Let's Play 54: IGN's Best NES Games Ever: 70-61 Quiz

Answer: Ares

Like most shooters (and NES titles for that matter), there isn't much of a plot to "Legendary Wings". An evil super computer named "Dark" which had been mankind's friend since ancient times has suddenly rebelled, and the player must defeat Dark with legendary wings given to them by the God of War, Ares.

Where "Legendary Wings" gets weird is the game is set 20,000 years in the feature and stars ancient Greek Warriors as the primary protagonists.

Michelle Hart is one of the persons that the player controls in the Japanese version of the arcade title, and appears in other games as well.

Answer: Tecmo World Wrestling

"Tecmo World Wrestling" features over twenty moves per character and had elaborate 8-bit cutscenes. There were ten fictional characters, several which were loosely based on real life wrestlers. From a gameplay standpoint, this is easily one of the strongest sports games ever released on the NES.

Answer: Dragon

"Little Nemo: Dream Master" is bassed off the Japanese animated film, "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland". The film is based on the comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay."

Nemo must collect keys hidden in various locations through levels that are quite large for the NES. The game is also known for its high difficulty level, which is in sharp contrast with the children's market this game was primarily marketed toward.

Answer: Taito

"Qix" is one of the many arcade ports the NES saw during its lifetime. This one is known for being one of the better titles, as far as arcade conversions go. The Gameboy port, published by Nintendo, features two brief intermissions, one that had Mario in a desert with a guitar and a vulture, and another with Luigi and Princess Toadstool.

Answer: R.C. Pro-Am

Rare is rather famous for having developed the "Donkey Kong Country" series, "Killer Instinct", "Goldeneye", "Banjo-Kazooie", and "Conker's Bad Fur Day". They also developed a game called "Cobra Triangle", which is an isometric racing game featuring motorboats.

Like "Perfect Dark" to "Goldeneye", "Cobra Triangle" builds on the gameplay first established on Rare's earlier title, "R. C. Pro-Am", which features racing with cars.

Answer: TwinBee

"Stinger" is the second game in the TwinBee series. If you're expecting something hardcore with bizarre science fiction enemies and typical space shooters (think "Abadox"), this title is not for you.

Although this was the series' only North American release on the NES, there were three total Famicom games released in Japan. There have been several titles released in the series in both Japan and Europe. A "Twinbee" title has also appeared on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Answer: Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II

The second installment in the "Wizards and Warriors" trilogy for the NES, "Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II" famously features Fabio on the cover. However, the actual sprite of Kuros, the main protagonist in the title, is dressed completely in mail.

Kuruos most go through eight levels. The evil wizard Malkil has captured the four elementals, air, water, earth, and fire, each represented by two levels. On the first level Kuros most fine the Animal King to get a key; in the second level, he must find the magic spell that is required to beat each of the four bosses. Without each of the four level's prospective magic spells, the four bosses cannot be defeated, as they are impossibly invincible.

Shatterhand and Astyanax have notoriously bad art (though perhaps not as bad as the first "Mega Man"). "Dr. Chaos", on the other hand, has one of the best NES box cart covers ever, and also one of the darkest and scariest (for an NES title anyway).

If you want a great SNES box cover that has absolutely nothing to do with the game, check out "Phalanx".

Answer: Ghosts 'n Goblins

"Ghosts 'n Goblins" is rather notorious for its extreme difficulty. Not only is it incredibly diffcult, you must be the game twice to see its true ending. The first time you beat it, strangely enough, the game tells you the ending is an illusion of Satan and to go back and start again.

There is also a certain Red Demon named Firebrand that made the player's life a living hell. Everyone hated him. Well, it turns out he got his own Gameboy game (the first "Gargoyle" game), and this classic "Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness". Unfortunately the title came out in 1992 toward the end of the NES's life-cycle, so is not as well known as it should be (much like "Little Samson" and "Ufouria"). The game was a side-scrolling platformer that also featured an RPG overworld map and town exploration. It's a tremendously underrated, obscure NES title.

Answer: Wheels on Meals

Jackie Chan made "Wheels on Meals" in 1982, which "Kung Fu Master", the original arcade title, was based upon. Irem published the arcade game in Japan. It then appeared on the NES in 1986, and is one of the first third party games ever released for the console.

The game features only five stages, and can be beaten by a skilled player in a mere ten to fifteen minutes. However, like most early games, there was a lot of focus on high scoring which gives incentive to keep playing. The game also resets to a higher difficulty level after you beat it the first time. It is a very simple but highly effective early NES title.

Answer: Vivec

"Maniac Mansion" is a major title for Lucasarts. They even developed a game engine off this title called "SCUMM" (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) which they would later use for a thirteen additional titles.

The NES version of "Maniac Mansion" had to be edited, due to sexually suggestive dialogue and violence. In the first released of the NES version, it is possible to microwave a hamster. When Nintendo discovered this, they were furious and all subsequent pressings of the title removed this ability, which is useful in discovering if a particular cartridge is an an early version or later version of the title in the manufacturing life cycle of this title.

In "Morrowind", one of my favorite later day games, "Charles the Plant" appears in Jobasha's Rare Books store, which can be found in Vivec, the capital of Morrowind. "Charles the Plant", like most plants in Morrowind, offers alchemy ingredients, this time being "Meteor slime", another homage to "Manic Mansion". It is the only place in the entire game to get "Meteor Slime".