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Are there any NES/Famicom games that are easier than Mario? Help me pick out some games my son can play.

Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,396
My son (3) loves Super Mario Bros. but he only has the skill to get through 1-1 if he's lucky.
Still, he enjoys it, and I try to reduce the frustration of losing by laughing it off or saying how well he did.

I have a large collection of loose carts for famicom and thought it would be easy to pick out some fun games that are just about as simple or even easier to play than Mario.
But in browsing my collection, I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with anything. Most games, as many of us know, are out to destroy you, and even ones that are simple and fun often end your turn in a single hit or quickly escalate into a situation where you're doing difficult jumps.

It's been about over a decade since I've actually sat down and played a ton of Nintendo, so only the classics or my favorites stay in my head, but there has to be more out there.It's an awful big collection full of shit games but plenty of good ones I'm sure, and plenty I'm not familiar with at all.

Something like Kungfu would be great if you could take more than a few hits.
I think Kirby is close to hitting the mark, but the controls and mechanics might be a little complicated yet for my son.


Please spare me the 'why are you making your son play old games' spiel. The fact is I have a ton of these games, they may as well be enjoyed, and what's good here is just as fun as it was 30 years ago, and like I said, he loves playing.


Any ideas?? Much appreciated!


edit: Sorry, not news, not sure how to change this
 

Deleted member 31199

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You need something you can play with him perhaps. This actually might sound crazy but perhaps Tetris might be something you want to try. Hit down buddy, oh move that over there, move this one over here, good job kid.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
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Oct 26, 2017
59,940
Just noticed this was tagged as a News thread. Wut lol
 

Frunkalicious

Member
Oct 28, 2017
287
As someone in the same boat, starting with NES games is a great idea since they are boring enough to not make ya kid stop doing other things. And I think the difficulty is part of it.

As you say, most games are way too hard but just do what every kid did; play the first level of a bunch of games. Mega Man titles are great since you get to choose the stage.

Legend of Zelda is a good choice since its open world. Gauntlet II is pretty forgiving. Shadow of the Ninja (Famicom - Yami no Shigotonin Kage) is a easy Ninja Gaiden-like.

And I might add that Super Mario Bros 3 starts of eaiser than the original.
 
bionic77

bionic77

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,888
PunchOut is one of the easier games for maybe the first 2 fights.

Honestly 3D games from PS2 onwards are just so much better for young children to get into unless your child is very patient. If they are patient I knew 3 year olds that could play NES games.
 
Wood Man

Wood Man

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,449
One of the first games I beat was Chip n Dale for NES. It took some practice but me and my brother were eventually able to beat it every time we picked it up.

Kirby is a great choice because thats basically why it was made. A game for first time gamers.
 
EggmaniMN

EggmaniMN

Banned
May 17, 2020
3,465
Felix the Cat
Rescue Rangers 1 and 2
Panic Restaurant
Pizza Pop
Little Mermaid
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Tiny Toon Adventures maybe?
Kirby's Adventure
 
joffocakes

joffocakes

Member
Nov 15, 2017
1,374
Ishida said:
Huh! I honestly don't think it's that hard. It even has an Easy Mode.

Maybe I'm just super used to it. But I firmly believe that any level after 4 in Super Mario Bros. is harder than Duck Tales.
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Yeah the first time me and a friend played through Duck Tales as kids we didn't even lose a life. This was the PAL version though, which I've heard was even easier due to some weird bugs.

Kirby's Adventure is definitely very easy and fun, though.
 

skaertus

Member
Aug 16, 2020
57
I think you should take a look at Nintendo titles, and also on Disney-themed games. Those games are usually family-friendly, were made under strict quality control rules, and are not very difficult.

I would recommend Duck Tales and Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, both of which are great. Chip n' Dale's two-player mode may be useful, as you may help your son through some more difficult challenges. Super Mario Bros. 3 probably has better controls than Super Mario Bros., you should try it. You may also try Rockin' Kats.

One option would be TMNT 2 and 3. They are beat-em-ups, but they have very easy controls and are family-friendly (you basically beat up robots and not real people). There is also a two-player mode which may be helpful. Stay away from TMNT 1, which is very hard.
 
P-Tux7

P-Tux7

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Mar 11, 2019
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Don't forget explicitly educational games - Ernie's Magic Shapes, Big Bird's Hide and Speak, Sesame Street Countdown
 
Costa

Costa

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Oct 25, 2017
533
Canada
I echo the recommendations for Capcom-Disney games (Duck Tales, Chip n' Dale, etc). Fun and real easy to grasp.

Same for Kirby's Adventure! That game was purposefully made to be really accessible.

If your son really likes Mario, Super Mario Bros. 3 might be a better alternative. It's much easier to get into and thanks to secrets like the whistle, much more easily able to get back to the levels you were previously on.

Mega Man games can be considered difficult but if you have access to Mega Man 5 or 6, those are the easiest in the series and the level select means your son can try out different levels until he succeeds. Most of the games have a password system too so he can save his progress or experiment with robot master weapons.
 
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Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,396
Thanks guys.

We tried Chip and Dale, but I think he's still coming to terms with using the controller, so even chip and dale is too difficult or not as engaging in how the controls work, or something. This probably will be one of the first we come back to when I see he's ready.

Somehow Mario is the only thing that's really grabbed him, though we've only tried a few games. He has beat the first level on his own, but he just can't do the jumps unless they're reasonably short and one at a time as in the first level. Also more than one or two enemies at a time is tricky. He can move and hit question mark boxes, get coins, etc. Even jump up to a higher platform, but he needs time to do it. Also, sometimes he just likes to run into the enemies and pause it when Mario 'gets bit' as I say, haha.

Yes, I think we should try some of those educational games. Also, if there are any other games where you can just move something around and collect things with virtually no penalty or punishment, that would be perfect.
 

Chakoo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,836
Toronto, Canada
246802-mario-is-missing-nes-front-cover.png


Not a good game but I liked it as a kid and it had mario in it.

Probably a better answer is skip a head to snes. I had a lot of success with my nephews when they were under 3 playing things like Mario Kart.
 

Kurekure Takora

Member
Oct 25, 2017
733
Mario 2 was the first game I beat, but I was about 6. Asking about NES games that a 3 year old can beat is a bit of a contradiction. How about getting him Yoshi's Story on the N64?



A few years back I did beat Wai Wai World 2. It was pretty easy, short and heavily based on Mario 3. Plus all the golden-era Konami fanservice would be great for kids of today to experience.
 

mclem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,433
I seem to remember finding the NES version of Hook easy enough as a kid, but I had already had a basic grounding in games by that point.

Felix The Cat and one of the Bugs Bunny games (I *think* Birthday Blowout) is certainly on the more accessible side as well.

It's not NES, unfortunately, but the Game Boy's Trip World is possibly the game that feels like it fits the bill of what you want the best, with mostly-benign enemies.
 
Rydeen

Rydeen

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Oct 25, 2017
1,498
Seattle, WA.
I just saw your link to this thread in the NES thread, but the Wagan Land games by Namco on the Famicom are very simple platformers aimed at very young children, there's three of them. Unfortunately there's simple quizzes in Japanese at the end of most stages, but those can easily be bypassed with a walkthrough.
 

Deleted member 34949

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Ishida said:
Duck Tales.

Short, easy and super fun.

The Little Mermaid also fits the above description.
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Came to recommend these two games specifically. The Little Mermaid is a fun easy little romp with a neat OST and (deceptively fun to score attack/speedrun)

Little Mermaid is stupid cheap too, at least the last time I checked.
 
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Polioliolio

Polioliolio

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Nov 6, 2017
5,396
We tried a few more, Little Mermaid, Bubble Bobble, Chip and Dale.

Chip and Dale still asks you to respond more quickly to threats than Mario, like when an enemy is sliding back and forth or appears very suddenly, so for my son right now, it's not quite simple enough. Nintendo really got it right with Mario. So easy to grasp.
Little Mermaid is good, but it plays so much different from Mario my son didn't warm up to it quickly.

Bubble Bobble is close too. I'm sure in a year his skill level will have increased enough to be playing all the recommended games.
But we've been playing a bit of Mario 3 here and there. Super Mario Bros is still his favorite :p

But Disney's Magic Kingdom? Have you played that recently? It's not very forgiving.


If anyone knows of a Super Mario Bros hack that isn't a big mess like 99% of them are and instead is an easier experience, I'd like to check it out.
I saw 'super easy bros' and that sounded good, but you can immediately see how what it claims to be isn't true, with low to the ground item placement that wouldn't let you escape when a goomba comes by. I'd like to see a version with shorter jumps, fewer enemies, more coins and easier to reach platforms, just so my son could exercise his skills without threats.
 
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Polioliolio

Polioliolio

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Nov 6, 2017
5,396
onpoint said:
Has nobody suggested Mario 2? I think that might fit the bill.


No lol no no no

This is not an easy game
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Haha right, I thought that Bugs Bunny recommendation seemed odd. I remember it being very challenging.

The problem with Mario 2 is, its actually a lot harder to play than Super Mario Bros.. The jump is less floaty (unless you're luigi, and it's too floatly), so it's stricter on jumping on enemies, there are more mechanics to grasp, a lot of the jumps are more difficult (the first stage for example, climbing up the vines). We play it together sometimes, but he can't really do it by himself.

We've been playing more Super Mario Bros 3 lately, he likes it a lot, but this game is not easier than Super Mario Bros. Stage 2 right away has an endless stream of goombas while you're supposed to jump on a single block and off of that to get over the pipe.


He's still just 3 and a half, so I don't know why he wouldn't become skilled enough to b-dash and whatnot in the future (unless he takes after his mother). Right now he just doesn't act fast enough to take on most of the game. I think we'll get there. Right now the basics still need to be simple. I wish there were more levels where you could just jump around and get coins and question boxes without almost any threat at all. I feel like I'm going to have to make a rom hack. There are apparently some simple to use tools specifically for SMB.
 
Man God

Man God

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Oct 25, 2017
38,293
Little Mermaid is easy, as are both Chip and Dale games.

Guerrilla War is 2 player co-op, has infinite continues, and is one of the first games I beat.

EDIT: read the thread a bit more carefully. I made a ton of super easy levels for my nephews when they were 3 and 2 respectively in Super Mario Maker, so if you had a Wii U or Switch lying around that's always an option.
 
JT60564

JT60564

Member
Oct 19, 2020
862
I will echo Kirbys Adventure, it's cute and lot of fun without that classic NES difficulty. Also Kirby can float!

I remember Monster in my Pocket being pretty easy but I haven't gone back to it recently.

McKids is a Mario clone and is supposedly pretty easy though I've never played it myself.
 
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Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,396
Okay everyone, I actually found the perfect game for my 3 year old son and I wanted to check back in and let any parents out there know about it. I started playing it myself while he watched, but he was interested and I realized it was perfect for him, though it isn't where I was initially looking..

Wario Land 2, and we're playing on Super Gameboy.

iu


This game is perfect. You can't lose, for one thing. There's no timer, there's issue with getting hit and losing.
Though there are still some challenging stages that he can't do alone, he can actually finish many of the levels himself, and the best part is he's having a lot of fun. He loves ramming into the walls and looking for coin stashes.

Interestingly, after we played Wario 2 for a few weeks, I've noticed his Super Mario Bros. skills had significantly increased.

Now I'm thinking about looking into more Gameboy games. We tried Wario Land 1 and Super Mario Land 2, but we keep coming back to this one.
I hope we can find more games like Wario Land 2, because this is truly the perfect game to teach a kid to play videogames, spare a few tricky levels and bosses here and there.




JT60564 said:
I will echo Kirbys Adventure, it's cute and lot of fun without that classic NES difficulty. Also Kirby can float!

I remember Monster in my Pocket being pretty easy but I haven't gone back to it recently.

McKids is a Mario clone and is supposedly pretty easy though I've never played it myself.
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Mckids is an asshole of a game. Do not let your kids play unless you're looking to teach them to put up with some shit.
 
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