17 replies to this topic

[JohnnyRockets]

A question to those that have been at this "Retro" thing a bit longer than I have...

I just got my first EVER 2600 / 7800 / NES / SNES / Genesis systems.

I found that the systems are easy to buy, but hard to know the difference between a "good" game and a "not-so-good" game.

So I thought, "ask the experts" !!!


I would be really interested to know what you all think would be the 5 best "must have" games for these systems?


I will probably purchase based on your input, so thanks in advance!!!


2600

7800

NES

SNES

Sega Genesis




JR

[GroovyBee]

Are homebrews allowed?

[jaybird3rd]

JohnnyRockets, on Thu May 24, 2012 12:32 PM, said:

A question to those that have been at this "Retro" thing a bit longer than I have...

I just got my first EVER 2600 / 7800 / NES / SNES / Genesis systems.

I found that the systems are easy to buy, but hard to know the difference between a "good" game and a "not-so-good" game.

So I thought, "ask the experts" !!!


I would be really interested to know what you all think would be the 5 best "must have" games for these systems?


I will probably purchase based on your input, so thanks in advance!!!

These are only my own opinions, of course, but here goes (from off the top of my head and in no particular order, and excluding homebrews for now):

2600: Solaris, Adventure, Jr. Pac-Man, Pitfall! II: Lost Caverns, and Kaboom!

7800: Centipede, Commando, Ms. Pac-Man, Robotron: 2084, and Joust

NES: Ninja Gaiden, Blaster Master, Lifeforce, Super Mario Brothers 3, and Dr. Mario

SNES: (not familiar enough with the library, though I really liked Super Mario All-Stars and Tetris/Dr. Mario)

Sega Genesis: Contra Hard Corps, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Lemmings, Columns, and Battletoads (mainly because it didn't fit into my NES list)

You should check out the Video Game Critic for additional ideas. His reviews are controversial, but I usually find them to be on the mark.

[Arkhan]

2600: Solaris, Berzerk, Yars Revenge, SeaQuest, Asteroids
7800: lol
NES: Ninja Gaiden, Jackal, Kid Icarus, Faxanadu or Battle of Olympus, Mega Man 3
SNES: Contra III: The Alien Wars, Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Street Fighter II
Genesis: Rocket Knight Adventures, Altered Beast, Sonic 2, Contra: Hard Corps, Alisia Dragoon


If you are into RPGs, get those too. They are all good.

[JohnnyRockets]

Absolutely Homebrews are allowed! I've been dying to buy one, but never knew which one...

I love these lists you guys, it really helps!

Also, I must have spent 2 hours last night on Video Game Critic, it IS a great website for sure!

Keep those lists coming...

[Rex Dart]

2600: Frostbite, Keystone Kapers, Chopper Command, Stargate (Defender II), Demon Attack
7800: Ballblazer, Robotron 2084, Dig Dug, Ms Pac Man, Food Fight
NES: River City Ransom, Kickle Cubicle, Bubble Bobble, Dig Dug 2, Little Nemo, Rockin Cats, TMNT 3
Genesis: Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2, Shinobi 3, Beyond Oasis, Gunstar Heroes
SNES: Super Mario Kart, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario World, Earthworm Jim 1 and/or 2, Donkey Kong Country, Kirby Super Star, Mega Man X

Edited by Rex Dart, Yesterday, 1:23 PM.

[Crazy Climber]

Impossible to have 5 best but I'll just put the first good ones I think of....

SNES
- Actraiser
- Super Punch out!!
- Super Ghouls n Ghosts
- Final Fantasy 2
- Chronotrigger

Genesis
- Phantasy star 2 (although a bit grind heavy these days)
- Rambo 3
- MERCS
- Pier Solar (support the homebrew scene man!)
- Ghouls n Ghosts

NES
- Final Fantasy
- Commando
- Ghosts n Goblins
- Mike T's punchout!!
- Trojan

Atari 2600
- Boing!
- Jawbreaker
- Mountain King
- BMX Airmaster
- Fast Food

Atari 7800
- Food Fight
I don't really collect/play 7800 so probably not the best to ask. I know it's the only system with an arcade port of Food Fight though and that game rocks so get Food Fight!!!

[theloon]

Best games per system?

2600
"Find the RF Adapter and a way to hook it to the TV"

7800
"Try using your hand normally after an hour of using the pack-in joysticks"

NES
"Super corrode your contacts thinking it'll make the game start"

SNES
"Cut the tabs off your cartridge port to play Dragon Quest 5"

Sega Genesis
"Fight the urge to buy an X-Eye instead of putting together and hooking up a normal SegaCD you already have"

Edited by theloon, Yesterday, 1:34 PM.

[Reaperman]

NES: Metroid, Super C, Recca Pure (jp/hack), Castlevania III (esp jap version), Micro Machines
SNES: Tactics Ogre (jap), Final Fantasy III, Super Metroid, Super Drift Out (jap), Front Mission (jap)

Though I own the others and have been on a sega genesis kick lately, I don't think I'm well versed enough to compile a personal top 5 for them.

Edited by Reaperman, Yesterday, 2:07 PM.

[Austin]

2600 - I am only particularly familiar with the common releases, so I will go with Pitfall, Demons to Diamonds (needs the paddle controllers), Demon Attack, Moon Patrol, River Raid. The benefit to these is that they are all great, and will be very cheap to acquire.

7800 - You're basically looking at arcade ports with this one. I'll go with, Ms. Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man (homebrew, you can get it in the AA store), Beef Drop (another homebrew, available in the AA store), Food Fight, and Commando.

NES - There are loads of classics on this thing. It's difficult to narrow it down to five. Castlevania, Mega Man II, Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon II, and Contra are no-brainers.

SNES - Like the above, it was an amazing system and it's difficult to narrow it down to five. Early games like Super Mario World, F-Zero, Super Castlevania IV, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Pilotwings is a good place to start.

Sega Genesis - Yet again, a great system with a massive library. I'll recommend some personal favorites on this one--some may be pricier than others: Castlevania Bloodlines, Comix Zone, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mega Turrican, and Sub Terrania.

[Lentzquest]

There's a SNES cart that has Super Mario world and Super Mario All-Stars all on the same cartridge. Kills lots of birds with one stone and I can't recommend it enough.

[sqoon]

VCS
Enduro
Frostbite
Jr. Pac Man
Laser Gates
Battlezone

7800
Midnight Nutants
Xenophobe
Food Fight
Galaga
Asteroids

NES
Arkanoid
Super Mario Brothers2
Zanac
A Boy and His Blob
RC Pro Am

SNES
Starfox
Michael Jordan - Chaos in the Windy City
Super Mario World
Super Mario Kart
Stunt Race FX

Sega Genesis
Ecco - the Tides of Time
Vectorman
Ultimate Qix
Gaiares
Ristar

[twoquickcapri]

2600:
Pitfall
Solaris
Crystal Castles
SprintMaster
Seaweed Assault (homebrew)

7800:
Pac-Man Collection (homebrew)
Food Fight
Scramble (homebrew)
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr.

NES:
The Legend of Zelda
The Magic of Scheherazade
Dragon Warrior III
Contra
Cyber Stadium Series: Base Wars

SNES:
Final Fantasy II
Starfox
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Pilotwings
Chrono Trigger

Sega Genesis:
Phantasy Star II
Sonic the Hedgehog (The First One)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Chiki Chiki Boys
Rocket Knight Adventures

Edited by twoquickcapri, Yesterday, 10:04 PM.

[thegoldenband]

2600: California Games, Dragonfire, Kaboom, Pitfall, Warlords (or Medieval Mayhem)
7800: not really qualified to say, but I like Ballblazer, Midnight Mutants and Tower Toppler; homebrews are a safe bet
NES: I'm going to focus on offbeat cheapies: Air Fortress, Adventures of Lolo, Firehawk, Jackal, Xexyz
SNES: ActRaiser, Chrono Trigger (amazing game but it's ungodly expensive, so just get Zelda III instead), Lost Vikings, Pilotwings, Super Mario World
Sega Genesis: Granada, Jewel Master, Landstalker and/or Light Crusader, Rocket Knight Adventures, and the Genesis 6-Pak cartridge

[Turbogfx]

I'll give you my two cents on the systems that I actually own. I'll give you more than 5 on the NES and SNES though, to make up for my lack of systems

Atari 2600
- Yar's Revenge
- Robot Tank
- Ms. Pacman
- Q*Bert
- Missile Command

NES
- The Legend of Zelda
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Castlevania (I or III)
- Mega Man 2
- Kirby's Adventure
- Metroid
- Bionic Commando
- Contra
- Ninja Gaiden


SNES
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (on of my favorite games of all time)
- Super Castlevania IV
- Super Metroid
- Chrono Trigger
- Starfox
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Donkey Kong Country

[Crazy Climber]

sqoon, on Thu May 24, 2012 8:14 PM, said:

SNES
Michael Jordan - Chaos in the Windy City

Funny, I literally JUST read the videogamecritic's review on that one...
http://videogamecrit..._the_Windy_City
He totally bombs it, but he has missed the mark before so....?
I have never played it. I've recently been playing the Spacejam pinball machine at my cousins and people ALWAYS say what a shitty game it is when truthfully, it's actually pretty fun. That promted me to look up Chaos, I'm still going to buy it even though he slammed it.

[sqoon]

I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Jordan - Chaos in the Windy City. It is a unique platformer, and I loved the different types of balls (read weapons) Michael had to throw at the enemies. I disagree with that review, but everyone has their own opinion. Highly recommended IMO.

[Austin]

Windy City's not bad. I checked it out after someone on NintendoAge said it was one of their favorite games. Personally, I didn't care for it all that much, but that was mainly because it is one of those platformers where stages are sprawling and you have to do a lot of exploration, find keys, etc. The way forward isn't always the most obvious. I don't really care much for that style in my platforming games, unless it's something like Turrican.