The Nintendo Entertainment System was quite the system, wasn’t it? It is easy to look back and think the NES was single handedly revived the struggling home video game market – I know, computers were somewhat immune from the gaming crash. Considering the popularity of the NES it is no surprise that independent homebrew developers have worked out how to create games of their own for Nintendo’s first console. Here we have five titles that we feel are worth watching out for.

Up first is Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure, a 2D side scroller that we covered fairly recently, which is still up on Kickstarter. This title is a homage to huge classics like Super Mario Bros 3, complete with an overworld map, hidden secret level exits, mysterious paths, etc.

Halcyon is another 2D side scrolling action game, this time obviously heavily influenced by the Sunsoft classic Blaster Master. Work continues with a projected release date sometime in 2020.

We here at RETRO love Kickstarter projects so that makes it easy to pick Micro Mages as an entry on this list. If you are affluent with friends then grab three of them and give this game a shot. Action packed levels filled with traps, enemies, and supplies await those willing to take on the Demon Fortress.

Another Kickstarter success story is Nebs n Debs, also a 2D side scrolling action affair (hey, it is what the NES excels at). Colorful graphics, challenging level design, and unique enemies round out the fun stuff in this one.

Noah’s Ark was a title that only saw release back in the day in Europe. Konami did not see fit to release this run and gun title in the USA and that is a shame. Piko Interactive have licensed it, fixed up some problems, and released it locally. Grab it in the Piko store now.