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The Four Best NES Games Ever Created

Here is a rundown of our favorite NES titles of all time, it should give you plenty of fodder for when you’re next feeling nostalgic.

When it comes to the world of gaming, progress is constant. We’re constantly being treated to new and exciting technologies, and yet there are specific classics that remain unerringly popular. Multiple Nintendo titles number among them, with a deep-seated love for these ingrained into millions of gamers, as the success of the NES Classic Edition and its successor proved.

That’s why we thought it would be interesting to create this article. Sharing a rundown of our favorite NES titles of all time, it should give you plenty of fodder for when you’re next feeling nostalgic.

Super Mario Bros.

As any seasoned gamer would agree, only one title could ever take the top spot in a list of Nintendo classics, and that’s the inimitable Super Mario Bros. A game that breathed new life into the gaming industry and crowned Nintendo as its king, it’s not only supremely entertaining. Still, it epitomizes a key gaming dictum: that a title should be easy to learn but difficult to master. With this in mind, it’s little surprise that a Canadian survey recently ranked it as the most familiar of all retro video gaming franchises, which gives us hope that we’re not the last generation who’ll get to appreciate its greatness.

Final Fantasy

For RPGs, Final Fantasy was responsible for redefining what the genre was capable of. Expanding and improving upon the mechanics featured in other popular games, such as Dragon Warrior, it has the chaotic battle and overworld map of its predecessors but added several new and original staples to the mix, such as character classes and multi-character parties. A massive hit from its release onward, it would go on to spur one of the most popular media franchises of all time, with over a dozen games, multiple anime tie-ins, and a 2001 movie featuring Alec Baldwin and Donald Sutherland.

The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo is one of the longest-standing names in the gaming industry, with many of its most beloved franchises spanning decades. The Legend of Zelda is a perfect example, and along with Super Mario, has been one of the company’s flagship titles for decades. Pulling Nintendo’s gold-encrusted chariot through the ages, as one reviewer so aptly put it, we have reached an era when announcing a new game for the franchise has become a global event. Certainly, its appeal isn’t hard to understand: a huge and intricate world to explore, challenging puzzles, unique monsters, and an arsenal of complex weapons for gamers to get to grips with.

Super Mario 3

When it comes to crowning the ultimate Nintendo title, it’s hard to rank the greatest when it stands among so many worthy contenders, but we firmly believe that these three franchises have had the most to offer across the years. All hugely popular, their appeal is simple to understand, with the formulas that have hooked so many continuing to be put to good use and still embraced by all who play it.

Nintendo’s game-changing (literally) hit comes in second on our list of NES games thanks to its timeless soundtrack, innovative platforming legacy, and ability to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age or experience. From grandparents to children, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t played (or at least heard of) Super Mario Bros

The iconic title has been re-released on so many of Nintendo’s other platforms that it almost feels limiting to call it an NES game. Its core controls and platforming gameplay are so enduringly fantastic that fans still make their own NES-style courses in Super Mario Maker and its sequel. This is the quintessential video game and always will be. 

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