Alright, the Famicom list is ready! I decided to include RPGs after all, since there are so many good ones and it's better than including stuff like Hokuto no Ken. Also, rather than just counting each game as 5.5 points (my original plan), I've tried to go through the list and give each game an appropriate number of points for its difficulty and length. Please tell me if you think any of the point values are way off.
2017 Famicom List
A Week of Garfield (1989) - Towa Chiki, 9 points
Famously bad game featuring the lasagna-loving cat. You would think a Garfield game would be released in the US, but after playing this you'll realize why they didn't bother. Features amazing English text!
Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun (1990) - Konami, 3 pointsCastlevania spinoff also known as Kid Dracula. Also the first of 17 (!) Konami games on this list of 73. That goes to show you how amazing they were back then, and how much we missed out on. I actually had to leave a few off so they didn't dominate the list too much.
Antarctic Adventure (1985) - Konami, 2 pointsOne of three penguin-themed games on this list, somehow.
Astro Robo SASA (1985) - ASCII, 4 pointsThis game has very unique movement, where you get propelled by shooting your gun. I find it difficult to control but it's pretty short.
Atlantis no Nazo (1986) - Sunsoft, 9 points
It's funny that Sunsoft has a repuation in the West for quality games, because their early track record was not nearly as good. This is probably the game they're best known for in Japan; it was even on the Famicom mini.
Attack Animal Gakuen (1987) - Pony Canyon, 5 pointsA Space Harrier-style game where you play as a school girl looking for her lost friend, and fight silly bosses along the way.
Battle City (1985) - Namco, 5 pointsTank fighting game similar to Combat on the Atari 2600. After Konami, Namco has the most games on this list (8). It makes sense since they didn't publish on the NES for many years.
Binary Land (1985) - Hudson Soft, 10 pointsSecond of three penguin-themed games. I thought this would be an easier one, but there's 99 stages and you can only continue with a code, so apparently not.
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (1993) - Konami, 1 pointOne of the few disk system games to get a cart release late in the Famicom lifespan, which of course means that the cart is now way too expensive. Also known as "Baby Mario" on pirate carts.
Bio Senshi Dan: Increaser tono Tatakai (1987) - Jaleco, 4 pointsThis game has a really interesting mechanic - the faster you get to a boss, the less health it has. Was supposed to be released in the US as "Bashi Bazook," an awful awful name.
Bokosuka Wars (1985) - ASCII, 7 pointsI didn't put this here because of bronzeshield, I swear. I picked it before that because it's a nice combination of bad and unique. I can't believe that it got a PS4 sequel this year.
Challenger (1985) - Hudson Soft, 5 pointsFor an early, arcade style game, there's a lot of variety in its four sections.
Choujin Sentai: Jetman (1991) - Angel, 1 pointPart of the Power Rangers series. Supposed to be better than the other Sentai FC game.
Cocoron (1991) - Sur de Wave, 2 pointsMade by the same people behind Little Samson. You can mix and match parts to create bizarre new characters. We're lucky this wasn't released overseas because it would probably cost hundreds of dollars by now...
Cosmo Police Galivan (1988) - Nichibutsu, 6 pointsStrange to see a company like Nichibutsu make a Metroid-style game like this, since they were known for making shooters (Mag Max, Seicross, Terra Cresta). Looks like there was a very different arcade version of this, and they added in RPG elements for the home release which was pretty common then.
Crisis Force (1991) - Konami, 6 pointsI honestly think this game is a bit overrated, but it's still fun and it looks amazing. It's definitely easier than Gradius 2 in my experience.
Crossfire (1990) - Kyugo Boueki, 4 pointsVery different than the Genesis version, this one is a side-scroller rather than top down.
Dai Meiro: Meikyuu no Tatsujin (1990) - Epoch, 6 points
It's a first person dungeon crawler, but there's no combat - it's more of a puzzle game than an rpg. You have to find your way through the mazes before running out of hearts.
Don Doko Don 2 (1992) - Taito, 2 pointsThe first one was similar to Bubble Bobble, but they turned the sequel into a platformer. It's simple yet fun.
Donald Land (1988) - Data East, 7 pointsThe other McDonalds-themed NES game besides MC Kids. Not as good as that one, but weirder. Also suprisingly good for speedrunning because you can jump off the apples to move super fast.
Door Door (1985) - Enix, 10 pointsSlow-paced single screen puzzle game where you have to trap enemies in doors. Music is a Bubble Bobble-level earworm.
Dragon Buster (1987) - Namco, 6 pointsAn arcade game which was supposedly the first game to feature a life bar. It does have an ending, actually, after a dozen or so rounds.
Final Fantasy II (1988) - Square, 8 pointFrom the very beginning, you can see that this game has more of a story than the first one. Most people hate the lack of traditional experience points and level ups, but it's fun game nonetheless. Beating this game blind would be quite a feat.
Final Fantasy III (1990) - Square, 8 pointsIt feels more modern and linear than the first two. It's like a simplier version of FF5 with its job system. You will have to switch jobs frequently to get past certain sections, but my problem with that is that you can't really improvise much - you need certain abilities to get past certain spots. Also famous for how brutal the last dungeon is - before that, it's not too hard at all.
Fire Emblem: Ankokuryuu to Hikari no Ken (1990) - Nintendo, 8 pointsThe first game in Nintendo's famous strategy RPG series.
Fire Emblem Gaiden (1992) - Nintendo, 8 pointsThe second game in the series which reportedly changed things up a decent amount (haven't played either so I can't comment).
Flappy (1985) - DB-Soft, 10 points
An interesting puzzler where you have to move boulders. Features a whopping 200 levels!
Ganbare Goemon 2 (1989) - Konami, 5 pointsMore well-regarded than the first title, so that's why I picked this one.
Getsu Fuuma Den (1987) - Konami, 5.5 pointsIt's like TMNT 1, except much better and with an amazing soundtrack.
Goonies (1986) - Konami, 4 pointsTechincally was released in the US on the vs. System. Most people seem to like this better than the sequel.
Gradius II (1988) - Konami, 7 pointsI guess I prefer Life Force, but there's no reason they couldn't have brought this over too.
Great Battle Cyber (1992) - Banpresto, 2 pointsThere are a ton of SD Gundam games, and they all seem to be decent and easy. This one's the most interesting to me - you go through stages taking on enemies one at a time, like a fighting game.
Heisei Tensai Bakabon (1991) - Namco, 9 pointsPossibly the most obscure game on this list. It's a platformer with goofy visuals and Prince of Persia-style movement.
Hi no Tori: Houou-hen: Gaou no Bouken (1987) - Konami, 1 pointAnother good Konami game. This one's easy, except for the fact that you have to warp between past/present/future to finish every level in order to beat it. Otherwise you just repeat the same stages over and over.
Holy Diver (1989) - Irem, 10 pointsNamed after the Dio song. Features magic powers and brutal difficulty.
Jajamaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajou (1990) - Jaleco, 3 pointsI've never been a fan of the Ninja-kun/Jajamaru-kun games, but this one actually looks pretty cool. It's an action rpg similar to Zelda or Crystalis.
Just Breed (1992) - Enix, 8 pointsStrategy rpg from the company that brought you Dragon Quest. They only released three non-DQ games on the Famicom - this, Door Door, and Portopia (a famous adventure game).
Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3: Taiketsu! Zouringen (1993) - Irem, 3 pointsThe third game in the Kid Niki series. I choose this one over the second because it seems a little more different compared to the first.
Karateka (1985) - Soft Pro, 4 pointsA simple karate game with 1v1 fights. More realistic than something like Kung Fu.
Kidou Senshi Z Gundam: Hot Scramble (1986) - Bandai, 9 pointsCombines FPS-like shooting stages with Thexder-like (an earlier FC game) corridor stages. Once you beat stage 16 you can game over to get the credits.
King Kong 2: Ikari no Megaton Punch (1986) - Konami, 1 pointLike Blaster Master and Rygar, it's a good game that lacks any way to save your progress. But it's very simple once you know the correct path (plus, you can glitch straight to the end). Way more fun destroying buildings as Kong than anything in Rampage.
Konami Wai Wai World (1988) - Konami, 5 pointsFeatures of all the Konami characters that star in all these other games they didn't bring over (Getsu Fuuma, Goemon, King Kong, etc.)
Kyattou Ninden Teyandee (1991) - Tecmo, 2 pointsAka Samurai Pizza Cats, a platformer based on the show.
Lagrange Point (1991) - Konami, 7 pointsThe recently translated (finally), space-themed rpg most famous for its enhanced soundtrack.
Layla (1986) - DB-Soft, 5 pointsPlay as a red-haired girl with a lot of firepower in this space-themed action game.
Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story (1987) - Namco, 8 pointsThe first in the long running, challenging rpg series from Atlus (although published here by Namco). The second Famicom game hasn't been fully translated yet, I believe, or I'd include that too. Anyway, if you haven't played any of them, they're basically like Pokemon except much more serious and difficult.
Metro-Cross (1986) - Namco, 10 pointsIt's a game about non-stop running and smashing Coke cans, with great music. Seems really hard, too.
Mitsume ga Tooru (1992) - Tomy, 3 pointsMega Man-esque game, although even more cutesy.
Moai-kun (1990) - Konami, 6 pointsAs if Konami didn't like Moai heads enough, here's a puzzle game where you play as one (I mean, besides Wai Wai World).
Moon Crystal (1992) - Hect, 3 pointsSo strange for a company like Hect to release such a great game like this. They usually made Igo and Shougi crap. All of their games seem to be obscure, so no wonder this game goes for a lot nowadays.
Mother (1989) - Nintendo, 7 pointsI personally like this one better than the sequels, since they did reuse quite a bit of stuff. Plus, this game's more challenging and more open-ended. I don't think it's as hard as say, FF2 though.
Mouryou Senki Madara (1990) - Konami, 7 pointsAnother Konami rpg with an awesome soundtrack. I know someone was just raving about this on this forum the other day.
Nuts & Milk (1984) - Hudson Soft, 4 pointsThe very first third party game on the system, it's a one screen arcade-style game similar to Nintendo's early games.
Puyo Puyo (1993) - Tokuma Shoten, 2 pointsThe first game in the series, originally released on the disk system in 1991. There's an endless mode, but for this competition you'll need to play the mission stages.
Robocco Wars (1991) - IGS, 2 pointsLooks like IGS saw all these SD robot games and wanted to do something similar. It's a simple and fun action platformer.
Spartan X 2 (1991) - Irem, 1 pointSequel to Kung Fu which came out 6 years later. Nearly as short, but with a lot of action.
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (1989) - Namco, 3 pointsCute spinoff of the Splatterhouse series, just like Kid Dracula for Castlevania.
Star Wars (1987) - Namco, 8 pointsWay more interesting than the Star Wars game we got. Takes some liberties with the material, to say the least.
Summer Carnival '92: Recca (1992) - Naxat Soft, 10 pointsShooter created for a competition, it really pushes the limits of the system. Easily one of the hardest games on the list.
Sweet Home (1989) - Capcom, 7 pointsThe horror rpg which inspired Resident Evil.
Takahashi Meijin no Boukenjima IV (1994) - Hudson Soft, 3 pointsThe final Famicom release, and fourth game in the Adventure Island series. Very different than the previous three.
Takeshi no Chousenjou (1986) - Taito, 9 pointsThe notorious game by the Japanese comedian. There's actually four Takeshi games on the system total, including a board game and two power pad games.
Toukaidou Gojuusan Tsugi (1986) - Sunsoft, 9 pointsAka 53 Stations of the Tokkaido, which is like the old Japanese version of route 66. This game seems very hard, but I know there are warps which might it easier.
Tower of Druaga (1985) - Namco, 10 pointsOne of those games which was really popular in Japan but ignored everywhere else. May have inspired the Legend of Zelda in some ways. I think you'll need a guide to get some of the secret items.
Transformers: Convoy no Nazo (1986) - Takara, 10 pointsGood luck beating this! You will likely die seconds after starting the game your first time.
Twinbee (1986) - Konami, 1 pointWe only got the second Twinbee game (Stinger). They're all cutesy shooters.
Uchuu Keibitai SDF (1990) - HAL Laboratory, 5 pointsAnother well-regarded shooter, from the makers of Kirby and Lolo.
Wing of Madoola (1986) - Sunsoft, 9 pointsThe second game from 1986 that stars a red-haired girl. Sort of like Atlantis no Nazo in that it's hard with catchy music. This one's probably not as difficult, but it's longer.
Wit's (1990) - Athena, 1 pointIt's like a competitive version of Snake.
Yie Air Kung Fu (1985) - Konami, 6 pointsOne of the first true fighting games. Simple but hard.
Youkai Club (1987) - Jaleco, 4 pointsCastlevania-esque action game.
Yume Penguin Monogatari (1991) - Konami, 1 pointThe third penguin game on the list. Very amusing characters and animations. You can't even die, but you can run out of time or not meet the weight requirement for the level.
Zunou Senkan Galg (1985) - DB-Soft, 6 pointsStrange shooter where you have to collect parts as you go along, rather than destroy enemies. It says RPG right on the cart, but I don't know if I would go that far.
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