If you pay for Nintendo Switch Online, you already have a library of NES games sitting on your console. Plenty of people open that app once, play World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., and never go back. That’s a mistake, because buried in that list are some of the best games ever put on a Nintendo cartridge, and a few you’ve probably never heard of.

So today, I’m picking the ten NES games on Nintendo Switch Online you should play first. This is also the first episode in a new series. I’m going to work through every console in the Nintendo Classics line-up, one at a time, and pick out the games worth your evening. NES today, Super Nintendo next.

Nintendo Switch Online is Nintendo’s subscription service, and the standard membership lets you play most games online. It also includes cloud saves and the NES, Super NES and Game Boy libraries. In the UK, it costs £17.99 a year, or $19.99 in the US, and includes a seven-day free trial if you want to try it. The Expansion Pack tier, at £34.99 or $49.99 a year, adds Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and SEGA Mega Drive games, plus the GameCube library on Nintendo Switch 2. Everything in this video is in the standard tier.

The NES app also improves on the original hardware. Every game has save states, so you can save anywhere, plus a rewind button that lets you undo mistakes. Many NES games were designed to be hard so they’d last longer; rewind doesn’t remove that challenge, it removes the walk back to the start of the level. Many multiplayer games also support online play, so a two-player game no longer needs two people on one sofa.

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Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Double Dragon was one of the defining arcade beat ’em ups, but its first NES version left out what made it work: two players fighting side by side. Technōs Japan’s Double Dragon II: The Revenge came out in North America in 1990 and brought that co-op back.

That’s the reason it’s on this list. Billy and Jimmy Lee work their way through stage after stage of street fights, and the combat is simple: punch, kick, jump, throw. It’s not a deep game, and you won’t think about it for weeks. But with a friend alongside you, it’s a fun, loud evening.

Metroid

Metroid came out in North America in 1987, and in the UK and Europe in January 1988. Nintendo R&D1 made it, and it introduced Samus Aran and the idea that would define the series: a large, connected world you open up one ability at a time.

You land on the planet Zebes with almost nothing. Find the Morph Ball, and you can roll into gaps you couldn’t reach before. Find the Ice Beam, and enemies become platforms. That loop, finding a new power and remembering where it might help, has been the foundation of every Metroid game since, and of an entire genre named partly after it.

It’s a tough game to return to. There’s no in-game map, the controls are stiff by modern standards, and it’s easy to get lost. Keep a map open on your phone, use suspend points generously, and push through the first hour. The atmosphere and music still hold up, and seeing where the series started is worth the effort.

StarTropics

StarTropics came out in North America in December 1990 and didn’t reach Europe until August 1992. Nintendo R&D3, the same team behind Punch-Out!!, made it and aimed it at Western players.

It’s an adventure game that borrows from a few places. There’s dungeon crawling, an overworld and story that feel closer to an RPG, and a hero, Mike, who fights with a yo-yo. It doesn’t all work. The controls are stiff, and moving on a grid takes some getting used to.

I still think it’s worth your time because it’s rare: a Nintendo game that got a single sequel and then stopped.

Ninja Gaiden

All three NES Ninja Gaiden games are on Nintendo Switch Online now, but if you only play one, play the first. Released in Europe as Shadow Warriors, it set the template.

Ryu Hayabusa is fast and acrobatic, clinging to walls and leaping between them, and the game is hard but mostly fair. It also tells its story through cinematic cutscenes between stages, which was unusual on the NES. You can see its influence in modern indie games like The Messenger.

It will punish you. Enemies respawn, and getting knocked into a pit is common. This is where the rewind button earns its place.

Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!! came out in 1987, and if you’re old enough, you’ll remember it with Mike Tyson as the final opponent. On Nintendo Switch Online, it’s the later version, with Mr Dream in his place.

It looks like a boxing game, but it’s about pattern recognition. Every opponent has tells, and the game is about learning them, dodging at the right moment and countering. Each fighter is a puzzle you solve by losing to them a few times first.

There’s one caveat. Punch-Out!! depends on precise timing, and modern TVs add a little input lag compared with an old CRT. If it feels slightly off, try handheld mode or your TV’s game mode.

Tetris

The Game Boy version is the famous one, but competitive players adopted the NES version. The Classic Tetris World Championship is still played on it.

This is Nintendo’s 1989 version. Tengen also released a version, but it was pulled from shelves after a licensing dispute. Nintendo never re-released its version until it arrived on Nintendo Switch Online in December 2024.

There’s not much to explain. It’s Tetris. But if you want to understand why people still compete on a game from 1989, this is the version to play, and the rewind button makes a handy practice tool.

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda came out in 1987 in North America and Europe, and it’s a big reason so many open-world games look the way they do. You start on a screen with a cave and no instructions. Go in, and an older man hands you a sword. After that, the world is yours to figure out.

That’s still what makes it special. The game doesn’t point you to the next dungeon or tell you which wall to bomb or which bush to burn. You explore, you get lost, and you work it out, and when a secret opens up, it feels earned because nobody pointed you to it.

It’s not the easiest place to start if you’re new to the series, and some players will want a map open on their phone. But finish it, and a harder Second Quest is waiting with remixed dungeons.

Kirby’s Adventure

Kirby’s Adventure came out in 1993, after the Super Nintendo had already launched, and you can tell. HAL Laboratory pushed the NES further than almost anyone, and it’s still one of the most colourful, well-animated games in the library.

It also introduced Kirby’s Copy Ability. Swallow an enemy, and you take its power, whether that’s a sword, fire or a beam. Almost every Kirby game since has been built on that idea, and it started here.

It’s not a hard game, which makes it a great pick for younger players or anyone new to the NES. But it’s not shallow either. Most stages have secrets, and it’s charming from start to finish.

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. came out in 1985, and you can’t discuss it without touching on its history. It set the template for the side-scrolling platformer and became one of the most recognisable games ever made.

Looking back now, it has aged in places. Mario’s movement has a slippery momentum you have to relearn, and you can’t scroll back once you’ve moved forward. But World 1-1 still teaches you everything you need to know without a single line of text, and that’s still one of the best pieces of level design in the medium.

Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3 came out in North America in February 1990, and in the UK and Europe in August 1991. It’s my number one, and I don’t think it’s close.

Take everything Super Mario Bros. did and expand it. It has a world map with branching paths, mini-games, and airships. It has power-ups like the Super Leaf, the Tanooki Suit, and the Frog Suit, some of which appear only once or twice in the whole game. Hidden whistles warp you across worlds, and secrets that plenty of players never find.

Most games from this era need some context to enjoy today. Super Mario Bros. 3 doesn’t. It plays as well now as it did at release, and if you play only one game on this list, play this one.

Ten wasn’t enough, so here are a few more. Super Mario Bros. 2 only just missed out. It’s the strangest Mario game of the era, with vegetable throwing, four playable characters, and the debuts of Shy Guys, Bob-ombs and Birdo. R.C.

Pro-Am II from Rare arrived on Nintendo Switch Online on September 2nd, and with up to four players, it’s a great group racer. Blaster Master shows Sunsoft at its best, mixing side-scrolling tank stages with top-down on-foot sections. River City Ransom, released as Street Gangs in Europe, is a beat ’em up with shops, stats, and a sense of humour, and another great two-player option. Fire ‘n Ice, from Tecmo, is a puzzle game with a hundred stages, fifty more beyond that, and a level editor. And Dr Mario is still a simple, addictive puzzler. Kid Icarus is also worth trying for its place in Nintendo’s history. Be warned that it’s tough to go back to without modern quality-of-life features.

Now I want to hear yours. What’s your number one NES game on Nintendo Switch Online, and what did I leave off? Let me know in the comments.

The Super Nintendo episode is next, and it’ll be hard to cut down. If you want to see it, subscribe now so you don’t miss it. I’m trying to reach 1,000 subscribers before the end of 2026, and if this video helped you find something to play tonight, subscribing is the best way to help me get there.

This has been Power-Up Direct, and I’ll see you next time.