Hmm I never played Crystalis. I need to check it out. Sadly a lot of NES RPGs/adventure games weren't as good because back then the genre was still in its infancy for consoles and graphics often suffered (see Dragon Warrior 1 towns/dungeons and magic animations, for example), plus it took forever to level up.

One other game I liked was Ys 2 for the NES. It's really hard, though, compared to the Turbografx-16 version. I don't like Ys 1 as much for the NES because movement is slower and no emulator emulates it properly.

There's actually A LOT of NES games I would recommend playing, but rather than list out my laundry list, I'll just name a few that stand out the most...

1. Startropics
Short Version: Imagina Ness from Earthbound in the first Zelda game except you move from island to island fighting monsters inside caves
Long Version: Basically you're this dude that arrives on an Island via helicopter to visit your uncle who happens to be a scientist... only to realize that aliens have abducted him for unlocking a secret that no one was supposed to know and now it's your job to save your uncle and defeat the aliens.  The game is pretty much like a Zelda based gameplay style... fighting monsters, moving from one square section to the other, unlocking secrets and hidden items, ect.  Your hero happens to be a boy with a yoyo, like Ness from Earthbound (LOL A NINTENDO GAME RIPPING OFF OTHER NINTENDO GAMES, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?), but in different sections, you get to upgrade it to a shooting star, and then later to a SuperNova.  Each Island you come across involves talking to people and getting as much info as you can, then venturing off into the caves to fight monsters and access hidden areas, using the wisdon that you gained from certain people you talked to in the village.  So it's kinda like an RPG, but not really.  However, this game actually makes you think twice before acting, especially the boss battles, which range from ridiculously easy, to incredibly hard if you have no idea what you are doing.  For example..
Overall, if you like adventure games, then this game is for you
P.S. You need a code to advance to Stage 5.  Incidentally, its the same code that Nintendo decided to stick in the game manual which pretty much explains the back-story of the game.  If this was still 1990, you'd pretty much be screwed without it, but obviously, with the power of the internet, you can find it pretty quickly on any gaming site

2. Abadox
Every space shooter ever made is pretty much the same thing over and over, but somehow Abadox uses that formula while keeping things original and fresh.  Basically the plot is this... a spaceship traveling through space gets sucked in by a planet with a mouth... yep, the entire planet is alive, and now it's your job to go inside the planet, and travel through all the organs and guts of the thing to reach the end to rescue the ship.  For 1990's standards, it was pretty gory and gruesome... you wind up going inside the mouth, seeing the tongue and teeth, then working your way through the bloodstream while the muscle tissue formed hands to each out and grab you, going deeper into the body where white blood cells, and all sorts of random monsters and creepy things (including a teddy bear in a bubble... no joke) try to kill you.  It's pretty entertaining, the monster and boss battles are creative yet weird, and the power ups range from weak (3 way spread shot), to really awesome (laser beam shot).  Unfortunately, this is also one of those games that suffers from not only a hard difficult right off the bat (meaning that you're going to spend quite a while on one stage memorizing enemy attack patterns), but your fighter dies with one hit... and EVERYTHING kills him, even the ceiling and walls.  But if you can overlook and overcome those flaws, then you'll be fine.  It's not "Silver Surfer" hard and bad, because the game IS beatable, but if you're looking for a challenge, then this game is definitely for you.

3. The Goonies 2
Very similar to the first game, but with graphical and level improvements.  Basically you go from house, to basement, to cave, to ice cave, even underwater, to find and rescue your friends that have been locked in cages inside rooms all over the map, and ultimately rescuing the mermaid person in the last underwater level.  The only way I can explain this game is by comparing it to something like Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow... both games require going to different areas, backtracking to find hidden goodies (specially in the rooms) while upgrading your item list, and weapons (which btw... another game that has the hero using a yoyo, lol).  Not to mention that for a game, based off of a movie, the soundtrack is actually enjoyable to the ears, especially the main theme, which I would take the 8bit version over the actual movie theme anyday If you like this style of gameplay, then I would recommend giving this game a shot

I'd reccomend Balloon Fight, Ice Climber, Wrecking Crew, Excitebike, and Xevious, in addition to many of the games mentioned by others...

Earthbound Zero (The Prequel to Earthbound), except I don't know if it's available as a cartridge.  The japanese version, which is, is called Mother.

Quote from: TheNlightenedOne on April 30, 2012, 05:05:06 pm

I'd reccomend Balloon Fight, Ice Climber, Wrecking Crew, Excitebike, and Xevious, in addition to many of the games mentioned by others...

Xevious is one of my favorite!
Also, twinbee is really good.

Get the "3D Classics" version of them both... the effects make the game experience more enjoyable IMO

And since we're on the topic of old arcade-style NES games, here's another few recommendation...

Milk & Nuts
It's a simple arcade game where you are a little pink dude thing trying to get all the fruit which will then open the house door for you to rescue the little pink girl thing.  However, you have to avoid one (sometimes two) blue dude things that try  to stop you from your objective.  ALso watch out for the "mario & luigi" fireballs that appear (mostly in the bonus rounds)

Joust
You're a knight/jouster, riding an ostritch, and your goal is to defeat the other knights/jousters riding vultures that are carrying eggs that you have to recover.  The arena is a bunch of platforms in a lava pit.  Be careful though, sometimes a pheonix will come out of nowhere to try to wreck your shit

Milk & Nuts! I remember that game as well.
Also, the Circus game was nice.

They actually have the circus game as a downloadable app game for the android... moving forward and back uses tilt control.  It's actually pretty cool

What are your favorite NES games? I'm considering buying some new ones, so any suggestions?