3 Great NES Games That Have Recently Released on Modern Consoles

2026 has been a solid year for video games so far. With major hits like Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, Mewgenics, and 007 First Light, there are plenty of options for players, regardless of the preferred genre. However, it’s not just new games that are having a great start to the season. Several classic games, particularly from the Nintendo Entertainment System, have had ports and remasters come to modern consoles, opening those games up to a brand-new audience.

Here are three great NES games that have been released on modern hardware in 2026.

3) Mendel Palace

Mendel Palace was one of three games added to the Nintendo Switch 2 on April 9th, 2026, via the Nintendo Online Classics. The other two are Pac-Man and The Tower of Druraga. At this point, Pac-Man is on nearly every platform, so its release isn’t too exciting. Meanwhile, The Tower of Druaga is a weird RPG maze game that’s incredibly difficult. There’s some stuff to love there, but most players will bounce off of Druaga.

Meanwhile, Mendel Palace is a 1989 puzzle game from Game Freak. In fact, it is the studio’s and its director, Satoshi Tajiri’s, debut game. Of course, most people think of Pokémon when Game Freak and Tajiri are mentioned, but this was the first game to put them on the map. It’s a solid, easy-to-learn puzzler that inspired Tajiri to continue working in game development. Simply put, without Mendel Palace, we wouldn’t have Pokémon. For that, it’s worth checking out.

2) Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom

The third game in the classic Ninja Gaiden series features a new designer, but it didn’t lose much in the transition from Hideo Yoshizawa to Masato Kato. As (almost) always, you control Ryu Hayabusa. This time, you’ve been framed for murder and have to uncover a mysterious plot involving CIA agents and superhuman mutants. It sounds weird, but the wacky plotline mostly worked when The Ancient Ship of Doom launched in 1991.

It received solid reviews across the board; however, it should be noted that the North American version was made much harder. That led to reviewers in the US criticizing the difficulty, especially the lack of a password system, but it’s still a great game. Thankfully, you can try it out for yourself on your modern console of choice. On April 23rd, 2026, Ninja Gaiden III was included in the Console Archives compilation from Hamster Corporation.

1) Bomberman

This is actually a two-for-one special. On February 5th, 2026, Konami published Super Bomberman Collection on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC. That gave modern fans an easy way to check out all of the great Super Bomberman games from the Super Nintendo. However, we don’t care about that for this list.

Instead, it’s the bonus games that were included with the compilation that are important here. Both Bomberman and Bomberman 2 are in the package, letting you play both of the classic games with ease. The first Bomberman, in particular, is worth checking out. After all, there’s a reason that former Hudson Soft director of research and development said the NES Bomberman “is the one and only version of the game.”

It might seem a little simplistic by today’s standards, but anyone looking for a classic arcade game for the NES should look no further. The original Bomberman and its sequel started a huge franchise in the ’80s and ’90s. With the Super Bomberman Collection, you can play through pretty much every game that matters, making it an excellent pick-up for anyone wanting to get into the Bomberman series.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

6 Hardest NES Levels Ever