Games have evolved over time, and I do think that often good gameplay, story and fun get lost in the quest for better sound and graphics. But there are some amazing games out even now, depending on your tastes.

Going back, I’d list Contra and Gradius those you just mentioned. Seems to me most people I know who were old enough to have an NES played Contra at some point. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, select, start.

River City Ransom was one of those mostly overlooked but great for re-playability classics. I still need to pick that up for the GBA.

Arcade-wise, going before the Street Fighter 2 revolution, I’d have to bring up Tron. Not Discs of Tron, but Tron. That was one of the arcade machines (along with Yie Argh Kung Fu, Pro-Wrestling and Final Fight) that my friends and I would always watch for.

Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga seem to be THE games that everyone has played at least once. Sure, everyone knows of Super Mario, but rarely could you play that one during happy hour or while you waited at the laundromat. Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man really have that mass appeal and easy interaction so many of today’s games lack. Everyone loves the “easy to pick up, tough to put down” concept of videogaming, even if they’re not aware of it.

I think Tetris might be the only other game with as much, if not more, mass appeal.

Ghouls N’ Ghosts certainly left an impression on me. I feel it has the best level design of any arcade platform game from that era. Tough, but once you knew how to play, you “understood” why you died a horrible death, even if you didn’t like it. “Shinobi” and “Strider” are the other two I think come closest.

Ah, the memories. I tend to agree with your overall sentiment (Madden and Guitar Hero, indeed.)

Star Control 2 is one of my all time favorites, and it’s exactly as you say – if you want just some quick PVP, there’s melee mode where you and a friend control whatever ships you want. Then there’s the RPG / Story mode, with you exploring, building your main ship and fleet, and uncovering a mystery. So much to a game made back before FPS was even really a thing.

Joust. Ah, what a great game. One of the reasons I picked up that Midway collection disc for my XBOX.

Ms. Pac-man. So much of my youth wasted at that arcade game. My dad would take me to his favorite bar often, and this game was essentially my babysitter (and the jukebox.)