#15 Duck Hunt (1984)
The orange gun. The flying ducks. The annoying dog that was terrible at hunting and always laughed at you when you had a bad day. All of these features made Duck Hunt an unforgettable game and a timeless childhood classic that most of us will never forget.
#14 Punch-Out!! (1987)
While it moved on to be a successful spin-off (see Mike Tyson's version) and a sequel on the Super Nintendo platform, this classic game was an introduction to fighting platforms that also introduced memorable characters and bosses that seemed almost impossible to defeat.
#13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time (1991)
Also known as an arcade hit, this installment involving the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the best side-scrolling action games to date as the difficulty was adaptable and the gameplay was phenomonal for it's time. Plus it made us say "cowabunga" a lot.
#12 Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword Of Chaos (1990)
If you were into ninjas and throwing stars as a young kid, chances are you were into Ninja Gaiden. The series took off as soon as it was released but the most memorable installment was the second game in the franchise featured slicker controls and graphics which made Ryu's hacking and slashing way more fun.
#11 Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
NFL games always had a hard time being enjoyable before the Madden series arrived but Tecmo Super Bowl was an instant hit the moment it shipped out to homes across North America. The only real drawback were the uniforms, like which team actually wore pink and white in the 90s'?
#10 Dr. Mario (1990)
Along with Tetris, Dr. Mario was one of the first original puzzle games that everyone knew and loved. The only problem was, most kids didn't know how to play it and were left frustrated by it's difficulty for years, and years, and years.
#9 Contra (1987)
Though Contra never really lived up to it's name after it's third version on the Super Nintendo, the original for NES set the bar for side-scrolling shooters. Collecting lives and different weapons became important and it took a unique level of skill (and a high amount of sugar) to beat levels without dying.
#8 Excitebike (1985)
Compare it to it's Nintendo 64 brother and the original 8-bit version of Excitebike wins by a landslide. The game was intuitive and addicting as it was always a competition to beat a friend's score. That is until the scores were magically erased.
#7 Double Dragon (1987)
Billy and Jimmy spawned numerous sequels and cross-overs throughout the 1990s' but nothing was more memorable than the duo's first installment for the NES that was a lengthy classic in itself. Instead of simple one-punch/kick action moves, combos were also made and those made the minds of 8-year-olds literally explode.
#6 Final Fantasy (1987)
The first edition of Final Fantasy was the game that made nerds. It created and defined the RPG genre which later led into dozens of spin-offs and other platform action puzzles like Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts and even Super Mario RPG that added a spin to the Nintendo world.
#5 Nintendo World Cup (1990)
Again, sports games were rather difficult in the NES days as graphics weren't as smooth and controls were clunky but Nintendo's first take on soccer was fantastic. Right down to the icy fields and concrete playgrounds to the players "dying" after taking too many tackles, Nintendo World Cup was addicting.
#4 Mega Man 2 (1988)
A tiny teenager with in a blue costume/helmet who could shoot lasers? WHAT? Add in simple controls, great NES music and innovative levels and Mega Man 2 still holds up as one of the best classic games out there for the Nintendo console.
#3 Battletoads (1991)
Though the Ninja Turtles were cool, Battletoads were a lot more rad. The characters - frogs and toads that wore spikes and grew giant hands and feet to destroy enemies - were way too cool to begin with but it didn't eliminate the fact that the game was ridiculously hard. Most will agree, not many made it past the second level.
#2 The Legend Of Zelda (1986)
It's hard to imagine a game like Ocarina Of Time could derive from an 8-bit NES cartridge but the first game in the series had everyone and their parents hooked on Link and his mission to rescue Zelda. It was fantasy/RPG at it's finest (no one to this day knows what those orange creatures are).
#1 Super Mario Bros. (1985)
It was the game that started it all. Looking back, the graphics weren't impressive but the idea of touching flowers and throwing fireballs at enemies was enough to keep kids hooked. Plus all of the secret passages to get to tunnels to skip levels was helpful but mostly really cool. It also spawned Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 where both sequels topped each other with several innovations.
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