Talking about old school gaming is easy for me, because I lived through it. There was a time when my Coleco Vision was old school and the new school was the NES. I loved that system. I used to rent games at the local video store and played just about every game I could find.
The other day, I got in an argument with a friend about the best game on the NES. When I say argument, it was just a heated back and forth over a few beers.
Although it was for fun, we had a good discussion. After a lot of back and forth, we finally agreed on a top three.
3 - Final Fantasy
2 - Mario Bros. 3
1 - The Legend of Zelda
For me, I think the Legend of Zelda is the best game on the NES. That was the first Zelda game that launched a franchise that is still very much active, is my top choice for Game of the NES.
Top Five Reasons The Legend of Zelda is the best game on the NES.
1 - Open world from the beginning. From the beginning of the game, you can explore and go anywhere you want. You can enter any dungeon you have the tools to access. (Except level 9) You may not be strong enough, to beat the boss, but you can try to get to it. Most games at that point were much more linear, but The Legend of Zelda changed that.
2 - Hidden Items - The map and dungeons are littered with hidden items. Burn down bushes, blow up rocks, walk through hidden walls... there are a bunch of hidden items and it is fun every time you find them.
3 - Character Progression - As you move through levels you get hear containers and can find heart containers. You can find the blue ring which decreases damage. The character progression is pretty simple, but it works and makes the game a lot of fun.
4 - The Bosses - There are nine bosses and most of them are varied and all of them are pretty challenging. Gannon, the final boss is tough. I remember the first time I made it to fight him and I was so nervous. It was intense.
5 - The Dungeons - Each one is has special items, hidden rooms and they get more and more challenging. Level nine is freaking hard. Super hard without a map or walkthrough.
For those reasons and a whole lot more, I think the Legend of Zelda was the best game. I could be wrong, but back in 1986 you couldn't find the game anywhere. My mom had to call places and find out when shipments were coming in. We finally got one at a K-Mart. We got there before it opened and we were lucky enough to get one.
Final Fantasy is a great game, Mario Bros. 3 is an incredible game, but nothing really sucked people in like the Legend of Zelda.
What is your favorite game on the NES?
Let me know.
Hey pal, Zelda was a real favorite for me as well. The world had never really seen a game like that prior to its release and I was absolutely captivated by it. I don't know if I would have the patience to wander around with my candle equipped trying to burn every tree in the entire map to find a hidden set of stairs anymore, or to push every single grave looking for the same thing, but that is exactly what we did back in the 80's.
I love Zelda games but kind of fell a bit out of love with them when they went full 3-D. I get it, Ocarina of Time is meant to be the best game ever made in most people's minds but in my mind, I much prefer the top down style of gaming as far as Zelda games are concerned.
Do you remember the map that came with the NES Zelda and how only some of it was revealed? I remember trying my hand at drawing the rest of the squares to complete the entire thing.
Such an amazing time to be alive and be a gamer. If i was to mention really any other real standout game on the NES it would be Metroid because other than the really annoying and super long codes (why no battery inside?) that game was perfect as well.
Thank you for the great reply.
Ocarina of Time is one of my favorites too, great game, but there is something about that top down style gaming. I did walk around and burned all the bushes too. lol.
Metroid was awesome, def a top 10 for me. Also speaking of codes, I still remember the code to fight Mike Tyson. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!