100. Ice Hockey

By Nintendo | Released: 1988

Nintendo had a fairly diverse lineup of sports titles introduced for the NES early on in the system's life cycle, including 8-bit interpretations of soccer, tennis, volleyball and even downhill slalom skiing. None of those games ended up having the lasting appeal and addictiveness of one of its other contemporaries, though – the first-party Nintendo sports sim known simply as Ice Hockey. This game of skating and slap shots was perfectly balanced, simple fun with just the right touch of planning and strategy to keep things interesting match after match. You could choose from three different player body types, and outfit your team with any combination of them; fast but weak Skinny Guys, brawny but slow Fat Guys, or well-balanced, middle-ground Normal Guys. Every Ice Hockey player discovered their own perfect combination of men, and then it was on to the ice. The only game that ended up rivaling this excellent design was Konami's Blades of Steel, but the two were different enough to own and enjoy both (which is why you'll find Blades on this countdown).

Our Fondest Memories

I think I've got the same fond memory for this one as everyone else does: skinny dude, medium dude, and fat dude. Do you need anything else? It's no Blades of Steel (hell EA's NHL09 isn't Blades of Steel), but growing up in Minnesota and playing on a hockey team ensured that this one was in the NES as much as Super Mario 3. Good stuff.

- Mark Bozon, IGN Nintendo Editor