39. Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)

Unique in the Mario canon for being the only game to make the plumber the antagonist, Donkey Kong Jr. can't measure up to the original game, but it's worth a play just to see Mario guarding a caged Donkey Kong. You'll need a hefty dose of nostalgia to get much more out of it, though.

38. Ice Hockey (NES)

Ice Hockey is far from the worst 8-bit sports offering on the NES, and it provides a solid, serviceable approximation of the game, although you'll need patience to put up with its quirks, especially when defending. Worth a look if you're a fan of the sport; non-fans aren't missing much (although that sentiment is arguably true for many sports games on the NES).

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37. Wario's Woods (NES)

Starring Mario's dastardly alter ego / doppelgänger / evil twin / [insert theory here], Wario's Woods is a B-tier NES puzzler probably best known for being the final official release for the console in 1994. That said, its unique gameplay hook combined with unusual boss battles makes it worth investigating if you're a puzzle fan who has exhausted the usual suspects.

36. 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.

35. Vice: Project Doom (NES)

Vice: Project Doom is a good-looking action platformer from Aicom with overhead driving sections which feel more like a vertical shooter. If you haven't heard of it, we'd recommend checking it out; decent controls and a mix of projectile weapons with a melee 'laser whip' for close quarters combat make it an interesting, though not essential, 8-bit experience.

34. Adventures of Lolo (NES)

Coming from a pre-Kirby HAL Laboratory, Adventures of Lolo is a rather unique action-puzzling artifact that's unlikely to knock your socks off, but still has an unconventional, homely sort of charm. It's certainly not a top-tier NES title, but like so many games in the NES library, it will reward your patience if you can just resist the temptation to switch to one of the console's stone-cold classics.

33. 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.

32. Joy Mech Fight (NES)

A rarity in more ways than one, this Japan-only release is a first-party fighting game from Nintendo. A late arrival on the Famicom, it launched in 1993 and saw the platform holder dipping its toe into the fighting genre for the first since the decidedly poor Urban Champion.

Including all variants, there are 36 robot characters to choose from, each with limbs and heads that float Rayman-style apart from their body — something which aided animation on the ageing hardware. It's never going to oust Smash Bros. in the Nintendo fighter stakes, but it's a combative curio nonetheless, and a welcome addition to the NSO lineup.

31. 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.

30. Shadow of the Ninja (NES)

Shadow of the Ninja is an underrated little title from Natsume which arguably deserves to be remembered alongside the likes of Ninja Gaiden. It's not without faults and it's certainly unforgiving, but with two playable ninjas (and two-player co-op) that control beautifully and five good-looking worlds to fight through, this is something of a gem in the NES collection.

29. Tecmo Bowl (NES)

Tecmo Bowl strikes a lovely balance between pick-up-and-playability and depth of gameplay that characterises the best sports games (scratch that — video games in general). There's a chance that even non-football fans might enjoy this one, and it has aged far better than many sports titles in the NES catalogue. Hut!

28. VS. Excitebike (NES)

Offering an improved track editor over the original Excitebike along with various other bells and whistles, you probably know what to expect from VS. Excitebike. It's a decent ride and definitely the pick of the 8-bit Excitebikes, although even with the improvements of this version (which originally released for the Famicom Disk System), it will probably struggle to hold your attention beyond a single evening.

27. Double Dragon (NES)

Double Dragon might have been superseded many times over in the street brawling genre (and arguably by its sequels), but Billy Lee's first outing is still a fun nostalgia trip, and worth the hour or two it'll take you to breeze through it.

26. The Mysterious Murasame Castle (NES)

A Japan-only Nintendo first-party title (although Human Entertainment was also involved in its development according to Suda51), Mysterious Murasame Castle saw its first international release on 3DS Virtual Console in 2014.

A tough-as-nails, top-down, action-focused 'sibling' to The Legend of Zelda, it introduced Takamaru — a character Western players may recognise as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. or from the minigame 'Takamaru's Ninja Castle' in Nintendo Land — and sees you move between castles and taking down each daimyo in a linear quest to defeat an alien villain that's corrupting the castles and their lords. It's a gem in the Famicom (Disk System) library and well worth checking out if you've never had the pleasure.

25. Gradius (NES)

The NES port of Konami's influential shmup, what it lacks in looks it makes up for with gameplay that captures the arcade original well. Shmup fans will have played it to death in better form elsewhere, but for shmup newbies Gradius for NES could be a decent way to start exploring a large and impenetrable genre.

24. 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.

23. R.C. Pro-Am (NES)

Arguably the game that put Rare on the map for NES owners, R.C. Pro-Am sets itself apart from other NES racing games with its isometric viewpoint. But it's also a fantastic racing game in its own right, immersing you in the full 'radio-controlled' experience, with excellent visuals, catching sound effects, and a continuous loop of tracks that you'll want to master.

It may lack multiplayer on NES, but Rare's racer is still worth checking out.

22. Crystalis (NES)

This was one of the best Zelda-eqsue games on the NES back in the day. It’s a more linear experience than you might expect, but it features a cracking soundtrack and mixes the faux-medieval fantasy of Hyrule with a dose of sci-fi. If you’re after some authentically 8-bit action RPG adventuring, this is an excellent option.

21. Battletoads (NES)

Battletoads had a heady whiff of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles about it, but with developer Rare at the helm, this side-scrolling beat 'em up had more than enough quality in its art, audio, and gameplay to elevate it above 'knock-off' status.

In fact, despite their high level of difficulty, we'd say the rough 'n' tumble adventures of Rash, Zitz, and Pimple are as fondly — perhaps even more fondly — remembered than the 8-bit TMNT games. Insanely unfair hoverbike sections aside, there's still plenty of co-op comedy and fun to be found in this series.

20. EarthBound Beginnings (NES)

Much of the significance of EarthBound Beginnings (or Mother in Japan) lies in its spirit and its influence 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.

In fact, this 1989 series debut wasn't released in the West until a surprise localised version hit the Wii U eShop in 2015. Fortunately, it's easily accessible these days if you've got a Nintendo Switch Online sub.

If you really enjoy EarthBound, however, Beginnings is worth investigating. Sticking through its older style of play — with high difficulty and occasional fluctuations in balance — reveals a fine story and an almost transcendental sense of nostalgia for those who played and adored its sequel, but never had access to this. It's like an ode to an ancestor you never knew.

19. Fire 'n Ice (NES)

Enjoyment in Fire ‘n Ice is largely dependent on how much you enjoy logic puzzles, but while the game lacks a hint function, it does its best to ease you into the basic concepts, before eventually introducing new mechanics, like the jars that can be ignited.

The framework around all of this is well done – there’s a cutesy story of an old woman telling her grandkids the story of Dana like a fairy tale, and while the visuals are simple, they’re extremely well animated. There are also an extra fifty stages beyond the initial one hundred, plus an option to make your own levels.