The Top 500 Indie NES Games: Ineligible Games
Ineligible Games
If there are NES games you expected to see in the Top 500 Indie NES Games at Retro but didn’t, it’s likely because they’re ineligible for inclusion because they’re in one of four categories: localizations, prototypes, reproductions, or special (“faux”) editions.
Being ineligible for the Top 500 Indie NES Games in no way speaks ill of a game. But because certain titles are often wrongly included in indie NES game listings, it’s vital that Retro be clear about which games are eligible or ineligible for a list like the one at Retro. You can find a separate ranking of unreleased NES prototypes at Retro here, and the Retro ranking of localized and localization-eligible games is here. (Please note that these two links do require a full Retro subscription to access.)
None of the NES games listed below are included in the “total library size” of the Top 500 Indie NES Games archive, and they can’t be regarded as “indie” NES titles under even the broadest definition of that term.
Localizations are games that released outside the United States during the lifespan of the NES and then localized for English-speaking audiences after the NES’s lifespan. In the localization list below, only “CIB” games (cart, instructions, and box) are included.
Prototypes are titles that were due to be released for the NES in the United States but were cancelled, and have now been independently released after the NES’s lifespan.
Reproductions are re-released games that were available in the United States during the lifespan of the NES.
In the lists that follow, a “🔹” icon indicates that a title has been added to this report during its most recent update.
Localizations
3D Block 🔹
Adventure Island IV
Akira
Altered Beast 🔹
American Dream 🔹
Badminton 🔹
Battle City 🔹
Binary Land 🔹
Challenger 🔹
Cocoran
Cosmo Police Galivan
Crisis Force
Chronicle of the Radia War
Crazyland: The Ride of Your Life 🔹
Devil World 🔹
Dragon Buster 🔹
Dragon Buster 2 🔹
Earthbound
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Flappy 🔹
Flipull 🔹
Flying Hero
The Goonies 🔹
Gyrodine 🔹
Hammerin’ Harry 2 🔹
Hello Kitty World
Holy Diver
Hotman 🔹
Huge Insect
Jack the Giant Slayer (^) 🔹
Kid Dracula
Lagrange Point 🔹
Layla 🔹
Little Ninja Hattori 🔹
Magic Block 🔹
Magic Jewelry 🔹
Miracle of Almana 🔹
Moon Crystal 🔹
Pooyan 🔹
Recca
Road Fighter 🔹
Samurai Pizza Cats
Sansara Naga 🔹
Shadow Brain 🔹
Silva Saga
Sky Destroyer
Space Harrier 🔹
Splatterhouse 🔹
Sweet Home
Tetrastar: The Fighter 🔹
Tower of Druaga 🔹
Transformers: Mystery of Convoy 🔹
Twin Bee 🔹
Zombie Hunter 🔹
Prototypes
The Adventures of Dr. Franken
Airball
Arcadia VI 🔹
Bashi Bazook: Morphoid Masher
Bio Force Ape
Buzz & Waldog 🔹
The California Raisins
Chase H.Q.
Cheetahmen: The Creation 🔹
Cheetahmen: The Lost Levels 🔹
Cheetahmen II
Chip’s Challenge
Chuck Yeager’s Fighter Combat
CrossFire
Days of Thunder
Dino Hockey 🔹
Drac’s Night Out
Dreamworld Pogie
The Escape From Atlantis
Exploding Fist
Fighting Simulator World Champ
Free Fall
Happily Ever After
Happy Camper
Hard Drivin’
Hellraiser
HeroQuest
Hit the Ice
Hoppin’ Mad
Kitty’s Catch 🔹
Kung Fu II
Makai Island
Mike Ditka’s Big Play Football
Mystery World Dizzy
Panic! Dizzy
Pizza Pop!
Police Academy
Pyramids of Ra
Proto Dere
Robocop Versus The Terminator
Sarah Parker’s Pool Challenge 🔹
Secret Ties
SimCity
Spy vs. Spy II: Island Caper
Squashed
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Sunman
Super Boogerman
Super Pitfall II
Time Diver Eon
UWC
War on Wheels
A Week of Garfield
USA Bowling 🔹
Wonderland Dizzy
Xybots
Reproductions
A Boy and His Blob
Aladdin 🔹
Battletoads (Cartridge Legacy Collection)
Battletoads & Double Dragon
DuckTales 🔹
Hammerin’ Harry
The Lion King
Little Lancelot°° 🔹
Maniac Mansion 🔹
Mega Man 2 (Cartridge Legacy Collection)
Metal Storm
Mr. Gimmick! 🔹
Punchout!!
R.C. Pro Am (Black Box Edition) 🔹
S.C.A.T.
Shadow of the Ninja
Spider-Man 🔹
Star Wars
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Sunday Funday 🔹
Vs. Duck Hunt 🔹
Vs. Excitebike 🔹
Vs. Hogan’s Alley 🔹
Vs. Super Mario Bros. 🔹
Zombie Nation
Special Editions
NES Product Sold By Independent Publisher
Data East All-Star Collection
Pirate Booty°°° 🔹
Scott the Woz’s Mystery NES Game 🔹
NES Box or Cart with No Product Inside
Bonestorm°°°
Mighty No. 9
River City Girls°°°
Shovel Knight
Non-NES Products in NES Packaging
Blaster Master Zero (^) 🔹
Castlevania: Anniversary Collection°
Infernax°
River City Girls°
Shovel Knight 🔹
Sunsoft Retro Game Selection (^) 🔹
° Castlevania: Anniversary Collection is a Nintendo Switch game in an NES box; Infernax is a PS4 game in an NES box; and River City Girls is a CD of that game’s soundtrack in an NES box. River City Girls also comes in an empty-NES-box edition.
°° A Piko Interactive NTSC re-release of the PAL game The Legend of Prince Valiant.
°°° Bonestorm is an NES box with no cart inside it, and River City Girls an NES cart with no game inside it. Pirate Booty is a cart with three adult-only Panesian games on it, all published during the lifespan of the NES—Hot Slots, Bubble Bath Babes, and Peek A Boo Poker.