5 Greatest NES Games Turning 40 This Year

Published Aug 30, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted. The Nintendo Entertainment System made its proper North American debut in 1986, and it brought an incredible array of games with it. At a time when arcade games were still leaps and bounds ahead of anything that was affordable for the home market, the NES took a giant step forward from systems like the Atari 5200. Today, the best games from the NES launch year are just as great as they always were, exhibiting both Nintendo's penchant for timeless game design and the best efforts of some third-party developers. Some titles of the time have aged poorly, but these ones are well-deserving of some celebration for their 40th anniversary. Metroid Metroid wasn't actually out on the NES in 1986, but since it made its Famicom Disk System debut in that year, it still qualifies as turning 40 this year. At any rate, it would be hard not to include it on the list, as Samus Aran's original adventure is one of the most iconic gaming experiences of all time. To start with, Samus herself was a trailblazer, as Metroid served up an iconic female protagonist at a time when virtually every guy with a gun in a video game was, well, a guy with a gun. It also went far beyond blasting through enemies, however, incorporating complex map design that required power-ups and backtracking to access different areas and puzzle through to the final boss. Metroid also laid the groundwork for the Metroidvania genre, which has become more popular than ever in the 21st century thanks to breakout hits like Axiom Verge, Hollow Knight, and even more recent Metroid games like Metroid Dread. Super Metroid has aged more graciously than the original game, but it's still a masterpiece that laid the groundwork for everything to come. Dragon Quest Dragon Quest had a particularly long road to North America. Its initial cartridge release happened in Japan in 1986, but it wasn't until three years later that American audiences would finally experience it under the name of Dragon Warrior. Taken in its original 1986 context, however, the maverick nature of Dragon Quest is almost mind-boggling. A year before the release of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest was the game that codified the core elements of console video game RPGs, even if its approach can feel simple compared to later entries. Despite its relatively primitive nature, Dragon Quest has aged well in a lot of ways. The memorable character designs by Dragon Ball creator Yuji Horii carry an eternal charm, and a recent HD remake updated the game in a way that makes it more immediately appealing to those unaccustomed to truly classic RPGs. No matter how much the RPG genre changes, Dragon Quest's place on the throne remains unquestionable. Gradius Including Gradius requires a slightly different rule than with Metroid, as this technically debuted on arcade systems in 1985. It didn't enter the home until its 1986 NES release in both Japan and North America, though, and that leap made all the difference. Eight years after Space Invaders, outer space shoot-'em-ups were still all the rage, and Gradius took the genre to new heights. A complex power-up system adds an extra level of strategy, and a memorable array of bosses employs piece-by-piece destruction and weak points that tasks the player with more than just blind firing. The NES port features some compromises compared to the arcade version, but getting something that still felt like a true arcade experience at home was a huge win in 1986, no matter how you sliced it. Besides, it easily makes up for any deficits with the official introduction of the Konami code, which had never appeared in any game before the NES version of Gradius. Castlevania The other part of the Metroidvania name, of course, belongs to Castlevania. Like Metroid, Castlevania started its journey as a Famicom Disk System game in 1986 before making its way to NES cartridges in 1987. Also like Metroid, Castlevania's 40th anniversary is impossible to ignore. From the start, Castlevania was cooking on every front. A rich, gothic atmosphere set it apart from other NES flagships, and memorable environments and enemies made its levels feel incredibly varied despite all taking place in and around a single castle. While the difficulty of the original game can be punishing, it's finely tuned design makes it a rewarding challenge to master. Like several other great games on the NES, Castlevania left a massive mark on the gaming industry. Not only did it kickstart a series that includes a long list of incredible titles — Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night are a couple of standouts — but it also laid the foundation for plenty of other franchises and genres. From Hollow Knight to Dark Souls, the list of games that owe a lot to Castlevania is longer than anyone could easily count. The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda's release followed the story that should be familiar by this point — Famicom Disk System in 1986, NES in 1987. Enough about that, though. This is The Legend of Zelda we're talking about, a game with design and iconography that have become an indelible part of the gaming landscape. A lot of that has to do with how innovative The Legend of Zelda was from the start. While it certainly wasn't the first adventure game, it improved and even established many of the tenets of the genre that stick around today. In a way, it's also the blueprint for modern open worlds, with a large, non-linear map to explore that packs plenty of secrets into every corner. That does mean that The Legend of Zelda can be confusing at times, and modern fans will likely find the formula revamp of A Link to the Past to be much closer to the games they're used to. Even so, the NES classic remains a towering achievement of game design that sparked imaginations in a way that few games can rival to this day. Movie(s) The Legend of Zelda (Live-Action) TV Show(s) The Legend of Zelda Video Game(s) The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Hyrule Warriors, Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS), Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity First TV Show The Legend of Zelda First Game The Legend of Zelda Character(s) Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon The Legend of Zelda franchise follows the adventures of Link, an elf-like Hylian, and Princess Zelda as they protect the land of Hyrule from the evil warlord-turned-demon king Ganon. The series is known for its mix of action, adventure, and puzzle-solving elements, often revolving around the collection of the Triforce, a powerful relic left by the goddesses who created Hyrule.