10 classic NES games you probably haven’t played (but should)

The Nintendo Entertainment System is one of the most iconic video game consoles of all time, and many of its games influenced the industry in ways that are still felt today. Everyone knows classics like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Tetris, but the NES library is vast and full of games you may not have played during its heyday.

But just because some of these titles didn’t get as much love as the big stars, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it. So I wanted to highlight a few of the great titles on the NES that you may not have played, but should consider checking out in one way or another.

10

Bionic Commando

A platformer where you can’t jump

While it’s not the most popular NES title, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Bionic Commando, especially considering it got a remake on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Aside from an absolutely blasphemous title in Japanese, Bionic Commando does have a lot going for it, being a platform game where the main character can’t jump. Instead, you use a robot arm to grapple onto objects and swing across gaps as needed.

Of course, there are also weapons and other items needed for progression, and some sections of Bionic Commando are played in top-down shoot ’em up sections, which adds all-important variety to the gameplay. Unlike its remake, Bionic Commando is still a game remembered by many, and it’s worth checking out today if you haven’t already. However, you may have to dabble in unofficial emulation for this one,

9

Kid Icarus

The origin story of one of Nintendo’s best modern games

The Kid Icarus franchise is definitely not one of Nintendo’s most popular, and for good reason. Since its inception in 1987, the series has received a total of three games, one of which never even launched in Japan back in the day. But the 2012 revival with Kid Icarus Uprising was the comeback story of the generation, and it makes it a little more worth it to check it out where it all started.

The original Kid Icarus on NES isn’t some grandiose adventure, but it’s an interesting game that helps you visualize how much the character of Pit changed from his humble beginnings to his triumphant return on the 3DS. It consists of three vertically levels where you have to platform and defeat enemies using your bow and arrow, with upgrades available along the way, and while it’s not a super long experience, it can be a fun one if you play it with the modern quality-of-life improvements emulators offer, like save states and rewind capabilities.

If you’re so inclined, there was also a version of this game released as part of Nintendo’s 3D Classics series on the 3DS to coincide with the launch of Uprising (albeit the 3DS eShop has since been taken offline, so you’d have to find another way to get it). That version has somewhat improved controls (which can be turned off), so it’s a little less frustrating. This is the version I’m most familiar with, and I quite enjoyed it.

8

River City Ransom

Fighting across town

River City Ransom isn’t exactly one of the most obscure NES games out there, but it’s also far from the most popular, and having played it recently, I was positively surprised by how fun it is. This is one of the earliest cases of an open-world game, and it’s a beat ’em up game where you essentially run around your city beating up a bunch of thugs who kidnapped your girlfriend.

The premise is simple, and the gameplay seems pretty simple on the surface, too, but it’s actually very enjoyable. There’s a lot you can do to combine your moves — punching, kicking, and jumping — and even upgrade them to be be significantly more effective. On top of that, you can upgrade your own stats with a wide range of shops available, which gives the game a nice sense of progression and gives you the means to beat it without too much stress.

A problem I have with many NES games is that beating them is far too frustrating with constant trips bakc to the start of the game, but River City Ransom is very accessible and not too hard to get through (though you can increase the difficulty). It’s an easy one to recommend.

7

Crystalis

Yes, there were RPGs that weren’t Final Fantasy

Back in the 80s, it was a bit of a gamble whether a role-playing game would make it outside of Japan, as that’s where they tended to do better. Thankfully, Crystalis is one that made it to the United States (not Europe, unfortunately), and what a game it is.

This is an action role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic world 100 years after a nuclear conflict that decimated much of the evolution humans had achieved up until that point. In the year 2097, you fight to take down Draygon, who’s trying to take over the world but seizing control of the central Tower, built to keep the world at peace and prevent another war.

Crystalis is one of the more advanced NES games, having released late in its life, which also made it easier to overlook. Thankfully, the game was re-released in the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, which is on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, so it’s not too hard to get a hold of these days. It’s also on the Nintendo Switch Online service at no additional cost.

6

Little Samson

A great platformer that didn’t get a chance to shine

Releasing a game on the NES years after its successor was on the market was probably not the best idea, and in the case of Little Samson, it might just have made this excellent game fly under everyone’s radar.

This is a great platformer where you take the role of four different character’s, each with different abilities, to take down a world under attack by the demon king Ta-Keed. The game has surprisingly good graphics for the platform and very fluid gameplay on a console where many titles still had some issues with controls.

Little Samson didn’t get as much attention as it should have due to releasing in 1992 (1993 in Europe), but many have highlighted its qualities in retrospect, which has made it a hard game to buy if you want an original copy. Without much in the way of official re-releases, you may have to dive into emulation for this one, too.

5

Blaster Master

Inspiring sequels decades later

Not every overlooked game on the NES is from a totally abandoned series, and Blaster Master is one of those titles that still lives on, but doesn’t game as much love as it probably should. This is an NES game that combines some light platforming with run-and-gun mechanics, in addition to mixing some top-down gameplay with side scrolling segments.

There’s a good mix of gameplay variety in this title, combined with fairly tight controls that make this one of the more accessible NES titles. The game received critical acclaim across the board, but the series kind of fell into obscurity for a while, so there’s a good chance you haven’t tried this one out. More recently, the game was revived with a sort of remake called Blaster Master Zero released in 2017 by indie developer Inti Creates, which is a great way to experience that original game. However, the pure original experience is also on Nintendo Switch through the online membership, so it’s easy to give this one a try.

4

Fire ‘n Ice / Solomon’s Key 2

Such a simple concept

If you fancy yourself a puzzle game master, then Fire ‘n Ice, also known as Solomon’s Key 2 outside of North America, may be one of your favorites from this list. This is a relatively simple puzzle game in concept — all you need to do is use your ice magic or existing ice blocks to put out the flames in each stage. However, ice blocks can also become an inconvenience, so you have to be strategic about how to use them.

Fire ‘n Ice gets fairly complicated as you progress, and like most NES titles, it’s not very forgiving, but thankfully, the wonders of modern emulation can help you out. The game is officially available on Nintendo Switch Online, and through it, you can play the game using save points and the rewind feature to save yourself from having to start over at the beginning.

3

Mario Bros. (Classic Series)

The rare European exclusive

You probably already know that before they became Super, brothers Mario and Luigi starred in an arcade-style game simply called Mario Bros., which also received an NES port after releasing on arcades. While it’s an conic game in its own right, Mario Bros. on the NES had very floaty and loose controls, and it isn’t super fun to play (plus it’s not really obscure enough to be on this list).

But leave it to Europe to give us a better and much rarer version of this game with Mario Bros. (Classic Series), released in 1993 for the NES. This tweaked version of the game looks mostly the same, but it brings back some elements previously exclusive to the arcade version of the game, such as cutscenes and the icicle enemy. More importantly, though, the game adds much better controls with the ability to move left and right in midair, rather than forcing you to commit to a bad jump.

This version of the game only released in select European countries, and it’s pretty hard to come by if you want an original copy. Emulation is probably the way to go for this one, but it’s worth it for the chance to play a good version of Mario Bros.

2

The Mysterious Murasame Castle

A former Japan exclusive

Here’s one you’ve probably never heard of. The Mysterious Murasame Castle was a game developed for the Japanese-exclusive Famicom Disk System, an add-on for the Famicom (Japn’s version of the NES) that used magnetic disks rather than cartridges, allowing games to have higher-quality audio and other improvements. It was one of the earliest games to be developed for the system, alongside a version of The Legend of Zelda. But while that game became a worldwide hit, The Mysterious Murasame Castle never left Japan, despite featuring similar gameplay in many ways.

However, rather than the bigger puzzle-focused open-world of Zelda, The Mysterious Murasame Castle is a more lienar experience that focuses more on combat. It clearly shares a lot of the same DNA, but it plays very differently, and it’s still a great time. It’s also the origin of the character Takamaru, which has made several appearances in games such as Samurai Warriors 3 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

If you’re worried about the game being a Japan-exclusive, don’t worry — it’s actually on Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online memberhsip, even in Western markets.

Finally brought worldwide with the Switch

Famicom Detective Club is a series of games that remained exclusive to the Japanese Famicom for over 30 years, having never released outside of Japan until 2021. In these games — subtitled The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind — you take on the role of a detective attempting to solve murder cases through a visual novel gameplay style, interrogating and pressing witnesses to figure out who the culprit is.

After decades of not getting any international releases, Nintendo revived the series with remakes of both games for Nintendo Switch, faithfully recreating the gameplay but updating it with a modern aesthetic, and this is the perfect way to experience the titles since they were released worldwide. The remakes even gave way to a new entry in the series that released on Nintendo Switch — Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club — and that was one of my favorite games of 2024, so it’s definitely worth checking out where it all started. Also, all these games will work on the

Switch 2
, so it’s definitely not too late to give them a shot.

What hidden gems do you remember on the NES?

Of course, there is a vast list of NES games we could pull from that would still fit the bill here. With it being as old of a platform as it is, many great titles on the NES were never played by modern audiences, and if you care about gaming history, you should definitely check some of them out, as some of them are surprisingly good to this day. Are there any you think we missed? Let us know in the comments!