10 NES games you forgot (and should remember)

The 8-bit Nintendo console had an extensive catalog of games and not all were classics like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Punch Out, Metroid or Megaman, among others. There were also hundreds of other games that filled your afternoons with adventures, but that are not as remembered as the true classics. 'Supporting games', not fillers. Here is a very personal list of the best 8-bit 'second-string' games. My classics after the classics. Which are yours?

Dragon Fighter

A personal favorite. A game whose charm can go unnoticed by many, but that rewards those who manage to understand the simplicity of its proposal. In Dragon Fighter you are that, a fighter who has the power to turn into a flying dragon at will. One bar measures your life and the other the dragon power you accumulate by killing enemies. There are items of all kinds, dragons of different colors and end-of-level bosses to fear. You lose 1 life and it's game over. You lose 3 continues and you're out. A hard nut to crack, for patient and skilled people. Pure frustration, but the good kind.

Yo! Noid

Honestly, I don't understand the hatred many have for Yo! Noid. That the mascot of the Domino's pizza chain was super ridiculous doesn't mean the game is bad. Because in fact it's not. It's ridiculous, yes. The enemies make no sense, yes. The pizza-eating competition at the end of each level is overkill, yes. But in terms of design, Yo! Noid is pure enjoyment; it's a very polished platformer that requires reflexes and skill. If I were you, I'd give it a chance despite what the haters say.

Shadowgate

Shadowgate is indeed considered a classic, but if you were too young when you played it, you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you could enjoy it now. If you've learned English and refined your sense of humor, this is a unique experience full of mortal surprises. You'll die dozens of times, in every imaginable way, before reaching the end of the adventure, and that's the joke! If you get stuck, search for hints on the Internet, but try it on your own first.

Kick Master

A game that many played and very few remember. Unfairly forgotten, quite underappreciated, almost misunderstood, Kick Master deserves another chance. If you have the patience to get past the initial rejection this non-classic generates, the reward is immense. Kick Master's world is full of strange and fantastic creatures, with a huge variety of enemies and much imagination poured into the details. The music, for its part, is pure good rock and roll. The game is extremely difficult, the controls aren't the best, and the whole combination can be more than frustrating, but Kick Master has that certain something that still makes it as enigmatic as it is charming.

Little Samson

Little Samson (also known as LICKE) isn't very popular, and it's a shame. Only a few curious people like us could play this perfect fantasy when it came out in the early '90s. The game, a platformer with characters you can swap on the fly, begins with recruiting heroes of different origins. A human, a dragon, a stone man, and a mouse embark on the adventure. Heroes, interchangeable at any point in the level, each with their own particular abilities. If you didn't have the pleasure 20 years ago, don't deprive yourself now. In my imagination, it was always the game of an alternative adventure to The NeverEnding Story.

Jackie Chan's Action Kun Fu

One of my favorite games from the 8-bit era. Reading the title, you'd hardly imagine the final product: an ultra-cutesy platformer, but hyper fun and that ends up being quite a challenge even for the most skilled. The protagonist is a Jackie Chan who seemed, even that long ago, younger than he truly was. Martial arts, platforms, and a world inspired by Chinese mythology, with Jackie Chan as the main character. You can't ask for more.

Flying Warriors

A very weird game with a very original fighting system, of which we never knew more. Flying Warriors is a mix between a fighting game and a platformer, in which you play as Rick, an aspiring defender of Earth. The story is classic martial arts movie stuff: you have to seek wise men in the mountains, win tournaments, and fight interdimensional entities, plus explore every inch of the map in search of objectives. What makes this game most original is its 1 vs 1 fighting system, which is duel-style and makes boss fights much more intense. Flying Warriors is an acquired taste. Patience.

New Ghostbusters II

Without a doubt, the best adaptation of Ghostbusters to the world of video games (before the 2009 game, of course). A title that went completely unnoticed, and that escaped many of my contemporaries. Ghostbusters II has very cute and childlike graphics, expected on the Nintendo console, and follows the second movie of the license step by step. In this game you choose two of the Ghostbusters: one handles the beam (which immobilizes the ghost) and another throws the trap (which catches the ghost). Your mission is to clear levels of ghosts and, near the end, destroy the source of all evil: Vigo the Carpathian.

Bucky O'Hare

The cartoon is simply epic. The intro, for that matter, is a work of art full of rock and roll. The game, as it couldn't be otherwise, is among the best you could play on the NES. You might know it, but if not... you don't know what you're missing! You start with Bucky and the level selection unfolds before you. For each planet you overcome, one of your teammates is rescued. These allies are super important because they have unique abilities needed to get through other levels. So you must choose the right order in which to solve the levels (Mega Man style). A great game.

Kid Dracula

Only a few chosen ones were able to play this obscure classic from Nintendo's catalog. Akumajou Special - Boku Dracula Kun, known in the West as Kid Dracula (for its Game Boy version), is undoubtedly on my list of best NES games. Here you play as a child Dracula who, for some reason, must face other monsters and fight against Nazi ghosts and giant chickens. For each level you complete you gain a power that charges while holding down the fire button. These powers range from special shots to walking on ceilings and turning into a bat. Good platforming, although the slowdowns can be quite annoying at times.

BONUS STAGE!

Splatterhouse

If you thought Splatterhouse games only came out for Mega Drive and TurboGrafx, you're wrong. Nintendo's console also had a version of this horror classic (directly from Namcot) and, honestly, it could have been much worse. What it lacks in gameplay (it's a bit stiff), it makes up for in fun and variety. Each scene seems based on a classic horror movie, from Jaws to The Exorcist. If you're a fan, you can't miss it.

Of course, tons of games were left out. Possibly the topic for many more similar articles. Do you leave your recommendations in the comments? Remember, lesser-known games, not the well-known ones. Don't recommend a Chip 'n Dale or a DuckTales, because that's not the case.