The history of the NES: learn your roots

The new week-long set of features for 1up is a
celebration of the Nintendo Entertainment System, as its 20th birthday was just last week. Today's feature chronicles the history of the console and its rise to power, stripping the game dominance from Atari and creating a cult of personality for all things Mario and Link. The write-up is very thorough, and has a few tidbits that even the most hardcore of gamers might have forgotten
(remember NES-rival Action Max? me neither).

Wednesday's feature will discuss the top 15 games as chosen by its readers, but in the meantime, what are/were some NES games that you could not live without?