As vital as it was in saving the gaming industry, the Nintendo Entertainment System's legacy has been reduced to a couple of classics, and that was also the case during its initial run. Everyone had Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby's Adventure, but plenty of generally fantastic NES games slipped through the cracks, and I'm not talking retroactively. Quite a few titles that were massive in Japan failed to strike a chord in North America or Europe, and that's assuming they were brought over in the first place.

I love looking back at these older systems in search of forgotten games that prove to be hidden gems, but what about the titles that were never really remembered in the first place? These NES titles might have impressed critics, but they didn't incentivize players to pick them over the 600+ other games released in North America.

Just to avoid any confusion, I'm specifically talking about NES games that commercially flopped in North America (NTSC region). Obviously, some folks played these releases, but they came and went without leaving much of an impact (at the time).

For the "near-perfect" part, I'm talking primarily within the context of their era, rather than how well they have aged. That said, the latter is a nice bonus.

Arguably the most important turn-based RPG of the '80s, Dragon Quest 3 's influence on the Japanese scene is so long-lasting that (Square) Enix has released 4 remakes over the decades, and I won't be surprised if a few more pop up in the future.

Source link