Retro Gaming Reviews, Rankings, and NES Classics
The best retro games are more than museum pieces. Some are still genuinely fun. Some helped create genres we now take for granted. Others are strange, frustrating, wildly ambitious, or memorable for reasons that are difficult to explain to anyone who wasn’t holding the controller.
Casual Nerdery looks back at classic games without pretending every old game has aged perfectly. Here you’ll find rankings, reviews, hidden gems, impossible boss battles, and the occasional argument about why a decades-old NES game was secretly ahead of its time.
Whether you grew up blowing into cartridges or are discovering these games for the first time, there is always another classic worth revisiting.
Press Start: Rankings and Features
10 Classic NES RPGs Still Worth Playing Today
Whether you’re revisiting old favorites, or exploring retro gaming for the first time, these are the best NES RPGs still worth playing today.
10 NES Boss Battles That Humbled Every Gamer
Dive into the toughest NES boss battles that left players handing over their controllers in defeat. Are you ready for the challenge?
5 NES Games That Were Ahead of Their Time
Some developers looked at the limitations of the NES and said, “Challenge accepted.”
NES Classics Worth Revisiting
Crystalis: My Favorite Hidden Gem
Ambitious and stylish, Crystalis is a game that deserves a second look. Find out why it’s not only my favorite NES game, but regarded as a true hidden gem of the console.
River City Ransom: The NES’s Cross-Genre Marvel!
Fighting gangs, buying power-ups, exploring an open city, and mixing beat-’em-up action with RPG elements? Yes please! (and also thank you!)
Dragon Warrior: The OG NES RPG
Before there was [INSERT ANY RPG NAME HERE] there was Dragon Warrior. Learn about why this classic still hits all the right gameplay buttons.
