Talk about opening a can of worms, if you want to start controversy in the world of retro blogs/forums all you have to do is write an article like this. Well I must be in the mood for a fight, 'cause here comes my declaration of the 5 Best Games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This article will be followed up by my list of the 5 Worst Games for the NES, so stay tuned.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Sequels rarely turn out better than the original, but in my opinion Super Mario Bros. 2 is the most re-playable entry in the franchise. What's even crazier is that it wasn't meant to be part of the Mario Mythos at all. That's right, the vegetable throwing, bomb tossing, sand digging adventure was originally conceived as a game called Doki-Doki-Panic, which explains the total absence of Koopas, Castles and Bowsers. Frankly, that's what makes it one of the best ever. Instead of repetitive levels of running and jumping, brick busting, and turtle stomping found in the original Super Mario Bros.(which is what the Japanese version of the sequel involved), part 2 makes each level a unique experience with every boss crazier than the last.
Ever wonder what it would be like to battle a Muppet reject that spits eggs? How about a bomb-wielding mouse in shades or a sentient fireball? What else would you expect to to see after slip-sliding on icy blocks or flying through the air on disintegrating magic carpets? Plus, the player got to choose which character to use on any given level and each one had their own special powers. What that really meant is that you had four different ways to beat the game, which made it so much more than a one and done affair. Any Nintendo collection missing this game is truly incomplete.
Mega Man 2
Another sequel makes the list and this time it's mega cool. Despite what the Captain N cartoon did to the blue hero's reputation, Mega Man 2 showed us how awesome a heroic blue android could be. I loved the slow motion, freeze-in-mid-air jumps of the little guy as the next screen loaded and the arm cannon was featured on many "original" characters I doodled during Math class. Even dying in the game was fun, exploding in a burst of lasers is a great way to go. Of course Mega Man's group of adversaries this time around was pretty memorable too.
Metal Man's stage with all it's tread mills and sentient drills was a lot of fun. Especially blasting the dancing monkey robots that balanced on sprockets, but the best part was getting the ability to launch buzz-saw blades at your enemies. The real winner in the acquired powers department for me were Crash-Man's bombs. It was so fulfilling to launch a grenade that stuck to any surface and wait 3 seconds for it to explode. Of course the franchise and a more flattering animated representation ("Super fighting robot...MEGA MAN!") arrived in the years following Mega Man 2's release, but it never captured the same magic for me. Mega Man 2 was a milestone whose shadow loomed large.
Contra
In the 80's the only movies that mattered (you know, other than the ones involving the busting of ghosts) were those featuring muscle bound tough guys with big guns. In that sense, Contra was the very essence of the decade. So much so that I never even paid attention to the story of the game. Was it something to do with Aliens and Communists? Run, jump and shoot sounds pretty monotonous, but various weapon upgrades ("Spread" was the best), perspective changes from stage to stage and the fact that you could play simultaneously with a friend made the game anything but boring. Though one of the game's hidden features often led to fewer friends wanting to play with you at all.
See Contra is famous for the secret 30 life giving "Konami Code" (up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-Start), but what often goes unmentioned is that you could steal the extra lives of your friends during the game. Say your buddy was still rocking 10 lives while you were on 1 and you got blasted to bits, pushing down A and B at the same time allowed you to "borrow" one from your partner in crime. Usually though, there wasn't a whole lot of negotiation and I saw more Contra battles take place on the living room floor than the TV screen. Hey, a video game that effects the real world like that is definitely one of the greats.
Double Dragon
In Donkey Kong, "Jumpman" only had his ability to leap and the occasional disappearing axe to help him save his lady. Just imagine how much more quickly he could have saved the day with a solid roundhouse kick. Well, Billy Lee had a girlfriend to save from a wild assortment of street thugs and he did so with a series martial arts moves that grew along with the number of butts he kicked. Aside from having great responsive controls, this was the game's best feature in my opinion. Billy started out with a basic punch and kick combo, but soon gained the mighty uppercut, which led to the epic jump kick and deadly, knee to the face.
In addition to being the model for 16 bit beat 'em up games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage, Double Dragon also set the stage for fighting games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat with the Mode B option. Instead of playing in story mode, You could pit larger versions the game's hero or any of his villainous opponents against each other in a brawl for it all. One of the cooler moves was just being able to charge your opponent and deliver a crushing closeline. Sometimes a weapon was thrown into the mix for added danger. It really was an innovative way to get your fill of 8-bit violence at the time.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
In the brief period before Mike Tyson was known for biting ears and other less savory conduct, he was the most dominant name in professional boxing. So when Punch-Out moved from the arcade to the Nintendo Entertainment System, it just made sense to add "Iron" Mike Tyson's name to the experience. Not that the game needed much help being memorable. Unforgettable characters like Soda Popinsky and King Hippo created plenty of iconic bouts for our avatar, Little Mac. Learning your opponent's weakness was what really got us to pop-in the Punch-Out cartridge. OK, when Great Tiger's jewel flashes you know he's about to attack, so dodge, then uppercut. Bald Bull is charging, but that's his most vulnerable moment for a punch in the gut.
Now when it came to fighting Mike Tyson himself, one punch and you were a gonner, so you had to hope that your between bout jogging sessions with your trainer, Doc were enough to make you a contender. Eventually Mike's name was taken off the game and surprisingly not replaced with another pro boxer to endorse it, which is a total missed opportunity. Can you imagine George Foreman's Punch-Out, Cook-Out? They could have packaged unsold copies of the game with his grills and made even more money. But even that couldn't hold a candle to this original.
Well, that's it. The Power Glove has been thrown down. Tell me why I'm wrong, give me a high five or tell what I left off the list. It's all good! I'll be back with the most dismal failures of the NES soon.
