Guide: 50 Best NES Games Of All Time

50. Metroid (NES)

While it set the template of the series and pioneered the delicate mix of exploration and gradual empowerment, the original Metroid can be tough to return to these days, even if you played it back in the day.

The audio and atmosphere it conjures remain incredible, but control refinements and quality-of-life features we're used to are largely absent from the Famicom Disk System/NES original and going back without the right mindset and context can be jarring.

Its biggest issue is that the fantastic Game Boy Advance remake, Metroid: Zero Mission, exists — truly the best way to experience Samus' first adventure. The original has its charms, though. You just need to dig deeper to find them than you once did.

49. Faxanadu (NES)

No, not that '70s film with Sean Connery in a red mankini (that's Zardoz). Faxanadu is a spin-off of Nihon Falcom's Dragon Slayer series and the title melds the words 'Famicom' and 'Xanadu' (that's Dragon Slayer II) into the sort of fun portmanteau we love to say out loud.

Fortunately, the game itself is a thoroughly enjoyable 2D action RPG and something of an underappreciated gem in the NES library, so we often have cause to speak its name. Developed by Hudson Soft under licence from Falcom, other medieval-feeling side-scrollers might grab all the attention, but Faxanadu is quietly one of the console's best games.

48. Bionic Commando (NES)

Capcom's Bionic Commando gave players a grappling hook to help negotiate its side-on platforming levels by athletically swinging across gaps and scrambling around with a bionic arm that gave a fresh take on the 2D platforming genre. It might not be top-tier title, but its style and game design ambition made it an admirable addition in any NES library.

47. R.C. Pro-Am (NES)

Arguably the game that put Rare on the map for NES owners, R.C. Pro-Am sets itself apart from other NES racing games with its isometric viewpoint. But it's also a fantastic racing game in its own right, immersing you in the full 'radio-controlled' experience, with excellent visuals, catching sound effects, and a continuous loop of tracks that you'll want to master.

It may lack multiplayer on NES, but Rare's racer is still worth checking out.

46. Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (NES)

Although Gargoyle's Quest II does have the advantage of being on a stronger system than its predecessor (the Game Boy's Gargoyle's Quest), it plays things relatively safe, making some minor improvements and keeping most of the gameplay exactly the same.

This, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing - the first game was great, making the similarity in this entry something to be praised and enjoyed.

45. Life Force (NES)

If you're itching for some cooperative old-school space shooter action, Life Force (or Salamander) will scratch your itch like a kind old friend you've known for years.

It's a fairly standard side-scrolling shooter with enough twists on the formula – alternating vertical/horizontal levels, a unique stacking item system and some trippy level designs – to make it stand out in the crowd, a natural step up for veterans of the original Gradius.

Life Force doesn't have the immediate name recognition of some of its peers, but it's well worth the time for any shmup fan.

44. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)

A radical departure from the original and arguably the most difficult game in the series, Zelda II has enjoyed something of a reappraisal in recent, post-Dark Souls years.

In a series that, in the past, risked becoming by-the-numbers by slavishly sticking to a formula, this first sequel was anything but a repetition. A deeper combat system with RPG levelling elements and side-on platforming villages and dungeons made this a very different take on the Zelda template.

You could argue that too much of its sense of adventure and 'wonder' is lost to frustration, but no more so than in other challenging 8-bit games. If you find the challenge too much to bear, the rewind function in the Nintendo Switch Online version comes in useful. Regardless, if you've bounced off The Adventure of Link in the past, we'd urge you to give it a second look.

43. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)

Tecmo Super Bowl is a game so good that it simply won't die. Modders put out updated rosters for this 1991 cult classic kicker on a regular basis, meaning it's possible to play with modern NFL players and other tweaks, on top of the various improvements the base game made over the original Tecmo Bowl.

If you're a fan of the American brand of football, some people insist that the digital game never got better than this.

42. Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES)

It's another NES Ninja Gaiden game, and just like the two before it, Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom is tough but a lot of fun. The story is complete guff, but impressive visuals and decent music complement the excellent fundamentals.

Deciding to tweak the template rather than fix what isn't broken, Tecmo turned out a similar game to its predecessors but with the ability to swing up onto platforms and mix things up a little. A challenging gaming experience worthy of your time and effort.

41. Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES)

This beat 'em up sequel came complete with the all-important two-player component missing from the first game on NES, and while Bimmy and Jimmy's brawling is unlikely to stick with you for long, the ability to get a friend involved in the fight makes Double Dragon II: The Revenge the pick of the pair.

40. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (NES)

A classic co-op romp that looked and sounded incredible, Capcom made a habit of surpassing expectations on the NES — not too difficult considering the general standard of licenced tie-ins (have you tried playing Bart vs. the Space Mutants recently?) — but Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers really is worthy of standing alongside the console's finest platformers.

The chipmunks' ability to pick up and throw items gave it a unique flavour and made for a great game to play with smaller siblings on the second pad. We personally rate it right up there with DuckTales.

39. EarthBound Beginnings (NES)

Much of the significance of EarthBound Beginnings (or Mother in Japan) lies in its spirit and its influence on subsequent games. It has to be said that EarthBound, its 16-bit sequel, is by far the overall better title, and those who have yet to play either should definitely start with that.

In fact, this 1989 series debut wasn't released in the West until a surprise localised version hit the Wii U eShop in 2015. Fortunately, it's easily accessible these days if you've got a Nintendo Switch Online sub.

If you really enjoy EarthBound, however, Beginnings is worth investigating. Sticking through its older style of play — with high difficulty and occasional fluctuations in balance — reveals a fine story and an almost transcendental sense of nostalgia for those who played and adored its sequel, but never had access to this. It's like an ode to an ancestor you never knew.

38. The Guardian Legend (NES)

Do you like top-down adventure games? How about shoot em' ups? Good, because you'll get both sides of the coin with The Guardian Legend. While it doesn't master either genre, it's a solid mash-up that takes the right elements from The Legend of Zelda and Metroid to provide a fun time over the course of two hours or so.

That cover art is a tad disconcerting, mind.

37. Mr. Gimmick (NES)

A typical story in the olden NTSC/PAL days was that a game would be released in Europe a good year or two after coming to the US, or sometimes not at all. Sunsoft's Gimmick, however, never launched in the US thanks to the arrival of the 16-bit era which meant distributors were less interested in niche games for the older systems. However, this did see limited European distribution in Scandinavian countries with the name Mr. Gimmick.

Tomomi Sakai's inventive yet punishing platformer has gained a cult following over the years, enough to warrant a sequel that launched more than three decades after the original (although the original creator had no involvement with 2024's Gimmick! 2).