Best First-Party NES Games

22. Balloon Fight (NES)

Balloon Fight was programmed by Satoru Iwata and is essentially Nintendo's version of Joust, and while it was very much a case of the company copying someone else's homework back in the day, the resulting game is a strong one. We like to blast through the Balloon Trip mode every so often, if only to listen to the cheery tune that plays. The game is starting to show its age, but that's no crime in itself — how many 8-bit games don't feel a little creaky by modern standards? Balloon Fight's definitely worth a smidgen of your time.

21. Mario Bros. (NES)

Known to a whole generation as the extra mode that came tacked on to the Game Boy Advance Super Mario Bros. series ports, Mario Bros. is a slight, flavourless offering that doesn't hold up too well these days. It's passingly diverting with two players, but you'll soon be wishing you were playing the one with 'Super' at the start.

20. Barker Bill's Trick Shooting (NES)

Believe it or not, this is a licensed game made by Nintendo itself. Based on an animated American network show from the 1950s that broadcast black and white Terrytoon cartoons from the previous decades, Barker Bill's Trick Shooting made use of this obscure licence and the titular ringmaster (and his assistant, Trixie) for a cheerful NES Zapper game that launched in 1990 in North America.

Comprising several minigames that see you shooting balloons, diamonds, plates, and other objects, it's a cute and uncomplicated latter-era NES shooter that deserves more recognition than it gets. Being stuck on original hardware represents a sizeable barrier to entry for all but the most hardcore of historical gamers, unfortunately.

19. Tetris 2 (NES)

The incredible success of the original game meant a sequel was inevitable, but when you've created a puzzler as singularly refined as Tetris, how exactly do you create a new take which does anything but dilute the first game's purity of expression? Sequels are meant to polish and introduce new and better mechanics — how do you do that with Tetris?

Tetris 2 essentially has you playing Dr. Mario with tetrominoes. It's not bad, by any means, but it's certainly not better than Tetris, so it's difficult to play it and not think you could be having a better time.

18. Donkey Kong Classics (NES)

A simple compilation cart that collects Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. in a single release — one that didn't come to Japan. Not much else to say, really. Not a bad Kong-pilation, all told. Plenty of pros, only a couple of Kongs. Nothing to be overly Kongcerned about, all things Kongsidered.

Okay, we'll stop now.

17. Donkey Kong (NES)

While the NES version might not compare favourably side-by-side with the arcade original, this Donkey Kong port captured the spirit of the cabinet version very well indeed. Back in the day this was a remarkable feat, and for many kids who may not have been old enough to venture into arcades, it was here that they first met DK and the plucky plumber. It's missing a level (which was eventually restored in the Original Edition), but it's arguably only once you've played the arcade version that the limitations of the home console port become apparent. Best enjoyed in short and sweet bursts.

16. Kid Icarus (NES)

Kid Icarus is a game filled with idiosyncrasies (like several first-party NES titles which didn't spawn a series with dozens of entries) and while it's got its share of flaws, this game still has a certain spark despite its missteps. It makes you wonder what could have been if Nintendo doubled down on Kid Icarus rather than, say, Zelda. Check it out.

15. Excitebike (NES)

The existence of VS. Excitebike on Famicom Disk System made the original Excitebike somewhat superfluous, but this was the base version of the game we got in the West. Providing a deceptively deep 8-bit ride that plays beautifully with acceleration and the pitch of your bike as you land, we'd say it's definitely worth a spin. We just like VS. and its expanded modes a bit better.

14. Devil World (NES)

A game which fell foul of Nintendo of America's nervousness around depicting religious iconography, 1984's Devil World came to Europe in '87 but never launched in North America.

Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka (and being the latter's first project after joining the company full-time in 1984), it’s easy to label it a Pac-Man clone given the obvious similarities, but this is a game that takes the basic formula of the arcade original and builds upon it in an inventive and unique way. It does become a bit repetitive over time due to the fact that the stages are very similar throughout and always presented in the same order. Despite this, the quirky theme and challenge will keep you coming back to this 8-bit curio.

Previously available on multiple Virtual Consoles, it's now part of Nintendo's Switch Online offering.

13. Metroid (NES)

While it set the template of the series and pioneered the delicate mix of exploration and gradual empowerment, we have to be honest here: the original Metroid can be tough to return to, even if you played it back in the day. The audio and atmosphere it conjures remains incredible, but control refinements and quality-of-life features we're used to these days are largely absent from the Famicom Disk System/NES original and going back without the right mindset and context can be jarring.

Its biggest issue is that the fantastic Game Boy Advance remake Metroid: Zero Mission exists — truly the best way to experience Samus' first adventure. The original has its charms, though. You just need to dig deeper to find them these days.

12. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)

A radical departure from the template of the first game, Zelda II has enjoyed something of a reappraisal in recent post-Dark Souls years. It's an inscrutable game and one with which we wouldn't feel bad in the slightest using the rewind function if you were playing via Nintendo Switch Online, or save states elsewhere, but it's worth persevering with. In a series that, in the past, risked turning into a by-the-numbers adventure by slavishly sticking to a formula, this first sequel was anything but a repetition — a deeper combat system with RPG levelling elements and side-on platforming villages and dungeons made this a very different experience from the original.

You could argue that too much of its sense of adventure and 'wonder' is lost to frustration, but no more so than in other challenging 8-bit games. If you've bounced off The Adventure of Link in the past, we'd urge you to give it another go.

11. Duck Hunt (NES)

A cheeky light gun shooter brimming with personality, many players experienced this as it came bundled with their NES and Zapper (on a dual cart with Super Mario Bros., no less — not a bad deal at all). Duck Hunt offers simple, wholesome light gun fun for the whole family; that is, as long as the wanton murder of countless digital waterfowl while a sniggering bloodhound watches doesn't put you off.

An official Wii U Virtual Console release in 2014 reworked the game to function on modern non-CRT televisions with a Wii Remote and an on-screen cursor. As of the end of March 2023, that version is no longer available to buy.