7. Batman: Return of The Joker (1991 - NES)
Though not the most original NES game on the market, Return of The Joker definitely carved out a nitch amongst hard core gamers and gained success as both the first Batman title to be critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Designed as a "what if The Joker had lived" sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, this NES platformer picks up right where the film left off. Of course, it was an NES game, so the story is mostly about jumping, but we'll ignore that fact. The first thing that most people remember about this game, is that it was basically just Contra, but with Batman. Well, those people are right. Batman: Return of The Joker "borrowed" its primary game mechanic from the Contra series, making a game where Batman mostly walks to the right, shooting everything he sees. That is, of course, unless he is flying to the right with his jetpack, shooting everything he sees, as he does in the rail shooter style sections. Even though Return of The Joker was widely criticized as stealing, or at least borrowing heavily, from other games, it's still an amazing title for several reasons. First, wtf is wrong with Batman: Contra? Nothing, that's what. Second, the game is often described as being one of the most well designed games ever relased on NES. The Batman model looks exactly like the comic book character, even when he moves into different positions. The villains and backgrounds are well rendered. Each level has unique design with unique challenges that offer different levels of difficulty for different players. And, the sewer level is commonly praised as being the best NES level in any game...ever. All in all, the game keeps you guessing and keeps things interesting throughout,so that you never feel like you're just sleep walking through the game. And that, in a time of NES button mashing, was a welcome break. Also, Batman: Contra.