Unfortunately, this game didn't satisfy everyone. It also had multiple fields-of-view, from top-down navigation to side-scrolling sequences, the perspectives were mixed up considerably at a time when games were usually from one outlook only. The great thing about TMNT was its ability to let gamers use all four Ninja Turtles at will, even though it was only a one-player action game. Developed by Konami and published by its subsidiary Ultra (a ghost publisher created only so that Konami could publish more games per year than Nintendo allowed), TMNT proved to be a fun, challenging game with crisp graphics and compelling gameplay. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before a videogame followed the television show and toys. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a smash phenomenon in the late 1980s. The day this one was conquered was when I finally found Game Genie codes, booted up two players and made sure either my brother or I stayed alive to keep the progress on our assault. Two guys with a knife and a suicide complex decide to invade Russia. This is the original co-op Splinter Cell (minus the stealth part).

Your standard melee attack was a stabbing knife, with distance-attacking firearms available later on, but no matter what your armament, you had to be precise with your placement or cheap death was inevitable. Instead, it was a lot easier to take your time and advance through each level slowly, as waves of soldiers spawned from all direction to charge you and kill you dead. Rush 'n Attack is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up/shooter that didn't reward new players for attempting its titular strategy. You've got to remember the historical time period that the NES was released – it was an age when the Cold War was still a very prominent problem in many American's minds, and game companies certainly didn't shy away from the free advertising that the fear-inspiring nightly news and morning papers were instilling in the purchasing public. It doesn't take a master of Mad Gab to discern the phonetically equivalent true title Konami was going for with this one, especially after you realize that the setting is a Soviet stronghold and all of the enemies are Communists. Do you need anything else? It's no Blades of Steel (hell EA's NHL09 isn't Blades of Steel), but growing up in Minnesota and playing on a hockey team ensured that this one was in the NES as much as Super Mario 3. I think I've got the same fond memory for this one as everyone else does: skinny dude, medium dude, and fat dude. The only game that ended up rivaling this excellent design was Konami's Blades of Steel, but the two were different enough to own and enjoy both (which is why you'll find Blades on this countdown). Every Ice Hockey player discovered their own perfect combination of men, and then it was on to the ice. You could choose from three different player body types, and outfit your team with any combination of them fast but weak Skinny Guys, brawny but slow Fat Guys, or well-balanced, middle-ground Normal Guys. This game of skating and slap shots was perfectly balanced, simple fun with just the right touch of planning and strategy to keep things interesting match after match. None of those games ended up having the lasting appeal and addictiveness of one of its other contemporaries, though – the first-party Nintendo sports sim known simply as Ice Hockey. Nintendo had a fairly diverse lineup of sports titles introduced for the NES early on in the system's life cycle, including 8-bit interpretations of soccer, tennis, volleyball and even downhill slalom skiing. Jeremy Dunham, IGN Games Editorial Manager I couldn't stand the cartoon (I was a DuckTales sort of guy), but to my surprise the game was an addictive platforming masterpiece.

Despite their popularity, cooperative games were rarity on the NES and hey, when was the last time you got to spend some quality time with your little sister? Our Fondest MemoriesĪbove all else, what surprised me most about Rescue Rangers is that it was so fun to play. Rescue Rangers also ratcheted the difficulty down quite a bit, making it a good experience to share with a less-skilled partner. With little emphasis on the scaled-up world of the titular chipmunks, many of the things lying around the inflated settings could be picked up and used as projectiles on exploration. Unlike DuckTales, however, Rescue Rangers is basically linear. And, like DuckTales, this led to a high quality NES platformer from Capcom.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Gameįollowing the success of DuckTales, the iconic Disney chipmunks Chip 'n Dale received an action-packed, after school cartoon series in the late '80s. Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Troubleīattletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate TeamĪ Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia

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