NES Games That Will Always Be Enjoyable - Retro Bird 

Games played: Contra (0:05), Mega Man 2 (0:30), Duck Hunt (0:49), Super Mario Bros. (1:54), Mikey Tyson's Punch-Out!! (4:12), Adventures of Lolo (6:05), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (10:39)

Kirby's adventure is one of the best nes games and its pretty beginner friendly

The amount of work and creativity that is placed in these videos are astounding.

Kirby’s Adventure was pretty much built to be the most accessible NES game ever made.

Jackal is a great pick-up-and-play two player game, making it a good way to introduce someone to the system. There's also Super Mario Bros. 3, which still feels like a modern 2D Mario game.

I recently found this channel and I love your videos, Matt. Just the right balance of good information, deep talks, and hilarious bits. Keep doing your thing!

There are so many NES games I would recommend like Kirby's Adventure, the Disney games (DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale, Darkwing Duck), and Double Dragon 1 & 2. However, one game that I think might be fun for all ages is _Bubble Bobble_ . It is a simple concept and quite fun (especially with a friend). It was one of the first games I owned as a kid and I still enjoy playing it now. The games isn't too hard, but it does ramp up in difficulty later on. Beware of level 57...

Bubble Bobble's replayability could easily make it a classic for generations. Especially due to the two player option.

No matter what happens, Little Nemo: The Dream Master is my favorite NES game, and I'll happily recommend it every time. Beautiful visuals, great level design, incredible music, unique gameplay mechanics, and just the right amount of difficulty without frustration. It always blows my mind that it never makes it onto "best of NES" lists.

My 5 would be; -Mega Man 6 -Crystalis -Blaster Master -Guardian Legend -Mario 2

Mega Man, Castlevania, Kirby, Super Mario Bros. & Contra are always gonna be classics. However, the game I think held up the best on NES is not a Nintendo game but in fact it's heavily overlooked in my opinion and that is River City Ransom. Great beat em up with light RPG elements and it's co-op so you can enjoy it with a buddy. Can't really think of any that aged as gracefully as that one.

Being born in 82’ and gaming since I was 5yrs old, I absolutely love your channel. Huge fan! Keep em coming! 😅 🤝🏼🎉🎉

When this new video showed up in my feed my 5 year old daughter shouted out with glee, "Banana Guy!"... Your branding strategy is working brilliantly. At this rate love for the nanner empire should be firmly rooted in the hearts and minds of the youth and ready to rise by 2035 at the latest... Cheers from Iowa

My top 5 for NES: SMB 3, Zelda II, Contra, Life Force, MM2 :)

Your humor is chef's kiss. Great video as always. Please do continue to spread the word of retro games until we assimilate the entire planet. One of us. ONE OF US. ONE OF US! ONE OF US!!!

Thank you for mentioning "Adventures of Lolo"!! An absolute gem in that system's library :D It was my second ever NES game and is still one of my top 3 personal favorites! People absolutely should give it a chance

Super Spike V’Ball is a phenomenal pick up and play game. Easy controls, tons of fun, and you can play as the Double Dragons.

Haven't seen Bayou Billy in years What a trip, awesome video

I'm late to the party, but I would recommend Tetris to people new to NES. Easy to learn and super fun.

Man...your channel is awesome. My 5 would be... 1. Super Mario Bros. 3 2. Megaman 2 3. Castlevania 4. Super C 5. Dr. Mario

I grew up with Lolo and spotted him and Lala as a miniboss in Kirby when I was still a kid and it was so cool knowing who those characters were.

I love how you made the nes talk it reminds me of my childhood I used to make it talk as well and had it tell my brother it was time for a different game lol.

Had a of fun with this video as I recently plugged in my NES, and basically expected it to aquire dust. But surprisingly, I'm playing it more than anything else. Playing Contra for the first time ever, and it's really addictive with the NES Advantage

Honestly of all the games on this list maybe the best one for just literally going back and replaying whenever is probably duck hunt it's the best one in my opinion. only one drawback of this game binge playing it like that will put a lot of wear on the light gun

Delicious CRT footage presentation. That's how all old scool games should be presented on the internet.

Your missing Earthbound, Castelvania, Batman, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda.

I beat Lolo last week after playing the game like 32 years ago. Felt good lol.

Hard to believe GoldenEye not aging well that always seems like the N64 game that everybody remembers that iconic that you want to pop in and play, multiplayer that is

Excellent list! I grew up with an NES, so I will probably keep playing an NES for a long while. Glad to hear you mention the underrated _Adventures of Lolo_ amongst some of the more popular NES games. I played it when I was really little and it kept me captive with all its puzzles!

Always appreciate someone showing love to Lolo. such an underrated series and by far my fav series on the NES

I didn't even grow up playing these games but I fell in love with NES games lately. I just love to watch your content it feels so good.

The Mario trilogy and Kirby are way, way ahead of the rest. Mario 3 is still the best 2D Platformer to this day, amazingly.

Man I always have a nice time watchin' your videos! Keep on pushin 'cause you make a great Job!

i do currently raise my kids with classic video games. they love them just as much as new games. more in some cases. my 4 year old is decent with the nintendo 64 and gameboy advance. he also really likes mario paint. i also jave them watch classic cartoons. progress so far is good.

I would choose Kirby, Lolo, Mario 1 and 3, and my favorite game Star tropics for my top 5. 😊 forgot ducktales! So fun.

I recently introduced my 6 year old son to NES games. He loves Snake Rattle N Roll, and Mega Man. He's tenacious though as I've seen him repeatedly die at the same bit in Mega Man for 20 minutes and still keep going lol.

Hey, Retrobird, this video has inspired me to try out some of these games, even though I never had or played on the NES. So thanks!

Nice to see some love for Lolo. And the bit with the friend's kid cracked me up. Great video as always.

5:32 hahaha i love this guy

There's actually a lot of NES games that are lesser known where the difficulty isn't necessarily quite as harsh. And they're actually really fun games like River City Ransom mighty final fight snow Brothers bubble bobbles fun just seems impossible to get past that last boss. Or a racing game like road blasters. And if you're into shooting games try the punisher on the NES only weird thing about that is they don't allow you to use the light gun when it seems like a perfectly appropriate game for it. Double dragon on the nes really good game but in my opinion not quite as good as the one on the Sega Master system. And maybe more than any I'd have to recommend ice hockey a truly memorable sports game for the NES that's neither too hard nor too easy.

Not even 30 seconds in and you've already made me laugh and put me in a better mood. Even as I'm typing this you're hittin me with a belly laugh from your physical comedy. Thanks for the great content!

I picked up an NES last year and even though I have only gotten three games for it and I still really like it and I am excited to get more games for it

Great list! I was excited to see Lolo get a mention; I love that game. I would recommend Jackal. It's a very fun 2 Player game, and the difficulty ramps up fairly. I've played it with newcomers who always seem to enjoy it.

This is my favorite things from this channel. I love game recommendations from the super fans who have tried the games I've never even heard about

I gave my 14-year-old cousin Megaman 2 a try last week... the experience was conclusive! Between the passwords, the interesting level design, the smooth controls, the generous life farm and the well-balanced difficulty, the game has aged extremely well! - Kirby Adventure (beautiful, varied level design, relaxing difficulty, auto-save) - Wrecking Crew (efficient puzzle-platformer with a selection of free stages without worrying about life or saving) - Wario Wood ((interactive tutorial, optional and complete for understanding the puzzles) I recommend the SNES version with shortcuts dodging key combinations.

My list: #1 - Double Dragon 2 (with a friend) #2 - Life Force (with a friend) #3 - Metroid #4 - Super Dodge Ball #5 - Wizards and Warriors Honorable mention: Willow, just for the music

All of my kids play NES, SNES and pretty much every console up to current gen. My oldest who is now 20 beat Ninja Gaiden when he was 14, I advised him to put that on his resume.

If there is a series that deserves a sequel, a compilation or a remake, then it's Lolo. Loved the game as kid back then!

Bayou Billy could have been great if Konami didn't intentionally make it harder for the western audience. Any NES game that's fun to play today will most likely still be enjoyable in the future.

I was a master in contra, i loved the game so much i played entire days , one of the most fun games on NES for me

I'd have to add Blaster Master as well due to its depth of exploration and varied gameplay elements.

Can’t forget Duck Tales-that’s another game that has it all. Excellent controls and graphics, music that gets stuck in your head, and an incredibly fun and addictive gameplay experience. Btw, just stumbled across your channel this weekend-I really like your video style and sense of humor, you have me cracking up throughout the videos!! I’ll definitely be picking my way through the rest of your vids, keep it up man!!

Another great video Retro Bird! Your personality, humor, and skits are a hoot!

I'm not sure I can speak easily on this one, because I've been playing my NES since it was new, and there's never been a real gap where I came back to it with fresh eyes. The only way I can gauge it at all is by watching what games my kids are drawn to when left to their own devices, and Mario and Kirby are definitely up there. Some others I see my 7 year old going back to over and over on his own: Rygar Fire n Ice Ghosts n Goblins Excitebike Gargoyle's Quest II Tetris TMNT II & III He has a lot of exploring to do yet, buthe goes back to those often. He's a bigger SNES fan than anything else classic, and his love of Super Ghouls n Ghosts and Demon's Crest brought him to their NES counterparts. Me, I keep playing Zelda II every few months since about 1988.

00:01:43 Man, you still haven't stopped topping yourself with those visual gags! Keep it up! I wanna see what more you can come up with.

Super C was my jam. I remember restarting if I died before the jungle stage. I hadn’t played it in years when I showed my kids and it was like I never stopped playing, it’s burned into my memory 😂

I find it interesting that me and my brother both beat Battletoads, bayou Billy and ninja Gaiden on the nes as elementary age students. We both were known as the best gamers in school.

DuckTales was my jam growing up! Loved the video and I’m always happy to see the naners get some screen time. That Neo Geo sign is something I need in my life. I was obsessed with Neo Geo and still am! I actually own a 4-slot MVS now.

Granted, I *am* a newcomer, I may be able to add a little to this. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Castlevania (the first one) stand out at phenomenal examples of NES games I think just about anyone could enjoy. Any Dark Souls or Elden Ring fan would appreciate the original Castlevania and any fan of gaming in general I think could have a blast with Super Mario Bros. 3. The first Mario I actually would not recommend as entry level tbh.

Solid list! Some games I’d recommend that I haven’t already seen listed are some of the sports games. Techno Bowl, RBI Baseball, and Ice Hockey are fun, easy to pick up games. They’re fun to play alone or against a friend.

I accidentally pressed the pop up notification button while working on a Unboxing video and I'm happy that I did. I love the Nintendo Entertainment System I got mine last year around this time. Cool video. ^_^

Balloon Fight is the one I find myself coming back to the most often, Granted it's not nearly as often as I play SNES or other later gen games. We got an NES when I was 2 and an SNES when I was 5, so as much Mario and Mega Man as I played, I was too young to get very far in them and the ability to save on most games made the SNES much more fun since I got to explore more of the game. Nowadays, I find most NES games just a bit too frustrating to go back to, especially since many of the best ones have later ports or sequels that are arguably superior in every way, nvm the drastic quality of life improvements. Hopefully one day I will have a giant CRT TV and I will play a good deal of duck hunt on it, but until then I don't see a ton NES gaming in my future when I have such a backlog of things to revist.

Honestly the main drive why I got my CRTs was to play duck hunt with the original zapper.

I remember playing NES games on a clone console growing up (not knowing what an nes was) and loving ice climber, battle city , and twin bee (along with classics like contra and super mario bros)

There’s about a hundred, off the top of my head, that I see as truly timeless. There’s less than what the SNES and Genesis have, but far more than it gets credit for.

Great picks, RB. Love the humor as always. Some other games that I think will always be fun are Bucky O'Hare, Cobra Triangle, Eliminator Boat Duel, Gremlins 2, Kickle Kubicle, Snake Rattle 'n' Roll (with the isometric d-pad adjustment hack).

I've been on a big NES kick lately as I finally bought a RGB modded top loader and it is making all my dreams come true. Good picks! I'm trying to branch out into the games I've never played. Tons to explore, that's for sure.

Contra Is so damn well made that's always an inspiration for me to be a Game Developer. Specially the Famicom enhanced version wich makes the game more three dimensional.

I'm so glad to see The Adventures of Lolo mentioned. I used to get my parents rent that all the time, but we never owned it. When I got into emulation during college it was one of the first games I fired up.

Definitely agreed on all your picks - I would add Donkey Kong to the list for being an easy pick-up-and-play game and maybe Lode Runner for a wild card.

I love Bayou Billy!! Retro Bird, you hurt my feelings!!😢 I’m just kidding! 😂 But seriously, I can see how it can turn off some people, but I would seriously put it in a top 20 list if I made one of the best NES games. It has great cutscenes, an awesome jungle-like soundtrack, Gordon’s laugh, a practice mode, and a variety of levels, including street-fighting, driving, and shooting. But you’re right, I’m used to people saying it’s not a great game, but that’s okay. But I would recommend to anyone Kirby’s Adventure. It’s much easier than most of its NES brethren, but still challenging, it’s got great graphics for the NES, and it’s a lot of fun to float and get enemies’ abilities. I could mention so many more, like Tetris, Mario 3, etc, The NES probably had the greatest library of great games (at least IMO).

Excellent content as always!

Balloon Fight was the proper joust-like for the NES and is always worth a quick casual playthrough solo or 2player. Killer Queen released last decade was an awesome example of where that genre could go.

I’m a big fan of Gyruss! It’s like a shmup got flushed down the toilet - a concept I find both hilarious and beautiful. It has a great pick-up-and-play quality for a quick fix (i.e. not a huge time investment). And the difficulty curve is respectful to beginners, but ramps up with progress for more of a challenge.

It might be time for me to try to get into Lolo again. Among the games mentioned in your video I always find myself coming back to Blaster Master, Bubble Bobble, Kirby, River City Ransom, Battletoads, Excitebike, Donkey Kong, Balloon Fight, Little Samson, and Vice: Project Doom. Just some great games that never seem to get old. The latter two I even discovered and played through for the first time a few years ago so I can say they held up great.

Brilliance as always. And handwritten placards/parenting pro-tips for the win.

love that 'nanner hoard!

Kabuki: Quantum Fighter and Rollergames are my personal go to's. Tight gameplay and soundtracks that slap.

Shadowgate is a great game where you'll die a lot, but never die the same way twice.

I feel Contra had that Arcade feel where you died real easy, fun if you have friends who are waiting to try. Not one I would recommend for 1st time players. Here's my top 5 for newbies! At Number 1 Super Mario Bros, 2 Felix the Cat, 3 Kirby's Adventure, 4 Dr. Mario & Last Castlevania! Fun little story a few years back my son had a sleep over & our internet went down. I busted out Castlevania & showed my son's friend how to play & when he beat the 1st level I told him he beat the game! A little lie but boy was he happy! That night I created a little retro player for life!

I'd have to include River City Ransom on any list of NES games that I can just pick up and play and get into. Probably the best arcade style beat 'em up on the system, even over TMNT 2, plus it has some light RPG elements that are interesting too. But love the character design, the story, the levels, and the music. Also a big fan of Super Dodge Ball by the same studio.

you just reminded me i need to grab Lolo. great list

A few years ago I didn’t care much for the NES. However, one day I decided to give the games a proper chance and have been hooked on the console ever since. Managing to beat a game that seemed impossible and cheap years ago is great, especially when that perception of it being difficult vanishes as you become good at the game. The console just offers an experience that almost nonexistent in today’s games. Using a CRT is the way to go. Using anything else introduces input lag, which absolutely ruins the experience for these games. I feel a lot of people who try to get into NES make this mistake and get discouraged.

Good call on the lolo games. Great series to play!

Great video again and nice to see Adventures of Lolo here. Generally, going back to the NES is mostly a quite rough experience (for me). If it wasn‘t for emulators/the NES Mini and save states i‘d quite frankly not have any patience at all to play through almost any game (game difficulty and/or clunky controls). But a few NES games really never get old imo and are still a pretty good time. Like Punchout, Mega Man (1-6), Dr. Mario, Super Spike V‘Ball, Snake Rattle 'n Roll, Bubble Bobble, Turtles 2/3, Double Dragon II, Bucky O'Hare, Mario Bros 2, Contra… 🆙

Punch out is great and still easy to pick up. I also recently replayed maniac mansion a bunch a few months ago. Don’t know how a new comer would like it but i still remembered all the multiple ways of beating it

Dr. Mario, Tecmo Super Bowl, Wario’s Woods, Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, Bucky O’Hare, Little Samson, Danny Sullivan, Ivan Ironman Stewart, etc

For real your videos are so funny never fail to make me smile and laugh.

NES games my young kids enjoyed playing: Batttletoads (friendly fire co-op cracks em up), Excite Bike, Punch Out, 3 Stooges...

If you haven’t already, can you do the sega genesis

Dunk Hunt is playable on the Wii U with a Wiimote too, but soon that option might not be available either.

Love this style of video! Bionic Commando comes to mind as a classic. A bit on the hard-side but unique and fun.

I grew up with the Super Nintendo, but my largest collection of games nowadays is for NES (170 games and counting). It's a console that has a lot of charm to me, and its library is full of imaginative games that mix gameplay styles (yes, like Bayou Billy, but also The Guardian Legend and many others). The 8-bit era was more experimental than the 16-bit one. To me, 80% of the NES library is enjoyable, and I even enjoy games that most people consider bad. The NES teaches you that, in order to really enjoy and understand a game, you need to have the patience to spend some time with it, and not trust your first impression. It's a lesson for life in general.

Decent picks. I would say Evander Holyfield's boxing is a very good boxing game for the era and still is pretty fun to play now.

Kirby's Adventure never gets old and is very easy to get into. And Mario 3 of course.

Honestly, the only NES game I really have any desire to play today is Super Mario Bros 3.

I still love playing the Adventure Island games.

Thanks for the video!

I never miss a chance to mention the sports titles. Way easier to pick up and have fun with than modern ones. Tecmo Bowl, Ice Hockey, Blades of Steel, Dodgeball, V'Ball, RBI, Ring King, so many great couch co-op games anyone can play. EDIT: I also wanted to point out, a lot of the fun sports titles are dirt cheap.

Games I loved as a kid and still enjoy playing today: The Legend of Zelda - my favorite NES game ever, Zelda II, Contra, Mike Tyson's Punchout, Megaman Series, Kid Icarus, Wizards & Warriors, Metroid, Super Marios Bros 1 & 2, Rygar, Castlevania Series, Ninja Gaiden Series, and Ghosts'N Goblins - hardest game I've ever beaten! Love the memories of playing with my friends - priceless! To each his own, power to the players!