Thexder (NES / Famicom)

It's always interesting to look back at the early days of Squaresoft when Final Fantasy wasn't even a twinkle in its creators' eyes, and the company was making all sorts of different games.  One of these early works was Thexder on the NES.  Players took control of a robot that could transform into a plane, navigating from one level to the next, blowing up whatever stood in their way.  It was simple fun with a bit of exploration tossed in.

Quartet (Sega Master System)

For some strange reason I found the arcade version of this game intriguing.  I'm not sure why, but I always found myself watching people play it and being fascinated.  Looking back on it, Quartet is a very simple run and gun game with not a lot to it, and yet I would always make time for it at the arcades.  It could have been the four player coop that caught my attention, since the only other game that I had seen doing that was Gauntlet.  When I play the game nowadays, it's mostly for the sake of nostalgia.  It certainly doesn't hold my attention like it once did, but I'll continue to have fond memories of those times in the arcade, and later the Master System, with it.

Journey to Silius (NES / Famicom)

One of the more overlooked gems of the 8-bit era.