Top Gun on NES: The Good, The Bad, and The 'How Did I Even Crash?!'

June 23, 2025

Ah, Top Gun on the NES. A game that simultaneously made us feel like Maverick and also like a toddler smashing a flight stick into a wall. If you grew up in the late '80s or early '90s, chances are you either loved this game or threw your controller at the TV in frustration. Or both. Probably both.

NES

"I Feel the Need… For Speed (And Also Pain)"

Let’s start with the good: Top Gun nailed the vibes. The pixelated F-14s, the MIDI rendition of Danger Zone, the adrenaline-pumping dogfights—it all screamed "I AM A COOL PILOT" until, well… you crashed. And you will crash. A lot.

The game’s core loop is simple:

Take off (already a challenge).
Shoot down enemy planes (fun!).
Refuel mid-air (oh god why).
Land (HAHAHA NO).

The Infamous Landing Sequence: A Rite of Passage

If you’ve played Top Gun, you know. You know. Landing the plane is the Dark Souls of NES mechanics. The game gives you zero margin for error—come in too fast? Crash. Too slow? Crash. Sneeze? Believe it or not, crash.

(Fan-made "How to Land in Top Gun" tutorial—yes, this exists.)

The refueling mini-game is equally brutal, requiring pixel-perfect alignment with a tanker plane that seems to actively loathe you. It’s like trying to thread a needle while riding a roller coaster.

"But Wait, There’s More Suffering!"

Enemy AI? More like "enemy aimbot." Enemy planes love to kamikaze into you, and missiles home in like they’ve got a personal vendetta.
Fuel Management: Forget it. You’ll either run out mid-mission or panic-refuel and explode.
Lives System: You get three continues. That’s it. No saves. No passwords. Just pain.

Why Do We Love It, Then?

Because Top Gun is the epitome of "hard but fair"—okay, maybe not fair, but there’s a weird satisfaction in finally nailing that landing after 50 attempts. It’s a game that rewards persistence, even if that persistence comes with a side of controller-shaped holes in your drywall.

Final Verdict: Should You Play It in 2025?

✅ Play if:

You love retro challenges.
You enjoy games that make you yell "BULLSHT!"* at the screen.
You want to experience a true '80s arcade-style flight sim.

❌ Skip if:

You value your sanity.
You prefer games where "fun" doesn’t mean "repeated failure."

Bottom line: Top Gun on NES is a relic of a bygone era—flawed, frustrating, but undeniably iconic. If you can conquer it, you earn the right to brag. Just… maybe keep a stress ball handy.

(Pro tip: Emulators with save states are your friend. No shame.) �✈️💥