10 Greatest NES Video Games Of 1985

Has it really been over thirty years since the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System? And over twenty since the last game was released ("Wario's Woods" for those interested)?

The console is so fondly remembered, that it’s barely out of the public consciousness, especially with Nintendo launching their Classic Mini.

The new product boasts thirty inbuilt games (including all of the best-known titles such as Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Donkey Kong and Punchout) now in modern HD, and is already becoming a sell out Christmas hit across the world - just like its predecessor and the respective games were for so many years in the 80s and 90s before it.

The company calls the NES "The System That Started It All" and though that might not be strictly true, it was certainly the birth of modern home-based arcade gaming for millions of people across the world. Time grinds on relentlessly but greatness lasts forever, so it seems fitting to take a look at the best games of the NES’s launch year.

Honourable mentions go to the sports titles 10 Yard Dash, Golf, Baseball, and the R.O.B. titles Gyromite and Stack Up (sorry 'buddy'!) as well as Pinball. Better luck on somebody else's list, guys!

Now it's time to go back to when Bowling For Soup were happy and things were about to get heavy for Marty Mcfly...

Remember that classic Nintendo character, Popo the Eskimo? No? What about Nana the Eskimo? If you're clueless, don't worry, so were most people when they popped up in Super Smash Brothers Melee on the Gamecube back in 2001.

They made their debut as the stars of Ice Climber back in good ol' 1985. A vertical platformer with a classic arcade feel (get used to this style if you're new to the system, as many games were ports or clones), our Eskimo heroes must climb the ice to victory while avoiding or bashing away birds, yetis, icicles and the coolest bear of them all, the Polar (especially this one as he's wearing shades).

Like many of the best NES titles, Ice Climber has cute graphics that are endlessly appealing, and it's easy to pick up and play. The action soon wears pretty thin, however, especially as the constant jumping that makes up the bread and butter of the gameplay is fiddly and unpredictable, leading to frustration pretty much from the get-go.

Ice Climber was one of many games produced by Nintendo Research and Development (like all the other games on this list except for Kung Fu) and is perhaps remembered more for its status as one of the original "black box" games, than for being a particularly great one ("black box" games refer to 30 titles made by Nintendo and featuring their simple, but now iconic, artwork).

It's okay for a quick game, but won't be featuring on anyone's best of all time list anytime soon. Or anytime ever for that matter.