Here are the Honorable Mentions in the order i show them... it was a long day of capturing footage... Cobra Triangle Batman Heavy Barrel Rescue Rangers River City Ransom Zelda RC Pro Am Double Drago Kirby Xexyz Blaster Master King's Knight Jackal Marble Madness Super Dodgeball Little Nemo Trojan Toki Super Mario Bros. 1 Shatterhand
Ethan Hunt It's a swerve, if he didn't show it in honorable mentions (but showed SMB1) you would know that The Legend of Zelda is #1 before the reveal. Great video, by the way, Mr. NESComplex. I respectfully disagree with Blaster Master not making the Top 20 and am shocked that SMB1 did not, but this list is rock solid, in my opinion.
You got Bionic Commando AND Mega Man 2 for the same Christmas!? Wow, dude that is truly excellent! I'd probably place Bionic Commando in my top 3. I remember, I got a good report card and that meant a new game. I told Dad I wanted Mega Man 2...I wanted it so very bad and he came home with Bionic Commando instead (Toys 'R Us was sold out of MM2). I was furious like the ungrateful brat that all children are in the moment but I played it anyway, of course. My tune changed REAL fast. I absolutely adore Bionic Commando. I replay it at least once a year to this day. Father knows best, kids.
That is a RAD story (pun intended lol)! So many comments here are from people who don't really know Bionic Commando! Hopefully this opens up some hearts to that gem that it is
There really was nothing quite like it at the time. I mean, that Master-D bit...you just didn't see things like that in video games. Blew my mind (a fitting reaction now that I mention it...).
Well, now I'm going to play NES's The Legend of Zelda. Your review is awesome, you go to the point and say what you truly think. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Your video just makes me want to fire up the NES right now. PS really love the editing on this one especially during the transitions that is awesome Chris.
lol "100 minute commercial called the wizard" on a serious note: when i was a kid and that movie came out. you were seen subhuman trash on the playground if you had not seen it.
Great list! This was a fun romp through a lot of well known and lesser known greats of the NES's library. Adding your own personal childhood experiences of anticipating and playing some of these games really sells how these games were received in their time. But man... neither of the Battletoads games even in the honorable mentions?! Oh, it hurts!!
Very cool top 20. Im 42 now but my best childhood memories involve the NES and video games in general. I remember hearing about The Legend of Zelda in summer school from kids and they couldn't stop talking about it. A year later I got my NES and my mother bought me it along with The Adventure of Link. The original game and Link to the Past the only two games to bloodshot my eyes up so bad from non stop playing.
I know it's an unpopular view point but I like Super Mario Bros 2 more than Super Mario Bros 3. Excellent list, thank you for your hard work and genuine love for the Nintendo.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who preferred SMB2 over SMB3, even if the latter featured one of my all-time favorite power-ups, the Super Leaf, which turned Mario into Raccoon Mario. ;)
Totally agree tose 10 are absolutely great games. In many fans' Top10 lists it would be just a matter of ordering. I would still add Crystalis, Battle of Olympus, Castlevania: Dracula's Curse and Metroid in the my Top10 ;)
Could you consider making a top list on either GameCube, Wii , Wii u, DS, Gameboy advance or 3ds?. You have a fresh perspective on your selection. That along with your editing and description makes these list exceptional. Keep it up!
Oh my god, that Zelda commercial!? What the hell were they thinking? And why did I still want it? Zelda changed my world too, man. Once I figured out what it was after a few days of playing it, I wanted EVERY game to be more of the same. Thank god for Metroid. Great list, Chris! Really enjoyed it.
Damn Brother Bear you nailed it spot on! For the NES my top 3 are Zelda, Contra and Life Force. Hell I could go on but these games are ones I visit at least once a month for a quickie for a quick fix. Except for Zelda because that one is not much of a quickie lol. Zelda is a much more demanded hot chick that needs a bit of overtime. lol Kung Fu is also a great quickie fix. Love your video brother as always! Can't wait to see more! A+++ 10 Stars!
Yes Brother...Life Force was the Best. My brother and I used to wake up "before Saturday Morning Cartoons" early in the morning like at 6 am just to play Life Force and punch it out and beat it before 7am and then eat bowls of cereal and watch cartoons, eat more cereal and finish cartoons with wrestling at 10am and then go outside to play and then come back home for lunch, then go outside and play again until supper then eat and get washed up and play more Nintendo again then watch movies with the family in the evening . Then pretend to go to bed and play more Nintendo until our room stunk of dirty socks and boy sweat and filth. That was our weekend as kids. Best times ever! I'm now in my 40's and still find myself in the same situation. Only I'm a grown ass adult hiding in my man cave from the wife and kids only they support my silly hobby. Love this video! A+++
Not only is this a great list, and so well put together, but (as you've done with your retrospectives in the past), you've set a new bar for what a top 10/top 20 list on RU-vid needs to be to be taken seriously. Thanks a lot for that.... /s Really though, awesome job!!
No dislikes at this point. Damn right. Solid list. I'm surprised to see Trojan and King's Knight in the honorable mentions. Those two are definitely underrated.
Crystalis has to be my favorite NES game of all time, it's the only NES game I find myself going back and playing every couple years....it was the first game I ever played that had me wrapped up in the story. Great list btw, Ducktales is amazing and Super Mario 2 is probably my fav. Mario game ever.
Man - great top 20 videos! Really enjoyed them. Great picks. Interesting to see, that there are many parallels to our PAL only top 10. Seems some games are without a doubt the best NES games on the world.
I'm so glad you're making videos again. I became a fan years ago thanks to your Nintendo Power Time Machine videos when you first started making them. It's great to see you back on the scene. My top 25 NES games, in no order: Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 2 (possibly my personal favorite of the NES Mario trilogy tbh) Super Mario Bros. 3 Dr. Mario Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 DuckTales Little Nemo: The Dream Master Kirby's Adventure The Legend Of Zelda Zelda II: Link's Adventure Contra Shatterhand Journey To Silius Battletoads Jackie Chan Action Kung Fu Adventure Island 2 Gradius Life Force Blaster Master Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Bubble Bobble Tetris Startropics Crystalis
Where's Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde? Smh That Zelda bit through me off so hard. That was so funny. I've been collecting a lot of older games recently and so this was super helpful. I haven't heard of half of these.
I love the NES because I'm still discovering games and playing games for the first time all these years later. I just played final fantasy for the first time and I would have to say that game moved into my top 10.
Really enjoyed both the vids and happy to see super so he ball on the honorable mentions. Ahhh the legend of Zelda I can still remember the 4×2 map mom and dad made with labyrinth maps. Everything on the overworld was marked orange for 1st quest and purple for 2nd quest.
What a magical list of games. Well done, Chris! Watching videos like this remind me of how amazing the NES was and how impactful it was on my childhood.
Thank you Duke! That’s always my goal with these videos but I never know how well I actually pull it off. Your comment is super encouraging that I’m on the right track
Very solid list. No argument on any of the choices. It's also nice to see that the order wasn't what it is for pretty much everyone else. My top 20, for anyone who could possibly care: Clash at Demonhead Tetris (Nintendo) TMNT II: The Arcade Game Monster Party Double Dragon II Ninja Gaiden II Final Fantasy Contra Gemfire River City Ransom Life Force Super Mario Bros. 3 Startropics The Legend of Zelda Castlevania II Dragon Warrior III Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 Castlevania III Maniac Mansion
Crystalis was the only adventure game of that era that probably gets more play from me today than Zelda. But when I played BoTW, it really reminded me a lot of the experience that I first had with the original Zelda. Really genre defining, for sure.
It's sad how everybody forgets about Faxanadu. A pretty unique game that graphics and presentation-wise outshines almost the whole competition on the NES.
I can tell a lot of work is going into your new videos. It’s really great quality... the backgrounds, animation, camera, and of course content. Great stuff. Btw I still look at your display cases and think back to oh yeah, that’s the reason I now have an amazing looking collection... because of those videos! Seriously man that really made an impression on me more than any video on RU-vid as I actually completely changed my collection. Now every time someone comes over they see it. Looks so sleek. Thanks to your videos!
That's so cool... I'm actually in the process of redoing it I want shelves that go all the way across again and to fill it with mostly games and less toys
Great list !!! Some of my favrt NES games happen to be in your top 20 . I will recommend to you some of my loved NES titles which you must play if you haven't already ------ Shadow of the Ninja , Codename Viper , Mighty Final Fight , Vice Project Doom , Mission Impossible , Super Contra , The Guardian Legend , Batman Returns , Ninja Gaiden 3 , Guerrilla War , Secret Ties , Astyanax and StarTropics.
out of all the games ive played on nes crystalis was hands down my favorite. it came out of no where and it took me as a kid months to figure out how to beat without cheating and friends. plus almost all my friends at the time never heard of it.
i can't believe I fell for that. When I saw Zelda on that montage I scrolled down to make sure people were outraged. I was halfway through typing a very angry message when I looked up and.....(sigh) well played, sir.
Solid list, man! Mega Man 2 is my all-time favorite game on any system to this very day. I've played it on both difficulties in every order you can go through the Master Robots and STILL keep coming back. Tight play control, amazing soundtrack, fantastic graphics and the single best weapon in video game history - THE METAL BLADE! Also, great seeing you throw love for Shatter Hand! Criminally unheard of game from the console's last legs. VICE: Project Doom is another one lost to the end of the console's era!
Another quality video, Chris, which is already your trademark! And there it is, like I predicted: not one, but two Mario games on the top 10! Even if he's angry with you on this one, he can hardly complain, since there are 2 of his games back to back. :) You also got me with your #1 choice, but to be honest I wasn't surprised; it's a beautiful game! I still need to play Bionic Commando, though. From your honorable mentions, I really like Batman, Rescue Rangers and Little Nemo, even though all the others are great games as well. Keep up the excellent work and, as always, thanks for the memories! All the best!
Battle of Olympus, Maniac Mansion, Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 2, Dr Mario, Turtles 2, Double Dragon 2, Super Spike V‘Ball, Bucky O‘Hare, Punchout, Track n Field 2, Mega Man 3, Hyper Soccer, Snake Rattle n Roll, Zelda, Contra, Burai Fighter, Blades of Steel, Mario Bros 2, Ducktales…. (Games i had most fun with and that are still playable today)
(part 3) 11. Blaster Master - This was one of the first games I played when I met my buddy Jason... who actually picked this game up because the hero's name was also Jason. I'm not sure how he knew this prior to purchasing it... maybe Nintendo Power? Anyway, I played it at his house and the game really impressed me. Neither of us could beat it, and we always got stuck right before getting some of the coolest upgrades in the game. I did eventually finish this game for the first time over Covid. I did research, and found ways to overcome some of the biggest challenges... namely the bosses. There are really easy strategies that can turn some of the hardest bosses into absolute creampuffs. The final stage is actually more hard than any of the bosses and feels like a boss on it's own. Playing this game now, and realizing how impressive it was for an early release really makes this game special. Also... one of the most pointless and convoluted NES game plots.. ever. 12. Life Force - When I finally got a NES, my mom had recently remarried, and her new husband really wanted to make a good impression with us kids. We were broke and had been broke for so long... and he had a great paying job and used to hand her gobs of cash to spend on us. So when I got the NES (the last kid I knew to get one) we got like 10 games with it, and Life Force was among one of these games. It was hard, and much like Contra, had a way to enjoy it all the way through while still sucking at it. Even cheating with the 30 life code, it was still satisfying to complete over and over again. 13. Contra - Again... never owned this game, but EVERYONE else did. Everywhere I went, I could play this game, and it was so fun to play co-op while not worrying about not dying... but it was fun to be the guy who still had lives left... and taunting your partner every time he took one of YOUR lives because THEY sucked! 14. Wizards and Warriors - Again, a game Harry had... This game was just fun to play. It wasn't super challenging, and while there were some challenging boss fights, and a few difficult jumps to make... anyone could beat this game simply by sticking with it because it had one of the most gracious "continue" offerings. If you died... no big deal, just spawn exactly where you left off! The only time dying mattered was during a boss fight... and you just had to start over and try again with them fully healed. 15. Dragon Warrior III - I didn't have this as a kid, none of my friends had it... in fact, it just felt like unobtainium as even buying a loose used copy from Funcoland would set you back almost the cost of a new game!!! I got to play Dragon Warrior II-IV as an adult, and III by far was the most fun of the 4. Great story, I loved the character system and the progression was defiantly the most fun of the four. (continued)
Honorable mentions: Kid Icarus, Metroid, Super Mario Bros 1 and 2, Zelda 1 y 2, California Games, Double Dragon, Tmn turtles 1 and 2 ,Caslevania 1, Baseball Simulator, Tecmo Bowl, Bionic Comando, Prisioner of War (POW), 1943, Blaster master, Excitebike, The Aventure of Bayou Billy, Gradius
I just finished the first Zelda for the very time on NSO a couple of months ago. Not near as hard as I thought. But of course, I used a few hints. That last dungeon is a bear!
Such a great conclusion to your list! I bet there were some people ready to get triggered when they saw Legend of Zelda in the honorable mention roll, lol! I was surprised to see King's Knight, that game had me rage quitting so hard as a kid, lol. Can't wait to see what you come out with next week!
I was intrigued, since you named a lot of top tier games earlier in your list, I was like... well this took an interesting turn, what could his no. 1 game possibly be? Lol.
Can't argue with this conclusion to your Top Ten my friend. Personally, Ninja Gaiden / Punch-Out / SMB3 are my top 3 in that order, mainly because I didn't play Mega Man 2 or Legend of Zelda as a kid so I don't have that added nostalgia bonus. That honorable mention music, jammin!
Wow. Love it. Soo funny, i too cannot beat tyson lol. I can get to Him with no problems, fast af, but thats where it ends lol. Good stuff man. Great top 20 list, first one i agree with.
Ok so for Christmas of 1989 my grandma knew I wanted an NES game. When she asked what I was interested in, I told her Bad Dudes because I had seen it it some gaming mags and I was 5. It sounded awesome to naive me. She however chose to get me DuckTales instead. Thank you Grandma. Almost 30 years later and I still enjoy playing some DuckTales... on my original NES... still covered with holographic TMNT stickers I got out of a machine from the local Pizza Hut.
Another fantastic video. It's interesting to see some of my own personal favorites near the top, but also others I wouldn't have expected that I haven't put much time into. Time to finally put some time into Bionic Commando, I suppose..
SMB 3 is number one. It's probably the best game ever made. It just feels good to move around in that game. Alot of times I just start it up and play random worlds with no real aim.
Really enjoyed your other Top 20s, and this was great :) I don't recognize some of the games in the honourable mentions, but gosh darn it I have more games to play now.
The names of the honorable mentioned games were missing underneath each games as they were been shown, I couldn't make out some the games and don't know what they were... but the video and selections you've picked are great for the games, specially putting Ninja Gaiden so high in the list.
I can honestly say, we have very similar tastes.. I audibly said "yup" several times during this awesome video! I really thought Astyanax was gonna be in here! :) And was that a very clever tactic to throw everyone off of #1 by putting Zelda in honorable mentions? I can't be the only one who said "It's not Zelda??" at that moment..
80s kid hear too. I cannot believe i didn't get any of the Zelda games on the NES back in the day. That gold cartridge is just an eye catcher till this day.
I had Mega Man 1 and 2, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Bionic Commando during my childhood. There's more but nothing like Zelda, Contra, Metroid or Kid Icaris back in the day. I'm slowly adding them to my collection.
I got towards the end of Ninja Gaiden and ended up rage quiting . Because it was so hard but none of the less . It's still a lot of fun to play even today .
I like that you admitted you've never beaten Tyson. I havent either! Makes me trust you more... alot of these channels the presenters always a "pro gamer" instead of someone who just enjoys games
After enjoying the Pursuit, I had to come and enjoy some of your great videos Chris. Hope you have an Amazing weekend. Thank you for all the great videos you've made through the years. Keep up the Awesomeness \m/
