What Games Are On The Nes Mini

So you got an NES Classic Mini, or you’re thinking about it. This little plastic box is a nostalgia grenade with an HDMI cable. It comes loaded with 30 games—a lot until you remember your brain still knows the Contra cheat code, and that game isn’t here.

The Superstars You Already Know

Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3 are all here. That’s like getting three different pizzas at one birthday party. One is the classic, one is the weird one with turnips, and one is the one everyone agrees is a masterpiece.

The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link also show up. The first one makes you feel like a genius for burning a random bush. The second one makes you feel like a chump for walking two steps to the right.

Metroid is here, too, ready to make you draw a map on the back of an envelope. Kid Icarus and Kirby’s Adventure round out the Nintendo weirdness. Kirby is the cute one who eats everything, like a toddler at a birthday cake table.

The Arcade Classics That Still Sting

Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr. are all included. These taught a generation that “just one more try” is a dangerous phrase. I once watched a grown man miss a Galaga high score and blame the dog.

Mario Bros. is not Super Mario Bros.; it’s the arcade one where you bump turtles from below. Excitebike lets you build a track and watch your friends flip into oblivion. Ice Climber and Balloon Fight are there to ruin a friendship in under five minutes.

The Sequels That Went Full Weird

Castlevania and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest are both on the list. The first is whip-cracking, stair-climbing agony. The second is a foggy, confusing scavenger hunt where NPCs lie to you for fun.

NES Mini - Alle 30 Spiele des Nintendo Classic Mini (Gameplay) - YouTube

Mega Man 2 is here, which is the correct Mega Man game to include if you only get one. Ninja Gaiden is also here, still harder than assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Double Dragon II: The Revenge and Super C bring the co-op beat-’em-up energy.

The Deep Cuts and Curveballs

Final Fantasy is on the NES Mini, which means you can spend a weekend naming four warriors after your pets. StarTropics is the weird tropical adventure that nobody remembers until they see it. Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream is here instead of Mike Tyson, but the pain is the same.

Tecmo Bowl is the football game that made playground arguments feel like NFL contracts. Dr. Mario is the puzzle game that turns your couch into a waiting room. Bubble Bobble is pure bubble-blowing chaos with a soundtrack that never leaves your head.

Gradius and Ghosts ‘n Goblins are here to remind you that old games were often mean. Ghosts ‘n Goblins is famously so hard that beating it once just unlocks a harder second loop. That’s not a game; that’s a threat.

NES Mini: Everything You Need to Know

What’s Missing From The Tiny Box

No Contra, no Duck Hunt, no Tetris, and no Mega Man 3. The NES Mini has 30 games, but your friend will still act like it stole their childhood. Duck Hunt is missing because the light gun doesn’t work on modern TVs—a sad but fair excuse.

Licensing is the usual villain for missing titles. Contra and Tetris have tangled rights, so they didn’t make the cut. You can still play Super C, which is like ordering a burger when you wanted tacos—good, but not the same.

Why The NES Mini Still Hits

The NES Mini isn’t trying to be a modern console. It’s a curated playlist of gaming history, like a mixtape from a friend with good taste. You get 30 games, save states, and a controller carved from pure 1985 plastic.

Some games hold up beautifully, and some are brutal, cryptic, or both—that’s the charm. It’s a tiny box that lets you relive the days when blowing into a cartridge was a legitimate repair technique.

So if you see one at a yard sale, grab it. Plug it in, pick a game, and prepare to lose an evening. Just don’t blame the dog when you miss the high score.