Top 100 NES Games of All Time

If you grew up in the 80's you most likely played the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). A lot. Unless you were one of the unfortunate few fans of the Sega Master System (which had better specs than the NES; it just didn't have the Number One Video Game Mascot of All Time, namely, Mario). I remember when I got my Nintendo. I spent days playing Super Mario Brothers until I utterly mastered the game.

The first game that I bought with my own money was Commando, which was an overhead shooter that was tough as nails. You played as the soldier, Super Joe (who looked kind of like a munchkin). Commando was a long game. There were four levels. Each level was made up of four zones, each with its own boss that would block the gate which would let you into the next area. There were also regular grunts who simply couldn't wait to get in the way of your bullets, sneaky fellows in foxholes who would try to ambush you, grenade lobbing soldiers, soldiers with shields who could only be taken out with grenades (or if you could get behind them), guys with bazookas, bunkers with machine guns, the aforementioned stage bosses, and prisoners you had to rescue. There were also the requisite power-ups, such as super grenades and long-range bullets. It had an enjoyable (albeit repetitive) musical score, and a single-bladed helicopter to drop you off and pick you up at the beginning and end of each level. It was a very cool game, one which gave me blisters on my thumbs for a long time.

The next game I got was Rad Racer. I remember that my dad bought it for me. It was the only game he ever bought for me without it being either a) my birthday or b) Christmas. Rad Racer was awesome. In it you could play as either a Ferrari or an F1 Racer. And it also had a 3D setting and came with plastic 3D glasses. I never really used the 3D setting because it didn't work very well. If I remember correctly, the game was made up of 8 races, each of which built upon the difficulty of the last. I only beat the game a few times. I miss that game. Rad Racer was a precursor of sorts to games like the Grand Theft Auto series in that by pressing "down" on the D-pad, you could change the music to one of three scores. Revolutionary.

Then Christmas came along and I got Mickey Mousecapades and The Legend of Zelda. Mickey Mousecapades was a lot of fun. It was a fairly challenging puzzle game that was much cooler than its name suggests. And I shouldn't need to tell you that The Legend of Zelda was one of the NES's best and most influential games. Ever.

Anyway, I could go on and on and talk about such amazing games as Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Stinger (my friend, Ray, had that game), Castlevania, Tecmo Superbowl, Battletoads, Dragon Warrior, Contra, Gradius, Rygar, Ikari Warriors, Ninja Gaiden, Rush'n Attack (one of the most infuriating games ever, in my opinion), Kid Icarus, Metroid, Final Fantasy, the list goes on and on.

But I don't need to because this past week, IGN.com counted down their Top 100 NES Games of All Time (their choice for #1 may surprise you. It surprised me, though I can't argue with their decision). Reading through the list brought back so many great memories of some of the best games ever made. And awesome memories of days long since past spent playing them at my house, Ray's house, Adam's or Phil's house. Even in the dorm during freshman year in college.

It's amazing the staying power of these titles; I just wish that kids today had easier access to these titles. I think that kids today see these titles as simplistic, sometimes silly and maybe not worth their time. But just because these games were made when games weren't (couldn't be) as complex as the games of today doesn't mean that they were "simple". Or easy, for that matter. Kid Icarus has the reputation of being one of the hardest games of all time. That game was a monster. And I loved it. But these are the games that made the industry what it is today and each one deserves to be appreciated.

Enjoy the list.