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Classic Games (Games) NES (Games) Entertainment Games

Japanese Fans Vote On Top 30 NES Games 79

Posted by simoniker from the go-go-entertainment-system dept.
Thanks to 1UP for their report on a Japanese poll rating the top 30 Famicom (NES) games of all time, as conducted for an upcoming Tokyo museum exhibition. The report comments that this poll is "an interesting look at the titles that were big in the early days of Japanese gaming, as well as what's held up in retrospect", and the Dragon Quest series (Dragon Warrior in the U.S.) is particularly well-represented, since "...all four Famicom games in the series made the top 10, compared to only one Final Fantasy." Also pointed out: "It's also interesting to see what's ahead of Super Mario Brothers 3, the most popular NES game in the United States. In Japan, they'd rather play Ice Climber and Balloon Fight."
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Japanese Fans Vote On Top 30 NES Games More

Japanese Fans Vote On Top 30 NES Games

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    • Re:They do love there dragon quest (Score:5, Funny)

      by wickedj ( 652189 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:24PM (#7549902) Homepage
      It's kind of funny because the Japanese Government actually passed a law that required DQ to be released on either Sundays or holidays because so many people skipped out on their jobs and school to purchase it.

      Third section down under "How popular is the Dragon Quest series". [planetnintendo.com]

  • Wow (Score:1)

    by Apreche ( 239272 )
    That list is so different from my list. I think the american one would look like this

    1. Legend of Zelda
    2. Super Mario Brothers 3
    3. Super Mario Brothers
    4. Metroid ...
    There's too much I can't even choose myself. Anyway, I'm glad that River City Ransom made the list, it seems appropriately placed.

  • Amercian Classics Right At the Top (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Slider451 ( 514881 ) <slider451@hotm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:07PM (#7549760)
    Japanese and American game tastes are not that different. Consider:

    Super Mario Brothers - 2
    Mario Brothers - 3
    The Legend of Zelda - 4
    Final Fantasy III - 7

    I've never owned a Nintendo yet have played all these. Definitely deserving of their placement in the top 10.

    • Re:Amercian Classics Right At the Top (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Has someone finally gotten around to finishing the translation of the FFIII ROM?

      I know that I had tried playing it a while back (ie years ago), but the project was still only in the initial stages (and, unfortunately, many translation projects die out shortly after they are started.)

      Or has Square finally released a translated version outside of Japan?
      (Or perhaps you can read Japanese? I dunno...)
      • No, 3 is the only one that has not been released in the US. I don't think it even made it to the WonderSwan, as was pending. The translation ROM I have is versioned 1.1, so it's probably fully-translated.

        Though I suspect the parent doesn't know that US FF 3 is really FF 6.
        • Yes, I was thinking of FF II, which I played back in 92-93 on a friend's SNES.

    • Re:Amercian Classics Right At the Top (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Vaevictis666 ( 680137 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:22PM (#7549884)
      Keep in mind that the Final Fantasy III they mention is the NES version, and has never been released to North America.

      Those funny guys at Square, not being able to keep counts... Final Fantasy 1 was the only FF NES game to make it over to the States on the NES, Final Fantasy 4 and 6 on the SNES made it over as FF 2 and 3 - this is the FF 3 most people have played. Once Square went over to the PSX they synched the game numbering with FF 7, and have brought over FF 2 and 5 as part of collection CDs on the PSX.

      To have played the original FF 3, you would need either a translated ROM image, or you would need to know Japanese and have imported it or something.

      • BTW (Score:2)

        by t0ny ( 590331 )
        I heard that FF Anthology (FF V [unreleased in US] and VI [US=FF3])and Chronicles (FF IV [US=FF2] and Chrono Trigger) are going to be re-released on one CD as "PSOne Classics", and sell for $20

  • NES ranking... sports? koei? legacy vs quality? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dr. Molf ( 586917 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:21PM (#7549874) Homepage
    I'm a pretty avid NES collector. I don't play any systems more advanced and so my view of 'goodness of games' is basically relative to other NES games.

    I think certain franchines (such as Final Fantasy) have gone on to do wonderful things, but all things considered, I feel that "NES Dragon Warrior IV" is probably a better game than "NES Final Fantasy".

    I wonder how much of this list is influenced by how these games were further developed on other platforms. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem terribly bias in that catergory. However, I believe it was done in the US, we'd have exactly that problem.

    I'm surprised 'Destiny of an Emperor' didn't make the list, because that was a really solid title. Also, there are several sports titles (like the excellent Famicom-only Soccer games) which aren't listed. I would also expect a historical strategy game like 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' or some other Koei title.

    I'm exceptionally surprised that 'Goonies II' made the list because that's a real random footnote in the history of NES games.
    • Destiny of an Emperor was great. I still have my copy laying around somewhere and the battery STILL works.

      I'm surprised to see some of the familiar names (Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc.) in other games (Nobunaga series from Koei).

      It was supposed to be based on real chinese story. Any way to validate this?
      Capcom originally published the game, but it wasn't developed in house. Interestingly, you can tell that the guy that did the music for this game also did Rolling Thunder for Capcom too.
      • Well, those people you mentioned (Lei Bei, Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc.) are all characters from Chinese history. A game like _Romance of the Three Kingdoms_ (Koei) helps illuminate how China was divided into different regions and these were all famous generals and warlords. There was (is) a book called "Romance of Three Kingdoms" which tells the stories of some of these most famous figures. _Nobunga's Ambition_ actually takes place in Japan. As for _Destiny of an Emperor_, there was actually a Famic
    • But what about "NES Dragon Warrior IV" vs "NES Final Fantasy III"? FF3, although not released in the US, has graphics and gameplay comparable to the SNES versions of FF that were also not released in the US.

  • Hey you guys!!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rubbersoul ( 199583 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:22PM (#7549879)
    How did 'The Goonies II' make that list ... :)

    • The Goonies (Score:1, Interesting)

      by gangien ( 151940 )
      Although it surprised me that it made the list as well, really in hindsight, it was a very solid game. From Platform to first person and such, was pretty good. Gameplay and challenge was pretty good. Best movie rip off on the NES i can think of.

    • Re:Hey you guys!!!! (Score:3, Informative)

      by imitier ( 674794 )
      Are you kidding? That's one of the best NES games ever. It's got great platform action, a tremendous large world map to explore, lots of items to gather, and an awesome soundtrack (including, I'm sure, the NES rendition of a Cyndi Lauper song.) Goonies II is an outstanding game -- I was impressed the list, that speaks highly of the people who responded.

  • My list with my impressions at the time. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Metroid72 ( 654017 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:45PM (#7550068)
    **Action**
    SMB I (Spent countless hours exploring secrets), II (At the time it was very weird and III (Pinnacle),
    MegaMan 1 (challenging),2 (most popular) & 3 (pinnacle) (The rest are just fillers)
    Castlevania 1 (Challenging), 2 (What's up with those weird clues?) 3 (Pinnacle),
    Ninja Gaiden I (Cinema Displays!!!!), II(Great Music, action, etc), III (Hmmm.. Paralax scrolling and a Strider-type sword.. kool)
    Shadow of the Ninja and S.C.A.T (Great games from Natsume)
    Journey To Silius (Sunsoft's masterpiece, after Blaster Master, Fester and Batman - Not counting Return of the Joker
    Contra (WOOWWWWW...), Super C (Double Wooow...)

    **Adventure**
    Zelda I (Dodongo.. what kind of name is that) II (Very challenging, great graphics.. masterpiece)
    Metroid & Kid Icarus (VERY Unique games!!)
    Crystalis (Much better and Refined than Zelda)
    The Inmortal (Wow, american companies can make games!!)
    Bionic Commando (Hitler?!?!?!?)
    Goonies - Really cool...

    **Beat'em up**

    Double Dragon I (challenging), II (Fun!! 2 Player action), II (What happened here??)
    River City Ramsom (Who can't forget fighting the final stage while listening to the Double Dragon BGM)
    Battletoads - Hard and Weird!!!

    **Shooters (Not the like of Doom/Quake we're talking THE original shooters)**
    Zanac (Wow that's intense!!!)/Guardian Legend (Intensity with great graphics and RPG/Adventure)
    Gradius (Hard) / Lifeforce (Cool.. 30 lives, I guess they're making up for the first one)
    Gyruss (Really cool)

    **Sports**
    Baseball Stars (Greatest baseball game on 8 bit.. first to create your own players)
    Tecmo Bowl (Just plain fun - Hide your controller from your oponent)
    Baseball - Just fun.
    Track n'Field - 1st to do In game adverstisement???, Game within a game (gradius).
    Excitebike... (track editor??)
    Mike Tyson's Punch Out (Remember, dodge Mike for 1:30)

    **RPG**
    Dragon Warrior I (What's this weird game...), II (Hmmm.. I'm kinda liking this type of games).. III (Masterpiece)
    Final Fantasy - (Wow.. cool RPG..with Graphics!)
    ShadowGate / DejaVu /Uninvited - Really cool games.
    Ultima Quest of The Avatar - Really LOONG.
    Startropics.. Fun in the islands.

  • Ice Climber! Balloon Fight! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BTWR ( 540147 ) <americangibor3 AT yahoo DOT com> on Monday November 24, 2003 @02:45PM (#7550075) Homepage Journal
    OK, many might be surprised to see these two up there, but it's not surprising at all.

    Think about it, what are your favorite games from NES/Genesis to play with your friends? If you're like me and my friends, it was Contra, Streets of Rage, etc.

    What do these games all have in common? - 2 players simultaneously! Play Halo on co-op mode, Mario Kart: Double Dash, hell, even the original mario bros was a so-so game that became SO much more fun with 2 players on at once. Ice Climber was simply from an era before NES became really popular (when games were labeled as part of the "Action Series," "Sports Series," etc.)

    • Re:Ice Climber! Balloon Fight! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Chris Canfield ( 548473 ) <slashdot AT chriscanfield DOT net> on Monday November 24, 2003 @03:02PM (#7550186) Homepage
      I'm ecstatic that Ice Climber took such a high position... It was underappreciated in the US at the time, where the game playing public wasn't ready to appreciate the extremely japanese characters. As 2-player games went it was in a class of its own, especially in the early days. It was a 2-player game where you could help your fellow team-member or hinder them, where you weren't allowed to attack them directly but you could really mess them up. You could cause them to die by scrolling too high, or you could give their jump a huge boost by jumping up underneath them. You could hammer away at bricks under their feet, or hammer away at enemies about to attack them. You could wait for your friend to join you in the bonus level, or you could heartlessly skip ahead and take all of the plunder for yourself.

      It was never clear if you were supposed to be friends or foes, and that lack of distinction kept the game sessions hot and fun.

      Personally, I hope someone in Japan sees this list and makes a GBA version of Ice-Climber, so that 4 people can work with / compete against eachother to reach the top of that mountain alive. It was a genius design then, and it would be a breath of fresh air now.

      • Personally, I hope someone in Japan sees this list and makes a GBA version of Ice-Climber, so that 4 people can work with / compete against eachother to reach the top of that mountain alive. It was a genius design then, and it would be a breath of fresh air now.

        You can get Ice Climber for the eReader, but the problem is that it's single-player only -- there's no link features. It seems like a waste, as although the game is entertaining in SP, it really shines in the friend-and-sometimes-foe MP mode you de

  • SMB 3 should be above Ballon Fight (Score:3, Insightful)

    by nathankerr ( 722077 ) <nathankerr&ignmail,com> on Monday November 24, 2003 @03:22PM (#7550331)
    I don't know who did the list, but they can't count. Super Mario Bros. 3 received 465 votes while Balloon Fight only got 461. Last I checked 465 > 461.
    • Good catch.

      Also, what kind of stupid poll only polls somehwere around 15,000 people to determine the most popular game for use in a museum? If I was curator for this, I'd have to have at least a million votes...especially considering the popularity of the machine.

      A whopping 465 people saying SMB3 is the best NES game ever isn't all that inspiring.
      • Well, sampling techniques say that after about 1500, you're not going to increase the accuracy of the results too much. its in the order of 0.0001% Not really worth it. If you look all those polls that say "americans hate/love Bush" are with less than 2000 respondants. I'd guess that this survery would extrapolate out pretty well, unless this is an extremely biased survey, which I doubt.
    • Looks like it's since been corrected. SMB3 is now listed with 456 voted.
  • Where is RC ProAm, or Rad Racer?
    • This is a Famicom list, not an NES list. Was RC ProAM ever released in Japan? Seeing as it was a Rare game, I'm guessing that it wasn't.

      Also, Rad Racer? C'mon. I know it's Squaresoft and all, but it really wasn't *that* great, with or without 3D Glasses (heh). Not top 50 material, for sure.
  • I always like looking at lists like these because it reminds me of many happy hours playing these games as a kid. It also makes me wonder. There have been hundreds of discussions about the relative creativity and quality of older games vs. newer ones. I have to wonder, is SMB3 really better than Mario Sunshine? Or is that a fair comparison, seeing as how they are part of the same series? What would be a fair comparison?

    This is particularly interesting in the realm of RPGs, in my opinion. I find games

    • This is particularly interesting in the realm of RPGs, in my opinion. I find games like Dragon Warrior I and Wizardry to be the most interesting, despite or because of their primitive graphics.

      In my personal opinion, what happens with early RPGs is that the void in graphics is filled by your imagination. You might be more comfortable with the way you imagine things than what a director/scenario designer may do.
      A typical example is a movie based in a book, If the director's vision is very different


  • ExciteBike?

    Goonies II?

    This is even worse than Nintendo's own top 100 list.

    • Re:Yeah, right (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Metroid72 ( 654017 ) on Monday November 24, 2003 @04:07PM (#7550782)
      Dude, when those games came out Excitebike(1986), Goonies II (87/88) they broke a lot of ground.
      Excitebike had its own track editor and the animation was off the hook. I remember people crashing on purpose just to laugh at the animation
      The Goonies was MASSIVE (It was one of the first games that made you keep track of your location with your own map -I made my own goonies map-). Of course, if you think about newer games (16 bit Super Metroid, PSX Simphony of the Night and the GBA Castlevanias), this game is not long at all.
      I don't know your age, but usually situating yourself in that year, and comparing it with what you had seen before does the job to make a good assessment of the impact of the game in its time.
      I'm pretty sure that in 2018 people will make comments like this about the innovative games of today, but hey... C'est la vie.
      • Actually, I'd think that Excitebike was popular because not only was it a really fun game, but the NES "port" was identical to the arcade version. I spent MANY hours playing Excitebike at the local greasy spoon. When I finally bought it for the NES, I was quite happy to say the least.

        Actually, I think the only difference was that when you lost in the arcade version, you'd kick a can or something, which didn't happen on the NES version. But thats it.

        Of course, this is all IMHO.

    • Aww come on. Did you even play Goonies II? I'm surprised that it actually made the list (especially a Japanese list), but it *is* deserving of that honour. An often overlooked title, IMO.
  • It's amusing Ballon Fight is rated that highly when it was essentially a Joust clone. Nintendo prides itself on original games, but this was their first real blatent clone of another game. Was Joust itself ever released for the NES?

    Joust came out in arcades in 1983, Balloon Fight on the NES in 1986.
    • I have Joust for NES, though it's on a bootleg Japanese cartridge along with 62 other games - I'd assume this means they did at some point release it, but not necessarily in the US. While Balloon Fight is clearly a rip-off of it, I'd say Balloon Fight is also a bit more fun.

      Incidentally, the cartridge also has a bunch of these other top 30's - Super Mario 1, Mario Bros, Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excitebike, Twinbee, Mappy, Lode Runner, and Bomberman. I never knew Twinbee was popular, but I always love

  • Waxing on NES (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ArmenTanzarian ( 210418 )
    I really enjoyed digging up my old system right before leaving for college. It'd been lost for years despite frantic searches, but I managed to locate it in the dark depths of my basement.

    Funny story: I went to FuncoLand to pick up some games that I always wanted but never had. I mentioned my old console and the kid behind the counter rolled his eyes, "It's not worth a lot." I informed him that I would sooner cut out my liver than sell my NES and he perked right up and told me all about his top NES pick
  • I would like to go on record to point out how much I hate Japanese RPGs. Am I the only one? I know Japanophiles love them (for the same unfathomable reason they love manga), but I find them boring and generic. This is not to say that I don't love other Japanese games. Nintendo is my favorite platform. However, the RPGs suck!
    • The only games in the Japanese RPG genre I've played are a few Squaresoft games and Dragon Warrior 1. I think they're so-so. I often rant about their negative characteristics, but this is really not a reaction to the games themselves so much as to the gushing Square fanboys.
  • Doesn't SMB3 contain Mario Bros? If so, how can someone rank the latter higher than the former? Is this a case of less-is-more at work?

    • Re:smb3 vs. mario bros (Score:2, Informative)

      by exick ( 513823 )
      In SMB3, they use the original Mario Bros. level as a means to present Vs. Mode. It's not the actual game, though the GBA version (Super Mario Advance 4) contains the original Mario Bros. as do all Super Mario Advance games.
  • Final Fantasy III was pretty awesome for an NES game. Too bad it was never released in the U.S.
  • Well i have to say that Its a very good list of games.. Some of the more popular ones where mensioned in a Book Called "Game Over" wiched talked about the Rise and fall of nintendo.. Any how.. very cool stuff.. i just wished Maniac Mansion was in that list.. one of the best games by Ron Gilbert and one of the best ports to a console by far.. *hint *hint Lucas Arts..
  • no master blaster? That was one of the coolest, and hardest games i ever played on the NES!

  • What about... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by bubblewrapgrl ( 189933 )
    Bubble Bobble? I don't even want to think about the number of hours I played that game when I was little. Or how excited I got when I found the arcade version in the Student Union.

    I guess that's part of what makes Nintendo so cool - the sense of nostalgia that comes along with getting to play a game you haven't played in years. Or, being able to meet people you didn't grow up with, but talking about video games and how cool Excitebike was. I'm sure the same thing will happen with Playstation 2 when it
  • Golgo-13 is the best. I literally had my NES on for about a month with this game in it. I don't remember if I left it on because there wasn't a Save, or if saving was just a pain in the ass.

    Looks like I'll have to stop by gamestop and pick it up for $2
  • Rather than later third-party greats. For example, no Megaman, no Strider; in fact, very few platform games other than Mario. I think this is in part because the system was released there in 1984, the sunset days of arcade ports being console gaming's bread and butter. Afterwards, the prevaling trend was towards more complex action games with some story, and RPGs. The RPGs are much better remembered today, of course. So American gamers have a different impression of the NES than the Japanese do of the Famic
    • Rather than later third-party greats.

      Remember, also, that some of those 3rd party titles may not have been released in Japan, or that the Super Famicom was probably already available in Japan by the time they did.

      For example, no Megaman, no Strider; in fact, very few platform games other than Mario. I think this is in part because the system was released there in 1984, the sunset days of arcade ports being console gaming's bread and butter. Afterwards, the prevaling trend was towards more complex action
  • I don't understand how you all could miss this classic! Super Dodge Ball is probably one of THE BEST 2-Player games of all time! Its definately up there with the likes of Super Mario Bros 3 and Zelda.

    • I won't deny that it was fun, but once both players get to a certain point in skill, it becomes a game of catch. After a couple of rentals, me and my brother wouldn't be able to hit each other, because each of use had the timing down so that we could catch whatever the opponent threw.

  • I remember the days when playing Contra was the best thing to do on a friday night. Classic games like Contra and MB are still in my head. I still remember to this day all the warps in MB and the blasted Contra code. Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A B A Select!

  • Which gets me thinking about some of my fave games for the NES:

    • Excitebike
    • Spy Hunter
    • Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (just for the car driving)
    • Ikari Warriors (The countless hours playing this game, even with the cheat, I never beat it!)
    • Micro Machines (probably the best racing game out there, I'm surprised nobody mentioned this treasure!!)
    • Zelda (of course)
    • Blades of Steel (The best hockey game for NES, you could fight!)
    • Tennis
    • Various decent Golf titles

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