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What do you think are the hardest NES games? and what made them so difficult?

Go!

Battletoads (NES)
Silver Surfer (NES)

why? count how many times you will die in both games.

Ninja Gaiden games are reaal hard!

I think you need to seperate the games that are hard because they were meant to be and the ones that are hard because they are broken.

I've beaten Battletoads, TMNT, Yo Noid!, Ninja Gaiden, etc. and would consider them all to be challenging games, but stuff like Hydlide, and A boy and his blob kick my ass because they are so cheap.

I would say that Ghost n Goblins is the hardest NES game that i've played that doesnt feel broken.

i also like to add on that list:

Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones - the hardest double dragon. enemies keep ganging up on you and the moves are hard to pull at times. your only great chance of beating this game is if you play in with two players.

The Karate Kid - only four levels and they are hard. heck even the bonus level is hard.

Ghosts n Goblins - known as a legendary hard game already. you only have a two hits (i believe) in the entire game. the game is filled with enemies coming after you.

Yo! Noid - just one hit and your dead, also there is no check points so when you die you start over again.

Solomon's Key. I love it, but I don't think I will ever complete it.


Mighty Bomb Jack also took many hours from me without ever rolling the credits.


In fact, playing Mighty Bomb Jack is such a masochistically challenging experience that an indie developer made a game called Mighty Jill Off where you play the role of a submissive lesbian in an S&M outfit that is forced to play a Mighty Bomb Jack clone game as torture to please her dominatrix lover.

There are a lot of very difficult games for the NES that are difficult because - quite simply - they are terrible (i.e., they are not fun to play and they control horribly). I place games like Back to the Future and The Silver Surfer in this category. There are also arcade ports, which, while quite good, are difficult to complete because, as arcade games, they were not meant to be completed. I place games like Rolling Thunder and Spy Hunter in this category.

Finally, there are games that are very fun, control wonderfully, and are meant to be completed - but, for whatever reason, are all but impossible to complete. A few examples:

Battletoads - The game's difficulty and length - combined with the lack of any sort of password or save feature - made completeing it very difficult. If you play this game on an emulator and save between levels, it is manageable but challenging. I think that, if Rare had included a password or save system, they would have greatly improved this game.

Blaster Master - This game is not really that difficult, but the lack of any password or save feature makes completing it very difficult.

Ninja Gaiden - There is a very steep increase in difficulty on the game's final stage. Moreover, the fight with the last three(!) bosses punishes failure by sending the player back two stages; a mechanic that is not present in any other part of the game.

Ninja Gaiden III - This is one of the rare instances where the game's developers actually increased the difficulty for western audiences. The version released in Japan allows the player to save their progress with a password system; the version released in the U.S. only allows the player 3 continues and does not allow the player to save his or her progress. This "handicap" increases the difficulty substantially.

Rygar - Once again, this game calls out for a save or password system.

Some other good, but very difficult, games in this category include: The Bard's Tale, Bomberman, Contra Force, Fester's Quest, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Spelunker, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, and Wizardry II: Knight of Diamonds.

Depending on how you look at difficulty, the following games might also be considered some of the hardest on the NES: The Adventures of Lolo I - III, A Boy and His Blob, King's Quest V, and Maniac Mansion.

prfsnl_gmr wrote:Ninja Gaiden III - This is one of the rare instances where the game's developers actually increased the difficulty for western audiences. The version released in Japan allows the player to save their progress with a password system; the version released in the U.S. only allows the player 3 continues and does not allow the player to save his or her progress. This "handicap" increases the difficulty substantially.

Doesn't Ryu also take double damage in the U.S. release?

Castlevania is probably the most difficult NES game that I've ever completed. The Mega Man games are also pretty challenging. To this day though, Ninja Gaiden is the most frustratingly difficult platformer I've ever played!

Kid Icarus - awesome game, great music, spot on controls...


...no margin for error whatsoever, no continues, and the entire game is one big instant death pit.