Probably the best NES platformer without the word 'Mario' in the title.

User Rating: 10 | Marble Madness NES
Marble Madness is the definition of "platformer" in it's purest sense. The game requires a great deal of patience, skill, and expert timng. The object of the game is to race marbles through an isometric labyrinth while also trying to beat the clock. Marble Madness is a pretty short, but it is extremely challenging, and the beautifully simplistic sound and graphics made it a hit. The game can be played solo, or by two players competing against each other. After the first training level the player is given an amount of time to maneuver through five successively harder levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Aerial, Silly and Ultimate. Time from previous levels is carried over to the next, with modest additional awards granted at the start of each one. The cryptic and somewhat eerie message "Everything you know is wrong" appears on the Silly stage due to the fact that the stage goes from lowest point to highest point, which is the exact opposite of all the other levels; and some physics are changed, such as upward ramps making the ball go faster. There are enemies present throughout thelevels, but the hardest part is making it through the levels themselves.