Favorite 8 Bit Era Video Games? (NES & Game Boy)

[Dagger Dias]

Remember the good old days? When there was more to video games than realistic graphics, online competition, and endless lists of achievements? This topic takes us back to the days of the NES. It was a simpler time. Games were more challenging overall and many of which are still immensely popular despite the primary console of this generation's North American release being almost 30 years ago. So, the question is simple. In this thread you are to share one or more of your favorite 8 bit games. For added fun, let us know why you liked the game(s) so much. I'll go first.


Final Fantasy 1
This entry on my list is clearly obvious for anyone who knows me. Unlike the rest of the list, it wasn't my first game in said series. My first FF game was actually FF4 (in its FF2 SNES release form) but I eventually discovered the original when visiting a friend from school back in 1993, it soon joined my own list of NES titles. Between FF4 and the original, I was hooked on this series for life. It has tremendous replay value due to the party combinations. My favorite to this day is Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage. It gives you the best melee type, a healer, an offensive caster, and a guy who can do all of the above. Or you can increase the difficulty with other combinations such as 4 White Mages (which I have beaten the game with, don't try this unless you want a major challenge)!

Dragon Quest 2 through 4
Love this series and 2 through 4 hold a special place for me. The 2nd game is a bit underrated. It was incredibly difficult and beating the whole thing in its original NES form is a big accomplishment. 3 gave us a brilliant job system while improving on everything 2 did, the same job system gets revisited in many other titles in the series. 4 was way ahead of its time. Picking your active party members from a larger party, all of which have their own backstory that you play through in individual chapters before the "real" quest begins, was unheard of back in the 8 bit era. The 4th remains my favorite in the whole series today.

The Legend of Zelda
The one that started it all in one of the most popular series of all time. The series has evolved a lot over the years yet the first one is still incredibly fun to go back to play again. No ridiculous sidequests here, just temple crawling and exploring the world. The temple theme from this game still tops the list today of creepy game themes. It also had its fair share of frustrating puzzles such as the infamous room where you had to give Food to an enemy. Last but not least the title gave us the epic lines of "IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY" and "IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE, TAKE THIS!" which have spawned countless jokes over the years.

Super Mario Bros 1 through 3
And here we have perhaps the most notable entry in this list. The first three Super Mario Bros games were the first games I ever played, the first in particular. Anyone who loves the games featuring everyone's favorite plumber can thank these titles. The first Mario Bros title was the first game I ever played. In one of my oldest memories I recall a day when my older sister and I were visiting another family who had an NES in the gaming room up in the attic. My older sister handed me an NES controller saying "Here, I'll be Mario, YOU be Luigi" resulting in me playing a video game for the first time. It was Super Mario Bros 1 where I played as Luigi and on that day the world was changed forever. The 2nd title went in a very different direction and its differences (as well as the stories of how it came about) are worthy of a whole other thread, all the changes were good. Then in the 3rd they returned to a format similar to the first, improving on it in every conceivable way. Mario Bros 3 is regarded as one of the best platformers of all time for a reason.


Alright so now it is your turn.

What are some of your favorite 8 bit games and why?

Discuss!

 

[enviousdominous]

Well since gay marriage was made legal; I'm of the opinion that anything, including a positive reaction to a Dagger Dias post is possible. Fair pay for women while we're on a roll?

There are some easy choices for this topic, I prefer to reveal hidden gems when giving my two cents on a "what's your favorite?" thread.

The Guardian Legend, the greatest game almost nobody has ever heard of.

I received $15 from my sister for surviving until my 8th birthday and wasn't feeling too picky about how I spent the money, I was able to afford The Guardian Legend a bottle of coke and a can of pringles. Inflation sure hit us like a motherfucker didn't it?

This game wrecked my perception of what a great game had to be, in that it went into wickedly fascinating territory that I didn't even think was possible for a video game.

You play as an android who is tasked with initiating a self-destruct sequence on an alien planet that is on a warpath toward Earth for the purpose of allowing the alien lifeforms to conquer our resources. Pretty basic, nothing that really stands out.

The game goes beyond the norm by offering play styles that are reminiscent of other popular games; 1942, The Legend of Zelda and Master Blaster to name a few. While some have found this quality to be the kind of derivative planning that lacks in creativity, I personally feel that nobody owns a copyright on actual play styles that gamers enjoy. The controls are on point and every play style is enjoyable.

What really blew me away was the story behind the story. A very subtle backstory to the game, meant to help you better understand your circumstances, is that someone else failed to complete your task. The last of an alien race recognized imminent failure in their attempt to initiate the self destruct sequence, and left messages for whichever hero might attempt a similar endeavor. It was absolutely haunting for me, and I couldn't stop thinking about this game. No game I had ever played presented that kind of scenario, following the wishes of a deceased hero.

Very few games can actually make you feel because honestly most of them are just meant to be a series of fun sounds and congratulatory messages for medial tasks. Game designers don't have to put sentimental content in their games, and they might be chastised for trying to force those emotions. The Guardian Legend didn't pour on the emotion, they told an emotional story by allowing the gamer to unravel the mystery on their own.

A lesser known masterpiece, try it out.

 

[tdmoon]

I considered it a pretty major hardship in my young life that I didn't have an eight bit system. I really wanted one but was stuck with my old Atari. Fortunately many of my friends had Nintendos and there were a lot of terrific games.

The two player games were always great because my friends were usually a lot better than me and could help. We played a lot of Contra, Mario Brothers and Double Dragon. We wore out the Pro Wrestling game(A Winner Is You!). I remember Metal Gear being a lot of fun, it seemed deeper and very different from any of the other games. Baseball Stars was really cool because you could build and develop your team like a GM.

I later was given a Sega but by that point had pretty much moved past video games. I did play a hell of a lot of Phantasy Star on it, though. A couple years ago I got one of those game systems you just plug into your TV and every once in a while I'll play some Super Mario Brothers. Such a fun, timeless game.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I loved my NES!

I had a large stack of games, most of which were fun, some of which were crap (WWF Wrestlemania Challenge, anyone...)

But the two that stand out that haven't been mentioned (as Zelda 1 and Mario 3 are givens): Mega Man 3 - I loved the Mega Man franchise, and #3 was the best of the lot. Loved the way you could pick which level you played, and part of the fun was working out the 'correct' order. The bosses and weaponry was decent too. My favourite 8-bit game hands down.

An honourable, since we are on a wrestling forum, for Tecmo World Wrestling. A fun game which introduced, by way of 'commentary' text at the bottom of the screen, so many wrestling moves to me, many of which I didn't see in WWE or WCW for ages - giant swings, scorpion death locks, suplex variations. A very enjoyable and underrated game, my brother and I even created a couple of its characters (Dr Guildo FTW!) on later wrestling games' create-a-wrestler features

 

[J.J.]

Paperboy 2 on Gameboy even though I liked the Game Gear better since it was advanced for it's time. Deliver newspapers and avoid obstacles was the plot.

Mike Tyson Punchout was a game given to me by a mother who deemed it violent. 26 years later I still have the game. Only in it's black sleeve. Took me years to beat Tyson.

I have an opened copy of Stadium Events I picked up from a clearance sale in the early 00's at a game store. It is was only $2 bucks and it wasn't until recent years I learned it's worth thousands.

 

[rbv13]

Ah yes the NES. The only game system I still own and play. With all the advancements in gaming none of them can top it. To this day I absolutely love the R.B.I. series. I also find myself playing Ice Hockey fairly often. When it comes to my favorite it is Super Tecmo Bowl all the way. The added teams and game play really upped itself from the original.

 

[Piss Bucket]

Super Mario Land 2 on the Gameboy was the first game I actually completed without cheating as I recall, I completed it and found nearly all the secret levels as well, only one I missed was the one in Space Zone.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Mike Tyson's Punchout was always one of my favorite games and to this day I can pick it up pretty much anytime and play it. I love that even after all these years it still brings a challenge, the colorful characters, the gameplay, the music, even watching Little Mac running in a pink jogging suit puts a smile on my face. It's one of the few games I have nothing bad to say about it.

Contra is another one I love and play quite a bit of. To this day it still might be my favorite action game ever. I'm guessing I'm far from alone on this as damn near everyone I talk to still remembers the 30 lives code.

One that most people seem to not like but I absolutely love is Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link. It's the black sheep of Nintendo Zelda games but I get really into it every time I play it. I love the leveling system and all the magic spells you can do in it and I enjoy the gameplay better than the original Zelda actually. I think they perfected it in Zelda: Link to the Past (which is my all time favorite game) but for 8 bit I like the side scroller aspect of it. The only real complaint I have on it is the game doesn't get increasingly difficult, after 2 castles you're in Death Mountain with very little leveling done and it's a nightmare to get through it.

I could go on and on about 8 bit games (Kirby, SMB, SMB3, Zelda, Metroid, Ninja Turtles 2 and 3, Tecmo Bowl, Blades of Steel, Links Awakening, Mario Land 2, Tetris, ect). To this day I still have an original gameboy with the monochrome screen, I still have a working NES, I'm even trying to get a Sega Master System because there are some gems on that system I loved as a kid, with any luck I wouldn't have to buy many cartridges because some versions have a ton of games built into the hard drive. As good as games have gotten over the years I still always come back to the 8 bit classics, they'll always be the games I like the most.

 

[SSJPhenom]

Like so many others, I absolutely love Mike Tyson's Punchout. I'm not talking about that dumbass rip off they tried to put out after Tyson's conviction where they replaced Tyson with Mr. Dream. (It's actually the exact same game, but it's just called Punchout. It just doesn't feel right though.) I remember how long it took me, not only to beat Tyson but to actually make it to Tyson. Every character had a trick to beating them and with every new section I'd get stuck on someone. It took me awhile to beat King Hippo. Then I got stuck on Soda Popinski and Mr. Sandman. Then, it took me a solid year to beat Super Macho Man. Then years to beat Tyson. It probably took me up to four years after I started playing the game to beat it.

My other favorite NES game is Super Mario Bros 3. It took me years to beat that game too. Thank god for save points now days. When my brother and I finally beat Super Mario Bros 3, I think we played it for 2 and a half days straight.

Those were the days man.

 

[Lee]

Let's have a look at the Master System, my top five on there:

Alex Kidd in Miracle world

Whilst I preferred enchanted castle on the Megadrive, Miracle world was brilliant. Made me a rock, paper, scissors expert.

California games

Having a few games up for grabs (BMX, Half Pipe, Surfing) just was pretty breaking for the area.

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap

Sega's Metrovania really but fricking awesome.

Phantasy Star

I'm sure you've all played at least one in the series but this for the megadrive still stands up to this day. Proper classic.

The Lucky Dime Caper starring Donald Duck

A bit shit now but at the time I loved this game, very similar to the duck tales style on NES but you control Donald instead.