The Top 500 NES Homebrews, Vol. 5

Decades after the last licensed Nintendo Entertainment System game, NES games still get released. This list—which excludes prototypes or localizations of first-gen NES games—ranks 1,207 “NES2” titles.

May 05, 2022

{Note: Full RETRO subscribers can read earlier editions of the Top 500 homebrew rankings here, 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. You can subscribe now by clicking below. The cost is just $5/month, and you can cancel anytime.}

Introduction

{Attention: If you want to vote in the first-ever open voting period for the first-ever NES2 Hall of Fame, click here. The voting process takes only a couple minutes and does not require a RETRO subscription. Your input is welcomed and encouraged!}

Subscribers can read the 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 an R1 university professor, been a journalist for 25 years, and am a professional culture critic, but none of this ensures you’ll agree with any of my judgments or that they’re “objectively” correct. Information on my background as a journalist, a critic, and an academic specializing in digital culture can be found here.

Changes in This Edition of the Ranking

New additions in this volume of the RETRO Top 500 NES Homebrews include:

The addition of 150+ new NES homebrews;
the beginning of a long-term project to include links for every NES2 game in this ranking, regardless of “tier” (i.e., many games now have links attached to them that previously did not);
the continued updating of developer and studio credits to ensure accuracy;
the addition of new award recipients to the Awards section;
the addition of a Key;
the addition of a Hacks ranking;
the addition of a Ports ranking;
the addition of the “🅿️” symbol to denote NES2 games selected for Premium Edition Games’ “Classic Series” on the Nintendo Switch (see video here);
the addition of Premium Recs, a listing of those games which, in the view of RETRO, most deserve to be considered for the next entry in Premium Edition Games’ “Classic Series” due to their accessibility, completeness, and polish; and
additional expansion of the Special Thanks session.

Total Homebrew Library Size

This archive now lists 1,207 NES homebrews, making it the largest archive of its kind in the world.

This tally includes 500 ranked homebrews, 288 honorable mentions, 102 red-pinned (“Tier 3”) titles, 195 titles assessed but not tiered (see “Other Reviewed Games”), 108 “watchlisted” NES homebrews that have not yet received a full public release, and 14 library-only games that count toward total library size but are not ranked in any tier.

Of the homebrews in the four tiers identified in this article (see Ranking Key below), 266 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.

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

💮 Key

💮 Action-Adventure Games (63 games)

Action-Adventure Rankings

💮 Adventure Games (28 games)

Adventure Game Rankings

💮 Anthologies (5 anthologies)

Anthology Rankings

💮 Arcade Games (79 games)

Arcade Game Rankings

💮 Art Apps (5 apps)

Art App Rankings

💮 Card / Dice Games (4 games)

Card / Dice Rankings

💮 Fighting / Brawler Games (14 games)

Fighting / Brawler Rankings

💮 Kids Games (2 games)

Kids Game Rankings

💮 Multicart Games (2 games)

Multicart Rankings

💮 Music Carts (34 carts)

Music Cart Rankings: Music (24 carts)
Music Cart Rankings: Apps (10 carts)

💮 Party Games (5 games)

Party Game Rankings

💮 Platformer Games (54 games)

Platformer Rankings

💮 Puzzle Games (48 games)

Puzzle Game Rankings

💮 Rhythm Games (9 games)

Rhythm Game Rankings

💮 Role-Playing Games (25 games)

RPG Rankings

💮 Shooter / Run n’ Gun Games (42 games)

Shooter / Run n’ Gun Rankings

💮 Simulation Games (7 games)

Simulation Game Rankings

💮 Sports / Racing Games (8 games)

Sports / Racing Game Rankings

💮 Strategy Games (8 games)

Strategy Game Rankings

💮 Tech Demos (5 demos)

Tech Demo Rankings

💮 Utilities (1 utility)

Utility Rankings

💮 Zapper / FPS Games (2 games)

Zapper / FPS Rankings

💮 FamiCom-Only Games (11 titles)

FamiCom-Only Rankings

💮 Hacks (20 hacks)

Hack Rankings

💮 Multiplayer Games (49 titles)

Multiplayer Rankings

💮 Ports (31 ports)

Port Rankings

💮 Other Reviewed Games

💮 The RETRO Homebrew Watchlist

💮 Premium Recs

Premium Edition Games Recommendations

💮 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

Ranking Key

{Note: This section is best viewed on a desktop computer.}

🔰 = A “Top 500” (First Tier) game; the bolded number beside it is its in-genre ranking.

💠 = An “Honorable Mention” (Second Tier) NES homebrew, according to RETRO.

📍 = An “Other Noted Game” (Third Tier) NES homebrew, according to RETRO.

🔘 = An “Other Reviewed Game” (Fourth Tier) NES homebrew, according to RETRO.

🎴 = A homebrew that has at some point been available as a complete-in-box product.

🔹 = A homebrew new to the Top 500; this symbol is removed for subsequent volumes.

🔸 = A game whose ranking has changed notably in this volume due to a reassessment.

🅰️ = A game featuring adult images, situations, or themes; viewer discretion is advised.

🅿️ = A game added to Premium Edition Games’ “Classic Series” for Nintendo Switch.

🔫 = A game that requires (rather than just allowing) an NES Zapper to play properly.

📕 = A FamiCom-only game counted for total library size but ineligible for the Top 500.

📘 = An NES Hack ranked in its category but not counted toward total library size.

📙 = A Multiplayer game; these games are only counted once toward total library size.

📗 = A game with a Special Citation (but only counted once toward total library size).

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 | Spacegulls, Morphcat (^)🔸
🔰 #9 | Trophy, Gradual Games (^)
🔰 #10 | Battle Kid 2, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #11 | Super Bat Puncher, Morphcat (^)
🔰 #12 | The Great Gatsby, Hoey (^)
🔰 #13 | Wolfling, Lazy Cow (^)
🔰 #14 | Orebody: Binder’s Tale, Vanderhoef (^)🅿️
🔰 #15 | Space Raft, Raftronaut (^)🅿️
🔰 #16 | Eyra, Second Dimension (^)🅿️
🔰 #17 | Cheril’s Nightmares, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #18 | Mark of the Beast, Red Moon (^)
🔰 #19 | Battle Kid, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #20 | Adventures of Panzer, Pixelcraft (^)
🔰 #21 | Biocats, PB Games (^)
🔰 #22 | Nin Nin, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #23 | Cheril the Writer, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #24 | More Glider, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #25 | Cheril the Goddess, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #26 | The Wizard of Oz, Waixing (^/^)°🔹
🔰 #27 | Yun, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #28 | Bootèe, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #29 | Project Sword, Raftronaut / Bite the Chili (^)🔹
🔰 #30 | Tower of Turmoil, CutterCross (^)
🔰 #31 | The Mad Wizard, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #32 | Jet-Paco, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #33 | Flowers in the Mirror, Waixing (^/^)🔹
🔰 #34 | Underground Mission, Inventor (^)🔹
🔰 #35 | Nomolos, Gradual Games (^)
🔰 #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 (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ACTION-ADVENTURE HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Requires the use of an English-language patch to play. Use the UniPatcher app from the Google Play store to quickly combine any NES ROM with an “.ips” translation file.
°° 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.

Adventure Game Rankings

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 with Cheril Begins).

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

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 3-in-1 2P Pack, Sly Dog (^)*
💠 | 2011 Midwest Gaming Classic NES Homebrew Showcase, Various (^)*
💠 | Game On Expo Retro Championships 2015, Collectorvision (^)°°°/*
💠 | Garage Cart, Parsell / Covell (^)*
💠 | HBWC 2012, Various (^)*
💠 | MGC Arcade Pack, Tolbert (^)🔹*

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.
* 3-in-1 2P Pack includes Boombox, !CLIK! (better known as NES Virus Cleaner), Pegs, Snail Maze Game, and Tic-Tac XO; 2011 Midwest Gaming Classic NES Homebrew Showcase includes Concentration Room, LJ65, Munchie Attack, Thwaite, and Yars’ Revenge; Game On Expo Retro Championships 2015 includes Meteor Swarm, Pedal to the Metal, and a special demo edition of Sydney Hunter; Garage Cart includes Hot Seat Harry, Munchie Attack, and Solar Wars; HBWC 2012 includes Chunkout 2, NES Virus Cleaner, Seagull’s Revenge, Slappin’, and Ultimate Frogger Champion; MGC Arcade Pack includes Convention Quest, NNNNNN, Spacey McRacey, and Super Homebrew War.

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 | Super Crusher Fighters, FG Soft (^)🔹
🔰 #22 | Escape From Pong, Gashlin (^)
🔰 #23 | Up the Wall, Most (^)
🔰 #24 | Carpet Shark, Fista Games (^)
🔰 #25 | Lawn Mower, Shiru (^)
🔰 #26 | Jammin’ Honey, Fraker (^)
🔰 #27 | Blob Land, Scardua (^)
🔰 #28 | Beer Slinger, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #29 | Rooms, Manjiro (^)
🔰 #30 | Spacewalk 3030, Cramer (^)
🔰 #31 | Perfect Pair, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #32 | I Love Polun-chan’s Rice Balls, MokTV (^)*🔹
🔰 #33 | Sinking Feeling, Mega Cat (^)
🔰 #34 | Get It!, Gravel Studios (^)
🔰 #35 | NES Virus Cleaner, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #36 | Be a Pirate!, FutuRETROistic (^)
🔰 #37 | Chopper Bombs, Most (^)🔹
🔰 #38 | Robo-Ninja Climb, Bite the Chili (^)
🔰 #39 | Germ Squashers, 8bit Evolution (^)
🔰 #40 | Ninja I & II, Elisondo (^)🅿️
🔰 #41 | Heather the Beheader, Pewko (^)
🔰 #42 | Bombermania, Senil Data (^)🔹
🔰 #43 | Mooooo!, Toscani (^)
🔰 #44 | Radish Field, Nice Code (^)🔹
🔰 #45 | Micro Knight V, Siudym (^)°
🔰 #46 | Ouroboros, Scardua (^)
🔰 #47 | Immunatio, Romek RJM (^)
🔰 #48 | Blow Em’ Out, Second Dimension (^)
🔰 #49 | Turtle Party, Sherman (^)
🔰 #50 | Crap Job, Oniric (^)
🔰 #51 | FamiDepth, Oliver Twins (^)
🔰 #52 | Submarine, Dream Gear (^)🔹
🔰 #53 | Fox Hunt, Tolerant X (^)
🔰 #54 | Wacko, Most (^)
🔰 #55 | Twelve Seconds, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #56 | Nibbles, Yerrick (^)
🔰 #57 | Super NeSnake 2, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #58 | The Grind, RNG (^)
🔰 #59 | Corpse, Mojon Twins (^)°°
🔰 #60 | Alley Bat, FG Soft (^)
🔰 #61 | NESnake, Matrixz (^)
🔰 #62 | Snakky, Shiru (^)
🔰 #63 | Rocketman, Nice Code (^)🔹
🔰 #64 | Pixel Poops: No. 2, Techmaster (^)
🔰 #65 | Tesla vs. Edison, RadTek (^)
🔰 #66 | Power Robot, Nice Code (^)🔹
🔰 #67 | Split Second, Hyatt (^)
🔰 #68 | Shooting Balloons, Nice Code (^)🔹
🔰 #69 | Hitting Mice, Alien Tech (^)
🔰 #70 | The Archer, Nice Code (^)
🔰 #71 | Wrecking Balls, Rahsennor (^)
🔰 #72 | Whack-a-Mole, Lenoci (^)
🔰 #73 | Ball n’ Flag, Barasc (^)
🔰 #74 | Eelectric, Scardua (^)
🔰 #75 | Lost Souls, Red Moon (^)
🔰 #76 | CoOperating System, Mihoshi (^)
🔰 #77 | Flappy Jack, Fraker (^)
🔰 #78 | Bovinium Quest, Grey Badge (^)
🔰 #79 | Angry at Faces, Morphcat (^)

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.
* The untranslated title of this game is (in Japanese) Porun-chan no Onigiri Daisuki.

Art App Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Color a Deer, Pubby (^)
💠 | GalleryNES, Miller [No Carrier] (^)
💠 | GlitchNES, Miller [No Carrier] (^)
💠 | Graphics Editor, Yerrick (^)
💠 | Lightwall, Green (^)
💠 | NES Paint, KHS (^)
💠 | NESpix, Morphcat (^)
💠 | Paint or Draw, Fraker (^)
💠 | Palettician, RG59 (^)
💠 | Pixel Art Editor, Baraso (^)
💠 | Power Coloring, Parker / retroUSB (^)
💠 | Random Access, Miller [No Carrier] (^)

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 this ranking of NES homebrews.

Card / Dice Rankings

🔰 #1 | Donsol, Rek & Devine (^)
🔰 #2 | Euchre, Fraker (^)
🔰 #3 | Freecell, Neodolphino (^)
🔰 #4 | Yacht, Scardua (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Concentration Room, Yerrick (^)

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | Freecell

Fighting / Brawler Rankings

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 (^)

OTHER MULTICARTS

📍 | PowerPlayer 3-in-1, PowerPlayer (^)°°🔹

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 (🔫).
°° PowerPlayer 3-in-1 includes Hanuman Quiz Game, Hanuman Typing Game, and Malaria; 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak includes 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.

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 | Curious Quail, Petriform (^)🔹
🔰 #16 | 8-Bit Music Power Encore, RIKI (^)🔹
🔰 #17 | Duck Tails, Puzzle Boys (^)
🔰 #18 | Four, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)
🔰 #19 | Power Supply, Anamanaguchi (^)
🔰 #20 | Years Behind, Retrocoders (^)°
🔰 #21 | Fie, Ragonnet [Zi] (^)
🔰 #22 | 2A03 Puritans, BitPuritans / Smith (^)
🔰 #23 | Mom My Ears Are Bleeding, Various (^)
🔰 #24 | Polygondwanaland: 2nd Edition, 5Seven (^)

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: MUSIC

OTHER MUSIC HOMEBREWS: APPS

📍 | 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 (^)
💠 | Quadralords, retroUSB (^)
💠 | $how do 1000000, Scardua (^)🔹°°

OTHER PARTY HOMEBREWS

📍 | 8-Bit Xmas 2011: Fireplace Bash

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Tailgate Party is a bean bag–throwing party game that uses the NES Power Pad.
°° Requires knowledge of Portuguese—though for certain of the questions in this quiz-show NES game, advanced knowledge of Spanish will also suffice.

*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 | Deth Complex, Moore (^)🔹
🔰 #18 | Copter Bot, Cramer (^)🔸
🔰 #19 | Assault on Planet Beezlbub, Moore (^)
🔰 #20 | Pinky, Axbakk Games (^)
🔰 #21 | Nessy! The NES Robot, DTG (^)🅿️
🔰 #22 | Super Uwol, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #23 | Cheril in the Cave, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #24 | Doodle World, Peters (^)🅿️
🔰 #25 | Rendezvous, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #26 | Nim & Nom, Krill (^)
🔰 #27 | Espinete Meets Ana, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #28 | Espinete Strikes Back, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #29 | Nalleland, Nallebeorn (^)
🔰 #30 | Cheril Perils Classics, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #31 | Battery Chad, Formula Fanboy (^)
🔰 #32 | Pinky Xmas, Axbakk (^)
🔰 #33 | Mutant Sewer Girls, Boring Kate (^)
🔰 #34 | Blickel, Vintro Studios (^)
🔰 #35 | Attack of the Gummy Bears, Duel (^)
🔰 #36 | Enormous Adventures, Game Losers (^)
🔰 #37 | Petulant Pugslay’s Powerful Parades, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #38 | Bowels of the Beast, Moore (^)
🔰 #39 | Inversion, Kur / Red Moon (^)
🔰 #40 | Monona Ninona Pana, Mojon Twins (^)°
🔰 #41 | MineShaft, Nioreh (^)
🔰 #42 | Pogo Cats, Yggi (^)
🔰 #43 | Study Hall, Hanley (^)
🔰 #44 | Study Hall 2, retroUSB (^)
🔰 #45 | Moonglow, Yurt Fiend (^)
🔰 #46 | Driar, Adolfsson & Eriksson (^)
🔰 #47 | Platycat, Logana (^)
🔰 #48 | Lala Lah, Mojon Twins (^)°°°
🔰 #49 | Underground Adventure, Coop (^)
🔰 #50 | Falling, Tragic Muffin (^)
🔰 #51 | Falldown, Sivak (^)
🔰 #52 | Somari Katamari, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #53 | Memory Somari, Mojon Twins (^)
🔰 #54 | I Wanna Flip the Sky, Livak (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 8Bit Xmas: 12 Seconds, retroUSB (^)
💠 | Arlington Apple, Team Disposable (^)
💠 | Birthday Bash, Dobbs (^)
💠 | Blobert, Mystical Wheelbarrow (^)
💠 | Chicken of the Farm, Link / Mitch (^)
💠 | Down the Hole, Castimier (^)
💠 | Dragon Leap, Crisafulli (^)
💠 | Duckstroma, AB Ultra Narwhal (^)
💠 | Exit Loop, The Mad Cete (^)
💠 | Forest Adventure, Nice Code (^)
💠 | Frog, Boston Breams (^)
💠 | Grave Adventure, Plude (^)
💠 | Jet Set Willy, Siudym (^)
💠 | Kid Funky, Kool Doob (^)
💠 | Marble Run, Haarahiltunen (^)
💠 | 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

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Hocus Pocus Hero, Tomlin / Percival (^)
💠 | Utaco, Zurashu (^)°°°

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 | Adventures of Eldorin, Outlaw Bits (^)🔸
🔰 #11 | Just a Game, Jacotomo (^)
🔰 #12 | 1000 Stars, Vufka (^)
🔰 #13 | Paws of the West, Pigeonaut (^)
🔰 #14 | Steins Gate, MAGES (^)°🔹
🔰 #15 | Stellarator, McKinley (^)
🔰 #16 | No Good Choice, Veremenko (^)
🔰 #17 | File Fixers, Scardua (^)
🔰 #18 | Time Survivor, Tinsley (^)
🔰 #19 | Black Box Challenge, Sly Dog (^)
🔰 #20 | Swords and Runes, Sole Goose (^)
🔰 #21 | Eternal Prelude, Rustocrat (^)
🔰 #22 | The Paths of Bridewell, ZKIP (^)
🔰 #23 | Roguelore, Scardua (^)
🔰 #24 | Inherent Smile, Calima (^)
🔰 #25 | To the Ends of the Earth, RinRem01 (^)

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

° Often stylized as “Steins;Gate” [sic].

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 | F-22, Inventor (^)🔹
🔰 #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 | Chrono Knight, Artix (^)
🔰 #33 | Sweethearts, Zhamul (^)
🔰 #34 | Spirit Impel, Passe Gaming (^)
🔰 #35 | Improbability Fighter, Scardua (^)
🔰 #36 | CYO, Nemesys (^)
🔰 #37 | Lunar Limit, Pubby (^)
🔰 #38 | T*Gun, Crisafulli (^)
🔰 #39 | Super PakPak, AOH Games (^)
🔰 #40 | Bandana, Most (^)
🔰 #41 | Zombie Night, Most (^)
🔰 #42 | Bloodfall, Ludos (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | 2600 A.D., CrazyGroupTrio (^)
💠 | Black Hole, Siudym (^)
💠 | Dragon Feet, Crisafulli (^)
💠 | 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 (^)
💠 | Saturn Smash, FG Soft (^)
💠 | Solar Wars, Covell (^)
💠 | 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

° This game requires both a Power Pad and a Power Glove.
°° 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.

*Gotta Protectors: Amazon’s Running Diet.*

Sports / Racing Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER SPORTS HOMEBREWS

📍 | Box & Wrestle (^)
📍 | Caged Fury
📍 | Night Driver (^)🔹

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

° Offers a substantial Adventure game component as well as a bowling game.
°° Renamed Amazon’s Training Road for its Limited Run Games release. This game was previously available from This Room Is An Illusion (site) as Amazon’s Running Diet.

Strategy Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Guardian 5, Maaskant (^)

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | Armed for Battle
🎴 | Galactic Ascension
🎴 | Tower Defense 1990

° The title of this game has been mistranslated from Chinese, possibly as “Fighting Pirates” (erroneously transliterated as “Fated Pirate”). The correct title (“对抗海盗”) is Against the Pirates; the protagonist is in each stage fighting off hordes of marauders. Note that you input your ship’s movement in a very unusual way—via the Start button.

Tech Demo Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

💠 | Rotozoom, FG Soft (^)
💠 | Sayoonara, Covell (^)

OTHER TECH DEMO HOMEBREWS

📍 | Super Stalin Bros. (^)

Utility Rankings

🔰 #1 | ConnectedNES, Weil (^)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER UTILITY HOMEBREWS

📍 | Brainf*ck Interpreter (^)
📍 | Power Glove DevKit
📍 | Social Media Bros.

Zapper / FPS Rankings

{Note: Games with a “🔫” icon after them require the use of an NES Zapper. The remaining games are first-person shooters (FPS) or Zapper games that can be played with a controller.}

🔰 #1 | Shark, Most (^)
🔰 #2 | Super Russian Roulette, Reitano (^) 🅰️🔫

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER ZAPPER HOMEBREWS

📍 | Blastered Cats 1K (^) 🔫🔹
📍 | Zap Ping 🔫

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

🎴 | Super Russian Roulette

° Requires the use of an Oculus Rift as well as an NES and NES Zapper. See the link following the game for an explanation of the game’s mechanics and synchronization.

The Top 500 NES Homebrews, Vol. 5

Decades after the last licensed Nintendo Entertainment System game, NES games still get released. This list—which excludes prototypes or localizations of first-gen NES games—ranks 1,207 “NES2” titles.

Introduction

Changes in This Edition of the Ranking

Total Homebrew Library Size

Review Copies

Table of Contents

Ranking Key

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

HONORABLE MENTIONS

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

OTHER MULTICARTS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Music Cart Rankings: Music

Music Cart Rankings: Apps

HONORABLE MENTIONS: MUSIC

HONORABLE MENTIONS: APPS

OTHER MUSIC HOMEBREWS: MUSIC

OTHER MUSIC HOMEBREWS: APPS

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

HONORABLE MENTIONS

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

Sports / Racing Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

OTHER SPORTS HOMEBREWS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Strategy Game Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS

COMPLETE-IN-BOX GAMES

Tech Demo Rankings

HONORABLE MENTIONS