Famicom Games you should try out

This is a revised version of an older list with descriptions and just being possibly better. Hope this gets you to try out some cool 8-bit titles regardless of the quality. There are some bad ones but everywhere can witness some kusoge every once in a while.
*Note I have not played every game on here so comment if mistakes were made.

Takahashi Meijin no Bouken-jima IV
Takahashi Meijin no Bouken-jima IV
The final game for the console. The game goes for a more Metroid like take for the gameplay. It's a pretty fun game worth playing, it's also apparently Hudson Soft's worst selling game.
Nekketsu! Street Basketball All-Out Dunk Heroes
Nekketsu! Street Basketball All-Out Dunk Heroes
There's too many Kunio-Kun games I'm tired. IT'S BASKETBALL BUT COOL
Keroppi to Keroriinu no Splash Bomb!
Keroppi to Keroriinu no Splash Bomb!
A fun top down game with Bomberman like weapons.
Puyo Puyo
Puyo Puyo
An odd release probably due to the success of the sequel. It's basically just the FDS version.
Joy Mech Fight
Joy Mech Fight
The best fighting game on the system with fun designs and simple gameplay that will keep you coming back.
Kunio-kun's Nekketsu Soccer League
Kunio-kun's Nekketsu Soccer League
Another Soccer game by Kunio-kun
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
A cartridge version of a disk system game. A fun platformer with some creative ideas.
Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken 2: Donuts Ike ha Oosawagi
Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken 2: Donuts Ike ha Oosawagi
It's a Wagyan Land clone
Wily & Light's Rockboard: That's Paradise!!
Wily & Light's Rockboard: That's Paradise!!
Similar to Itadaki Street, best played with friends.
Nekketsu Fighting Legend
Nekketsu Fighting Legend
A 4 player fighting game that can be pretty fun and addicting though the framerate is poor.
Just Breed
Just Breed
An interesting strategy RPG and Enix's last published game. It sadly bombed hard.
Wagyan Land 3
Wagyan Land 3
Hope you know Japanese
Moon Crystal
Moon Crystal
Really cool gameplay and cutscenes. The detailed movement can be a detriment but the game is still pretty fun once you get good.
Mahou no Princess Minky Momo: Remember Dream
Mahou no Princess Minky Momo: Remember Dream
A fun minigame collection as you also go walking around town helping out.
Summer Carnival '92: Recca
Summer Carnival '92: Recca
One of the most impressive shmups you'll find on the console. Be warned though it's really damn hard.
Mitsume ga Tooru
Mitsume ga Tooru
An amazing action side scroller by Natsume. Good level design all around and is just really fun.
Esper Dream 2: Aratanaru Tatakai
Esper Dream 2: Aratanaru Tatakai
An action RPG with really good visuals. Gameplay will vary for some people.
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal
More Kunio sports fun!
Hello Kitty World
Hello Kitty World
Balloon Kid but starring Kitty White. They wouldn't get the original Balloon Kid till 2000 on the GBC. This game was also too hard for the target audience.
Fire Emblem Gaiden
Fire Emblem Gaiden
The blacksheep of the franchise but still a game worth checking out.
Go-Go! Nekketsu Hockey Club Slip-and-Slide Madness
Go-Go! Nekketsu Hockey Club Slip-and-Slide Madness
More Kunio-Kun. This one seems to be too easy for some so be wary of that.
Mr. Gimmick
Mr. Gimmick
One of Sunsoft's most highly praised games. It looks beautiful, sounds amazing and it's really challenging especially if you want the good ending. Don't miss out on it.
Don Doko Don 2
Don Doko Don 2
It's now a platformer and it's really good. With some really fun level design. It can be a bit easy.
Pizza Pop!
Pizza Pop!
A decent platformer by Arc System Works.
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2: Tenka no Zaihou
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2: Tenka no Zaihou
Another Goemon RPG, not much to say.
Choujin Sentai Jetman
Choujin Sentai Jetman
A short and easy action game by Natsume. Think of it like a lighter version of Shatterhand.
Time Zone
Time Zone
An interesting sidescroller but can be punishing.
Spartan X 2
Spartan X 2
An interesting sequel adding new improvements though it might be too easy for some.
Metal Slader Glory
Metal Slader Glory
A text adventure with some of the most impressive visuals on the console. It sadly however almost killed HAL as a company due to poor sales.
Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land
Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land
An obscure sequel with some decent ideas. Worth a look.
Crisis Force
Crisis Force
A pretty impressive shmup by Konami. It reminds me of the Aleste series. It also has co-op.
Hyaku no Sekai no Monogatari: The Tales on a Watery Wilderness
Hyaku no Sekai no Monogatari: The Tales on a Watery Wilderness
An interesting board game that reminds me of Dokapon Kingdom.
Armadillo
Armadillo
An interesting platformer worth playing but sadly held back by performance issues and some lackluster level design and bosses.
Robocco Wars
Robocco Wars
An obscure action game that also has shmup sections. The difficulty is very inconsistent in this one.
Downtown Special Kunio-kun's Historical Period Drama!
Downtown Special Kunio-kun's Historical Period Drama!
The sequel to River City Ransom. It's got a new setting and still has the same gameplay as before with some new ideas here and there.
Kyatto Ninden Teyandee
Kyatto Ninden Teyandee
A fun platformer based off an anime.
Tetrastar: The Fighter
Tetrastar: The Fighter
Similar to Cosmic Epsilon but better than it graphically, gameplay and even has a story.
Metal Max
Metal Max
A very interesting RPG that tried to not be like Dragon Quest. This has a remake on the Super Famicom.
Fuzzical Fighter
Fuzzical Fighter
An RPG mixed with a shmup. The concept alone is interesting but be warned it has grinding.
Cocoron
Cocoron
A very fun platformer and you can even create your own character.
Lagrange Point
Lagrange Point
An ambitious Konami RPG that unfortunately didn't sell well.
Gorby's Pipeline
Gorby's Pipeline
A compile puzzle game that came out right before their big Puzzle hit.
Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken
Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken
A fun little puzzle game using the most popular Sanrio character at the time.
Ninja JaJaMaru: Ginga Daisakusen
Ninja JaJaMaru: Ginga Daisakusen
The most hated Jajamaru game but is an interesting platformer.
Magical Taluluto-kun: Fantastic World!!
Magical Taluluto-kun: Fantastic World!!
One of the rare instances of a decent TOSE and Bandai game. Just don't look up the game on Google.
Itadaki Street: Watashi no Oten ni Yottette
Itadaki Street: Watashi no Oten ni Yottette
A fun game if you like this series but sadly only in Japanese for now.
Grand Master
Grand Master
A game with ideas used from a cancelled Mega Drive game. It has multiple endings, top down gameplay and even a level order you can choose.
Akagawa Jirou no Yuurei Ressha
Akagawa Jirou no Yuurei Ressha
An interesting text adventure game but sadly no fan translation.
Yume Penguin Monogatari
Yume Penguin Monogatari
A fun and easy platformer that is unfortunately fatphobic.
Wai-wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley-jou
Wai-wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley-jou
Another crossover game but is now more of a simple level to level platformer. Fun game and even mixes it up sometimes.
Adventures of Lolo II
Adventures of Lolo II
Similar to our Adventures of Lolo 3 but different and more difficult.
Wagyan Land 2
Wagyan Land 2
More of the same but this time the fan translation isn't bad.
Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun
Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun
An interesting spinoff that feels more like a Rockman game.
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!
Play this with 4 players for the most enjoyment.
Insector X
Insector X
Worth trying if you prefer the Arcade style over what the MD version did.
Captain Tsubasa II: Super Striker
Captain Tsubasa II: Super Striker
If you liked the first one, you should enjoy this too.
Juuouki
Juuouki
It's interesting for the unique content but that's about it.
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy III
Notable for being the most popular of the three games with a cool class change mechanic. Be warned that the game can be pretty hard. It once again might be better to play the pixel remaster.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
The first game in the Fire Emblem series. It's a very slow game but worth playing if you wanna see how the series started.
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
More Megami Tensei, more hard gameplay and awesome designs. It also has a Super Famicom remake.
Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden
Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden
An interesting RPG by Westone with combat that reminds me of the Wonder Boy games.
Moai-kun
Moai-kun
A fun puzzle game by Konami, it can be a bit too easy for some though.
Adventures of Lolo
Adventures of Lolo
Similar to Adventures of Lolo 2 in the US but with different and more difficult rooms to tackle.
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ougon Kiseru
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ougon Kiseru
A pretty standard and easy RPG but with the fun Goemon flare to it.
Heracles no Eikou II: Titan no Metsubou
Heracles no Eikou II: Titan no Metsubou
Another Heracles game, not much to say, if you like the first well here's another.
Mappy Kids
Mappy Kids
A fun platformer that's best played with a friend if possible.
Flipull: An Exciting Cube Game
Flipull: An Exciting Cube Game
A fun puzzle game that you might have played on the GB
Sweet Home
Sweet Home
Notable for what would help Capcom one day make the Biohazard franchise. It's a scary RPG with many mechanics that feel right out of a horror game.
Cosmic Epsilon
Cosmic Epsilon
Another game that tries to be similar to Space Harrier.
Gekitotsu Yonku Battle
Gekitotsu Yonku Battle
A really fun car battler game that's pretty simple and short.
TwinBee 3: Poko-poko Daimaou
TwinBee 3: Poko-poko Daimaou
A good improvement over the previous Twinbee games and there is still fun co-op to be had, though the three player mode is sadly gone. The presentation is also amazing for a shmup of the time.
Idol Hakken-den
Idol Hakken-den
A really fun text adventure with some funny artwork and dialogue. The game also has a lot of memorable music.
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
A silly prequel of the first Splatterhouse with many funny parodies of horror movies for you to see. The gameplay is pretty fun too and even some secrets to find.
Mother
Mother
A well made RPG by Pax Softnica. A really neat setting with some nice humor and many memorable moments. It's not as bad as some make it out to be. Though you might wanna play the cancelled US version for some small improvements.
Holy Diver
Holy Diver
A brutally hard game similar to Castlevania. You will go crazy from the stuff this game throws at you. Be prepared to replay levels over and over until you're perfect at them.
Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin
Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin
An odd take for a sidescroller sequel making it top down. Worth a look if you're curious.
Mindseeker
Mindseeker
If you know Japanese, play this just to be amazed at how it's one of the hardest games on the system.
A Week of Garfield: Garfield no Isshukan
A Week of Garfield: Garfield no Isshukan
Despite not being a Japanese property, this was Japan only. It's pretty horrible sadly, with an awful attack, uninteresting level design, and just not fun at all.
JESUS: Kyoufu no Bio Monster
JESUS: Kyoufu no Bio Monster
An interesting text adventure game.
Wagyan Land
Wagyan Land
A popular game for children with some fun little minigames for the boss fights. It should be warned that you better know Japanese because the fan translation unintentionally made the final boss almost impossible.
Ganbare Goemon 2
Ganbare Goemon 2
A good improvement on the first game with better level design and the whole game is co-op.
Fantasy Zone II: Opa-Opa no Namida
Fantasy Zone II: Opa-Opa no Namida
Another good port by Sunsoft.
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy II
A game normally hated by fans. It does have fans and it would later birth the SaGa franchise. Though some might recommend you play a later rerelease if this is too outdated.
Gradius II
Gradius II
A port of the Arcade game and it's pretty good. Fans of Gradius and Salamander should play this if they haven't.
Fighting Road
Fighting Road
A mediocre fighting game but notable for being one of the more interesting ones of the time.
Saiyuuki World
Saiyuuki World
Jaleco copying Westone's homework.
Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken
Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken
A very interesting 2 player text adventure game mostly known for the hard to find vulgar message found in the credits. Would not recommend playing alone.
Ys
Ys
A port of a computer game that is one of the weaker versions but worth playing as it has content unique to this version.
Super Dyna'mix Badminton
Super Dyna'mix Badminton
This is like the only Badminton game on the system. It's made by Pax Softnica who would later do Mother 1 and a couple of the Hamtaro games.
Famicom Wars
Famicom Wars
The very first game in the Nintendo Wars series. It's worth playing if you wanna see how the franchise started.
The Quest of Ki
The Quest of Ki
A prequel to Tower of Druaga that's now a puzzle platformer. Worth a look as the series is unfortunately underlooked here in the West.
Cosmo Police Galivan
Cosmo Police Galivan
A game similar to Metroid with RPG mechanics. Not perfect but might be a fun time for you if you can stick with it.
Arkanoid II
Arkanoid II
It's Arkanoid again so if you enjoyed the first, you'll enjoy this too.
Paris-Dakar Rally Special!
Paris-Dakar Rally Special!
A very odd game that really has nothing to do with what it's based on. Not good but funny.
Donald Land
Donald Land
A Data East platformer using the McDonalds brand. It's got some interesting ideas involving the bombs and is a decent time.
Ripple Island
Ripple Island
A fun text adventure by Sunsoft.
Konami Wai-wai World
Konami Wai-wai World
A crossover game with some questionable design choices but can still be pretty enjoyable just for the novelty of it all.
Attack Animal Gakuen
Attack Animal Gakuen
While not a good game, it's interesting for trying to attempt Space Harrier and has a very interesting theme to it with the many animals.
JJ
JJ
A sequel to 3D World Runner. It's pretty much the same game but a bit better.
Outlanders
Outlanders
One of Micronics worst games on the system. It's so bad I couldn't even finish it and I actually enjoyed the manga.

3 Comments


3 months ago

Hope this improved version is more helpful for people, apologies if I missed anything.

3 months ago

Awesome list!! Sorry to be super nitpicky but a Shogi game was actually the first famicom game to have a save function - super weird right? Here's a source which should be able to be able to be auto-translated into English: https://magmix.jp/post/69839 Here's the backloggd link! https://www.backloggd.com/games/morita-kazuo-no-shogi/

Love the list! i really wanna check out Yokai Club!

3 months ago

@Dalaamclouds
seems the source I used was wrong about the saving thing, sorry. It's been fixed now. Thank you for letting me know.


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