Metroid

Metroid is one of the greatest games in NES history and laid the foundations of the whole metroidvania genre. It was released in 1987.

You control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she explores the planet Zebes in search of dangerous creatures called Metroids, captured by the Space Pirates under the command of Mother Brain.

Zebes is a huge interconnected maze. As you explore, you find new abilities such as the Morph Ball, bombs, missiles and the high jump boots, which open up paths that were closed before. Defeat the bosses Kraid and Ridley and destroy Mother Brain. The game also hid a famous surprise: at the end it reveals that Samus is a woman.