When I decided I was going to collect NES games, I needed a starting point. Everyone talks about top lists and all the lists I can find online seem to opinions in current day. I was looking for something different....

I decided to compile the Nintendo Power "Top 20" (yes I know, it started as a Top 30, but since it later shrank to a Top 20, I only utilized it as a Top 20 list). Giving #1 twenty points and #20 - one point. I have to say the list was surprising. It only includes 127 games! With a sports game in the top 10!! It is 1 Player and RPG heavy. I'm not sure exactly how NP compiled the list. Some of the notes in various issues hint that it was sales based. While others hint that is was reader based. I was NP subscriber for many years and don't remember ever voting for anything top related... I still have my Gold 3 Wing NP Pin from back in the day. Well here is the NP Top 20 list:

Super Mario Bros 3 1038
Legend of Zelda 1017
Final Fantasy 748
Super Mario Bros 2 585
Tetris (Nintendo) 575
Dr Mario 562
Metroid 517
Battletoads 476
Tecmo Super Bowl 459
Adventure of Link 458
Mega Man 3 356
Mega Man 2 338
TMNT 2 324
Mega Man 4 307
TMNT 3 304
Crystalis 263
Kirby Adventure 233
TMNT 225
Mega Man 5 216
Tetris 2 179

Heck yeah, Fester's Quest represent with that big 2

edit: and the list was culled after my comment, lol RIP Fester's Quest

@Dhobo

Here is the rest of the list

Mega Man 6 166
Dragon Warrior 2 152
Mega Man 131
Simpsons Bart vs Space Mutants 127
Ninja Gaiden 126
Baseball Stars 124
Tecmo Bowl 117
Batman 116
NES Open Tournament Golf 114
Dragon Warrior 4 112
Punch Out 112
Dragon Warrior 101
Monopoly 101
Castlevania 3 95
Jurassic Park 95
Star Tropics 95
Bionic Commando 92
Blaster Master 86
Play Action Football 85
Double Dragon 77
Contra 76
Castlevania 2 69
Tecmo NBA Basketball 69
Zodas Revenge 64
Destiny of an Emperor 63
Battletoads and Double Dragon 60
Super Mario Bros 53
Kid Icarus 51
Metal Gear 47
Ninja Gaiden 2 46
RC Pro AM 45
Castlevania 42
Tiny Toons 42
Double Dragon 3 41
Bases Loaded 40
Dragon Warrior 3 40
Bases Loaded 2 39
Shadowgate 36
Adventure Island 35
Faxanadu 35
Ice Hockey 34
Double Dragon 2 32
Track and Field 2 32
Yoshi 32
Blades of Steel 29
Duck Tails 29
Maniac Mansion 29
Rad Racer 29
Double Dribble 28
Battle of Olympus 27
Top Gun 24
Yoshi Cookie 24
Gauntlet 23
Strider 22
Goonies 2 16
Milons Secret Castle 16
Pro Wrestling 16
Rampage 16
Super C 16
Ultima Exodus 16
Ultima Quest of the Avatar 16
Ultima Warriors of Destiny 16
Little Mermaid 15
Marble Madness 15
Legacy of the Wizard 14
Guardian Legend 13
Vegas Dreams 13
Nintendo World Cup 12
Pac-Man 12
Wizardry 12
Back to the Future 11
Golgo 13 11
RBI Baseball 11
Robocop 11
Immortal 10
Little Nemo 9
Magic of Scherazade 9
Nobunagas Ambition 9
Simpsons Bart vs World 9
Super Off Road 9
Skate or Die 8
Kung Fu 7
Wheel of Fortune 7
Addams Family 6
Bad Dudes 6
Ghostbusters II 6
Wizards and Warriors 6
Darkwing Duck 5
Home Alone 2 5
Paperboy 5
Rush N Attack 5
Willow 5
GI Joe 4
Mario Bros 4
Batman: Return of the Joker 3
Excitebike 3
Super Spike V Ball 3
Festers Quest 2
Ikari Warriors 2
Rambo 2
T&C Surf Designs 2
Widget 2
WWF Wrestlemania 2
1943 1
Renegade 1
Rygar 1
Spy Hunter 1

This is a pretty interesting summary. I always enjoyed the Top 30 back in the day. I didn't have many of the games on the list, but it gave me plenty of ideas for what to play in the future The top three is pretty much what I would expect, but a few things did surprise me:

• Crystalis in the Top 20? I remember this game always seemed to be on the list because I thought the name was weird and I knew nothing about it. Many years later, I read more about it and ended up adding it to my collection. I need to actually finish it though...
• Mega Man 5 was my favorite of the NES games (mainly because it was the only one I had, ha!), but I'm not surprised that it wasn't the highest ranked one. What I am surprised by is that Mega Man 4 was so close to 3 and 2. I expected a little more separation there.
• Similarly, I'm shocked that Dragon Warrior 3 was the lowest ranked game in that series. It was my favorite and I thought it was generally regarded as the best on NES, but perhaps my nostalgia glasses are skewing things a bit.
• The Guardian Legend actually got some points!?! YES!
• To echo @dhobo's sentiments, Fester's Quest bringing up the rear with 2 points, woohoo! It's one of my favorite "so bad that it's good" games.