The Official #IGCvNES YES/NO Piles with Top 25 & Bottom 25
October 1, 2020 3 Comments
THESE ARE NOT FULL REVIEWS
The #IGCvNES YES Pile and the NO Pile are simply my opinions on whether a game is worth a deeper look. If it’s in the YES pile, I think the average gamer interested in retro gaming will find something of genuine value playing the game today, in 2020. If it’s in the NO pile, it’s not worth the time. That’s all this is.
TEMP UPDATE: Bold = Likely Top 25 or Bottom 25, final awards Sunday, Oct 4
THE YES PILE (TOP 10, TOP 25)
- A Boy and his Blob
- Abadox
- Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
- Adventures of Lolo
- Adventures of Lolo (Famicom)
- Adventures of Lolo 2
- Adventures of Lolo 2 (Famicom)
- Adventures of Lolo 3
- Air Fortress
- Anticipation!
- Archon
- Bad News Baseball
- Banana Prince
- Batman: Return of the Joker
- Bible Adventures
- Binary Land
- Bionic Commando
- Bubble Bobble
- Bubble Bobble II
- Castlevania
- Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
- Chip ‘N Dale’s Rescue Rangers
- Chip ‘N Dale’s Rescue Rangers 2
- Chuka Taisen
- Cobra Triangle
- Cocoron
- Contra
- Crystal Mines
- Crystalis
- Darkwing Duck
- Devil World
- Dizzy the Adventurer
- Don Doko Don
- Don Doko Don 2
- Donald Land
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge
- DuckTales
- DuckTales 2
- Eggerland Meikyuu no Fukkatsu
- Excitebike/Vs. Excitebike
- Famicom Wars
- Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy
- Fantasy Zone (Sunsoft)
- Fantasy Zone (Tengen)
- Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Dōchū
- Garry Kitchen’s Battletank
- Gauntlet
- Gauntlet II
- Gimmick
- Gradius
- Gradius II
- Ice Hockey
- Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu
- Joy Mech Fight
- Kickle Cubicle
- Kid Dracula
- Kid Icarus
- Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
- Kid Niki 2 (Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land)
- Kiwi Kraze/New Zealand Story
- Klax
- Krazy Kreatures
- Kung Fu 2 (Kung Fu Master 2)
- Legend of Zelda
- Life Force
- Little Ninja Bros.
- Little Samson
- Mendel Palace
- Micro Machines
- Mig 29: Soviet Fighter
- Mighty Final Fight
- Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!!
- Monster Party
- Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen)
- Mystery World Dizzy
- Ninja Gaiden II
- Ninja Gaiden III
- Nuts & Milk
- Pac-Land
- Panic Restaurant
- Power Blade
- Power Blade 2
- Quattro Adventure (YES to Super Robin Hood)
- Quattro Arcade (YES to Go! Dizzy Go!, F-16 Renegade, & Stunt Buggies)
- R.C. Pro-Am 2
- River City Ransom (JP version)
- Rod Land
- Rygar
- Simpson’s: Bart vs The Space Mutants
- Snow Bros.
- Solomon’s Key
- Spiritual Warfare
- StarTropics
- Super C
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Sweet Home
- Time Zone
- Toki
- Ufouria (Hebereke)
- Ultimate Stuntman
- Vindicators
- Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego
- Whomp ‘Em
- Wizards & Warriors
- Wonderland Dizzy
- Yume Penguin Monogatari
NO PILE (BOTTOM 10, BOTTOM 25)
- 3D World Runner
- 10-Yard Fight
- Addams Family
- Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt
- Adventure Island
- Adventure Island II
- Adventure Island III
- Adventures of Bayou Billy
- Adventures of Dino Riki
- Adventures of Gilligan’s Island
- Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Alfred Chicken
- Alien 3
- Altered Beast
- American Gladiators
- Arkista’s Ring
- Athena
- Athletic World
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
- Back to the Future
- Back to the Future Part II & III
- Balloon Fight
- Barbie
- Baseball
- Batman
- Batman Returns
- Battletoads
- Big Nose Freaks Out
- Big Nose the Caveman
- Blaster Master
- Boulder Dash
- Bubble Bath Babes
- Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
- City Connection
- Clu Clu Land/Clu Clu Land D
- Crisis Force
- Deadly Towers
- Deathbots
- Defender of the Crown
- Deja Vu
- Digger T. Rock
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong III
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Double Dragon
- Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone
- Double Strike
- Dr. Mario
- Dreamworld Pogie
- Dudes with Attitude
- Falsion
- Faxanadu
- Fire Emblem
- Firehawk
- Hello Kitty World (aka Balloon Fight 2)
- Hi no Tori Hououhen: Gaou no Bouken (Phoenix Chronicles)
- Hot Slot
- Galaga
- Ganbare Goemon 2
- Gargoyle’s Quest II
- Ghosts ‘n Goblins
- Golf
- Guardian Legend
- Ice Climber
- Ikari III: The Rescue
- Ikari Warriors
- Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
- Impossible Mission II
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
- Joe & Mac
- Jordan vs. Bird: One on One
- Karnov
- Kid Niki 3 (Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3: Taiketsu! Zōringen)
- Kirby’s Adventure
- Kung Fu
- Linus Spacehead: Cosmic Crusade
- Magic Darts
- Maniac Mansion
- Marble Madness
- Mario Bros.
- Mermaids of Atlantis
- Metal Slader Glory
- Metroid
- Mighty Bomb Jack
- Milon’s Secret Castle
- Mystery Quest
- NES Open Golf
- Nightshade
- Ninja Gaiden
- Pac-Land
- Pac-Man
- Parodius Da!
- Peek-a-Boo Poker
- Pinball
- Power Blazer
- Pro Wrestling
- Puzzle
- Pyramid
- R.B.I. Baseball
- R.B.I. Baseball 2
- R.C. Pro-Am
- Ring King
- Rolling Thunder
- Shadowgate
- Shinobi
- Simpson’s: Bart vs The World
- Simpsons: Bartman meets Radioactive Man
- Skull & Crossbones
- Slalom
- Smurfs
- Snake Rattle ‘n Roll
- Soccer
- Stadium Events
- Star Soldier
- Street Fighter 2010
- Stunt Kids
- Super Mario Bros. – The Lost Levels (Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan)
- Super Sprint
- Super Spy Hunter
- Super Team Games
- Talespin
- Tiles of Fate
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wacky Land
- Toobin’
- Trolls on Treasure Island
- Uninvited
- Wagan Land (Wagyan Land)
- Wagan Land 2 (Wagyan Land 2)
- Wai Wai World
- Wai Wai World 2
- Wally Bear and the NO! Gang
- Wily & Light’s Rockboard: That’s Paradise
- Wizards & Warriors III – Kuros: Visions of Powers
- Xexyz
- Yoshi
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II
ROM HACKS WORTH A LOOK
- Adventures of Lolo Remix
- Castlevania 5 Legacy
- Castlevania Blood Moon
- Castlevania: Chorus of Mysteries
- Challenging Lolo
- Challenging Lolo 2
- Doctor Who
- Legend of Zelda: Outlands
- Mario Adventure
- Zelda II: Redux
Indie Gamer Chick 
I know you’ve since reassessed Adventure Island 3 so maybe there’s hope yet for Faxanadu. 🙂 That one is comfortably in my top 10.
I’ve flipped on tons of these. No to Kung Fu? YES to Pac-Land WTF? Was I high? (checks date) No, probably not. I need to find out if I had a dental surgery around that time. Jeez.
Well I don’t stand by ANY #IGCv review anymore because I didn’t play the games all the way through. These days, I do, and I keep playing them. Back in these days I still had a snobbery streak in me and with retro games, for the most part. I would sample retro games but not really explore them like I had indies or AAAs. It was 2022 when I did Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection where I put all-the-way time in. Unless the game has a full solo review at IGC before then like Arcade Archives releases or a few one-off reviews that were just because I had a strong opinion. I want to be proud of my reviews and I’m not happy with this list. I’m kind of looking at it like “wait, when did I play that?” Some of these games are on my list. Like Wagan Land. I have that for the Japanese version of Namco Archives and I knew I played it before but I really don’t remember these sessions.
As for Faxanadu, count on a review eventually. I do have a full review of Legacy of the Wizard in Namco Museum Archives Volume 2, which is a member of the Dragon Slayer franchise: https://indiegamerchick.com/2023/08/27/namco-museum-archives-volume-2-the-definitive-review-complete-11-game-review-ranking/
Fair enough! It’s easy to see retro games as a bit disposable, I think, given that they’re copious, functionally free, often a slog, and may be from an era or system that doesn’t offer any nostalgia for you.
I could see how full playthroughs could flip you either way though – some games like Ninja Gaiden can be great until the level design becomes hateful, whereas something like Psycho Fox (or Faxanadu!) might be a tough sell until you acclimate to the physics.
Anyway, you’re managing to finish games I don’t have a hope of doing, spinning gold from the experience, and somehow managing to stay prolific, so massive kudos for your shift in approach.