Ign's Top 100 Nes Games

[8th lutz]

http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/100.html

 

That link lists the games as they are ranked.

 

Here are my Problems with the list:

 

1.) Ign ranked Double Dragon 2 lower than Double Dragon 3. Double Dragon 2 is the better game, not Double Dragon 3. Double Dragon 2 was ranked was ranked 83rd and Double Dragon 3 was ranked 55th on the list. Double Dragon 3 had no business being on the list imo.

 

2.) Dragon Warrior 3 being ranked 96th on the list, while Fester's Quest was ranked 45th. Fester's Quest had no business being on the list imo.

 

3.) The Nes version of Metal Gear being ranked 26th. Metal Gear for the seemed to be on the bad when I played imo.

Edited October 17, 2009 by 8th lutz

[StanJr]

Mike Tyson and Bionic Commando are questionable top 10 contenders. Great games, but I'm not sure they're better than some others.

 

Hard to argue with those top 5, though. I maybe would have went with the original Castlevania.

[Smatchmo]

I did not see Super Dodge Ball anywhere on that list, therefore, the list must be deeply flawed.

 

Top 10 is about right, though I personally would've ranked Ducktales higher(<10) on the list.

Edited October 17, 2009 by Smatchmo

[figgler]

IGN = posers

[Jess Ragan]

Didn't used to be that way, but now... yeah.

 

I thought it was generally acknowledged that Double Dragon 3 was the worst game in the trilogy no matter WHERE you played it. The arcade version was outsourced to a different company and moved like all the characters forgot their bran that morning. The NES game had shrinky dink characters, a total lack of impact, and a ferocious difficulty that sucked what little fun could be had right out of the action. I won't even get into all the mistakes they Acclaim with the Genesis version. This list only undermines what credibility IGN has left. I remember when the site used to be a terrific source for news and opinions, but that all seemed to end somewhere between the release of the Playstation 2 and IGN's acquisition by Rupert Murdoch.

 

EDIT: Sweet mercy, Skate or Die 2? What it's doing on this list, and rated higher than Little Samson, is an unsolved mystery even Robert Stack couldn't figure out!

Edited October 17, 2009 by Jess Ragan

[vdub_bobby]

Here's the whole list, with my comments.

 

100. Ice Hockey. Haven't played this.

99. Rush'n Attack. A good game; deserves a spot on the top 100.

98. TMNT. This game excites a lot of love and hate; it isn't the arcade game and the underwater level is stupid hard, but it's still a good, fun game that does well with the license.

97. Astyanax. This game sucks. I bought it brand new in 1989 or whenever and it sucked then (I spent an hour or two and beat it the same day I bought it and then almost never played it again) and, after picking it up again a couple of times over the last few years, it sucks now.

96. Dragon Warrior III. Haven't played it, but my brother has and loves all the NES DW games.

95. Mega Man 4. You can quibble with the position of various MM games, but they probably all deserve to be on the list.

94. Kickle Cubicle. A little-known puzzler; a pretty good game.

93. Little Samson. Haven't played this.

92. Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble. This is a decent game, Jess. Certainly the best skateboarding game on the NES.

91. Mario Bros. A good port of a great game.

90. Section Z. This game is filler in the NES' library; shouldn't be on the list.

89. Willow. Good game, probably should be higher on the list.

88. Zombie Nation. WTF? This game sucks.

87. The Guardian Legend. Not as good as the hype, but still pretty good, and should probably be top-50 rather than 87th.

86. Mickey Mousecapade. Haven't played this.

85. Lode Runner. This is an abomination. The NES port of Lode Runner is terrible; since they couldn't fit the entire level on one screen (like the great Apple II original and most of the computer ports) the strategic aspect of the game is ruined and the game just becomes a series of cheap deaths.

84. Mega Man 5. You can quibble with the position of various MM games, but they probably all deserve to be on the list.

83. Double Dragon II: The Revenge. The Double Dragon game that we were waiting for, with actual co-op play!

82. Power Blade. Haven't played this.

81. Journey to Silius. Haven't played this.

80. Demon Sword. This game sucks. Nostalgia is great and all, but sometimes you have to go back and replay these games and realize that you didn't have the best judgement when you were 8.

79. Ice Climber. Great game.

78. Ring King. Haven't played it.

77. Duck Hunt. Um, no. Memorable, yes. Top 100, no. It's too boring, too easy, and too shallow, even for a light-gun game.

76. Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team. This is a pretty good game.

75. The Goonies II. Good game.

74. A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia. Weird, with too little direction, but still a fun game with a great concept and some tricky puzzles.

73. Spy Hunter. This port of Spy Hunter is just awful and this game in no way belongs on this list. Ugh.

72. Ikari Warriors. I've never liked this game; I rented it back then and it was just too slow and ugly. There are many much better games of this type of the NES.

71. Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers. Haven't played it.

70. Legendary Wings. A pretty good shooter, though the difficulty is just off the charts.

69. Tecmo World Wrestling. I might have played it, but I don't remember.

68. Little Nemo: The Dream Master. Haven't played it.

67. Qix. Haven't played this port of Qix.

66. Cobra Triangle. Nice little game, shouldn't probably be this high on the list.

65. Stinger. Only played this a little. Forgettable shooter.

64. IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II. Great graphics and great music like the original but more difficult and not quite as good.

63. Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness. Haven't played it.

62. Kung Fu. I've had a lot of fun with this, but aside from nostalgia I'm not sure it should be on this list.

61. Maniac Mansion. Haven't played the NES port.

60. Super C. Nowhere near as good as Contra, but an OK run-n-gun game.

59. Rygar. Only played it a little, but a fun, unique adventure.

58. Mega Man 6. You can quibble with the position of various MM games, but they probably all deserve to be on the list.

57. Rad Racer. Shouldn't be this high on the list. Only an OK game.

56. Wizards & Warriors. One of my personal top-10 NES games, but it has its flaws so 56th is probably about right. Great graphics, great music, great level design, lots of secrets to discover - too bad that it's nearly impossible to avoid getting hit by the endlessly respawning enemies. Neverending continues halfway fixes that problem, though.

55. Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones. WTF?

54. Ghosts 'N Goblins. The coin-op original was a great game. This home port has the same unrelenting difficulty and choppy graphics, for an overall less-than-great package. About 50th is probably right.

53. Tecmo Super Bowl. Should probably be higher. Just a great, great game.

52. Adventures of Lolo 3. The Lolo games are great.

51. Dr. Mario. A great Tetris clone.

50. Shadowgate. Haven't played it.

49. Kid Niki: Radical Ninja. Meh. This game is ok, but should be much lower, if it's on the list at all.

48. Tetris (Tengen). Co-op and rarity make this an object of desire, but it isn't really much better than Nintendo's version. Which makes sense; Tetris is Tetris after all.

47. Vice: Project Doom. Underrated, but close to being overrated due to articles like this. Probably about 50th, or lower, is where this game belongs.

46. Metal Storm. Great graphics, ok gameplay. Probably shouldn't be this high on the list.

45. Fester's Quest. This game ain't bad, but it ain't no 45th all-time good. Probably shouldn't be on the list.

44. Klax. Haven't played it.

43. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos. Great game.

42. Crystalis. This should be higher; top 20 easily, maybe even top 10.

41. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. This sounds good on paper, but in reality the coin-op's gameplay is shallow and the graphics are awful (flicker fest!). There are many better brawlers on the NES (Double Dragon II for one, which is lower on the list). This repetitive, forgettable brawler shouldn't be on the list.

40. Battletoads. This is one of those better brawlers, actually. The only flaw in this game is the unrelenting difficulty of the speed-bike stage.

39. Dragon Warrior IV. I've only played this a little, but according to my brother - who has played all of them - it's the best of the series. Much better than Final Fantasy.

38. Life Force. Probably the best scrolling shooter on the NES, with co-op play for added awesomeness.

37. Jackal. Great game.

36. Faxanadu. Fun, immersive game.

35. StarTropics. Haven't played it.

34. Gradius. Not really even close to as good as Life Force, but still the 2nd-best scrolling shooter on the NES. Putting this above Life Force is just another example of the triumph of nostalgia over reality.

33. Batman: The Video Game. This is a good game, but isn't anywhere near a top-30 game. Should be down in the 60s.

32. Snake Rattle 'n' Roll. This is just a joke; this, again, is a good game, but should be down in the 70s or 80s.

31. Micro Machines. Haven't played it.

30. Mega Man. It was the first, but it was bettered by most of its sequels in everything except originality. Top 30 is a joke, top 50 is probably closer to the truth.

29. Adventure Island II. Haven't played it; the first is so lame I was never tempted to try the sequel.

28. Baseball Stars. I played the hell out of this about 10 years ago - about 10 years after I first played the hell out of it. It isn't as great as you remember, I wouldn't call it top-30 material, but it is pretty good; easily the best baseball game on the NES.

27. Kirby's Adventure. Haven't played it.

26. Metal Gear. Yeah, this is a joke. If the high-profile Metal Gear Solid series didn't exist we'd never remember this poorly programmed adventure. Not a top-100 game.

25. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Only played this a little, but not a top-30 game. If anything, it should be in the 60s or 70s.

24. Blades of Steel. Haven't played it.

23. Bubble Bobble. Great game. So seemingly simple, yet with lots of secrets to discover. The ending is ridiculous, though - how was anybody supposed to beat it? Even with a walkthrough it is still almost impossible.

22. Blaster Master. Another nostalgia choice. This is a good game but more like a top-50 than top-20.

21. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Great, great game. I'd put it higher.

20. Kid Icarus. Poor programming and some unforgiving level design mar this one a bit, but still great.

19. Castlevania. Awesome game. Still holds up.

18. Super Mario Bros. 2. Great game.

17. Ninja Gaiden. Cheap deaths and respawning enemies are only flaws. Great game.

16. Mega Man 3. You can quibble with the position of various MM games, but they probably all deserve to be on the list.

15. River City Ransom. I know I'm fighting public opinion on this, but I just don't see the appeal of this game. The graphics aren't very good, the scenery is boring, the fighting is only so-so, and the RPG elements don't add much. I'd put it in the 50s.

14. Excitebike. Um, what? The game is great, but very VERY shallow. There are only 5 tracks! And the level editor, while cool, is limited since you can't save created tracks. Belongs in the 60s.

13. R.C. Pro-Am. Overrated. This should be in the 40s.

12. Contra. Great game. Ranked about right.

11. Final Fantasy. Awe-inspiring at the time, but an unrelenting slog these days - I should know, I tried to beat it about a year ago and just couldn't handle the boring graphics, awful combat, and endless random battles after about 15 hours. Nostalgia might tell you it is a top-10 game, but don't listen - this game should be in the 50s.

10. Duck Tales. Huh? This game is a lot of fun, and Scrooge's pogo-cane is unique, but this isn't a top-10 game by any means. Top-50, yes. Top-10, no.

9. Bionic Commando. Great game.

8. Dragon Warrior. This isn't really a top-10 game, but it's still a pretty fun RPG. And look! The enemies aren't floating in black space!

7. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Great game.

6. Metroid. Replaying this, you might be surprised at how endless, and endlessly the same, all the corridors are. This game is a lot more boring than you remember. The stiff controls and endless mazes make this not really a top-10 game, but it's still great. Should probably be in the teens.

5. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. I've only played this a little, but it's pretty cool.

4. Mega Man 2. The best Mega Man game.

3. Super Mario Bros. Great game; still fun to play.

2. The Legend of Zelda. Great game. My personal Best Game Ever.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3. The best platformer ever.

 

Biggest omissions:

-Double Dragon. Sure, it didn't have co-op. Sure, the power-up system for learning new moves is lame. It's still a great game. Should be about 50th.

-G.I. Joe: Real American Hero. Easily a top-100 game. Great graphics, great music, big levels, fantastic boss fights, and you can drive vehicles. Should be about 35th.

-Golf. It's simple, but the difficulty is perfect. Should be about 90th.

-Guerrilla War. One of the best of it's type, certainly better than Ikari Warriors. Should be about 50th.

-Shadow of the Ninja. It's like a cross between Contra and Ninja Gaiden. It isn't as good as either, but it's still pretty good. Should be about 60th.

-Tetris (Nintendo). I can see why you don't want two Tetris games on the list, but putting the Tengen one on and leaving the Nintendo one off is just giving in to the hype.

 

Lamest games that were included:

-Astyanax

-Duck Hunt

-Double Dragon III

-Section Z

-Lode Runner

-Spy Hunter

-Demon Sword

-Zombie Nation

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

 

Dumbest over-rankings:

-Final Fantasy

-Excitebike

-Duck Tales

-Metal Gear

-Snake Rattle 'n' Roll

-R.C. Pro-Am

 

Dumbest under-rankings:

-Crystalis

-Life Force

 

Really just a lame list; too much nostalgia.

[figgler]

Anyone who has spent any significant time NES gaming would know this list is totally shit.

Yeah, way too much nostalgia is right. I know Dragon Warrior is a classic and it gets a rub because we all had it and got it free from Nintendo Power. However, only in Bizarro World would one think of Dragon Warrrior as the 8th best NES game ever, and also ranked well above its 3 sequels - each of which are monumentally better than the original.

 

And yeah, fucking Double Dragon 3? Ikari Warriors for NES is a total piece of garbage and one of the worst of the over-head army shooter genre. Skate or Die 2 sucks ass. Astyanax was an enjoyable budget title at best.

Oh and guess what? Excitebike is a better game than Gargoyle's Quest 2 by almost 50 spots.

As if

[Gregory DG]

I did not see Super Dodge Ball anywhere on that list, therefore, the list must be deeply flawed.

Agreed! It's one of my favorites!

[Christopher T Leach]

NES is something I remember and getting Dragon Warrior for free. my cousin gave his away at a YARD SALE for free....definately not #8....

 

Where is Contra?

 

Not in the top ten why?

 

Everyone knew it and the code when nintendo was out.....

Edited October 19, 2009 by Christopher T Leach

[Emehr]

I hate websites that make each entry its own page. At least group 'em in tens or something. That's the beauty of web pages, no vertical limit. Browsers do scroll down, after all. I made it to 99 and lost interest.

[nester]

I'd say this was a pretty good list. It was certainly fun to read. It was nice to see games like The Guardian Legend and Faxanadu on there. The original Dragon Warrior is a classic and most certainly deserves to be high up on the list. Demon Sword is one that I would certainly leave off. People always have their own ideas about what should go on a list like this. I guess that's the fun of them.

[Jess Ragan]

But they were so wrong on so many of these entries! You put two games programmed by Micronics (Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ikari Warriors) on a best of NES list and it instantly loses all credibility. Those guys had a poisonous touch... there wasn't a single game they couldn't completely destroy with their incompetence, as anyone who played Not-So-Super Pitfall and Win-turd Games can attest.

 

I'm with the rest of this howling mob... some of these entries are just plain stupid. Zombie Nation? Skate or Die 2? Ironsword? Spy Hunter and not the incredibly awesome sequel? I'll back them up on Section Z (it really is a decent game, Vdub, but you have to have the map which looks like a Playstation 3 schematic), but the other entries from 100 to 50 just seem like they were pulled out of a hat. The fact that Solomon's Key, Super Dodge Ball, 1943, Galaga, Gyruss, Codename: Viper, Solstice, and Deja Vu (among many others) are nowhere to be found on the list only lends credence to that theory.

[phaxda]

Honestly, I saw Ice Hockey at #100 and did not need to see any more. Ice Hockey is top 50 material, easy.

[Christopher T Leach]

Honestly, I saw Ice Hockey at #100 and did not need to see any more. Ice Hockey is top 50 material, easy.

 

 

Ice Hockey was sweet for its massive fights that took place for no reason....Skinny guys always kicked the shit out of the fat guys...

 

Great gameplay..Blades of Steal? You got nothing on Ice Hockey by Nintendo...Where is Ice Hockey 2 for the Wii or somethin?

[vdub_bobby]

Ikari Warriors for NES is a total piece of garbage and one of the worst of the over-head army shooter genre.

 

 

You put two games programmed by Micronics (Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ikari Warriors) on a best of NES list and it instantly loses all credibility. Those guys had a poisonous touch... there wasn't a single game they couldn't completely destroy with their incompetence

 

Glad to see that I'm not the only one that thinks Ikari Warriors is crap. I remember renting that game in 1990 or whatever and me and my brother playing through it...and being just disgusted - it moved soooooo slooooww, and the graphics were ugly, and it just was no fun. Guerrilla War, Jackal, Iron Tank, Heavy Barrel are all so much better.

 

I think Ghosts 'N Goblins isn't that bad, though - it isn't a great port, but it's pretty faithful to the original.

 

Duck Hunt is the one that seems oddest to me - why? What were they thinking? Did they actually sit down while they were making this list and play it? If so, they would have realized that it only has about 10 minutes of gameplay in it, tops, before you've seen and done everything.

[Jess Ragan]

Duck Hunt is an all right game in small doses. It was a good way to get players familiar with the light gun, because the game didn't ask much of them... ducks fly out, you shoot them. Skeet gets thrown into the air, you shoot it. It was wise for Nintendo to stick with the basics, because in 1985, nobody short of the rare Telstar owner knew what a light gun was or how to use it. Having said that, Duck Hunt is badly hurt by the omission of the arcade game's bonus round, not only because it added depth to the simplistic gameplay but because you could actually shoot the damned dog.

 

I'm torn on whether or not I would include Duck Hunt on a Top 100 list. It's a groundbreaking game, but you can only play it for a few minutes before you get bored. Sunsoft's Freedom Force probably would have been a better choice. You might even be able to make a case for Mechanized Attack, although the designers forgot that the constant firing necessary to stay alive doesn't really work well with the Zapper's tight trigger and the constant screen flashes used to track the player's aim. By the time you're finished, you'll either have a seizure or be packing your forefinger in ice.

[MagitekAngel]

Eh, it's a list like all lists before it... the lower ranked games attract debate between the various camps of fans and the higher ranked games are universally accepted physical constants of the universe. Interesting to read, but surely not intended to be taken as gospel.

[+jeremiahjt]

I thought the list was pretty good overall. I loved seeing Dragon Warrior at #8. It's my favorite of the series. I probably also would have had Dragon Warrior II in there somewhere. I'm glad they didn't have Double Dragon on the list because that game sucks imo.

 

Some of you people need to realize that just because you like a game better than another game it doesn't mean that everybody feels the same way. I understand sticking up for your favorites but calling the whole list or website ridiculous because of one game is a little crazy.

[CRV]

Those guys had a poisonous touch... there wasn't a single game they couldn't completely destroy with their incompetence, as anyone who played Not-So-Super Pitfall and Win-turd Games can attest.

 

Winter Games was by Atelier Double. I guess I haven't played it enough. What makes it so much worse than other versions?

 

The Genesis versions of Double Dragon and Double Dragon III were by Software Creations in the UK.

[vdub_bobby]

Eh, it's a list like all lists before it... the lower ranked games attract debate between the various camps of fans and the higher ranked games are universally accepted physical constants of the universe. Interesting to read, but surely not intended to be taken as gospel.

 

The thing is, it wasn't an interesting read, because the people that created that list are ignorant morons. There, I said it.

 

And also, the lower ranked games...except for a few WTF games (Zombie Nation?) what's really the difference between the 93rd and the 143rd best game? Not much that I can see. The real idiocy is the top of the list, where they have Dragon Warrior #8, Excitebike #14, Final Fantasy #11, and are missing the less-obvious gems, like Crystalis, Dragon Warrior IV, etc.

 

I thought the list was pretty good overall. I loved seeing Dragon Warrior at #8. It's my favorite of the series. I probably also would have had Dragon Warrior II in there somewhere. I'm glad they didn't have Double Dragon on the list because that game sucks imo.

 

Some of you people need to realize that just because you like a game better than another game it doesn't mean that everybody feels the same way. I understand sticking up for your favorites but calling the whole list or website ridiculous because of one game is a little crazy.

 

The whole list is ridiculous because...the whole list is ridiculous. It isn't one game. I understand that opinions differ and I don't expect to agree perfectly with every spot on someone else's top-100 list, and I understand perfectly well that my personal favorite game != best game evar. But this list was pretty obviously made by people that aren't very familiar with the complete NES library and, where they were familiar, didn't refresh their memories by actually playing the games in the last couple of years. I mean, I have great memories of Duck Hunt, and Final Fantasy, and Excitebike, and Metroid from when I was 11. But I was eleven years old - I didn't know what a great game was then. So before I assert that some game that seemed awesome when I was 13 is the 11th best NES game, maybe I should replay it and reevaluate. And I did replay Final Fantasy about a year ago - and, while it was awesome at the time, looking at it now, it has a thin story, an awful combat system, and tedious random battles. Now sure, you can't judge an 1990 RPG by 2009 standards, but ok, judge it compared to the rest of the NES library and it will be found wanting. Same with Duck Hunt - I have a lot of fun memories of that game. But I actually pulled it out and forced myself to play it a year ago - and their just isn't really anything there. It's along the same lines as Wii Sports - a great introduction to the light gun, but almost more of a tech demo than a game.

 

That's what's wrong with the list - it's a couple guys who couldn't take the time to do it right; half-assing it and going mostly by memories and impressions from when they were pre-adolescents. The presence of so many bland, forgettable games is a dead giveaway that it's mostly games they played and thought were so cool when they were kids. Kid Niki at #49? Snake Rattle 'N Roll #32? It goes on and on. Give me a break.

Edited October 20, 2009 by vdub_bobby

[Cybergoth]

The whole list is ridiculous because...

 

...it contains 6 Mega Man games.

[vdub_bobby]

The whole list is ridiculous because...

 

...it contains 6 Mega Man games.

[Jess Ragan]

Those guys had a poisonous touch... there wasn't a single game they couldn't completely destroy with their incompetence, as anyone who played Not-So-Super Pitfall and Win-turd Games can attest.

 

Winter Games was by Atelier Double. I guess I haven't played it enough. What makes it so much worse than other versions?

 

The control is awful, the graphics are lousy, and I believe the number of events have been cut down to four. I haven't played the game in a while in all honesty... the last time was in 2005 for a book I planned to write, and the time before that was back in 1988 when I was renting random games for my brand spankin' new NES.

 

1988 was also the year I bought a copy of Winter Games for the Atari 2600, and the difference between the two games is astonishing. Sure, the 2600 game has 2600 graphics, but they have a charm that the NES version lacks, and the game is vastly superior in all other respects. Seriously, break out an emulator and play them both. You'll be shocked at the chasm in quality... graphics aside, you'd swear that the NES version was the one running on 1970s technology.

 

I can't really keep track of which idiots made which games for Pony Canyon, in all honesty. Whether it's Atelier Double, Micronics, or Marionette, their games were sure to suck massive amounts of dick. That company was my sworn enemy through the early 1990s because their games were just that bad. Micronics in particular changed its name to Khaos in the early 1990s to keep gamers from knowing that they were responsible for atrocities like Super Pitfall. Sadly, their games didn't improve much, even on the more powerful Super NES. They released a port of Raiden for that system that was a light year behind other shooters released in 1991... it looked like an NES refuge that had somehow washed ashore on a 16-bit system.

[figgler]

the last time was in 2005 for a book I planned to write,

 

Whatever happened to Awesome NES anyway?

[Jess Ragan]

It's still around. I just added a new entry yesterday!

 

http://www.lakupo.com/grblitz/NES/usa_t01.htm