Top 10 NES Intros

When you pick up a game to start, the first thing to really hit you is going to be the intro or title screen.  Now when most people think of their most memorable intros they generally don’t look to the Nintendo Entertainment System.  The games of the past generally weren’t known for much past a simple Title with the option for 1P Start and 2P Start.  That’s not true for every game though, and today we’ll look at some of the better intros of the NES era.  These are the intros that stand out for music, impact, animation, and the like.  So let’s start at the beginning.

#10 - Little Nemo: The Dream Master

Little Nemo was a classic game for kids and a fantastic platformer.  The intro is simple and straight forward.  It gives a bit of background and tells a little story.  Looking at the intro now it feels a bit slow, and if you pay attention to the conversation it can really come off creepy.  A woman appears in the kids bedroom and offers him candy to come to her playland and play with her princess.  Ooook. 

#9 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

This intro was great because the music really got you pumped up.  The issue though is why didn’t they use the actual Turtle’s theme from the TV show?  A standard intro is upped a bit by taking the time to show each turtle and show them in action.  It’s a great little roster preview that leads into a few panels to set up the story some. 

#8 - Double Dragon

While not much of an intro per-say.  This makes the list simply on impact alone.  For many of us, this was the first “Cut-scene” we’d ever really see. 
All things considered this was actually pretty violent for the times.  A gang walks up and gut punches some woman and runs off with her.  What the crap!? I love that it’s really the only motivation for the game.  “I’ll teach you to gut punch women!”

#7 - Super Mario Bros 3

This probably would have been a lot higher on the list if it wasn’t for the fact that there’s no sound whatsoever.  Seriously Nintendo?! No sound? No Music?  I think they were trying to represent the feeling of a silent film with the sight gags and hijinks going on in the opening.  Either way it’s entertaining and we get to see what a jerk Luigi is.

#6 - Kirby’s Adventure

This intro just really represents the whole point of the Kirby series of games.  They are just fun.  The intro is light hearted and whimsical as well as the music.  The best thing about this game is that every stage has its own mini-intro leading into the stage which really just adds a lot to the game I feel.

#5 - Blaster Master

I always get a kick out of this intro everytime I watch it.  A fantastic game with a nice intro that gives us a plot set up that really makes no sense.  A boy’s pet frog escapes, falls in radiation, goes down a giant hole, boy follows, finds power suit, finds battle tank, game ensues?  I dunno what’s crazie, the boy risking life and death for a frog, or the fact that there’s this MASSIVE underground world with a sky and everything beneath some kids house.  Also, Where did that radiation come from!?

#4 - Maniac Mansion

Ok.  This makes the list primarily for the music.  The timing of the lights going on in the house and the little dialogue at the beginning that’s different depending on the characters you choose.  Everything about this game is just entertaining.

#3 - Adventures of Lolo

This is a game that would have been fine with just a title screen intro.  Adventures of Lolo is just a simple puzzle game, but the developers went a bit further.  Here we have the story of two lovers being torn apart.  Tears in their eyes as the girl is kidnapped by a demon.  If you pay attention you’ll notice an animation of the tears flowing from her eyes as she’s carried up in the sky.  So heartwrenching *sniffle.*

#2 - Mega Man II

All the Mega Man games had fantastic intros.  I selected this one above all the others because the set up just gets you really pumped.  The fantastic music starts of slow as you get a little background text.  Then with the music picking up as you slowly climb the building.  Then…..Mega Man! Hair blowing in the wind, and the real music kicks in.  It just really gets you psyched up.

#1 - Ninja Gaiden

There’s not much else to say about this.  The intro speaks for itself.  At the time this was like a whole different level of animation to most of us.  This was just very stylized and dramatic.

Agree or disagree, there are a number of great NES intros and everyone is going to have some that stand out more to them than others.  So why don’t you let us know of some of your faves?

Sound Off B!K!: Which NES intros stood out the most to you?