The Shrine

http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/index.html

#1 is SMB3
#2 is Legend of Zelda
#3 is SMB1
#4 is Mega Man 2
#5 is Castlevania 3
#6 is Metroid
#7 is Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
#8 is Dragon Warrior 1
#9 is Bionic Commando
#10 is Duck Tales

An interesting list, and it got me thinking...

Super Mario Brothers 3 at #1 is obvious as is Super Mario Brothers 1 at #3. These were the two most popular videogames of the era, and two of the most popular of all time. I do have a problem with Legend of Zelda fitting in between them though... I felt Zelda was of a lower quality than SMB, and actually fairly overrated by the end of the NES era (especially considering Crystalis demolished it to the same extent that Terranigma demolished Link to the Past on SNES). I don't find LoZ very playable today as I do the Mario titles. Still, no doubt, a true classic and it deserves a high place on the list.

Mega Man 2 sitting at number 4 seems a little high. I think this has more to do with the recent release of Mega Man 9 which goes back to that style. Mega Man 2 was a great game, but just below it is Castlevania 3, which is arguably the second best game on the system.

Metroid 's place I can understand. I didn't particularly like the first game that much, and it is likely due to the survival of the franchise that this game ranks high. Kid Icarus isn't top 10...

Punch Out... When there are other games like Double Dragon, River City Ransom, and Contra, why Punch Out? It is likely due to the recent release of the game.

Dragon Quest 1, I have to seriously question them putting this game on the list this high. Yes it is the first game in the series, but it was a nightmare to play. It did a lot of things wrong and felt more like a console game based on a PC genre, rather than the Console RPG genre which arose later. Dragon Quest 3 much more resembled the console RPGs that everyone has known for the last 20 years. Not only that, Dragon Quest 3 was the top RPG in existence until Final Fantasy 7. It was the highest rated RPG on NES, and the one most fondly remembered by its fans (Famitsu readers voted it the #3 best game of all time in 2006), it was the game that caused Japan to make it illegal to release a Dragon Quest game on a weekday. Dragon Quest 3 established the Console RPG genre. Most importantly, Dragon Quest 3 is very playable today, while Dragon Quest 1 is somewhat of a nightmare. Nostalgia? Nah, the guy said he first played it in 97, besides Dragon Quest 2 came out soon after, and Final Fantasy 1 and Dragon Quest 3 were out a year and 10 months after Dragon Quest 1 was out. I am not even going to try to guess why they have this one on the list. Yeah, Dragon Quest was an unlikely success story in Japan... but Dragon Quest 3 blew that success away, nailed the formula, and was the benchmark in console RPGs.

Bionic Commando? Huh? Ever heard of Contra? Games like Bionic Commando were a dime a dozen in the 80's and there are obvious better ones that exist. It is one of those games that I would lump in with the original Metal Gear, Shadow Gate, Captain Skyhawk, Batman, etc... in terms of impact. This seems like a strange choice for a top 10 pick (or even a top 50 pick). It is likely due to a recent releases in the series.

Duck Tales - Close one, I loved this game, but wouldn't put it here in light of other games. Another platformer that is better than this one is Kirby's Adventure.


My Top 8 favourites:
1. Super Mario Bros 3
2. Dragon Quest 4
3. Castlevania III
4. Dragon Quest 3
5. River City Ransom
6. FaXanadu
7. Legend of Zelda 2
8. Final Fantasy

Too much thinking to justify a 9 and a 10, I would probably just change my mind in an hour anyway. The games above I have played all in the last couple of years (Half of those just in the past few weeks; I was playing FF1 earlier today) and feel they are still very playable and very enjoyable. These were also games that I liked best as a kid as well, my opinion hasn't changed much.