More than 30 years ago, gamers were introduced to the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan). While gaming has come along way since then, there are many fans who still enjoy picking up a controller and playing some of the 8-bit classics today. While not everyone may have an NES system at home, this Friday Nintendo will release the next best thing, NES Classic Edition. It includes 30 built-in titles to enjoy from Super Mario to the Legend of Zelda.
The NES Classic Edition will retail for $59.99 which is a pretty good price if you take into account the price of buying an NES console and each individual game. While we are excited to be able to play smoother and sharper versions of the games we grew up with, there are a few titles we felt that would have been great if they were included in this collection.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at 10 games we think would have made this awesome blast from the past a must have.
#10. Little Samson
There are a couple of reasons why Little Samson makes an appearance as number 10 on our list. Chances are unless you bought this in the 90s or are a hardcore NES collector with plenty of money to spend, you may never have a chance to play Little Samson outside of emulation because a loose cart of this game goes for over $1,000.
It’s a pretty fun game that was released at the end of the NES’s life and had some fun gameplay elements which included being able to transform into different creatures after unlocking their powers. It’s a game everyone should get to play at least once and making it easily available for everyone would make owning an NES Classic Edition feel like you’ve gotten more bang out of your $60 purchase.
#9. Dragon Power (also known as Dragon Ball: Shenron no Nazo)
You can find this game in the bargain bin anywhere, but many don’t know it’s hiding a little secret. It wasn’t until much later that I learn that this was actually the first Dragon Ball game released in North America. Well, there were tons of terrible changes and edits including Goku looking more like a weird dog/monkey hybrid, Master Roshi turning into a full-on Hermit who likes sandwiches instead of panties.
If you can look past all the issues including a lot of the series’ iconic music being changed up, it’s not a bad game. You get to experience a lot of the original story of the Dragon Ball series and even get to use the Kamehameha which was renamed Wind Wave.
#8. Battletoads
Battletoads is a game we would have loved to play on the NES Classic Edition. It comes in at #9 because it’s something that we know will never happen because Microsoft owns Rare. While the game was eventually released on the Xbox One as part of the 30 titles on Rare Replay last year, this difficult and frustrating game would have been the perfect reminder of how Nintendo helped bring to life so many challenging games that made you feel proud the moment you were able to finally beat the game.
#7. Blaster Master
Blaster Master is a game that easily gets overlooked, but overall, it’s actually a pretty fun and challenging game. A majority of the game has you inside a giant tank as you traverse through different areas. You also have to exit your tank at times to fight giant boss enemies to proceed on. Developed by SunSoft, this isn’t an easy game especially because it’s easy to go to the wrong place before having to completely backtrack to get the correct power-ups .
#6. Ducktales
The first of our two Capcom picks that would have been great on the NES Classic Edition. While Capcom and Disney would eventually release an HD version of the game, the original NES version had so much charm and was so much fun to play. The game looked great for its time and watching Scrooge use his cane as a pogo stick was amusing as he traveled to some crazy and wild locations. The true treasure of this game was the soundtrack which included the unforgettable Moon theme.
#5. Tetris
It’s a surprise that Tetris wasn’t already included the list of 30 NES games to appear on the NES Classic Edition. Sure you have Dr. Mario to fill the gap for fans of puzzle games, but Tetris was a game of endless challenge. Tetris sold 8 million copies on the NES, making it the 4th best-selling title on the console behind Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Bros. 2.
#4. Metal Gear
Before the cinematic cutscenes and before we saw a Hideo Kojima game on every Metal Gear game moving forward, Metal Gear for the NES helped introduce us to the stealth-action genre. Players would take the role of FOX HOUND rookie Solid Snake, who must infiltrate various bases in order to rescue different captives while remaining undetected and hidden from enemies. Who would have guessed that a game released in 1987 would continue a story going on for so long with a sequel released for the NES, before moving to the PlayStation and more recently the PlayStation 4?
#3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
TMNT II: The Arcade game would have been the perfect two-player beat ’em up for you and your buddy to play together. A port of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game, the 8-bit version on the Nintendo might not have looked as good, and only let you play as two of the four turtles at anytime, but it was just as fun without the need of having to spend a quarter every time you found yourself getting knocked around by some tough bosses.
Play as your favorite turtle and kick some shell! Just try and not fight too much about who gets the pizza when your low on life. Cowabunga!
#2. Any of the Dragon Warrior Games (I, II, III or IV)
There is a bit of everything on the NES Classic Edition but something we’d love to see more are RPGS. Between Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy was the more popular series in the West but funny enough, only the first title was released on the NES. Enix (long before merging with Square) would localize all four Dragon Warrior titles. Releasing any of the four titles would have really complemented Final Fantasy, showcasing to impressive JRPG series that have gone on to capture the imagination of fans all over the world.
#1. Darkwing Duck
Back in the NES days, Capcom released various games based off of different Disney franchises including Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers and previously mentioned Ducktales (with both games would also see sequels released). While either one of those two titles would have been a great addition to the NES Classic Edition, there is one title that really stands out among the rest, that game is Darkwing Duck. It was just such a well-done action game that you could just enjoy playing over and over again. It was more challenging than the previously mentioned titles requiring a bit more strategy, but even then it was non-stop action as you faced off again villains from the cartoon series such as Quackerjack, Bushroot, Megavolt, and finally Steelbeak.
Do you agree with some of the games I’ve chosen that would have been great in the NES Classic Edition? What games do you think should have been included?
from Nerd Reactor
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