/u/Mario mentioned the NES Remix on Wii U to me the other day, basically snippets and stuff from 16 NES games. It struck me that a lot of the games on there aren't really what you'd consider to be great titles.
My top 16 in no particular order would probably be:
- Super Mario Bros.
- Metroid
- The Legend of Zelda
- Contra
- Ninja Gaiden
- Castlevania
- Rad Racer
- Tetris
- Gremlins 2
- Chip N Dale
- Battletoads
- Mega Man
- Galaxy 5000
- Punch Out
- Kid Icarus
- Gradius
I know I had to use a source to figure out some things. I can't remember if I used Nintendo Power or a game specific guide. Back before the internet you had to make more of an effort to seek out that type of information.