Worth a first mention:
- Gradius (how'd you guys miss THE space shooter! yea Lifeforce is pretty insane tho..)
- Super Dodge Ball (dodge ball with super moves. incredible.)
- Faxanadu (Rpgish side scrolling. weapons armor magic. delicious.)
- Excitebike (very early game that had build-your-own levels! get a friend ;D )
- Legacy of the Wizard (find a walkthru and beat this game. you will feel gratification beyond your dreams)
- Puzznic (awesome puzzle game)
- Lolo 1,2,3 (if you like puzzles)
- Solomon's Key (like action-puzzling. ...fireball!! SKEE-ERT!)
- Jaws (yea, the movie. fun fun fun!)
- Gauntlet (yea they've made much better gauntlets than this, but you can't call yourself an NES afficionado if you haven't played the original)
- Strider (that sword slash is infectious.. especially after you learn to wall jump)
- Bomberman (remote bombs anyone?)
- Cobra Triangle (Boat game. Hard. You probably wont like it unless you become good at it)
- Iron Tank (very hard tank game. run over infantry to gain health?...who knows why :1
- Fester's Quest (anyone remember this one? ;]
- Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (eerie, eerie game. no, its not a 2 player fighting game)
- TMNT anyone? it's f**kin pizza time.
Worth a second and third mention:
- Blaster Master (possibly the best game for the NES. you're missing out on one hell of a fun game if you don't at least make it to level 7.. wall walking!)
- Guardian Legend (damn close second place)
- Bionic Commando (completely original gameplay)
- River City Ransom (play it. play it now. stop reading and go play.)
- Metal Storm (mechs. yea.)
- Zanac (Space shooting done right)
- Castlevania 2, sorry 1 & 3, you don't do it for me
Pooyan!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No, seriously don't ever play that game.
that should keep you busy for a while. ok i'm done now