I LOVE this list because it's so personal. I'm tired of the same lists over and over. This person included their personal memories and unique games I haven't seen on other lists.
Master blaster was innovative being one of the 1st if not the 1st game to let your character to exit and enter your vehicle whenever you pleased! Very underrated
It was River City Ransom for me. The music, the game dynamics, the way you would power up (buying stuff at shopping malls scattered throughout the map) and being able to kick someone into a bottomless pit. My number one even today.
Snake rattle and roll and Marble Madness was my shit! I liked how in Snake Rattle and Roll if you were quick to get to the finish line on the first level you could catch the rocket ship and Warp!
Legacy of the Wizard. I probably spent 100’s of hours playing it. Basically an open world game, very cryptic, with not many secrets revealed by the instructions. I loved that game, would love to see a remake.
I loved that game. Never got the chance to beat it since I was never able to beat the game since I couldn’t find the NES cleaning kit. Still had fun with it.
The Guardian Legend was one of my favorite NES games, that I never anything about. It was challenging and fun. It had the top down labyrinth style game play like Star Tropics, as well as vertical scrolling flying levels.
When the first game was the marble game (that I can't remember the exact title), I was done. I was thinking the same as you when I'd go to rent a game and saw the games he recommended. "Who the heck would want to rent THAT?" Now, we know the answer to the question lol
Faxanadu was a game that kept us playing forever. The damn password was so unforgiving. We would carefully write down the password and be absolutely sure we didn't mess up anything and still got it wrong. It became a group effort to make sure it written down correctly when it came time to let one of my brothers play.
I would say Shatterhand is one of my all time favorite sidescrolling action platformers, and possibly my favorite NES hidden gem. It even had a weapon combination system before Gunstar Heroes utilized a similar mechanic!
It was one of the most memorable game rentals that I never owned. Now it's difficult to find a cart and it's expensive. Action games were in a good number for the NES and many of them were overlooked gems.
I've been playing Nightshade for about 28 years now, and it is AMAZING. Finally, some recognition of the brilliant NES gem. Thank you for making a great call. Tragic that the game never got a sequel.
I played Goonies (II) as a 7-year-old and loved it. I played Goonies (II) as a 38-year-old and love it. The gameplay does take some getting used to, but no more than the adjustment you have to make when transitioning from Mega Man to SMB to Zelda. Very engaging game that did a great job carving out its own unique experience.
The Mega Man games are some of my favourites. I stil play them on my old NES. I never completely finished the first. Number two and three are easier i think.
The first time I played Marble Madness I was home from school with the chicken pox. My awesome Dad rented a ransom game for me (I couldn't go with him obviously) and I remember my first reaction being "what the hell is this crap?" Turned out to be one of the most addicting and fun games to play without buying, in the rental world of NES games. Thanks for sharing your video, I've been enjoying your channel since I found it a few days ago!
I also agree on this, but it was underrated because people didnt like its difficulty.... i loved it, it was, IS one the games i can brag about because not even the owner of this game was able to beat it when we were kids...
@@brianhatcher2799 if u dont bring a bulletproof vest, is x2 harder, and not compulsory, but whips make him also easier cuz of their range... also also make sure you do all the trainings, the y give added bonuses that make the last stage a breeze... ^u^
For unique baseball games I’d have picked Base Wars first, then Dusty Diamond All-Star Softball. I’d put T&C Surf Design on my list, along with JACKAL and Legacy of the Wizard.
TC skate and surf is my fave of all time. Once you figure out the trick to surfing or start doing boardslides on the skate levels, it changes the whole dynamic of the game. And that soothing sound of 8 bit waves crashing in the beginning 👌🏻
Some Underrated NES games: Karnov, Yo! Noid, Ski or Die, TMNT III Manhattan Project, Jordan Vs Bird, Town and Country Surf Design, Kung Fu, Narc, Little Nemo the Dream Master, and Golf.
Perl Pictures I agree. I love Mario 2. My favorite NES mario title by far. Love the ability to choose characters. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Hope to see you around again here at the channel!
Probably so. It had the misfortune of being sandwiched between the most iconic Mario ever (SMB 1) and maybe the best Mario ever (SMB 3). It also kinda wasn't a real Mario...just a reskinned version of a game called Doki Doki Panic. Great game still, IMO.
What do you mean not 100% Mario game? The game it's based on, Doki Doki Panic, was made by the same designer/developers (Miyamoto and team), which is why the platforming elements and characters control just like the other Mario games. It even has the POW block from the original arcade Mario Bros. When they converted it to Super Mario Bros. 2 for the US market, they spruced it up a bit and changed the characters to the Mario characters, but the game always had a Mario influence.
My problem with "Jaws" is that is is entirely based upon Jaws 4: The Revenge. If they would have titled it that way I think it would be respected for what it is. If you have only seen Jaws and play this game you are left like me with a this is bloody awful, did they not even watch the movie?
Adventure Island! We thought it was so hilarious when you touched fire and the character would jump in the air. Shadowgate is absolutely amazing as well as the detective game made by the same company. The name of the game escapes me at the moment. I also have the modern Shadowgate for PC I got off gog.com and it is great. And freaking hard. I keep dying.
I liked Friday the 13th as well, even though I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Jaws was decent, though too easy to win. I always get a wave of Nostalgia when I hear the Goonies 2 music.
Use your fast counselor to get a machete and light all of the big cabins to get the torch. Make sure your kids all stay alive through the first two quests. Jason is too hard to dodge in the 3rd quest, so you want to fight him in the street with the torch
A family friend of ours once competed on American Gladiators his name was James Long (Season 3/Episode 2) he was a fire fighter here in NYC, he actually had a 11 or 12 second head start going into the final obstacle course but at the beginning inclined treadmill he got to the very top and slipped and then went all the way back down, he lost but he put in a tremendous effort and we were so proud that someone we knew was on the show and came so close to winning.
“Hey, Mikey!”, Lol. My aunt who recently passed away after a long battle with cancer use to say that to my oldest son Mikey all the time, probably one of my favorite movies of all time, absolute classic.
I definitely agree with NightShade, Goonies, and Friday the 13th WAS a scary game. It was hard for me to come up with just 10 underrated games. So, mine include 20 more underrated games: 1.Maniac Mansion 2. Dja Vu 3. Street Fighter 2010 4. Jackel 5. Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll 6. 1942 7. Athena 8. Guardian Legend 9. Rambo 10. Battle of Olympis 11. Solar Jetman 12. Trojan 13. Slalom 14. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 15. Low G Man 16. The Rocketeer 17. Renegade 18. Ice Hockey 19. Super Pitfall 20. TaleSpin
Absolutely rock solid list, there! I have fond memories of nearly every game you listed, and I know that a big part of why I'm having so much fun playing AC: Odyssey is that I've already seen so many of those locations in Battle of Olympus! Good stuff. :)
Love the fact that you don't mind having an opinion that isn't very accepted by the mainstream. You seem like a cool guy and I'm glad I stumbled onto this channel
Thanks so much for you saying that Asher! I am glad you have the right attitude about having your own opinions on RU-vid. We shouldn't have to be scared to say what games we enjoy. Hope you enjoyed the video man and I hope to see you around again here at the channel!
Goonies 2 is one of the weirdest and also one of the funnest NES games. The fact that there is no clear distinction of your progress as in level completes is pretty different and it’s very challenging!
Batman is amazing, and I think the game just doesn't get enough love, but I guess it's somewhat well known and the people who do know about it think it's great, so I can see how you'd cut it just short of the list.
I remember reading about that game in a magazine back when I was a little kid. As soon as I read the "move the mat to reveal a key, take the key, use it on the front door" part, I was immediately sold. And when I finally played it and heard the soundtrack, OH, BOY! I was so blown away that I couldn't even enjoy the DOS version years later because of its lack of music. Steven, did you get to play Day Of The Tentacle, by the way? It's a damn masterpiece.
CB Games no, it was pretty bad. Many times people like games due to nostalgia rather than them being good. Friday the 13th was another game that brings back memories of NES but was actually pretty bad.
The hammer bonus stage is easy... its speeds up every time you avoid it (press B not jump), if we go pixel by pixel, first swing 10, 2nd swing 15, 20 25 30 etc Or time it, 0.5 secs, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 etc The faster it gets the father away you need to hit B to ensure daniel san sprite slaps the hammer away
You unlocked a memory!!! I LOVED Startropics but never could remember the name of the game, but once I saw the island, the yo-yo and the character it all came rushing back! I need to find this rom stat! THANK YOU
Oh man. The Karate Kid was a TERRIBLE game. It was brutally hard for 5 year old me and the ending was such a let down. I spent an entire summer trying to beat the game, and when I finally did I was so disappointed I never picked it up again. No cut-scene, no sense of resolution, just a floating Miyagi head telling you you're a karate master now! The monsoon stage and the hammer swing bonus stage still haunt my dreams. Getting bounced in a corner until I died was infuriating. I'm glad someone got some enjoyment out of it though. Definitely an unorthodox pick for underrated game list.
I have not been surprised by by list in years. Usually when people say "Underrated" they mean "hidden gem", like Batman, Star Tropic, SCAT, etc, but these games are either sports games, which usually get ignored, or movie games, that are usually ripped on. Good video.
Startropics should be the #2 underrated game. It was an awesome game. Crystalis should've been #1. It was completely underrated! Awesome game if you've never played it.
My favorites: Battletoads, Cobra Triangle, Balloon Fight, Power Blade, Strider, Karnov, Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight, Shadow Gate, Zelda 2, Mega Man 2, Metroid, Metal Gear, Yo Noid, Wizards and Warriors, Double Dragon 2, Snake Rattle n Roll, Monster Party, Little Nemo
My top 10 (in order current Ranker score) G. I. Joe (114) Bucky O Hare (139) Shatter hand (162) Yo! Noir (168) Felix the Cat (171) Gremlins 2 (180) Snow Bros. (191) Kung Fu (217) Totally Rad (341) Little Ninja Brothers (493) I can't believe I had to scroll down to almost 500 to reach the first game I thought of for this category. I'm too mad to scroll further.
One that I loved and never see anyone bringing up is Gumshoe. It was the only game I ever played that used the light gun to maneuver the character. Also I totally enjoyed Goonies II as a kid. Good pick.
Friday the 13th? When the first thing you mention as a positive is the cover art & the title screen, you know the game isn't too good.... Personally I think the original Baseball Stars is the best NES baseball game I swear I think this video is sponsored by LJN. I respect the opinions are just that, but personally I would rank LJN as just about the worst for NES games. I don't think one would make my top 25 list I think Cobra Triangle was a very underrated NES game
Conor you are probably right lol. He would say what was he thinking???? Hope you enjoyed thr video man. Hope to see you around again here at the channel!
@@MetalSmasherGaming Actually his smart fans understand that AVGN is a character, and not indicative of the man who portrays him. Simon's Quest is not really that bad, neither is a decent handful of LJN titles. I like his work, but don't always agree with the game choices. I'm just glad he finally covered The Town With No Name, which nearly everyone would agree is one of the worst things ever produced. I waited for that episode for years, I knew eventually it would come.
Faxanadu. Every time i bring this game up people look at me like i'm from outer-space. Something about that game's name elicits a bewildered expression and a 1000 yard stare from people. Def an underrated classic of the NES and difficult (yet rewarding) as hell. Highly recommended!
I vaguely remember that level. It's been a long time since I really got far on marble madness. I do eventually want to do a secrets and history vid about it so I'm sure we will answer that question then lol.
This game was super challenging to the point of being infuriating. My one friend was crazy good at it though. I don’t think I ever got to the floating platform level because I SUCKED at the controls on this one. Lol.
@@GenerationGapGaming marble madness was amazing! Two games that could make this list I remember was Solar Jetman and WURM Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both very interesting games!
just takes time. i remember sucking when i first played it as a kid but eventually i was zipping through the entire game without falling/dying once. if it were easy it would get old really fast.
Cant believe he put a bunch of LJN games over Journey to Silius, Kings of the Beach, Legend of Black Manta, WCW Wrestling, Spy vs Spy to name a few. I highly disagree with this list, but I respect the video. Just found this channel and its good to reminisce about the NES days. Subbed.
Journey to Silius was more mainstream, I thought (with my personal favorite 8-bit song of all time in the stage 1&5 music), but you may have a case with Spy vs Spy, which was only slightly mainstream, as I remember. As for Wrath of the Black Manta (I assume that's what you meant), I completely agree with you...one of my most cherished NES games. Nothing like a ninja saving a kid and telling them random "after school" thoughts like, "Don't do drugs". Good call on that one!
Somebody finally gave some love to The Blue Marlin and Jaws!! Two of my favorites. I spent many hours playing them both, imagining I was out on a boat in the ocean. What memories man.
Jaws is such a great game I can't believe people shit on it...I'm 40 years old, and the game still holds up AND my cousin and I introduce that game to people who never played it and they get hooked instantly too...
MAsterr Serch yes man!!! Jaws is incredible. These LJN games get too much hate man. I don't get it. Glad you enjoy it and are showing to new people. Hope you enjoyed the video man and hope to see you around again here at the channel!
@@GenerationGapGaming yeah you'll be seeing me on the channel lol .... I comment on a lot of videos of the stuff I care about... ANYWAY, yes, I was about to say LJN gets a lot of crap. Karate Kid REALLY isnt that bad of a game... and I was a huge wrestling fan, so it was fun to just hear the theme musics for my favorite guys on the WWF SNES games, and then to do their finishers, and of course, KO the ref lol...so much fun... now, marble madness I had and it was fun, but it got me angry fast lol... but I played the shit out of Goonies II and Anticipation! I remember Nintendo power did like a cover piece and huge article on Anticipation, so it sold me and i got it like the day it came out. I played it so much that sometimes i would guess the pic within just a few seconds, or instantly if the dots were there hahaha... And I also never heard of your #1 underrated game, I'm gonna have to play it. I have the "raspberry pie," so I have every NES and SNES game ever made pretty much... about 1500 games total I think
Solid choices!! I do t know much about NES rankings but as a child of the 80s I spent countless hrs behind the console and some of these bring back great memories!!
Indeed! Batman was probably a bit underrated during the NES era, but has gotten an upswing in later years thanks to the speedrunning scene. And it has stood the test of time really well. The backgrounds are unbelievably good looking considering the color limitations and the music is just amazing and has some of the very best tunes on the entire console. The game is also perfect in length for some 8-bit modern day action.
Hell yeah totally agree on star tropics, I just found out there was a piece of paper on the game box that was supposedly his uncle's letter which you can put on water and reveal a secret code, its very cool
Not hard it was extremely methodical and formulaic... Once you figure out the flow you can pretty much do it without getting hit even once and I am saying that although i am a pretty average gamer and not a perfectionist by any means but back in the days one of my friend had the game and we borrowed it everyday for a hour or so and after playing it a week or so we finished the game everytime sometimes getting one or two hits overall...
Agree. However I loved the FIRST Bases Loaded by Jaleco too. I could pitch a perfect game through 7 innings with FOX on Philly every time. He had a pitch that if you did the right controller move, would result in a strike call every time and was unhittable through 7 until his arm tired. Generally this meant a win anyway. Also, you can CRACK the Bases Loaded code by taking the code from two games played, then counting the spaces between each letter to get your next one. EXAMPLE: If "A" is in the 1st code, and "E" is in the same position in the 2nd code, the next code it would be "I" - I cracked this at 13 and ended up getting a Philly team that had more wins than games played.
Bad News Baseball was my favorite. I found out years later there was a girls team mode as well. I'll never forget the good memories my dad and I had with that game. He made charts and stats on the best teams (overall best is Boston and Minnesota) I always played Toronto because they were fast and stealing bases pissed my old man off lol. Great animation and the energizer bunny was the ref!
Awesome list. I love me some marble madness, jaws, Friday thnight 13th. Wow this is awesome. Adventures of Lolo and XeXyz are games I would put in there as well.
@@GenerationGapGaming Adventures of Lolo is my fav NES series hands down, all 3 games are brilliant, well 5 games if you count the two Famicom ones which are the same but have different levels, then there's the Eggerland Famicom Disk System games.... there's hundreds of hours to be lost in these games
Best underrated list ever! Right on! These are all games I owned or rented and loved, but seem to get crapped on by reviewers and gaming RU-vidrs. Especially the LJN games. I loved Karate Kid and never thought it was a bad game! Same with Jaws, Friday the 13th and Goonies 2. I didn’t know they were “bad games” until the internet.
Wow! First off let me say it's an honor that you commented on our channel. Absolutely love your channel Michael. My son Blake and I were watching a few of your videos the other night before going to bed. I know you love A Nightmare on Elm Street. I remember your game genie review. How sweet, nerd meat! 🤣 I never owned it growing up but I did rent it for a weekend once growing up. I remember liking it and it was just one of those games I never got a chance to buy but I'm on the lookout for it now. I actually saw a complete in box copy at a retro convention last weekend for 200 bucks. I probably should have bought it but I was second guessing myself lol. I'm fine with finding a loose copy of it too. Seriously man, thanks so much for commenting!
I actually own that game, possibly in box. Did you know that there was a different nightmare on elm Street where you were Freddy hunting the kids? I remeber seeing the ads for it and recently found those online. That game could be made now, but back then was a no no. I have the box for star tropics too and the paper that you had to get wet for the code.
Flying dragon and the secret scroll and flying warriors was a fun fighting game. It was the first console game where there are tournament elements involving different fighting backgrounds.
RU-vid keeps suggesting these vids and even though I've already watched them, I'm cool giving them a second watch 😃👍 Man! You have Friday the 13 CIB 😮 Nice! My cousin's had this and i remember sleep overs playing this, eating pizza and drinking pop late in the night, getting freaked out when Jason popped up 😌 Good times. Will you consider showing some of your collection? Id love to see that Jason game!
marble madness and anticipation brought back SO many memories! wow.. I was just talking to my brother about nes games that we both remember playing. Boy& his blob.. T &C, ect. but there's one game that sticks in my mind and only remember 1 level of it. The bad guys jumped like frogs and they had the letter J on the front of them, i think there was a coin involved? I'm not 100% the level was set with pyramids in the background, i though it was trojan or karlov but the levels dont look the same. Does this ring a bell to anyone?
Wow dude. when I see this typed out my choices sound kinda ridiculous lol. Sorry man but that's the way i feel. We dont have to agree on everything man. Hope you enjoyed watching the video otherwise man and hope to see you around again here at the channel!
