I Ranked Every ULTRA game on NES 

My dad loved silent service. It's funny how after my dad died I went thru his stuff and what did I find....a copy of Silent Service. I still hold it in my collection to this day.

Around 1988, my friend's little brother, Nick, a 6 year old, wrote a letter to Nintendo saying he wanted a baseball game played by robots, to which Nintendo sent him a reply letter! The reply said a game with his wishes was currently in the works and he may see his dream come true soon. When this game was released we all thought it was his idea that sparked the game concept for Base Wars. There was a very fun Football arcade cabinet we got later (Cyberball) and my group of friends always thought Nick was the mastermind behind it all.

Base Wars was amazing. Nothing beats the street fighter style battles when they tried to tag you out, or purposely pitching the ball to hit the batter and sometimes making him explode.

The opening theme to Skate or Die is one of my favorite video game songs.

Love these ranking videos.

Snake's Revenge is a really fun game once you get into it. You just gotta overlook all the nutball stuff in it and take your time playing. Plus the music is AWESOME.

The cool thing about Ultra to me is that Konami published a lot of experimental titles under that banner. Many of these games are some of the most unique experiences on the NES.

Mission Impossible is INSANELY HARD. I consider it one of the hardest games of all time.

Rollergames gets an A from me. Ultimate hidden gem. Fast paced gameplay, amazing soundtrack. The platforming reaches Ninja Gaiden levels of hard but that's the NES for you.

Ranking Sunsoft NES games - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-roua33nZS8I.html Ranking Konami NES games - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-agmyps5NIdY.html

Base Wars easily gets an A, if not an S. When a baserunner "should" be tagged out, he and the fielder fight it out to decide if he's out or safe. You can upgrade your players, including their ability to run, throw, catch, and you can even give them weapons for the fights! If a player takes too much damage (loses too many fights) in the same game, it freaking EXPLODES! Three players out and you forfeit the game. So you can be down 15-0 and still win if your players are good at fighting. And it has a full season mode, so you can keep upgrading your players throughout the season. GREAT game.

this is cool series you have going on, keep it up :)

Thank you for mentioning Pirates Gold! for the SEGA Genesis! I remember putting hours and hours into that game as a kid! My mom could totally get any ship she wanted into her fleet with the least amount of violence and bloodshed, but I struggled to take the ship as opposed to sinking it, because if I tried to take the ship, I'd be so overwhelmed that I'd lose my ship and have to start over, but I loved the sailing and visiting towns, hiring crews and if I remember right, The Sloop was my favourite ship, partly because it was pretty good, but also because I loved saying the name. Sloop. Sloooop. uSlooooooooopuh! lol I'm weird.

Mission Impossible deserves more than an F. Faulting a game for not understanding its mechanics ain't a fair shake. You can't attack pedestrians (that's why the chopper extracts you) and staying out of the street isn't difficult. It has similar stealth-like gameplay as Metal Gear but is faster paced and admittedly frustrating at times. I just don't see how you can overlook Metal Gears flaws for an "S" rank, but forsake another similar quality title with a failing score. Both games are about a B in my book.

Ultra is my favorite game creators for the NES besides Koei. Koei was my number one, but Ultra was usually a sign of quality! Beating Defender of the Crown is still one of my most satisfying game moments! Took all night and was hard, but I got it done!

And just packed a bowl... saweet video as always dude

Very cool series you have going on here John! I don't play much NES these days, but it's fun to be reminded of the games I played as a kid as well as learn about some I didn't.

Very happy to see another one of these. Please keep them coming. My favorite game in this video is TMNT 2. It's actually my favorite of all time without question.

I feel like you were hiding some serious anger from playing Mission Impossible. That stuff sounds like I would have been screaming at the tv when I was a kid lol.

Daaaaaaamn, goin hard on SKATE OR DIE. That game was awesome multiplayer for its time. Super fun collection of mini games and sick tunes.

I know others in the comments have said things about Mission Impossible, but the Tom Cruise movie came out in 1996. This is not based on that franchise but more on the tv series. I liked it, but it was hard as hell. +1 for Kings of the Baach though. I probably had more fun with that than I expected. I am tempted to go play it now. Great list.

Kings of the Beach is great if you have an NES 4 Score. I remember playing it 4 player as a kid at birthday parties growing up.

Awesome series! Hopefully an SNK and Brøderbund are in the works!! Always look forward to your retro reviews!

These videos are awesome. I forgot a lot of these games and seeing you review them brings back a flood of great memories from my childhood. Feck i hated ski or die lol and the TMNT arcade game along with the Simpsons arcade game are two of my all time favorites.

Defender of the Crown was phenomenal on the Commodore 64, one of the best games for it. It definitely wouldn't translate well. Also Skate or Die's music on C64 is some of the best EVER, especially the intro. Again another game that I think suffered in the translation

Jaleco would be a great list. :)

Thanks for these ranking videos. They're fun to watch. I like seeing which games are worth it and trying them out in RetroArch.

these videos are super helpful, i come across some titles that I would typically overlook. The gameplay footage is a great little preview too. Thanks Riggs!

Good list. I couldn't do Metal Gear myself, the game was just too confusing. I'd probably almost prefer Snakes Revenge just because it's a bit more action oriented.

Can you do a video on all NES SNK games?

Well damn! I’m not sure if you saw my Ultra request on your Sunsoft video! If you did thanks for this video. I was actually not expecting this video to be up for awhile.

I’ve come to wait for these videos John. Guessing Hudson Soft next?!

I enjoyed the HELL out of Defender of the Crown. I always beat it easily with the weakest character because he was the best at jousting. Gain enough money and influence quickly, and it was easy to overwhelm the rest of the Norman territories.

I love this series! I hope you keep on making them.

Since RU-vid and retro gamers making videos on it, I found out that not only Silent Service was released on a console, but also that apparently NES gamers mocked it. I never played the NES version so I can't comment on this port, but overall Silent Service (and Pirates!) I have played on computer systems (Atari ST, Amiga, PC) was/were AWESOME. Pirates! was easily one of the best computer games of the 80s and Silent Service was also seen with love by computer gamers who tried it back then. I don't get the NES owners hate for it, but whatever. I didn't know there was a Star Trek 25th Anniversary game on the NES. Interesting. It looks very different to the PC version (and also Amiga IIRC), but still cool. Thanks for the video.

Been loving these videos. Keep it up!

John, I love these ranking videos. Please keep these coming!

I enjoy these a lot. Thank you for your efforts!

When I hear "How ya feeling, you got John Riggs here!", I know I'm hitting the like button

Try a list of either Hudson Soft or Tecmo games. Like someone else said, the SNK games. These are all great videos, dude!

Great ranking video! I know it wasn't done by Ultra, but did you ever play Skate or Die 2 on the NES? There's actually a Q*Bert 3 on the SNES; I don't know why it's called that because it just looks like a 16-bit version of the original arcade game.

Now mr. Riggs this was not the tier list we discussed. Where is hal? Still loved it thoughan keep it up

No offense, but your ranking series is the most entertained I've been on your channel. Keep it up!

The Star Trek game is a guilty pleasure for me too. It's a really solid adventure game. It took me months and months as a kid to finally beat it but it made me use my brain in ways other NES games at the time didn't. I was surprised but happy to see you give it an A.

It was easier to go outside and really learn the tricks than to master skate or die but I enjoyed it. Tmnt, I played it so much with my brother over and over and got so mad at all the parts Avgn has done video on

Seriously, is there a modern day equivalent to the Pacman Cereal? Maybe get some of Cap'n Crunch with a bag of marbits...??? Help...anyone...I need to taste my childhood again, lmao everytime I see that wall art!

Great series ..... even the games you don’t like you make seem worth checking out. Just a dude having a great time with video games and bringing your kids along for the ride. Great vibe. Cheers.

John boy is gaining views with this ranking system, awesome

Awesome series!! Keep up the great work!!!!!

Awesome video man. This takes me way back. Especially "Metal Gear 1"! Peace!

Romhacks ranked! Thanks for the video.

Seaside Oregon arcade - I remember that place!

should do SNK nes games small library , but loved P.O.W. and Guerrilla War

Loved the ranking. Roller Games is an S for me.

These videos are better than any sitcom. I love just chilling and watching old games

I love that shirt JR its dope frfr!! I totally agree with your ranking of the TMNT games...they were so awesome!

I’m still in the daze of the grade you gave Contra , lol

I love these videos man. Thanks.

These are such fun videos! Thank you so much for them!

Skate Or Die was my go to game growing up and T & C Surf Designs! My love for skateboarding games was deep in the 80s!!! 😂 Any news on Uncle Rico's Football? @johnriggs

An English translated version of MSX 2- Metal Gear 2 is included on Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence for PS2

Silent Service is one of my favorite hidden gems. Having to maximize your ammo to get the best score (there was no way to stock up without ending the game) added a lot of strategy.

I was 9 years old and visiting a friend who happened to have parents that visited Japan. They had bought Tmnt 2:TAG. My mind was blown. Coming from only owning the double title Mario/Duck Hunt and Silent Service (my dads game). We ended up beating it and feeling like superbadrears as you do when you are 9 years old :D

Really enjoying this series John. Thank you sir

Really digging the series Mr.Riggs. Can't wait to see the Data East list.

Turtles 2 arcade... I got it for Christmas one year and God it was mind blowing playing it at home. Those were simpler times, but I love remembering them.

Fun fact, Kings of the Beach was the only time that Electronic Arts and Konami ever worked on a video game title together.

the depth of gameplay of base wars was amazing. I consider it one of the best sports game for the system

Another great video John. So glad it’s just YOU if you catch my drift. ;) btw defender of the crown sure was a computer game, very popular one for some reason too.

played sooo much Kings of the Beach growing up! great video 👍🏻

Kings of the Beach is the best volleyball game I've ever played. A++

Love your content ✌🏿 Thought I was the only one who even knew about Nightshade Keep it up I’m a fan

Great video Riggs. I have to admit, I have some major love for Roller Games and was a bit disappointed to see it only get a "C" but it's all good. Give it a play again soon and hopefully you'll enjoy it more.

I loved Silent Service. I actually picked it up along with Atari Astroids at a second hand store for 8 dollars. Yes it is worth about a dollar but that was all i bought is it was not worth bargaining with the owner.

Basewars is my fav NES game. KOTB is fun as hell too.... I remember back even before NES, playing Q-bert, you needed a premium joystick and it would really wear it out too. I use to be really good at it.

I had Mission Impossible as a kid and wasn't all that big a fan either. From what I remember the issue you were having was attacking civilians, you're not allowed to really attack until you're attacked and the game doesn't really tell you that. Once you get it down it's an alright title with the Spy Hunter like boat stage being the high point.

I’m a huge fan of Rollergames! I rented it from Blockbuster and loved it. It’s one of the few games in my collection that’s not considered a popular mainstream title, along with Faxanadu.

Base wars was awesome. I just used to try to destroy 3 opponents so the forfeit. Loved the powerups.

Ranking of all the S/A tiers video would be cool. These videos are awesome, thanks.

Konami done the same with Palcom here in Europe

I like this new ranking series.

Silent Service II on PC was great!

Dude I love this series!!

I’ve always liked Silent Service. Liked it a lot when I was a kid

Reading some of the comments here and I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who loved Snake's Revenge!

Basewars was super fun. was cool to watch them explode when they ran out of HP. I pulled so many all-nighters on nightshade trying to beat the game.

Damn! That Mission Impossible game was weird, but i remember having the game borrowed by a friend and play it on my NES. Was so hard to get games around those days...

hell ya on the nightshade i loved the catnip part lol

Superb list. Still love to play Kings of the Beach on my NES. So many great games on the system.

Haha I may still have my Sinjin Smith Sports Illustrated for Kids card somewhere! What a blast from the past. Great video

The NES Mission: Impossible is based on the 1980's revival of the original television series not the film series.

Defender of the Crown is a gem of a game. I'd have to put it as an 'A' in my list. It worked just as well on the NES as it did on my C-64.

So many amazing games in this list. I would definitely put basewars higher though... man I loved that game!

I love these vids it makes me want to collect all the games in the list thank you mate :-)

For your information, people... The NES game Mission: Impossible is not based on the Tom Cruise movie. It's based on the 1966 TV show and its 1988 revival. This game came out six years before the movie. P.S., I'll put the MSX2 version of Metal Gear on the SS rank or higher.

As always, I enjoyed viewing your video, John! It's actually surprising how many of these games I have never played! I definitely feel that Gyruss, TMNT 2, and possibly RollerGames are my three favorites though. It is criminal how underrated Gyruss is (intuitive gameplay and a dynamite soundtrack) and RollerGames is a real hidden gem as well. It goes without saying that TMNT 2 was special and to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the original TMNT game despite the crazy difficulty (and it IS super tough...gotta fetch those scrolls in Stage 3). Regarding Mission: Impossible, it's actually a good game although the difficulty is INSANE (only beat it once as a kid...swore to myself that I would never try THAT again). There is a learning curve for sure but the game is easily a B or C in my book. Metal Gear is a special game to me as well but honestly, I feel it's a B (virtually impossible to beat the game without a guide...it's actually one of the toughest NES games for that reason in my humble opinion). Solid list though! I always enjoy these so please keep 'em coming (Hudson Soft might be a great one to review next. They made some great platforming titles like Adventure Island 3 and Felix the Cat and of course Bomberman was super fun.)

My brother and I used to play Silent Service as a command simulator. One of us was the captain, giving orders with no controls, with the other doing only what the other one said. It was great.

Great videos, rock on!

You nailed it with your take on TMNT2. I was amazed at how they pulled it off. That was the moment that I realized we could get real arcade quality in our own homes.

When I think of Ultra...Roller Games immediately comes to mind. Oh...the many frustrations I had dying over and over and over and over and starting back to the beginning of the level!!! Eventually beat it though.