NES Games almost every 80s kid played

What the report says

I’ve written a lot about the best NES games, the hardest NES games, the most quintessential NES games… Nintendo’s NES was—and still is—my favorite gaming console. So I write about it often! But since starting my eBay store, and more recently the Ghetto Gamer shop, I’ve noticed certain games that pop up again and again. These are typically cheap games and surprisingly few are the long-lasting legacy games you probably think of right away. Honestly I was kind of surprised by how often these games get bought and sold on eBay. They’re the games that are almost impossible to keep in stock, even though they are bulk commons.

Kinda blew my mind, actually.So in strictly arbitrary order, here are the top NES games that almost every 80s kid played. And if you think I’m wrong, there’s a comment section down there. I’m dying to hear what games you think I’m missing, and what games helped shape your childhood.Super Mario Bros./Duck HuntLet’s start with the obvious. If you owned an NES, you almost certainly had this combo cart. Early adopters might have ended up with the Super Mario Bros. single, and/or the Duck Hunt single if they purchased the Zapper separately.It’s hard to overstate the ubiquity of this game.

Even today you see this game at mall kiosks where salesmen try to unload bootleg Game Entertainment Systems. It’s iconic. I’d wager it’s even more ingrained in our collective pop-culture consciousness than that Warhol soup can painting. You know the one. You don’t? Well then I rest my case!…actually, just all the Super Mario gamesAfter careful consideration, I’ve decided to upgrade #1 to include SMB 3 and 2. Honestly, the second one (Doki Doki Panic!!) is the least popular but still pretty darn ubiquitous in its day. It’s the first video game I ever played all the way through and man, that ending blew my little 7-year-old mind.TetrisThis game was hugely popular.

Key details

It had broad appeal for all ages. Even adults. Even my mom! …which makes sense. There’s no kids’ movie tie-in, no licensed cartoon characters. No characters at all, in fact. The graphics were simple shapes with 90-degree angles which allowed for some simple but clean-looking graphics. I remember being impressed with the highlights on the Tetriminos, and how they literally made the blocks shine. I had similar feelings about the Flash Man stage in Mega Man 2.If you ask me, Tetris is—pixel for pixel—one of the greatest games of all time. Possibly the perfect video game.

It’s easy to learn, with a difficulty ramp gentle enough to give even n00bs a sense of accomplishment. Then the option to adjust difficulty or game modes, or even choose the song. Tetris is still the GOAT in my book.Mega Man 2Oh, and speaking of Mega Man 2, this game was everywhere back in the day!Gamers debate over which NES Mega Man title is the “best” (it’s 3), but the numbers don’t lie and MM2 is far and away the most popular Mega Man of all time.Between the clean graphics, satisfying action and dope soundtrack, Mega Man 2 deserves the love it still enjoys.

I can seriously play this forever and never get tired of it. And what’s more, it was incredibly popular in its time and most NES gamers will have played this absolute banger.Bayou BillyDespite its popularity, Bayou Billy has plenty of detractors. Lots of hate. I’ve posted about this game on Twitter (now called “X” by a few) and invariably hear responses akin to “throw that in the garbage” or “kill it with fire.”Not sure why all the hate, really. It’s a pretty decent game that straddles the line between genres better than most multi-genre games.

More from the announcement

I suppose the Billy-hate stems from the fact that this game is harder than rocks and probably traumatized a whole generation.Regardless, Bayou Billy seems to be constantly coming into the shop and constantly going right back out, impossible to keep in stock. It seems every bit as ubiquitous as Mario or Zelda among retro collectors. Crazy.Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesSpeaking of difficult games…There are so few pop-cultural phenomena like TMNT. And while the franchise itself has shown incredible longevity, having been re-imagined time and again, the original NES game still remains a one-of-a-kind entry.

But yeah. This game is really tough. You probably remember the dam level. That was the stage that separated the boys from the true ninja. Even if you limped all four of your turtles to the next stage, they were likely beat to hell.