The Best Nintendo Entertainment System Arcade Ports Ever!

[@Lucasrainford]

Me and my mates were C64 fanboys back in '86 when the NES came out over here so I completely missed this console. The only game I've played on it is Pac-Man CE, which is class! When we was chatting the other night and you said this is the most impressive one so far in the series I was a little dubious tbh, but after playing Galaga and seeing this list, I fully agree with ya m8! Feck me! all these look totally awesome for a 8-Bit machine, I'm honestly blown away by the quality of these ports, deffo gonna check these out. Great list! ;)

[@knightdriver3592]

Totally agree with POW. It may only have one-player mode, but the action and playability is top notch. I played a lot of this one as a kid, even beat it a few times.

[@professorpenne9962]

great list 👍 honestly can't think of a better line up

[@2000DC]

Glad you included Jackal, one of favourite NES games.

[@oldstylegaming]

Its so good. You can imagine how much time i spent playing it for the arcade high score challenge thing i do and apart from the aspect ratio and end bosses its almost the same

[@amerigocosta7452]

Underrated classic

[@samiam7621]

Your top 5 is awesome

[@PedroFerreira-sx2gd]

Love the nes. They squeezed that machine to full potential with the help of built in chips in the cartridge. For me Probably the best console of all time. This list is tough to make. As you say Some games are better than the arcades. If you consider faithfulles to arcade we could consider donkey Kong 3 (I hate that game, but is a perfect Conversion. Many gems could be in the list ms pac-man tengen version, tmnt arcade, klax, Kung fu. Love toki considering the limits of the machine. Also love port of elevator action. This list should probably have been top 50

[@zagrebzebra]

No Turtles 2?

[@snipe1973xxl]

I think I had Rolling Thunder on my C64... probably one of the worst ports.

[@oldstylegaming]

Yeah it was bad on a lot of home systems

[@amerigocosta7452]

And what's worse is that a lot of NES classics the C64 could have handled decently well, considering the limitations. Certainly Rolling Thunder could have been done better. But while the NES was worked on directly by expert programmers at Konami, Capcom and the likes, usually some bedroom coder was tasked with the C64 ports.

[@allnamesaretakenful]

NARC on the NES is complete trash compared to the original.

[@RickinBaltimore]

I was one of those rare American kids that grew up with a C64 rather than a NES. That being said, as the years have gone by I've played my fair share of NES games, and this is a rather spot on list.

[@PaulGrahamRetroPaul]

Contra is mind blowing. Even now, when I have a sesh on some nes emulation, contra is usually first on. With Castlevania being a close second. There are some ports on this list I've never played. Beer and emulator time tonight I think. 🍺👍

[@zaphod77]

castlevania was a home game first. same for Vs Gradius. that's why they are "perfect" They don't count.

[@PaulGrahamRetroPaul]

@@zaphod77This is just a video about great games. I think we Can forgive some some mistakes and just enjoy the nostalgia filled goodness. Life's to short fella 😎

[@19822andy]

I used to hate games that were NESified when I was younger. I really appreciate it now though. Instead of making a game that wouldn't translate well they made a new experience that played to the systems strength. Double Dragon is a great example.

[@AngryCalvin]

Well said. Having both versions of quite a few arcade and console games I definitely agree. The NES version of POW has some gameplay improvements I like more. Double Dragon games and even Renegade are more fun on the NES regardless of how they look.

[@EsmeAmelia]

I'm American and I love all things Nintendo, so I loved this vid. :D

[@tookmyjob]

Since I’m mostly an NES player, I can’t disagree with anything in this list. Well done, sir.

[@oldstylegaming]

Thats good to hear ... its difficult to do these lists when you out of touch with the system

[@Dorelaxen]

I know the NES version of Double Dragon doesn't get much love, but I still played it till my fingers seized up.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

1943 is one of my favorite arcade games of all time. That NES port was fantastic.

[@8589brian]

I cant wait to finish my shift...I'm dying to see this video ❤ the NES was a cracking system for arcade ports

[@steelpatriot3683]

What a really great reminder of just what Nintendo could achieve on an 8 Bit System. What stood out on so many of these is just how cracking the visuals still look. I'd honestly have believed a few of these were SNES if I didn't know otherwise 👍

[@oldstylegaming]

Couldn't agree more!

[@BigJuffer]

Beautiful little system mate, give Starforce a go ;)

Dont forget hack roms ! Modded like the arcade ! Intros, collors, sound and.more

[@RagingRowen]

If you wanna shock, check out the "Arrangement Chronicle" hacks of Gradius and Salamander, it makes them yet more arcade perfect and the Salamander one even include a bit of parallax.

[@frankduxvandamme2]

I'd put Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT II on nes) as number one. That was the game everyone wanted the first TMNT NES game to be, and when we finally got that home version of the arcade game, it was brilliant, even despite the slight downgrade to 8 bit graphics.

[@oldstylegaming]

Its a great version (probably the best home version of the original arcade) but i just couldnt love it cos i played the arcade game so much and for me it didnt measure up to that. Snes turtles was the first home port that i loved (turtles in time) i get what you are saying about the 1st turtles game on the nes that was the nes pack i got with that game and i was so disappointed

[@frankduxvandamme2]

@@oldstylegaming Thank you for the reply! I love your channel!

[@marcelloromeo675]

I hope you make a video like this for: Karnov, Mag Max, Trojan, Xevious and Astyanax.

[@Skelta75]

You should try the M2 helmed NES demake Pac-Man CE and the 2019 NES port of Gaplus. Both playable via emulator or repro carts on original hardware. Arcade awesomeness!

[@MaxSpender]

I loved Popeye in the arcades. The graphics were ahead of their time. It felt like you were playing a cartoon. And the NES port is the best you’ll find, albeit slightly more forgiving than the brutal difficulty of the arcade game.

[@MudSluggerBP]

A lot of games here I’ve never seen running on NES before, I may have to get me an emulator and try a few out, especially Rush n’ Attack which I loved on C64 👍🏻

[@section23]

Great video! Production has got up a notch

[@oldstylegaming]

thanks mate

[@eskey691]

Can't say i was a big NES fan back in the day that being said i did play a lot of 1943 and Donkey Kong at a mates house an yeah from what i recall they was fun and played well. Great video as always buddy so roll on the next one, take it easy :-)

[@amerigocosta7452]

To this day, I still don't like very much the NES colours or even the sound BUT when it comes to the gameplay that machine is a wonder. Developers nailed it in the playability department so many times, the frame rate was comparable to the arcades, the graphics were full screen (which seems trivial nowadays but computers like the C64 or the ZX Spectrum played in a smaller window and a great deal of Master System games were letterboxed). I couldn't afford an NES so I'd play NES games in the arcades when I saw them.

[@8589brian]

Just got around to watching this and it was near spot on..the only missing game for me was Bad dudes vs Dragon Ninja which I would have placed in the bottom 5 here. 👌👍

[@chrishensley5384]

There is a Japan only release of Dig Dug on the NES that is very good.

[@wrena79]

For an excellent version of galaga play galaga 88 on the pc engine. Awesome game and a touch underrated imo

[@randy7894]

Totally. I just discovered it and damn. What a treat. I love the 4:3 aspect ratio.

[@wrena79]

@@randy7894 wickedly addictive. Its simplicity is it's strong point imo

[@alkohallick2901]

Yeah but what about the NES port of Dragons Lair??

[@Simon0]

I had the pleasure of playing contra and super contra on contra 4 for ds where they were unlockable

[@eterenostalgia5088]

Here Italy, fantastic old games !!!

[@randy7894]

Man. This list is perfect. Not a fan of NARC either, but the port is really faithful.

[@Jac2Mac]

Can you do a video of the worst Nintendo Entertainment System Arcade Ports ever?

[@Retro_B8]

Mate I’ve often wondered what games to buy for my nes, I never had one originally. Now I know!! Awesome video

[@oldstylegaming]

Glad I could help!

[@JoeSim8s]

As always, great video! Thnx!

[@geoffreyjohnstone5465]

Bubble Bobble never disappoints. Gradius and Galaga are pretty much certs for quality. I could never get in to Marble Madness but it always had someone on it in the local arcade so many others loved it. I played Popeye for hours on the old Atari VCS but it looks much nicer on the NES. I imagine only the amazing PC Engine can beat the NES in terms of quality arcade ports. Great video

[@oldstylegaming]

yeah well the PC engine is like the transition system between 8bit and 16bit i think. Great system...might do that one next

[@Myako]

So P.O.W is better on the NES than in the arcade? I loved the arcade version, gonna try the NES one then. Thanks for the heads-up! 👏🏻👏🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@oldstylegaming]

I think so!

[@williamshores4882]

I think Arkanoid is a great arcade port. However, Popeye is ruined because of the ladder in the 1st level. It should be a half-ladder that you could only go down, not up also. The Colecovision port is more accurate.

[@oldstylegaming]

Gameplay wise maybe but the game looks like an atari 2600 game

[@Fluoride_Jones]

This was a great list, and as I was watching this video, I thought of so many more excellent ports, such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game," "Kung Fu," "Pac-Man," "Road Blasters," "Mario Brothers," "Joust," "Double Dragon" (I love the NES version), "Double Dragon II: The Revenge," "Bionic Commando," and "Rygar." Technically, I would even throw in "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" and "Ninja Gaiden," even though they're much different than their arcade counterparts.

[@oldstylegaming]

Rygar and bionic commando are also very different ...they are brilliant though..even better than the arcade

[@Fluoride_Jones]

@@oldstylegaming That's a very good point! And, they're two games that many believe are better than their arcade counterparts! Great channel, by the way, I recently discovered it, so now I have a library of videos to work my way through!

[@Fox8ball.]

Awesome vid OSG my man

[@TopRetroGames]

Super!

[@doggzillablk7955]

Pow and rolling thunder is one of my favorites on the nes games are not the same as I grew up with good times. Did you know that twin cobra was a sequel to tiger heli by toplan games and taito

[@oldstylegaming]

Yeah i did a video on Toaplan a couple of months back Taito actually commissioned toaplan to make the game for them

[@timoheinonen9570]

Super Sprint should definitely be on the list as Nintendo has the best version of the game.

[@oldstylegaming]

Yeah its a good one was on the short list but i had to get 35 games down to 20

[@andrewdolby178]

Super Off Road Racer

[@donkeyparadise9276]

Punch out

[@vallaurianv6024]

Great video! Thanks. Was a C64 kid growing up but super envious of my best mate’s NES. Nothing on the old bread bin was the same after seeing Mario 3. I got a retrousb Avs in 2019 and have been blown away by the quality, breadth and depth of the NES library. It’s the best 8bit system for me. I have the 2 contras, jackal and bubble bobble from your list and they’re just as fun now as they were 30+ years ago. Additions for me would be Toki and TMNT 2 the arcade game - both excellent NES ports. Additional great games that went in a different direction to the arcade would be Punchout and Mighty Final Fight. Amazing machine.

[@OM19_MO79]

Gn'G is now regarded by many as one of the worst ports ever. There's no denial that back in the day, the game was a huge success and for many years it was the best way to play the game, but it can't be ignored either that the game is badly programmed. The challenge is not as even as in the arcade, it's actually pretty unfair mostly due to tha bad programming. NARC... underrated perhaps, but a good port... Not quite sure. Except for those two, I agree with the countdown. I guess those being at the bottom is fitting.

[@oldstylegaming]

I like GnG i think it plays almost the same as the arcade. I am not that keen on narc though even on arcade. I guess all lists are completely subjective.... what 2 games would you have replaced gng and narc with?

[@OM19_MO79]

@@oldstylegaming Tough question. The NES had it's fair share of bad or mediocre ports. Maybe Gun.Smoke and Double Dribble. The latter, although is mostly remembered by the voice samples and not by its gameplay, in terms of AC to console conversion quality is quite faithful.

[@SaMiK81]

I love the intro.

[@OperationPhantom]

Nice list, the NES was generally pretty reliable to bring home the Arcade goodness. Too bad I couldn't afford one growing up but then again, most kids probably couldn't have afforded all of these games either! As it happens, I played through a lot of games starting with 'G' on the NES recently. Galaga was indeed a great port! Very fun and a real challenge. Guerilla War I found a bit of a chaotic mess of a game... so much explosions and stuff being thrown at you. Actually, it's rather amusing but the game seems to constantly struggle to keep up! It is a rather spectacular game for the NES though, not too watered down from the Arcade I guess. It's also really easy to complete, since it offers unlimited continues. For me, Gun.Smoke's a better game though. Another great port, then again you could probably do a top 50.

[@robertopronzato]

Mario Bros!!!!!!!!

[@Fox8ball.]

When i was a lil kid i played Mario on arcade 1984 it was the same as the NES port almost exactly

[@oldstylegaming]

Cos it was a nes port. It was released on the nes then ported to the Arcade

[@Fox8ball.]

@@oldstylegaming ah i see thanks man your knowlegde is excellent bro 💪❤

[@joefell5311]

Great video!

[@thedddemon]

Solid choices. The C64 Bubble Bobble is imo the best 8bit port. Think about doing a C64 vs NES arcade conversions feature!

[@purplehaze2342]

100th like

[@horrorofspice]

Great video sir

[@oldstylegaming]

Thanks

[@anFy81]

loved paper boy

[@oldstylegaming]

Its class

[@jakek5417]

great list 👍

[@oldstylegaming]

Thanks!

[@carlopepi]

Super mario bros?

[@oldstylegaming]

Opposite way round it was ported to arcade from the nes

[@19822andy]

Mario Bros was an original arcade game. Super Mario Bros was not. 🙂