The ten best-looking covers: NES

10. Kid Icarus

One of my absolute favourite NES games also had one of my all-time favourite covers, a fact further enhanced by the fact that it was one of only two "silver games" (the other being Metroid) released during the early part of the NES generation. It's playful, stylish, and immediately makes you want to check out what sort of game it is. In other words, Pit's adventure began before you'd even inserted the cartridge into the console (and taken it out to blow on it again, and tried once more).

9. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Both The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link had really smart and stylish covers, where the luxurious gold colour and the fact that you could glimpse a gold cartridge through a hole in the front contributed significantly to the overall look. Whilst many like the shield motif of the first game, I've always thought that the sequel's super-cool sword stood out more, and the contrasting blue colour in the title gives it a slightly cooler feel that perfectly accompanies what is perhaps Link's toughest adventure to date.

8. Tetris

While digital is now prevalent, in the past age of physical media, it was important to have really good covers so that the rather primitive pixels would feel more luxurious than they were. In a pure puzzle game, this was particularly important, as it wasn't something children wanted (since gaming was essentially a children's hobby during that era). Fortunately, Tetris was included with the Game Boy at launch, which meant it found its audience, and thanks to a stunning NES cover, it also became a hit on the NES. It was a cover so stylish it would look right at home as a painting in any art museum.

7. Super Mario Bros.

It's chaotic and action-packed, and crammed with so many delightful details that you just can't help but linger on Mario's first adventure. The design of the Mushroom Kingdom hadn't quite taken shape yet, so Bowser is barely recognisable and the only ones you can really spot are Mario himself and a poor Goomba. However, this gives the cover a connoisseur's charm that's hard to resist, especially as this is where it all really began.

6. Life Force: Salamander

If you check out our article on Mega Drive covers, it's packed with metallic, edgy covers that just scream hard rock. That was the design of the time, and it's still absolutely stunning. We were already seeing signs of this during the NES era, and the best example comes from the utterly superb, yet somewhat forgotten, Life Force: Salamander. One of the NES era's edgiest, most fun, and best-sounding games, complete with perhaps the best co-op of the generation... and also one of the best-looking covers.

5. Ice Climber

For many, this was their first encounter with the NES. Ice Climber came bundled with the console and offered an absolutely delightful puzzle-platformer, which was at its very best with a Player 2, whether you played with or against each other. Few front-cover illustrations have ever more clearly depicted what lies hidden amongst all the ones and zeros on the cartridges than this typically quirky Japanese game cover.

4. Little Nemo: The Dream Master

This is a cover that doesn't really stand out from the crowd until you look at it more closely. It's an illustration worthy of the era's finest Disney posters, truly exuding the classic 80s children's book vibe with its cosy colour palette and overall fairy-tale feel. The more you look, the more puzzled you become about what the pyjama-clad Nemo (whose adventures are based on the film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland) is actually up to with flying alligators, a walking bed, an angry tree, and punk snails, an image that would fit perfectly in any cosy child's bedroom.

3. Mega Man

Mega Man received three wildly different covers when it launched around the world: A somewhat run-of-the-mill Japanese one with manga motifs, an absolutely magically ugly American one, and a rock-solid European one. It looks dystopian and sinister, and at least made me feel that Mega Man was a matter of life and death, even though I was playing as a rather cute robot boy just a few pixels tall.

2. Castlevania

A cover where absolutely every aspect fits perfectly. Dracula looks utterly evil, Simon Belmont invites action with a whip raised high, and before him we find an epic fantasy landscape and the ominous Castle, which would go on to become a cult classic, and form the basis for countless sequels and even anime. Of course, we didn't know that back then, but anyone who saw the cover realised straight away that it was something truly special, and even today it remains fabulously beautiful.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

After the first two Super Mario games had covers featuring more action, Nintendo opted for something a bit more classy for the third instalment. Mario could fly for the first time, and this dominated the cover, complete with a striking yellow/orange background that really made the game shelves pop when it was released. The result was a timeless cover which, in a rather cluttered era, stood out as bold and memorable, whilst still conveying both joy and energy. Minimalism before it became a thing, quite simply, and the absolute best cover of its generation.