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The 24 Greatest 8-Bit Games Ever Made

• By McKinley Noble
• June 16, 2009 10:19 AM PST
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#18: Pac-Man

Retro Recap: From its first appearance in American arcades, Pac-Man became a whirlwind phenomenon that put Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde (Sue?) on the map.

8-Bit Background: Another Zilog Z80 microprocessor creation, Pac-Man was launched in Japan and North America the same year, 1980.

Pac-Man almost didn't make it on the arcade stage, a floor that squarely belonged to heavy-hitting titans like Space Invaders and Rally-X. It wasn't until Midway localized the game for American shores that the title really took off. Not only did Pac-Man outstrip all of its competitors in hard sales, but also just about every two-bit imitator under the sun started launching their own "chase games". It didn't hurt Pac-Man a bit, though. It's still one of the only games to sell so much it had its own specially-shaped pasta. Oh, and the downloadable Xbox Live edition is just as good.

#17: Excitebike

Retro Recap: One of the first games with track-editing features and crash physics, Excitebike is one the modern parents of collusion-high-risk-jumping racing games.

8-Bit Background: Built and sold for the NES in 1984 (Japan), 1985 (North America), and 1986 (Europe).

Beating the best times in Excitebike's course was one massive challenge for even the best of Nintendo's gamers. Not only did you have to avoid the cluster of obstacles in every track, but your bike could easily overheat if you didn't crash after a series of dizzying jumps off ramps and dirt hills. The only thing tougher was trying to do it while racing against other dirtbikers -- you were almost fated to smack into someone in the air.

#16: Track and Field

Retro Recap: More famous for it's glorious peripheral, Track and Field was the first video game that could claim to actually give you a workout a home.

8-Bit Background: Released via arcades in 1983, the vastly superior NES version didn't hit homes until 1985.

To quote many Nintendo gamers, "this was the game that was worth buying the foot controller for." If you wanted to completely murder the fat out of your weak little legs, hooking up the Nintendo Power Pad to foot race in Track and Field was a sure-shot way to feel burn. Even modern games like Wii Sports, Dance Dance Revolution, and Wii Fit share a hint of heritage to this game -- it made exercise kind of fun.

#15: Kirby's Adventure

Retro Recap: Introducing a little guy with a big appetite, Kirby's Dream Land on the Game Boy was just the precursor to one of the best NES titles ever.

8-Bit Background: Released on a 6-megabit cartridge in 1993, Kirby's Adventure was one of the last games that pushed the NES to the limits of its graphical capacity.

Nintendo's precious little puffball never had a bigger adventure. While Kirby's Dream Land set the stage for a sequel rife with amazing gameplay, HAL Laboratory broke the bank on visuals with Kirby's Adventure. Tons of color, ear-tickling sound effects, and all the visual 3-D and scrolling tricks gained from years of tinkering with the Nintendo System made this game one of the best reasons to keep blowing into your NES cartridge.

#14: Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Retro Recap: While Double Dragon set the groundwork for side-scrolling beat 'em up action, the sequel upped the ante drastically (especially on the Nintendo).

8-Bit Background: Released via arcades in 1989 before porting over to the superior NES version shortly afterward.

Why was the NES version of Double Dragon II so much better than the arcade version? Aside from giving Billy and Jimmy an arsenal of butt-kicking techniques at the very start, the game also had the option to toggle "friendly fire", which meant that you didn't have to worry about accidentally punching your kung-fu comrade in the junk. Throw in some elaborate cutscenes to punctuate the revenge-driven story, and you've got a Hell of a fight on your hands. There's still some GBA action for Double Dragon out there, but it doesn't compare to the old school.

#13: Super Mario Bros.

Retro Recap: It was the game that made the phrase "But Our Princess is in Another Castle!" the shared delight and misery of Nintendo fans everywhere.

8-Bit Background: Released in 1985 for the Famicon, Super Mario Bros. famously ended the two-year sales slump in the video game industry.

Everyone remembers the "NES Action Set", which was how most of us got our hands on Super Mario Bros. While this game stood on its own in Japan, the package that included Duck Hunt and the NES Zapper practically sold itself. There isn't a person alive who doesn't recognize the theme music from Super Mario Bros.' various levels, and it was also the game that introduced two more parts of Nintendo's weirdest love triangle: King Koopa (a.k.a. Bowser) and Princess Peach Toadstool. Formerly the best-selling game in history -- an honor recently claimed by Wii Sports -- Super Mario Bros. represents a major turning point in gaming history for Nintendo and the world. (Oh yeah, we guess Luigi was in the game too.)

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