Here's the list of games which don't have normal endings, or need to have something pointed out. It's about 1/3rd of the NES lineup. Let me know if you think any other games deserve special mention, or if you disagree with these definitions.

I should point out that for any game that loops, you must also get the high score.

1943	Must completely destroy final battleship to beat the last level.
10 Yard Fight	Win the Super Bowl
720*	Finish class 1, game loops from there
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar	Finish the game with one of the characters
Adventures of Dino Riki, The	Loops after level 4-4
Air Fortress	Similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins, the game must be played through twice to reach the credits.
All Pro Basketball	Must play 35 games and beat each team 3 times
Alpha Mission	Loops after area 13
Anticipation	Win a game versus the computer
Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl!	Win a single game
Archon	Win or draw versus the computer (same credits sequence either way).
Arkanoid	Must beat without using continue code. Warp code allowed (mentioned in manual). Probably impossible to beat without a Vaus controller.
Arkista's Ring	Must complete four loops to get to the ending.
Athletic World	Obtain a degree for finishing a round with a good enough score
Balloon Fight	Beat the high score in both 1 player and balloon trip modes
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach	Complete the course
Bandit Kings of Ancient China	Finish scenario 4 to get the ending
Barker Bill's Trick Shooting	Play and beat each event, including the special ones in Fun Follies mode (stage 4, 5, 9)
Base Wars - Cyber Stadium Series	Win pennant mode
Baseball	Win a single game
Baseball Simulator 1.000	Play and win a season. The shortest is 5 games.
Baseball Stars	Win a league
Baseball Stars II	Win a league
Bases Loaded	Must win 80 games
Bases Loaded II: Second Season	Must win 75 games, then the World Series
Bases Loaded III	Beat a level 5 team with a rating of 100.
Bases Loaded IV	Must win 70 games, then the Super Series
Battle Chess	Win a single game
Bill Elliott's Nascar Challenge	Play and win the Championship Season
Black Bass	Be ranked #1 at the end of September 25
Blades of Steel	Win a tournament
Bo Jackson Baseball	Beat the playoffs mode
Bram Stoker's Dracula	Must play on hard difficulty to play the full game.
Break Time: The National Pool Tour	Win the national pool tour
BreakThru	Loops after level 5
Bubble Bobble	Beat the game with the good ending. Not necessary to do second quest.
Burgertime	Loops after stage 6
Caesar's Palace	Must have $140,000 to leave in the best car.
California Games	Win the gold in each event
Casino Kid	Must win $2 million.
Caveman Games	Compete in the caveman games and set records in each event
Championship Bowling	Complete a game of bowling
Championship Pool	Win either the 8 ball or 9 ball tournament (not necessary to do both)
Chessmaster, The	Win a single game
Chubby Cherub	Loops after stage 12
City Connection	Loops after stage 6
Classic Concentration	Win a single game and win the bonus round at the end.
Clu Clu Land	Loops after stage 21 (there are 17 non-bonus stages)
Conflict	Must beat all 15 maps to reach map 16, then complete that
Cyberball	Win a single game
Dance Aerobics	Beat all modes
Defender II	Loops after stage 1
Desert Commander	Complete all 5 missions
Dig Dug II	Loops after stage 72
Donkey Kong	Loops after stage 3
Donkey Kong 3	Loops after stage 4
Donkey Kong Jr.	Loops after stage 4
Double Dare	Win a game versus the computer
Double Dragon II: The Revenge	Must play on Supreme Master difficulty to finish the entire game
Double Dribble	Win a single game
Dr. Mario	Complete virus level 20
Dragon Spirit: The New Legend	Intro stage must be completed without dying to play as the blue dragon, which allows you to play all stages.
Duck Hunt	Loops after stage 1. So just beat at least one round and the high score for each mode.
Elevator Action	Loops after stage 4
Evert & Lendl Top Player's Tennis	Must win all tournaments to get the ending (add more details)
F-15 Strike Eagle	Complete all 7 missions
Family Feud	Must win $20,000
Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll	Similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins, the game must be played through twice to reach the credits.
Galaga	Loops after stage 3
Gauntlet II	Consider beating stage 100 as finishing it.
Gemfire	Beat scenario 4 to get the ending
Genghis Khan	Choose "World Conquest" and take over the map
Ghosts 'N Goblins	Must be played through twice to reach the credits.
Goal!	Win a World Cup
Goal! Two	Win a Super Cup
Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters	Only need to beat one of the scenarios
Golf	Beat the default score (+28)
Golf Grand Slam	Get the best score after 18 holes.
Gotcha!	Loops after stage 3
Greg Norman's Golf Power	Play 18 holes of golf
Gyromite	Must beat Game A & B
Harlem Globetrotters	Win a single game
Hatris	Beat level 9-5
High Speed	Beat the high score
Hogan's Alley	Loops after stage 1. So just beat at least one round and the high score for each mode.
Hollywood Squares	Win a game versus the computer
Ice Climber	Beat all 32 stages.
Ice Hockey	Win a single game
Isolated Warrior	Must beat first 6 stages without continuing to reach final stage.
Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart's Super Off-Road	Beat race 35, the eight and final 8
Jack Nicklaus' Major Championship Golf	Play 18 holes of golf
James Bond Jr.	Similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins, the game must be played through twice to reach the credits.
Jeopardy!	Win a single game
Jeopardy! 25th Silver Anniversary Edition	Win a single game
Jeopardy! Jr. Edition	Win a single game
John Elway's Quarterback	Win a single game
Jordan vs. Bird: One-on-One	Beat the computer in each mode
Joust	Finish wave 16
Karate Champ	Loops after round 10
Kickle Cubicle	Special stages not necessary
Kings of the Beach	Win a tournament
KlashBall	Win the league
Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf	Win a nassau game vs the computer
Legend of Kage, The	Ending appears after 3 loops
Legends of the Diamond	Tournament mode
Lemmings	Start on hardest difficulty to reach the credits quicker (you're only required to do the final 25 stages)
L'Empereur	Beat scenario 4 to get the ending
Little League Baseball: Championship Series	Win a championship series
Lode Runner	Complete all 50 stages
LoopZ	Get a high score on Games A & B, and clear Game C
M.U.L.E.	Complete it on standard
M.U.S.C.L.E.	Loops after stage 4
Mach Rider	Loops after stage 10
Magic Darts	Complete each game of darts
Magic Johnson's Fast Break	Win a single game
Magmax	Loops after second boss; there's a brief transition period until you return to stage 1
Major League Baseball	Win a single game
Mario Bros.	Loops after phase 13
Millipede	Loops after round 16
Monopoly	Beat a computer opponent in a single game
Monster Truck Rally	Finish monster truck rally mode with the highest total score
Ms. Pac Man	Loops after stage 13
Mystery Quest	To get good ending, must max out score (or is it 4 playthroughs? It's probably going to take 4 regardless)
NES Open Tournament Golf	Win $1 million
NES Play Action Football	Win the playoffs mode
NFL Football	Win a single Super Bowl game
Ninja Kid	Loops after stage 9
Nobunaga's Ambition II	Choose the scenario "Nobunaga's Ambition" and take all territories
Operation Wolf	Loops after you've completed all 6 missions
Othello	Beat level 4 to unlock level 5. Then beat that.
Pac Man (Namco)	Loops after stage 1
Palamedes	Win a tournament to get the credits
Pictionary	Finish a single game
Pinball	Get 200,000 points for the flippers to disappear then reappear
Pinball Quest	Finish RPG mode
Pinbot	Beat the high score of just under 10 million
Pipe Dream	Loops after stage 16 on game B
Pirates!	Retire with the highest rank of King's Advisor
Popeye	Loops after level 3
Pro Sport Hockey	Win a Super Cup
Puzznic	Clear Puzznic and Gravnic
Qix	Loops after 1 level
R.C. Pro-Am Racing	Loops after level 24
Raid on Bungeling Bay	Just need to beat round 1 of game B
Rally Bike	Loops after stage 6
Rampage	Loops after 128 stages
Rampart	After you see a screen saying "you won the war," you'll start a new level where a single enemy ship approaches waving the white flag. After this you'll get a "The End" screen saying you completed the game
Remote Control	Win a single game
Rescue: The Embassy Mission	Beat mission Jupiter
Ring King	Beat the world #1
Rock 'n Ball	Beat all modes. Specifically: Mode 1: Beat the high score. Mode 2: Get all 6 secret codes. Modes 3 & 4: Beat all the sub-modes. Feel free to use the codes once you've unlocked them.
Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball	Pick an NL team (they play 6 fewer games)
Rollerball	Get 1 million points to get the credits
Rollerblade Racer	Get 5000 points to compete in the final race, after which you get the credits for a third place or better finish (10,000+ points)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms	Win the fifth scenario
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II	Win the sixth scenario
Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge	Win the tournament
Seicross	Loops after level 6
Sesame Street: 123	Beat each game in each of the two modes
Sesame Street: ABC	Beat each game in each of the two modes
Sesame Street: Big Bird's Hide & Speak	Beat all 6 levels
Sesame Street: Countdown	Finish each mode
Shooting Range	Get 40,000 points to win the gold medal
Short Order/Eggsplode	Complete a 10 story burger on short order and 60 bomb round on eggsplode
Side Pocket	Must get 7,100 points to get the final trick shot to appear, which leads to the credits
Silent Service	Finish all convoy missions and war scenarios
Skate Or Die	Compete in all events
Ski Or Die	Compete in all events
Sky Kid	Loops after mission 11
Sky Shark	Loops after stage 5
Slalom	Beat all 8 races on each of the 3 mountains
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular	Go through "1 play total game"
Soccer	Win a single game
Spot	Win a game versus the computer
Spy Hunter	Get to the loop point (after each season, ~15 minutes?)
Spy vs. Spy	Beat the computer on any level
Sqoon	Loops after phase 8
Star Trek: The Next Generation	Achieve the rank of Captain
Stealth ATF	Loops after stage 8
Super Dodge Ball	Win world cup play
Super Jeopardy!	Win a single game
Super Spike V'Ball	Win a World Tournament
Super Team Games	Win all 4 events in 1 player mode
Tag Team Wrestling	Must beat the champions' mark of 35 straight victories
Tecmo NBA Basketball	Complete a season and win the NBA Finals.
Tecmo Super Bowl	Complete a season and win the Super Bowl.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters	Must play on hard to get the credits
Tennis	Win a single game
Terra Cresta	Get to the loop point (third boss?)
Tetris	Beat 9-5 on B-type, and the high score on A-type
Tetris 2	Start on level 30. Keep playing until you reach "The End" and the game goes back to the title after level 80
Three Stooges, The	Get at least $5,000 to get the worst ending. You can deliberately game over once you have the money and you'll still get the ending.
Tiger-Heli	Loops after stage 4
Touchdown Fever	Play and win a tournament.
Town & Country Surf Designs	Finish stage 5 of skating and stage 1 of surfing (and get high scores for each)
Track & Field	Compete in all events and beat the high score
Track & Field II	Play Olympic Mode and reach the closing ceremony after the 8th day
Ultimate Basketball	Win the tournament
Urban Champion	Loops after 3rd fight.
Vegas Dream	Must win $10 million
Volleyball	Win a single game
Wario's Woods	Finish 100 rounds of Game A or B
Wayne Gretzky Hockey	Win a game versus the computer
Wheel of Fortune	Win a single game
Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition	Win a single game
Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White	Win a single game
Wheel of Fortune: Jr.	Win a single game
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?	You must complete all 80 cases until you're retired. It's not enough just to catch Carmen.
Wild Gunman	Loops after stage 1. So just beat at least one round and the high score for each mode.
Win, Lose or Draw	Finish a single game
Winter Games	Compete in all events and get all world records
World Champ	Compete in all events and get the gold medal in each
World Class Track Meet	Win the tournament
World Games	Set a new world record in each event
Wrecking Crew	Beat all 100 stages.
WrestleMania	Win a tournament
WWF King of the Ring	Win either the WWF Championship or the King of the Ring tournament
WWF Wrestlemania Challenge	Select "yourself" and defeat all the other wrestlers
WWF Wrestlemania: Steel Cage Challenge	Win the WWF Championship
Xenophobe	Loops after stage 8
Xevious	Loops after stage 14
Yoshi	Beat level 16 on Game B (to get the pineapple, the final fruit)
Yoshi's Cookie	Beat round 10, stage 10

With regard to the Koei strategy games, it looks like you went with AdamL's descriptions entirely. You shouldn't. He basically says to use the hardest scenario, but all scenarios get the same ending. With Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, an earlier scenario is easier to finish because all the provinces are weaker, and it's easier to form a territorial block because of it, but it by no means changes the ending. With Genghis Khan, starting on an earlier scenario than "World Conquest" doesn't change the ending, it just gives you a bit of tutorial time...basically, you have to unite Mongolia. Once you do, you automatically start World Conquest, but for someone just starting out, it's probably the better idea, since it gives them a chance to learn the game first. Basically, you shouldn't restrict the game based on what scenario is chosen because they all lead to the same end game.

I would like to add to Star Trek: The Next Generation that after you achieve the rank of Captain is when you can get the mission where you encounter the Borg. It is not available on any other ranks and can only be done on Captain. I think considering Star Trek: The Next Generation beaten is if you win the Borg mission, which is super easy to do if you know what to do.

On Palamedes, I think you should have to beat 1-player mode also. Tournament mode is easier and they are different games with different endings.
On Pipe Dream, don't you have to beat the high scores in each mode? Mode C is pretty different than mode A & B.

While I'm unfamiliar with these games, you should do it this way for the sake of consistency.  There are other games on the list in which you don't have to play the hardest levels (like Anticipation, Short Order, and Spy Vs Spy).

In Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular, I think you should have to get the gold medal.  Getting the minimum number of points to get to the end will only get you the bronze medal.

Edit: Also, since you're requiring multiple play throughs of Ghosts 'N Goblins, you should add Magician as well.  It has to be played 3 times to get the best ending.

Just finished Ultima: Warriors of Destiny, Q*bert, and Top Gun: The Second Mission and it took forever.
http://imgur.com/a/F43xz#0...

Awesome job!
Now do it again tomorrow
I got pretty far in Q*Bert, but had to give up and move on to playing other things.  Maybe one day.

Thanks I beat Q*bert in the Summer, but I wasn't able to get the data off my old iphone and had to beat Q*bert and Ultima again which wasn't very fun at first

Q*Bert just kicks my ass. I already have some games for this year

Already have a pile of games ready once it hits midnight. Can't wait to start this again

Ok, that puts us at 562 for the year. Had to re-calculate the points; only change is Top Gun 2 goes down to 7 while Rampart goes up to 8.

2013 NES Games Beaten Awards Show
====================================
Presenting the 1st Annual award show for NES games I've beaten (this year)!

BEST GAME
There are 3 nominees here:
Battle of Olympus
Adventures of Lolo
Ultima IV

And the winner is:
Adventures of Lolo

All 3 are great games, and Ultima IV is one of my favorites, but I will admit it has a few flaws.
Although a simple game compared to the 2 RPGs, Lolo is nearly flawless in its puzzles that are just about the right level of difficulty.
Although Olympus and Ultima had some moments of frustration and dull grinding, I never had any of that in Lolo.
On a different list, I might put these in a different order, just because it's hard to compare an epic RPG with a puzzle game, but in terms of pure percentage of fun, Lolo wins.


BEST UNLICENSED GAME
There are several good unlicensed games I beat this year, all of which rank around an 8/10.
But I've declaring the winner to be:
Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy

Just for its sheer epicness and feeling of accomplishment when beating it.
A lot of the game is fun, and pretty easy, but it's also easy to slip up and lose one of your (very) limited lives.
There are several parts that are quite challenging, and the approach to the final boss is one of the most nerve-wracking.


"HIDDEN GEM" AWARD
(For the game that turned out to be more fun than I thought it was)
Rainbow Islands


"HIDDEN GEM" (UNLICENSED)
Impossible Mission II

This has a few flaws, but was pretty fun for an unlicensed PC port.
Figuring out how to play is the hard part, but put in the effort and you'll be rewarded with this puzzle game.


EASIEST GAME
Win, Lose or Draw - I'm not sure this even qualifies as a 1 player game.
- I'm not sure this even qualifies as a 1 player game.  Otherwise, it was:
Fisher Price: I Can Remember


HARDEST GAME
Legacy of the Wizard
I can't even imagine trying to beat this without any kind of walkthrough.
It was hard enough with a walkthrough & video guiding me the entire way.


HARDEST UNLICENSED GAME
Dudes With Attitude
Quite possibly one of the hardest games I've beaten.  Just crazy.
If you beat this on a real NES, you deserve bragging rights.
And yes, I abused the pause button.  I can't even imagine trying to beat it any other way.


WORST GAME
X-Men

Just an embarassing mess.
In movie terms, this is the worst mainstream film you can think of.
So laughably bad, it's almost good.


WORST UNLICENSED GAME
A few possible winners:

Action 52
-I didn't beat every Action 52 game, so not sure this counts, but the worst were:
Meong and Manchester.  Micro Mike is actually the worst, but I think it is unbeatable.  What is it with "M" games on this cart?
Almost every game on this cart is bad, although some are more tolerable than others.

BMX Simulator (Quattro Sports)
-Not every game on this cart is terrible, but this particular one is horrendous.
Terrible controls, a nearly perfect computer opponent, unforgiving timer, and boring tracks, make this no fun.

Deathbots
-This is probably the worst cart I fully beat, although not as bad as some games (including some licensed ones)
This game is just dumb and mindless.
Run as fast as you can past bots and shoot the ones in your way.
There's almost no strategy other than to run and grab the best weapons you can, because you can't avoid getting hit most of the time.
Killing enemies gives you no reward other than points, so there's no point in trying to fight.
Just a waste of time, honestly.

I'd say beating 1943 for the first time was the top highlight this year for me. That last stage was such a struggle!

Also, in other NES news not related to this competition, I managed to complete a no-death Amagon speed run where I didn't transform into Megagon at all. I also got the world record speed run for StarTropics (although I only held it for a week or so).

I would say my highlights were:
Beating Legacy of the Wizard and Might & Magic
- it's frustrated me since I was about 17 that I never beat either of these
Beating Bubble Bobble using only 1 player the ENTIRE way through (even getting the crystal ball on level 99 by myself) except the final moment where you have to bring in the 2nd player to get the good ending
Figuring out how to beat L'Empereur

Some of my highlights:
- Completing 50 NES games for the first time in 2013.
- Completing Adventures of Lolo 2 for the first time. There were some stupid hard puzzles near the end of that one.
- Completing 19 games on 1/1/13, the most I've ever completed in one day.
- Completing Metroid in one sitting with no deaths in about 3-4 hours (not sure how impressive this is, but I gave myself a pat on the back for it )

I'm definitely making that one of my goals to beat that game as soon as I can.
I just have to try and find it for a decent price.

A Nightmare on Elm Street and Chubby Cherub were both surprises for me. I recall reading a lot of complaints about them, but I thought they were both pretty good.

As for NES gaming not related to this thread, I beat TMNT and Ghosts N Goblins for the first time this year. I've had TMNT since I was a kid, but was never able to finish. When I replayed it, I was surprised how easy most of it was. Stage 3 always gave me a lot of trouble, but I have no problems getting through it now. I still had a lot of trouble with the final stage though.

It was a lot of fun and I'm sure you will really enjoy it if you haven't already played it.  The night I beat it for the first time, I think I played it for like two hours, and by the time I got to the last few difficult puzzles, my patience was wearing thin lol.

I haven't played a lot of Chubby Cherub, but Nightmare on Elm Street is a pretty solid game.  It definitely has some flaws (it's so easy to take cheap hits from the enemies), but I really enjoy playing the game.

I beat TMNT for the first time back in 2011 and it was one I struggled with as a kid as well.  I could consistently get to the third stage, but could never make the jumps in the sewers and always got washed back to the entrance of the sewers/room.  It really isn't that hard of a game until you get to the last area of the Technodrome.  If you're loaded up with special weapons, the last hallway before Shredder isn't too bad.  If you don't have a lot of special weapons, you're likely to take a ton of damage.

My only problem with Nightmare on Elm Street was how your shots would randomly go through the enemies.  Other than that, I have no complaints.

The stage 3 sewers are where I had trouble in TMNT back in the day too.  I only got through them a few times before this year and I don't recall ever beating the Technodrome boss.

Hey is this happening again for this year? I want in!!!!

Yeah, just head into the 2014 thread in Gamer's Gauntlet and play something that is still needed