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)
I'm a newcomer to gaming on the NES. I agree with this completely. The game is generous with lives, kirby control's very well like he always has, and has straightforward level design. This gives it a low barrier to entry and ramps up the difficulty fairly and evenly throughout.
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!
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.
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...
Yes, still one of the best Kirby games too, if not THE best. It was my favorite forever until Forgotten Land came out. It's rare that a new game beats the nostalgia factor for me but it's really that good.
My favorite Kirby games are currently Adventure and Super Star. I tried to play the Switch version of Return To Dreamland, but the constant load screens put me off. How did they mess that up when the Wii version, which ran off a DVD, didn't have this problem?!
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.
Happy Hollandays 1 hour ago Little Nemo is underrated for sure. It’s a top 5 NES game in my opinion. It’s level design may be the best on the NES. And it actually is kind of strange that it flew under the radar, because it’s a Capcom game, so it should have been way more popular given the company. Though, I would disagree with you on its difficulty, it’s a fairly difficult game in the later stages.
@@The8bitFighter Haha nah. I was completing it when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. Once you get the little intricacies memorized it's actually a pretty easy game to blow through in under an hour.
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!!!
@@bigbeardedbeastcollector9404 🤜🏻🤛🏻 Yup! I was very small but I can distinctly remember an Atari 2600 on top of our wood grain CRT television set and my dad playing Indiana Jones on it. I don’t remember me actually playing it but I do remember seeing my dad play it. The System that started it all for me was the Nintendo entertainment system without a doubt but love em all Past present and future.
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.
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
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
Same here, I've played it enough that I can now pretty much beat it with my eyes closed. The sequels are even better (but they're harder.) And then there were the Japan-exclusive versions that doubled down on the difficulty yet again - can't beat ANY of those ones. Getting to Floor 2 on Lolo (Japan) is about equivalent to floor 8 on the US Lolo 2 that it is based on. (literally the same game, just much harder levels).
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.
I might recommend Castlevania 3, but the japanese version with an english translation patch, since that one has more sound equipment for the music to work with and the difficulty is more balanced than the american version. While the game is notoriously hard, the levels are a little shorter than the first game, making the process of getting a game over and restarting from the beggining of the level less harsh. Castlevania 3 is also one of those Castlevania games which has multiple characters and multiple choices of which levels to play, which I find makes those games more fun and interesting.
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
I remember one year on thanksgiving, I just decided I was gonna play duck hunt all morning and get as far as I could in duck hunt. I remember getting past level 100 but not much after that. This was like, 1998 or 1999 so that gun had a lot of rounds through it. I think the cord on that light gun got ripped or cut or something but by that point, it was the late 2000s and all the CRT TVs were long gone in our house (oddly enough, the last one to go was a dial-set from the 80s.) It still worked up until then as far as I knew
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Lolo actually has two sequels on the NES. If you liked the first installment, give them a try; both are really fun (and at times, seriously frustrating) games.
@@Bloodreign1 Wasn't aware of those other releases, but I certainly know about what the MSX is. I have an emulator for it; but I've never got to play anything on the actual hardware.
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 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.
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'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.
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.
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. ^_^
@@GoodVibeCollecting @Good Vibe Collecting That's wonderful I'll check out your channel and see what's up I love seeing Unboxing videos they are interesting and fun. Today like a few minutes ago I just recorded my last unboxing videos for this year making and completing a total of 100 unboxings. I plan to put them all on premiere due to all of them being released on time and the last one will be on Christmas day. ^_^
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
0:18 hai hello. I tried to like the NES honestly but I just couldnt really get into it. I played through a bit of the original zelda (heck I own 1 and 2 in cartridge form) but I just kinda never finished it. Same with some other NES games that are more obscure. 3:12 oh hey its the game I tried to play 4:03 I didnt finish that one either but what I did play of it I did enjoy so good first pick for sure. 5:56 alrighty ill add that to the backlog of games id like to play someday.
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.
i never grew up with an NES but still had loads of fun playing it. my friend an i use a program called parsec to play 2 player games together. just last night we spent 1hr+ on tetris for the NES because it had a coop mode where we were sharing the stage
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.
I've got Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon III, other NES games known for being hard... but I think the hardest NES game in my collection, possibly THE collection, is Cybernoid. I count the screens for how far you got because I've had it since I was 7 but have never beaten a level! Good thing Game Genie helped to see more of the game. Did you get 3 million on your Contra session? I'm still riding high on that. The ol' personal best! Ok, here's my 5 Contra Super Mario 3 Maniac Mansion Mega Man 4 (first one I owned as a kid) Addams Family (never beat it, keep coming back) The Punisher (got to the Kingpin level the other day) Double Dragon II..... oh, wait.... I blew past 5 games there.
The Myth... the Legend! The Retro GOAT... Jake! Lol you inspired me to beat more games despite my ridiculously little time. Still going strong too and about to knock Sonic 3 and Knucks at last from my backlog thanks to you and Bird.
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!
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.
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!!
Batman and Legend of Zelda was my gateway NES games in my adulthood. I used to own a NES as a little kid but going back to it was rough until I experienced the glory that was that game. The music alone in Batman is worth a playthrough but I think it’s aged exceptionally well considering they’re still making indie games with that sort of polish.
2:01 Wait a minute! Are you suggesting that Bayou Billy isn't awesome? The game uses traditional 2D side scrolling action, sort of 3D driving sections, AND first person shooting with the Zapper! It's one of the best NES games ever!
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.
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.
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.
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 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)
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.
The Mario games are a very obvious and easy intro to NES! SMB was the first NES game I played and im looking forward to finishing Castlevania and trying Contra and Mega Man in the future!
I would still recommend the original Legend of Zelda, but you have to kind of help new players along with the stuff that the game doesn't tell them - like by giving them the map that would've come in the original box. Or by letting them know that there's one secret on basically every screen. The other one I would probably recommend for modern gamers is probably Little Nemo. Everybody loves a good platformer, but some of the harder ones in the 1980s were hard because they just sent waves of really fast enemies at you in unpredictable ways. Little Nemo is much more laid back and typically not much happens until you chose to move forward.
@10:43, this game is also on the Wii U VC and plays beautifully with a standard Wiimote. Food for thought with the eShop going away for Wii U and 3DS in March.
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.
Bit of an odd ball choice but I think Power Blade really holds up. I played through it last year having never heard of it and loved it. It's short (2 sittings for me), it's NES-y, you can play stages in any order, and it's cheap!
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!
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… 🆙
Had a laugh with your horde of bananas at 11:20. As someone born well past the time of the NES my exposure to it was because of VCD & DVD players that have the "Super VCD 300" disc that had NES games which came with weird not quite close of Sega Mega Drive 6 button controllers but had only 4 from buttons in similar positions. That and a mix of emulators later on. Here's a few of the NES games I liked: - Kirby's Adventure (got to finish this) - Tetris - Battle City - Pacman - Bomberman (JP version) And some I played but don't like as much (mostly because I sucked at them HARD haha): - Duck Hunt (fun but feels weird on an emulator) - Super Mario Bros (finished but only with warps, but without warps always ran out of time) -Super Mario Bros 3 (ran out of time and died always) - Castlevania 3 (played a bit just for the music) - Contra (too hardcore for me) - Legend of Zelda (was always lost and got nowhere though that applies to every Zelda game I played LOL) - Burger Time - Donkey Kong - Ice Hockey - 1942 - Metal Gear - probably a bunch more that I can't recall Overall NES games ain't too bad even though they might have aged not as good as SNES games. Consdering at the time I was playing NES games on that DVD player with said disc above my family didn't have any internet, the NES games were pretty fun for young me who wasn't exposed to much stuff yet as I didn't have any idea graphics beyond 2D NES game sprites and mobile Java games were a thing.
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 😂
If i had to give a 5 game list of games that i come back to that are outside the normal Super Mario 3, Castlevania, Zelda, or Mega Man, but were also in different genres, I'd look at: 1)Final Fantasy - classic JRPG 2)Little Samson - Platformer - i know it has gotten expensive if you did not get the 1st run, but this is one of the most polished platformers on the system 3)Life Force - classic SMUP with the right blend of challenge and variety 4)RC ProAm - Racer with upgrades. this game encourages you to play for hours 5)River City Ramson - Action rpg/ brawler. Classic/iconic art style that is larger and deeper than you would think for and 8-bit game
@@Vulpas You got Yoshi, unique levels, different mini bosses, He can climb fences, Drill & the game is a lot shorter which is a better thing cuz Mario 3 drags on & has too many levels.
@@tonyp9313 Yoshi is cool but can't even go into castles, the mini bosses are not memorable so I can't even remember if they were unique, and the drill isn't even that useful or important. Fences were good though. Mario 3 had a fun battle mode (in All-Stars, I don't know about NES) too. Like I said, it's close but most people will say SMB3.
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)
Serious question. Did you buy all those bananas just for the one joke in this video?
Very helpful. Thank you
Kirby's adventure is one of the best nes games and its pretty beginner friendly
I don't know about that. I think that's too complex for beginners.
My aunt and uncle had an NES when I was younger and I would always play Kirby's Adventure when I went to their house.
@@tonyp9313 Sarcasm?
Excellent choice!
I'm a newcomer to gaming on the NES. I agree with this completely. The game is generous with lives, kirby control's very well like he always has, and has straightforward level design. This gives it a low barrier to entry and ramps up the difficulty fairly and evenly throughout.
The amount of work and creativity that is placed in these videos are astounding.
Thank you!
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!
Really glad you found it and to have you on the channel Noah!
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 was also going to recommend Jackal. A co-worker suggested it a few years ago, and I think it's one of the best co-op 2P games on the system.
Yeah, Jackal is great!
Yep, picked it up this year. So much fun with co-op and that music!!
I played so much Jackal as a kid!
I played Jackal today. Made it through the whole game, only to die at the final super tank. Great game.
My 5 would be;
-Mega Man 6
-Crystalis
-Blaster Master
-Guardian Legend
-Mario 2
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...
Kirby’s Adventure was pretty much built to be the most accessible NES game ever made.
Yes, still one of the best Kirby games too, if not THE best. It was my favorite forever until Forgotten Land came out. It's rare that a new game beats the nostalgia factor for me but it's really that good.
Somebody else mentioned that as well. An excellent choice.
My favorite Kirby games are currently Adventure and Super Star. I tried to play the Switch version of Return To Dreamland, but the constant load screens put me off. How did they mess that up when the Wii version, which ran off a DVD, didn't have this problem?!
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.
Happy Hollandays
1 hour ago
Little Nemo is underrated for sure. It’s a top 5 NES game in my opinion. It’s level design may be the best on the NES. And it actually is kind of strange that it flew under the radar, because it’s a Capcom game, so it should have been way more popular given the company. Though, I would disagree with you on its difficulty, it’s a fairly difficult game in the later stages.
Great game -- but punishing choice. F for FreakinSweet1987's future children.
@@The8bitFighter Haha nah. I was completing it when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. Once you get the little intricacies memorized it's actually a pretty easy game to blow through in under an hour.
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!!!
Being born in 82’ and gaming since I was 5yrs old, I absolutely love your channel. Huge fan! Keep em coming! 😅 🤝🏼🎉🎉
Cool. I didn't want to hear another I aged at 3. Yeah 5 years old is an age you can play games maybe a bit older.
Thank you!
Same born in 82 gaming since I was 5 Atari and NES were my childhood consoles
@@bigbeardedbeastcollector9404 🤜🏻🤛🏻 Yup! I was very small but I can distinctly remember an Atari 2600 on top of our wood grain CRT television set and my dad playing Indiana Jones on it. I don’t remember me actually playing it but I do remember seeing my dad play it. The System that started it all for me was the Nintendo entertainment system without a doubt but love em all Past present and future.
@@bigbeardedbeastcollector9404 Me too.
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.
Nice, I posted similar. I love the music and the localization is hilarious. Also a huge fan of Super Dodge Ball too by the same studio.
Try Samurai Gaiden by Technos
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.
My top 5 for NES: SMB 3, Zelda II, Contra, Life Force, MM2 :)
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
Very cool to hear. Thanks for the positive vibes!
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
I had a babysitter who was prob in her mid-50s and she was as addicted to NES as any kid. She LOVED Lolo and Legend of Zelda :) Dorothy was RAD :)
Yeah, it's a great game.
Same here, I've played it enough that I can now pretty much beat it with my eyes closed. The sequels are even better (but they're harder.) And then there were the Japan-exclusive versions that doubled down on the difficulty yet again - can't beat ANY of those ones. Getting to Floor 2 on Lolo (Japan) is about equivalent to floor 8 on the US Lolo 2 that it is based on. (literally the same game, just much harder levels).
Haven't seen Bayou Billy in years
What a trip, awesome video
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.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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
Those are awesome choices. I like all the games you listed.
Good picks!
I might recommend Castlevania 3, but the japanese version with an english translation patch, since that one has more sound equipment for the music to work with and the difficulty is more balanced than the american version.
While the game is notoriously hard, the levels are a little shorter than the first game, making the process of getting a game over and restarting from the beggining of the level less harsh.
Castlevania 3 is also one of those Castlevania games which has multiple characters and multiple choices of which levels to play, which I find makes those games more fun and interesting.
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
I remember one year on thanksgiving, I just decided I was gonna play duck hunt all morning and get as far as I could in duck hunt. I remember getting past level 100 but not much after that. This was like, 1998 or 1999 so that gun had a lot of rounds through it. I think the cord on that light gun got ripped or cut or something but by that point, it was the late 2000s and all the CRT TVs were long gone in our house (oddly enough, the last one to go was a dial-set from the 80s.) It still worked up until then as far as I knew
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.
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.
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
What games?
@@tonyp9313 Mario + Duck hunt, Mario 3, and Startropics(which is the Canadian version)
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.
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.
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
Always appreciate someone showing love to Lolo. such an underrated series and by far my fav series on the NES
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!
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.
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!
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.
🎈Balloon Fight and also Balloon Kid (GB) are really fun games. Glad you mentioned it… always hoped Nintendo made a 3D game.
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
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.
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!
Lolo actually has two sequels on the NES. If you liked the first installment, give them a try; both are really fun (and at times, seriously frustrating) games.
@@nickparsons337 It also has a Game Boy game, but the US did not receive it. And MSX games as well, but your average gamer won't know what an MSX is.
@@Bloodreign1 Wasn't aware of those other releases, but I certainly know about what the MSX is. I have an emulator for it; but I've never got to play anything on the actual hardware.
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 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.
Delicious CRT footage presentation. That's how all old scool games should be presented on the internet.
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'm late to the party, but I would recommend Tetris to people new to NES. Easy to learn and super fun.
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.
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.
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. ^_^
Unboxing videos can be fun. I make them to.
@@GoodVibeCollecting @Good Vibe Collecting That's wonderful I'll check out your channel and see what's up I love seeing Unboxing videos they are interesting and fun. Today like a few minutes ago I just recorded my last unboxing videos for this year making and completing a total of 100 unboxings. I plan to put them all on premiere due to all of them being released on time and the last one will be on Christmas day. ^_^
Should definitely check out Good Vibe Collecting. Really enjoyable videos.
@Retro Bird I checked it out good videos. ^_^
@@RetroBirdGaming Thank you :)
Nice to see some love for Lolo. And the bit with the friend's kid cracked me up. Great video as always.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Your missing Earthbound, Castelvania, Batman, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda.
Earthbound on SNES or Earthbound Zero? Because Zero never got a US release on a NES cart. That came later thanks to the Nintendo Wii.
I'd have to add Blaster Master as well due to its depth of exploration and varied gameplay elements.
0:18 hai hello. I tried to like the NES honestly but I just couldnt really get into it. I played through a bit of the original zelda (heck I own 1 and 2 in cartridge form) but I just kinda never finished it. Same with some other NES games that are more obscure.
3:12 oh hey its the game I tried to play
4:03 I didnt finish that one either but what I did play of it I did enjoy so good first pick for sure.
5:56 alrighty ill add that to the backlog of games id like to play someday.
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.
i never grew up with an NES but still had loads of fun playing it. my friend an i use a program called parsec to play 2 player games together. just last night we spent 1hr+ on tetris for the NES because it had a coop mode where we were sharing the stage
As someone who likes sports games, Ice Hockey and Tecmo Bowl have stood the test of time for me.
Get the nintendo world cup/super spike v ball combo cart
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.
Kirby's Adventure never gets old and is very easy to get into. And Mario 3 of course.
I've got Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon III, other NES games known for being hard... but I think the hardest NES game in my collection, possibly THE collection, is Cybernoid. I count the screens for how far you got because I've had it since I was 7 but have never beaten a level! Good thing Game Genie helped to see more of the game.
Did you get 3 million on your Contra session? I'm still riding high on that. The ol' personal best!
Ok, here's my 5
Contra
Super Mario 3
Maniac Mansion
Mega Man 4 (first one I owned as a kid)
Addams Family (never beat it, keep coming back)
The Punisher (got to the Kingpin level the other day)
Double Dragon II..... oh, wait.... I blew past 5 games there.
Honestly the main drive why I got my CRTs was to play duck hunt with the original zapper.
Me too! I finally beat Bayou Billy of all games using the zapper after getting my CRT this summer.
I beat Lolo last week after playing the game like 32 years ago. Felt good lol.
Dunk Hunt is playable on the Wii U with a Wiimote too, but soon that option might not be available either.
@@videostash413 When you use it as a gun it's fine. Honestly it makes Duck Hunt too easy.
Love this style of video! Bionic Commando comes to mind as a classic. A bit on the hard-side but unique and fun.
The Myth... the Legend!
The Retro GOAT... Jake!
Lol you inspired me to beat more games despite my ridiculously little time. Still going strong too and about to knock Sonic 3 and Knucks at last from my backlog thanks to you and Bird.
@@JEFFALITY Awesome! Glad to hear it. :)
love that 'nanner hoard!
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!
I would choose Kirby, Lolo, Mario 1 and 3, and my favorite game Star tropics for my top 5. 😊 forgot ducktales! So fun.
NES games my young kids enjoyed playing: Batttletoads (friendly fire co-op cracks em up), Excite Bike, Punch Out, 3 Stooges...
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've been meaning to pick up the Famicom version.
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!!
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
Batman and Legend of Zelda was my gateway NES games in my adulthood. I used to own a NES as a little kid but going back to it was rough until I experienced the glory that was that game. The music alone in Batman is worth a playthrough but I think it’s aged exceptionally well considering they’re still making indie games with that sort of polish.
2:01 Wait a minute! Are you suggesting that Bayou Billy isn't awesome? The game uses traditional 2D side scrolling action, sort of 3D driving sections, AND first person shooting with the Zapper! It's one of the best NES games ever!
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.
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.
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.
Bingo
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 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)
I still love playing the Adventure Island games.
Man I always have a nice time watchin' your videos! Keep on pushin 'cause you make a great Job!
Super Mario series always a good pick for Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Mario 3 is my all-time favorite NES game.
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.
Good call on the lolo games. Great series to play!
The Mario games are a very obvious and easy intro to NES! SMB was the first NES game I played and im looking forward to finishing Castlevania and trying Contra and Mega Man in the future!
I would still recommend the original Legend of Zelda, but you have to kind of help new players along with the stuff that the game doesn't tell them - like by giving them the map that would've come in the original box. Or by letting them know that there's one secret on basically every screen. The other one I would probably recommend for modern gamers is probably Little Nemo. Everybody loves a good platformer, but some of the harder ones in the 1980s were hard because they just sent waves of really fast enemies at you in unpredictable ways. Little Nemo is much more laid back and typically not much happens until you chose to move forward.
@10:43, this game is also on the Wii U VC and plays beautifully with a standard Wiimote. Food for thought with the eShop going away for Wii U and 3DS in March.
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.
Brilliance as always. And handwritten placards/parenting pro-tips for the win.
Bit of an odd ball choice but I think Power Blade really holds up. I played through it last year having never heard of it and loved it. It's short (2 sittings for me), it's NES-y, you can play stages in any order, and it's cheap!
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!
If you haven’t already, can you do the sega genesis
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… 🆙
Kabuki: Quantum Fighter and Rollergames are my personal go to's.
Tight gameplay and soundtracks that slap.
Soul Caliber, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Contra, Mario 3, Street Fight 2, Street Fighter Alfa 2, Mega-Man 2, Jurny to Silius, Mario Kart, Mario Kart N64,
Had a laugh with your horde of bananas at 11:20.
As someone born well past the time of the NES my exposure to it was because of VCD & DVD players that have the "Super VCD 300" disc that had NES games which came with weird not quite close of Sega Mega Drive 6 button controllers but had only 4 from buttons in similar positions. That and a mix of emulators later on.
Here's a few of the NES games I liked:
- Kirby's Adventure (got to finish this)
- Tetris
- Battle City
- Pacman
- Bomberman (JP version)
And some I played but don't like as much (mostly because I sucked at them HARD haha):
- Duck Hunt (fun but feels weird on an emulator)
- Super Mario Bros (finished but only with warps, but without warps always ran out of time)
-Super Mario Bros 3 (ran out of time and died always)
- Castlevania 3 (played a bit just for the music)
- Contra (too hardcore for me)
- Legend of Zelda (was always lost and got nowhere though that applies to every Zelda game I played LOL)
- Burger Time
- Donkey Kong
- Ice Hockey
- 1942
- Metal Gear
- probably a bunch more that I can't recall
Overall NES games ain't too bad even though they might have aged not as good as SNES games.
Consdering at the time I was playing NES games on that DVD player with said disc above my family didn't have any internet, the NES games were pretty fun for young me who wasn't exposed to much stuff yet as I didn't have any idea graphics beyond 2D NES game sprites and mobile Java games were a thing.
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 😂
Another great video Retro Bird! Your personality, humor, and skits are a hoot!
Never had nor played on a 8-bit system, but I did have a Spectrum, an Atari 2600 clone and bananas, so I do appreciate the list.
If i had to give a 5 game list of games that i come back to that are outside the normal Super Mario 3, Castlevania, Zelda, or Mega Man, but were also in different genres, I'd look at:
1)Final Fantasy - classic JRPG
2)Little Samson - Platformer - i know it has gotten expensive if you did not get the 1st run, but this is one of the most polished platformers on the system
3)Life Force - classic SMUP with the right blend of challenge and variety
4)RC ProAm - Racer with upgrades. this game encourages you to play for hours
5)River City Ramson - Action rpg/ brawler. Classic/iconic art style that is larger and deeper than you would think for and 8-bit game
The Mario trilogy and Kirby are way, way ahead of the rest. Mario 3 is still the best 2D Platformer to this day, amazingly.
Super Mario World is the best 2D platformer.
@@tonyp9313 It's good but the weaker world theming, fewer powerups, and slightly inferior physics put Mario 3 on top.
@@Vulpas You got Yoshi, unique levels, different mini bosses, He can climb fences, Drill & the game is a lot shorter which is a better thing cuz Mario 3 drags on & has too many levels.
@@tonyp9313 Yoshi is cool but can't even go into castles, the mini bosses are not memorable so I can't even remember if they were unique, and the drill isn't even that useful or important. Fences were good though.
Mario 3 had a fun battle mode (in All-Stars, I don't know about NES) too. Like I said, it's close but most people will say SMB3.
@@Vulpas You're talking about allstars? That's totally different. I'm talking about compared to the original on Nes.