Top 37 Best NES Games

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES/Famicom) is a home video game console launched by Nintendo in 1983 with worldwide sales of 61.91 million units.

There are 1252 game titles that can be played on the Famicom, and among them, 37 titles that I have personally selected are introduced here.

· My Best Famicom/NES Games
∘ 37. Antarctic Adventure
∘ 36. Super Contra
∘ 35. Solomon’s Key
∘ 34. Castlevania
∘ 33. Mighty Bomb Jack
∘ 32. Balloon Fight
∘ 31. Lode Runner
∘ 30. Yoshi’s Cookie
∘ 29. Dr. Mario
∘ 28. Mappy
∘ 27. Wizardry
∘ 26. TwinBee
∘ 25. Final Fantasy II
∘ 24. Spelunker
∘ 23. Kung-Fu Master
∘ 22. Tennis
∘ 21. Dragon Quest II
∘ 20. Excitebike
∘ 19. Tetris
∘ 18. Donkey Kong
∘ 17. Ice Climber
∘ 16. Final Fantasy
∘ 15. Mario Bros.
∘ 14. Gradius
∘ 13. The Goonies
∘ 12. Pac-Man
∘ 11. Dragon Quest
∘ 10. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
∘ 9. The Legend of Zelda
∘ 8. Mega Man
∘ 7. Bomberman
∘ 6. Mother
∘ 5. Final Fantasy III
∘ 4. Super Mario Bros.
∘ 3. Dragon Quest III
∘ 2. Kirby’s Adventure
∘ 1. Super Mario Bros. 3

My Best Famicom Games

I’d like to introduce 37 recommended game titles from the Famicom softwares that I own.

• The release dates are based on Japan.
• The purchase price is the successful bid price at the Japanese net auction.
• All prices are for ROM cassette only; with box, prices are three to ten times higher.
• The exchange rate is 1 dollar = 145 yen.

Below is a list of the top 37 Famicom games:

37. Antarctic Adventure

Antarctic Adventure (けっきょく南極大冒険)

The player controls the main character, Penguin, and the objective is to reach each country’s base in Antarctica within the time limit.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: April 22, 1985
• Genre: Racing, Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

The background music in the game is an arrangement of “Skater’s Waltz” (1882) by Waldteufel.

36. Super Contra

Super Contra (スーパー魂斗羅)

Super Contra is the second title in the Contra series and is an action game with fun two-player cooperative play.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: February 2, 1990
• Genre: Action, Shooting
• Purchase Price: ¥4,000/$27.56

The game is divided into two main types: side-view, side-scrolling stages and top-view, vertical-scrolling stages.

35. Solomon’s Key

Solomon’s Key (ソロモンの鍵)

Solomon’s Key first appeared as an arcade game in July 1986 and was ported to the Family Computer around the same time.

• Publisher: Tecmo
• Release: July 30, 1986
• Genre: Puzzle
• Purchase Price: ¥700/$4.82

Players control Dana, a wizard, and aim to obtain the “key” and reach the “door” within a time limit.

The main character can make stones that serve as footholds appear and disappear, and this makes the game a masterpiece of an action-puzzle game.

34. Castlevania

Castlevania (悪魔城ドラキュラ)

Castlevania was released by Konami on September 26, 1986 for the Disk System.

A ROM cassette was also released in 1993, which is currently sold at a high price.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: September 26, 1986
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥25,000/$172.23

The player controls the main character Simon Belmont, who uses a whip as a weapon to defeat his enemies.

There are 18 stages and 6 bosses. The game is completed when Dracula on the top floor of the castle is defeated.

33. Mighty Bomb Jack

Mighty Bomb Jack (マイティボンジャック)

Mighty BombJack is a sequel to the arcade game “BombJack,” which was first released in 1984.

• Publisher: Tecmo
• Release: April 24, 1986
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥450/$3.10

Players control the main character, Jack, and use items and jumps to clear the game.

The stage consists of a total of 256 screens, and the stage as a whole is in the shape of a pyramid.

32. Balloon Fight

Balloon Fight (バルーンファイト)

Balloon Fight is an arcade game released by Nintendo in November 1984.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: January 22, 1985
• Genre: Action
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

There are three game modes: “one-player game” and “two-player game,” in which players clear stages while defeating on-screen enemies, and “balloon trip,” in which players avoid obstacles and break balloons to advance.

31. Lode Runner

Lode Runner (ロードランナー)

Lode Runner is a PC game released by Broderbund in 1983 and has been ported to various consoles.

The objective of the game is to escape by collecting the gold nuggets in the stage without being caught by enemies.

• Publisher: Broderbund
• Release: July 20, 1984
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥1,200/$8.27

The game is currently available on smartphones (iOS/Android) and Nintendo Switch.

30. Yoshi’s Cookie

Yoshi’s Cookie (ヨッシーのクッキー)

The Family Computer version and the Game Boy version were released simultaneously on November 21, 1992.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: November 21, 1992
• Genre: Puzzle
• Purchase Price: ¥300/$2.07

When all the cookies in the field (8 squares x 8 squares) are erased, the stage is cleared and the player proceeds to the next stage.

There are six types of cookies: heart, flower, check, diamond, circle, and Yoshi.

29. Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario (ドクターマリオ)

In this game, the main character Mario plays the role of a doctor and uses capsules to exterminate viruses that have grown inside bottles.

There are three types of viruses: red, blue, and yellow (white, black, and gray in the Game Boy version), and the capsules are colored accordingly.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: July 27, 1990
• Genre: Puzzle
• Purchase Price: ¥300/$2.07

There are three speeds (LOW, MID, and HI), and the BGM can be selected from FEVER, CHILL, and OFF (none).

28. Mappy

Mappy (マッピー)

Mappy is an arcade game released by Namco on May 25, 1983.

The player controls Mappy, a rat cop, and collects items on the stage while avoiding cats.

• Publisher: Namco
• Release: November 14, 1984
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥580/$4.00

This game has been ported to many consoles and is currently available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

27. Wizardry

Wizardry (ウィザードリィ)

Wizardry is a 3D dungeon RPG released by Sir-Tech, Inc. of the United States in 1981 as software for the Apple II.

• Publisher: Sir-Tech
• Release: December 22, 1987
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥1,800/$12.40

The objective of the game is to explore the labyrinth, which is presented from a subjective point of view, and to enjoy the achievement of objectives and character growth.

26. TwinBee

TwinBee (ツインビー)

TwinBee is a vertical scrolling shooter game by Konami, which was launched as an arcade game on March 5, 1985.

The player controls his own ship (1P: TwinBee, 2P: WinBee) and advances through the game, defeating enemies approaching from the sky and those placed on the ground.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: January 7, 1986
• Genre: Scrolling shooter
• Purchase Price: ¥650/$4.48

There are 10 stages in total, and stages 6 to 10 are almost the same as stages 1 to 5.

Bells are hidden in the clouds floating in the stages, and players can score points and gain power-ups by capturing the bells.

25. Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy II (ファイナルファンタジーII)

It is the second title in the Final Fantasy series and has sold approximately 760,000 units in Japan.

The player takes the role of Frioniel, the main character, and can form a party of up to four people.

• Publisher: Square
• Release: December 17, 1988
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥700/$4.82

The player’s abilities grow little by little according to their actions in battle and the damage they receive.

If the player selects more “Attack” commands during battle, he or she becomes a warrior type, and if he or she selects more “Magic” commands, he or she becomes a wizard type.

24. Spelunker

Spelunker (スペランカー)

The player controls a cave explorer who rides an elevator, trolley, boat, etc. to reach a hidden treasure mountain at the bottom of the cave.

• Publisher: MicroGraphic Image
• Release: December 6, 1985
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥800/$5.51

There are 5 stages in total, consisting of Elevator, Rope, Waterfall, Pyramid, and Treasure.

23. Kung-Fu Master

Kung-Fu Master (スパルタンX)

The game software is based on the movie “Spartan X” (1984) starring Jackie Chan.

The player controls the main character, Thomas, and uses a combination of punches and kicks (two buttons) to defeat enemies.

• Publisher: Irem
• Release: June 21, 1985
• Genre: Beat ’em up
• Purchase Price: ¥550/$3.79

The stage consists of five floors, with the odd-numbered floors moving leftward and the even-numbered floors moving rightward.

Each floor has a boss at the end, and players can save Sylvia by clearing the fifth floor.

22. Tennis

Tennis (テニス)

Players can choose to play for one or two players, but the two player version is a doubles match against the computer and does not allow players to play against each other.

The four-way controller controls the player, and the A button is used for normal shots and the B button for lob shots.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: January 14, 1984
• Genre: Sports
• Purchase Price: ¥350/$2.41

Mario appears as a referee, wearing white overalls on a black background.

21. Dragon Quest II

Dragon Quest II (ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々)

This is the second title in the Dragon Quest series and takes place 100 years after the previous “Dragon Quest (released in 1986)”.

The ROM capacity was doubled to 1 megabit (about 128 kilobytes), and the field map was more than six times larger (256 x 256) than the previous game (100 x 100).

• Publisher: Enix
• Release: January 26, 1987
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥350/$2.41

Since this work is not equipped with a save memory, a password of up to 52 characters must be entered.

20. Excitebike

Excitebike (エキサイトバイク)

Excitebike is a motorcycle racing game based on motocross.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: November 28, 1984
• Genre: Racing
• Purchase Price: ¥350/$2.41

In the NES version, the player selects one of five courses to challenge races.

The motorcycle the player rides has two types of gas pedals, and the A and B buttons are used to select between these two.

19. Tetris

Tetris (テトリス)

Tetris is the original Falling blocks and was introduced in 1984 as a computer game.

• Publisher: BPS, Nintendo
• Release: December 22, 1988
• Genre: Puzzle
• Purchase Price: ¥300/$2.07

The game starts with the blocks placed on the field, and the stage is cleared when 25 lines are erased.

The game is over when all three lives are gone.

18. Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング)

Donkey Kong was released on July 15, 1983 as a launch title for the Family Computer.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: July 15, 1983
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥3,000/$20.67

Players control Mario and save his girlfriend Lady from Donkey Kong.

There are three stages in total, and the difficulty level increases with each clear.

17. Ice Climber

Ice Climber (アイスクライマー)

The rules of the game are to control the player character, Eskimo, to reach the top of the mountain.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: January 30, 1985
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥800/$5.51

There are a total of 32 different mountains, and after the 33rd stage, the game becomes a second loop. There is no ending due to the permanent loop.

Once the player climbs to the top of the 8th level, the stage is cleared and the player enters a bonus stage with a 40-second time limit.

16. Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー)

The first title in the Final Fantasy series, it sold approximately 520,000 units in Japan.

Combat is turn-based, with the four main characters lined up vertically on the right side of the screen and enemy monsters on the left side of the screen.

• Publisher: Square
• Release: December 18, 1987
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥900/$6.20

A battery backup system is used, but the NES version can only record one save data per cassette.

Saves can be made by staying at an inn in town or using “tents” and “cottages” on the world map.

15. Mario Bros.

Mario Bros. (マリオブラザーズ)

Mario Bros. is a Nintendo action game released in 1983 and the first in the Mario series.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: September 9, 1983
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥900/$6.20

Mario and Luigi, the plumbers, clear a stage when they exterminate turtles, crabs, and flies that have escaped from the sewers.

There is no ending, and the game continues until it is game over.

14. Gradius

Gradius (グラディウス)

It was the first in the Gradius series to be released as a home video game, and sold one million copies in Japan.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: February 2, 1985
• Genre: Horizontal-scrolling shooter
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

There are a total of seven stages, including a volcano and Stonehenge, and if you clear all of them, you can play the second round, which has an increased difficulty level.

13. The Goonies

The Goonies (グーニーズ)

This action game is based on the classic Hollywood adventure movie “The Goonies,” which was released in 1985 and was a big hit at the time.

• Publisher: Konami
• Release: February 21, 1986
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

This game was created as an action game with exploration elements while utilizing the content of the original story.

Developed by Konami, which has an established reputation for producing action games, both the game’s difficulty and music are of high quality.

12. Pac-Man

Pac-Man (パックマン)

This arcade game, which went into operation on May 22, 1980, was developed as a game for women.

• Publisher: Namco
• Release: November 2, 1984
• Genre: Maze
• Purchase Price: ¥800/$5.51

The player controls the character “Pac-Man” and aims to clear a stage by eating all the yellow dots (cookies) placed on the screen.

The speed of the monsters increases as the stage progresses, and the increase in difficulty stops at stage 21.

11. Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest (ドラゴンクエスト)

This is the first game in the Dragon Quest series, one of Japan’s most popular RPGs, and is recognized as the first RPG for the Famicom.

• Publisher: Enix
• Release: May 27, 1986
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥700/$4.82

From the beginning to the end, the main character is alone in his adventures, and battles are one-on-one.

The game is password-based, so you need to write the password in a memo each time you play.

10. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (マイクタイソン・パンチアウト!!)

This boxing game allows players to fight “Mike Tyson,” an American professional boxer who became the youngest unified heavyweight champion of the world at the time.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: November 21, 1987
• Genre: Sports, Fighting
• Purchase Price: ¥1,600/$11.02

Unlike the regular version of Punch-Out, Mike Tyson is the final boss.

9. The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説)

This is a launch title for the Disk System and the first title in the “Zelda series.

The disk system had approximately three times the capacity of a ROM and could store multiple save data.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release 1: February 21, 1986 (Disk System)
• Release 2: February 19, 1994 (Rom-cartridge)
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥4,000/$27.56

It is an action-adventure game with many elements of exploration, item collection, and puzzle solving, and has already established the foundation of its gameplay in the first title.

The field consists of 128 screens, and there are nine “underground labyrinths” in various places.

8. Mega Man

Mega Man (ロックマン)

The first title in the Mega Man series, it depicts the battle between the boy-shaped robot “Mega Man” and the evil genius scientist “Dr. Wily”.

• Publisher: Capcom
• Release: December 17, 1987
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥4,500/$31.00

The system allows the player to choose one of the six bosses and advance to the next stage.

Defeating each boss gives you a special weapon, which gives you an advantage in boss battles.

7. Bomberman

Bomberman (ボンバーマン)

This is the first title in the Bomberman series for home video game consoles.

• Publisher: Hudson Soft
• Release: December 20, 1985
• Genre: Action, Maze, Party
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

A bonus stage can be played for every 5 stages cleared, and the ending can be seen after completing 50 stages.

By entering a password, the game can be restarted, retaining the stages reached and some items.

6. Mother

Mother (マザー)

Nintendo’s first command-and-select RPG, and the first in the Mother series.

Set in a fictional region of modern America, the story follows one boy and his friends as they try to get to the bottom of anomalies occurring in various locations.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: July 27, 1989
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥2,300/$15.85

There are some problems with the game, such as few hints, too many battles with enemies, and the last boss is too strong.

5. Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III (ファイナルファンタジーIII)

The third and final installment of the Final Fantasy series on the Famicom /NES.

It became popular for its high-level graphics, grand-scale scenario, and famous songs, and became the first million-seller in the series.

• Publisher: Square
• Release: April 27, 1990
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥380/$2.62

It marked the first appearance of the “job change system,” which allows players to change jobs on the fly depending on the situation.

4. Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. (スーパーマリオブラザーズ)

A side-scrolling action game in which Mario is the main character.

Total sales were approximately 40.24 million units (including bundled sales), and it was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling game in the world.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: September 13, 1985
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

There are 8 worlds of stages; each world has 4 areas, and Area 4 is a boss stage.

3. Dragon Quest III

Dragon Quest III (ドラゴンクエストIII そして伝説へ…)

The final installment of the Dragon Quest trilogy.

The player, as the son (or daughter) of the warrior Ortega, sets off on a journey to defeat the demon king Baramos, who is trying to rule the world.

A party of up to four players can be formed, and there are a total of eight different jobs.

• Publisher: Enix
• Release: February 10, 1988
• Genre: Role-playing
• Purchase Price: ¥350/$2.41

This title uses a battery backup system, eliminating the need to enter a password when continuing.

2. Kirby’s Adventure

Kirby’s Adventure (星のカービィ 夢の泉の物語)

This is the second title in the Kirby series and the first in the series to be released on a console.

It was released at the end of the Famicom era, and was the last million-seller in the Japanese Famicom market.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: March 23, 1993
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥500/$3.44

With a total of 39 stages in 7 levels, plus a boss and a last boss, the volume of the game is ample.

The copy ability was introduced for the first time in the Kirby series, and Meta Knight also made his first appearance.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

SUPER MARIO BROS. 3 (スーパーマリオブラザーズ3)

This is the third title in the Super Mario Bros. series.

It has evolved greatly from the previous title in terms of graphics and systems, and is a large-volume work.

There are 8 to 14 courses in each world, for a total of about 100 stages.

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release: October 23, 1988
• Genre: Platform
• Purchase Price: ¥600/$4.13

It has sold approximately 3.84 million copies in Japan and 17.28 million copies worldwide, making it the second best-selling NES game of all time, behind the original Super Mario Bros.