Most underrated NES game?

[Crush Crawfish]

The NES has a huge library, so some games are bound to get lost in the shuffle. What are some of your favorite obscure NES games? mine are:

Clash at Demonhead- awesome side scrolling platformer/shooter, with multiple paths.

Deadly Towers- regardless of what the majority of the world says, I love this game. Insanely difficult and confusing game, but that's most of it's charm.

Felix the Cat- very fun, if easy platformer.

Karnov- he's fat, fire-breathing, and russian. what's not to love?

Kickle Cubicle- awesome lolo sytle puzzle game.

Kid Niki- great ninja platformer.

M.C. Kids- one of the best games ever, if you can get past the difficulty and mcdonalds license.

Monster Party- I love this game!!! It's weird, insane, and everything in between.

panic restaurant- interesting platformer starring a chef.

[Gapporin]

3-D Worldrunner: Space Harrier rip-off? Or insanely cool early Square game? You be the judge.

Crash n' The Boys Street Challenge: Fun "Track and Field" type game where you mash buttons in extreme sports before there were extreme sports. Made by the same people who brought you River City Ransom.

Elevator Action: A near perfect port of one of my favorite arcade games. Love the NES version.

Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode: Probably should be mentioned only for the fact that it's the first (and probably only) NES game to have a implied sex scene. Whoo!

[squirrelnut]

Anticipation!

The Wisdom tree series games. Bashed on cause they tried to teach us but yet, they are fun in there own right.

Arch rivals- the only bball game im always winning like 48-2 at the end of the first quarter.

[Nesmaster]

Fire n Ice - Fun puzzle game
Little Samson - a platformer that needs more attention
Metal Storm - another platformer that went under the radar(even though it had a lot of hype)
Shatterhand - interesting game that i hear not much recognition from :D

[DigitalSpace]

Wolverine - one of the few games Acclaim released under their LJN label that didn't suck (not to be confused with that other X-Men game that did suck).

Remote Control - Decent quiz game based off the MTV show. Especially if you like 80's trivia!

Bump 'N Jump - Take out cars by jumping onto them, while dodging obstacles. Very fun, but if you can manage to make it to level 8 or beyond without cheating, I tip my hat to you.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - Only played this a few times at a friend's house back in the day and never got too far, but liked it. One of my friends loved this game and wants to get an NES solely for it.

Willow - If you like Zelda, you'll probably dig this. Like Roger Rabbit, I was only able to play my friend's copy and never got too far. I'd like to play through the whole thing someday.

[Push Upstairs]

Wacky Races - a fairly simple platformer but it was loads of fun to play. I wouldnt mind owning this game (I rented it back in the day)

Rockin' Kats - Extending arm gun action! I've heard this game compared to "Bionic Commando" because of the extending arm, but i liked it because it was fun and the boss theme music haunts my mind after all these years.

Both were post-16bit upgrade game rentals from Blockbuster and both were a blast to play.

[Sanriostar]

Pinbot

[Proclus]

I'd go with these four games (I don't think they've been mentioned yet):

+ Bram Stoker's Dracula -- eerie and well-balanced.
+ Kickmaster -- great structure, odd moves and enemies.
+ Solstice -- mysterious and challenging.
+ Xexyz -- very good, unique action game/shooter.

[Xexyz]

Stinger- Quirky, corny horizontal/vertical shmup hybrid by Konami

Xexyz- It's my name isn't it? I've never seen anyone talk about this awesome platformer/shmup before. A great game by Hudson Soft.

EDIT: Forgot about this one:

Air Fortress- Shmup/adventure game. Very fun but unfortunately, gets insanely hard and fast. Escaping a fortress after destroying its core is also very difficult in the later stages.

[Ruudos]

Adventures of Rad Gravity
Unique platform game with adventure and action elements, and a guy with a head as big as the rest of his body. It can't get any better than that.

Low G Man
A unique action game where you can get in powerful vehicles stolen from your enemies and with a guy who can jump really high.

[ScottK]

Power Blade. The original Power Blade game is so addicting even though it's an easy game.

[Emily]

Hmmm.
Bee 52 doesnt get the lovin it deserves.
Monster Party
King of Kings- am I the only one who finds this game addictive?
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom- do I have to explain?
Gun.Smoke-cowboy shooter goodness

[rbudrick]

Man, I agree with almost every one of the above.

I would have to say

Krazy Kreatures. 10 times more addicting than Tetris and completely different, as far as puzzle game go...not a "blocks fall from the top" kind of game.....very fast paced action.

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. Don't let the cutesy name fool you. This game is tough, and it's awesome. If you like Shadowgate, Deja Vu and Uninvited, you HAVE TO play this game. You will not regret it. It is very much like those games. It is THE game that I spent the longest in one sitting in front of. I played this game all the way through for 15 or 16 hours the first time I played it until I got to the end.

The Guardian Legend: Half vertical Shooter, half action RPG. Killer game.

Legacy of the Wizard: aka Dragon Slayer IV ( a killer series on its own). This game, like Deadly Towers took me FOREVER to figure out what the hell to do. Most give up in frustration on this one. The game is so enormous and I always wondered what the hell to do in this game. Once I figured out what direction which character is supposed to go in, I quickly got the hang of it and realized that the game is insanely fun. However, the game is in desperate need of a battery save rather than its awful password system. This game is very rewarding once you get the hang of it. Best music ever. You can't beat Falcom music....not even Square can.

Mighty Bomb Jack: This game is so full of secrets. When I was little I felt like I really was in that damn pyramid after a while. I'd get so far in this game and die after getting so far.....the instruction book (much like other games from this company) was so vague as to what the hell you are supposed to win. I never did legitimately beat it, but I had a hell of a lot of fun trying

Maybe I'll think of some more later...

-Rob

[Berserker]

T&C Surf Designs - Yes, the surfing portion is horrible, but the skating portion is mighty fun, and mighty addictive.

Kid Niki, Radical Ninja - At one point, you have to defeat what looks like small vikings riding cotton balls. What more needs to be said?

[Gregory DG]

I'll say S.C.A.T. I loved that game back when the NES was king. 8-)

[briguy578]

okay, here is my list:

Ducktales 2
Galaga
Wall Street Kid [how could I not mention my avatar's game?]

[FlufflePuff]

Power Blade
Uninvited and Princess Tomato
Tombs and Treasure
Casino Kid
Solar Jetman

[slayer123]

Life Force
Double Dribble
Gunsmoke

[atomicthumbs]

I will defend Raid on Bungeling Bay (http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/nes/01/raidonbb.html) and Stealth ATF (http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/nes/01/stealthATF.html) until the day I die.

[soniko_karuto]

I'd say rescue, it's pretty kewl.

First game to have stealth elements.

[AB Positive]

Pinball Quest, hands down. How can you beat a pinball RPG?

-AG

[Dire 51]

Gotta add another Monster Party nomination.

[vintagegamecrazy]

Vice Project Doom. Awsome Ninja Gaiden Clone Bar none.

Snake Rattle n' Roll

Spelunker, Bash it all you want but it's a great game.

Attack of the killer tomatos, another fantastic platformer.

Shadow of the Ninja

Guardian legend

[Damon Plus]

Solomon´s Key- Very hard, but good
Goonies 2- What an adventure game!! Also, the music is awesome
Tecmo Cup Soccer Game- Soccer+RPG? A strange and addictive mix
Marble Madness- Short and sweet, as I always say.
MC. Kids- A bit easy, but the graphics and music are "mystical", and the exploration part is very fun. Lots of secrets!!
Willow- I can´t believe this isn´t considered one of the best RPG´s on the Nes

[TheRedEye]

I will second the vote for Princess Tomato. I've also been known to say that, with the obvious exceptions of biggies like Mario 3, Mr. Gimmick is the best platformer for the NES.

[Sotenga]

I will also go with Monster Party, and... maybe Journey to Silius and Freedom Force, just because Sunsoft rules so much.

[jerkov]

Some excellent suggestions in this thread. I'm sure most of these are repeats, but these are games that are MUST PLAYS for NES owners, even if you've never heard of them before. Actually, there are a few games in here that are almost universally hated, but I enjoy the hell out of them anyway:

Pirates!
Micro Machines
Rygar (this is somewhat popular, but I still say it's too underrated)
Maniac Mansion (again, has some popularity, but still obscure)
Nightshade
New Ghostbusters 2 (Europe only release, worth tracking down!)
Swordmaster
Little Samson
Dusty Diamond's All Star Softball
North & South
Monster in my Pocket
Mighty Final Fight
Strider (definitely doesn't get the recognition of the arcade version)
Guardian Legend
Super Spy Hunter
Rescue: The Embassy Mission
Ufouria (PAL only release)
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat
Uncharted Waters
The Lone Ranger
Vice: Project Doom
The Mafat Conspiracy
Pac-Mania
Championship Rally (PAL only)
Princess Tomato
Code Name: Viper
Cobra Triangle
Crash & The Boys Street Challenge (excellent with 4 players)
Nightmare on Elm Street (unique 4 player action)
Tombs & Treasures
Cabal
Ultimate Stuntman
Quattro Arcade
Eliminator Boat Duel
Felix the Cat
High Speed
Street Fighter 2010 (though it is DAMN hard)
King's Quest 5
Pipe Dream
Race America
Heroes of the Lance
T&C Surf Designs (I don't even mind the surfing part!)
Gilligan's Island

[PDorr3]

Guardian legend:
This game is the perfect blend of vertical scrolling shooter and combined with a Zelda w/ guns type adventure. Very good game which I am sure alot of you know of but not as many have played.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I don't know if it is so much "underated" but not everybody has it so it isn't talked about as much.
Battletoads and Double Dragon

Awsome game.
kicks the hell out of both of the origionals 8-)

[The Great Dane]

I would also like to say Deadly Towers. I mean the challenge is VERY high, but the game is just so unique. To me it is very fun and exciting to explore in the game. Finding new items is also fun and goes along with the exploration of the game. Very fun game to me.

I also have to agree with Willow. AWESOME game. One of my favorite games of all time. Even though it doesn't really follow the movie (it has the same basic plot, but it has A LOT of new things added in) it doesn't hurt it at all.

[ubersaurus]

Sky Kid is awesome. One of my favorite NES games ever...It was silly, and didn't take itself seriously, but it had sweet music, was fun as hell, and there's nothing quite as cool as blowing up the Statue of Liberty's dress with a loop. I remember my friend and I playing it constantly when I was younger, trying to beat the damn game so hard.


I don't know if it is so much "underated" but not everybody has it so it isn't talked about as much.
Battletoads and Double Dragon

Awsome game.
kicks the hell out of both of the origionals 0803_cool.gif

This man speaks the truth, as well.

[NESaholic]

I say Ufouria, this is such a nice game and alot of people seem to forget about it.

[EnemyZero]

im gonna second solstice, and say crystalis! come on crystalis is always ignored compared to zelda, one of the best rpg's on the NES

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Whomp 'Em is a fairly decent platform game. But I think the game that takes the cake in my eyes atleast would have to be Little Nemo: the Dream Master.

[The Punisher]

Im going to go with Nightshade

[Xantan the Foul]

Deadly Towers... I always found it to be rather fun.

[imanerd0011]

Totally Rad
Bucky O'Hare

Those are two great games that hardly ever even get mentioned, especially Totally Rad. I realize that the game has a horrible title, but it has some amazing bosses and some great gameplay as well!

[Master Chu]

I nominate Gun*Nac & Galaxy 5000.....

Gun*Nac IMO is the best shooter on the system. Who can say anything bad about space rabbits in carrot-ships ? :D

And there is nothing else even resembling G5K on NES. Fun fun fun...

So many ppl are oblivious to their glory...pity... :(

[vintagegamecrazy]

I want to mention Code Name: Viper. for those of you that like Rolling Thunder you NEED this game. The gameplay is the same as RT but there is more variety in the stages and they don't repeat and good music and great cut scenes inbetween stages. It is easily as good as Rolling Thunder 2 on the Genesis.

[RedBeans]

Gumshoe!

[Ruudos]

Totally Rad
Bucky O'Hare

Those are two great games that hardly ever even get mentioned, especially Totally Rad. I realize that the game has a horrible title, but it has some amazing bosses and some great gameplay as well!

Totally Rad is indeed a good game. I don't really understand why it get bashed by quite an amount of people.

[Nescollector]

Milon's secret castle
Super Pitfall.............the game has it's following :)

[Ninja Blacksox]

Im going to go with Nightshade

Seconded.

A great game.

-A Boy

[Classicgamesdepot]

All my underrateds have been mentioned, so I'll mention the ones that I think deserve a 3rd or 4th nomination

Little samson- This game rocks in every respect, only complaint , a little short
Monster Party- God I loved this one as a kid, I never did beat the game though, think I got to level 8 or 9
Rad Gravity- This game is awesome, its seriously bizarre as hell and quite fun

[MattG/Snyper2099]

Some of mine were mentioned but these all are fun and way underated.

Rygar
Gumshoe
Trojan
Wrecking Crew
Bad News Baseball (I think many people do like this though. It's way better than Baseball Stars series. Plus, you can play as girls!)

Clash at Demanhead
Jackal
Orb 3D
Baby Boomer
Road Runner
Popeye

That's all for now

[dcescott]

Side Pocket, don't know but I can play this for hours. I suck at it but I still keep playing it.

Exodus, even though it's built from crystal mines, but the "Father Abraham" music is something else. Annoying but funny as heck.

[JJNova]

Side Pocket, don't know but I can play this for hours. I suck at it but I still keep playing it.

AHHHHHHHHHH

As soon as I read your post, I went and played some SidePocket...not that I am back, and was still on this screen, I have decided to tell you that I hate your soul!

I SHALL BE THE BILLAIRDS KING!

[dcescott]

It's just one of those games, I bought it around Christmas and I couldn't put it down.

To know me is to Hate me I guess, did Linus say that?

[Avatard]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Lolo series, those were a ton of fun. Lolo 1 is the only game I've played where there was a main boss you never had to fight, kinda odd, but all the games are fun.

I had fun with Sky Kid too, the temptation to shoot your frieds is too much.

I had fun playing Silkworm too, you never hear much about that one, however I liked Jackal a little better.

[Aussie2B]

Stinger- Quirky, corny horizontal/vertical shmup hybrid by Konami

I gotta second Stinger. It may not be the best TwinBee game ever made, but it's still a damn fun little game. :) It's what got me into the series, and I was Stinger-crazed for awhile. I played the heck out of it, and then I reviewed it and wrote a full FAQ on it. :P

Also...

Cabal - Who need stinkin' Zapper support? Cabal is great even without it. And you haven't lived until you see the little sequence when the soldier clears each stage...

Anticipation - Another underappreciated Rare-developed NES game. It makes an absolutely great 4-player party game. The only problem is that there are always accusations "You remembered that one from before!" :P

Dragon Spirit - One of the best shmups ever made. Period. And the music is FANTASTIC.

[Cirrus]

Spleunker, and Trojan. Both are games that my friends and I had a blast with many years back.

Both, too, sound sort of perverted.


Also, Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball.

[Sothy]

http://img30.exs.cx/img30/1873/videogame3na.jpg

VIDEO GAME!!

its ... not very originally named.

[cracked8ball]

Sqoon - fun little submarine shooter

Cowboy Kid - similar to the Mystical Ninja series, but set in the old west

[Tatsu]

My vote goes to Fester's Quest.

Back in the days of my youth I knew nobody besides me who had it. But the people who borrowed it from we were really excited about it. Even know there's not much talking about it, or at least not around my ears.

It's such a fun game containing the original character's and music from Addam's Family. And the gameplay just fits me perfect: exploring seewers and the city and collecting items is definitely my style of play. Best part was when I first saw the alien spaceship and noticed that you could actually enter and explore it.

[DJ_DEEM]

im deffintily going for princess tomato and snake rattle and roll, soooo good

[Dji]

Here are a few more which are hardly ever mentioned:

8 Eyes: In my opinion, even though this game is obviously a Castlevania rip-off, it is far better! Even though much of the game recalls Castlevania (the look, the design, and especially most of the gameplay), the controls are more responsive, the music is just as good (if not better), the enemies are less cheap, the length is just right, and it still has enough originality to stand on its own. It's just plain more fun, as far as I'm concerned. For those who don't know, you choose from seven stages before the final one (à la Mega Man), confront bosses, and use your trusty companion, a falcon named Cutrus, to attack enemies and reach switches and items. Actually, there is also a two-player mode in which player 2 can control Cutrus, while player 1 controls the main character, Orin. There are several power-up items, similar to Castlevania, but you can have more than one at once. There are also hidden clues all over the place. For those good enough to finish the game, a very nice surprise awaits you, which makes playing through the game well worth it. A very good game. However, I must admit that I found it boring the first time I tried it... I rediscovered it recently. Oh yeah, and Orin's sword definitely isn't as fun to use as Simon's whip, but it's still alright.

Faxanadu: This is an action-RPG reminiscent of the vastly superior and somewhat underappreciated Zelda 2 (which might just be my favorite game of all time, I might add), although there is no top-down view in this one. There's definitely more action elements than RPG elements, but the mix makes this game unique. As usual, you go from village to village, earning better weapons and spells as you go along; especially nice is the fact that upgrading your equipment makes your character look different, always a nice touch (as opposed to the Final Fantasy-like "chain mail-looks-identical-to-leather"). Unfortunately, there is too much annoying backtracking, and I suggest you buy lots of red potions before adventuring, but this game is still addicting and rewarding. I've always liked leveling up and easily killing enemies which were near-impossible an hour before. But I'm no big fan of turn-based RPGs, so I like this a lot more than the standard fare.

Archon: Well, this is not truly an NES game... I grew up with the DOS version, which was also a port of the C64 original. Still, the NES version is pretty good in its own right. Archon could be described as a mix between light, turn-based strategy and fast-paced real-time action. You control numerous different pieces on a chess-like board, in hopes of controlling the five "power points" or destroying every piece of your opponent's army to win the game. The light side and dark side are not identical, although most pieces have their equivalents on each side. There are the grunts (knights and goblins), the titans (golems and trolls), the leaders (wizard and sorceress), and many others. The leaders can cast spells such as revive, heal, and imprison (although once per game each), making them quite powerful. The actual combat is done in real time, during which players hurl projectiles at each other, using the terrain to their advantage. There's a lot more to this game than meets the eye, such as the "change of flow" which makes some spaces on the board change from a lighter to a darker tone (and vice versa) each turn, giving the advantage (more health) to one side or the other if a fight occurs there.

Rescue: The Embassy Mission: Let me first say that there probably is no gameplay element in all of videogamedom that I cannot stand more than stealth. I just hate it with a passion. However, this short-and-sweet gem truly shines. As the title suggests, you are part of a counter-terrorist team which tries to rescue hostages from the assailed embassy. The game is very short (although there are three difficulty levels and five independant missions, all pretty much the same in the end), and I like it that way. It's quite intense and challenging. In the first part, you control your squad, one by one, in hopes of reaching appropriate buildings from which you can then snipe terrorists during the second part of the mission. In order to do so, you must avoid lights by jumping in bushes, hiding behind pillars, and crawling in front of walls. The third part consists of leading a second squad from the top of the embassy to the interior, killing every terrorist and saving every hostage. Using your radar (not available in all difficulty/mission settings), you can spot the enemies and make quick work out of them, using a pseudo-3D/first-person perspective. This game was impressively ahead of its time, and it deserves a quick 15-minutes play-through from time to time.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Although the game doesn't have much in common with the franchise, it still is an above-average platforming romp, by Rare. It can be played by up to four players, which probably is its most unique aspect, but it's great fun even if you're on your own. You visit Elm Street houses, a junkyard, and other creepy venues in order to kill Freddy once and for all, until the inevitable sequel... which never did come out. Just watch one of the dozens of movies instead. Anyway, your generic character can jump, use a lame punch, or transform into one of the following: a javelin-throwing athlete, a fireball-casting wizard or a star-hurling ninja. You can switch between personas on the fly to reach power-ups and new areas, collecting bones all the way (a necessity in order to unlock the following stage) and fighting ghoulish and/or undead adversaries, totally unrelated to the movies, but still fun. Be careful, because if you fall asleep (watch your dream-o-meter and know when to go for that coffee power-up to avoid this), you will sleepwalk in a parallel universe, where everything is the same except creepier and harder. However, the aforementioned special abilities can only be used during such a nightmare. And if you lose too much time, Freddy will come and... be not much more of a threat than Break/Proto Man from Mega Man 3. Sorry to spoil it for you. And then you can continue on to the many Freddy bosses, harder and quite reminiscent of the Wizards & Warriors ones. Another fun, underrated NES game. There are so many of those. Thanks for pointing quite a few games that I didn't know of, guys, I'll have to check them out!

[vintagegamecrazy]

I will mention Code Name: Viper, this should have been called Rolling Thunder II in a sense, it plays the same as the Tengen release except the levels are designed better and you can make more use of the surroundings and the levels have more variety and there is scenes in between stages this game has really deep gameplay, not quite as good as Rolling Thunder II for the Genesis but still a great platform game.

[The_Kodiak65]

i say M.C. Kids, Panic Restaurant, and Kung Fu!
God, I Love Kung Fu......

[Slimedog]

Since half the games for the system have been named, I might be retreading here but...

Shadow of the Ninja - Amazing game with great graphics and really tight play control. Managed to keep a dark, gritty feel all the way through and all it has some amazing character design. Similar to and better than Ninja Gaiden.

Snake Rattle & Roll - Isometric platformer with really great graphics. Top notch level design and a great sense of pacing, but it gets very hard near the end. Also really fun with two players. Similar to and better than Marble Madness.

Metal Storm - Awesome platform shooter with a reverse gravity twist. At any time you can reverse gravity and walk on the celing. Stellar level design really make this element shine and the character desings and graphics are top notch. Similar to Contra.

[qbertandernie]

i like terra cresta...tough game, but fun when you get the hang of it

[Speedy_NES]

I nominate Gun*Nac & Galaxy 5000.....

Gun*Nac IMO is the best shooter on the system. Who can say anything bad about space rabbits in carrot-ships ? :D

And there is nothing else even resembling G5K on NES. Fun fun fun...

So many ppl are oblivious to their glory...pity... :(

Yup! Gun*Nac is one of my favorite games on the system, I can't believe you're the only one who has mentioned it so far. It's a bit rare, so it makes sense that not that many people have played it, but it's really one of the best games on the system. For those of you who own this game as well as the QuickShot XXI QS-121 controller (the fake trackball one), you should really try them out together....the joystick and the game are perfect matches for each other!

Another game that I didn't see mentioned yet, is Faria. It's a great RPG with real-time arena battles....definitely worth checking out.

Great 1-player games:

Elite (PAL-only)
Ultimate Stuntman (as well as all other Codemasters games!)
Super Turrican (PAL-only)

Some great 2-player games that are less known:

Eliminator Boat Duel
Ninja Crusaders (transform into animals)
Ski or Die (compete with scores)

and many more ;)

-Speedy

[Kevin Listwan]

I will have to go with:

Shadowgate
The Uninvited
Guardian Legend
Spirtual Warfare
Micro Machines

[evil_genius]

Adventure Island

[TEXASGAMEPLAYER]

I second the following:

1. solstice
2. karnov
3. guardian legend
4. goonies 2

[Ryaan1234]

Dudes with Attitudes!
This is a great puzzle game and it never seems to get any recognition

[Jagasian]

Firehawk, the best unlicensed game for the NES!

[emumuumuucowgomoo]

Alphabetically here:


Abadox - some killer graphics, I remember the ads for this being one of the coolest thing ever on Saturday morning TV - "ABAAAADOXXXXX!!!". Pretty hard though, and has the frustrating Gradius effect (you die? NO MORE POWERUP FOR YOU! NOW YOU SHALL DIE AGAIN!)

Al Unser Jr. Turbo Racing - back in 1988, we already had a racing game that simulated engine breakdowns, tire blowouts, and running out of fuel. Awesome create-a-racer mode, solid driving, and it has that Data East "pause" sound. Much better than the racers which came after it. (Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing anyone? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL)

Bad News Baseball - a solid, cartoony baseball game, that plays better than most others. I prefer this to RBI Baseball, truth be told.

Barker Bill's Trick Shooting - so yeah, it's a Zapper game. Yeah, most Zapper games were like this. BUT YOU CAN SHOOT THAT DAMN DOG!!!!!!!! FROM DUCK HUNT!!!!! AND HE EXPLODES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND WHIMPERS!!!!!!! AND THANK YOU GOD AND JESUS FOR THIS GAME!!!!! Also: Indians! As targets!

Bases Loaded II: The Second Season - probably the best of the Bases Loaded games. Realistic pitcher/batter duel with strikeouts and verticle movement, a decent fielding game (auto-fielding until the character gets on the screen, then they're yours to control), and the scale is perfect (runners don't have an advantage, outfielders don't throw from the center field wall to home plate to stop a runner advancing past third, you'd think this'd be simple, but then again, look at Triple Play). All in all more like a real baseball game than any other. And bio-rhythms to boot!

Bee 52 - awesome, colorful, vivid graphics, and a unique approach to the side scrolling genre. You're a bee, and you have to get honey for the nest. Watch out for predators!

Bigfoot - one of the two LJN NES games that doesn't completely suck. Yeah, the side scrolling events boil down to "wiggle the nuts out of your controller and jam on the buttons to shift gears". The top down event forces you along by the nose. It's still fun. You can crush cars. My brother and I stayed up until all hours of the morning to beat this game back in the day. Wish we had that kind of endurance now.

Blades of Steel - "What!?" I hear people asking. "Blades of Steel? That hockey game which everyone's played and loved!? How could that possibly be underrated?!" Well, it's just not highly regarded ENOUGH. I played a round just to make sure. Yep. It's not highly regarded enough. "SPLATS THE PASS!"

Casino Kid 2 - A gambling RPG that nobody heard of because it was released just when the NES was about dead.

Chubby Cherub - This is a fun, cute little game, not too assuming, not too overblown. Fly around and collect treats. Seanbaby had a drunken good time blasting this game, and so a lot of second generation NES sceners would mock this game to be kewl and funny. Yeah, you're a naked angel thing, and yeah, your crotch gets bitten by dogs and you make a whacked-out face when you die. So what? The game's fun.

Clash at Demonhead - Wow. It's been mentioned before, but I thought I'd chime in with my $0.02. Like a distant cousin of Bangai-Oh - your hero's name is even Bang - meets a watered down version of Contra. Your guy can even swim. And the music isn't half bad - THIS is the "epic", "sweeping", "majestical" music that the RPG kiddies dribble on about. They just make the mistake of attaching it to Final Fantasy.

Cowboy Kid - Not great, an average top-down platformer at best. But it's tasteless enough to be fun, and goofy enough to kill a weekend on.

Dusty Diamond's All Star Softball - Another great little baseballing title - in this one you can play as a big slugger, a bearded pervert, a skinny twink who hops everywhere, and Satan. The original Japanese version features frogs and ninjas and possibly Jesus Christ, though I'm probably kidding about Jesus. Probably. Unique stadiums and workable gameplay make this a winner.

Eliminator Boat Duel - The game nobody cared about, ever. It was released in 1991, so nobody cared about that - hey, man, don't know if you heard or not but there's this great new thing called the SNES! Super Nintendo! 16 bits of power! What's a bit I don't know but 16 is better than 8, duh! Also I read in Nintendo Power that such great, exciting games as True Golf Classics: Waialae Country Club and WWF: Wrestlemania will feature DIGITIZED PICTURES of characters! This means that they take a photo and PUT IT ON YOUR TV SCREEN OH WHEN WILL THE WONDERS CEASE? FMV? YES PLEASE!!!! Then during the first wave of retrogaming everyone was busy worshipping Etler's skewed vision of rarity, and this game was only a C+, and why collect that when there are these "Aladdin" things that are an A+!? Boy I wonder where to get them, oh look, kewliez, Mike Etler offers them for sale at a BARGIN PRICE of only $100! Neat! I'll take five! It was during the second wave, back when we weer all emulating Seanbaby and adding 0r to virtually every verb we could findz0r that I hit upon the interesting fact that the makers of the label itself didn't care about the game, as they spelled it "Elimonator", which is why you shouldn't hire Jamacians to do anything ever. Still, for a game no one cared about, it's pretty dang entertaining. Race your boat, catch some waves, win the race!! Go go go!!

Fist of the North Star - Another one of those "Seanbaby mocked it so it must have sucked" games. As close as we may ever get to playing the unreleased Kung-Fu II. Sure, some wonky play mechanics, and your hero (who's probably named Ken) jumps straight out of Legend of Kage, but for what it is - a little beat 'em up "play for points or play for completion" game - it's none too bad.

Galaxy 5000 - Sorta like an early Rock N' Roll Racing prototype. Early. Very early. One of Activision's best post-2600 releases, bar none. Ship racing from an isometric perspective, and you have a "jump" button. So corners you can cut!

Gemfire - Haven't really played it, know it's pretty good, know there aren't any major portals dedicated to it. Koei rules.

Goal! Two - I remember more than one game guide going on about how Goal! featured a blimp cam and this made it even more like an actual sports presentation. Dunno, never got the blimp cam, maybe they were thinking of this game?

Godzilla 2 - A decent strategy game that manages to challenge without frustrating.

Gold Medal Challenge '92 - Better than Track & Field, better than... Track & Field 2... even better than Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular and Caveman Games combined! And best of all, more realistic than Crash n' the Boyz: Street Challenge. All in all, possibly the best "Olympics" game ever released, even for modern day consoles - anyone play the decathon game for Dreamcast? Yikes.

Gun*Nac - It's been said before, it'll be said again - this is the best shoot-'em-up on the NES. Six weapons to choose from, two different play modes (slowdown or blinky graphics), and a plethora of stuff to shoot at make this game sizzle.

Gyruss - A port of an equally underrated arcade game. About as close as you can get to Tempest on the 8-Bit. Awesome music, addictive, simple SCHmup gameplay.

Heavy Barrel - Very satisfying sound, that Data East pause tone, and fun, simplistic gameplay. Ikari II or Guerilla War with better graphics.

Ice Hockey - See Blades of Steel. Multiply by 4. possibly the most outright fun 2P game available for the NES.

Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu - Another side scroller, but this one features Jackie Chan! And outstanding, big, cartoony graphics.

Kabuki: Quantum Fighter - Equal parts Ninja Gaiden and, um, Ninja Gaiden. still, it's fun, and just twisted enough to merit a drunken night of merriment.

Kid Niki - Amazing graphics and some jaw-droppingly messed up bosses - such as the Downs Syndrome lad who bonks you with his huge misshapen head.

Klax - if only for one reason, and one reason alone - Giganticus Breathalizer. The NES song about stumbling around drunk, the street spinning, the passing sounds of traffic distorted and haunting, all while vaguely looking over your shoulder, hoping to god you don't end up arrested.

Krazy Kreatures - If it weren't for Tengen and Camerica being actually, you know, legit, this would be my hands down favorite unlicensed game.

Kroin Conquest - Yet another underrated winner from Vic Tokai. It's been accused of being a Megaman ripoff, but then again, Megaman was a Megaman ripoff. Who cares, so long as the game is fun?

Little Ninja Brothers - For some reason, despite having the magic label "RPG" attached to it, plus the bitching Kung-Fu Heroes fighting engine at its core, this game garners none of the slobbering devotion that all other RPGs do. Maybe that's because the "Eating" contest is just another 100 yard dash? Who knows.

M.C. Kids - A dorky premise hides an outstanding Sonic the Hedgehog ripoff.

Magic Darts - Yeah, it's a darts game. Yeah, it's for Nintendo. Yeah, those who play it always play as the Alien and cheat. It's still way, way fun, for what it is.

Mendel Palace - My favorite simple one-screen game. Shuffle the cards that make up the floor and destroy a bunch of rambunctiously outrageous characters, including an early version of Nagare, twirling ballerinas, and fat sumo dudes. Trippy music and an overall hypnotic experience that eats away at time until you realize you've been playing it, in rapt silence, for five hours. Another game with advertising I remember - Mendel Paaaallace! For some reason it seemed targeted at girls, or maybe it was just the word "palace" that threw me off.

Micro Machines - Dunno if this is really underrated or not, but then again, I listed the two non-sucky hockey games, so might as well mention this too - awesome graphics and plinky SID-chip soundalike music make for a fun, nifty little game.

Monster Party - Oh, what I wouldn't give for a chance to play the unreleased, uncensored Japanese version of this game, with even more weirdness. Cutting the weirdness out gains an element of surreality, for sure, but I'd like to see more singing plants and stuff!

Motor City Patrol - Sure, the radar screen is a bit of a headache - it's impossible to distinguish in-game between innocent citizens and dastardly speeders and robbers (though red vans are ALWAYS the enemy) - but there's no other game quite like it, and it reminds me of the legendary A.P.B. Also, the only NES game Matchbox ever got around to releasing - thank god, as the other games would have made it a likely laughingstock.

MTV Remote Control - Yeah. A Hi*Tech game. It's a gameshow. Got any problems?

NES Open Tournament Golf - Surprisingly deep for a NES golf game. Who needs that Tiger Woods crap anyway?

Nightshade - The best NES script, ever. Period. Witty, clever, and obviously written by English speakers - and talented ones at that. It narrates like the old MAD comic book, and plays - well, good enough to finish.

Palamedes - A cute little puzzle game.

Pinball Quest - It's a pinball RPG. For that alone it deserves mention of some sort. One of those messed up ideas for a videogame that comes about once a year or so.

Power Blade
Power Blade 2 - Nothing too incredible about these. Just downright playable, easy to control, beatable little side scrollers.

R.C. Pro Am II - One of the few four player games for the NES. A hot label and splendid graphics.

Rock n' Ball - In a genre that features two actual table simulations (Pin*Bot and the impossibly difficult High Speed), one mega table (Rollerball), and a bona fide pinball-RPG (the aforementioned Pinball Quest), this manages to stand out as the deepest, most fascinating of them all. A plethora of options (regular play, match play, "versus" tables (with flippers on both ends, your goal is to not lose), and even "sports" tables (Soccer and Hockey), not to mention characters fashioned after Elvis and Elton John. Yes. It's that cool. A must own.

Short Order / Egg-splode - An alternative to the "rhythm" games, this uses a foot pad for actual innovation, as opposed to rewarding people for something they can do outside of videogames (you know, dance to the beat). Stomp on the proper numbers to, uh, cook or something(never played Short Order too much), or kick bombs out from underneath chickens (why they're laying bombs is beyond me). Fun, addictive, and uses the Power Pad to good measure.

Silver Surfer - Okay, the game itself sucks. There's still some awesome music on the title screen and first level. Techno at its videogame finest - it wasn't until the SNES had that Bio-Metal game in the mid 90s that techno music got anywhere near this cool on a console.

Skate or Die 2 - Scratch that last statement, this game has groovy bitchin' techno music too. Skate! Or! Die! Skate or die! Die die die die die!

Skull & Crossbones - Along with Rescue: The Embassy Mission, this game features blood, and is therefore a must have. Okay, not really that good, not really evilly awful either. It's by Tengen. Nobody ever talks about it. I keep forgetting it exists.

Snake Rattle & Roll - Its name crops up from time to time in the "underrated games" category. You're a snake. Eat things to grow segments so you can weigh in at the end. Isometric, fast moving, smooth, and like many of the games on this list, unique.

Tecmo Cup Soccer Game - Unfortunately clunky title, but a damn fine soccer game. It's been described as an RPG by those who'll call anything that isn't an action game an RPG - "Hey, that Jeopardy? What an awesome RPG! Do u have the dialogue tree translation?" but it's more of a menu-driven soccer game, with stats that increase. Dribble the ball, then press select to bring up the passing menu, where you'll get an overlay of the field. Uh oh! The ball's coming towards you! Do you head butt, bicycle kick, or catch with your feet? Remember, each of these options takes stamina, and there's nothing worse than tiring out your star players!

Thunder & Lightning - Two player simultanious Arkanoid. That is all.

Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures 2 - Standout side scrollers that deserve a bit more attention than they already have.

To the Earth - The only licensed Zapper game that isn't a shooting gallery or Duck Hunt. You're in a spaceship. Shoot the other spaceships. For a gun game, it's fun and fast, so long as you're good on the trigger, and aren't softened up by Virtua Cop, House of the Dead, and other games where you're allowed to miss once in a while.

Touchdown Fever - Simplistic but fun football game for the NES. Features a tournament and over eight teams! Oh, and you know who put it out? SNK. So all you SNK fanboys better get this game, otherwise you're just not hardcore. PRO PLAYER'S TIP: If you squint real hard, you can make out Mai, Terry Bogard, and Geese in the uniforms! ADVANCED PRO PLAYER'S TIP: I lied.

Trog! - Better than the arcade game, and one of the few games on the NES that really allows you to rack up some serious points. It has that "Gigawing" thrill to it, in terms of "LOOK AT ALL DA PRETTY NUMBERZ". It moves a bit more consistantly than the arcade game, which is fluid, but occasionally animates a bit too much, which makes turning a real chore.

Uncharted Waters - Koei ownz j00.

Vice: Project Doom - Yeah, it's a Ninja Gaiden ripoff. Yeah, the cinema graphics are really cheesy. But the music is incredibly adrenaline-filled, the in-game graphics suffice, and the action moves at a smooth, fluid rate. Slashing enemies with a stick-sabre has never been so satisfying.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Excuse me. WAUUUUUUHGHGHGHGHGHHGHGH THIS GAME IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Usually movie-based games are either lame side scrollers or, in the modern era, lame 3D games. Not this, no sir - it's a bona fide ADVENTURE, with puzzles, dialogue, and an inventory! You need a sense of humor too - otherwise poor Roger will get cooked whenever the Weasles catch him. I remember being nine or ten and renting this game and discovering that the password system was "real" - it wasn't just a way of entering the right word, like in Lolo, and since it was an adventure game, the chances of you stumbling upon a workable password are much greater than, say, Megaman 2. I used to just put in random passwords until I ended up with some random jonx, just to get the satisfaction of cheating the game. It's big. It has a weird "buggy" feel to it - there are no bugs per se, but it's very dated for some reason. Jessica Rabbit's number was disconnected. It's still cool. 1988. Huge. Proof that all LJN games don't suck.

Whomp 'Em - Not much to say about this, only that nobody ever mentions it and it's a fun game.

Wild Gunman - My favorite of the black box Zapper games. The "dueling" gimmick is neat.

Yoshi's Cookie - MUCH better than the SNES version, which moves so slow that most of the high paced fun of the 2P mode is taken out. Now, if only this version had a 1P vs. CPU option. Oh well. Much, much better than that SNES chunk of turd.

Zen: Intergalactic Ninja - Nice graphics, innovative, and plays smoothly. So why haven't we heard about it? Probably because it was released towards the end of the NES's lifespan, and we were too busy drooling over Street Fighter II to care.

Zombie Nation - People have devoted themselves to playing that lukewarm Ghosts and Goblins, and yet nobody brags about finishing THIS? Geez. Another "up all night / chew your balls off difficult" pitbull of a game.





Well, that about sums it up. There's others which I didn't list - Ice Climber (though I think there's been a revival of this), Clu Clu Land (the same - and now it's supposedly "rare" all of a sudden), Kid Icarus (the first vertically scrolling Nintendo game, to my knowledge)... but can games released by Nintendo really be considered "underrated"?

[UnInformer]

Baseball Stars: I really don't hear it get ragged on much, but then again I don't hear much about it at all. One of only a handful of sports games I enjoy.

HAL, just about everything from: Rollerball is my favorite video pinball game of all time. Granted I don't play too many of those, but it still is a very fun game. Lolo somebody mentioned already-great game. Kirby's Adventure-I'm not really sure if I can call it overrated since it was and still is pretty popular. But as it is one of my top two or three favorites on the NES and my favorite platformer of all time, I'll bring it up anyway.

[AlexKidd]

Sky Shark- I'm not sure how popular this game was back in the day but I never hear too much about it now. Much better than 1942 and 43 in my opinion.

Little Nemo: dream master- a great platformer, one of my favorite nes games and no one ever seems to mention it.

[emumuumuucowgomoo]

Baseball Stars: I really don't hear it get ragged on much, but then again I don't hear much about it at all. One of only a handful of sports games I enjoy.

I don't get this game. Period. Sure, the create your own team option is way cool, and on paper it looks incredible. I remember I was jizzing my pants as a teen reading about this game. Then I got it, and... well...

...the on-field sucks. The characters move so slow. This wouldn't matter if you could just draft your favorite characters, but you need to win money by winning games on the field, and that's where it all falls apart. It's zoomed way too far in to see anything, and if you have a create-a-team they move so slow that your only hope of winning is to hit a LOT of home runs. Only, wait, you can't hit many home runs with a create a team, because they're all cruddy at the bat.

Overrated, in my eyes.


HAL, just about everything from: Rollerball is my favorite video pinball game of all time. Granted I don't play too many of those, but it still is a very fun game. Lolo somebody mentioned already-great game. Kirby's Adventure-I'm not really sure if I can call it overrated since it was and still is pretty popular. But as it is one of my top two or three favorites on the NES and my favorite platformer of all time, I'll bring it up anyway.

Yeah, I totally agree with you on HAL. HAL rocked all until the SNES days, possibly even beyond, but after the SNES is when I stopped following Nintendough. Though, Lolo is just as popular as Kirby, so I wouldn't really call that overrated.

Have you played Alpha Mission or Kabuki: Quantum Fighter?

[Graham Mitchell]

Super Pitfall.............the game has it's following


A lot of Pony Canyon's stuff can be pretty interesting and unique if you get passed the horrible presentation. Dr. Chaos would have to be an honorable mention. The gameplay is extremely similar to Goonies II, and it wouldn't surprise me if Konami was looking at Dr. Chaos for inspiration when they developed Goonies II.

A lot of people have played and appreciate Ultima Exodus, but I want to nominate it because it's unique to pretty much every other Ultima game. The NES version is just bizarre. It's got wierd, slightly depressing music, wierd graphics, even wierder text...it's like the Japanese interpretation of Ultima or something. If you like Ultima or RPG's, and you haven't tried this version, it's worth looking at. Just something about it...

[UnInformer]

Have you played Alpha Mission or Kabuki: Quantum Fighter?I know I have played something else from HAL, don't quite recall what, but I don't remember ever playing either of those. Will have to check them out though, and I know where I can find them around here.

[diskoboy]

Gumshoe
Cobra Command
Jaws (yes, I loved this game)

[qbertandernie]

ok, so who wants the unsavory task of listing which games havent been included on this thread? :P

[tim333]

People, people - how can you overlook Conquest of the Crystal Palace? It's one of my favorite action games on the NES. The levels are beautiful, the ability to summon a dog is really cool, and the challenge is formidable. I don't know why this game doesn't get more attention.