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Thinking back to most of the games you played on the NES, it's easy to remember the 8-bit library as being simple and possibly even primitive. However, if you dig deep into the library, there is a surprising amount of games that maxed out the NES hardware to produce some impressive graphics and sound. With the Famicom / NES hardware remaining popular and active on the retail scene for over a decade, game developers had a lot of time to perfect their programming techniques and squeeze every last bit of power out of the iconic console. Below, RadarScope1 and racketboy team up to review some of the most demanding NES games in terms of hardware resources.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the dominant video game console of the early and mid 1980s. Released in 1985, the NES single handedly rejuvenated the console video game industry after the video game crash of 1983. The games released on the NES have becomes classics and many defined the genres they represented and continue to influence design philosophy in modern games. There are so many excellent games from the NES that any list will inevitably leave off games deserving of honor. The list below comprises games that were both classics and have a lasting legacy.

In celebration to the 20th Anniversary of the release of Famico (known as NES in North America) in Japan, Nintendo released a line of Famico games emulated on the Game Boy Advance. Less than half of the titles managed to travel overseas for a domestic U.S. release. They were known as the Classic NES titles. Keep in mind the NES was the console where many of the most recognizable video game franchises started. It is the virtual who-who's of the gaming industry. Here are the top five Classic NES titles for the Gameboy Advance.

Like all video games the sports games continue to improve. Real players, better graphics, longer and more in depth franchise modes, etc. Even though sports video games get better and better there will always be something special about the NES sports games. The sports video games on the NES were classic and are still fun to play today. These were the 10 best sports games on the NES.

The Atari 7800 never had a chance. Stacked against the dominant NES and a stubborn Master System, Atari's competitor was doomed to fail. The console was created in 1983 for full release the following year, but the faltering videogame market forced Atari to full it back. The ascension of the NES proved that consoles were still quite viable (if marketed correctly with good games), so Atari dusted off its shelved system. By the time it was released in 1986, the 7800 was saddled with tech a few years behind the curve. The comparisons between the 7800's launch library - which was also completed in 1984 - and the games burning up the NES and SMS were dismal. The system suffered little third-party support. It was eventually binned in 1991.

When I played the Sega Master System for the first time in Macy's in 1987, I had already owned the NES for about three months. The first game I played (or watched, I can't remember) was Choplifter. After seeing how amazing the graphics were compared to the NES, I knew I had to have the SMS A.S.A.P. Shortly after, I bought one in Crazy Eddie and it became my favorite system for the next two and a half years (until the Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 came out). While it never really became popular, due to almost no third party support and the near-monopoly the NES had (which outsold it by about 12 to 1!), it had some truly outstanding now-classic games, and the graphics and accessories (liquid crystal 3-D glasses and the best light gun at the time) were way ahead of their time. Sadly, I still dream about what could have been if things had went right. Anyway, it's going to be extremely tough to come up with a top 10 list, but here I go...

Remakes of Mario games have been released over the years by Nintendo, often with updated graphics and added features. They feature updates of games spanning the NES, the Super NES, and the Nintendo 64. Some games have also been remade in the Classic NES series. In addition, the games of the series have seen re-releases unchanged through Virtual Console.

I had such a good time listing off my favorite NES games, that I just couldn't resist making a list of my top games for my favorite system - the Super Nintendo. I know the SNES isn't as "retro" as the NES, but just because it's not as old, doesn't mean it's not as good. As you can see, this list consists of 25 games, rather then 20 like my last one. I decided to make it a little longer so I could fit a few more of my favorites in. And, although I like the N64, Playstation, PS2, etc., I definitely won't be making a top list for those systems (not only because they're not retro, but they just aren't as special to me as the NES and SNES).

Released in 1985, the NES changed the gaming landscape with its revolutionary 2D titles. Thanks to the Virtual Console on the Nintendo Wii, gamers can experience these great classic titles for just 500 Wii Points (the equivalent of $5.00). So which games stood above the rest? Here are five NES games worth downloading on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console.

Welcome ghouls and goblins to a special feature of NES Player. Well, it is that time again. A short-lived period of realization that summer has long died and we are forcibly accepting the changes that follow. Fall has made itself feel comfortable in our lives until the coldness of late November sneaks up close behind on us. This is the time of year when we celebrate autumn by placing seasonal corn stalks, haystacks, and pumpkins in and outside of our homes in the season's tradition. Let's not dance around the subject, though. We all know that October is best known for one day and one day alone. A certain holiday that has evolved through the generations -- the event we refer to as all hollow's eve.

On June 12th, 2006 Jason Lindholm wrote an article about his Top 5 Favorite NES Games. I'm also an avid gamer and the Nintendo was my first love so I hold many NES games near and dear to my heart. Today's video game systems have more in-depth storylines and better graphics but nothing beats the old classics. I have my own top five favorite games from the Nintendo but I thought I'd also add some comments about Jason's choices also.

When Nintendo announced the Super Nintendo we all asked why? The NES was still king. Did we really want to spend money on a new system that would play basically the same games with slightly better graphics? And the first games released on the Super NES proved that point. A slightly more colorful version of "Super Mario" offered the same game play as it's original.

In Japan, shortly after the introduction of Nintendo's Famicom (Japan's version of the NES), the electronics giant NEC entered into the videogame market with the introduction of their "next generation" system, known as the PC Engine (PCE). The PCE boasted a 16-bit graphics chip capable of displaying up to 256 colors on screen at once, at a number of resolutions. Although its CPU wasn't much more powerful that of the NES, its spectacular graphics chip and six-channel sound bettered the Famicom in every way. It utilized a sleek new card format (PCE games are either HuCards or Turbochips) to hold its software, rather than bulky cartridges. It was also the first console to boast a CD-ROM drive, for full orchestral soundtracks and even (gasp!) full motion video. The PC Engine was immensely popular in Japan, outselling the Famicom by a significant margin.

April 18, 2008 - For a system that tanked against the NES, the Sega Master System sure has some fans. After Tuesday's RetroCity podcast, I heard from a lot of listeners and readers that harbor nothing but good will toward Sega's 8-bit console. The Master System is also now on the Virtual Console, getting some long overdue love from gamers that may have passed over the console due to the vastly superior marketing of the NES or, well, the awesome-ness of Super Mario Bros.

Videogames come and videogames go, but nothing will ever hold sway over an entire generation like the good ol' Nintendo Entertainment System. Some estimate that 800 NES games were released for the system from 1985 to 1995; far too many for us to process. If you had a normal childhood, you invariably missed a lot of good NES games, unless you were that hopelessly spoiled kid who owned every single release and had Super Mario Bros. 3 imported from Japan a year before everyone else got it. Then he charged his friends a quarter per life to play it, the little shit. No one liked that kid.

It was 1989. Nintendo's NES had reigned supreme in the videogame market for nearly five years, and it was time for a new system to take over the throne. Sega's Master System, while graphically superior to the NES, failed to make any kind of lasting impression in the U.S. market (although it was very popular in Europe), and Sega knew that their next system would not only have to be superior to everything else out there, but they'd have to have a lot of third-party developers lined up. The lack of third-party support is cited as the main cause of the Master System's demise.

The Nintendo Entertainment System is legendary in the video game world. Nintendo virtually came out of nowhere to invade the world with a reborn love for home-based video games. To fuel the revolution, Nintendo and a skilled group of third parties loaded the NES library with a wealth of high quality 8-bit games that would not only ingrain themselves in the minds of youngsters, but set standards for video game generations to come.

When the Super Nintendo video game system was on the market, battling it out with the Sega Genesis system, I owned a Sega. However, I had friends who owned the Super NES and from time to time would play it. Comprising a very long list of Super NES games would be difficult for me, but I can list the three that I remember the most. On the Sega Genesis I enjoyed a variety of game styles, but most of my friends were into fighting games. So, when I was watching other people play the Super Nintendo it tended to be one of the Mortal Combat games getting shown off. Below are the top three games I enjoyed playing myself.

The Nintendo Entertainment System, in all its 8-bit glory, began my exciting love affair with the great indoors. The video games on this list kept me company through many an elementary-school sleepover at friends' houses, provided endless fodder for recess playground conversation and even inspired a few short stories from yours truly (each plot revolving around the fantasy of getting sucked inside a video game). In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I dedicate this list and to Shigeru Miyamoto and all the other folks at Nintendo who made all that fun possible...oh, and of course my beloved aunt Jean who sent me and my siblings our first NES console.

Not only was the Nintendo Entertainment System the console that resurrected video games after the industry crash of '83, but the system's top titles set the gameplay standard by which modern platforming, RPG, action, adventure and narrative are designed today. These are the most influential and trend setting titles from the NES.