A Little Hypothetical Question for You

[Nox]

Ok, ladies and gentlemen, here is the scenario:

You are shipwrecked alone on a desert island. The frivolous and inconsequential have been taken care of, such as that you have food enough for the rest of your life, shelter against all weather and disasters, clean water, ect, ect. One more thing you have at your disposal is a standard 12v power source outlet with electricity and a heavy duty power strip.

There is no cable / telephone / radio.

There is no chance of escape or suicide.

Knowing this, a magical being called "the Game Genie"
2290
descends from the Video Game heavens and has decided to grace you with FIVE games on an NES, and five more games on a SNES system.

He will supply these games (and all the means to play them, such as a television, cables, systems, ect) to you to be played for the rest of your mortal life at your leisure on this island, as there is nothing else of interest for you to do.

List the five in the order of your desire, as exampled below
NES
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

SNES
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my round-a-bout way of informing you all that I recently purchased a NES and SNES and am wondering what my next game purchases should be. To help me determine such, I'll be looking for recurring titles in the lists that are given by you all.

In addition to your lists, feel free to please expand on the "why" factor.
Thanks for your time and patience with my kiddishness.

[Pocket Asian]

NES
1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese Version)
3. Legend of Zelda
4. Legend of Zelda II: Adventure of Link
5. Super Mario Bros. 3

SNES
1. Super Mario World
2. Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
3.
4.
5.
And I definitely can't think of any others for the SNES at the moment.

[Dark Iz Here]

NES
1. Legend of Zelda
2. Zelda II: Adventure of Link
3. Super Mario Bros.
4. Duck Hunt
5. Excitebike

SNES
1. Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
2. Super Mario World
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Super Mario RPG
5. Chrono Trigger

[Nox]

4. Duck Hunt


I predicted this one would come up soon.:P I need to get a zapper, as when I bought my NES, it came with Super Mario Bros / Duckhunt, but lacked said gun. :(

[Qwerty0805]

NES
1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Zelda 2
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)
5. Punch Out

SNES
1. A Link to the Past
2. Super Mario RPG
3. Super Castlevania IV
4. Super Metroid
5. Super Mario World

[fredthehylian]

NES
1)Kirby's Adventure
2)Zelda II
3)Bubble Bobble
4)Lode Runner
5)Super Mario Bros 2
SNES
1)Earthbound
2)Super Metroid
3)Super Castlevania IV
4)Donkey Kong Country
5)Kirby Super Star

[Dark Iz Here]

I predicted this one would come up soon.:P I need to get a zapper, as when I bought my NES, it came with Super Mario Bros / Duckhunt, but lacked said gun. :(
Aw that is a sadface moment :(. I haven't played an NES in forever... I have one over at my grandma's but it's so dusty :dry:.

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Haha, pretty fun. Here's mine:

NES:
1. Super Mario Bros
2. LoZ
3. Metroid
4. Final Fantasy I
5. AoL

SNES:
1. Super Metroid
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. ALttP
4. Donkey Kong Country
5. Yoshi's Island

[Nox]

Aw that is a sadface moment :(. I haven't played an NES in forever... I have one over at my grandma's but it's so dusty :dry:.

Yeah, These things definitely are not fans of sitting for long periods of time. I bought my systems refurb'd from Pedro off the ebays. Great stuff.


Haha, pretty fun. Here's mine:

NES:
1. Super Mario Bros
2. LoZ
3. Metroid
4. Final Fantasy I
5. AoL

SNES:
1. Super Metroid
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. ALttP
4. Donkey Kong Country
5. Yoshi's Island

How does Metroid stack up against Contra (in your opinion)??

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

How does Metroid stack up against Contra (in your opinion)??

When compared to Super Metroid, Contra is beaten in every shape form and fashion. There's a lot more to Metroid, like exploration, puzzle-solving, and story, than what you might think. But Contra is just your classic shoot-'em-upwithout much more to back it up. I prefer both the original Metroid and Super Metroid to any Contra game, but Contra is still awesome in its own right.

[SirenOfTheSea]

NES
1) The Legend of Zelda, 'cause it's really rad
2) Metroid
3) Super Mario Bros.
4) Kid Icarus
5) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

SNES
1) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2) Super Metroid
3) Earthbound
4) Super Mario World
5) -Insert title of awesome SNES game here-

[Axle the Beast]

I would probably pick a few games I haven't played but know or heard are awesome. But because of the purpose of the list, I'll stick to what I've played. :P

I've only played a handful of NES games. I'll recommend the ones I've enjoyed the most, but it's not the full five:

NES
1) The Legend of Zelda
2) Super Mario Bros.
3) Blaster Master

SNES
1) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
2) Super Metroid
3) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
5) Mega Man X (Okay, so I haven't played this, but I've played X2 and I'm always hearing that the original X game was the best. ;) )

[Nox]

I would probably pick a few games I haven't played but know or heard are awesome. But because of the purpose of the list, I'll stick to what I've played. :P

I've only played a handful of NES games. I'll recommend the ones I've enjoyed the most, but it's not the full five:

NES
1) The Legend of Zelda
2) Super Mario Bros.
3) Blaster Master

SNES
1) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
2) Super Metroid
3) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
5) Mega Man X (Okay, so I haven't played this, but I've played X2 and I'm always hearing that the original X game was the best. ;) )

#5 ftw. Also, thanks for your help in chat earlier today--I found the old man and got the letter. :)

[knowlee]

Hmm...let me see. I haven't played many games on those systems (well on the NES I haven't), but anywho...

NES

1) The Legend of Zelda
2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (I've only played the GBA version of this, but still...)
3) Super Mario Brothers
4) Mega Man
5) Dragon Warrior

SNES

1) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2) Super Mario World
3) Final Fight 3
4) Mega Man X
5) Mario Kart

[Mute]

Well, I might as well do this too:

NES
1. Super Mario Brothers 3
2. River City Ransom
3. Legend of Zelda
4. Megaman 2 (Or really any of them, 2's just the only one easy enough that I can beat)

SNES
1. Earthbound
2. Super Metroid
3. Final Fantasy VI (III for US/Eur)
4. E.V.O. The Search For Eden
5. Kirby Super Star

I really haven't played many NES games, it seems. I would have listed the original SMB but then there'd be two Mario games and that'd be a tad redundant. Oh, and RCR is a lot funner with two people, but even alone it's pretty great. As for the SNES, I honestly like FFV better than VI, but it wasn't translated till the PSX and GBA. So it doesn't quite count for the SNES.

[Shadsie]

The stuff I grew up with, of course.

NES
1. LoZ
2. AoL (the Zelda games, surprise, surprise)
3. Super Mario Bros.
4. Super Maro Bros. 3
5. Duck Hunt

SNES
1. A Link to the Past
2. Donkey Kong Country
3. Starfox
4. Super Mario World
5. Street Fighter 2

[athenian200]

NES:

The Legend of Zelda
Final Fantasy
Super Mario Bros. 3
Metroid
Mega Man 2

SNES:

Final Fantasy VI
Super Mario RPG
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Chrono Trigger
Super Metroid

Good choices?

[NorthApple]

(I can't really answer for the NES, since I never had one, but I'd certainly get the two Zeldas, and probably a shooting game or a racing game, and some arcade ports too)

SNES:
A Link to the Past
Super Mario All Stars
Super Metroid
Super Mario Kart
Chrono Trigger

By the way, I love your creative way of asking~

[Kazumi]

OK. Mine is pretty standard. The NES and SNES sure have a lot of great games..

NES:

1. Kirby's Adventure
2. Metroid
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. Tecmo Bowl
5. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

SNES

1. Kirby Super Star
2. Super Metroid
3. Super Mario World
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. Chrono Trigger (I've never played it, but I've heard that it's amazing and I need a good RPG)

Damn, I wish that we could have more. I had to leave out the first Zelda, Super Mario Kart, Blaster Master, a whole bunch of Final Fantasy's... Damn. Great way of asking the question by the way.

[Zarom]

Oh, this is very interesting. Here are the games I would want:

NES
1) The Legend Of Zelda
2) Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link
3) Metroid
4) Kirby's Adventure (I haven't played it, but I always liked the Kirby games.)
5) Ice Climber (I haven't played it, but I always wanted, if not that game, then I choose Kid Icarus.)

SNES
1) The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
2) Super Mario All-Stars (You get all the NES Mario games in one. :))
3) Super Mario World
4) Donkey Kong Country (I have to pick the first out of the 3 Donkey Kong Country, but I wish I could bring the others too. :()
5) Super Metroid (I haven't played it, but I love the Metroid series, and I've heard this one is awesome.)

[StrangeWig]

Loved this thread! :cool:
Here's my list:

NES:
1. Super Mario Bros 3
2. The Legend of Zelda
3. Castlevania 3
4. Megaman 2
5. Ninja Gaiden

obs: it should take your whole life to finish Castlevania 3 and Ninja Gaiden anyway, so they're very convenient! :lol:

SNES:
1. The Legend of Zelda LttP
2. Super Metroid
3. Chrono Trigger
4. UN Squadron (best shoot-em-up of all time!)
5. Final Fantasy VI

obs: if you had only one companion, it would be much more than enough to put Mario Kart on the list! :lol:


2) Super Mario All-Stars (You get all the NES Mario games in one. )
xD Feels like cheating!

5) Super Metroid (I haven't played it, but I love the Metroid series, and I've heard this one is awesome.)
OMG! You NEED to play this game! It's just awesome!

5. Chrono Trigger (I've never played it, but I've heard that it's amazing and I need a good RPG)
Chrono Trigger is, BY FAR, the best RPG of the SNES (and FFVI is excelent, so you can have an idea how good CT is!)

[Master Kokiri 9]

Well I haven't played many of the NES games and four of the SNES but I know I'm going to get them one way or another so here's my list.


Nes


#1. Legend of Zelda

Okay so what kind of Zelda fan wouldn't want to be able to play the very first game in the series, in it's original format, for the rest of their mortal life? Not a very good one. Not to mention, from what I've played on the Virtual Console, it's a terrific game. By modern standards it's simplistic, but, being a semi retro gamer, I see it as a gold cartridge of three decended from the heavens.

#2. Legend of Zelda II: Adventure of Link

Okay so this is one of the best retro games I've ever played. From what I've played on the Virtual Console, it's terrific, with Zelda side scrolling at it's very finest. Instead of focusing on a wide array of weapons and items like the first game, you get your sword and shield, and magic. Just that and nothing more. You can get certain items (like the hammer) to help out with overworld travel but not much else and they don't do anything for you in combat. You also get certain spells that have different effects like the jump spell that lets you jump higher, the shield spell which gives your defense a boost until either you die or you go off screen, and the healing spell which as you can guess heals you up. And in addition to the spells you get certain sword techniques that can really help out like the downward thrust and stuff like that. Also, it's insanely hard and though I've had it for over a year on the virtual console I haven't gotten much farther past the first temple. And, that is what I like so much about games; the satisfaction of being able to honestly say 'Hey, I beat !'.

#3. Kid Icarus

Okay so this was actually from what I've read a really good game. Here's the low down as to why I choose Kid Icarus as one of the five NES titles I'd want to be stuck with for the rest of my life. First and foremost I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology (a little known fact about me) and Kid Icarus draws from it, as well as adding new things to it that make it even cooler. And the plot (citation from Wikipedia):
In a time where man and gods coexisted in harmony, the kingdom of Angel Land was ruled by two goddesses, Palutena the Goddess of Light and Medusa the Goddess of Darkness. While Palutena administered the light and helped the mortals cultivate their crops, Medusa despised the mortals and used the darkness to destroy their crops and turn the mortals into stone. Enraged, Palutena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster and banished her into the dark underworld.
But Medusa would not go quietly. She assembled an army of monsters and evil spirits of the underworld to conquer Palutena's home, the Palace in the Sky. War erupted and Medusa's minions overwhelmed Palutena's army, eventually imprisoning the Goddess of Light. Medusa then seized the Three Sacred Treasures, the Mirror Shield, the Arrow of Light and the Wings of Pegasus, and gave them to her most powerful minions.
Defeated and imprisoned, Palutena's only hope was to seek the help of Pit, a young angel trapped in the Underworld. Using the last of her strength, she sent Pit a magical bow. Thus, Pit set out on a quest to escape the Underworld, retrieve the Sacred Treasures that would help him defeat Medusa, rescue Palutena and restore peace to Angel Land.

And that's where you come in, retreive the three sacred treasures, defeat Medusa, and save Palutena. And being a Greek Myth Geek, I quite like the plot.

As for the gameplay, it's like a mash between the GP of Mario, Metroid, and Zelda. Basically you can jump like Mario, collect items like Link, and shoot enemies like Samus. Honestly I love the gameplay of all three of those, and really think it'd be cool to be able to do it all in one game.

#4. Metroid

Yep the original Metroid. Not Prime, not Super, not Zero Mission; just Metroid. Honestly what can I say? It's an 8-bit beauty. The music is absolutely amazing. It's games like early Metroid, like early Zelda, like early Mario that show how awesome 8-bit can be. Heck I even [I]prefer Zelda, Metroid, and Mario music in 8-bit. Why? Because it's absolutely amazing. Just take a listen to the title theme from Metroid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anHfhh9liRc

Modern or classic, the Metroid soundtrack is a masterpiece.

And as for the plot, (citation by Wikpedia): Space Pirates attack a Galactic Federation-owned space research vessel and seize samples of Metroid creatures. Dangerous floating organisms, Metroids can latch on to any organism and drain its life energy to kill it. The Space Pirates plan to replicate Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then using them as biological weapons to destroy all living beings that oppose them. While searching for the stolen Metroids, the Galactic Federation locates the Space Pirates' base of operations on the planet Zebes. The Federation assaults the planet, but the Pirates resist, forcing the Federation to retreat. As a last resort, the Federation decides to send a lone bounty hunter to penetrate the Pirates' base and destroy Mother Brain, the mechanical life-form that controls the Space Pirates' fortress and its defenses. Considered the greatest of all bounty hunters, Samus Aran is chosen for the mission. Samus lands on the surface of Zebes and explores the planet, traveling through the planet's caverns.

Now does this not sound interesting? Even by today's standards this is an excellent plot and really brings out my inner Sci-Fi geek.

The gameplay is basically running around on the planet Zebes, getting upgrades and power ups, fighting bosses, and ultimately defeat the final boss which happens to be the series infamous Mother Brain.

#5. Megaman 4

Okay so here's the plot (from Wikipedia):
In the year 200X, one year after the events of the Gamma Project and Dr. Wily's overtaking of it (and Wily's supposed "demise"), Dr. Light received a letter from a mysterious Russian scientist name Dr. Cossack claiming that he was the superior robot engineer in all the world. Cossack stated further that he would unleash his army of robots upon the world as a "test" for Light to see which of them was the best. Of course, Light would not stand for this, so once again, peace in the world was shattered, and Mega Man was called forth from his search for Wily (whom they had yet to find) to go after Cossack's Robot Masters. To assist Mega Man against this new threat, Dr. Light upgraded Mega Man's Blaster into the "Mega Buster," which allows Mega Man to charge his energy blasts into more powerful shots.
Upon defeating the eight Robot Masters designed by Cossack, Mega Man makes his way to the scientist's icy citadel and fights his way through the stronghold and ultimately defeats him, but before he delivers the coup de grace, Proto Man teleports in with Cossack's daughter, Kalinka. Dr. Wily had kidnapped Dr. Cossack's daughter and forced him to build an army of robots to fight Mega Man in order to win his daughter back. Now that his plan had been revealed by Proto Man, Dr. Wily stepped out of the shadows and Mega Man gave chase to Wily's lair, where he fights through the newly built Skull Castle, and this time defeats Wily, though again he does not manage to capture him.

Okay so this is an awesome plot is it not?

As for gameplay you traverse eight stages to defeat eight Robot Masters. After you defeat them they reward you with a weapon related to their attack pattern and the stage theme (for instance a water boss in a water stage rewards you with a water weapon). And the robot masters also have weaknesses to some weapons (for instance, a water boss is weak against a lightning weapon), thus making your choice of stages imperative to the gameplay. There are also some changes to the gameplay such as you can now charge shots making them much more powerful and there are also tools which allow you to reach previously unreachable spots but must be found in the stage rather than being rewarded by the robot masters.


SNES


#1. Super Mario All Stars

Yeah four games in one; that's the way to out cheat the Game Genie. Basically it comes with four Mario games (well three and an uber hard mode of one of them) which are Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros 2, and Super Mario Bros 3. Now obviously it's hard to not pass this up as it allows you to play four games for the price of one. And my two favorite Mario side scrollers are SMB2 and SMB3 for obvious reasons.

#2. Earthbound

Okay so a little known RPG from the SNES era. The gameplay (source is Wikipedia once again):
EarthBound features many traditional RPG elements; the player controls a party of characters who travel through the game's two dimensional world, which is composed of villages, cities, caves, and dungeons. Along the way, battles are fought against enemies, after which the party receives experience for victories. If enough experience points are acquired, a character's level will increase. This increases the character's attributes, such as offense, defense, and the maximum HP and PP of each character. Rather than utilizing an overworld map screen like most console RPGs of its era, the world is entirely seamless, with no differentiation between towns and the outside world. Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection, while most 2-D RPGs use a "top down" view on a grid or an isometric perspective.
Unlike its predecessor, EarthBound does not utilize random encounters. When physical contact occurs between a character and an enemy, the screen dissolves into battle mode. In combat, characters and enemies possess a certain amount of hit points (HP). Blows to an enemy reduce the amount of HP. Once an enemy's HP reaches zero, they are defeated. If a specific type of enemy is defeated, there is a chance that the character will receive an item after the battle. In battle, the player is allowed to choose specific actions for their characters. These actions can include attacking, healing, or the use of items. Characters can also use special PSI attacks that require psychic points (PP). Once each character is assigned a command, the characters and enemies perform their actions in a set order, determined by character speed. Whenever a character receives damage, the HP box gradually "rolls" down, similar to an odometer. This allows players an opportunity to heal the character or win the battle before the counter hits zero, after which the character is knocked unconscious (although if the counter reaches zero as the battle is won, it will be set to 1 instead and the character will survive). If all characters are rendered unconscious, the game transitions to an endgame screen, asking if the player wants to continue. An affirmative response brings Ness, conscious, back to the last telephone he saved from, with half the money on his person at the time of his defeat, and any other party members showing as still unconscious. Because battles are not random, tactical advantages can be gained. If the player physically contacts an enemy from behind (indicated by a translucent green swirl which fills the screen), the player is given a first-strike priority. However, this also applies to enemies, who can also engage the party from behind (in this case, the swirl is red). Additionally, as Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won automatically, forgoing the battle sequence, and weaker monsters will begin to flee from Ness and his friends rather than chase them. While most RPGs up to the mid 1990s primarily utilized swords and other traditional weapons, the characters in EarthBound use less conventional weapons such as baseball bats, yo-yos, and frying pans.
Currency is indirectly received from Ness' father, who can also save the game's progress. Each time the party wins a battle, Ness' father deposits money in an account that can be withdrawn at ATMs. In towns, players can visit various stores where weapons, armor, and items can be bought. Weapons and armor can be equipped to increase character strength and defense, respectively. In addition, items can be used for a number of purposes, such as healing. Towns also house several other useful facilities such as hospitals where players can be healed for a fee.

Honestly I like that gameplay.

Story (once again provided by Wikipedia):

The story begins when Ness is awakened by a meteorite that has plummeted to the earth near his home, whereupon he proceeds to investigate the crash site along with his pet dog, King, and next door neighbor, Pokey. After arriving, Ness encounters an alien named Buzz Buzz, who informs Ness that he is from the future where a hostile alien, Giygas, dominates the planet. Buzz Buzz instructs Ness to embark on a journey to defeat Giygas in the present, because he is too powerful in the future. Ness then proceeds to seek out eight "sanctuaries," to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength required to confront Giygas. Buzz Buzz is later killed by Pokey's mom, who mistakes Buzz Buzz for a dung beetle. Dying, Buzz Buzz gives Ness the Sound Stone, an item that is vital to the completion of his quest.

I know the story sounds a little silly but it just seems to draw me in... like I'm bound to Earthbound.

#3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Of course I'm including one of the best Zelda games there are! What kind of sick person wouldn't include ALttP if they had to pick five SNES games to be stuck with for the rest of their life? Not me!

Okay so the gameplay is absolutely superb. First, the slashes are now horizontal slashes making it easier to hit enemies and it returns to the original top down view. You also get a wide array of items again as well as the introduction of some staple Zelda items (such as the empty bottle). And returning from Zelda II is the magic meter as well as items that draw from it such as the Magic Cape and the Fire Rod. In addition to all this there are two overworlds: the normal overworld known as Hyrule and the altered version of Hyrule known as the Dark World.

And the story is absolutely amazing as well. First of all the BS goes like this: once long ago there was the land of Hyrule and a gateway to a Golden Land appeared. Many went through it to seek the Triforce and none returned and eventually a dark power began to issue from this portal. Ganon had begun his attempt to conquer Hyrule and ultimately was sealed inside by seven sages and many hylian knights. And now to the main story in which Zelda apparently contacts Link's uncle Alfonzo, pleading him to rescue her. Link wakes up and Alfonzo says for Link to stay in the house. However Link follows his uncle to Hyrule castle and he meets up with his now dying uncle. Alfonzo says that Link must rescue the princess and gives him his sword and shield. After going through the castle, Link rescues Zelda and brings her to a safe sanctuary with a preist. The preist explains that Link must find the Master Sword and that there might be someone in Kakariko who knows where it is. After doing some information hunting in Kakariko Link learns that the Master Sword lies in the northern section of the Lost Woods and only the elder, Sahasrahla, knows how one pulls it from the pedestal. Link also learns that Sahasrahla is hiding out to the east of Hyrule Castle and he ventures there. Once there, Sahasrahla explains that in order to attain the Master Sword you must attain the three Pendants of Virtue and tells Link where to find the first. After finding the Pendant of Courage in the Eastern Palace Link heads back to Sahasrahla where he learns the location of the other two and is given the Pegasus Boots to help along with his quest. Link explores near the Desert and finds that he needs a way to translate the ancient Hylian and finds his medium of translation: the Book of Mudora. Now he goes through the Desert Palace and attains the Pendant of Power. After that he ventures forth to find the third and final pendant on Death Mountain. Along the way he meets an old man who gives him a Magic Mirror that can pull one from the Dark World. After venturing through the Tower of Hera and discovering the Moon Pearl Link attains the Pendant of Wisdom and goes to retreive the Master Sword. Now Link has finally attained the item he worked so hard to get but Zelda is discovered! Link rushes back to the sanctuary to find the preist dying and he says that Zelda was kidnapped again. Link goes to Hyrule Castle and at the top of it's tallest tower he meets up with Aghanimn who succeeds in killing Zelda and runs away. Link gives chase and defeats Aghanim but he survives and pulls Link into the Dark World where he must now find and attain seven crystals which contain the maidens that Aghanim killed. After finally retreiving them all the crystal maidens help out by unlocking the path into Ganon's Tower. After venturing through to the top Link faces off with Aghanim again and is victorious. While Aghanim is killed this time a bat flies out and flies away. Link plays the flute and gives chase to the bat. After meeting up at the Pyramid of Power the bat turns into Ganon and thus the epic showdown begins. Link is victorious and Ganon is killed and retreives the full Triforce with which he restores peace.

Wow amazing story.

#4. Super Metroid

Gameplay (provided once again by Wikipedia):
Super Metroid is an action-platform game that primarily takes place on the fictional planet Zebes, which is a large, open-ended world with areas connected by doors and elevators. The player controls Samus Aran as she searches the planet for a Metroid that was stolen by Ridley, the leader of the Space Pirates. Along the way, the player collects power-ups that enhance Samus's armor and weaponry, as well as grant her special abilities such as the Space Jump, which allows her to travel far distances. These abilities allow Samus to access areas that were previously inaccessible.
The game introduces several new concepts to the series. Among them are the ability to enable and disable weapons and abilities in an inventory screen, and a Moon Walk ability, named after Michael Jackson's dance move of the same name, which allows Samus to walk backwards while firing. The game also features the ability to combine Samus's weapon beams. In addition, the save system from Metroid II: Return of Samus returns in Super Metroid, which allows the player to save and restart the game at any of the save points scattered around the planet. The player can also save the game at Samus's gunship, which fully recharges her health and ammunition as well.

As for the story... (again provided by Wikipedia)

Super Metroid takes place immediately after the events of Metroid II: Return of Samus, and begins with a narrative by bounty hunter Samus Aran. Samus describes how a Metroid larva hatched from an egg and immediately imprinted upon her, believing her to be its mother. She brought the larva to Ceres Space Colony, where scientists learned that they could harness its power. Just after she left the colony, she received a distress call and returned to find the scientists dead and the larva stolen. The game begins as she follows the leader of the Space Pirates, Ridley, to the planet Zebes, where she searches for the stolen larva in a network of caves.

Sweet story is it not?

#5. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Okay so this game is the bomb and out of the SNES games I've played it's the best ever. Basically as the title implies this is a Mario game in which instead of jumping on goombas and koopas and rescuing Princess Toadstool at the end you engage them in turn based RPG style combat and actually get to fight as the very princess you usually rescue (although at first she is given the classic 'damsel in distress' role). And unlike other RPGs it featured a timed hit system in which you increase damage dealt and reduce damage received by well timed a button presses.

And the story is also absolutely amazing as well. At first it starts up all happy and stuff with the princess tending to a garden near Mario's house and of course what kind of Mario game doesn't have Bowser kidnap the princess? Not this one that's foor sure. And then Mario jumps into the fray and engages Bowser in combat. At first I thought 'Really? A Bowser fight this early? Maybe something will happen where Mario fails like in Paper Mario.' And that sort of happened. Instead of Bowser beating Mario, it went the other way around, but just as Mario is about to untie the princess disaster strikes. A gigantic sword appears from the sky and cuts through a gigantic cloud with seven stars and they scatter. The sword slams down into Bowser's castle and flings Mario back into his house. Mario goes back to Bowser's Castle and is met by the voice of the same sword that cut into his castle and sent Mario flying. The sword explains that he is of the Smithy Gang and then shakes the ground and the bridge to Bowser's Castle collapses. Now Mario is met by a toad at his house who was supposed to bring the princess back the Mushroom Kingdom Capital and Mario explains the circumstances. Mario and Toad then set out across Mushroom Way to the capital where Toad gets powned by many enemies that Mario must save him from until he faces off with the Hammer Bros who convienently when defeated leave behind a hammer for Mario to equip to increase his attack. Then at the capital Toad and Mario arrive and Mario explains the events to the Chancellor. Mario prepares for his journey in the castle and heads out to witness a marshmallow man getting mugged by a t rex. The marshmallow man begins to cry when the t rex gets away and with that, it starts to rain. Mario heads over to see what he can do and the marshmallow man introduces himself as Mallow, a tadpole that looks nothing like a tadpole. Mallow realizes who Mario is and requests that he help him recover his stolen valueable and Mario accepts. After chasing down the t rex by the name of Crocco, Mario and Mallow face off against him and recover Mallow's lost valueable; a green coin. Upon returning to the capital Mario and Mallow discover that the place is overrun by shyguys on pogo sticks and see that an infinite source is coming from inside the castle. Mario and Mallow venture in to find the royal toads cowering in fear while Mario saves them. Mario ventures deeper in and discovers the Chancellor being held captive while another sword creature and his pogo guys are hopping around. Mario and Mallow engage the enemy he leaves behind a star. Nobody has any idea of what it is but Mario collects it anyways and Mallow suggests that they see his grandfather, Frogfucius, for advice. Mario and Mallow then venture through a sewer system and defeat Belome, a monster that used to block the way. Now Mario and Mallow are swept up in the current of sewer water that Belome said would come and arrive in Frogfucius's area where he explains that not just Mario, but Toadstool and Bowser as well, were flung away by the shock wave sent by the massive sword. He also explains that Mallow isn't a tadpole, and says that it'd be best if Mallow continued to travel with Mario. Frogfucius also explains that the stars are a vital piece to defeating Smithy and thus Mario and Mallow are sent on their way. Eventually they arrive in Rose Town where arrows keep falling from the sky and freezing the citizens. Mario and Mallow rest up at an inn and Mario is recruited for play duty where he plays with the son of the inn keeper who knocks him out with a toy! While Mario is unconcious, a sparkly is seen above the toys that Mario and the boy played with including the very toy that knocked him out. The sparkly swirls around it and it becomes life sized and begins to walk about and such. Mario and Mallow overhear the boy telling his mom that his toy, Geno, walked into the forest and Mario and Mallow investigate. After exploring the forest they find the source of the arrows; another Smithy guy by the name of Bowyer, and his flunkies. Mario and Mallow play it safe and decide to watch momentarily while Geno the toy comes in and engages Bowyer in battle. Mario decides to help out and Mallow goes too, and Mario saves Geno from getting paralyzed by one of Bowyer's arrows. Then the three of them engage Bowyer together and retreive the star piece, which Geno explains to be a part of Star Road which is a part of granting wishes. Now the objective is clear: get all the star pieces and repair Star Road.

And that's just the beginning.

If I could choose which model systems I play on I'd choose: the front loader NES modelhttp://nes-planet.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Nintendo_entertainment_system.png and the SNES model 2 for nostalgia (it's the one I had when I was little)http://coolrain44.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/snes-2-console.jpg

[CZG]

I'm surprised that nobody has a SUper Gameboy Adaptor to play Link's Awakening on the SNES....

I can't choose, it so hard!
LoZ, AoL, TMHT, SMB3, (I have think about this fo a bit... Anothe Duck Hunt perhaps..)
ALttP, LA, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, (if FFV doesn't count... Crono Trigger)

As you might have guessed, get all the Zelda games. All Mario platformers are great, even if you're not really that kind of person... There are a bunch of other games that keep coming back like Crono Trigger and old Final Fantasy series, something you had expected problably.

After that, it become more a matter of choice and preferences.
Did you like AoL? get the Turtles then. If you though AoL was your least favorite, stay away from that Turtles game then. If you'd like to have a racing game, while you may not like the new Mario Kart gams, you'd problably be digging this old one. If you think this old one was great, beware for the newer games...

Unfortunately, there aren't many games like Zelda around, but there are lots of good games to be played from this era. Actually, on average, the games were simply better than in modern times.

[ironknuckle1]

NES
1)LOZ
2)super mario
3)super mario 3
4)donkey kong (the original with mario, i think that was for NES?)
5) AOL

SNES
1)ALTTP
2)Super Mario All-Starssuper metroid
3)Kirby super star
4)super metroid
5)earthbound