By Aaron N
Now to start this article I must first say that I am a Nintendo fanboy. I have just about every system Nintendo has ever released, yes including the vaunted Virtual Boy. Nintendo is my favorite video game company, it is the one I grew up with and it is the one that I currently play the most. So for this column I want to talk about all five home consoles made by Nintendo and the top five games for each system and a game for each system that I feel is underrated by the vast majority of gamers, and with the announcement of the next Nintendo console dubbed "Project Cafe" this is a fitting article.
Nintendo made gaming history in 1985 by releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. The NES was originally called the Famicon, short for Family Computer, and was released in Japan in 1983. The NES brought arcade style gaming into the living room and this is when home gaming took off. The fifth best game, all of these are my opinion, for the Nintendo Entertainment System is Super Mario Brothers. This game started it all. This is the quintessential platformer and this is the game that got everyone hooked. And it also introduced us to what is arguably the most memorable music in game history. It will go down as one of the best games of all time. It will be forever known as the game that started it all. Number four on this list is a personal favorite: Godzilla. I am a huge fan of the Godzilla series and this game was a favorite of mine growing up. You fight your way through planets eventually facing off against the classic monsters in the Godzilla franchise. It's a fun button masher and it's packed with fun enemies and great music, it is simply a very fun game to play. The third best NES game is Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. This was a game that got you hooked from the start. The simplistic dodge and punch routine was easy to master and each boxer was like a puzzle you had to solve. Each boxer had a unique personality and once again the music was catchy and memorable. This is a game that you can truly pick up at anytime and have fun. Number two on my list is none other than the original Legend of Zelda. This was the first game to have an overworld that you could explore in between levels. It was also one of the first to have the save feature. It introduced us to our hero Link who would go on to be almost as famous as Mario. Also, this was the first game to have a score to it. The music was created as if it was a concert piece and it really showed. Overall this is one of the pillars of gaming and it went on to be known as one of the most important games ever made. Finally, the best game to be made for the Nintendo Entertainment System is Super Mario Bros 3. This game was the top grossing game of all time when it came out. The hype for this game was remarkable. It was the first true sequel to Super Mario Bros to be released in the United States. It took everything great about the original and improved it. There were now overworld maps to go to in between levels. There were more power-ups for Mario to use, new bad guys, and of course King Koopa at the end of the game. The levels were no longer formulaic, there was a different boss for each world. This game was basically 8-bit perfection. The game that I feel is the most underrated game for the NES is Godzilla. This game is just really fun to play. The music is top notch and the worlds that you play in are colorful and eye-catching. I can find myself playing this game over and over and the difficulty is high. I would recommend any Godzilla fan pick this game up and try it out.
Nintendo followed the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System with the aplty named Super Nintendo, which was released in American in 1991. Starting my top five for the Super Nintendo is the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I remember watching my brother play this when I was younger and we both were enthralled with the world that was created. It was our first taste of the Zelda world and boy was it a good one. I remember watching him finally make it to Ganon, it was an amazing experience. "A Link to the Past" brought Zelda back to its roots and explanded on the foundation that was placed in the original game. Number four on my list is Donkey Kong Country 2. I never owned the original so I only played it a few times when I rented it. So DKC 2 was my first taste into the Kong series, and I loved every minute of it. The gameplay was great, the graphics were top-notch, the music was catchy. I still have fun when I throw this game on and try it out. Number three on my list is Star Fox. This game was really the first to have somewhat three-dimensional figures and you could fly diagonally. It was somewhat a precursor of things to come in the next generation of systems. The music was fun to listen to and the enemies were fun to shoot down. It was the beginning of a classic franchise. The runner-up for the SNES is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 4: Turtles in Time. This game was a must have for all fans of the TMNT franchise. It was a fun button masher and it has brought me back many times to play it again. The levels are each unique in their own right and each boss is like a puzzle you need to solve, and when you finally solve the Super Shredder puzzle, it is a sense of satisfaction. Finally, the best game to be made for the Super Nintendo is none other than they first game to be made for it, and that is Super Mario World. Nintendo followed one of the plumber's most popular outings with an absolute gem of a game. It helped that this was the first game that you experienced the new 16-bit system on. In the game itself you were able to have more leeway with where you explored on the map. There were more secrets and different routes to take. It took a while to complete the whole game and unlock every part. This game also introduced everyone to Yoshi, who would go on to be a staple of the Mario series. This game improved on everything that was ever used in a mario game and still was able to create new aspects of the classic series. Now to move on from a widely popular game to what I feel is the most underrated game of the Super Nintendo, and that is Battle Clash. Battle Clash utilized the Super Scope bazooka that was released for the system. The story is that there is a battle tournament of giant robots. The title character enters the tournament in order to get to the boss of it all, Thanatos, who killed his father. You will use different weapons and different strategies in order to make it through the tournament and Thanatos is one bad man. It is a fun game that I feel anyone would like to play.
Part two of this article will be appearing shortly, it will start with the Nintendo 64 and go through to thecurrent console, the Nintendo Wii.
