50 desert island NES games

[Uncle]

you are being banished to a desert island forever

you will not have to worry about food or shelter or electricity for various minor comforts

the only video games you are allowed to have are 50 NES games of your choosing

which ones do you pick?

[TylenolJones]

Does this count as one game or 52 games?

[Straight Edge]

Mike Tyson's Punch Out
Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Contra
Metroid
Castlevania
Rush' N Attack
Ikari Warriors
Commando

I'll get back to you on the rest.

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

The Mario trilogy and lost levels
Mega Man 1 - 6
Final Fantasy
Castlevania 1 - 3
Tetris
Dr. Mario
Metroid

can't think of anything more.   Mario 3 is my favorite.

[Uncle]

my list:

THE ONES ALMOST EVERYONE PICKS

mario 1, 2, 3
zelda 1
kirby's adventure
mike tyson's punch out
dragon warrior 3, 4
final fantasy
castlevania 3

tetris - I previously said that this game doesn't beat most RPGs for me, but if I'm stuck on an island I probably need tetris

conspicuously absent:
zelda 2 - I just don't have a lot of fun with this
metroid - I think I've had enough of this game, too archaic, no map
kid icarus - just not that fun to me
dragon warrior 1, 2 - good games but not rich enough in mechanics and story
duck hunt - novel but hardly a top tier game
mega mans and ninja gaidens - I'm just not usually a "nintendo hard" kind of player, I want to have fun
contras - contras are "maybes" if I have room, I've had a good time with them from time to time
castlevania 1, 2 - important games, but...1 is a little archaic and 2 is experimental with a lot of poor design choices
dr. mario - nowhere near as good as tetris, kind of loses steam
TMNT games - never really grabbed me
sports and racing games - just never been that big on them, narratively uninteresting, repetitive

THE ONES EVERYONE WITH GOOD TASTE PICKS

startropics 1, 2
crystalis
river city ransom
goonies 2
gauntlet
blaster master

metal gear - this one's a "maybe" if I can fit it in, lots of fun equipment in this game

clash at demonhead - same as metal gear

conspicuously absent:
gmmick! - this game is awesome and beautiful but ultimately too short for a desert island game
most disney games like chip n' dale - high quality for sure, but somehow many of them feel like a waste of a slot
bionic commando - this game never spoke to me, I have never wanted to play it
bubble bobble - maybe...fun for a bit, I don't know

MY DARK HORSE PICKS

AD&D pool of radiance - this game rocks, endlessly replayable with different party combinations, tons of roleplaying options, you can burst into the temple in town and try to murder all the priests if you like (and probably get slaughtered). it's a tactical game comparable to final fantasy tactics, great level of simulation, if you kill a squad of goblins they all drop their shitty short swords and leather armors and you can gather them all up and sell them if you feel like it. huge game, lots of magic items and spells, tons of stuff to do.

might & magic - not quite as good as pool of radiance but still good, lots of options for building your party and a huge world to explore

M.U.L.E. - a really unique board game/simulation type of thing that's endlessly replayable, great game

ufouria - a little-known goofy metroidvania which is really cool

legacy of the wizard - huge game world, lots of fun characters to play as

faxanadu - good action rpg

gargoyle's quest 2 - a maybe, it's a good action RPG (though simple on the RPG side of things)

maniac mansion - I just like it, great presentation, fun characters

gun-nac - the only space shooter I will bring, this game is awesome with tons of great weapons, fast paced, weird, it's the full package

shadowgate - I love this game, interesting puzzles to solve

micro machines - maybe, I really like how polished it is and the physics/game feel, but eh

adventures of lolo 1, 2, 3 - I might regret these but they're great puzzle games

spiritual warfare - a christian game but this is more or less another great zelda game, honestly surprisingly good

magician - I might regret taking this because it's on the short side but very detailed with lots you can do, interesting magic system

mendel palace - this game is incredibly weird and fun, shuffle cards on the ground to slam enemies into the walls

conspicuously absent:
wizardry - a very influential game with lots of options but more maddening than fun
bard's tale - not bad but too small of a game compared to the above ones
a boy and his blob - I like this quirky game but it's way too short
shatterhand - shatterhand is awesome but it's also "nintendo hard" like mega man, so I don't know

THE ONES I HAVEN'T PLAYED AND WILL PROBABLY LIKE

willow - I hear it's a good adventure/rpg
ultima 3, 4, 5 - I always hear that these are great games but it's a franchise I've just never explored
romance of the three kingdoms - precious few endlessly replayable sims on the console
rygar - I've played it a little, I know it's supposed to be a very good action RPG
duck tales - yeah I have actually not played this much but I bet it I would appreciate it
little nemo the dream master - this one's a maybe, from what I've seen it's very kirby's adventure

conspicuously absent:
batman - seems pretty great but I don't know, kind of a standard polished platformer on the shorter side?

---

leaving out the ones on the "conspicuously absent" lists, that's 45 games, so I suppose I could fill out remaining picks from there, maybe I would in fact take mega man 6 or something


BONUS: IF I COULD HAVE JAPANESE FAMICOM GAMES LOCALIZED INTO ENGLISH

family basic - so I can make my own video games while stranded on this island

fire emblem, fire emblem gaiden - love tactics games

famicom wars - love advance wars

sweet home - a horror RPG and spiritually the first resident evil game, really interesting game with unique mechanics, split the party to solve puzzles, just really cool

lagrange point - a space rpg with a unique high quality sound chip, always wanted to play it

[Uncle]

Does this count as one game or 52 games?

this is one game but don't take it for the love of god

[PogiJones]

I wouldn't take 50 tbh. While I grew up with it, I think a lot of them are too archaic, such that nostalgia doesn't save them for me. But of what I would take, a lot of Uncle's list: mostly Nintendo first parties, the Mega Man games, contras, Castlevania 3, Crystalis, Dragon Quests, etc. I would take Battletoads, too, because it's got great fundamentals, and its unfair challenge is perfect for a desert island.

[Boredfrom]

I probably will stick with most safe choices (Mario, Castlevanias and Mega Man 1-6).

I suppose Wizardry could be a good choice, and Tetris.

My Dark Horse pick: Guerrilla War (go fuck yourself Ikari Warriors).

[Uncle]

M.U.L.E. is honestly worth learning to this day, you probably won't be able to just sit down without instructions and figure it out, but once you learn what it's about, it's a really cool game

you're colonizing a planet with limited space and resources against 3 other alien species, have to manage food, energy, economy, I wouldn't exactly say it's "like" settlers of catan but it has that kind of vibe, or a minor/rudimentary version of civilization, the kind of game that transcends its limited platform a bit

[Potato]

Some choices that might not be on other people's lists: 

• Gunsmoke
  
• Maniac Mansion
  
• Golf
  
• Parodius
  
• Rampart
  
• Swords and Serpents
  
• Defender of the Crown 
  
• Bionic Commando
  
• Cobra Triangle
  
• Robowarrior
  
• Rad Racer
  

[Potato]

Are we making a combined bire list?

[Uncle]

Are we making a combined bire list?

like games are more solidly included the more people list them?

rampart has always seemed interesting to me, definitely a unique game, and same with swords and serpents, did you actually play that back in the day? multiplayer-capable first person RPG is such a weird concept

regular golf is fun but if I had to pick I would choose NES open tournament golf due to having more options, being more polished, and having three 18-hole courses instead of just one

[Potato]

Definitely played Rampart. Great game. Better in the arcade with the trackball controls. 

I think we rented Swords and Serpents (only two player, didn't have the adaptor for 4) for a weekend, but I included it in my list because that shit would be awesome 4 players.

[Potato]

Are we making a combined bire list?

like games are more solidly included the more people list them?

Yeah, once everyone has discussed their picks, just pull a list together and we can argue about the list

[Polident]

Tecmo Super Bowl

Even if you’re against American Football, it’s worth it for the soundtrack alone.

[benji]

Do the games come in their original boxes? I'll take the fifty with the smallest chipsets inside.

[Potato]

Do the games come in their original boxes? I'll take the fifty with the smallest chipsets inside.

Some good spanking material on some of those western RPG covers. 

[Chudder Barbarity]

Can I get a famicom instead? Most have better versions there and there's a few exclusives i want.

Balloon Fight
Batman
Bionic Commando
Bucky O’Hare
Castlevania
Castlevania 3
Contra
Crisis Force
Double Dragon
Double Dragon 2
Dragon Fighter
Excitebike
Faxanadu
Fire Emblem Gaiden
Gimmick
Gun Nac
Kirby
Kung Fu
Little Samson
Mario 1
Mario 3
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Metal Storm
Mother
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden 2
Ninja Gaiden 3
Punch Out
Rad Racer
Recca
Shadow of the Ninja
Shatterhand
Street Fighter 2010
Super Contra
Vice Project Doom
Zelda 1
Zelda 2

There are better versions of the below, but if i'm only allowed this system add

Bubble Bobble
Dragon Quest 3
Dragon Quest 4
Gradius
Gradius 2
Life Force
Tetris

[Uncle]

I forgot about Recca, but again I'm not a huge space shooter person and gun-nac is a bit better balanced, if less of a technological achievement

[Gameboy Nostalgia]

I forgot Duck hunt. 

[Nintex]

Darkwing Duck* (probably my favorite all things considered, played this so much as a kid and looks way better than nearly anything else on the system)

Mega Man*
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Zelda 2 - Fuck the haters, original SOULS
Double Dragon II* (how can you not take this with you?)
Kirby's Adventure*
RC Pro-Am* (amazing game and you can never finish it)
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Bubble Bobble
Super Mario Bros. 3* (probably Nintendo's best game of that era, they weren't yet very good at making games outside of what Miyamoto made)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
Probotector / Contra
Probotector II / Contra C(?)
Castlevania
Ducktales
Ducktales II
Castlevania 3
Punch-Out!!
Ikari Warriors (my personal vietnam)
Kickle Cubicle
Tiny Toon Adventures
Bugs Bunny's: Birthday Blowout* (another one of my favorite games as a kid because I was a big fan of bugs bunny mostly)
Adventures of Lolo* (seen this mentioned before, absolute banger)
Life Force
Batman: The Video Game
Snake Rattle & Roll
The New Zealand Story*
Metal Gear
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja* (LETS EAT A BURGER DUDES HAHAHA )
Final Fantasy
Tales Spin
Ninja Gaiden
The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy*
Robocop
Cobra Triangle
Kung Fu
PRO WRESTLING (STAR MAN)
Track & Field
NES World Cup (I think it was actually a different soccer game but I can't remember the name)
Galaxy 5000*
North VS. South (I mostly enjoyed the train heists)
The Blues Brothers*
Captain Skyhawk
Power Blade
Totally Rad*
Tetris
Off Road
Super Mario Bros.*

* = games I have on cartridge

[Polident]

If we ever get to the point of building a community list, I’m sorry but I will try to veto Captain Skyhawk.

[HardcoreRetro]

Can I take one of those 500 in 1 bootleg consoles instead? Those had like 50 games at most and then a bunch of romhacks and corrupted versions of those games.

It's where I played Contra. Didn't even know Probotector was a thing till the internet.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

Batman
The Double Dragons
The Ninja Gaidens
The Megamans

Edit: A turbo controller.

[TylenolJones]

Kid: I want 50 nes games
Mom: We have 50 nes games at home

The 50 nes games: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147860/UFO_50/

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

so fucking good!!!

[MMaRsu]

Kid: I want 50 nes games
Mom: We have 50 nes games at home

The 50 nes games: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1147860/UFO_50/

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

so fucking good!!!

Yeah why is this not on Switch wtf..