Little Nemo: The Dream Master (1990). Play online

Summary

Little Nemo: The Dream Master turns the bizarre world of Winsor McCay's comic into a vivid NES platformer. Nemo can befriend a frog, a gorilla, a mole and several other creatures by offering them candy; once fed, each animal bestows a unique ability that’s often required to navigate a stage, turning the scrolling levels into tiny puzzles.

Every stage scatters a hidden quota of golden keys, and the exact number needed isn’t revealed until the player reaches the locked exit. This forces a thorough, left‑to‑right and upward search, while waves of enemies spawn endlessly, making the title notoriously tough—an obstacle course that predates Kirby’s animal‑riding mechanic by a few years.

Critics loved the pastel‑styled graphics, the jaunty soundtrack composed by Junko Tamiya (credited as “Gonzou”), and the frantic sense of challenge. Scores from publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly (up to 9/10) and GamePro (23/25) placed it among the era’s best, and IGN still counts it in the Top 100 NES games despite occasional sprite‑flicker glitches.

Storyline

Little Nemo: The Dream Master begins when the young boy receives a royal invitation to the castle in Slumberland, where the princess is searching for a new playmate. Upon arrival he learns that King Morpheus, the ruler of good dreams, has been kidnapped by the Nightmare King, and Nemo sets off on a wild adventure to rescue him and restore peace. Throughout the surreal dreamscape Nemo can ride on local creatures to cross the roughest terrain, launch candy attacks against scarier foes, and explore a realm where anything can happen. The core quest is to travel through Nightmare Land, defeat the Master of Nightmares, and free Morpheus, the king of good dreams, bringing harmony back to Slumberland.