OK, time for "that thread"- Best/Worst NES games?

Posted by Landon

Here are my picks, yours will vary, i'm sure.

Best RPG
Zelda (by a longshot)
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior

Honorable Mention
Star Tropics

Best Fighting
Contra
Mike Tysons Punch Out
Battletoads
TMNT

Honorable Mention
Kung Fu - A Classic...

Best Action/Adventure
Metroid
Mario 1,2,3

Honorable Mention
McKids (don't laugh till you've played it)

Best Sports
RC ProAm

Best "Gameplay" Games
Bubble Bobble
Trog
Tetris

I'll post my thoughts on "worst" later.

Posted by bazariah

cant call contra a fighting game, it's a platform game with shooting elements or a shoot-em up

Posted by Tyler Durden

"Platform-Shooter".

What about Mighty Final Fight. It had all the ***-whippin's of the Snes release, and more. Like super-deformed character sprites of all the villains and the main cast; Hagger, Cody, and Guy..

Worst NES game (EVER):
Platform Adventurer:
Super Pitfall

Psuedo-Role Player:
The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link

Beat 'em-up fighter:
Bad Street Brawler

Action/Adventurer:
Cliff Hanger

Sports/etc.. :
Mike Tyson's Punch Out (Sometimes, I really wish I could knock out "Dynamite" Mike with a Power Glove).

Sad Revamps and (multi-format, including arcade) Translations:
Lode Runner
Pac Man
Donkey Kong
Legend of Kage

Posted by posem_diest

I didn't find Legend of Kage to be particularly enjoyable, actually wait, I didn't enjoy Legend of Kage at all. It's sequel, Demonsword was also pretty much a steaming pile, so I have to nominate these two for WORST NES GAME EVER.

If you can't appreciate The Adventure of Link for what it is and not the format that the series later adopted, then I don't know what to say. At the time it came out, there was only ONE OTHER Zelda game, so it really didn't go against the grain. Man if you nominate the Adventure of Link for a gooker award, then by zardoz you'll have to play Trojan and see what a REAL gooker game is.

Posted by Sinzar

Can I vote for Maniac Mansion in all the categories? It's the only game the NES had. GO GEORGE LUCAS YOU ROCK MAN!

Posted by Tyler Durden

The only thing that made me consider appreciation of The Adventures of Link, was that someone (an avid fan) distributed a rom-hack of TLoZ 2, as a hommage to The Evil Dead. Killing moblins with a 'boomstick' roxxers!

Maniac Mansion ru1z j00 all!..

Posted by posem_diest

Quoting Sadistic Grin: The only thing that made me consider appreciation of The Adventures of Link, was that someone (an avid fan) distributed a rom-hack of TLoZ 2, as a hommage to The Evil Dead. Killing moblins with a 'boomstick' roxxers!


So, basically you're saying that you don't know why you hate it. I'm not going to sit here on a soapbox and preach about The Adventure of Link being the end all and be all of nes gaming, but to lump it down with duds like the Legend of Kage? Deadly Towers? Ikari Warriors? That's being pretty harsh, wouldn't you think?

Personally, I would sooner put that Fist of the North Star game forward for a gooker award than The Adventure of Link.
Posted by Fei-on Castor

Best RPG
Final Fantasy
Crystalis
Zelda (not full RPG, but still good)
Dragon Warrior

Best Fighing
Mike Tyson's Punch Out
Ring Kings

Best Sidescroller
CONTRA!!!
Double Dragon
Ninja Gaiden

Best Puzzle
Tetris
Dr. Mario
SHADOWGATE!!!!!!!

Note: The "!!!!!!" following a title imply that I feel strongly about it.

Fei-on

Posted by Tyler Durden

Quoting posem_diest: So, basically you're saying that you don't know why you hate it. I'm not going to sit here on a soapbox and preach about The Adventure of Link being the end all and be all of nes gaming, but to lump it down with duds like the Legend of Kage? Deadly Towers? Ikari Warriors? That's being pretty harsh, wouldn't you think?

Personally, I would sooner put that Fist of the North Star game forward for a gooker award than The Adventure of Link.


*oscar*
You're a j*****s, simpley put. And there's nothing harsh about my opinion. For years, TLoZ2 has been frowned upon as a part of the epic Link saga. I'm not the only one who believes this. Isn't obvious that game isn't really all that "RPG"-ish? I mean, most of the battles occur in side-veiw. Just because you get to journey through Hyrule on a world map doesn't make a single iota of difference. Act Raiser (SNES) had a world map feature, and it was more of a sim-deity. As far as preaching The Adventures of Link as a Role-Player, you are all wrong. It's actually a quest-venture, there's no true leveling system; no noticable change of difficulty in villains [like level values, attack ranges, etc], other than the fact that newer encounters take more hits, or longer to destroy; and no flexabillity in your items cache. You get what they have destined you to collect. Same goes for spells, they're just mediocre and simplistic, basic tools towards furthering your way through the game. It's no different than Mega Man, same type of attack physics, same sort of advancement, and semi-similar gameplay mechanics. Take away the fancy psuedo-leveling and tawdry experience setup, and you have Rambo in Peter Pan's clothing.
Posted by Jarulara

Best RPG
Final Fantasy
Zelda

Best Fighing
Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Best Puzzle
Deja Vu
Shadowgate

Best Platformer:
Mario 1,2,3

Posted by posem_diest

What in the absolute anthrax are you going on about, Sadistic Grin? Where did I ever mention the terms "rpg" or "role-player" in my posts? I am not talking about this game as an rpg, or even as a Zelda game. I am talking about this game as a "WORST GAME OF ALL TIME," and quite frankly, I'm unable to get behind that line of thinking. You're talking like the game was done horribly, which I disagree with. For what it was, a side scrolling ADVENTURE like Faxanadu or Battle of Olympus, I don't remember the game being unplayable or glitched to all get out or anything like that.

Quoting "Sadistic Grin"]It's actually a quest-venture, there's no true leveling system: , other than the fact that newer encounters take more hits, or longer to destroy; and no flexabillity in your items cache.
We may very well have different opinions on what constitutes a "levelling" system, but the way I see it, if you ever get to upgrade your "attributes" after "gaining" a set amount of "experience," then it would, in fact, be a levelling system. Crystalis was the same way, even worse actually as gaining levels just added to your health and magic meter. At least Zelda 2 allows you to also increase your attack. Now, about this items cache, you do know that all the caves in Zelda 2 remain pitch black and mostly unplayable without a candle, right? And wasn't the very selling point of the palaces that each one hid a piece of equipment that you needed to complete it? That was the game's gimmick, instead of bogging you down with all types of worthless garbage like in the first one, the game developers decided to hype every item discovered, making them "special," or "memorable." Well not memorable enough since it's been over a decade since I last played the game thoroughly and I can hardly remember the details, but that is how I see it at least. Same with the spells, I remember you having to turn into a fairy to fly through keyholes that you yet lack the key to. And then there is the boss of the fourth palace, that sorcerer thing that I remember you having to use your REFLECT spell to send his firepower right back into him, as his own firepower was the only thing that worked against him. Of "course" the spells are going to be simplistic, this is an NES game afterall. Do you really think that such brilliant spell names like "spell" would fly today? But they tried, man they tried and I wish you could see that they tried.

Quoting "Sadistic Grin": It's no different than Mega Man, same type of attack physics, same sort of advancement, and semi-similar gameplay mechanics. Take away the fancy psuedo-leveling and tawdry experience setup, and you have Rambo in Peter Pan's clothing.
Um, no. You're wrong. The Mega Man games have always been about the platforming, with a gimmick dealing with pounding the robot bosses and taking their weapons like a common petty THIEF. You NEVER backtrack in the Mega Man games, at least not to my knowledge you don't, and the path is always laid out clearly before you. Zelda 2, the other hand, you actually EXPLORE those seven palaces. You backtrack to open doors that you didn't before possess the keys to. You can also EXPLORE that overworld, that "useless" world map, as there are several locations that, while looking like just part of the backdrop on the world map, would be to your best benefit to explore as they usually yield heart containers or free experience. For example, a clear patch of swamp around the vicinity of the second palace. This game awards you for exploration, unlike the Mega Man games, which is what it should do. Afterall, this game, the Zelda series itself has always been about exploration. Mega Man has always been about the platforming. The platforming in this game was just an oddity.

Well, the game boy installments had platforming too with that feather thing, but they didn't BUILD THE ENTIRE GAME around it.

So as I understand it, the reason you consider this game to be at the bottom of the crap bin is because it isn't a good RPG? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I still cannot get behind that line of thinking. This game was never intended to be an RPG at all, so maybe that explains it?

Man, all this talking about this game makes me want to play it now. Besides, how can you hate on a game that gave you such memorable quotes like "I am Error" and "It's a secret to everyone?"
Posted by ZEN

Best Action Game
Mega Man 2
M.C. Kids

Worst Action Game
Darkman


Best Adventure Game (Not RPG!)
The Legend of Zelda
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Worst Adventure Game
Heroes of the Lance


Best Role Playing Game
Final Fantasy
Legend of the Ghost Lion

Worst Role Playing Game
Wizardry


Best Fighting Game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

Worst Fighting Game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
(It's the only TRUE fighting game on NES)


Best Beat-Em-Up Game
River City Ransom

Worst Beat-Em-Up Game
Bad Street Brawler


Best First-Person Shooter
Freedom Force
Duck Hunt

Worst First-Person Shooter
Mechanized Attack


Best Scrolling-Shooter
S.C.A.T.
Dragon Spirit

Worst Scrolling-Shooter
Alpha Mission


Best Puzzle Game
Fire 'N' Ice
Tetris

Worst Puzzle Game
Yoshi's Cookie
Hatris


Best Sports Game
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Tecmo SuperBowl
Nintendo World Cup

Worst Sports Game
Tecmo Cup Soccer


Best Driving/Racing Game
Galaxy 5000
Excite Bike

Worst Driving/Racing Game
Bill Elliot's NASCAR Challenge


Best Point and Click Adventure Game
Nightshade
Maniac Mansion

Worst Point and Click Adventure Game
Tombs and Treasures


Best Movie Game
Gremlins 2

Worst Movie Game
Darkman
Total Recall


Best Arcade Translation
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game
Contra

Worst Arcade Translation
NARC
Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue


Best Graphics
Ninja Gaiden II
Batman: Return of the Joker

Worst Graphics
Popeye


Best Sound
Dirty Harry
S.C.A.T.

Worst Sound
Castlequest


Best Music
Target: Renegade
Ninja Gaiden

Worst Music
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Deadly Towers


Most Innovative Game
Bionic Commando
A Boy and his Blob

Least Innovative Game
Mega Man 3-6

Posted by Tyler Durden

Okay, most of that garbage, I crapped right out of thin-air. I actually like The Adventures of Link. But, I was correct beyond 100 %, about it being 'frowned' upon as an installment of the Zelda epic. I just like to ***** and bag on random things. You defending the game due to my first statement just "fueled the fire". Some very interesting squabbling material, you have.

Posted by Anethemo Rex

my fave nes game is probably mario 3. world 5 is the coolest, with the sky castle and all that.

Posted by posem_diest

I realize that, Sadistic Grin, I've even admitted it in my posts too. But what you need to realize is that, at the time that The Adventure of Link came out, there was only the ORIGINAL Zelda game to compare it to. If all future installments of the Zelda series had followed The Adventure of Link style INSTEAD of the style that it did actually follow, then The Adventure of Link wouldn't be look upon in such a generally NEGATIVE fashion. I don't really see how you can knock them for trying something different.

And here is another steaming pile of an NES game. Back to the Future, the first one, mind you. It actually gave me an uneasy feeling when I played it, almost like I was playing something evil. Something unholy, something spawned from the deepest bowels of animorphic entropy. I never made it past that malt shop fight minigame thing; then again, I never felt the need to actually TRY and get past it. What a festering load I tell you. What a festering load.

Posted by Tyler Durden

Dude, I know how you feel. I bought Back to the Future I & II (which is tha actual title for it) for $2.99. Played it for 5 minutes, then returned it within the 45 minute drive it took me to get to Game Crazy.

Posted by posem_diest

Uhh, I could have sworn that there were two Back to the Future games for the nes. Back to the Future, and Back to the Future II + III. I actually didn't have a problem with the latter one, might even go so far to say I enjoyed it. But the first one, Back to the Future... ohh blarg. GARGANTUA blarg.

How's about this for something positive. Tecmo and Super Tecmo Bowl were the best football games on the nes, and I don't see how they couldn't be considered as such. PROVE ME WRONG

Posted by Jim Rome

TECMO BOWL AND TECMO SUPER BOWL ARE LEGENDARY
Thank you for stating the obvious, Poser Diest!

I mean Tecmo Super Bowl was about oh...7 years ahead of it's time with REAL player names and REAL teams and REAL STAT TRACKING and REAL player ability bars. And, unlike some other games, the real MEAT of the game wasn't the realistic factors of it, but the gameplay OMG EXCELLENT GAMEPLAY WITH ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES, game development at its highest form.

Posted by Tyler Durden

Quoting posem_diest: Uhh, I could have sworn that there were two Back to the Future games for the nes. Back to the Future, and Back to the Future II + III. I actually didn't have a problem with the latter one, might even go so far to say I enjoyed it. But the first one, Back to the Future... ohh blarg. GARGANTUA blarg.


*oscar* Uhh, I am, in error.


Back to the Future I


Back to the Future II & III

One was a failed urbanized version of such over-head shooter greats as Guerilla War, and Commando. While the other ruled in the glory of a platformer.
Posted by -Shadow-



My least favorite (Of the nes games I have played) has to be Rocket Ranger. This game royally sucked. The plot and menu based portions of the game were so obscure, and whenever there was an action scene, it was usually pointless and boring. All i have figured out how to do in that game is shoot at a stupid blimp. Then after that you just randomly start a fistfight with some random guy. Two thumbs down. Way down.

Another game I dont really like is Ultima Exodus. The reason I have this on a worst list is because it looked so promising to me, but just ended up being way to da[b][/b]mn complicated to be any fun.

Now that that is out of the way, here is my favorites list.

-Super Mario Brothers 1, 2 & 3 - Do I need to explain? These games are gems!

-Startropics 1 - Great atmosphere and music. I loved the combination of Action Adventure and Rpg, and the plot was pretty good as well.

-Faxanadu - I found everything about this game to be a thoroughly enjoyable action/Rpg.

-Arkista's Ring - I like this game for it's catchy music and simplistic arcade like atmosphere.