I have a lot of nostalgic memories tied up in getting old games in my childhood. So I could write a very long post about this, but I'll just go up to the NES.
The very first video game I ever owned was this:
This came out in 1988, and I definitely got in either '88 or '89. It has very limited graphics, like Tiger handhelds for those who have seen those. But, it's legitimately a pretty good game, and does a lot with a little. Nintendo knows how to handle limited hardware. I remember playing this in the back of the family station wagon, which was baby blue, on trips to the grocery store and stuff. I still have the thing somewhere, and it still works too. Image has gotten hard to see though.
A year or two later, we got an NES after over a year of my sister and I begging. I remember we wanted Super Mario Bros 2, but it was sold out - likely from residual effects of the chip shortage of the late 80s. So my dad got Tetris instead. Which was disappointing for me, but great for my sister - she got great at it back then, and still a solid player today.
Tetris was also the ONLY NES game my dad would ever try for more than a few minutes; he hated almost every other game on the system. Which is a bit odd looking back, as my dad wasn't too bad of a gamer in some ways. He could play Pac-Man for hours on one credit, loved StarCastle, and could beat the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text game without hints - which is bonkers to me, as that game is extremely difficult. I feel like my dad would have enjoyed some other NES games if he'd given them more of a chance, like Adventures of Lolo, maybe Zelda, Solar Jetman, or even just the various maze games that felt a bit like Pac-Man. But he never did, and too late now.
Other games I remember getting... I got very sick a year or two after we got the NES, and my parents had to rush home from a vacation in Europe. I was hospitalized for three days, and they presented me a copy of Super Mario 3 while I lay in bed. I was pretty out of it, but I still remember it, vaguely. It was a huge game that everyone wanted.
I got Battletoads from my grandmother, and I remember a guy in second grade overhearing this and being super impressed. He came over to play it, and we became very good friends all the way through high school.
I remember seeing Castlevania III for $20 at Recordtown. This was INCREDIBLY cheap at the time, so cheap it convinced my mom to get it for me. Thinking back, this was probably 1991-1992, so about $40 in today's money. Kind of crazy that that was "ultra cheap". We are spoiled in pricing for games today, if you are at all patient.
Bionic Commando and Contra Force I bought from the mom and pop rental shop that I used to bike to. They sold a lot of games off when new systems came out.
If anyone wants to see, I still have a large retro collection (especially NES stuff). I think I have some photos online somewhere.