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The Top 8 Best NES/Famicom Games Ever

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Today represents a sad day for gamers across the world, as Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who essentially kick started the home video gaming industry as we know it, passed away. Yamauchi was the President of Nintendo from 1949 until 2002, and oversaw the creation of what many consider to be the best video game console of all time: the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The NES, known as the Famicom (or Family Computer) in Japan, was launched on July 15, 1983 and was Nintendo’s first fully fledged console designed to play a myriad of games interchangeably. At the time, the gaming market was still reeling from the great video game crash of ’83, in which the popularity of home gaming dramatically declined due to the oversaturation of consoles and a lack of high-quality software to go along with them. Nintendo, originally a playing card manufacturer, had in recent years been involved in the development of minor video game consoles and handhelds such as the “Game & Watch” product line. It decided to take a risk by developing a gaming console which was nothing like the consoles before it: the NES.

The NES blew consoles such as the Atari 2600 completely out of the water, and revitalized the home gaming market with its’ high quality ports of arcade hits such as Donkey Kong and original titles which have since become some of the most beloved gaming franchises in the world.

During my time in Japan, I spent hour upon hour at this wonderful little Showa-era (1926-1989) store called Shi-Go-Nana, or C-57, which is a dagashiya. Dagashiyas usually sell cheap candy and trinkets to kids, like a corner store, but this particular place is special because it transports you back to that period of time when the NES came out. Sitting in a little corner of the store on a tatami mat in front of an old-school 1970’s television, I would spend hours playing NES classics.

As I heard the sad news about the man who engineered my gaming childhood, I was reminded of all the great times the NES had brought me, and came up with this list of the 8 best NES games of all time.While it was hard to narrow it down, in my opinion, these games have undoubtedly laid the groundwork for everything we love to see in our games today. Instead of being ranked, the games are in chronological order, as I feel that they all have unique merits and could each stand as the best. So as they say in Japan, “tanoshinde kudasai!” (Please enjoy!)

1) Donkey Kong, 1981

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Donkey Kong is the game that not only gave us the infamous hammer (bane to Super Smash Brothers players everywhere), but also some of the best known Nintendo characters: Pauline (precursor to Princesses Peach and Toadstool), Mario (known then as Jumpman), and of course, Donkey Kong. Making it to the top of the steel maze only to watch Kong take Mario’s girl again was the perfect combination of satisfaction and frustration.

2) Spelunker, 1983

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Spelunker is definitely one of those classic games that lets you know you are playing the NES. You are a cave explorer with an incredibly low tolerance for pain, and you’ve got to make it to the treasure while avoiding numerous hazards, including bat poop. Spelunker required gamers to become pros at maneuvering the character, as even falling a little too far or jumping a bit too high would result in death. Highly frustrating, highly entertaining, pure NES.

3) Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt

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Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt came packaged together as a dual game-pak, and each provided the perfect escape from the other after one too many fights with the Hammer Brothers or appearances by that snickering dog. SMB in particular introduced gamers to Nintendo’s revamped flagship character, Mario, and his universe of plants, pipes, and plumbing.

4) Ghosts ‘n Goblins, 1985

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Ghosts ‘n Goblins introduced gamers to Sir Arthur, the knight with a major crush on Princess Prin Prin and a predilection for losing his clothes in battle. If players were lucky enough to make it past the Red Arremer in the first level, there were still plenty of challenges designed to test their gaming skills.

5) Metroid, 1986

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In Metroid, gamers took on the role of Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter determined to save the galaxy from the Space Pirates. This game combines elements of both Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda, with a darker action-adventure story, and is notable for featuring one of the first female protagonists in gaming. One of its best known myths is the existence of an ending which features a naked Samus. Take a look at Game Center CX’s Arino, an old school game challenger, attempting to clear the game in order to test this myth.

6) Legend of Zelda, 1986

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Legend of Zelda marked the debut of one of Nintendo’s flagship characters, Link, and his never-ending quest to save Princess Zelda. What an altruistic guy! Its gameplay is a mix of role playing, action, and puzzle solving, and was able to appeal to a wide audience of gamers. To this day, the Zelda franchise is one of the most important to Nintendo, and the original is the fourth best-selling NES game of all time.

7) Final Fantasy, 1987

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Final Fantasy, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, has become one of the most well known franchises in gaming, but it all began back on the NES in 1987. It wasn’t the first RPG created, however it did popularize the genre and introduced to video games several features still existant in FF games today, including the notorious random encounter.

8) Contra, 1987

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Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B,A. Need I say more?

So, what are YOUR top 8 NES games of all time?

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-Namakemono

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Violent Video Games Did Not Make Aaron Alexis a Cold Blooded Killer

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By now it’s likely that you’ve heard the unfortunate news about Monday’s mass murder at the Washington Navy Yard.  You’ve probably seen images of the man responsible, Aaron Alexis, and collected bits and pieces of information as it was made available. You may know that 13 people, including the gunman died. Maybe you’ve also learned that several people were injured as well, and watched their names scroll by on your television as the political pundits of the evening emotionlessly expressed their “heartfelt” sympathy and outrage.  Perhaps you’ve also been told that Alexis was an avid, almost obsessive player of violent video games, which may have caused him to commit this mass murder.

It is an undeniable fact that Alexis is a killer, guilty of murdering 12 innocent people and injuring several others who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it would be an insult to them to say anything otherwise. To suggest, however, that a video game or other form of entertainment is ultimately responsible for his heinous act is an insult to innocent Americans and an irresponsible denial of the ramifications of our overzealous gun culture.

Video games, music, films, and indeed most forms of media have been the target of censorship for probably as long as these methods of sharing stories have existed. Looking back over the lifetime of most millennials, you’ll see the introduction of restrictions upon music with explicit lyrics, content ratings for television shows and video games, and going back to the first half of the 20th century, rating systems for films as well.

Many of these were created with the goal of preventing content deemed unsatisfactory from influencing the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of American society. For example, the parental advisory label which can be found on many albums today is a reaction to content from artists such as Prince and Ice-T, which were often derogatory and featured vivid depictions of violence and sexuality. At the time, leaders of the movement in favor of these labels, such as Tipper Gore, argued that being exposed to these vivid depictions would result in an increase of violence and a loosening of sexual morality amongst American youth.

While this could be true, the fact of the matter is that worldwide, most millenials, having grown up steeped in technology, have found ample opportunity to listen to whatever music they want, play whatever games they like, and indeed consume whatever media they choose despite the restrictions placed upon them. What is dramatically different in America, compared to other countries, is the level of real world violence that occurs around them.

Take Japan for example. In 2012, at least five of the top thirty best-selling video games were from franchises known for their violent themes and depictions of explicit behavior. Resident Evil 6 was the fifth most popular game that year. However, there are nearly 200 times more murders with firearms in America than Japan. In 2002, there were 47, compared to 9369 in America. The overall crime rate is significantly lower as well. The same goes for Great Britain. In fact, there are nearly 670 times more murders with firearms in America than Britain.  If Japanese and British citizens, and indeed people from any other country are for the most part consuming the same types of media, yet live with significantly lower murder rates, then the problem isn’t the entertainment, but clearly the culture of violence, or lack thereof.

In five years of living in Japan, I noticed that more people were genuinely concerned when a local convenience store was robbed at knifepoint, than at home in the Bronx when a shooting occurred in front of the local bodega. There was a desire to ensure that everyone involved was alright, and it was entirely unthinkable that something of this nature could ever happen. This is because from a young age, Japanese people are taught to respect each other and to resolve their issues through working together. More importantly, guns are outright illegal, and the concept of achieving your goals at the expense of another person’s safety or wellbeing is not accepted.

In fact, in America, it is the ease with which we accept real life violence and the eagerness to hurt others in order to secure our own prosperity that is in large part responsible for situations like that at the Washington Navy Yard. America is an incredible country and our free spirit is a large part of what made America what it is today, but without change, it will crumble apart from the inside out. Moving forward, Americans must stop blaming films and video games for the violent incidents that time and again hit the nation at its core, and learn to embrace the best practices of our global neighbors.

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-Namakemono

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