gamepro article: The 24 Greatest 8-Bit Games Ever Made

[7th lutz]

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/210856/the-24-greatest-8-bit-games-ever-made/

Here are the games:

24. Space Invaders
23. Frogger
22. Tetris
21. Space Harrier 3-D (SMS)
20. Phantasy Star (SMS)
19. Donkey Kong
18. Pac-Man
17. ExciteBike (NES)
16. Track & Field (NES)
15. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
14. Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES- version)
13. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
12. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES)
11. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (NES)
10. The Legend of Zelda (NES)
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)
8. Metal Gear (NES)
7. Castlevania (NES)
6. Contra (NES Version)
5. Metroid (NES)
4. Final Fantasy (NES)
3. Mega Man 3 (NES)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)

[AB Positive]

well that'd probably be my NES top five there so I guess I can't rightly complain at this one. I like MTPO at #2 :)

[7th lutz]

Here are the statements that I problems with the author of the article:

1.) "While initially launched on the MSX2, the 1987-1988 NES port sealed Metal Gear's place in history despite wild variations from the source material."

2.) Although the game was just as tough as the first title, gamers thankfully got a leg up with the added power to climb any wall they could touch, as well as being able to create a shadow clone for evening up the odds during the tougher battle

Here are are the reasons I problems with those statements:

1.) The Nes version was considered the weaker of the two versions.

2.) Ninja Gaiden 2 isn't as tough as Ninja Gaiden one.

[The 1 2 P]

My list would definitely be arranged differently with the games listed, as well as adding obvious favorites. And I'd also take SMB 2 over SMB 1 and TMNT 1 over TMNT 3.

[Ro-J]

A fairly good list although I find myself disagreeing with #11. The Empire Strikes Back was a good game, but not in the "Top 24". Swap that one out with Bubble Bobble (either the C64 or NES version) and I'd be happy.

[Nebagram]

No Wonder Boy love? :(

[ButtonMasher123]

This list has some rather strange games listed on it like The Empire Strikes Back and Excitebike. I could come up with hundreds of 8-bit games that are better than those two. And while I love Punch-Out, I think ranking it #2 is way too high. I think with its Wii release people are starting to get Punch-Out fever or something and therefore elevating the old game to a higher place than it deserves. I just can't justify it being higher than Zelda, Contra, Castlevania, and Megaman. That is just crazy talk right there.

[jacrough]

Crystalis.

[megasdkirby]

I thought Phantasy Star would be on the list...

Still, I am happy Kirby was in there! :)

[ButtonMasher123]

Phantasy Star is at number 20

[guitargary75]

The Empire Strokes Back at number 11 is just plain wrong!

[Baloo]

The Empire Strikes Back at number 11?

[Superman]

Are Frogger and Space Invaders 8-Bit games?

[c0ldb33r]

The Empire Strokes Back ...
this made me laugh LOL

[badinsults]

Why bother making a list of the top 24 "8-bit" games, when the top 17 are all NES?

[Koa Zo]

This list has some rather strange games listed on it like The Empire Strikes Back and Excitebike. I could come up with hundreds of 8-bit games that are better than those two. And while I love Punch-Out, I think ranking it #2 is way too high. I think with its Wii release people are starting to get Punch-Out fever or something and therefore elevating the old game to a higher place than it deserves. I just can't justify it being higher than Zelda, Contra, Castlevania, and Megaman. That is just crazy talk right there.

I couldn't agree more - except about Excitebike.
While it may not seem too incredible now, it was awesomly fun when it appeared in arcades with the dual screen VS units.

It also seemed odd to me that the author says Phantasy Star is the "Metroid of Japanese RPGs" because of the female lead. I'm willing to bet that there were prior Japanese 8-bit RPGs that featured a female lead. Besides, aren't there other pertinent aspects of Phantasy Star to mention, like the story development or dungeon layouts?

[Cobra Commander]

This list sucks. I'd like to see "Top 19 16-bit Games That Begin With S". It's almost as random as the above mentioned top 24 list.

[XYXZYZ]

The 24 Greatest 8-Bit Games Ever Made

Oh shit, I didn't know that Punch Out! and Super Mario Bros. 3 were the greatest games ever written for an 8 bit processor. Here I was, liking all these other 8 bit games more than SMB3, because I'm some kind of mutant dumbass.:bad-words:

I was also not aware that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was a greater game than Pac-Man.

[Koa Zo]

Yeah, come to think of it - This list is entirely rediculous.
It can't even be justified as the "Top US 8-bit Console Games" seeing as they include arcade games like Space Invaders and Donkey Kong.
And they mention the MSX in reference to Metal Gear, yet seemingly disregard all other 8-bit platforms.

[Cloud121]

Arcade, Console, Computer or not, Phantasy Star should have been higher on the list.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

What can be expected? 'Top 8-bit Games' is WAY too broad to ever come up with any kind of sensible list.

[CRV]

Space Harrier 3-D?

[DigitalSpace]

I like how the arcade and SMS stuff is just thrown at the end of the list like an afterthought. And why is Mega Man 2 missing from the list when Mega Man 3 is in the top three? Also, Zelda should have been in the top five. But it's GamePro, so the expectations aren't too high here.

[gdement]

It also seemed odd to me that the author says Phantasy Star is the "Metroid of Japanese RPGs" because of the female lead.
There might have been earlier Japanese RPGs with a female lead but Phantasy Star was the first most Western gamers saw. It was a risky move that could have scared off male players.

On that particular point, I think the female lead of Metroid is pretty insignificant - you don't even find out she's female until after beating the game. It's really just an easter egg to make the ending more interesting.

Sega should get way more credit for making the heroine of Phantasy Star overtly female, throughout the game.

Regardless, I agree it's a great game for reasons that have nothing to do with that. I hope the female heroine wasn't why they put it on the list.

[bb_hood]

i dont think this list is very good. Maybe they are some of the most popular games, but by no means are they the best. Why is turtles 3 for nes on there? Its not very good at all.
And I am sick of lists that always include a mario or zelda game as number one. How many times will we rehash this? mario/zelda/punchout, mario/zelda/punchout....... these are good games but (i think) far from the best.
Also, I dont see why mega 3 beat out mega 2. I think Megaman 2 should have been #1 on the list.

Also, why the hell is double dragon 2 on there??? Maybe Double Dragon (first one) should be included, but by no way is the 2nd better than the first. I really like Double Dragon 3 for the challenge and the first one for the graphics and especially the music, but the second DD game just sucks.

[A Black Falcon]

turtles 3 for nes on there? Its not very good at all.

What? Turtles III is awesome, perhaps the best beat 'em up on the NES... amazing level designs, great graphics ,great gameplay... it doesn't get much better than that. I absolutely loved the original Turtles arcade game, but I have to admit that on NES III is definitely better than II...

Anyway though, yeah, that list isn't so good. "8-bit" doesn't mean just the NES... all of the 8-bit computer platforms for instance are completely ignored there, aside from that one reference to the MSX... but then they list the much inferior NES version anyway. Huh?

I mean, the NES was amazing, one of the best consoles ever, and sure, perhaps a majority of the titles should be NES games, though not all of the top 17 I'm sure as there are in that list. But even there, there definitely are some strange choices, as have been said... Excitebike? Space Harrier 3D being the only SMS game there other than Phantasy Star? Track & Field? The Empire Strikes Back, of all things? No, just no...

It's not a terrible list, and hits a lot of the NES's highlights, but yeah, it has some definite problems... it'd have been better off as a "top 25 NES games" list, I think. As it is so many platforms are just missing, and having all of the top 17 all be NES games is just strange, as great as the NES was.


2.) Ninja Gaiden 2 isn't as tough as Ninja Gaiden one.

Sure, but it is just as good as the original. Still, you are right that they're wrong about the difficulty. Ninja Gaiden 2 isn't quite as cruel as the first one.

[Push Upstairs]

There sure seems to be a lack of Gameboy games on that list.

Link's Awakening > Legend of Zelda


And no Mega Man 2 on that list? Blasphemy!

[A Black Falcon]

There sure seems to be a lack of Gameboy games on that list.

Link's Awakening > Legend of Zelda


And no Mega Man 2 on that list? Blasphemy!

Good point, they seem to have completely forgotten that there were any 8-bit handhelds at all. :(

And yeah, Link's Awakening should be right near the top of that list. It's my favorite 2d Zelda game for sure. Just an amazing, amazing experience...

As for Mega Man, I've always liked 4 best, and 2 second... one or the other should be on the list for sure, though. The Mega Man games are definitely some of the best of the generation.

[Ro-J]

There sure seems to be a lack of Gameboy games on that list.!

There is also a lack of C64 on that list. Apart from Bubble Bobble, Head over Heels was my favorite game on the C64 and I'd like to see that one on the list. That game was hella fun.

[BetaWolf47]

Yeah, every purist tends to have a quarrel with a retro list. I'm personally miffed about Final Fantasy being on there and Dragon Warrior not.

[Gabriel]

I couldn't make out what the writer of the article was saying. He refused to take Nintendo's cock out of his mouth.

[jacrough]

I couldn't make out what the writer of the article was saying. He refused to take Nintendo's cock out of his mouth.

He was saying, "MMMMPH MMMPH MMM M MMMPH MPH MMMMPH NES."

[ryborg]

Pulling teeth, lifting a car over your head or performing open-heart surgery: any one of these things is significantly easier than completing Mega Man 3

Am I missing the sarcasm here? MM3 is one of the easiest of the series, probably second-easiest overall on my list. The Spark Man redo stage is a little hard if you choose not to use your Rush Jet, and that's it. I thought it was one of the easiest NES games of its era when I was an uncoordinated 12 year old playing it when it was new.

Pretty standard list otherwise. Nothing too shocking or worth getting angry about. Nice seeing Punch-Out so high, even if it hasn't aged well with the newer versions.

[ryborg]

Wait, just noticed Metal Gear is above Legend of Zelda. List is worthless.