The 8-bit era wasn’t particularly well known for it’s horror games. Nintendo had a firm grasp on the market, and had a very family friendly approach when it came to greenlighting releases. This means there aren’t a lot of titles that would pass as being ‘scary’ to be honest. Still, there’s something about the pixelated graphics and simple chiptunes that hits a specific atmosphere exclusive to that generation. Try as they could Nintendo didn’t manage to filter every horror game for the NES, and some are even quite scary. As a child I was caught off guard by several of these, and I’ve since discovered even more. With Halloween fast approaching I decided it would be fun to write about some of these such titles. So without further adieu these are the top 10 scariest NES games. Let’s get started.
#10. – Monster Party
Okay so this one falls more in the realm of parody than full blown horror game. With that said it’s still fairly creepy, and has loads of atmosphere. In Monster Party you play as a baseball bat yielding fellow named Mark. On his way home he discovers that his city has been transformed in the land of the dead. It’s now populated with an army of undead monsters chomping at the bit to eat his guts. As I mentioned earlier Monster Party is absolutely loaded with atmosphere. It’s a side scrolling platform action game where you wander the outside world finding doors leading to various bosses. These consist of classic horror staples like man eating plants, Medusa, a pumpkin headed ghost, a giant spider, and more. I actually found these strange encounters to be the most eerie part of the game.
#9. – Jaws
Many consider the film Jaws to be more of an adventure flick, but for me it was always pure horror. As a kid there was nothing more terrifying than watching Bruce the shark chomp down on helpless swimmers. It’s surprising then that LJN (notorious for creating bad games) released an adaptation for the NES. In Jaws you steer a boat across and overhead map randomly encountering enemies. Standard gameplay has you shooting various sea creatures underwater from a side view perspective, and occasionally the infamous great white shark himself swims onto the battlefield. It is these sequences that I find to be uncomfortable, claustrophobic, and at times disturbing. You feel quite helpless against the finned beast and his presence the first few occasions is terrifying. It’s pretty mild compared to modern horror games, but it’s one of the scariest NES games.
#8. – Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
The mainline Splatterhouse games are surprisingly eerie and disturbing. Wanpaku Graffitti is a parody of those titles as well as classic horror films in general. Unlike the other games in the franchise this is a side scrolling platformer. You still play as Rick, but he has been shrunk down to a chibi form of his former self. You deal with the generic monsters like bats and zombies, but the highlight here is in the boss encounters. One is a vampire that re-creates Michael Jackson’s thriller dance. Then you have a monster that becomes part fly. There’s more as well, and it’s just a load of fun. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti isn’t particularly scary but it oozes atmosphere. It feels like you’re participating in a B-movie from the 80s, and some of these recreations are a bit creepy. Because of this it’s still one of the scariest NES games.
#7. – Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
Castlevania was one of the most popular horror based franchises of the 8-bit era. The games weren’t particularly scary, but the atmosphere was exceptional. Of the trilogy part II is the worst of them, but it’s also the scariest. This is because of the day to night transitions. During the daytime you fight the typical Castlevania foes and interact with characters in the town areas. When the clock changes things to night the world becomes much more sinister. On top of the darker visuals the town areas are now populated by a myriad of monsters. There are no longer any safe zones. If you want to do something in a town you have to wait out the night, and the more difficult enemies make this downright chilling. This feature makes for one of the scariest NES games of all time. It’s the one thing I actually like about Castlevania II.
#6. – Uninvited
Let’s start this one off by going over the boxart. The sneering skeleton on the cover was probably enough to deter any children away from purchasing it. Uninvited is a point and click text based adventure game. It’s not a genre well represented on the NES which is a shame because it’s fairly well suited for it. Uninvited pits you in the role of a man who awakens after a car crash. His sister is gone and has apparently wandered into the nearby mansion. He gives chase, and discovers a series of eerie puzzles that must be solved. The music is seriously on point and generates crazy amounts of atmosphere. Graphics are a bit rudimentary but for me this added to the eeriness. Honestly this is the first game on this list that haunted me after completion.
#5. – A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Wes Craven film made some serious waves and helped shape the entire horror landscape. It was a landmark slasher that made it’s villain Freddy Krueger a household name. A Nightmare on Elm Street was adapted into a video game. I was surprised to learn that it’s held in infamy, because in my opinion it’s not only one of the greatest horror titles on the platform but also one of the scariest NES games of all time. You play as a teenager tasked with exploring Elm Street to find the bones of Freddy Krueger and incinerate them. Problem is you can fall asleep at which point you enter the dream realm and become his prey. It’s a perfect mechanic for a Nightmare on Elm Street game, and Freddy’s presence is downright frightening. Watching the sleep meter dwindle creates a real sense of dread.
#4. – Shadowgate
I rented Shadowgate when I was a kid. That was a big mistake because the music, graphics, and game over screen caused me to turn it off and return the game. Perhaps it’s nostalgia speaking but I still consider this one of the scariest NES games of all time. Shadowgate is a graphic/text adventure like Uninvited, but with more emphasis on horror elements. Each area is a single screen wherein you choose objects in the environment to interact with, use items, etc. One wrong move and it’s game over at which point you’ll see one of the most striking images of Death in any 8-bit title. The unforgiving nature of Shadowgate goes a long way to making this one scary. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; Shadowgate is downright chilling in the best ways.
#3. – Friday the 13th
Like a Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th was an absolutely monumental horror film. Given the R-rated source material it’s surprising then that Nintendo allowed for a video game adaptation of the bloody slasher film. Yet, here we are. Friday the 13th is not considered a good title. It has some very questionable design choices, but the developers did one thing right. This is one of the scariest NES games of all time. You wander across Camp Crystal Lake attempting to rescue children before Jason can get to them. Gameplay is pretty basic and has you wandering a sideview map fighting enemies like zombies, crows and wolves (which doesn’t make a lot of sense). You’ll get random indicators showing where Jason is, and you have to go to the corresponding building to fight him. These encounters are tense, and scary. It’s not good, but it’s plenty spooky.
#2. – Maniac Mansion
Here’s another adventure game port from PC. This one however is on a whole other level, and is easily one of the scariest NES games. Here you play as a group of teenagers who set out to rescue one of their friends from the titular mansion. You can freely switch between the characters and will need to do so because they have to cooperate to solve puzzles. It’s an ingenious design, but the horror elements in particular stand out. I would call this one of the earliest survival horror games because in specific rooms you can be captured by a variety of different monsters. You have to act fast before they grab you because if they do you’re transported to the basement from which you must escape. It doesn’t sound all that scary, but trust me it is. The sense of dread sets in the longer you play.
#1. – Sweet Home
And here we have it; Sweet Home is hands down the scariest game for the NES. It’s clear right from the start why this one was never localized. You play as a group of people exploring the Mamiya Estate whose residents all perished years ago. It’s supposedly haunted, and you learn right away that this isn’t just a rumor. Sweet Home is a turn based RPG with distinct survival horror elements. You can form parties with the characters you have and switch between them on the fly. You wander the mansion collecting items and solving puzzles while fighting any number of morbid beasts. This includes zombies, bats, etc. Some of them are among the bloodiest things you’ll see in any 8-bit game. The story is downright disturbing, and there are even jump scares that come in the form of traps. Sweet Home will stay with you a long time.
