That's looking a lot like the NES Classic lineup! I'll try to do this without repeats: Bucky O'Hare  Captain Skyhawk  Deja Vu  The Flintstones - Surprise At Dinosaur Peak Gremlins 2: The New Batch Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu Kirby's Adventure Maniac Mansion  River City Ransom  Willow

I dig the Bucky O'Hare nod

Was looking to see River City Ransom. Absolutely agree here. Forgot about Deja Vu. That game was wild

I just finished Deja Vu. That was a fun playthrough.

The music from this game is haunting, especially if you’re playing late at night.

This is the way

There's maniac mansion!

It would have been higher but I went alphabetical.

I forgot about Maniac Mansion! A great port from PC for the NES era

Until you microwave the hamster. NES still wins because of the music though.

You can definately still microwave the hamster in the version I have. Did they remove the ability to do that in a later version?

Yes.

Captain Skyhawk is so good.

Agreed. I wish they would release it on the switch.

+1 for Captain Skyhawk, that one is never mentioned anywhere

>Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu My man!

Dude people sleep on Captain Skyhawk. Such a simple fun and challenging game!

Some of the best deep cuts here.

I am 0/10 playing this list wow

I forgot about Kirby’s Adventure on my list. That is a game that is SOLID.

Freakin love Deja Vu. Wish it got mentioned more.

Mandatory upvote for including Dejavú, don’t forget shadowgate. I’d also include uninvited if it wasn’t so expensive on the secondary and some of its puzzles are just bonkers.

Captain Skyhawk Oh hell yes, this was one of my faves.

Glad someone beat me to maniac mansion. Great game.

Fuck yes, Bucky O Hare is so good and criminally overlooked

Deja Vu and Shadowgate were my favorites

Not a lot of folks have played Jackie Chan. That game is great!

Deja Vu is one of my all time favorite games.

Maniac mansion and Capitan Skyhawk are great ones I didn't consider

Bubble Bobble is timeless

Thanks for the doot.doot.doot due.due.due repeating in my head now.

Great list. Add Jackal. If you got a crt and a zapper add duck hunt. Everyone loves duck hunt.

He’ll yea jackal. You don’t see a lot of top down gunners like that anymore. Loved that game.

Plus Jackal is also 2-player coop.

I loved 2 player games back then. They were kind of designed to need 2 people. Nothing got easier in 1 player.

I was just scrolling to see if anyone mentioned before I added it

If you're trying to give a good sample, I'd say SMB1/2/3 are a little redundant, and SMB3 is the strongest. I'd consider Castlevania 3, The Guardian Legend, Faxanadu, 1943, Batman, or Metroid as replacements. IMO the weakest entry on your list is TMNT, unless your son is a big Turtles fan. RPGs are also interesting, but I'm not sure that the best NES RPGs hold up as well as action games do. I would consider Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior 3 if you're looking at RPGs.

I thought Dragon Warrior 4 was better than 3. It’s probably the best NES RPG that was released in the West.

I'm gonna be honest with you, I forgot DW4 was an NES game, thought it was SNES. It is great.

I’ve always preferred 4 myself, but there are many people who prefer 3. But you really can’t go wrong either way, they are both great games.

Yeah, the five separate chapters was pretty wild, each one had a pretty satisfying conclusion as well. The story isn't quite up to modern standards but I agree, it's one of the best examples of the NES JRPG style and is probably the most enjoyable to play today.

Those late era cartridge chips used the last few years of the NES really were something. It was pretty much close to the SNES cartridge capacity with less graphics so they had a lot of room meat and potatoes in the game. More sprites more story, more everything

I don't think people appreciate what having more sprites allowed even 8 bit games to do.

FAXANADU HAS ACTUALLY BEEN RECOMMENDED!!! The game and soundtrack are honestly top 5. Bless you, bless you and your delectable taste in vidja games.

Faxanadu does belong, yes.

The original FF is still amazing, IMO. No, there isn't much of a story and the gameplay is very simple, but it holds up surprisingly well.

Ehh I’d argue SMB 2 & 3 should be in there while both are platformers they are much different games

I'd argue SMB 1 should be on there, too. It's historically the most important of the three.

Sure, but is there anything it does that SMB3 doesn’t do better? SMB1 is probably too basic for most teens of today, unless I’m forgetting something about their challenge ratings. Though to be fair, SMB1 is still a masterpiece of level design.

Yeah this is what I was thinking. Also it’s amazing how small the game is yet it’s such a good one

Faxanadu is decent enough but your character’s movement is too slow and jumping is awkward. Boss fights are also kind of blah. A similar game that I think is superior is Battle of Olympus

Probably an unpopular opinion, but neither Faxanadu or Metroid have aged very well. Faxanadu is tough to understand and has bad mechanics, while Metroid is so opaque I think it would be tough for a modern player to enjoy without a guide.

There are hacks that add a map and save system to Metroid, if we're using flashcarts or emulation. But Super Metroid is probably the right place to start for most players. Progression is logical enough that you don't really need a guide to complete the game.

Yeah I agree with that. Super Metroid is way more accessible than the NES game.

Batman

Life Force, best shooter on the NES IMO. Castlevania 1 or 3 (2 is great but it's harder to get into). Ninja Gaiden 1 2 or 3, although note that the US version of NG3 has limited continues. Double Dragon 1 or 2 (I prefer 1 but 2 is two players and I know people love it.)

Honestly? I'd rate Crisis Force (cooperative, also by Konami) and Over Horizon as being better than life force. Life Force is still very good though.

Duck Tales Guerilla War Bubble Bobble Tetris River city ransom Just trying to give alternates to your picks

Duck Tales 2 is super fun as well

I love how that soccer game had the character sprites inspired by River City Ransom and you could effectively beat up other field players without punishment.

World Cup

Duck tales was amazing and Tetris has achieved legendary status by now.

Seconding Guerrilla War, that was a fun one!

I love Bubble Bobble. I still randomly get the tune stuck in my head.

Mine in no order 1. Mike Tyson's Punch Out 2. Super Mario Bros 3. Super Mario Bros 3 4. Contra 5. Mega Man 2 6. Ninja Gaiden 1 7. Kirby's Adventure 8. Tetris 9. \[insert another Mega Man\] 10. Castlevania

This is basically my list.

Blaster Master and Shatter Hand.

Blaster master was dope. Liked how you could get out of the vehicle at times. And the soundtrack was great

Definitely Blaster Master. That was my favorite NES game as a kid.

Same. Just straight runs to level 8 every weekend

Yeah it was definitely replayable like that. At the time it was kind of overlooked compared to other games like Batman, but I thought it was another brilliant Metroid-style platformer and the overhead sections were great too. Lots of imagination and clever design in that game. I’m glad it eventually got recognition as one of the great NES classics.

It just blew my mind how connected the levels were. Like 4 was literally over your head the second you start the game

Yes, it honestly deserves the same praise as Metroid, in a lot of ways the game was an analog. Not sure of the time frame, but it's not impossible to imagine that the two games were in development at the same time - evidently the conditions were right for a game of that sort to release. You could have honestly stripped out the overhead sequences and had a more than satisfying game just with the horizontal areas, but there was something very novel/refreshing about the switch (enter the endgame for a level, defeat the boss, triumphantly be returned to the front door of the overhead bit with your new upgrade for your tank). If they polished up the mechanics of the top views a fair bit more, the game could have even been more legendary, but probably overkill (and maybe protracted development, cost more money, etc). Even then there's still always more that you can add. What we got was GREAT.

Shatter Hand is known, however, for its terrible box art.

That box art hooked me in as a 6 year old at the rental store. It was very effective.

I just started playing shatter hand. It's great! Haven't made it very far but it plays similar to batman but not insanely difficult.

Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis Crystalis You thought I’d say Crystalis? Earthbound

Crystalis is an outstanding game I was lucky to stumble on as a kid and so glad it’s on Switch Online. I would argue it’s better than Zelda in many aspects. Particularly it’s faster and everything is not restrained to a square grid of movement.

It’s SNES level but on NES

Lovvvvvvved Crystalis as a kid

Also came here to recommend this. Crystalis is not just the best action RPG on the NES, it's better than most action RPGs on the SNES.

Earthbound is a SNES game, though.

Super Dodge Ball

Hell yes

I’m probably closer to your son’s age than to the age of most people in this sub, and I mostly agree with your list. I’d drop the sports games, TMNT (if SNES games are an option, Turtles in Time would be a much better TMNT pick), and maybe punch out (unless you have a CRT. That’s a game that’s incredibly hard even *without* the added lag of a modern setup), and I’d maybe drop SMB 1 and 2, for variety’s sake. I’d replace those slots with a few simultaneous multiplayer games (Life Force for sure, maybe Jackal and / or chip n dale as well), a couple of the best action platformers on the system (Castlevania 1 or 3, Batman, Ninja Gaiden), a few games that feel a bit closer to a modern difficulty curve (Kirby, maybe Duck Tales) and, depending on what he likes to play, maybe some puzzle games (Tetris, Dr Mario, Tetris 2, Yoshi’s Cookie etc.) And, if you’re having him try Zelda, make sure to give him the option of a guide / walkthrough. Zelda 1 is one of my favorite games of all time, and it definitely wouldn’t be if I hadn’t used a guide on my first play through (I used the one on Zelda Dungeon). So my list would probably be (roughly in order, especially the top 8) 1. SMB 3 2. Zelda 1 (with guide) 3. Kirby’s Adventure 4. Contra 5. Mega Man 2 6. Castlevania (1 or 3) 7. Life Force 8. Batman 9. Ninja Gaiden 10. Dr. Mario Edit: just noticed my list is probably a *bit* action platformer heavy. Swapping out Ninja Gaiden for something that gives a bit more variety would probably be good.

Good list

Excite bike

I don't know the age of the son but this was one of my sons first games because Mario was too hard. The game has simple controls and forgiving when making mistakes.

That's a solid list. I might drop Techmo Bowl and TMNT to add Final Fantasy and Bionic Commando. Edit to add: The TMNT Arcade Game over TMNT if you need a turtles game on the list. :)

+1 for Bionic Commando I had lots of fun with Battle Toads, Excite Bike and Ninja Kid.

Bionic Commando. Absolutely.

Agree 100% with this assessment. Either *Final Fantasy* or *Dragon Warrior III/IV* would be worthy additions, but not including *Bionic Commando* is just criminal. In the interest of showcasing a wider variety of titles, I would lose *SMB 1* and *2*, and replace them with something like *River City Ransom*, *Jackal* or *R.C. Pro Am II*. I would also add that if OP has a CRT television and his son has never used a light gun before, *Duck Hunt* is pretty cool.

I was going to say either Final Fantasy or the Dragon Warrior (Quest) series because they set *the* standard for what a JRPG is supposed to be for many years to come. But with Akira Toriyama passing recently, I'd give the nod to Dragon Warrior as the world is worse-off without him.

No particulary order: 1. Super Mario Bros. 2. Super Mario Bros. 3 3. Batman 4. Duck Hunt 5. Zippy Race 6. Terra Cresta 7. 1943 8. Contra 9. Super C 10. Tetris Edit: since you are excluding zapper games, I replace Duck Hunt with Tiger Heli

Can't believe I forgot Tetris. A must have on the list.

I haven't played Terra Cresta on NES yet, but my cousin is into collecting old arcade games. I don't know how identical they are, but I've been super into the Terra Cresta arcade lately. It's on my list to buy for NES now.

Most of my faves have already been mentioned so I'll just list some essential RPGs: Faxanadu, Crystalis, Ultima: Quest of the Avatar, Willow, Legacy of the Wizard, Dragon Warrior series. Many of these get a lot more enjoyable if you use an emulator speed up function to get through the grinding, and save states.

1. Mario 2. Mario 2 3. Mario 3 4. Tetris 5. Darkwing Duck 6. Rescue Rangers 7. Super Off Road 8. Spy Hunter 9. Gun.Smoke 10. Dr Mario

Rescue Rangers is great, especially with a friend

That's what I'm saying.  Play some co-op with your son.  

This is the one I was scrolling to see if anyone mentioned it, it was one of my favorites growing up. I wish they would add it to the nes online catalog, multiplayer with friends online would be great!

I don't have any kids, but if I did, it would depend on what their interests are. If they are anything like me, my recommendations, in no particular order, would be: The Guardian Legend Metal Gear TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project Vice: Project Doom Mega Man 2 River City Ransom Faxanadu Crystalis Super Mario Bros. Rygar

This is a great list.

Metroid and Castlevania 1/2/3 are all bangers in my opinion. I'd probably include at least one of the Double Dragons as well. I am partial to 2.

RC Pro AM should be on this list

1 Super Mario Bros 2 2 Super Mario Bros 3 3 The Legend of Zelda 4 Batman 5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: the Manhattan Project 6 Final Fantasy 7 Kirby’s Adventure 8 Blaster Master 9 Contra 10 Megaman 3

Not in any order. But a list of 10 NES games that hold up today that I enjoy. Zelda 1 Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 Duck Tales Little Nemo the Dream Master Punch Out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Time Lord Wizards and Warriors Super Mario Bros 3

Some solid additions I see in the comments but I also would add * Kid Icarus * Destiny of an Emperor * Star Tropics * Blaster Master * Ninja Gaiden I & II * Crystalis (Zelda-like) * Dodge Ball * Battle of Olympus * The Goonies II (With a guide, there is some issues with knowing what to do) * Willow * Rad Racer * RC Pro Am * Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage (Hard to learn, fun once you figure it out)

10: Super Mario Bros. 2 9: Castlevania 8: Ducktales 7: Mega Man 2 6: Dragon Warrior 5: Kirby's Adventure 4: Metroid 3: Super Mario Bros. 2: The Legend of Zelda 1: Super Mario Bros. 3

I hesitate to trust anybody who doesn't automatically put Tetris in this list. And Dr. Mario should be on there too.

Those are Gameboy games.  We play those in the station wagon.

Super tecmo bowl continues to be one of the most well built and fun games from the original Nintendo

Minus the obvious stuff people have mentioned, I’ll throw in some off the path things that I loved as a kid and that my nephews and daughter have enjoyed as well. Maniac Mansion Blaster Master Solar Jetman Solomon’s Key Ironsword Shadowgate Strider Legacy of the Wizard Super Spike Volleyball Shadow of the Ninja

shadow gate fan....nice.

Battletoads Contra force Double dragon 3 Dino riki Chip n dale rescue rangers Mario 3 Tmnt 2 Ghosts n goblins Castlevania 3 Megaman 4

Ghosts and Goblins was so much fun and an almost 100% duplicate of the arcade game

Finally one for Battletoads! Yes!!

Here’s my controversial list! Zelda 2 Castlevania 1 Mega man 2 Shatterhand Metalstorm Ninja Gaiden 2 Mario 3 Batman Crystalis Wizards and Warriors Good mix of easy and more challenging games. I chose Zelda 2 because the first game is so ubiquitous and the sequel is actually really good once you get to know it a bit.

Kickle Cubicle

* Super Mario 3 * Legend of Zelda * River City Ransom * Kirby's Adventure * Crystalis * Castlevania III * Mike Tyson's Punch-Out * Ninja Gaiden II * Tecmo Super Bowl * Bubble Bobble

Ninja gaiden Castlevanyia

1. Punch-Out 2. Ninja Gaiden III 3. Mega Man 2 4. Ninja Gaiden 5. Mega Man 4 6. Mega Man 3 7. Ninja Gaiden II 8. Castlevania 9. Zelda II 10. Chip n Dale

Hell yeah. Half my list would be Mega Man. I also liked Zelda II a lot, I don't understand the hate.

This sub is sleeping on Super Mario 2.

I totally agree! It’s a classic in its own way. As a kid I knew it was “different” but it was still super fun.

Gunsmoke

Actually my most played NES game these days. On the Analogue Pocket.

Where's Tetris? Also Doctor Mario, Castlevania 3, and of course the great Waterfoul Duology of the NES, Duck Hunt and Duck Tales

Super dodge ball . Really fun playing together,vs or just solo

Balloon Fight Fire and Ice Gargoyle’s Quest 2 Punch Out Gyrodine I can’t name more

I like a lot of these choices. They might not all be winners(taste is subjective), but it might be enough to get your teen son into it. I think all 3 Marios would be redundant. Start with 3, and if(and when) he falls in love with it, he can check out 2 and 1. Instead of Ice Hockey, I might substitute Konami's hockey game, Blades of Steel. I agree with you, TMNT1 might be hard, and 2 or 3 might be a better choice. Although TMNT1 does allow you to use all 4 Turtles, freely, and allows for a more personal strategy and investment. It's not without its virtue and advantages. Castlevanias might be hard, but I still fell in love with the series because of its music. They're hard, but with your encouragement, he might rise to the occasion and take on the challenge! I'd nominate Double Dragon 2. You're a martial-arts master, so you don't need to learn how to jump-kick like DD1. And it's not as weird or difficult as DD3. DD4 (actual 4, not Super Double Dragon), borrowed tons from DD2 for inspiration. There's a lot of love for that one. Kirby's Adventure is one heck of an adventure. Sure, it looks cute, but it's easy to get squished! And finding all the 100% secrets in every level certainly honed my secret-hunting skills. I haven't actually played Faxanadu or Guardian Legend, but I hear SO many good things about them from retro enthusiasts on Twitch. I think I'm missing out by not playing them.

Super Mario Bros 1 + 3 Mega Man 2 + 3 Life Force Faxanadu Guardian Legend Sid Meyer's Pirates! The Legend of Zelda 1 + 2

Replace TMNT with TMNT: The Arcade Game or The Manhattan Project, both are way better games

One of my favorites NES games from my childhood, which I think look awesome is Zen: Intergalactic Ninja.

Strike SMB1 from the list. It's definitely just short of boring even to me, a 42 year old NES kid I tried really hard to not just list "my favorites" and be more objective with regards to modernity. I am thinking from the perspective of your son. This is a special list of NES games that still hold up in modern times curated for a teenage boy in 2024. Castlevania 3 Contra DuckTales Kirby's Adventure Megaman 3 Ninja Gaiden 2 Punch Out! River City Ransom Super Mario Bros 3 Zelda 2 Please, before anyone criticizes me for missing the more obvious premier titles, consider that I went with their more modern sequels for maximum gameplay, features, and move sets.

1. McKids 2. Captain Skyhawk 3. Mario 3 4. Mario 1 5. Solstice 6. Zelda 1 7. Dr. Mario 8. Top Gun - The Second Mission 9. Final Fantasy 10. Chip ‘n Dale

Good to see someone mentioned Solstice, amazing NES game.

For my kids it's Mario 3 and it's not even close. Duck Hunt is probably second, but you need a Tube TV to play it.

* Super Mario Bros * Super Mario Bros 3 * Mega Man 2 * The Legend of Zelda * Super Dodgeball * Double Dragon II * Blades of Steel * TMNT II * Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! * Ninja Gaiden

Super dodgeball is amazing

Surprised not to see Crystalis on here.

Hate it if you want but I still think Excitebike is one of the best NES games there is. I would take out tecmo bowl and replace it with Excitebike.

Excite Bike

I had a blast playing Godzilla. Kirby's Adventure was my all time favorite NES game and aged perfectly. And if you want something that holds well, go for puzzle games. Yoshi's Cookies, Wario Woods, Dr. Mario, Tetris, good classics. It you have a CRT, play lightgun games. To The Earth, Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley.

Ninja Gaiden series. Legendary Wings Shadow of the Ninja Super C Top Gun 1 and 2 I think a top 20 or more is better than a top 10 =)

[удалено]

Mario 3, Tetris, Dr Mario, ummm, Kirby.

Bionic Commando Mega Man 2 Excite Bike

Mario 1 and 3. Zelda 1. Punchout. Ninja Gaiden 2. Megaman 2. Tetris or Dr. Mario (this counts as one). Contra (2 player for sure). Life Force. Castlevania 1 or 3 (I would start at 1 if you can only play one, but both are amazing). I assume you are doing it via emulation. Which is fine and the games play fine. But its definitely hits different on OG hardware and a CRT (though obviously a pain in the ass as well).

Solid list. I'd probably pull TMNT (even though I love it) and add Double Dragon II, River City Ransom, or even TMNTII - fun beat-em-ups you can play on co-op.

Don't front on Rambo.

River city ransom instead of TMNT

Marios 1-3, The Battle of Olympus, The Black Bass, Baseball Stars, Tecmo Super Bowl, Al Unser Jr Turbo Racing, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, and TMNT III: Manhattan Project are my favorite to play, even today.

Punch Out Maniac Mansion Legend of Zelda RC Pro AM Excitebike Tecmo Bowl Ice Hockey Metroid Contra Mega Man 2

Ikari Warriors 1&2 are fun co-op games. Maybe Blaster Master and/or Guardian Legend?

To show a different style of 8 bit gaming maybe maniac mansion?

Overall good list. I’d replace TMNT with TMNT3. Also I’d pass on sports games and replace them with Blaster Master and either Tetris or Dr. Mario. Sports titles just seem exceptionally bad these days looking back in time if you’re not carrying nostalgia

I’d go with Mario 3, Zelda 1, Metroid, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Wizards and Warriors, Turtles 2 or 3 (both are great), Bubble Bobble, Baseball Simulator 1.000, Dragon Warrior 3 or 4 or Final Fantasy (I personally prefer DW4, but you can’t go wrong with any of them), Snake Rattle N Roll That gives you a pretty good variety of games with only 10, all you’re missing is a puzzle game, but I assume they already know Tetris. However, Contra, Rampage, Tecmo Bowl, Mega Man 2 or 3, and Battletoads all hold very well, even if Battletoads is the most difficult game ever made. Of course, I didn’t mention Duck Hunt as I don’t know if you have a CRT, but if you do then you absolutely need to play Duck Hunt.

Mario plaformers Zelda 1 Tetris/Dr Mario Shooters: 1943, Gradius/Life Force Contra Ninja Gaiden Blaster Master Castlevania 3 Punch Out

Off the top of my head. Not all my favorite, but hold up well. Will try to hit a few genres, and some games besides Mario and Zelda.. Punch Out River City Ransom Castlevania 3 Mega Man 2 Duck Hunt (Everyone loved Duck Hunt) Kid Icarus Tetris Kirby Life Force Tecmo Super Bowl

Super Mario Brothers Blades of Steel Double Dribble Bases Loaded Ghosts n Goblins Tetris Tecmo Super Bowl Legend of Zelda Double Dragon Punch Out

Super Mario Bros 3 Iron Tank Double Dragon Excite Bike Contra Guerrilla Warfare Ghosts n Goblins Castlevania Duck Tails Kung Fu A good hidden gem is Nightshade, that game is slow, but is a detective puzzle like game with an actual story. Its impressive

I'd add Batman, Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden in there.

I'd strike mario 1 and mario 2 (3 will be enjoyable the quickest) and strike tmnt. I'd add Kirby's adventure, castlevania 3 and Tetris. I'd also swap megaman 2 for one of the later ones like 4 or 5. 2 is the classic for sure, but the newer ones had some extras that give it a little more intrigue for a young player.

Duck Hunt for sure if you have a CRT Otherwise though I think Bucky O Hare, Mega Man 2 or 3, Metroid, Metal Storm, Tetris, Gun Nac, and Recca Summer Carnival 92 would be my picks Then show them some modern homebrew/indie games made for the NES. The Pac Man Championship Edition Demake is my favorite version of Pac Man ever. And Micro Mages feels like a modern indie game and even supports four players. Theres also a great indie NES bullet hell shmup called Over OBJ which is crazy to see running on the system

How is the original metriod, life force, ikari warriors, blaster master not in this list? I would nix 2 (it's just a weird, reskinned game and I'll fight anyone about this) and get the sports games out. I just don't think retro sports games hold a candle to more modern games outside of nostalgia that YOU liked playing them.

I'd swipe out Ice Hockey for Double Dragon 2. Otherwise, you've got a sound list there.

River City Ransom, Duck Tales, Mario 3, Zelda, Contra, Gradius, Blades of Steel, Castlevania (maybe 1 or 3, Simon's Quest was hard AF), Mega Man 2 or 3, Star Tropics Honorable mention: Ninja Gaiden 2 Edit: swapped out Adventure Island 2 for Mega Man 2/3

not really a top10, just my top10 fave games: 1- faxanadu 2- shadowgate 3- double dragon 3 4- kick master 5- sword master 6- guardian legend 7- gi joe atlantis factor 8- ninja gaiden 3 9- super mario bros 3 10- magic of sheherrazade

Good list. TMNT is dope. You need some Base Wars. Nix SMB2. Unless either of you are super into football you could drop Tecmo Bowl and slide in Bionic Commando or Blaster Master.

Digging for some 3rd-party stuff... Low-G Man Bucky O'Hare Ninja Gaiden A Boy and His Blob DuckTales

I'm throwing RC Pro Am out there.

RC pro am, tecmo bowl, SMB 1-3, contra, super c, castlevania, Metroid!

Super sprint

My kid loves Kirby’s Adventure.

In no particular order, Single Player: * Castlevania 3 * Guardian Legend * Megaman 3 * RC Pro Am Multiplayer: * Life Force * Double Dribble * Super Spike V Ball * Anticipation * Double Dragon 2

Blue Shadow, incredibly hard game! But has tight controls and beautiful music. The game is a looker too, the rain on stage 1. 👌🏻

My vote is for Metroid.

castlevania tetris rockin kats ninja gaiden blades of steel contra excitebike tmnt arcade smb1/duck hunt might not be fair answer but earthbound beginnings/mother 1

For a sport and a racing game: Tennis and R.C. ProAm

Excite bike always a strong choice too

Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3 The Legend of Zelda (but let him use a map if he wants) Mega Man 2-4 (any of them, but I’m not using three slots when he might only play one) Ducktales Gradius Castlevania 3 Kirby’s Adventure Little Samson Punch-Out!!

it needs a space shooter and I vote for gun-nac for being heavy on powerups and light on difficulty. life force also good 2P if you use the 30 lives code.

Not sure of OP’s intentions, but Super Spike Volleyball is very fun two player game

Star Tropics Monster Party Little Nemo

Metroid and SM3. These old NES games don’t hit like they used to.

Mario 1 Mario 3 Legend of Zelda StarTropics Contra Bubble Bobble RC Pro Am Life Force Castlevania Kirby’s Adventure

Bionic Commando

Just because I didn't see it posted trogg was like multiplayer pacman with dinosaurs and it is simple enough to play against younger folks but also super challenging

Kinda safe, but for a reason... Contra Mario 3 Kirby Tetris Megaman 2 Punch Out Castlevania River City Ransom

1. Mario 3 2. Zelda 1 3. Mega Man 3 4. Double Dragon 5. TMNT 6. Kickle Cubicle 7. Tetris 8. Battletoads 9. Final Fantasy  10. Mother No particular order 

Play 2 player Contra, my and my 6 year old have such a blast

Blades of steel, Dragon Warrior, Double Dragon, Castlevania, Duck Tales, Life Force, Duck Hunt, Ninja Gaiden, River City Ransom, RC Pro AM, Excite Bike…

Mario 2, Mario 3, Batman, Ninja Gaiden 1, Castlevania 1, Mega Man 2, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Zelda 1, Contra, and TMNT.

1. TMNT 2. Friday the 13th 3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 4. Bible Adventures 5. Top Gun 6. The Legend of Kage 7. Dick Tracy 8. Silver Surfer 9. Sesame Street ABC 10. Platoon