The Nintendo Entertainment System is one of the most important consoles in gaming’s history. The market had just gone through a crash in North America, but the Japanese company introduced a new and innovative platform to the market, which quickly turned heads. The system helped establish Nintendo as a household name and set the company up for a successful future as a console manufacturer. Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly as successful without great games, but the NES is filled with those. The list below looks at the era-defining games, which don’t necessarily mean the best ones, but often do.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Here are the five NES games that defined the ’80s.
5) Duck Hunt
Stick with me here. Sure, Duck Hunt hasn’t had much of a legacy in terms of sequels, but it was the start of Nintendo’s consistent desire to experiment. The light gun-focused game was completely different from standard games on the platform, showing that Nintendo was more than willing to get weird with it.
That’s continued with incredible success. Whether it’s the Wii’s motion controls or the Switch being a hybrid console, Nintendo is always ready to take a big chance. That might not have happened without the success of Duck Hunt, showing the company that plenty of players were willing to follow the company on this strange journey.
4) Mega Man 2
The first Mega Man game wasn’t exactly a hit, but it performed well enough that Capcom decided to start production on the sequel. Thankfully, they did because Mega Man 2 is the second-best-selling game in the long-running series, showing that Mega Man had plenty of staying power.
Since then, Capcom has expanded the series with dozens of entries. Without the success of Mega Man 2, it’s entirely possible one of gaming’s best series would’ve died in the late ’80s. Instead, Capcom became one of the most prominent developers in console gaming during the ’90s and beyond.
3) Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior
Final Fantasy gets a lot of credit for turning things around for Square, but the first Dragon Quest essentially created the template for Japanese RPGs in the ’80s and ’90s. The fan-favorite classic featured art from Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama and was an instant hit in Japan.
Outside of the country, it was much less successful at first. Still, not many series eventually become a national holiday for an entire country. Dragon Quest has done that in Japan, giving it much more clout than “just” creating the blueprint for one of the most popular genres in gaming’s long history.
2) The Legend of Zelda
The 1986 classic was a critical and commercial success. It sold more than 6.5 million copies and introduced players to Zelda‘s unique mix of action, adventure, and light roleplaying.
Sure, most players would argue the series has gotten much better over the year, but it’s impossible to deny how groundbreaking the original game was. Look, The Legend of Zelda is one of the most influential series of all time, and it’s been great since the start.
And you don’t even have to consider The Legend of Zelda‘s influence on Nintendo’s future to talk about how it shaped gaming in the ’80s. Yes, it came in the middle of the decade, but it outsold almost every non-pack-in game on the NES. That alone makes it incredibly influential on the decade.
1) Super Mario Bros.
With that said about The Legend of Zelda, it’s not Super Mario Bros. While SMB3 is almost universally considered the better game, no one can deny how pivotal the original game was to the success of the NES.
Just look at the list of best-selling NES games. While it was bundled with the console, it outsold every other game on the platform by more than 10 million copies. Those are astronomical numbers, and prove that Super Mario Bros. was the Nintendo Entertainment System’s killer app.
And then, you have to factor in that Mario inspired three more games in the top 10 best sellers on the NES. Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Dr. Mario do not exist without Super Mario Bros. Well, SMB2 might under a different name, but you get my point. The original Super Mario Bros. is the most influential game on the NES, and frankly, it’s not close.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Netflix
