40. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)

Tecmo Super Bowl is a game so good that it simply won't die. Modders put out updated rosters for this cult classic kicker from 1991 on a regular basis, meaning it's possible to play with modern NFL players and other tweaks, on top of the various improvements the base game made over the original Tecmo Bowl. If you're a fan of the American brand of football, some people insist that the digital game never got better than this.

39. 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.

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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.

38. Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES)

This beat 'em up sequel came complete with the all-important two-player component missing from the first game on NES, and while Bimmy and Jimmy's brawling is unlikely to stick with you for long, the ability to get a friend involved in the fight makes Double Dragon II: The Revenge the pick of the pair.

37. Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES)

It's another NES Ninja Gaiden game and just like the two before it, Ninja Gaiden III is tough but a lot of fun to play. The story is complete guff but impressive visuals and decent music compliment the excellent gameplay. Deciding to tweak, rather that fix what isn't broken, Tecmo provided a game quite similar to its predecessors but with the ability to swing up on to platforms and mix things up a little. Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (and indeed the whole NES trilogy) is a challenging gaming experience worthy of your time.

36. StarTropics (NES)

A game which stands apart in Nintendo's back catalogue, StarTropics melds elements of Zelda, the Mother series and classic RPGs to make something different. It isn't entirely successful and is let down by its controls, but it's well worth making a trip to C-Island via Nintendo Switch Online, if only to see a rare game from Nintendo which didn’t get a dozen follow-ups (although it did get a single sequel).

35. Life Force (NES)

If you're itching for some cooperative old-school space shooter action, Life Force will scratch your itch like a kind old friend you've known for years. It's a fairly standard side-scrolling shooter with enough twists on the formula – alternating vertical/horizontal levels, a unique stacking item system and some trippy level designs – to make it stand out in the crowd, a natural step up for veterans of the original Gradius. Life Force doesn't have the immediate name recognition of some of its peers, but it's well worth the time for any fan of the genre.

34. Mega Man 6 (NES)

Probably the worst thing you can say about Mega Man 6 is that it plays it safe. It follows the same basic idea of eight Robot Master stages followed by castle stages and doesn't really bring any big new gameplay features to the 8-bit Mega Man formula. The level design (save for Plant Man's stage), music and everything else are all pretty good, but if you've played all the previous entries, you can't help feeling that the sixth game is a bit by-the-numbers.

Capcom didn't really go out with a bang with this final NES Mega Man game, then, but it did create one final enjoyable entry on the console which birthed the series. And a 'just good' Mega Man is still better than most other video games, so mustn't grumble.

33. EarthBound Beginnings (NES)

Much of the significance of EarthBound Beginnings — of Mother — lies in its spirit and the influence of such on subsequent games. It has to be said that EarthBound (its 16-bit sequel) is by far the overall better title, and those who have yet to play either should definitely start with that. If you do enjoy EarthBound, however, then Beginnings is well worth investigating. Sticking through its older style of play, with high difficulty and occasional fluctuations in balance, will reveal a fine story and a strangely transcendental sense of nostalgia, like a letter of love written to a child who hadn't even been born yet.

32. Blaster Master (NES)

Blaster Master is yet another example to prove that Sunsoft was at the very top of its game on NES. With tight controls and eight varied levels, Blaster Master still manages to satisfy in the 21st century (so much so that Inti Creates have brought the series back with two excellent sequels in recent years).

31. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (NES)

A classic co-op romp that looked and sounded incredible, Capcom made a habit of surpassing expectations on the NES — not too difficult considering the general standard of licenced tie-ins (have you tried playing Bart vs. the Space Mutants recently?) — but Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers really is a title worthy of standing alongside the console's finest platformers. The chipmunks' ability to pick up and throw items gave the game a unique flavour, and we personally rate it right up there with Ducktales.