megaman 2 on mine

[@ericstevenson2604]

Its nice to see kabuki Quantum fighter get some love nobody ever talks this game

[@DS8379]

Great list! Mega Man 2 is my favorite but 4 is incredible. The day I finally beat it was a proud day in my gaming life

[@johntracy72]

In the RPG department, I add Dragon Warrior IV. That is the best NES RPG.

[@BB-te8tc]

Great list! I have a hard time putting anything above Super Mario Brothers 3, personally. The sentimental value and what it symbolizes for me (summer break as a kid) mean its really hard to rate objectively for me. There's some good semi-obscure picks here, too. Kabuki: Quantum Fighter is definitely on my "try this out" list and Blue Shadow was a pleasant surprise when I discovered it on Nintendo Switch Online earlier this year. If I had a favourite "obscure" pick that I loved as a child and still love today, it'd be either Burai Fighter, Nightshade, or Toobin (unlicensed Tengen port of a Midway arcade game).

[@Vulpas]

SMB3 is far and away the best game on NES, especially for Platformers. It's the only one that doesn't need any excuses or concessions to be considered great, like "for its time" or anything (like Zelda 1 was good for its time).

[@4113n]

I'm surprised punch out and super dodgeball didn't make the list.

[@mrkarbon]

Pretty sweet list and a good watch. Would personally go with (in no order): - Mario Bros 2 - Mario Bros 3 - Bubble Bobble - Snake Rattle n Roll - Mega Man 1-6 (fav 2 & 3) - Ducktales - Battle of Olympus - Turtles 2 - Bucky O‘Hare - Maniac Mansion - Dr. Mario - Crystalis - Spike V‘Ball - Double Dragon 2 - Batman Honorable mentions: Zelda, Metroid, RC Pro Am, Tetris, Hyper Soccer, Track & Field 2, Little Nemo, Chip & Chap, Contra, Tiny Toon Adventures, Punchout, Mighty Final Fight

[@vizuren]

I going to play all of these 15 NES games for retro game night.

[@RetroMoments]

Nice list! I got Blue Shadow just 1 week ago. Definitely an awesome game. Its also co-op!

[@RetroBreak]

I’ve never had a chance to play it in co-op but that sounds fun!

[@turbo8890]

Good call on Blue Shadow! Also known as Shadow of the Ninja in US. That's one game I haven't found out about until later in life. Thanks for sharing your list.

[@RetroBreak]

The whole naming scheme for things with Ninja in the title in the UK is so confusing! Haha, glad you like the game! I know the reception to it is a bit hit and miss.. thanks for watching!

[@darian235]

Snake rattle and roll is fun, but impossible. The end of the game is a snake licking a moldy foot for eternity.

[@MultiSpotify]

Great taste of NES games!! Agree with most of your picks and loved to see some unusual picks like Quantum fighter and especially Blue Shadow, played that game a lot as a kid and still do sometimes, one of the best graphics, sounds and music on the system IMO

[@JohannesYtterstrom]

Good mix between classics and some a bit more hidden. I have a lovely Mega Man 4 story. I was brought up with 1, 2 and 5. A bit later I got 3. It took me many hours to finish them all. A few years later I got Mega Man 4 and bought it with my own money. A friend of mine at the time watched me play it and I finished the whole game within two days. While the rest had taken months or years to complete. Still remember those two days as very special. Good friend that one and great game. I understand that Mega Man 2 and 3 are the games most people played but I honestly enjoy all six of them. I see where some are stronger than others but as a whole.. I think they are all very solid. Have a great rest of your day!

[@mickbotcast]

Super Mario 3 is just a timeless beauty. Honestly the simple graphic made it one of the all time best.

[@erockbrox8484]

Mario 3 on NES is amazing. It's probably a near perfect game as far as having fun goes.

[@LiquidTurbo]

Love your videos man! Love the passion for these classic systems and games. Keep it up!!

[@zimtage1744]

Fantastic. Between undiscovered jems, new hardware, and brand new games on classic consoles this is the best time for gaming

[@Sw-sx7nw]

I love this list. I’m playing through as I watch! Cheers 😊

[@Bobby8451]

I love people keeping these oldies alive. Blaster Master has been my absolute favorite since the first time I played it. I actually played this a week 1/2 ago. Nothing has beat it to this day. I'm going to try out that 2nd game whatever the was. I'll have to rewatch this here later.Thx man!!! BTW, where is Journey to Silius? Lol That's another Sunsoft game that's as great as Blaster Master and Batman.

[@mihai96z3d]

I know mario 2 and 3 are better in many ways, but idk nothing compares to mario bros for me. The design music, colors everything is perfect for me

[@alexc836]

Nice to see some love for Snake Rattle ‘n Roll. I fell in love with that game as a kid, and it was very underrated at the time.

[@mr_5lade]

Great list! Mario 3 was a childhood defining game

[@laladoopsy]

Bubble Bobble is part of the single screen platformer genre. I loved the other games in the series like Bubble Bobble pt 2(better than the 1st), Parasol Stars (such and ignores entry in the series only had Nes, PCE and an excellent Amiga verson). Them you have games like Rodland, Donkey Kong Trilogy, Lode Runner, Mario Bros and Snow Bros.

[@jameswoodland2719]

Ghosts n goblins may be my favorite. It makes the character very fast and powerful, but also makes the enemies powerful and smart as well. While most games turn the difficulty up by adding in a bunch of random enemies, ghosts n goblins makes complex characters and tricky level design.

[@CrimsonCavalierGaming]

I haven't met very many people who know about Little Nemo the Dream Master. Though not having the Legend of Zelda is basically heresy, I do appreciate your list. Some of my favorites are TMNT Manhattan Project, Super Sprint, and Bases Loaded II ... such good memories.

[@LTGiants2000]

are the snakes eating toilet seas in Snake Rattle & Roll??? 1:11

[@RecetasPOPMOMIX]

Dream Master brings great memories. So many fun hours back in the day. 😎

[@Riz2336]

Good list of games. Kind of surprised no Zelda though

[@RetroBreak]

Honestly, not a huge fan of the first two Zelda games, probably in my top 20, but I don’t think Zelda got good until the Snes / Game Boy era

[@cjeelde]

Love to see a few surprises on Top 15! And also nice that you put all Super Mario Bros together, same for those Mega Man games! Half of the console is the games and it's so amazing to see how it got so much better. Just compare Super Mario Bros 1 and 3... if you just look at gameplay from these two games you can think that it's games on two different consoles but it's the same. Another thing that I loved is that you showed the game cartridges for each position. Love that! All these top 10/20/... are so personal. I have my fav games and I always hope to see those games as number 1, 2, 3 and so on. We're all like that I believe. But it's always personal. These Mega Man games are so good!! So underrated. Deserve way more success. Capcom's crown jewel!

[@Tom_Doretto]

IM SO STOKED ABOUT YOUR NUMBER 1 ! ITS MY FAVORITE TOO!! I always feel alone in loving MegaMan 4 the most

[@danandtab7463]

great list! I appreciate these lists because I started collecting for, well, all the cart based systems I've gotten my hands on this spring. I also appreciate that not all of the listed are $200 on ebay.

[@CampanadeGauss]

Love your NES list, your numbers 2 and 1 are my favorite too. I love Megaman 4 and Super Mario 3

[@RetroBreak]

Awesome! Definitely the best in their 8-bit series! :D

[@28Pluto]

I totally agree on Mega Man 4. I'll always say it's the best of the NES era. It actually had a story, it moves more fluid than 2, and it was still original enough before the series got a bit repetitive. The mega buster was also perfectly implemented, with almost every screen having a flow designed around giving you time to power-up.

[@tesla8551]

The Turtles games were also excellent and challenging, I really liked them.. Nice list, but as of the most atmospheric/dark game, I'd choose Metroid to Batman any time of day

[@niemand7811]

Awesome presentation. Truly fun to watch and your enthusiasm is real. Also that you got Mega Man 4 as your definitive number one spot increases the sympathy. MM4 was my first Mega Man game. I did play some MM2 on someone else' NES but MM4 was my first own Mega Man game and I still love it.

[@mianrowan]

Wrath of the black manta never gets any love

[@Tingletonttu]

My top 15 1. Mega Man 2 2. The Legend of Zelda 3. Castlevania 4. Mega Man 6 5. Mega Man 3 6. Super Mario Bros. 3 7. Super Mario Bros. 8. Zelda 2: Adventure of Link 9. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse 10. Mega Man 11. Mega Man 5 12. Fire 'n Ice (Solomon's Key 2) 13. Darkwing Duck 14. Dr. Mario 15. Ducktales

[@Ali_A84]

Integrering list, you presentet some new games for me. Keep up the good work!

[@sdghomero]

The Megaman series... what a time to be alive. If only I knew how stupid I was about growing up fast!

[@titoyepez7300]

Try the Guardian Legend

[@TheAltruisticAutistic]

For Castlevania, I am not good at memorization, and just learned to react. Do most people actually memorize these panels?

[@WhiteFox8792]

Awesome video! For me, I'd have to add StarTropics though. If you haven't heard of it, I really suggest checking it out. It's a real gem. It was only released in the US back in the day, so I'm not sure you'd have heard of it, but trust me, it's worth a playthrough.

[@richardxavier5442]

It was also released in Europe. I had that game in physical form as a kid. :-)

[@hunam_1]

A well curated list! Snake Rattle and Roll is a severely underrated classic (and brutally hard especially in the later levels), and Mega Man 4 is easily the best NES Mega Man imo. Subscribed!

[@American_Mike]

Nothing wrong with ranking multiple games at the same level. Like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior could have made the list together.

[@wayfarer1021]

Great video! I just miss the two Zelda games on that list.

[@krotenschemel8558]

I love the Megaman NES games, I haven't stopped playing them since they came out. Each one has a special place for me, but every time I see someone recommending Megaman2 to new players, I fall into a nerd-rage. Megaman2 has the best music and a cool selection of weapons, but the levels, especially Quickman's stage and the later Wiley stages are full of gotcha moments. Arbitrary difficulty that gets you, because you didn't know it was comming. And that's terrible for new players. You see a big shift away from that in Megaman3 and especially 4, which include these subtle tutorial sections, where you get shown the enemies and traps in an easy way before you have to do it the hard way. So, I commend you for your pick there. You could have easily parroted the uninformed popular oppinion, but you put some thought into it. So, thumbs up for that.

[@happyhollandays]

2 also was very unbalanced and the metal blade was so overpowered it almost was a cheat code. Though 2 was a dramatic improvement over the original in level design, as you mentioned, it was still a work in progress. 4 was NES Mega Man perfection and the best Mega Man game on the NES. The graphics were better, the levels were better, the enemies were better, the weapons were more balanced and necessary, and the story was better. 2 did have the better music, but 4 was pretty epic as well.

[@billyraycyree3785]

Blue shadow is Shadow of the Ninja here in the states. Ryu and Kaede are so fun to play as

[@lees3692]

Blaster Master is my #1. Bubble Bobble was a great couch co-op game.

[@xphoenixxx3915]

No bionic commando, metal gear or rad gravity?

[@NavyPanther54]

My mom and dad beat bubble bobble together way back. Didn't see it happen, but they must have played a lot, because it's not an easy game. It's not super hard either, but with so many levels, there's a lot that can go wrong over a run. Especially considering my mom was never really a gamer.

[@markpollutro2076]

Can't play games alone. Great list. It's going down the memory hole as well as I. No that's wrong for that I would have to remembered first. Lol😂😂😂😂

[@stevelegreid]

You forgot Battletoads and Contra

[@GuardianAngel..]

I don’t believe it I have all of these games on an NES Classic I bought on EBay a while back, I’m definitely going to give them a try.

[@RetroBreak]

Awesome! Enjoy!

[@greedpower565]

Another Great high quality video retro break, can wait for another video this week

[@Retro_Mage]

As soon as I saw that hair-whip attack on the Kabuki game there, I was instantly reminded of Shantae, who also uses her hair as an attack.

[@Breakbeats92.5]

I'd toss Bionic Commando on this list.

[@dimelo8826]

I like that you have many games on your list that are not the top ten in many peoples list but are addictive games and not as loved. And I like that MM4 got some love over MM2. I love all my MM games and yes MM2 I played the most but it’s not because it’s my favorite of the series, it’s because it was my first MM game and it drew me into the series so it holds a place in my heart and mind, and then I played the hell out of MM3 which I recall a friend giving it to me as he was a huge fan as well (and also he had and loved dream master and I tried it because it had the capcom logo as well but it was missing the action and excitement of the MM series 😂) but it was the late 80’s and I was a kid and overcoming the difficulty that got me hooked to MM and would even leave it on overnight because I didn’t want to lose the progress despite having passwords 😂 but I recall being older and the excitement of getting MM4 and loving it and couldn’t wait to get home from school to play. What I like about MM2 was how dark and gritty it is as opposed to the more colorful bright and cartoon/anime style of the later MM games. But I love that about them too. They are just different. MM3 was a combo of both styles and the transition

[@DannerBanks]

Mega man 4 introduced the buster and kept the slide from 3. It was absolutely the best

[@NESADDICT]

Batman and Castlevania are my favorite games on the nes!

[@2kBofFun]

One of the better top NES lists out here. Personally I think there were 2 NES consoles. one of the eighites, with very rudimentary games like Zelda, SMB1 and Duck Hunt, of which only the latter is worth playing, and there is the NES of the nineties, that competed against the SNES. That NES is way more exciting, with games that often outperformed its younger and more expensive brother. 89 was the best year in the US for NES console sales, and in Europe it was 1991! People saying the NES saved the US game crash have to look at sales figures. That statement is total bullocks. 1990 is peak NES, and its best games were published between 1990 and 1994. My recommendations are Felix the Cat, Isolated Warrior, Power Blade, Double Dragon II.

[@chrisdecafasmr]

It's funny, I first followed you for a really old top NES games list you made yeeeeeears ago.

[@Orion26DML]

MegaMan 4 and 6 are the best in series for NES. 2 and 3 are definitely more nostalgic for many. Even i have to say 3 is my favorite. But I definitely think 4 is the best.

[@nikolaikalashnikov4253]

Imma have to go with *_Baseball Stars_* and the entire *_Dragon Warrior_* series: Both of which involve earning, saving, & spending money :P