With a huge leap in design,
the games we play today owe everything to the generation that revitalized the industry.
Welcome to WatchMojo.com and as part of our series of the best games of all time,
we're counting down the top ten games of the third generation.
For those not in the know, the third generation covers everything from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the SEGA Master System,
as well as arcade and PC games released between 1983 and 1990.
As always, we're sticking to one game per franchise.
Based on the popular cartoon series,
the player takes control of Scrooge McDuck as he travels the world with his trusty pogo cane,
in order to collect five ancient treasures.
Borrowing the successful formula of the Mega Man franchise, Ducktails made a name for itself
as one of the NES's best games
by offering non-linear gameplay, excellent control and presentation, a great sound track and an overall sense of adventure and fun.
This action platformer stars twin dragons Bob and Bub
as they blow bubbles to both defeat their enemies and reach upper levels.
Offering one hundred different stages and multiple endings,
though this game was ported to many systems,
the original arcade game remains the definitive version as its physics were tweaked to perfection.
This jam was addicting, challenging and at the same time, of course, really fun.
Featuring an impressive interconnected world, a memorable soundtrack and fantastic game play that focused on exploration and retrieval of power-ups,
Metroid stands as one of the best games on the NES.
Nintendo proved to be ahead of its time, by introducing one of the first female protagonists, Samus Aran,
as she attempts to stop the space pirates from harvesting metroids, parasitic organisms on the planet, Zebes.
An enhanced version of the original "King's Quest",
"Quest for the Crown" gives us a classic adventure. As the knight Graham, the players tasked to rescue the kingdom of Daventry
by retreating three legendary treasures.
Notable at the time for its epic journey in which you fight all sorts of creatures and solve puzzles,
players could take different routes to go about finding the treasures and saving the kingdom.
Humorous and inventive, The Secret of Monkey Island takes place in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy.
The player takes control of Guybrush Threepwood on his quest to become a pirate
and ends up having to save the governess from the Ghost Pirate LeChuck and his undead crew.
Notable for its witty humor and iconic moments,
"Monkey Island" remains one of the best point-and-click adventures of all time.
Capcom's platforming shooter meshes aspect every video game perfectly.
Focused combat, superb presentation, refined graphics, solid narrative, and of course the music is absolutely fantastic.
Taking on the role of the Blue Bomber, the players set out to defeat the evil Dr. Wiley
as you face off against his robot masters, while acquiring new abilities after each defeat that would ultimately proved to be Wiley's downfall.
Arguably the best game on the SEGA Master System,
"Alex Kidd in Miracle World" rival the Super Mario Brothers long before a curtain hedgehog ever appeared.
As the titular Kidd, you use your fists to battle Jenkin the Great and his henchmen though out seventeen bright, colorful stages.
The vehicular sequences as well as the rock-paper-scissors boss fights were all ahead of their time.
This game came preloaded on some Master Systems,
ensuring that owners of the console never got bored of him.
The game that started one of the greatest franchises in video game history,
The Legend of Zelda effortlessly combines adventure, role-playing, action and puzzle-solving.
Our hero, Link, gathers the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to stop Ganon and his Triforce of Power.
With an epic score and deep gameplay mechanics as well as the previously unheard of ability to save your progress,
the land of Hyrule and its legends would soon become a household mainstay.
Who knew that placing blocks would create a gaming phenomenon?
The Russians apparently, as this USSR-produced blockbuster lit the gaming world on fire.
With gamers matching falling puzzle pieces in order to create lines and get that elusive high score for decades,
Tetris has set itself has a timeless classic with multiple iterations that keep the core gameplay intact.
As such, this is our first worthy contender for the best game of all time.
Before we reveal our number one game for the third generation,
here's a look at some honorable mentions.
Pushing the NES to its limits,
Super Mario Brothers 3 hit the nail on the head in every department.
With eight worlds to explore as well as new power-ups like the Raccoon, Frog and Tanooki suits,
the game has Mario and Luigi face off against the Koopalings and Bowser, in order to, once again, save the Mushroom Kingdom.
While the original Super Mario Brothers will always remain a classic and a blueprint for all video games to follow,
number three is the epitome of the perfect NES game and another game worthy of our all time list.
Disagree with our picks?
Let us know which games from the third generation you would include among your favorites.
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