Good list, but it’s mistitled. Shouldn’t this be the Top 10 hardest NES games of all time!?
Well, 9 out of 10 isn’t bad. I’d disagree about “Paperboy” being difficult. The NES port is fairly challenging. It IS quite possible to beat it, though because I’ve done it.
I think you left out: Silver Surfer; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; Dragon’s Lair; Top Gun; Fester’s Quest (all of which have been reviewed by the ANgry Video Game Nerd, and HILARIOUSLY I might add!)
some games are missing here…. the masochist Star Wars saga for SNES, sifficult on hard, suicide in the “bonus” jedi difficult. (“Bonus” because it felt more like a punishment than a reward…)
Ok, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is agonizingly stupid, but frankly, I don’t know if its POSSIBLE to get past the rolling barrels level. And where does any of it fit in the lore? GOD only knows why the good doctor can EAT BEES. It really deserves a place on this list.
I seem to remember The Ninja on the Master System being a very difficult game – though I was quite young when I played it, even though dying was frequent and I had to start again it never made me want to smash the game; instead, it made me want to keep on playing until I do it, and although I never completed it, one gets a great feeling of satifaction each time they get to a new level.
That game was most likely my favourite Master System game. Loved it. Most played game as a child. I want it back…
Another game I seem to remember being awfully difficult and more vexing than The Ninja, was Asterix and Obelix for Master System. That was another I was playing as a young child during The Ninja days.
Although, I never really got very annoyed at video games like most old-school gamers did; but this one was a little annoying, and less satisfying. Still a real fun game, though.
I don’t know about Contra for the NES, – I haven’t played it – but Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis/Mega Drive is definitely one of the most difficult games I’ve ever played.
This is deliberate on Konami’s part. A little nitpick everyone may or may not know, “Hard Corps” is synonymous with the word HARDCORE, so as to imply that the game is for ‘hard core gamers’
Good luck in trying to find anyone who will sweat it out with you to reach the end. Most people give up after dying first few times.
Are these really the hardest games you have ever played. was the reviewer 12 yrs old when he wrote this? Speaking as an adult of 35 yrs, and a gamer for 30, non of these games are that challenging and were not that challenging at the time…….
As someone else said, maybe this list should be hardest games on nes. Maybe you should get a PC engine, spanks the arse of Nes and SNES……..Get over your BLATANT Nintendo fanboyism and you might start learning something about video games. As it is my friends and I just come to laugh at your over zealous love of Nintendo.
(Just one of many videogame companies, some companies even make games for adults)
Gamerman your list has most of the same games on it. So if “this list blows” then so does yours.
MARC if you didn’t find Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins challenging then good for you, but I doubt there are many people who have the monumental skills that you must therefore posses, even if you are thirty five. Which by the way i feel I should congratulate you for. I’m not sure why, but seeing as you think being thirty five makes your opinion more valid I guess there must be something about it, so congrats.
Also, if you think nintendo doesn’t make games for adults then you’ve got a thing or too to “learn about video games” yourself. Also perhaps you and your friends should find a pass time that doesn’t require you to be such an ass? just a thought.
O.K. First things first. I beat Bayou Billy!! And where is Alundra(ps1) Only the second hardest game i’ve ever played!! However, you must be on crack for not putting Shin Megami Tensei NOCTURNE(ps2) at number one much less at all on this list!! No codes, and a strategy guide with nearly 400 pages, and it means NOTHING!! This game still can’t be beat!!! And strangely enough it’s still fun!
I’ve got a list idea: how about the top 10 or whatever most painfully addictive games. These were games ridiculously hard and unrewarding, yet we were compelled to hit “continue.”
Good article. I remember playing Double Dragon 3 and even at a young age getting stressed out knowing my parents gave me one rental a weekend and this was my game. You had to have two players and nunchucks to get anywhere near the second level and if you did get to the second level, you might as well walk away then. Contra, Gaiden, Battletoads, all hard as hell.
35 year old guy is just fanboying. I have probably finished every popular game since the 90′s and Battletoads is easily the hardest videogame ever. Maybe he played the Genesis or the japanese NES version, games that were much harder than stuff like Ninja Gaiden Black, but much easier than theoriginal Battletoads. I partially agree with some stuff. Contra was pretty hard, but not hardest games in history material. Battletoads is right on the money though.
BTW, I wanna be the guy is way easier than Battletoads and it is also easier than Ghost’n Goblins. IWBTG impresses new school players only – people that think Ninja Gaiden Black is really tough (it isn’t)
You forgot any bullet-hell style shmup, ie: DoDonPachi, Ikaruga, Mushihime Sama…etc. Plus you forgot Gunstar Heroes, and don’t put the “of All Time” tagline on your articles if the games included are not from all time.
This was a great list until you missed the single most bastardly difficult game ever conceived – the original Castlevania. If that doesn’t make the top 10 most difficult list, then something’s wrong with the list. Great otherwise. Especially Bayou Billy and Ninja Gaiden. Never beat Bayou Billy, but made it to the “French Quarter?” I think. Horrible.
Some games you missed: Ironsword, Section Z, Star Voyager, and Robocop 3. Ironsword is like playing Contra with no code. Star Voyager is annoyingly lame and difficult with an underpowered starship and enemies that kill you faster than you can hit reset. Section Z is a game that requires a full day without an emulator, no saves, and a maze of sections to reach each new area. With 60 sections and a very vulnerable hero, you’ll die quick. Robocop3 just gave you a poorly responsive hero who took up too much of the screen, couldn’t jump and had a suit that attracted bullets. They were all NES or SNES games, but I promise they were harder than any modern equivilant.
Battletoads, while very challenging(to say the least), is nothing compared to the homage the games on this list and more. A game that is not on a console, but a free download for your computer(I suppose that makes it disqualified from the list). I am talking about the ultimate gamer challenge that is “I Wanna be the Guy”! Play that and then tell me Battletoads is harder.
Wow, I can’t believe Papperboy made it in at number 2.
I got my hands on a copy for the NES a few weeks back (no emulation crap here, only the real deal) and finished the game in around 15 attempts after not playing the game for 10 odd years – and I am no Papperboy junkie (just an old cart junkie).
I am not saying the game is not hard but it is certainly not up their with games like Impossible Mission II and Raid 2020 – those two games in particular a absolute nightmares as classic as they may be.
Also I thought I might mention that Papperboy goes all the way to freaking Sunday!!! Dear god when I first got up to the end of Friday my heart was racing thinking I had just beat this darn game but oh no when I saw the words Saturday appear I almost literally crapped myself knowing all to well that this game would end on Sunday.
Also after beating the game all you get is a screen saying “Papperboy retires gracefully” or some crap long those lines.
Well it was still satisfying to complete so now I never have to played it again – a little like Crash Dummies for the SMS, I guess.
– Jono
P.S
If anyone has any questions or comments regarding the above, feel free to drop me a message on finger_freak@hotmail.com
I don’t think Battletoads can be considered #1. There are games on this list that I could never beat without cheating, but this is not one of them. Similar to Contra, there is a way to rack up lots of extra guys, but this isn’t a cheat – it is part of the game. The game is all about learning the patterns. Once you know the pattern, there are few sections that require a high level of agility. The wave 3 scooter stage is pretty brutal. I will say that it is next to impossible to get past that in 2 player mode.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
In the second wave, if you keeping hitting the birds and other enemies, you can juggle the enemies to rack up extra guys. It takes some practice, but it is not terribly difficult to learn this technique. With these extra “toads”, you are given a lot more chances to get through later sections.
Dude, Contra certainly does not require the code to be beaten. I can easily beat it with the base number of lives that you are given. All you have to do is play it a good amount of times and you come to know all the enemy patterns. To say that you can’t get to level 3 without the code is ridiculous. Anyone who can’t do that is pretty pathetic.
Paperboy is #2? I used to play that game like crazy on the C64 and distinctly remember reaching Sunday several times. Once you memorized wear all the obstacles were, it wasn’t hard if you took it slow. My brothers never did make it past Wednesday or Thursday though.
Great pick on no. 1. Battletoads was definitely hard. Great call on Double Dragon too. But I disagree on Contra. I can finish that game without using a cheat and not die once back then. Of course it took some practice but I did it.
And yeah, why are all the games here in NES? I think Super R-Type should be here too.
I was shocked to see Double Dragon 3 on this list. If you had DD2 experience, you shouldn’t have trouble starting this game. The only hard parts are at the end of the 3rd level and the end boss who had an array of magic attacks and lot’s of health. After playing DD2 and DD3 i picked up DD1 and i personally find that the hardest of them all.
yeah this is an ok list. ninja gaiden is a good addition especally. im only 18 and ive played most of these at one time or another. paperboy particularly had alot of time into it but i only ever reached Friday (i was so if i was doing that at 8 i can prolly do sunday now. i never beat ninja gaiden i got to the second to last level once and i just got fed up with it. ghost’s and goblins i got to the damn 3rd to last boss i think or somthing like that, tried for about 6 hours to egt past that section, never did and i havent tried again sience this was 2 years ago. and i actually beat contra when i was 8 without the cheat code i was good at memorising that game but i put countless hours in.
I however have one game that should be an addition to this. ninja tirtles for the NES OMFG this game was the most frustratingly hard game i have ever played just geting past that damn part where you need to defuse the damn at the end of the first level area took me almost a year to egt past, and then i cant even figure out what to do in the next section so out of frustration i simply gave up and put that game down forever I want to punch whoever made that game right in the crotch for taking those precious hours away from me with almost no reward.
otherwise though this is a pretty good list except it also dosent have the original donkey Kong
well this seems like you made a list for hardest nes games. Yes battletoads was pretty damn hard to beat. However contra wasnt that hard. And double dragon 3 is pretty easy (especially the boss fights). However good list.
final fantasy 3 was by far the hardest game i ever played. you guys cant sit there and tell me u beat it without a walkthrough. mike tyson is too easy. thats embarrasing
good call on ninja gaiden…that bastard game took part in wasting my young fruitful life…
Good list, but it’s mistitled. Shouldn’t this be the Top 10 hardest NES games of all time!?
Well, 9 out of 10 isn’t bad. I’d disagree about “Paperboy” being difficult. The NES port is fairly challenging. It IS quite possible to beat it, though because I’ve done it.
I think you left out: Silver Surfer; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; Dragon’s Lair; Top Gun; Fester’s Quest (all of which have been reviewed by the ANgry Video Game Nerd, and HILARIOUSLY I might add!)
some games are missing here…. the masochist Star Wars saga for SNES, sifficult on hard, suicide in the “bonus” jedi difficult. (“Bonus” because it felt more like a punishment than a reward…)
Ok, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is agonizingly stupid, but frankly, I don’t know if its POSSIBLE to get past the rolling barrels level. And where does any of it fit in the lore? GOD only knows why the good doctor can EAT BEES. It really deserves a place on this list.
I seem to remember The Ninja on the Master System being a very difficult game – though I was quite young when I played it, even though dying was frequent and I had to start again it never made me want to smash the game; instead, it made me want to keep on playing until I do it, and although I never completed it, one gets a great feeling of satifaction each time they get to a new level.
That game was most likely my favourite Master System game. Loved it. Most played game as a child. I want it back…
Another game I seem to remember being awfully difficult and more vexing than The Ninja, was Asterix and Obelix for Master System. That was another I was playing as a young child during The Ninja days.
Although, I never really got very annoyed at video games like most old-school gamers did; but this one was a little annoying, and less satisfying. Still a real fun game, though.
Ikaruga. Granite hard.
Ghost and Goblins was one of my all time favorites, it was difficult to beat but I did it.
contra is not hard, i can beat the thing in 20 minutes. and how the hell do they not mention Fester’s Quest, Bubble Bobble or Wizards and warriors.
Contra was hard as fuck without the code!
do you know anything?
I don’t know about Contra for the NES, – I haven’t played it – but Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis/Mega Drive is definitely one of the most difficult games I’ve ever played.
This is deliberate on Konami’s part. A little nitpick everyone may or may not know, “Hard Corps” is synonymous with the word HARDCORE, so as to imply that the game is for ‘hard core gamers’
Good luck in trying to find anyone who will sweat it out with you to reach the end. Most people give up after dying first few times.
Sub-Terrania on the Mega Drive / Genesis was hard as a rock
def battletoads was hard, but it was awesome
Wtf?
What kind of pussy are you?
Are these really the hardest games you have ever played. was the reviewer 12 yrs old when he wrote this? Speaking as an adult of 35 yrs, and a gamer for 30, non of these games are that challenging and were not that challenging at the time…….
As someone else said, maybe this list should be hardest games on nes. Maybe you should get a PC engine, spanks the arse of Nes and SNES……..Get over your BLATANT Nintendo fanboyism and you might start learning something about video games. As it is my friends and I just come to laugh at your over zealous love of Nintendo.
(Just one of many videogame companies, some companies even make games for adults)
This list blows, and should have been labeled hardest nes games.
And here’s a better list of hardest nes games
http://flamingbaby.com/gaming/top-10/20-most-difficult-nes-games.html
Gamerman your list has most of the same games on it. So if “this list blows” then so does yours.
MARC if you didn’t find Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins challenging then good for you, but I doubt there are many people who have the monumental skills that you must therefore posses, even if you are thirty five. Which by the way i feel I should congratulate you for. I’m not sure why, but seeing as you think being thirty five makes your opinion more valid I guess there must be something about it, so congrats.
Also, if you think nintendo doesn’t make games for adults then you’ve got a thing or too to “learn about video games” yourself. Also perhaps you and your friends should find a pass time that doesn’t require you to be such an ass? just a thought.
Great list! You called it…I was the guy hitting my Battletoad partner from behind, only holding us back..
Have you ever played Star Wars on the NES? that game is HARD! Sandpeople just run over you if you aren’t ready…
Yeah Star Wars was an epic game.
I can (well, could) beat Blaster Master in about 2.5 hours, all the way through. I played that game till my thumbnails bled.
Good call on Battletoads. Damned hard game with the jetski level, if I remember correctly.
O.K. First things first. I beat Bayou Billy!! And where is Alundra(ps1) Only the second hardest game i’ve ever played!! However, you must be on crack for not putting Shin Megami Tensei NOCTURNE(ps2) at number one much less at all on this list!! No codes, and a strategy guide with nearly 400 pages, and it means NOTHING!! This game still can’t be beat!!! And strangely enough it’s still fun!
I’ve got a list idea: how about the top 10 or whatever most painfully addictive games. These were games ridiculously hard and unrewarding, yet we were compelled to hit “continue.”
shinobi for the sega master system was frustratingly difficult.
Hmm interesting. I’m suprised that Silver Surfer isn’t on there.
Good article. I remember playing Double Dragon 3 and even at a young age getting stressed out knowing my parents gave me one rental a weekend and this was my game. You had to have two players and nunchucks to get anywhere near the second level and if you did get to the second level, you might as well walk away then. Contra, Gaiden, Battletoads, all hard as hell.
I want to be that guy 999999 times harder them those games http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/
35 year old guy is just fanboying. I have probably finished every popular game since the 90′s and Battletoads is easily the hardest videogame ever. Maybe he played the Genesis or the japanese NES version, games that were much harder than stuff like Ninja Gaiden Black, but much easier than theoriginal Battletoads. I partially agree with some stuff. Contra was pretty hard, but not hardest games in history material. Battletoads is right on the money though.
BTW, I wanna be the guy is way easier than Battletoads and it is also easier than Ghost’n Goblins. IWBTG impresses new school players only – people that think Ninja Gaiden Black is really tough (it isn’t)
You forgot any bullet-hell style shmup, ie: DoDonPachi, Ikaruga, Mushihime Sama…etc. Plus you forgot Gunstar Heroes, and don’t put the “of All Time” tagline on your articles if the games included are not from all time.
This was a great list until you missed the single most bastardly difficult game ever conceived – the original Castlevania. If that doesn’t make the top 10 most difficult list, then something’s wrong with the list. Great otherwise. Especially Bayou Billy and Ninja Gaiden. Never beat Bayou Billy, but made it to the “French Quarter?” I think. Horrible.
So, a NES list of hard games without Bucky O’Hare…
I though you knew about NES games lol.
The one game I have never finished without any cheats was Walker
I Wanna be the Guy? Should have been number 1.
Some games you missed: Ironsword, Section Z, Star Voyager, and Robocop 3. Ironsword is like playing Contra with no code. Star Voyager is annoyingly lame and difficult with an underpowered starship and enemies that kill you faster than you can hit reset. Section Z is a game that requires a full day without an emulator, no saves, and a maze of sections to reach each new area. With 60 sections and a very vulnerable hero, you’ll die quick. Robocop3 just gave you a poorly responsive hero who took up too much of the screen, couldn’t jump and had a suit that attracted bullets. They were all NES or SNES games, but I promise they were harder than any modern equivilant.
I am playing Ninja gaiden 2 right now and I can beat 3 damn bosses after completing the horrible level 7-2! 3 bosses!
Ninja gaiden 2 is by far the easiest Ninja Gaiden for the NES. The other two blow the roof off of difficulty.
Battletoads, while very challenging(to say the least), is nothing compared to the homage the games on this list and more. A game that is not on a console, but a free download for your computer(I suppose that makes it disqualified from the list). I am talking about the ultimate gamer challenge that is “I Wanna be the Guy”! Play that and then tell me Battletoads is harder.
Solomon’s key
that’s all I’m sayin
Wow, I can’t believe Papperboy made it in at number 2.
I got my hands on a copy for the NES a few weeks back (no emulation crap here, only the real deal) and finished the game in around 15 attempts after not playing the game for 10 odd years – and I am no Papperboy junkie (just an old cart junkie).
I am not saying the game is not hard but it is certainly not up their with games like Impossible Mission II and Raid 2020 – those two games in particular a absolute nightmares as classic as they may be.
Also I thought I might mention that Papperboy goes all the way to freaking Sunday!!! Dear god when I first got up to the end of Friday my heart was racing thinking I had just beat this darn game but oh no when I saw the words Saturday appear I almost literally crapped myself knowing all to well that this game would end on Sunday.
Also after beating the game all you get is a screen saying “Papperboy retires gracefully” or some crap long those lines.
Well it was still satisfying to complete so now I never have to played it again – a little like Crash Dummies for the SMS, I guess.
– Jono
P.S
If anyone has any questions or comments regarding the above, feel free to drop me a message on finger_freak@hotmail.com
I don’t think Battletoads can be considered #1. There are games on this list that I could never beat without cheating, but this is not one of them. Similar to Contra, there is a way to rack up lots of extra guys, but this isn’t a cheat – it is part of the game. The game is all about learning the patterns. Once you know the pattern, there are few sections that require a high level of agility. The wave 3 scooter stage is pretty brutal. I will say that it is next to impossible to get past that in 2 player mode.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
In the second wave, if you keeping hitting the birds and other enemies, you can juggle the enemies to rack up extra guys. It takes some practice, but it is not terribly difficult to learn this technique. With these extra “toads”, you are given a lot more chances to get through later sections.
Dude, Contra certainly does not require the code to be beaten. I can easily beat it with the base number of lives that you are given. All you have to do is play it a good amount of times and you come to know all the enemy patterns. To say that you can’t get to level 3 without the code is ridiculous. Anyone who can’t do that is pretty pathetic.
The hardest game of all time is Smash TV for NES.
And I agree with Matt, Contra is easy.
Paperboy is #2? I used to play that game like crazy on the C64 and distinctly remember reaching Sunday several times. Once you memorized wear all the obstacles were, it wasn’t hard if you took it slow. My brothers never did make it past Wednesday or Thursday though.
What about Kingdom Hearts 2?
Great pick on no. 1. Battletoads was definitely hard. Great call on Double Dragon too. But I disagree on Contra. I can finish that game without using a cheat and not die once back then. Of course it took some practice but I did it.
And yeah, why are all the games here in NES? I think Super R-Type should be here too.
I was shocked to see Double Dragon 3 on this list. If you had DD2 experience, you shouldn’t have trouble starting this game. The only hard parts are at the end of the 3rd level and the end boss who had an array of magic attacks and lot’s of health. After playing DD2 and DD3 i picked up DD1 and i personally find that the hardest of them all.
yeah this is an ok list. ninja gaiden is a good addition especally. im only 18 and ive played most of these at one time or another. paperboy particularly had alot of time into it but i only ever reached Friday (i was
so if i was doing that at 8 i can prolly do sunday now. i never beat ninja gaiden i got to the second to last level once and i just got fed up with it. ghost’s and goblins i got to the damn 3rd to last boss i think or somthing like that, tried for about 6 hours to egt past that section, never did and i havent tried again sience this was 2 years ago. and i actually beat contra when i was 8 without the cheat code i was good at memorising that game but i put countless hours in.
I however have one game that should be an addition to this. ninja tirtles for the NES OMFG this game was the most frustratingly hard game i have ever played just geting past that damn part where you need to defuse the damn at the end of the first level area took me almost a year to egt past, and then i cant even figure out what to do in the next section so out of frustration i simply gave up and put that game down forever I want to punch whoever made that game right in the crotch for taking those precious hours away from me with almost no reward.
otherwise though this is a pretty good list except it also dosent have the original donkey Kong
am I the only one that found the code made contra harder?
well this seems like you made a list for hardest nes games. Yes battletoads was pretty damn hard to beat. However contra wasnt that hard. And double dragon 3 is pretty easy (especially the boss fights). However good list.
final fantasy 3 was by far the hardest game i ever played. you guys cant sit there and tell me u beat it without a walkthrough. mike tyson is too easy. thats embarrasing