Fun(?) fact: The release of Mega Man 3 was the start of an annual release corporate mandate on behalf of Capcom.

Star Tropics and Faxanadu are two of my all-time favourite NES games that also look fantastic. Each was about as atmospheric to their worlds as one could get at the time. Ultima: Quest of the Avatar was up there as well.

Metal Storm - back when Pluto was a planet 😁

Batman return of the joker is #1 imo

Chip and Dale, Duck Tales 1 & 2, Crystalis, so many good looking games. Nice job whittling down the list to just 10.

Monster in My Pocket...the last NES game I got as a kid before the SNES came into my life.

I remember not understanding how they did the Super Mario2 win screen. I left Mario there snoring for days. :) Great vid!

I thought Super C, Shatterhand, and Double Dragon 2 had great graphics for the system as well. As they learned the system more and was able to take more advantage of mappers and larger cartridge sizes, the games got more and more impressive.

Yeah man those late NES games they were getting close to SNES/Genesis graphics. Pretty impressive

The Sunsoft Batman games were beautiful and good, cant wait to see you play them

#1 is an excellent choice. What I love about lists like these as a theologian is that it points to how beauty is real and objective.

I absolute loved Little Nemo... music, graphics, difficult... everything was well balanced and nearly perfect!

To me the NES was a simple but fun time killer till I drove to the arcade in town.

Just my opinion, but I thought Mega Man 4 had the best graphics of the series (especially the mini bosses like the robotic snail, whale, and hippo).

I honestly feel gremlins 2 the new batch should have been an honorable mention. The sprite detail and level design and in between level cutscenes all looked very good for an nes game.

Damn, another great release! C’mon people, let’s get this channel to 4K. My only pushback here would be Ninja Gaiden III and MegaMan 6, as honestly, while they might be a tiny bit better than say, Ninja Gaiden or MegaMan, I don’t feel they look THAT much different. So I’d give the first Ninja Gaiden the honors, as that team was pushing the NES’ boundaries even earlier. Same with MegaMan. (Granted, MegaMan had more abilities in that one, so I guess we could give him credit there.) And no calling out Nemo for wearing his jammies. Of course he was, he’s Nemo. A little French(?) boy who goes to dream worlds in his sleep. His comic is nearly as groundbreaking.

Crisis Force (1991) and Recca (1992) would have been the best looking bullet hell vertical shooters on the NES but they were only released on the Famicom and didn't get ported internationally.

That Batman Rerurn of the Joker I think was the closest you could get to looking like an SNES game... the only thing i never liked about that game is that Batman always used a weapon... if they would have added at least a jumping drop kick that would have made a huge difference. With batman you want to be able to punch. 😂

I've been a huge fan of Sunsoft as a kid and still am. They made crowning achievements on gameplay, graphics, music and fun factor. Somehow this is the first time even hearing about Mr. Gimmick. Gonna try it!

My brother made most of the decisions as what games we would get for the NES. He was really into giant mecha combat, and still is. So we had Metal Storm when it came out. And I agree it was, and still is an awesome game. I'll also say I'm a sucker for great RPGs, so Final Fantasy would be on my list.

As a kid a friend traded me their copy of Metal Storm for my copy of Dragon Warrior. Current price of a loose copy of Metal Storm is around $113. Current price of a loose copy of Dragon Warrior is around $8. Seems like I made a good trade. I still have all my old retro games.

Mega Man 6 is cheaper simply because it's less rare. It's published by Nintendo instead of Capcom, they apparently produced more copies of their games than third party companies. Especially in 1993/1994.

So happy to see Kirby Adventure given the number 1 spot. Was my favorite game when I was very young. Always thought it was gorgeous.

For the NES the use of enhancement chips were the biggest factor in the later games looking so advance compared to the earliest ones. I find the best looking NES games are ones like Vice Project Doom, Little Samson and Batman that use embellish dark areas to give a great sense of depth.

Might not have been the best looking game on NES but I remember being impressed with The Immortal. It was at least one of the most unique and felt like what I imagine playing D&D in a game would be.

NES Open Tournament Golf is a game I would recommend to everone. Great graphics, gameplay, everything is so satisfying.

Gargoyle's Quest 2--easily one of my Top 3 NES games of all time

I remember playing Batman as a kid and recognizing even then that the game was gorgeous.

Funny to hear you mention Golgo 13 during the Vice segment and Blaster Master during the second Batman segment; I was expecting to see both of those on this list. My picks for this category would also include Bionic Commando, Rygar, Zelda II and Metal Gear.

Parallax scrolling on an 8-bit game is impressive.

Gremlins 2 had some nice graphics. Especially the final boss gremlin.

Zen: Intergalactic Ninja was the best looking nes games I've ever played...plus it was a really good game. It never gets mentioned

I think Track and Field II should have been considered. I remember being blown away by the giant sprites

One game that I always LOVED that I don't really hear mentioned is Gyruss. I think it's from Ultra. I always thought it looked good and was somewhat unique.

I can't remember the name, but there is some obscure early 90's NES game that opens with a near FMV animated cutscene. Life Force also had some of the most impressive visuals on NES. The fire level looked amazing for it's time.

I'm surprised you didn't show the pseudo-3D rotating towers in Kirby's Adventure. Those shocked me when I saw them as a kid, and they still look impressive given the hardware. Kirby is definitely my pick for the best looking NES game. Unsurprisingly, it was also the largest official NES game released, at a whopping 6 megabits!

My cousin had a NES whilst i had a C64...so many great experiences...there were great games for both of them, but i was always a lil' bit jealous, as you got a closer ARCADE feeling from the NES games, just alone by having a two button pad...we played SM3 alot and we were able to beat it back then 😊 i have to check Vice: Project Doom...oh, Battletoads for NES was hard as f**k and the SNES version was a pain in the ass, too... 😉

A shame that StarTropics II: Zoda’s Revenge wasn’t on this list…love that game!

Contra 2 should be somewhere on the list and at least an honorable mention for DD2, Adventure Island 2, Bionic Commando, and blades of steel (to date the best hockey game ever on any system fight me).

Tecmo Cup Soccer game had one of the best graphics for NES and incredible music too🔥🔥

I think Return of the Joker beats Kirby, simply due to the parallax scrolling.

Metal Storm should have been #1 on the list. How they did such gorgeous, detailed, and large sprites on the NES is beyond me. But, what's more amazing is the paralax scrolling. I've played and beaten a lot of NES games and I've never seen that level of paralax scrolling in any other NES game. Again, it's beyond me how they did that. And Mega Man 2 is better looking than Mega Man 6. I think Mega Man 2 is the best looking game in the series.

Good list. Those games not only look good, but they're also fantastic to play. Sure, some are challenging, but hey, what can you do.

When it comes time for the SNES and Sega Genesis; Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island very much deserves a spot for the SNES. Star Fox 2; while it took many years for it to see official release, it's really impressive on a technical standpoint for the SNES. Super Metroid is the first Metroid game to truly feel alien thanks to the major improvement in graphics from Metroid 2 (also the music). Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension almost looks like an early Sega Saturn game. On the Super Famicom side of things; Romancing SaGa 3 rivals Final Fantasy 6 in looks. Rock Man and Forte still looks darn good. Beyond Oasis looks spectacular for Sega Genesis standards. Aladdin on Sega Genesis is a triumph over the SNES port thanks to Disney actually animating the sprites. The Sega Genesis really pulled its weight with Panorama Cotton. Sonic 3 & Knuckles to this day looks really good. On the Mega Drive side of things; it's a surprise that Monster World 4 was even made for that system. If we can include the 32X; Knuckles' Chaotix looks so beautiful. As for Virtua Racing Deluxe; it looks notably better than the Genesis release.

I always thought Battle of Olympus looked great. Not as flashy as Sunsoft perhaps but the character sprites all look very good.

Track & Field ll has always been on my top graphics list, but your selections are great.

Great list! I remember PowerBlade really impressing in my youth.

I gotta agree with you about Sunsoft, they did know how to make art in their games. Blaster Master still impresses me with some of its stages. I also enjoyed Skate or Die 2's look, as it was really colorful.

These are some good looking games for sure. I LOVE Battletoads and I have no idea why, that game is ridiculously hard and started several fights between my brother and I. Awww...good ole days. Lol. :)

This was an incredible list; honorable mentions included! I found a few I didn't know about but most of what I thought should be here were on it. How close was Gun-Nac to making the list? I always thought it was the most impressive shmup on the system, and looks like an early TG-16 game.

The only one I disagree with is Little Nemo. I can think of probably 20 or 30 games with better graphics.

I always thought marble madness look really good, and the graphics were top notch.

From this list I had: SMB3 Batman RotJ Kirby Battletoads I adored SMB3 and Kirby (still do) and loved the art involved in both Battletoads and RotJ. I always sucked hard at RotJ and did a bit better with Battletoads but never made it past the ice level. Kirby and SMB3 just offer a well tuned, innovative and fun gameplay experience with excellent music and astonishing (for the time) graphics. They even hold their own today if you can view them for what they are/were. I spend more time with my big ole chunky CRT and NES than I do my PS5 or Switch. Lots of charm there.

I’m gonna guess The return of Joker is gonna make the list. Let’s see if I’m correct.

I think TMNT the Manhattan Project should be on this list.

Brought Little Nemo in like a BOSS! Subscribed!

It’s cool to see 2 Batman games on any video game list. From my memory, we wouldn’t see another good Batman game from Returns until Arkham Asylum. Thats like over 20 years.

Its a shame how the very last game released for the famicom (Adventure island IV) doesn't really look as good as it could have been looking.

Do you add a bunch of reverb to these tracks? Cause damn, that was intense.

Great video! BTW, I'm pretty sure the reason Mega Man 6 is cheaper than Mega Man 5 is because Nintendo published it in the US, and they made more copies of it to be a part of the Top Loader NES campaign.

Little Samson surprised me. I've never seen it before. Looks more like a Genesis game, wow. Thanks for the documentary.

I have always thought about what if a company like peak Konami or even Nintendo spent the last 30 years focusing on just 8/16 bit and how advanced those games would be now.

Your list was good I definitely liked Battletoads and SMB3 on there. I missed out on Kirby man I stopped playing NES when SNES came out

I really agree with that list id only consider mighty final fight. Also return of joker and kirby are like inversed as kirby has incredible art style but technically pretty low key where return of joker has horrible art style but is technically at the top

I never would have considered the project doom game to be a good game. But now I gotta add it to my wish list thanks lol. 😁

I think Zelda 2 is the most underrated graphics on the NES...they are amazing and detailed (especially at the time) but hardly anyone mentions it.

This is a good list! Had all the ones I wanted to see.

Super Mario 3 is my favorite game of all time!

I had never heard of Gimmick, but it looks cool. Just looked for it on eBay. Holy crap! 😳

the love child of conway twitty and mel gibson lmfao!!!!

1, Gunsmoke. 2, qix. 3 gauntlet 2. 4, Tetris. there the best games on the nes

metal storm was a blast! ninja gaiden 3 and all 3 games were beast lvl hard... battle toads, was also a blast! lol games like castlevania 3 had to be harder back then.

Dude, where the heck is Blaster Master or Shadowgate? Maybe do a follow up. I agree there are many forgotten classics here.

Metal Storm wasn’t developed by Irem?? Dang, now I know that lol

When it comes time for the Game Boy, GBC, and Sega Game Gear; Race Drivin' somehow runs notably better on Game Boy than on the SNES. Super Mario Land 2 was a large improvement from the original and that especially goes for the sprites. Mega Man IV has impressive looking cut scenes and Mega Man V is the best looking overall. Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator surprisingly doesn't look bad for an old pinball game. Gargoyles's Quest 2 almost looks like a WonderSwan game. Kid Dracula on Game Boy still remains clean looking. Parodius still manages to look really good on Game Boy. The amount of detail packed in with TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan is impressive. With the GBC; Pokemon Crystal manages to still be pretty in its own right. Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble looks better than previous Kirby games on Game Boy. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages still have much charm to their art style. Wario Land 2 GBC has the benefit of the already really good looking sprites from the GB version; but now with actual color. Wario Land 3 too has impressive sprites. Pokemon Pinball is not bad looking for the GBC. Dragon Quest 3 on GBC arguably surpasses the NES release regarding looks. Mega Man Xtreme 2 does it job of translating the MMX games into a more classic esq art style. Bomberman Max manages to look appealing in GBC form. Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Duel Stories has rather good looking character close-ups and decently strong effort of turning card artwork into sprite artwork. Top Gear Pocket 2 is a racing game that's a sight to behold for an ole handheld like this... Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword has some generally interesting looking environments. R-Type DX manages to stay true to the style of the arcade. Mario Tennis manages to maintain that tennis court viewpoint of the home installments. Lufia: The Legend Returns may not be Lufia 2, but it's no slouch with the sprite work. Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite captures the spirit of the Hamtaro anime. Believe it or not, Hamtaro used to air on Toonami. Classic Bubble Bobble is even more vibrant than many other GBC titles. If we can include unofficial color patches; Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX looks even nicer in color than Kirby's Adventure. Sonic Triple Trouble in the Game Gear may not push the hardware as far as Sonic Blast does, but I much prefer how Triple Trouble looks. The culmination of what Sega learned was visually possible via the previous Sonic Game Gear games. Sonic Drift 2 may not be good, but its art style still holds up well. Wonder Boy 3: Dragon's Trap is kinda an impressive conversion visually. Power Strike 2 has rather good boss sprites. Marble Madness looks plenty like its original arcade counterpart. Rastan Saga looks quite true to the arcade original. Double Dragon has better detailing than the original on Master System. Dynamite Headdy is not far away art style wise from the Genesis version. Godzilla: Kaijuu no Daishingeki has really good backgrounds and decent monster sprites. James Pond 3: Operation Starfish is very vibrant. Fantasy Zone may not be as vibrant as arcade, but the art style still looks rather good. Ms Pac-Man the game looks quite clean on Game Gear. Ristar still has visual appeal on the Game Gear.

Blue Shadows to me is the best looking Nes game.

Non licensed final fight 3 is good

Subbed. Appreciate the content, brother.

Good list. I own every game that you have on this except for Metal Storm (because I honestly think it is visually ugly) and Batman Revenge of the Joker (because I just haven't yet gotten around to buying it). I don't think that you left any games off of the list that I would put there, except for Blaster Master. And I would have put Batman at the top of the list. Your order is a bit off, to me, but the list is solid. Oh, except I would exchange Mega Man 5 for Mega Man 6, because I think 5 is the more visually strong game.

Suggestion...play the NES music in original Mono. Doesnt sound good in Stereo, but other than that awesome video. And check out some repros if u want to get some of those games. I brought MetalStorm, and Little Samson that way and it was a good price.

I agree with #1. Though honestly, I think this vid's script could have stood some improvement. For some of the entries you spent more time talking about how a game pissed you off with its difficulty than about how good said game actually looked. This wasn't a video about difficulty - it was a video about aesthetics and for some of the entries you barely talked about the aesthetics at all.

10 seconds in, Godzilla: Monster of Monsters had better be on this list.

Buck O'Hare would be my top choice. But Life Force (jp. 'Salamander') looked awesome too.

Check out Power Blade 2, if you haven't already.

TMNT Manhattan project

😆 Conway Twitty?! Man, now there's a call back! ....but ur right... haha!

You should do a top 10 of the most expensive games on the nes and other gaming system

Never made it past the revolution level in battletoads

Secret ties has good graphics. It plays like golgo 13 though.

These are indeed good looking nes games, also sword master is a good looking nes game as well😁

Gargoyle's Quest 2 needs to be on that list.

7:15 $700? I bought my copy for $1,800

Journey to Silius is another Sunsoft title with great music

G i Joe: a real american hero, by Taxaan could have made the list, imo.

I really enjoy your videos

Sword Master for me looked the best, it looks like an early 16 bit game. So does Batman Return Of The Joker

Section Z looks awesome as well

The most recent Kirby game is Return to Dream Land Deluxe

You forgot Dragon's Lair

I thought Silver Surfer had nice looking graphics.