Our Favorite NES Sports Games

The Nintendo Entertainment System

Relive those classic days of the late 80s with our favorite Nintendo Entertainment System sports games.  The Madden franchise of football games had yet to dominate but one football game stood out.

The classic NES controller

The NES needs no introduction. It was the only console to successfully rise from the ashes of the video game craze of the 1980s. After years of saving up quarters and playing Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong at the arcades, we were all finally able to experience those same games in our own homes. While the mentioned games are classics, there are sports gems in the vast NES library that deserve mention for countless hours of playing. That is, until the console reset itself because of the dirt and dust on the game cartridges. Who could forget the number of times blowing inside your NES games connectors, so that you could play them again? Woe to any gamer playing Legend of Zelda for long periods of time! With the possibility of combined NBA and NFL lockouts, here's a look at those sports games of the past. Travel back now with us to those bittersweet days:

Blades of Steel

5. Blades of Steel - We're not exactly hockey fans and this game introduced us to this sport. In fact. we learned elements of the sport through the times we simply sat on the couch and played! All I can remember is the easy and fast gameplay and the coach shouting "hit the puck".

Mike Tyson's Punchout!

4. Punch Out!– Who could forget the cute sounds when your punches landed on opponents or the funny animations, especially when fighter “Little Mac” (your character) got knocked down? The stable of boxers were funny and unique (“Glass Joe”, “Von Kaiser”, etc.). Furthermore, how scary was it facing Mike Tyson himself in the final level?

Bases Loaded

3. Bases Loaded - There were other good baseball games like "RBI Baseball" but this one was most enjoyable because of the unique camera angle capturing both the batter and pitcher during the game. Despite the players and teams not being official MLB teams, the uniforms and locations (Boston, Texas) were close enough to be be authentic. Pitches could be thrown to your own liking (curve, slider, etc.). You could modify the batting lineup in any order and really experience the managerial aspect of baseball as well.

Pro Wrestling

2. Pro Wrestling - It really was the contemporary wrestling game of it's time. The characters ("Kin Korn Karn", "Starman", etc.) resembled the wackiness of it's sports entertainment counterpart. Wrestlers could perform moves such as "piledrivers",  "bodyslams" and jump off the top rope. Furthermore, each wrestler had a unique finishing move to win the match. Who could forget "Starman" and his twirling kicks on opponents? This was truly the precursor the current crop of WWE games.

Tecmo Super Bowl

1. Tecmo Super Bowl –  As football games go, this was THE game to play.  No other sports game came close to the overall fun factor and excitement of running in or throwing that long pass  for a touchdown. With it’s NFL license, you can play any player, even the standouts of that time, like Joe Montana and Bo Jackson. The plays were limited but enough to be enjoyable. While the graphics may have been pudgy and pint, the gameplay and animations were smooth. The touchdown celebrations were simple but superbly stunning, graphics wise. Our favorite NES sports game of all time.