For a game about two monkeys that want to save their friend, it sure is epic. The music goes really hard, it's challenging yet rarely feels unfair. The graphics are incredible for this era, too, without any sacrifice on gameplay. I'm more of a fan of Country 1's tone, but that's moreso personal :)

Mario's like an universal language everyone can understand. Replaying this with the old man was really fun. I gotta say that everyone going on and on about "Mario games are easy" never finished this one-- easy to learn, hard to master.

This aged extremely well! It's simple, fun for both kids and adults and is full of personality.

Ever since Jontron called this one Bird vs Camels, I saw life in a different light.
It's nothing special, but it's certainly a novelty. Flying at full speed is kinda fun.

Great graphics, replayability, lot of content, good difficulty, very good music, saving.. this, to me, is the very best the NES can offer. It's still so worth replaying in 2024. Gotta mention there's framerate issues, though, but it's no big deal. If it bothers you, check out the 3DS version.

I still replay this game once in a while. It's hard, and because of that you'll pretty much mostly follow the same level order, but you can still technically do the game in the order you want. The music doesn't hit as much as its sequel, but it's worth checking out.

Such a weird game hahaha, Mario falls like an anchor when he walks off a cliff. The music is very memorable but the game's really short. Play it, it won't take long.

Luigi's Mansion is a weird game, and it does its job. The atmosphere is really well done and everything almost feels alive (despite being about ghosts lol). It does have to be said that it's short-- really short, any less and it would feel like a tech demo. The game encourages you to replay, but there's only so many things you can do differently when the entire game takes place in a mansion.

You'll often see people divided on whether or not the lack of time limit helps the flow of the game. I don't really know, but it makes Pikmin 2 a great entry point for new players. The music is once again beautiful, exploring dungeons feel fun and doesn't really get old as you'd expect, and the purple and white Pikmin are perfect additions to the crew.
Oh, and you can make the game go "Louie. Olimar! Louie. Olimar!" and that's worth mentionning.

This is by far the best mini console and it's a bloody shame Nintendo didn't continue down that trend. The emulation is near perfect, the menu is full of personality, save states are easy to use, the controllers are long enough, the game selection is great and it includes an unreleased game, Starfox 2. Careful for bootlegs, but if you find one at a good price, punch everyone in your way and CLAIM it. If Nintendo ever announces a 64 mini, I will do a triple backflip live.

Feels weird ay? Not that it's a bad game, but most people know there's an entire level lacking. If you want the full experience, check out the arcade version-- and if you really like the NES version, play the 3DS special edition where they added the factory level! Anyway, really short, but still fun.

Holy peak Batman
A colorful, easy to access platformer that sets out to do everything SMB3 did but better. You have so much freedom over your movements. If you know what you're doing, you can finish the game real quick, or take the long road.

No introduction needed for this one, even for grandma.

What settles this game apart from the other racing games? Atmosphere. You can drive with only the sound of your engine, maybe turn on the radio. It's such a simple addition but it adds a lot to the game's charm. The night levels are beautiful, too. Otherwise, it's your usual simple yet tough NES game.
I've always been bad at it though. Oh well!

Doesn't get more simple than that. It's really just a novelty today, but it has a fascinating history.