NES Any deep-cut or modern favorites?

[umagumma]

Heya! Recently modded my Famicom with composite out. Happy with the end result and I'm looking to make the best use out of it.
I might bite the bullet and buy an N8 Pro, seeing that it's still receiving updates with new mappers and the like. Out of everything, I'm really excited to play ROM hacks and homebrew games on real hardware, alongside some JP-only games I never took the time to try. Also enjoy some fun novelties like the official port of Pac-Man CE.
Previously enjoyed stuff like Junkoid or Celeste Mario on emus; looking to try those out again as well. Also looking forward to playing titles like Megami Tensei, Murasame, FC Tantei Club etc.

Anything in the NES/FC library that stands out to you personally? Any new fun hacks or translations you've enjoyed? I'd love to hear! Thanks.

 

[Moot]

Recently played the English translation of Jesus. It’s a short, fun playthrough, with just one tough puzzle that you can look up on the web.

 

[HydraSavior]

I doubt they're "deep cuts" but I really am fond of semi-obscure NES titles Magic of Scheherazade (action RPG combined with...RPG?), Clash At Demonhead (no one will convince me otherwise: best Metroidvania / SEARCH ACTION game on the NES), and Kabuki: Quantum Fighter (not the best action game, but it's...kind of got a cachet to it in its weirdness. You're a white lookin' American who apparently had a Japanese ancestor who knew Kabuki, and when you get mentally installed into a computer to hunt for viruses, you become a Kabuki Warrior who lets his hair do the talking, as a weapon. It's worth an afternoon.)

 

[KamakoKamako's icon]

I think Ghost Lion is a pretty fun but lesser-known NES RPG. It also has this brilliant box art

 

[diet_orange]

I've always really liked the Tengen port of Fantasy Zone

 

[jesterodoll]

Tetris 2+ Bombliss on nes is a really slept on version of the game, it also uses music by the original dragon quest composer!!

 

[lestagio]

Crystalis was pretty awesome. Not sure if it's a "deep cut" but it was always overshadowed by Zelda and Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. I don't hear it mentioned all that much, but those who do mention it agree that it's pretty great.

As for something a totally different style, Super Dodgeball was a lot of fun with my friends back in the day— that is, if you're okay with a bunch of sprite flickering! I don't know why that game did that so much...

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly versed in the romhacking community so I can't give you too much there.

 

[Tenshishi]

I grew up with an NES multicart, so I actually have more experience with deepcuts than more popular games!

- Musashi no Ken (634 Sword) is a very fun, slow-advancing platformer where you race through a gauntlet against a little dog. It's challenging but a real blast!
- Mighty Bomb Jack is another challenging little platformer, very focused on verticality and exploiting the suit-change mechanic to get out of jams.
- Penguin-kun Wars is a high octane sports game where you try to get all of the balls off your side of the field and onto your opponent's. It's near-impossible to win without a complete understanding of the mechanics!
- Ninja Jajamaru-kun is a very fun screen-wipe game where you have to remove all the enemies from the screen to progress! Like an upgraded Mario Bros.
- Yie ar Kung Fu is a fun fighting game! Feels like a prototype Street Fighter, very fun to advance through increasingly tough bosses.
- Nuts & Milk is GREAT! You collect all the fruits on a stage while avoiding an enemy so you can advance to the next. Level variety is great and you can even make your own!
- Pooyan has inspired plenty of tower defense games. It can get pretty tense trying to keep safe with so many threats on screen!
- Block Hole is like a combination of Tetris and a space shooter. It's so much fun trying to keep advancing down the track and get as many points as possible along the way!

 

[umagumma]

WHOA these are all great recs!! Jesus is not at all what I was expecting LEL but I'm digging the visuals

Looking through the RPGs in this thread I was reminded of Radia Senki, a game that Hideo Yoshizawa had his hands on that later inspired a few plot elements and character names from Klonoa. Can't miss that one either, I love the little guy too much