The Top 500 NES Homebrews, Vol. 4

Decades after the last licensed Nintendo Entertainment System release, NES games still drop regularly. This ranking—which excludes hacks, localizations and prototypes—features 1,048 NES “homebrews.”

Apr 02, 2022

{Note: Full RETRO subscribers can read earlier editions of the Top 500 homebrew rankings here, here, and here. Full subscribers gain access to all of RETRO, including national polling–driven articles The Definitive Top 100 Worst NES Games, The Definitive Top 100 Hardest NES Games, The Definitive Top 100 Best Video Game Consoles, The Definitive Top 100 Best NES Games Never Released in America, The Consensus Top 100 NES Games, The Consensus Top 100 Underrated NES Games, and The Top 100 Unreleased NES Games. Subscribe to RETRO by clicking the button below. The cost is just $5/month, and you can cancel anytime.}

Preface

RETRO subscribers can find the Introduction, Methodology, and Eligibility sections of this ranking here.

Please note that a ranking of anything is by definition subjective, if only because every ranking has a creator behind it who has determined what will be measured and how. I’ve taught video games as a professor at a large research university; been a videogame journalist for years; and been a professional cultural critic for a decade, but none of this ensures that you’ll agree with my judgments or that they’re “objectively” correct.

Information on my background as a video game journalist, an academic specializing in digital culture, and a professional cultural critic can be found at this link.

Changes in This Edition of the Ranking

New additions to this fourth edition of the RETRO Top 500 NES Homebrews include the following:

The addition of over 325 new NES homebrews;
the continued updating of developer and studio credits to ensure accuracy;
the addition of an Anthology ranking (featuring carts that contain games by multiple developers, as distinct from the existing Multicart section, which features carts that contain multiple discrete games by a single developer);
the addition of a Tech Demo ranking;
the addition of a Utilities ranking;
the division of the Music rankings into subsections for Music (Carts) and Apps;
the addition of a FamiCom Only section (see the section itself, below, for a description of its contents and eligibility requirements; please note that while the games in this section are counted toward the “total library size” of this archive, they’re not counted toward the Top 500 “ranked” homebrews here);
the inclusion of Best Composer (In-Game Music) awards in the Awards section;
the inclusion of Best Composer (Music Carts) awards in the Awards section;
the inclusion of Best Musical Score awards in the Awards section;
the inclusion of Best Musical Composition awards in the Awards section;
the inclusion of a notation (“🅰️”) for the very small number of homebrews with markedly “adult” images, situations, and themes;
the amendment of the icons used for NES homebrews that are counted toward total library size but not the Top 500 rankings (see “Table of Contents,” below);
the amendment of the Honorable Mention notation from “🔘” to “💠”, with “red-pinned” titles (“📍”) now being moved into the Top 500 rankings proper and Other Reviewed Games being given their own notation (“🔘”) and section (please note that it will take some time for all red-pinned titles to have links appended to them, but that this process is indeed active and will continue);
the reorganization of the sections in the latter half of the ranking (which also involved removing the Additional Information and Shortlist sections);
the division of the Music / Rhythm section to constitute distinct Music (cart) and Rhythm (game) sections; and
the expansion of the Special Thanks session—with many more names yet to add!

Symbols

In the ranking below, homebrews new to the RETRO Top 500 are marked with a “🔹”.

Games with a change in rank due to a re-evaluation—or the first play-through of the full version of a game, if it was previously ranked as a demo—are marked with a “🔸”.

Any game with a “🔫” notation in its entry requires an NES Zapper to play properly.

Some Other RETRO Rankings

As ever, you can find RETRO’s ranking of localized NES titles here, and its ranking of unreleased NES games from the 1980s and 1990s here. The Consensus Top 100 NES Games are here, while the Consensus Top 100 Underrated NES Games list is here.

Total Homebrew Library Size

This archive now lists 1,048 NES homebrews, making it the largest archive of its kind in the world.

This tally includes 500 ranked homebrews, 185 honorable mentions, 81 “red-pinned” titles, 185 titles RETRO assessed but declined to rank (see “Other Reviewed Games”), and 96 “watchlisted” NES homebrews that have not yet received a full public release.

Note that 41 multiplayer games appear twice—but aren’t counted twice—in the RETRO rankings, as these games get a listing in both their genre and the Multiplayer category.

A total of 9 FamiCom-only games are counted exclusively toward the total library size.

Note also that “competition carts” featuring non-homebrew NES titles—for instance, the 2011 Retrospelsmässan Cart, 2012 Retrospelsmässan Cart, 2015 Retroplayer.nl Championship Cart, and 2016 Retroplayer.nl Championship Cart—aren’t ranked here.

Complete-in-Box Titles

Of the homebrews in this article, 247 are available as complete-in-box titles (“🎴”).

Review Copies

Studios or developers looking to send review copies to RETRO can arrange to do so here. The curator of the RETRO ranking owns a retroUSB AVS, and can receive new NES games as CIB, cartridge-only, digital ROM, or any combination of these forms.

If you have a link to your NES homebrew game that you’d prefer RETRO use over the one that’s been used below, use the contact form linked to above to request a change.

Games are ranked (🔰) by genre, with honorable mentions (💠), third-tier games (📍), and games available as complete-in-box (CIB) titles (🎴) following each ranking.

Games counted toward total library size but not the Top 500 ranking are preceded by one of several “library” notations (“📙”, “📕”, “📘”, “📗”) depending on game category.

Use “Ctrl+F” and the italicized phrases below to find the following ranking sections:

Action-Adventure Games (64 games)
- Action-Adventure Rankings
Adventure Games (34 games)
- Adventure Game Rankings
Anthologies (9 anthologies)
- Anthology Rankings
Arcade Games (75 games)
- Arcade Game Rankings
Art Apps (9 apps)
- Art App Rankings
Card / Dice Games (4 games)
- Card / Dice Rankings
Fighting / Brawler Games (20 games)
- Fighting / Brawler Rankings
Kids Games (2 games)
- Kids Game Rankings
Multicart Games (2 games)
- Multicart Rankings
Music Carts (45 carts)
- Music Cart Rankings: Music (35 carts)
- Music Cart Rankings: Apps (10 carts)
Party Games (6 games)
- Party Game Rankings
Platformer Games (56 games)
- Platformer Rankings
Puzzle Games (49 games)
- Puzzle Game Rankings
Rhythm Games (10 games)
- Rhythm Game Rankings
Role-Playing Games (24 games)
- RPG Rankings
Shooter / Run n’ Gun Games (44 games)
- Shooter / Run n’ Gun Rankings
Simulation Games (10 games)
- Simulation Game Rankings
Sports / Racing Games (19 games)
- Sports / Racing Game Rankings
Strategy Games (10 games)
- Strategy Game Rankings
Tech Demos (5 demos)
- Tech Demo Rankings
Utilities (1 utility)
- Utility Rankings
Zapper / FPS Games (2 games)
- Zapper / FPS Rankings
Multiplayer Games (44 games)
- Multiplayer Rankings
FamiCom Only Games (9 games)
- FamiCom Only Rankings
Other Reviewed Games
The RETRO Homebrew Watchlist
The Overall Top 10 NES Homebrews (13 games)
- Reviews and Gameplay Videos
Awards
- Best Composer (In-Game Music)
- Best Composer (Music Carts)
- Best Graphics
- Best In-Game Song
- Best Musical Score
- Best Sound
- Best Writing
- Best Musical Composition
Special Citations (1 game)
- Kubo 3
Special Thanks
Dedication

Action-Adventure Rankings

🔰 #1 | Dungeons & Doomknights, Artix (^)
🔰 #2 | Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure, SBP (^)
🔰 #3 | Little Medusa, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #4 | Trouble at 2A03, Team Disposable (^)
🔰 #5 | Alwa’s Awakening, Elden Pixels (^)
🔰 #6 | L’Abbaye des Morts, Parisoft (^)
🔰 #7 | Nix: The Paradox Relic, Huddleston (^)
🔰 #8 | Jim Power: Lost Dimension, Piko (^)
🔰 #9 | Trophy, Gradual Games (^)
🔰 #10 | Battle Kid 2, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #11 | Super Bat Puncher, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #12 | The Great Gatsby, Hoey (^)
🔰 #13 | Bio Hazard, Waixing (^)🔹
🔰 #14 | Wolfling, Lazy Cow (^)
🔰 #15 | Orebody, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #16 | Space Raft, Raftronaut (^)
🔰 #17 | Eyra, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #18 | Cheril’s Nightmares, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #19 | Mark of the Beast, Red Moon (^)
🔰 #20 | Battle Kid, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #21 | Adventures of Panzer, Pixelcraft (^)
🔰 #22 | Biocats, PB Games (^)
🔰 #23 | Spacegulls, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #24 | Nin Nin, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #25 | Cheril the Writer, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #26 | Glider, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #27 | More Glider, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #28 | Cheril the Goddess, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #29 | Indivisible, Kasumi (^)
🔰 #30 | Yun, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #31 | Bootèe, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #32 | The Mad Wizard, Sly Dog (^)🔸
🔰 #33 | Nomolos, Gradual Games (^)
🔰 #34 | Tower of Turmoil, CutterCross (^)
🔰 #35 | Jet-Paco, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #36 | Center of the Alien, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #37 | Saturdayman, Sunday Pistols (^)🔸
🔰 #38 | Sir Ababol, Mojon Twins (^)🔸
🔰 #39 | Space Foxes, Henry (^)°🔹
🔰 #40 | Che-Man, Mojon Twins (^)°°
🔰 #41 | Ralph 4, Pubby (^)
🔰 #42 | Vigilante Ninja II, Fraker (^)
🔰 #43 | Filthy Kitchen, Dust Mop (^)
🔰 #44 | Hiatus Ward, Sedwave (^)🔹
🔰 #45 | Streemerz, Faux Games (^)
🔰 #46 | Nova the Squirrel, Nova Squirrel (^)
🔰 #47 | Lala the Magical, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #48 | Rainbow Brite, Pixelheart (^)
🔰 #49 | Espitene, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #50 | Mawthorne, CrazyGroupTrio (^)
🔰 #51 | Machine Cave, Aeromangus (^)
🔰 #52 | Press Start Again, Coop (^)🔹
🔰 #53 | The Banketh, RetroNES Games (^)
🔰 #54 | Antenna Antics, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #55 | Kuku-Ruku, Siudym (^)🔹
🔰 #56 | The Stranger, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #57 | Almika: Star Rider, Mouse Spirit (^)
🔰 #58 | The Binding of Isaac, Nasdalack (^)🔹
🔰 #59 | Ramen Adventure, Baldriz (^)🔹
🔰 #60 | Press Start, Coop (^)
🔰 #61 | Wo Xiang Niao Niao, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #62 | The Wizard, RetroAge (^)
🔰 #63 | Claudia Adventure, Voltopt (^)
🔰 #64 | Adventures of Eldorin, Outlaw Bits (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ACTION-ADVENTURE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Approximate ranking only (derived exclusively from available gameplay footage).
°° Dire Job—an earlier, equally playable version of this game, with different sprites and a slightly different narrative—can be found here.
°°° Available in FamiCom edition only.

Adventure Game Rankings

🔰 #1 | MOMOC, Goaterby (^)
🔰 #2 | Böbl, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #3 | The Magnilo Case, Dalyen Retro (^)
🔰 #4 | Lizard, Smith (^)
🔰 #5 | Cave Driller, Mazin (^)
🔰 #6 | Blob Quest, Livak (^)
🔰 #7 | NEScape!, Hanley (^)
🔰 #8 | Dead Tomb, Limited Run Games (^)
🔰 #9 | Jet Puri, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #10 | Alien Isolation, Siudym (^)🔹
🔰 #11 | Sweetleaf, Cramer / Marcel (^)
🔰 #12 | Cheril of the Bosque, Mojon Twins (^)°🔹
🔰 #13 | Turtle Rescue DX, Turtle Rescue (^)
🔰 #14 | Squirrel Chaser, Hammond (^)
🔰 #15 | What Remains, Iodine Dynamics (^)
🔰 #16 | Temple Dilemma, Chacon (^)
🔰 #17 | Kazik & the Mysterious Temple, Siudym (^)
🔰 #18 | Micro Knight IV, Siudym (^)🔸
🔰 #19 | Dark Seed, Yancheng (^)°°🔹
🔰 #20 | Harry Dwarf, Convoy Avenger (^)
🔰 #21 | Zdey the Game, Art’cade (^)
🔰 #22 | Escape From Flooded Cave, Voxel (^)
🔰 #23 | Waldos Forever, Raftronaut / Coop (^)🔹
🔰 #24 | Star Evil, Pubby (^)
🔰 #25 | Cowlitz Gamers’ Adventure, Kur (^)
🔰 #26 | Wampus DX, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #27 | Retropia, Scardua (^)
🔰 #28 | Closing In, CPP (^)
🔰 #29 | Kubo 3, Seiji / SJ Games (^)
🔰 #30 | Dream Dog Dilemma, CPP (^)
🔰 #31 | Sparkle Panda Rainbow Hunter, FutuRETROistic (^)
🔰 #32 | Through Dimensions, CPP (^)
🔰 #33 | Oof McBrewster’s Haunted House Adventure, Stacy (^)
🔰 #34 | Bustina, Holmade Games (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ADVENTURE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° The Mojon Twins’ Cheril of the Bosque extends over three separately titled ROMS: Cheril of the Bosque: Prologue; Cheril of the Bosque; and Cheril of the Bosque in the Other Bosque. A version of the game in which the protagonist is portrayed as a baby instead of a woman is called Cheril Begins, and is not counted as a separate homebrew here. Another version of the game—Ninjajar, in which the protagonist is portrayed as a ninja—can be found here, and is also not counted as a separate game (despite the presence of other altered sprites in the gameplay, as in Cheril Begins).
°° A patch is required to play this ROM in English.

Anthology Rankings

(with the top games in each anthology, per RETRO rankings; only first anthologizings noted)

🔰 #1 | Action 53 #4, Various (^)°°🔹

🥇 Gruniożerca 3
🥈 Project Blue°
🥉 Gruniożerca 2
🏅 The Cowlitz Gamers’ Lost Adventure
🏅 Wolfling
🏅 We Are Hejickle
🏅 Aspect Star N
🏅 Cheril’s Nightmares
🏅 Super Uwol
🏅 Jammin’ Honey

🔰 #2 | Action 53 #3, Various (^)🔹

🥇 Nebs n’ Debs°
🥈 Twin Dragons
🥉 Haunted: Halloween ‘85°
🏅 Sinking Feeling
🏅 Cheril the Goddess
🏅 Filthy Kitchen
🏅 Ralph 4
🏅 Super Tilt Bro.
🏅 Lala the Magical
🏅 Karate Kick

🔰 #3 | Action 53 #2, Various (^)🔹

🥇 Sgt. Helmet: Training Day
🥈 2048
🥉 RHDE: Furniture Fight
🏅 Super PakPak
🏅 Double Action Blaster Guys
🏅 Sir Abadol
🏅 PCB Artist
🏅 MilioNESy
🏅 Solar Wars
🏅 Love Story

🔰 #4 | Action 53 #1, Various (^)🔹

🥇 Zooming Secretary
🥈 Lawn Mower
🥉 LAN Master
🏅 Streemerz
🏅 MineShaft
🏅 Pogo Cats
🏅 Driar
🏅 Thwaite
🏅 Russian Roulette
🏅 Forehead Block Guy

🔰 #5 | NESDEV 2019 Compo Cart, Various (^)🔹

🥇 Böbl
🥈 Blockage
🥉 NIN NIN
🏅 Hot Dance 2020
🏅 Bloodfall
🏅 Falling Tiles
🏅 Veggie Invaders
🏅 Super City Mayor
🏅 Save the Kuin
🏅 NNNNNN

🔰 #6 | Game On Expo Retro Championships 2015, Collectorvision (^)🔹

🥇 Sydney Hunter°°°
🥈 Pedal to the Metal
🥉 Meteor Swarm

🔰 #7 | HBWC 2012, Various (^)🔹

🥇 NES Virus Cleaner
🥈 Chunkout 2
🥉 Ultimate Frogger Champion
🏅 Slappin’
🏅 Seagull’s Revenge

🔰 #8 | 3-in-1 2P Pack, Sly Dog (^)🔹

🥇 !CLIK!
🥈 Tic-Tac XO
🥉 Snail Maze Game
🏅 Pegs
🏅 Boombox

🔰 #9 | 2011 Midwest Gaming Classic NES Homebrew Showcase, Various (^)🔹

🥇 Thwaite
🥈 Concentration Room
🥉 Munchie Attack
🏅 LJ65
🏅 Yars’ Revenge
🏅 Pung

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Garage Cart, Parsell / Covell (^)🔹

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Demo version.
°° Other games of particular note anthologized for the first time in this unusually stacked anthology cart include (in alphabetical order), The Alfonzo Game, Alfonzo Melee, Espitene, Euchre, Falling, Get It!, Leak or Die, Nalleland, Nim & Nom, Robo-Ninja Climb, Split Second, Star Evil, and Super Homebrew War.
°°° This 25-screen-long Sydney Hunter adventure is exclusive to this competition cart.

Arcade Game Rankings

🔰 #1 | Sparky, Most (^)
🔰 #2 | Assimilate, Nessylum Games (^)
🔰 #3 | XenoCreeps, Ehlers (^)
🔰 #4 | Fire and Rescue, Skyboy Games (^)
🔰 #5 | Kira Kira Star Night DX, RIKI (^)
🔰 #6 | Space Raft Arcade, Raftronaut (^)🔹
🔰 #7 | Yeah Yeah Beebis II, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #8 | Super Painter, Retrosouls (^)
🔰 #9 | Zooming Secretary, Shiru (^)
🔰 #10 | Blazing Rangers, Karu_gamo (^)
🔰 #11 | Cue, Most (^)
🔰 #12 | Eskimo Bob, SBP (^)
🔰 #13 | Neo Heiankyo Alien, Columbus Cir. (^)
🔰 #14 | Altercation, Scott (^)
🔰 #15 | Super Snake, HD380000 (^)🔹
🔰 #16 | Paws N’ Play, Darthlother (^)
🔰 #17 | Get ’em Gary, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #18 | Wart Worm Wingding, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #19 | Plummet Challenge, Fista Games (^)
🔰 #20 | The Cell, Most (^)
🔰 #21 | Escape From Pong, Gashlin (^)🔹
🔰 #22 | Up the Wall, Most (^)🔹
🔰 #23 | Carpet Shark, Fista Games (^)🔸
🔰 #24 | Lawn Mower, Shiru (^)🔸
🔰 #25 | Jammin’ Honey, Fraker (^)
🔰 #26 | Blob Land, Scardua (^)
🔰 #27 | Beer Slinger, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #28 | Rooms, Manjiro (^)
🔰 #29 | Spacewalk 3030, Cramer (^)
🔰 #30 | Perfect Pair, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #31 | Sinking Feeling, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #32 | Get It!, Gravel Studios (^)
🔰 #33 | NES Virus Cleaner, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #34 | Be a Pirate!, FutuRETROistic (^)🔹
🔰 #35 | Robo-Ninja Climb, Bite the Chili (^)
🔰 #36 | Germ Squashers, 8bit Evolution (^)
🔰 #37 | Ninja I & II, Elisondo (^)
🔰 #38 | Heather the Beheader, Pewko (^)
🔰 #39 | Mooooo!, Toscani (^)
🔰 #40 | Twelve Seconds, retroUSB (^)🔹
🔰 #41 | Micro Knight V, Siudym (^)°🔸
🔰 #42 | Ouroboros, Scardua (^)
🔰 #43 | Immunatio, Romek RJM (^)
🔰 #44 | Nibbles, Yerrick (^)🔹
🔰 #45 | Super NeSnake 2, retroUSB (^)🔸
🔰 #46 | Blow Em’ Out, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #47 | The Grind, RNG (^)
🔰 #48 | Corpse, Mojon Twins (^)°°
🔰 #49 | Alley Bat, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #50 | Turtle Party, Sherman (^)
🔰 #51 | Crap Job, Oniric (^)
🔰 #52 | FamiDepth, Oliver Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #53 | Fox Hunt, Tolerant X (^)
🔰 #54 | NESnake, Matrixz (^)🔹
🔰 #55 | Snakky, Shiru (^)🔹
🔰 #56 | Wacko, Most (^)
🔰 #57 | Pixel Poops: No. 2, Techmaster (^)
🔰 #58 | Tesla vs. Edison, RadTek (^)
🔰 #59 | Split Second, Hyatt (^)
🔰 #60 | Hitting Mice, Alien Tech (^)
🔰 #61 | The Archer, Nice Code (^)
🔰 #62 | Wrecking Balls, Rahsennor (^)
🔰 #63 | Whack-a-Mole, Lenoci (^)🔹
🔰 #64 | Ball n’ Flag, Barasc (^)🔸
🔰 #65 | Eelectric, Scardua (^)
🔰 #66 | Lost Souls, Red Moon (^)
🔰 #67 | Just Another Maze Game, Siudym (^)
🔰 #68 | CoOperating System, Mihoshi (^)
🔰 #69 | Flappy Jack, Fraker (^)
🔰 #70 | Angry at Faces, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #71 | Cybroitek: Double Revenge, Siudym (^)🔹
🔰 #72 | Amazing Gravity Boys, Laubisch (^)🔹
🔰 #73 | CrossShoot, Caruso (^)🔹
🔰 #74 | Forehead Block Guy, Hoffman (^)
🔰 #75 | Interrobang, Shadick (^)🔹

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ARCADE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° More commonly known as Micro Knight: Revenge of the Foul Skulls.
°° Brick Breaker is also known as Mini Brix Battle; Corpse is also known as Cheril in Cadàveriön.
°°° Available in FamiCom edition only.

Art App Rankings

🔰 #1 | CrossPaint, CutterCross (^)
🔰 #2 | Mess Maker, INUT (^)
🔰 #3 | Turtle Paint, Sherman (^)
🔰 #4 | Retro Puzzle Maker, CPP (^)°🔹
🔰 #5 | Lightwall, Green (^)🔹
🔰 #6 | Power Coloring, Parker / retroUSB (^)
🔰 #7 | Graphics Editor, Yerrick (^)🔹
🔰 #8 | Paint or Draw, Fraker (^)🔹
🔰 #9 | Palettician, RG59 (^)🔹

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX APPS

🎴 | Power Coloring
🎴 | Turtle Paint

° This entry—and this ranking—correspond to the original NES ROM of Retro Puzzle Maker. The app has now been built out to constitute a full web-based application that, while excellent, is not (because of its form) eligible for a ranking of NES homebrews.

Card / Dice Rankings

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | Freecell

° Tailgate Party is a bean bag–throwing party game that uses the NES Power Pad.

Fighting / Brawler Rankings

🔰 #1 | Haunted (‘86), Retrotainment (^)
🔰 #2 | Almost Hero, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #3 | Jay & Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, SBP (^)
🔰 #4 | Haunted (‘85), Retrotainment (^)
🔰 #5 | Weed N’ Stiff 2, CalGames (^)
🔰 #6 | City Trouble, Walter (^)
🔰 #7 | Justice Duel, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #8 | Super Homebrew War, Bite the Chili (^)
🔰 #9 | Alfonzo Melee, SBP (^)
🔰 #10 | Leggite Luta Livre, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #11 | Street Fighter II, Parisoft (^)
🔰 #12 | Fight of the Phoenix, Lother (^)
🔰 #13 | Dimension Shift, Mugi (^)
🔰 #14 | Ashen House, CrazyGroupTrio (^)
🔰 #15 | Super Tilt Bro., Gadrat (^)
🔰 #16 | Oink n’ Boink, James (^)
🔰 #17 | Light Shields, Zutano (^)
🔰 #18 | K.Y.F.F., Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #19 | Karate Kick, Moffitt (^)
🔰 #20 | Chumlee’s Adventure, GSPawn (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER FIGHTING HOMEBREWS

📍 | Meet Me in the Parking Lot

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Kids Game Rankings

🔰 #1 | Maile Penguin’s Christmas Adventure, Karikas (^)
🔰 #2 | Pair the Pets, Broke Studio (^)🔹

HONORABLE MENTIONS

🔘 | The Alphabet, Sly Dog (^)🔹

*Perkele: Saimaa Ringed Seal’s Revenge.*

Multicart Rankings

🔰 #1 | Mojonian Tales, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #2 | Perkele, Donkey Games (^)°

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak, Hanley (^)🔹
💠 | Geminim & Siamond, Sivak (^)🔸

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak°°
🎴 | Geminim & Siamond
🎴 | Mojonian Tales°°°
🎴 | Perkele

° One of the three NES homebrews on the Perkele cart, Winter War, can be—but need not be—played using an NES Zapper (🔫).
°° Contains E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Fishing Challenge, Sneak n’ Peek, and Ultimate Frogger Champion, all by Kevin Hanley of KHAN Games (a publisher pronounced as the two-syllable word “KAY-HAN”, with “han” rhyming with “ban,” “ran,” or “tan”).
°°° Contains “20+” Mojon Twins games, including all of those listed in this ranking.

*Nuclear Mushroom Boom: Super 9999 in 1.*

Music Cart Rankings: Music

🔰 #1 | Quiet, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #2 | Dawn Metropolis, Anamanaguchi (^)🔹
🔰 #3 | Silicon Statue, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #4 | Thornby, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #5 | 8-Bit Music Power Final, RIKI (^)
🔰 #6 | 8-Bit Music Power, RIKI (^)
🔰 #7 | Goofy Foot, Swedish Columbia (^)
🔰 #8 | 9999 in 1, Nuclear Mushroom Boom (^)🔹
🔰 #9 | NOFX, HeavyW8Bit (^)🔹
🔰 #10 | Vegavox 2, Mauer (^)🔹
🔰 #11 | Endless Fantasy, Anamanaguchi (^)🔹
🔰 #12 | Moon8, Smith (^)
🔰 #13 | Alwa’s Awakening, Kreese / Sakamoto (^)🔹
🔰 #14 | Project PAL, Kreese, Zabutom & Wiklund (^)🔹
🔰 #15 | Duck Tails, Puzzle Boys (^)🔹
🔰 #16 | Four, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #17 | Power Supply, Anamanaguchi (^)🔹
🔰 #18 | Years Behind, Retrocoders (^)°🔹
🔰 #19 | Fie, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #20 | 2A03 Puritans, BitPuritans / Smith (^)
🔰 #21 | Mom My Ears Are Bleeding, Various (^)🔹
🔰 #22 | Embered Recollections, Heosphoros (^)🔹
🔰 #23 | A Winner Is You, Elisondo (^)
🔰 #24 | Vegavox, Mauer (^)🔹
🔰 #25 | Polygondwanaland: 2nd Edition, 5Seven (^)
🔰 #26 | A Hole New World, Pellicer (^)
🔰 #27 | Level Zero, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #28 | Turquoise Palace, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #29 | Welcome to Eville, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)🔹
🔰 #30 | Teletime: Animalstyle, Mariano (^)
🔰 #31 | Capcom OST, Anonymous (^)🔹
🔰 #32 | Moonfall, Barnes (^)🔹
🔰 #33 | RNDM NES Album, Mega Ran (^)
🔰 #34 | Creeping It Real, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #35 | Journey, NintendoAge (^)

Music Cart Rankings: Apps

HONORABLE MENTIONS: MUSIC

HONORABLE MENTIONS: APPS

💠 | CajoNES, Baldwin (^)🔹
💠 | LogoNES, Miller [No Carrier] (^)🔹
💠 | ScrollNES, Miller [No Carrier] (^)🔹
💠 | Speech Synthesizer, Parsell (^)🔹

OTHER MUSIC HOMEBREWS

📍 | droNES 🔹
📍 | liveNES 🔹

COMPLETE-IN-BOX MUSIC CARTS

° If played on an emulator, the emulator’s Region setting must be changed to “PAL.”
°° An NES music cart comes with an expansion audio chip so that this non-8-bit LP can be played—and heard in its original form—on an NES. See here for more details.
°°° A direct successor to (and evolution of) NRTQ, PULSAR, is intended to allow the user to sequence and synthesize sounds directly on an NES console.

Party Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Expedition, Mega Cat (^)🔸
💠 | HappyNESs, Scardua (^)

OTHER PARTY HOMEBREWS

📍 | 8-Bit Xmas 2011: Fireplace Bash

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

*Ghoul Grind: Night of the Necromancer.*

Platformer Rankings

🔰 #1 | Micro Mages, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #2 | Flea!, Lowtek Games (^)
🔰 #3 | Nebs ’n Debs, Dullahan Software (^)
🔰 #4 | Project Blue, Phillips / FrankenGraphics (^)
🔰 #5 | Basse Def Adventures, Broke Studio (^)
🔰 #6 | Cowlitz’s 2nd Adventure, Kur / M-Tee (^)
🔰 #7 | Twin Dragons, Broke Studio (^)
🔰 #8 | The Void, Behr / LCM Games (^)
🔰 #9 | Cowlitz’s Lost Adventure, Kur / M-Tee (^)
🔰 #10 | Wolf Spirit, Salgueiro (^)
🔰 #11 | Rollie, Optovania (^)
🔰 #12 | Espitenen & Pimponen, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #13 | Shera and the 40 Thieves, CGT (^)
🔰 #14 | Ghoul Grind, WoogWorx (^)
🔰 #15 | Slow Mole, Rosenlund (^)
🔰 #16 | Hey Reset, Jacotomo (^)🔸
🔰 #17 | Assault on Planet Beezlbub, T-Bone (^)
🔰 #18 | Pinky, Axbakk Games (^)
🔰 #19 | Nessy! The NES Robot, DTG (^)
🔰 #20 | Super Uwol, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #21 | Cheril in the Cave, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #22 | Doodle World, Peters (^)
🔰 #23 | Rendezvous, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #24 | Nim & Nom, Krill (^)
🔰 #25 | Espinete Meets Ana, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #26 | Espinete Strikes Back, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #27 | Nalleland, Nallebeorn (^)
🔰 #28 | Cheril Perils Classics, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #29 | Battery Chad, Formula Fanboy (^)
🔰 #30 | Pinky Xmas, Axbakk (^)
🔰 #31 | Mutant Sewer Girls, Boring Kate (^)
🔰 #32 | Blickel, Vintro Studios (^)
🔰 #33 | Attack of the Gummy Bears, Duel (^)🔹
🔰 #34 | Enormous Adventures, Game Losers (^)
🔰 #35 | Petulant Pugslay’s Powerful Parades, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #36 | Bowels of the Beast, T-Bone (^)
🔰 #37 | Inversion, Kur / Red Moon (^)
🔰 #38 | Monona Ninona Pana, Mojon Twins (^)°🔹
🔰 #39 | MineShaft, Nioreh (^)
🔰 #40 | Pogo Cats, Yggi (^)
🔰 #41 | Study Hall, Hanley (^)
🔰 #42 | 8Bit Xmas: Study Hall 2, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #43 | Moonglow, Yurt Fiend (^)
🔰 #44 | Driar, Adolfsson & Eriksson (^)
🔰 #45 | Platycat, Logana (^)
🔰 #46 | Lala Lah, Mojon Twins (^)°°°🔹
🔰 #47 | Underground Adventure, Coop (^)
🔰 #48 | Falling, Tragic Muffin (^)
🔰 #49 | Falldown, Sivak (^)🔹
🔰 #50 | Copter Bot, Cramer (^)
🔰 #51 | Somari Katamari, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #52 | Memory Somari, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #53 | Duckstroma, AB Ultra Narwhal (^)
🔰 #54 | I Wanna Flip the Sky, Livak (^)
🔰 #55 | Chicken of the Farm, Link / Mitch (^)
🔰 #56 | Marble Run, Haarahiltunen (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 8Bit Xmas: 12 Seconds, retroUSB (^)
💠 | Arlington Apple, Team Disposable (^)
💠 | Birthday Bash, Dobbs (^)🔹
💠 | Blobert, Mystical Wheelbarrow (^)
💠 | Down the Hole, Castimier (^)
💠 | Dragon Leap, Crisafulli (^)
💠 | Exit Loop, The Mad Cete (^)
💠 | Forest Adventure, Nice Code (^)
💠 | Frog, Boston Breams (^)
💠 | Grave Adventure, Plude (^)
💠 | Jet Set Willy, Siudym (^)🔹
💠 | Kid Funky, Kool Doob (^)
💠 | Mega Mountain, Adrian Makes Games (^)
💠 | Mr. Maymunshine’s Christmas Land, CalGames (^)
💠 | No Name, Daylen Retro (^)
💠 | Randy vs. the Aliens, Orangebox (^)
💠 | Rescue Time, Seiji / SJ Games (^)
💠 | Santa’s Magical Christmas Sleigh, RetroPlayer (^)
💠 | Shadow of the Lemming, Siudym (^)
💠 | Sonic Mal, Mojon Twins (^)°°🔹
💠 | Super Adventure Jih, Lira (^)
💠 | Tiger Jenny, Ludosity (^)°°°°
💠 | Treat Sweep on Creep Street, Kosters (^)
💠 | You Are Insignificant, Team Disposable (^)

OTHER PLATFORMER HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Another version of this game, Baboon, has identical gameplay but different sprites.
°° This game, an unlicensed NES adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, extends across three discrete subgame ROMS: Sonic Mal, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3: Sonic of the Bosque.
°°° This game is a “mirror image” of Petulant Pugslay’s Powerful Parades; in Lala Lah, the player plays the former game “right side up” rather than wholly upside-down.
°°°° This game’s final boss hasn’t yet been coded, leaving the game without an ending.

Puzzle Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER PUZZLE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° To play this homebrew, you will need to rename the ROM file after downloading it by removing the “.txt” extension; this will automatically convert the file to a “.nes” file.

Rhythm Game Rankings

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | 8-Bit Rhythm Land°°°°

° Supermagic Music Maker isn’t so much an NES “game” as it is an NES “experience.”
°° TRACK+FEEL II is optimized for use with the Power Pad, but can be played without it; Hocus Pocus Hero requires the use of a hacked Guitar Hero 2 guitar, and cannot be played without it.
°°° A karaoke game requiring use of a FamiCom Microphone in the second NES port.
°°°° Available in FamiCom edition only.

RPG Rankings

🔰 #1 | The Legends of Owlia, Gradual (^)
🔰 #2 | Weed N’ Stiff, CalGames (^)
🔰 #3 | Light From Within, Atarath (^)
🔰 #4 | Scourge of the Goblin King, Bite the Chili (^)
🔰 #5 | We Are Hejickle, Pubby (^)
🔰 #6 | Mystic Origins, New 8-Bit Heroes (^)
🔰 #7 | Quest Forge, Ludosity (^)🔸
🔰 #8 | Candelabra: Estoscerro, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #9 | Chaos Between Realms, VGU (^)
🔰 #10 | Just a Game, Jacotomo (^)
🔰 #11 | 1000 Stars, Vufka (^)
🔰 #12 | Paws of the West, Pigeonaut (^)
🔰 #13 | Stellarator, McKinley (^)
🔰 #14 | No Good Choice, Veremenko (^)
🔰 #15 | File Fixers, Scardua (^)
🔰 #16 | Time Survivor, Tinsley (^)
🔰 #17 | Black Box Challenge, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #18 | Swords and Runes, Sole Goose (^)
🔰 #19 | Eternal Prelude, Rustocrat (^)
🔰 #20 | The Paths of Bridewell, ZKIP (^)
🔰 #21 | Roguelore, Scardua (^)
🔰 #22 | Inherent Smile, Calima (^)
🔰 #23 | To the Ends of the Earth, RinRem01 (^)
🔰 #24 | TheWit.nes, Dustmop (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | An Elf’s Tale, Bardsley (^)
💠 | Page Turner, Ferret Hall (^)
💠 | Shadow Animus, Chronicler of Legends (^)
💠 | Shokan Doro, Gonzalez (^)

OTHER RPG HOMEBREWS

📍 | The Adventures of Lex & Grim (^)🔹
📍 | First Light’s Cry
📍 | Monster Slayer (^)

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Shooter / Run n’ Gun Rankings

🔰 #1 | Astro Ninja Man, Columbus Cir. (^)
🔰 #2 | Star Keeper, 87 Arts (^)
🔰 #3 | Blade Buster, High Level Challenge (^)
🔰 #4 | Haradius Zero, Neodolphino (^)
🔰 #5 | Haratyler, Impact Soft (^)🔹
🔰 #6 | NeMULEsis, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #7 | Aspect Star N, Nicole Express (^)
🔰 #8 | Mine Mayhem, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #9 | Godzilla: King of Monsters, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #10 | Sgt. Helmet: Training Day, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #11 | Copper Jacket, Monsoon Studios (^)
🔰 #12 | D’veel’ng, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #13 | Gold Guardian Gun Girl, GoodTune (^)
🔰 #14 | Cheril the Nine, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #15 | The Rise of Amondus, Sly Dog (^)🔸
🔰 #16 | Star Versus, Dust Mop (^)
🔰 #17 | Bat Lizard Bonanza, Vanderhoef (^)
🔰 #18 | Mega Meghan, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #19 | Sgt. Helmet: Commando, Mojon Twins (^)🔹
🔰 #20 | Encuera Women, Mojon Twins (^)°🔹
🔰 #21 | Touhou Rououmu, Kyoske (^)
🔰 #22 | Scramble, Hanley (^)🔸
🔰 #23 | MultiDefender, Tvoybro (^)🔹
🔰 #24 | Vegetablets Go, Tulip House (^)🔹
🔰 #25 | Rekt, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #26 | DABG, Hoffman (^)
🔰 #27 | Spook-o’-Tron, Sole Goose (^)
🔰 #28 | Mermay’s Den, Mihoshi (^)
🔰 #29 | Drunk Time Traveler’s Fiancée, 8BZ (^)
🔰 #30 | Troll Burner, New 8-Bit Heroes (^)
🔰 #31 | Thwaite, Yerrick (^)
🔰 #32 | Gaplus, M2 / Bandai Namco (^)
🔰 #33 | Chrono Knight, Artix (^)
🔰 #34 | Sweethearts, Zhamul (^)
🔰 #35 | Spirit Impel, Passe Gaming (^)
🔰 #36 | Improbability Fighter, Scardua (^)
🔰 #37 | CYO, Nemesys (^)
🔰 #38 | Lunar Limit, Pubby (^)
🔰 #39 | T*Gun, Crisafulli (^)
🔰 #40 | Super PakPak, AOH Games (^)
🔰 #41 | Bandana, Most (^)
🔰 #42 | Bloodfall, Ludos (^)
🔰 #43 | Saturn Smash, FG Soft (^)🔸
🔰 #44 | Dragon Feet, Crisafulli (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 2600 A.D., CrazyGroupTrio (^)
💠 | Black Hole, Siudym (^)
💠 | Drakaina, Claire / Pilo (^)🔹
💠 | Galaxxon III, Rost & Co. (^)
💠 | Galaxy Hero, Siudym (^)
💠 | GunTneR, Langel (^)
💠 | Jupiter Scope 2, Nin-Kuuku (^)
💠 | Klepsydra, Drexegar (^)
💠 | Kubo 1 & 2, Seiji / SJ Games (^)
💠 | Neotoxin, Snowbro (^)🔹
💠 | Solar Wars, Covell (^)
💠 | Solaris, retroUSB (^)🔹
💠 | Space Soviets, FG Soft (^)🔹
💠 | Spacy Shooty, Fraker (^)
💠 | Uchūsen, Nape Games (^)
💠 | Vehion, Livak (^)
💠 | War Boat, Timeline Games (^)
💠 | Wraith, Livak (^)

OTHER SHOOTER HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Simulation Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Chiptune Hell, Progressive Games (^)°°🔹
💠 | Conway’s Game of Life, Grey (^)🔸
💠 | NES Life, Nova Squirrel (^)🔹
💠 | Oni No Hatago, Denkakudo (^)°°🔹

° Only the first two “rooms” in this game have been completed (the “basement” and the “living room”). The remaining two rooms can be viewed but are not fully playable.
°° A conversation/dating simulation game with text entirely in Japanese. An English patch or intermediate reading knowledge of Japanese is needed to play this homebrew.

The Top 500 NES Homebrews, Vol. 4

Decades after the last licensed Nintendo Entertainment System release, NES games still drop regularly. This ranking—which excludes hacks, localizations and prototypes—features 1,048 NES “homebrews.”

Preface

Changes in This Edition of the Ranking

Symbols

Some Other RETRO Rankings

Total Homebrew Library Size

Complete-in-Box Titles

Review Copies

Table of Contents

Action-Adventure Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ACTION-ADVENTURE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Adventure Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ADVENTURE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Anthology Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Arcade Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ARCADE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Art App Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX APPS

Card / Dice Rankings

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Fighting / Brawler Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER FIGHTING HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Kids Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Multicart Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Music Cart Rankings: Music

Music Cart Rankings: Apps

HONORABLE MENTIONS: MUSIC

HONORABLE MENTIONS: APPS

OTHER MUSIC HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX MUSIC CARTS

Party Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER PARTY HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Platformer Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER PLATFORMER HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Puzzle Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER PUZZLE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Rhythm Game Rankings

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

RPG Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER RPG HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Shooter / Run n’ Gun Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER SHOOTER HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Simulation Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS