From Mario to Zelda: The Nintendo Entertainment System Games Quiz

When the NES first hit the U.S., it came with "Gyromite" and "Duck Hunt." Mario wasn't released until the next year.

Nintendo used gold to make the "Zelda" games look special, but later versions of the games came in standard gray.

Zelda is indeed named after Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.

While difficult, it is possible to beat the original Zelda game without the sword. However, you will need the sword to beat Ganon, the final boss.

Zelda broke the Triforce of Wisdom into many pieces then hid them all over Hyrule to keep them from Ganon. As you play the game, you must collect the pieces to reassemble the Triforce.

Nintendo sold more than 40 million copies of "Super Mario Bros.," which came out in 1985 in Japan and hit U.S. shelves the next year.

Mario must defeat Bowser to beat the game and save Princess Toadstool and the entire Mushroom Kingdom.

Goombas can be defeated with fireballs or a simple stomp on the head. They should not be confused with the decidedly turtle-like Koopas.

The world record for beating the original Mario game — all eight worlds of four stages each — is just shy of five minutes.

You can play as Mario, Luigi, Toad or Princess Toadstool in the second NES Mario incarnation.

Each playable character in the game has a special talent. For Princess Toadstool, it's the ability to float over enemies or obstacles.

Picking up and dropping the POW block destroys every enemy on the screen.

The third Mario game for NES hit shelves in 1988 and went on to sell more than 17 million copies.

In the first seven worlds, Mario must hop aboard an airship and defeat one of the Koopalings. In the final level, he takes on Bowser himself.

The Super Leaf turns Mario into a raccoon, allowing him not only to fly, but also to destroy enemies with his magnificent tail.

The Tanooki Suit allows Mario to turn himself to stone and crush his enemies.

The Koopalings stole magic wands and used them to transform each king into a different animal. Mario must recover the wands and transform them back.

Uncle Scrooge can use his cane to pogo onto enemies and destroy them.

Nintendo released six different "Mega Man" games, which were notoriously difficult to conquer. The first of these came out in 1987.

Samus Aran works to save the planet Zebes in the 1987 game "Metroid."

In "Dr. Mario," players had to line up pills by color — similar to "Tetris" — in order to eliminate viruses.

"Dragon Warrior," known as "Dragon Quest" in Japan, has similarities to the role-playing game "Final Fantasy."

The 1989 NES version of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" allowed gamers to play as any of the four turtles and required them to collect pizza to restore their health after a hit.

After a single hit, the brave Arthur would lose his suit of armor and run around the screen in his underwear.

Simon Belmont takes on Count Dracula, Frankenstein and other monsters in the NES hit "Castlevania."

Teen hero Dave Miller attempts to rescue his girlfriend from the evil Edison family that resides in "Maniac Mansion."

Rash, Pimple and Zits, aka the Battletoads, attempt to defeat the Dark Queen in this NES classic. "Battletoads" also became a very popular internet meme.

Just 17 NES games were available when the system first hit the U.S. market.

While "Excitebike" and "Clu Clu Land" were around from the start, "Mega Man" for NES didn't come out until 1987, two years after the console went on sale.

When an NES game failed to work, it was usually due to a misalignment of the pin connectors. Blowing in the game did nothing to help this issue and may have led to corrosion and mildew that shortened the life of the game.