I’m collecting a list of the games that I personally feel are the best-of-the-best in NES Homebrew games.
To be honest, I haven’t found a Homebrew game that doesn’t have an interesting development story behind it, and following along with this community is a joy in itself; for me it’s probably more enjoyable than playing the games themselves!
I appreciate every Homebrew game on some level (technical, personal, artistic, etc), and I am constantly inspired to improve my own games by seeing the amazing work done throughout this community! But this list highlights the games that I love the most. They are the games I would recommend as a starting point to someone getting into this scene, without qualification. I’ve also included my own games because I can!
I consider this a “living document”, and will expand on the list as I find more games that I love.
The list is entirely subjective, and has no rules. Everything is eligible, but I only consider games I’ve actually played (obviously). Don’t take the “Official” Seal of Quality bit serious. There are many more games worth playing!
If you are interested in a more exhaustive list of releases, VGS Homebrew Almanac is a great resource!
Alwa’s Awakening – The 8-Bit Edition (2021)
Action Platformer
Availability: ROM | Physical (currently out of print)
Website: https://eldenpixels.com/alwas-awakening-nes/
Developer: Elden Pixels
Players: 1
Alwa’s Awakening is probably the biggest, most polished, and impressive homebrew released to date! The game originally came out on PC as a NES-like, and clearly those years of professional development and modern influences have helped it a lot. The difficulty curve is nearly perfect for me, and almost every puzzle in the game feels unique and challenging. The art and music are easily some of the best on the platform, comparable to the work of Nintendo themselves. The game is filled with unique enemies, giant boss fights, magical artifacts and loads of secrets. If you are looking for just one homebrew to try, make it this one.
Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King (2021)
Action RPG
Availability: ROM | Physical
Website: https://www.bitethechili.com/anguna-goblin-king/
Developer: Bite the Chili Productions
Players: 1-2 (simultaneous co-op)
Anguna was a really special experience for me, going beyond the game itself. I played this with my 2 daughters who were 4 and 7 years old at the time. I took control of the main character in this fairly basic Zelda-like, while my kids tracked my position on the pack-in paper map, and looked up information in the manual. It was kind of like a condensed version of playing The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987) as child, where friends would exchange ideas and hints as we slowly pieced together the large open world and dungeons.
Dungeons & Doomknights (2022)
Action RPG
Availability: ROM | Physical
Website: https://dungeonsanddoomknights.com/
Developer: Artix Entertainment
Players: 1
Dungeons & Doomknights is an action adventure RPG, similar to games like The Legend of Zelda. Gameplay takes place from a top down perspective (mostly), and ping-pongs between fighting through dungeons, talking to townsfolk, and exploring the open-world in search of new abilities. What really sets it apart from most games is the well executed humor, and a world that feels completely lived in. There a no generic NPC characters; everyone has a back story and feels like they probably hold some greater meaning in the larger Adventure Quest universe. At the same time, having not played any of those game, I still felt like I understood who everyone was, and their motivations. If you enjoy games like Link’s Awakening, you will probably love this!
From Below (2020)
Puzzle
Availability: ROM | Physical (currently out of print) | Streaming
Website: https://www.frombelowgame.com/
Developer: Matt Hughson
Players: 1
When creating From Below I aimed to create the best feeling Tetris-like on the NES. In addition to the core gameplay you expect, the game features modern gameplay mechanics like Lock Delay, Wall Kicks, “Kill Screen” and Hard Drops, giving the game a much more fluid feeling experience than Tetris (NES, 1989). For the pros out there, I hope that this can one day become the go-to competitive game in the genre. For the players looking for something new, From Below offers entirely new modes of play, where you will battle a Kraken as it attempts to attack your fortress.
Nebs ‘n Debs (2019)
Action Platformer
Availability: ROM | Physical | Streaming
Website: https://www.nebsndebs.com/
Developer: Dullahan Software
Players: 1
A very challenging platformer with a “dash” mechanic. What makes Nebs ‘n Debs stand out to me in the homebrew landscape, is that it is filled with little secrets and collectibles: 1ups, energy, powerups, a 2nd quest etc. A lot of homebrew have great gameplay cores, but don’t go much beyond that, and to me end up feeling a little shallow. Nebs ‘n Debs also looks, plays and sounds amazing, from box-art to in-game. And it does all this on one of the most restrictive types of NES carts: the NROM board!
NEScape! (2019)
Point & Click Adventure
Availability: ROM | Physical (currently out of print)
Website: https://www.khangames.com/
Developer: KHAN Games
Players: 1
This game holds a special place in my heart, along with Micro Mages (NES, 2018), as the game that introduced me to the world on modern NES Homebrew, and more specifically The (NES) Assembly Line podcast (co-hosted by KHAN Games) which inspired me to create my own games for the NES. Of course NEScape! itself is great too, and one of the few (maybe only) “Point & Clicks” I’ve ever finished! It’s got great puzzles, and an intriguing story/world.
Spacegulls (2021)
Action Platformer
Availability: ROM | Streaming
Website: https://morphcatgames.itch.io/spacegulls
Developer: Morphcat Games
Players: 1-2 (simultaneous co-op)
If Joust (Arcade, 1982) expanded into a full adventure, in a Ducktales-like world, you’d have Spacegulls. This non-scrolling platformer won the 2020/21 NESDev Competition, and can be completed easily in a single sitting. It’s one of only a handful of NES games that support simultaneous co-op, and would sit nicely next to games like Rescue Rangers (NES, 1990). Top notch polish from start to finish!
Witch n’ Wiz (2021)
Puzzle Platformer
Availability: ROM | Physical (currently out of print) | Streaming
Website: https://www.witchnwiz.com/
Developer: Matt Hughson
Players: 1
Witch n’ Wiz was my second NES game. It’s a somewhat traditional “block pushing puzzle game”, not unlike Sokoban (PC, 1982), Adventures of Lolo (NES, 1989), Fire ‘n Ice (NES, 1993), or The Incident (NES, 2015). What I tried to do a little differently than most puzzle games is to have more peaks and valleys in difficulty. Every 10 levels or so, a brand new puzzle mechanic is introduced. In one chapter you might be controlling 2 characters at the same time, and in another chapter flipping gravity on demand. The gameplay mechanics never overlap though, keeping the complexity of puzzles more manageable for the average player. It’s got a great soundtrack by Tui, and colorful art from Alp, Kenneth Fejer, and Zolionline.