My brothers and I loathed Super Mario Bros. 2.
We played the shit out of the Double Dragons and Kung-Fu, but the arcade versions, not the Nintendo version. They were at our favorite local pizza places, not Chuck E Cheese.
My friends were into Castlevania but I couldn't get into it as a kid. Also played Ninja Gaiden but don't remember being crazy about it.
We played console and arcade versions of the Ninja Turtle games, but I don't remember have strong feelings about the difference between 2 and 3. I checked out some gameplay vids to remind myself of the difference, and the biggest thing I noticed is that 2 was the version you could find everywhere in arcades. I don't recall 3 being that widespread.
Like others in here, I loved Kirby, but I spent more time on the Game Boy installments like Dream Land because those were staples of a little carry-on knapsack I had for travel & swim meets and shit like that. Same story for Dr. Mario. Adored DuckTales.
Didn't play Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, River City Ransom, Maniac Mansion, Cyberball, or Freedom Force as a kid. Didn't get into Metroid until Super Metroid.
Super Mario Bros. 2 wasn't even a Mario gem when it was initially made. It was rebranded to get something out the door. It doesn't feel cannon but I like it just because it is kind of weird and did a lot of stuff interesting. It is more like Super Pitfall than Super Mario Bros. 1.
Castlevania to me is a very mixed bag because there was dumb shit in it that you needed someone to tell you where it was or had the correct issue of the magazine Nintendo Power.
Others that were standouts were Lulu's Adventures,
I agree with Startropics.
Blaster Master was extremely hard but I don't think I would put it in the same list as Super Mario Bros 3. That is a fun game even today.
4 player Bomberman 2 on the NES was a blast, especially with 4 players but that game was ported to every system. That was a blast of a game.
Ninja Gaiden 1-3 were good games.
Contra I think hasn't aged well. It was one of the first but I wouldn't bother ever playing it again. If you want to start with the series, start with the SNES Super Contra.
RC-Pro AM is legit fun though the two player mode is a little odd with shared screen but it is legit with good controls.
Gauntlet on the NES is one of the best ports of the arcade game but it gets left off because Tengen bypassed the NES blocked chip. The NES probably had the best ports of Pacman, Ms.Pacman, Galaga, Dig Dug, and Mario Bros.
RBI Baseball is maybe the best baseball game or maybe Baseball Stars but Cyberball is more fun with its wackiness.
Tetris should be there as it is often considered the cannon port and is used in competitions.
Hogan's Alley is a much better light gun game than Duck Hunt.
I am not sure why Bionic Commando is on the list. Might as well put Ironsword there if you want a scroller like that game.
Little Nemo was legit fun with good graphics
Metal Storm is a sleeper
Marble Madness should be on the list and I would play this game today
I enjoyed Double Dragon 1-3. 3 was kind of weird but fun.
If you were to play one game though on the NES, it would be Super Mario 3. That cartridge was supped up with extra memory and stuff but that was by far peak NES.
