I think it has more to do with punishment rather than the mechanical difficulty itself. Dying or getting a game over means you have to spend a lot of time redoing parts you've already completed. If you remove the lives system from NES they actually become much more friendly and less tense. Or even just add more lives and/or reduce the punishment for getting a game over, as some remakes do.
The biggest problem with Contra is it can all fall apart so easily. If you loose your spread, the game just became twice as hard. But I'm mostly talking about doing good the entire game and making a few stupid mistakes a d there goes all your progress. The hardest level is the one with spike walls that pop up or the fire level but if you can get the invincible powerup on each one, it's not so bad.
So many NES games are like riding a bike. They're hard the first time you play them but, once you learn the patterns, you can pretty much breeze through them whenever you want.
I've actually surprised myself recently by picking a video game, watching a complete playthrough of it and then play it for a couple days and I'm able to beat each one for the most part.
I played kancho one so much I can beat it in 15 minutes with the normal gun. Likewise my nephew is managed to beat Ninja gaiden in around the same amount of time in a single run without dying. That doesn't make the games not hard it just means that we learned them well enough to make it look easy
Many NES games rest in the deepest bowels of hell. They’re so cruel it’s incredible Nintendo allowed them published. Rather than being hard, Battletoads is just unfairly designed. Just trial and error design. Never found Silver Surfer that hard as I was able beat it.
Yeah, I definitely found Silver Surfer's difficulty to be "Normal," at best. It's a shooter, you're kind of supposed to die a few times. Battletoads, on the other hand, is a different story. Trial and error all the way.
The reason NES games are considered harder than libraries on modern consoles is the fact that very few NES games (honestly I can't think of one though I'm sure there are a few outside of the Konami code) have level settings. While I love retro games I admittedly am pretty shitty at video games in general. But since probably Super Nintendo my abilities to at least play through a game has gone up tremendously since the inclusion of difficulty settings. Super Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, all of those consoles and their successors I can usually beat a game on easy or moderate even. Hell, Atari 2600 games had difficulty settings you could toggle through - original NES, nope! I agree, Contra is easy, even I've beaten it with only 3 lives but Ghosts & Goblins? Man, I've been hitting my head into walls over that one since 1987 and I usually give it a go maybe once or twice year since I got it for Christmas back in the 6th grade. Great channel, great content. Glad I found you.
I agree, people say games are easier nowadays, but I think they've really just become more accessible by giving you some control over the difficulty. There aren't too many NES games I can think of that let you choose the difficulty level ... Mega Man 2 and Power Blade are only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
This is pretty much me lol. I tend to give in too quickly, but you're right; a little practice is all that is needed. Great video as always MrMatthews.
It took me 5 months of practice to beat battle toads but I beat ghost n goblins like the 3rd or 4th time I played it. With endless continues even the two loops was doable in about 4 hours with all my deaths.
Yeah, I didn’t think Ghosts N Goblins was especially difficult, once I actually set my mind to finishing it. Meanwhile, I’m still working on beating Battletoads. 😵💫
Holy Diver isn’t even on the list which is really strange because while a lot of people never played it it’s known on the internet to be a really hard game. So I’m really surprised it didn’t come up enough to make the overall list. I beat the majority of these when I was a kid. NES games just took patience and learning them and once you did that you can beat them barely getting hit. Also, when NES released it was a brand new experience for everyone coming from Atari games so just learning to play video games was hard for people. Those are also very popular games that people would have owned, played at a friends house or rented which is why they come up a lot. Great video.
Yeah, this list is definitely more of compilation of popular opinions than any real documentation of legitimately difficult games. Many people have in the comments have mentioned games like Holy Diver & Cobra Triangle and those games did come up a couple times when I was originally making the list, but not nearly as much as Contra or Battletoads.
Wow I'm only at the balance explaining buy your sense of style and the way you carry/deliver yourself is super unique pretty absolutely stellar editing and music integration imo
Once i beat the game once on an emulator i've beaten it twice the next day. I think i've beaten it about 7 times on the next week and then ordered a NES console from ebay. That how enjoyable it gets when you beat once (actually if you look closely it gets enjoyable even before that). Each new run makes the game significantly easier with trickery you use here and there, and memorization of spawn points. Even hangar level becomes so freaking easy when you figure out how to get through it properly. For those who new to NES the feeling is comparable to starting a Dark Souls game all over again once you just beat it. With the knowledge you just cutting through the game like a knife through butter. For those who look for more of the same i would recommend Silver Surfer.
The first SMB game is the hardest of the NES trilogy (not counting the Lost Levels). Then I'd say SMB2 is harder than SMB3, but not by much. I personally don't think SMB3 is hard at all, just long. Sure it has some difficult levels, but nothing that can't be overcome after a few tries. As a kid, I def beat the original last, while SMB2 was completed before SMB3 by virtue of having it longer (I got SMB2 and RoboCop with my NES Power Set during Christmas of '89).
Battletoads is the hardest game ive ever played. Ive played that game since it came out and i still have never seen the end stage. And i can beat some pretty tough games routinely. Csstlevania 1 and 3, Batman among a few others.
Thanks for watching, man. I play a lot of NES games myself, but several of these have beaten me in the past, and others I’ve deliberately avoided because of their reputation. I’ve enjoyed finally getting through some of these games for the first time.
Fun fact: the Famicom version has background movement in the stages (the palm trees in lvl1, snow in lvl 5 and the entirety of lvl 8) and is also has an opening and cut-scenes between each level. It's all in Japanese tho.
Yeah, I've heard that there are some cool differences between the two versions of the game. I've been wanting to add the Famicom version to my collection for that reason, but I'm still waiting to find it for the right price
@@niclaswa5408 Castlevania 3 was one of the first Famicom games I purchased, not only because it sounded easier, but because the soundtrack is so much better, too! And Ninja Gaiden 3 and Castlevania 3 are on this list, I’ll be getting to those soon enough ;)
@@AuthorativeMrM That’s good to hear. As you know, the FC version of Castlevania 3 is easier, but the FC version of Ninja Gaiden 3 is WAY easier. The only reason I think the nes version of NG3 is harder than NG1 is how badly it punishes you for dying. You get sent to the beginning of the stage when you die and back to the beginning of the act when you get a game over, but in the FC version, you get sent back to the checkpoint when you die and back to beginning of the stage when you get a game over. Not only that, but you also have unlimited continues and enemies takes half the damage. The reason for this change is probably because the US team thought it was too easy, so they cranked up the difficulty so the kids where forced to buy it to get enough time to beat it, instead of managing to beat it while renting it.
@@niclaswa5408 I've been hearing this from a few people recently, that the Famicom version is quite a bit easier than the NES. It'll be neat to compare the two games when the time comes
Missing entry: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. Holy Fk, is that game LOADED with BULLSHHT. It is an RPG, and, you might think, ok, even if battles are hard, eventually you'll level up enough times that the monsters are lower level than you and they'll be easy, right? Riiighhht? NO. Wizardry had permadeath. And it liked to use it. A lot. See, there's a few ways to die. You could lose in combat. The game autosaved this fact. So now you have dead characters stuck in the dungeon. The way you were supposed to revive them, was to build a party of less than the full number, go to where they died, search, and bring their corpses back to town. Except Ya Know Your strongest FULL party just died in that are. And now you're supposed to bring a half sized party down there, somehow survive, and firemans carry dead bodies back to town where they could be healed. Except The town clerics would fk this up a certain, HIGH percentage of the time. If they failed once, your dead character "turned to ashes" They could attempt to restore them again, for a higher fee. If they failed AGAIN, they were gone forever. And this event also autosaved. Nice. And then there's the second way to die. Teleportation. Anything that teleported - a trap, the spell your mages could cast - could accidentally teleport you outside the games boundaries. That was instant permadeath for the entire party. In that case you could NOT search for your party, since they were out of bounds. Your progress was simply erased. And the game loved to make enemies drop treasure chests that were booby trapped with teleporters.
Thanks, man! Yeah, I imagine that once I get through these first ten games, I’ll start working through other NES games, so I’m happy to take suggestions. I’ll throw Adventure Island into the hat. 😎
Great review! I would add one to your list...”Aliens”. I used to play it a lot, and I don’t think it is possible to win without using cheats (and I still remember that code if you want it).
Over the past couple of years, I was able to beat games like Contra and Super C without dying once, but Contra 3 on the SNES was the real challenge. That took things on a whole other level, with the 'boss-a-thon' approach (it's an entirely different game genre if you ask me, not a sub-genre of the run 'n gun). I must say, that with good practice, people should be able to master games like Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, and the Ninja Gaiden series. I would also include 16-bit Shinobi, but there are only two proper installments, and it's exclusively for Sega consoles. One thing to mention - The enemy projectiles in the first two Contra games are very slow and easy to dodge. The level designs need to be studied through trial and error, sure, you have to go through that. So we need people who have decent memory and some reflexes. It's not much to cover. But yeah, it can be hard. Just not what the general opinion makes it out to be.
Contra is actually difficult because of the one hit kills and the fact that it takes so long to get an extra life its true the difficulty can be mitigated by becoming familar with the game but the boss levels present a unique challenge as they tend to flood the screen with enemys that have to be killed at nearly the same time everytime if not then its difficult to learn the boss pattern also im ust admit super c (contra 2) seems to be the exact opposite of contra 1 the main stages seemed quite easy but difficult bosses but in super c the main stage is pretty difficult but the bosses are easy
It always seemed to me that Contra gave out extra lives pretty frequently. I'd need to go back and see what my life counter was at after beating the game, I seem to recall earning 5 or 6 lives while playing the game, but I could be wrong. I'd definitely agree about Super C. For as difficult as a lot of people say Contra is, I think Super C is harder. You're right, the bosses are a bit easier, though (except for the showerhead boss, I think that one is harder than any boss from Contra outside of the stage 4 boss)
@@AuthorativeMrM when I play contra 1 these days I use the 30 loves code Remember it's not cheating if the developers put it in the game super c in my opinion Is the superior game though I had stepped away from collecting nes games because of the stupid high prices during and after the nes mini craze but as of late I've came back to collecting but I'm doing it in a different fashion now instead going for the complete nes north American release im only buying games that I want to play and I'm only buying after I complete a game right now I'm playing batman after I finish it I'm open to suggestions
@@GeorgiaRidgerunner I also think Super C is the better game, although I’m more sentimental about Contra 1 because it’s the one I grew up with. Both games are fantastic though, just talking about them right now is making me itch to put them in. I don’t have very unique taste, so my suggestions would be all the usual suspects that you already probably have on your list (or already in your collection): Castlevania, anything Mega Man, Power Blade, LifeForce, Ninja Gaiden, etc
I 100% agree that some games on this list are just there by reputation. But you placed Mario 3 as a 5 in a 1-10 scale. Im a die hard Nintendo generation kid, I was born in 1983 and got my first NES in 1986. Ive owned over 400 titles for the NES and played atleast another 200 and there is only about 800 titles for the console. Ive been in the Pros Corner in the official Nintendo magazine twice. My point is, Ive played ALOT of NES and I was really rather good at it. Super Mario 3 is a two or maybe a three... at best. Its not very hard, it can be beaten in a day without greater challenge for anyone who isnt brand new to gaming. This is literally the low end of challenge if counting games worth their salt. Its a fun and worthwhile game, dont get me wrong... but its NOT hard... AT ALL. For a comparison Section Z, which isnt even on this list, took me 13 YEARS to clear. Mostly because I was stubborn and considered writing down all the passages as cheating, I wanted to beat the game on its own and I took a break for 5 years after coming to one of the last levels and took a wrong turn only to get sent back to level 3. But none the less. Megaman is one of my favorite game series of all time and theyre hard games, dont get me wrong... but none of them has any business being on a top ten hardest games list. Ive cleared all of 1 through x6 without dying once. Contra is a joke on this list. It IS really hard initially, but its literally just a mind game, not a skill game. Once you remember the patterns you can clear it in 2 lives or less even if your mechanics and reactions are sub par. Edit: Granted Im European and the game was called "Probotector" here and you played as Mecha suit robots but as far as I know thats the only difference.
Yeah, a few people have taken issue with me giving SMB3 a 5, but I stand by it. It's also probably one of the most-played games on the NES, so it doubles as a perfect frame of reference.
I guess not enough people played Solar Jetman enough for it to get a reputation as strong as those other games. I’ve played it for a bit and I agree with you. 👍
It took me a little over 4 hours to beat Ninja Gaiden on my first try, Contra took me 3 hours, and less than 2 hours to beat Mega Man. On the other hand it took me months to beat Battletoads, with many attempts and much practice.
About the same for me, tbh (except for Contra, which I've been playing for so long that I can't say I've had any dedicated "practice" time). I haven't put a whole lot of time into Battletoads, but people who are far better than me have been grinding at it for weeks, so I'm not super optimistic about my odds, lol
@@AuthorativeMrM Contra is definitely easier than Mega Man, it just took me longer because of limited continues. Mega Man ramps up the difficulty quite a bit in the end game, while Contra's difficulty seems to go downhill from stage 4 and the final stage is straight up easy.
@@slavicus2046 I'd say the biggest different between the two games is that Contra is hard in a "good" way (which is why I'd say it's more "challenging" than hard) whereas Mega Man 1's difficulty comes from poor design choices and good old fashioned jank. Still, compared to the other games on here, I think they're definitely two of the easiest "hard" games.
Here is my list of games I consider "hard", based on my own experiences: Ninja Gaiden 1 and 3, Ghosts n Goblins, Blaster Master, Zelda 2, Ghost Busters, TMNT, Contra (without the code), Castlevania 1 and 3. These are games that I played and either was not able to beat or had a very difficult time beating them. It is probably pretty similar to other common lists. Maybe that is not because we are influenced by popular opinion, but because a lot of us genuinely found them these games to be very difficult when we were kids. I never played Battle Toads or the Immortal.
Well i finally got contra today. It doesn't seem too hard. The biggest challenge i have with it is aiming down and left/right while walking or standing
These internet top 10 lists are definitely popularity contests. I think I ended up going through about 30 of them when I was tallying up points and Punch-Out was the only one I didn't expect to see.
Oh my god. Thank you for this. I'm someone who enjoys a good hard game, but I also have a pet peeve about these "hardest NES games EVER" lists. As you say, they double as "top 10 AVGN episodes" lists which simply parrot back his (exaggerated for comedic sake) opinions on the games and don't actually feel like the people involved have given the things a real proper go. This video of yours made me feel absolutely vindicated, punching the air going "FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS SHIT!". Even using Contra as your opener is a great example of how the perceived difficulty... differs from the reality of the challenge. (Hello, fellow deathless clear pal!) Thank you again for this, and I eagerly await your further findings with this list you've made. (Oh and a humble request: Please, for the love of God, when you get to doing Silver Surfer? Debunk that repeated nonsense where people are like "THIS GAME IS SO HARD, YOU TOUCH ANYTHING AND YOU DIE IN ONE HIT". It's a shooting game. Those are the RULES of a shooting game. It's like saying Mario is impossible because if you fall in ONE PIT you die. It's parroted nonsense from the AVGN again, without consideration for the actual game. I went off a little but I'll leave you to it, would love if you addressed this in that video
First of all, thank you for this comment. I'm glad there are more of us out there who understand that ending up at the "Game Over" screen a few times doesn't necessarily mean the game is utterly "UNPOSSIBLE." Secondly... I'm not kidding, what you said about Silver Surfer literally gave me goosebumps. Hopefully you'll see why shortly, that's the next game I played and the editing is about wrapped up.
It took me a week or two of practice to finish originally, but I'd definitely say it was worth the investment of time! It's been one of my favorite games ever since!
Great video!..i like your partner(it helps to have someone to make the video with and speak to)..i like how that dice roll worked out for you(Bam)..your analysis of the game difficulties is accurate i believe..do you remember Iron Tank?1989 Nes..stay safe
Giving Super Mario Bros 3 a rating of 5 is a bit much. I'd probably only give it a 4. It really is a pretty easy game. Challenging in some areas, but overall, not that hard.
At the time, it was more about establishing a reference point with a game that pretty much everyone had some experience with. I think most people would rank it in the 4-6 range on their own scales, so it hits a good center point while also being a game that just about everyone can identify with.
Yeah, most of those "Hardest Game of 'X' Console" lists are pretty much popularity contest results, so a bunch of these games stole spots from a ton of less-known-but-harder games!
I don't think Zelda 2 deserves its reputation as super challenging, with the exception of the rather absurd difficulty spike early on at Death Mountain, but then once you're past that, it's fine.
BFisch I agree, it definitely puts up more of a fight than many of the other Zelda games, but I wouldn’t say that its difficulty is especially remarkable. The Death Mountain gauntlet is a little cruel so early in the game, but it’s not like it’s a game-ender
Holy cow dude. The opening for this video gave me chills lol. I can see why people make such a fuss for this series of yours. The level of editing is really something to aspire to. Your approach for this episode is so uplifting, too! I love the criteria and your scientific approach to what you consider a hard game vs. a challenging one 👌🏼 Great video! 👍🏼
Thanks, Omega! I think a lot of people would be surprised how many “hard” games are totally beatable with just a little practice. I guess the main thing is to focus on what you like in the game, for me that’s always numbed the frustration of dying repeatedly. ☺️
Your content is incredibly well made and your personality is fantastic! I just shared this channel with all my friends because it’s seriously top notch. 🙏
Good Lord is this a damn good video! And I also agree with you. I've never found Contra to be that hard. And with the cheat code you have plenty of opportunities to practice. I believe I also saw Tyson on your list. Another game that isn't hard... well at least until you get to Tyson himself. I've never been able to beat him sadly, but the rest of the game is a breeze.
I still haven't gotten around to giving Punch-Out a solid attempt yet ... to be honest I'm not sure how it will go, since I'm pretty terrible at reflex-driven games (like rhythm games). But here's hoping! You're the first person to say Punch-Out "isn't that hard," lol
@@AuthorativeMrM on your scale i would put punch out at a 3 or 4. I’m being serious. Its a cake walk once you understand the fighters. Tyson is what makes it a solid 10 impossibility for me. I’ll breeze through the game with my eyes closed and then last a tenth of a second when Tyson comes on screen.
There's a marked difference between a game that's hard to learn and a game that is flat out difficult. GTA 3 can be hard, but once you learn the game, it becomes much easier. Ninja Gaiden is hard, no matter how much you know the game. There's no way to play the game 100% consistently. With that said, this is a cool idea for a series. Will be watching the rest of it.
Yeah, I think for the most part, a lot of the games that people commonly write off as "impossibly-difficult" fall into the first category of games you mentioned. There are some games that I've played that, even after learning the game backwards and forwards, are unreasonably difficult to play WELL with any degree of consistency (Ghosts N Goblins come to mind, TBH). These definitely tend to stand out compared to games that are challenging only to the point of developing that specific skillset.
I agree Contra isn't that hard of a game. I don't understand how it always ends up on these lists. Now Contra 3 the Alien wars on SNES that game is hard
For sure, I've always found Contra 3 to be pretty difficult and it shames you for picking the lower difficulty levels, lol. And Hard Corps on the Genesis is pretty insane, too.
Just because Contra gives you the ability to complete it and it’s a good game that’s rewarding to beat. Does not mean it is one of the most incredibly huge kick in the balls I have ever experienced on an NES. You realize that this game is decently long and if you get hit 3 Times from brutally designed levels you have to start from the VERY. BEGINNING. And It’s absolutely ridiculous that you put it only 1 above SMB3 Like- Your obviously incredibly biased because how many times you played it. IMO
Thank you for the comment, it’s okay if you don’t agree with ... well, my entire premise, it sounds like. I did address every one of your points in the video, so I won’t rehash them here. I am curious if you beat Contra, and also what other NES you’ve experienced that you are comparing Contra’s difficulty to?
@@AuthorativeMrM I beat it with the code but it was still incredibly hard. And well, the games I’m comparing it to are basically everything. Mario Bros., Castlevania, Mega Man, Gradius, etc. I just think even if I tried for months there’s not even a possibility that I could beat it without the code. Honestly I would probably agree on one thing. It does not deserve to be in the top 10 and it is a pretty high-quality video. I think that putting it just above Smb3 is something I really wouldn’t agree with. I suppose it is my opinion and you may be just a lot better at this particular game but Contra is the only game that I think would be impossible for me to beat without the code. Those base stages are brutal. And this is just a matter of opinion so I was probably just overreacting. And I haven’t even played the absolute HARDEST NES games besides Ghosts N’ Goblins so Ig I wouldn’t have a very... experienced take
@@gonkdroidincarnate4237 This is very interesting, thank you for sharing this. And to be fair, when I was originally playing the game, I wouldn't have gotten too far into Contra without the code and continues, either. It's definitely not an easy game, but I've always found it super fun and rewarding to play. Again, I appreciate your comments, it's good to hear some counterpoints on the subject.
I beat punch out when i was 8 years old, yes it took awhile and was hard, but if an 8 year old can get good enuff to beat it then i think its difficultly is overrated
Seems many people confuse challenge for unfairness in old NES games. Contra is not that hard. Contra 4 for the DS is a lot more difficult. Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 I´ve beaten with some practice, but 3 is BS with the limited continues. Ghost & Goblins is probably the hardest one in the list, the stiff controls and random patterns of enemies like the Firebrand demon make it unfair. Battletoads is another tough one, but more fair than Ghost & Goblins.
I’ve heard that it is easier in some ways compared to the first two games, but I haven’t put that to the test, yet. Looking forward to trying it out, though!
But according to popular opinion, it's actually Ghosts N Goblins, idk. If Holy Diver had actually come out on the NES back in the day, I'm sure it would have made everyone's list.
Those games are hard, except Contra. Contra is not hard. Super C is hard, but not Contra. Contra is a game that anyone can beat. Ninja Gaiden, totally different story.
Yeah, Ninja Gaiden definitely demands a LOT more skill and experience from the player. I still think Ninja Gaiden is beatable for most people, but it takes so much more practice than Contra that I think a lot of people just give up in frustration.
His thesis is based on his personal semantics and his usage of the words „hard“, „challenging“ and „unfair“. He uses hard as a synonym for unfair games and use the Word challenging for games, that are difficult to master but not unfair. You easily could make a definition for hard that doesn‘t make this destinction. He says, that games aren’t hard, when you can master them. But of course every game gets easy when you played it long enough. The only question is, how much you have to learn/memorise to master it. He of course is right tho, that almost all toplists are just easy clickbait/nostalgiabait and put the easy picks on top instead of researching games that might be harder but less known
I was criticising your hypothesis, because it’s based on personal semantics and missing a intersubjectively understandable definition of „hard“. That’s sounds meaner than it’s meant to be, I enjoyed the series so far and hope you’ll get more views after popping up at people‘a recommendations. It’s nice to see small channels with that much effort and Paco is bae!
Obviously the people who put out the lists that you compiled yours from haven't played Holy Diver or Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight. In fact, Battletoads wants to be Holy Diver when it grows up. I agree, most of the games on this list don't belong on it, I personally have beaten most of them (and without any codes or Game Genie like devices.) And I would disqualify The Adventures of Bayou Billy from any list like this because that game is just plain unfair.
I have not played Holy Diver myself, but it's definitely on my to-do list. And I'm convinced that Bayou Billy is beatable ... but I can't personally claim to see anything beyond the first level. I might give that one a solid try one of these days.
Yeah, there’s a definitely a handful of games that I think should’ve been in there. After I get through the “popular opinion” picks, I’ll probably start on my own list of games, including Bayou Billy!
Yeah personally I can’t stand that guy too. He’s annoying and all he does is curse and act like an idiot. Yet so many people subscribe to him and eat into his annoying shit. I do however, disagree with you on the difficulty. It’s not as frustrating as he said but it’s not as easy as you say either. With only 3 lives, the game is severely improbable to beat. I’ve beaten the game hundreds of times but only by using the “code”. Nice post anyway.
You seem to have already made up your mind and have decided to find ways of proving your confirmation bias. That doesn't seem very scientific for a self-proclaimed "man of science". Other than deciding that Super Mario 3 represents the most balanced difficulty, just because you personally find it to be that way. That was very scientific
@Tom Ffrench it definitely takes away some of the sting of failure when you aren’t punished any more severely for a game over than just losing a single life. Of course, someone could easily see that the other way, that every death is essentially treated as a “Game Over.” 🤷♂️
i have beat all of those as a child except battler toads , i didnt beat it until i was in my 20's and silver surfer which i have never played , I guess beat one hard game the rest are not difficult out of all them the most annoying is ghost and goblins cause you have to beat it twice but man , i still say battle toads is the most difficult of them all.. I think its the fact when i was a kid ii played it over and over and over ....I remember in 7th grade no one though i could beat ninja gaiden ..had to go to some kids house on how it was done lol
@@AuthorativeMrM Yes, I am! I have 100%'ed them even, more than once. Even did a casual speedrun of the first prime. I absolutely adore Metroid. Prime 2 is my favorite though.
Metroid Prime is one of my all-time favorite games. I was actually a bit disappointed with MP2 when I first played through it on the GameCube, but I’ve grown to like it more than the original. The atmosphere in that game is pretty amazing and Dark Samus is awesome.
This is a great game, and it's tough. But to beat this game without the cheat code......I think it can be done, and i will agree this game shouldn't be on the list for toughest games. Other games like Silver Surfer should of made the list. I also agree that Mega Man shouldn't be on the list either due to all the health pick ups, live pic up's. and boss weaknesses to weapons.
Yeah, Contra is challenging, but I think totally beatable for just about anyone, if they are willing to give it the time. The 30-life code is a great way to practice, though.
What do you think are some of the hardest games in the NES library?
Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, and Silver Surfer aren’t just notorious for being notorious. They are legit hard. I’ve played them myself.
I think it has more to do with punishment rather than the mechanical difficulty itself.
Dying or getting a game over means you have to spend a lot of time redoing parts you've already completed.
If you remove the lives system from NES they actually become much more friendly and less tense.
Or even just add more lives and/or reduce the punishment for getting a game over, as some remakes do.
The biggest problem with Contra is it can all fall apart so easily. If you loose your spread, the game just became twice as hard. But I'm mostly talking about doing good the entire game and making a few stupid mistakes a d there goes all your progress. The hardest level is the one with spike walls that pop up or the fire level but if you can get the invincible powerup on each one, it's not so bad.
youre right. i cant remember any game that was "easy" at all
Awesome start to a series! I'm totally going to binge this series tomorrow!!!
Thank you!
So many NES games are like riding a bike. They're hard the first time you play them but, once you learn the patterns, you can pretty much breeze through them whenever you want.
I've actually surprised myself recently by picking a video game, watching a complete playthrough of it and then play it for a couple days and I'm able to beat each one for the most part.
Contra is not a hard game…if you use the cheat code. If you are playing it straight-up, it is far more difficult.
I played kancho one so much I can beat it in 15 minutes with the normal gun. Likewise my nephew is managed to beat Ninja gaiden in around the same amount of time in a single run without dying. That doesn't make the games not hard it just means that we learned them well enough to make it look easy
Many NES games rest in the deepest bowels of hell. They’re so cruel it’s incredible Nintendo allowed them published. Rather than being hard, Battletoads is just unfairly designed. Just trial and error design. Never found Silver Surfer that hard as I was able beat it.
Yeah, I definitely found Silver Surfer's difficulty to be "Normal," at best. It's a shooter, you're kind of supposed to die a few times. Battletoads, on the other hand, is a different story. Trial and error all the way.
Very cool video..looking forward to part 2
Great video M! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the list and more Paco 😀
Agreed Pete!
The reason NES games are considered harder than libraries on modern consoles is the fact that very few NES games (honestly I can't think of one though I'm sure there are a few outside of the Konami code) have level settings. While I love retro games I admittedly am pretty shitty at video games in general. But since probably Super Nintendo my abilities to at least play through a game has gone up tremendously since the inclusion of difficulty settings. Super Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, all of those consoles and their successors I can usually beat a game on easy or moderate even. Hell, Atari 2600 games had difficulty settings you could toggle through - original NES, nope!
I agree, Contra is easy, even I've beaten it with only 3 lives but Ghosts & Goblins? Man, I've been hitting my head into walls over that one since 1987 and I usually give it a go maybe once or twice year since I got it for Christmas back in the 6th grade.
Great channel, great content. Glad I found you.
I agree, people say games are easier nowadays, but I think they've really just become more accessible by giving you some control over the difficulty. There aren't too many NES games I can think of that let you choose the difficulty level ... Mega Man 2 and Power Blade are only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
I disagree on the hard vs difficult game description but can understand why you feel that way.
We gotta get you to a thousand subs homeboy. I just crossed it myself. Ill spread the word of your work best I can. ✌️
That's awesome, thank you!
This is pretty much me lol. I tend to give in too quickly, but you're right; a little practice is all that is needed. Great video as always MrMatthews.
It took me 5 months of practice to beat battle toads but I beat ghost n goblins like the 3rd or 4th time I played it. With endless continues even the two loops was doable in about 4 hours with all my deaths.
Yeah, I didn’t think Ghosts N Goblins was especially difficult, once I actually set my mind to finishing it. Meanwhile, I’m still working on beating Battletoads. 😵💫
Battletoads is so damn hard. Jesus I just gotta throw in the towel instead of playing those first few levels for the 1000th tine
Really great video man, very well put together! Thanks for making this, I hope you get around to finishing the series!
Thank you!
Holy Diver isn’t even on the list which is really strange because while a lot of people never played it it’s known on the internet to be a really hard game. So I’m really surprised it didn’t come up enough to make the overall list. I beat the majority of these when I was a kid. NES games just took patience and learning them and once you did that you can beat them barely getting hit. Also, when NES released it was a brand new experience for everyone coming from Atari games so just learning to play video games was hard for people. Those are also very popular games that people would have owned, played at a friends house or rented which is why they come up a lot. Great video.
Yeah, this list is definitely more of compilation of popular opinions than any real documentation of legitimately difficult games. Many people have in the comments have mentioned games like Holy Diver & Cobra Triangle and those games did come up a couple times when I was originally making the list, but not nearly as much as Contra or Battletoads.
Wow I'm only at the balance explaining buy your sense of style and the way you carry/deliver yourself is super unique pretty absolutely stellar editing and music integration imo
Wow, thank you so much, I appreciate that!
Once i beat the game once on an emulator i've beaten it twice the next day. I think i've beaten it about 7 times on the next week and then ordered a NES console from ebay.
That how enjoyable it gets when you beat once (actually if you look closely it gets enjoyable even before that).
Each new run makes the game significantly easier with trickery you use here and there, and memorization of spawn points. Even hangar level becomes so freaking easy when you figure out how to get through it properly.
For those who new to NES the feeling is comparable to starting a Dark Souls game all over again once you just beat it. With the knowledge you just cutting through the game like a knife through butter. For those who look for more of the same i would recommend Silver Surfer.
The first SMB game is the hardest of the NES trilogy (not counting the Lost Levels). Then I'd say SMB2 is harder than SMB3, but not by much. I personally don't think SMB3 is hard at all, just long. Sure it has some difficult levels, but nothing that can't be overcome after a few tries. As a kid, I def beat the original last, while SMB2 was completed before SMB3 by virtue of having it longer (I got SMB2 and RoboCop with my NES Power Set during Christmas of '89).
This guy made an entire self braggings series.
A whole channel, in fact 😎
Battletoads is the hardest game ive ever played. Ive played that game since it came out and i still have never seen the end stage. And i can beat some pretty tough games routinely. Csstlevania 1 and 3, Batman among a few others.
It's definitely one of the hardest games I've played on the NES, for sure. That's one game that really needed unlimited continues
Excellent. Subscribed for sure. As a guy who plays tons of NES games and has beaten every one on this list, I can't wait to hear more analysis.
Thanks for watching, man. I play a lot of NES games myself, but several of these have beaten me in the past, and others I’ve deliberately avoided because of their reputation. I’ve enjoyed finally getting through some of these games for the first time.
Cool variety of games and awesome video!
Thank you!
Amigo estaban demasiado bueno estos vídeos.Ojala los retomes.
Fun fact: the Famicom version has background movement in the stages (the palm trees in lvl1, snow in lvl 5 and the entirety of lvl 8) and is also has an opening and cut-scenes between each level. It's all in Japanese tho.
Yeah, I've heard that there are some cool differences between the two versions of the game. I've been wanting to add the Famicom version to my collection for that reason, but I'm still waiting to find it for the right price
@@AuthorativeMrM I also recommend the Famicom version of Castlevania 3 and Ninja Gaiden 3 since they’re easier than their nes counterparts.
@@niclaswa5408 Castlevania 3 was one of the first Famicom games I purchased, not only because it sounded easier, but because the soundtrack is so much better, too! And Ninja Gaiden 3 and Castlevania 3 are on this list, I’ll be getting to those soon enough ;)
@@AuthorativeMrM That’s good to hear. As you know, the FC version of Castlevania 3 is easier, but the FC version of Ninja Gaiden 3 is WAY easier. The only reason I think the nes version of NG3 is harder than NG1 is how badly it punishes you for dying. You get sent to the beginning of the stage when you die and back to the beginning of the act when you get a game over, but in the FC version, you get sent back to the checkpoint when you die and back to beginning of the stage when you get a game over. Not only that, but you also have unlimited continues and enemies takes half the damage.
The reason for this change is probably because the US team thought it was too easy, so they cranked up the difficulty so the kids where forced to buy it to get enough time to beat it, instead of managing to beat it while renting it.
@@niclaswa5408 I've been hearing this from a few people recently, that the Famicom version is quite a bit easier than the NES. It'll be neat to compare the two games when the time comes
I love the idea of this series
Wow this channel is underrated. Love the video
Thank you!
Missing entry:
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord.
Holy Fk, is that game LOADED with BULLSHHT.
It is an RPG, and, you might think, ok, even if battles are hard, eventually you'll level up enough times that the monsters are lower level than you and they'll be easy, right?
Riiighhht?
NO. Wizardry had permadeath. And it liked to use it. A lot. See, there's a few ways to die. You could lose in combat. The game autosaved this fact. So now you have dead characters stuck in the dungeon. The way you were supposed to revive them, was to build a party of less than the full number, go to where they died, search, and bring their corpses back to town.
Except
Ya Know
Your strongest FULL party just died in that are. And now you're supposed to bring a half sized party down there, somehow survive, and firemans carry dead bodies back to town where they could be healed.
Except
The town clerics would fk this up a certain, HIGH percentage of the time.
If they failed once, your dead character "turned to ashes"
They could attempt to restore them again, for a higher fee.
If they failed AGAIN, they were gone forever. And this event also autosaved. Nice.
And then there's the second way to die.
Teleportation.
Anything that teleported - a trap, the spell your mages could cast - could accidentally teleport you outside the games boundaries.
That was instant permadeath for the entire party.
In that case you could NOT search for your party, since they were out of bounds.
Your progress was simply erased. And the game loved to make enemies drop treasure chests that were booby trapped with teleporters.
AWESOME vídeo! Could you do Adventure Island (1) ?
Thanks, man! Yeah, I imagine that once I get through these first ten games, I’ll start working through other NES games, so I’m happy to take suggestions. I’ll throw Adventure Island into the hat. 😎
@@AuthorativeMrM Thank you. Cant wait to watch the ghost n goblins episode...
These games are only hard, Mr M, because they weren't played by Chuck Norris.
Challenge accepted, Dr Bollox
Great review! I would add one to your list...”Aliens”. I used to play it a lot, and I don’t think it is possible to win without using cheats (and I still remember that code if you want it).
Yep, I still have the game, but I don’t think the disc works anymore :(
Aliens was great!
Over the past couple of years, I was able to beat games like Contra and Super C without dying once, but Contra 3 on the SNES was the real challenge.
That took things on a whole other level, with the 'boss-a-thon' approach (it's an entirely different game genre if you ask me, not a sub-genre of the run 'n gun).
I must say, that with good practice, people should be able to master games like Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, and the Ninja Gaiden series.
I would also include 16-bit Shinobi, but there are only two proper installments, and it's exclusively for Sega consoles.
One thing to mention -
The enemy projectiles in the first two Contra games are very slow and easy to dodge.
The level designs need to be studied through trial and error, sure, you have to go through that.
So we need people who have decent memory and some reflexes.
It's not much to cover.
But yeah, it can be hard.
Just not what the general opinion makes it out to be.
Two proper installments of Shinobi? Shinobi, Shadow Dancer, Revenge of Shinobi, Shinobi 3, and Shinobi 3DS.
Contra is actually difficult because of the one hit kills and the fact that it takes so long to get an extra life its true the difficulty can be mitigated by becoming familar with the game but the boss levels present a unique challenge as they tend to flood the screen with enemys that have to be killed at nearly the same time everytime if not then its difficult to learn the boss pattern also im ust admit super c (contra 2) seems to be the exact opposite of contra 1 the main stages seemed quite easy but difficult bosses but in super c the main stage is pretty difficult but the bosses are easy
It always seemed to me that Contra gave out extra lives pretty frequently. I'd need to go back and see what my life counter was at after beating the game, I seem to recall earning 5 or 6 lives while playing the game, but I could be wrong.
I'd definitely agree about Super C. For as difficult as a lot of people say Contra is, I think Super C is harder. You're right, the bosses are a bit easier, though (except for the showerhead boss, I think that one is harder than any boss from Contra outside of the stage 4 boss)
@@AuthorativeMrM when I play contra 1 these days I use the 30 loves code
Remember it's not cheating if the developers put it in the game super c in my opinion
Is the superior game though I had stepped away from collecting nes games because of the stupid high prices during and after the nes mini craze but as of late I've came back to collecting but I'm doing it in a different fashion now instead going for the complete nes north American release im only buying games that I want to play and I'm only buying after I complete a game right now
I'm playing batman after I finish it I'm open to suggestions
@@GeorgiaRidgerunner I also think Super C is the better game, although I’m more sentimental about Contra 1 because it’s the one I grew up with. Both games are fantastic though, just talking about them right now is making me itch to put them in.
I don’t have very unique taste, so my suggestions would be all the usual suspects that you already probably have on your list (or already in your collection): Castlevania, anything Mega Man, Power Blade, LifeForce, Ninja Gaiden, etc
Fantastic video MrMatthews, When does Paco get a lets play Channel...Ootini.
Good question, Brent. I’ll check with him later to see if he’s interested ;)
With the konami code contra is easy of course, beating without, allthough not as hard as some games, is a much bigger accomplishment
Tenacity required for these games
Just made some nachos and I’m going to binge this series...
Best quote ever. Most people are certainly capable of thinking for themselves, but that doesn't mean that they actually do 😅
lol ... a little bit of foreshadowing of the Silver Surfer episode
@@AuthorativeMrM That Silver Surfer was a great episode!
I 100% agree that some games on this list are just there by reputation.
But you placed Mario 3 as a 5 in a 1-10 scale.
Im a die hard Nintendo generation kid, I was born in 1983 and got my first NES in 1986.
Ive owned over 400 titles for the NES and played atleast another 200 and there is only about 800 titles for the console.
Ive been in the Pros Corner in the official Nintendo magazine twice.
My point is, Ive played ALOT of NES and I was really rather good at it.
Super Mario 3 is a two or maybe a three... at best.
Its not very hard, it can be beaten in a day without greater challenge for anyone who isnt brand new to gaming.
This is literally the low end of challenge if counting games worth their salt.
Its a fun and worthwhile game, dont get me wrong... but its NOT hard... AT ALL.
For a comparison Section Z, which isnt even on this list, took me 13 YEARS to clear.
Mostly because I was stubborn and considered writing down all the passages as cheating, I wanted to beat the game on its own and I took a break for 5 years after coming to one of the last levels and took a wrong turn only to get sent back to level 3.
But none the less.
Megaman is one of my favorite game series of all time and theyre hard games, dont get me wrong... but none of them has any business being on a top ten hardest games list.
Ive cleared all of 1 through x6 without dying once.
Contra is a joke on this list.
It IS really hard initially, but its literally just a mind game, not a skill game.
Once you remember the patterns you can clear it in 2 lives or less even if your mechanics and reactions are sub par.
Edit:
Granted Im European and the game was called "Probotector" here and you played as Mecha suit robots but as far as I know thats the only difference.
Yeah, a few people have taken issue with me giving SMB3 a 5, but I stand by it. It's also probably one of the most-played games on the NES, so it doubles as a perfect frame of reference.
Hmmm....
No Solar Jetman?...
Because it's legit difficult and highly underated.....
☝️🧙♂️
I guess not enough people played Solar Jetman enough for it to get a reputation as strong as those other games. I’ve played it for a bit and I agree with you. 👍
Contra is actually one of the easier games on nes , not sure why so many think it’s hard
It took me a little over 4 hours to beat Ninja Gaiden on my first try, Contra took me 3 hours, and less than 2 hours to beat Mega Man. On the other hand it took me months to beat Battletoads, with many attempts and much practice.
About the same for me, tbh (except for Contra, which I've been playing for so long that I can't say I've had any dedicated "practice" time). I haven't put a whole lot of time into Battletoads, but people who are far better than me have been grinding at it for weeks, so I'm not super optimistic about my odds, lol
@@AuthorativeMrM Contra is definitely easier than Mega Man, it just took me longer because of limited continues. Mega Man ramps up the difficulty quite a bit in the end game, while Contra's difficulty seems to go downhill from stage 4 and the final stage is straight up easy.
@@slavicus2046 I'd say the biggest different between the two games is that Contra is hard in a "good" way (which is why I'd say it's more "challenging" than hard) whereas Mega Man 1's difficulty comes from poor design choices and good old fashioned jank. Still, compared to the other games on here, I think they're definitely two of the easiest "hard" games.
Here is my list of games I consider "hard", based on my own experiences: Ninja Gaiden 1 and 3, Ghosts n Goblins, Blaster Master, Zelda 2, Ghost Busters, TMNT, Contra (without the code), Castlevania 1 and 3. These are games that I played and either was not able to beat or had a very difficult time beating them. It is probably pretty similar to other common lists. Maybe that is not because we are influenced by popular opinion, but because a lot of us genuinely found them these games to be very difficult when we were kids. I never played Battle Toads or the Immortal.
Don't forget Ikari Warriors without the ABBA code, that definitely deserves a mention
Have you taken that particular challenge yet?
@@AuthorativeMrM not even if you pay me to do it
Well i finally got contra today. It doesn't seem too hard. The biggest challenge i have with it is aiming down and left/right while walking or standing
There’s some challenge to it for sure, but I think after beating the Castlevania games, you probably won’t have too much trouble!
i guess Dragon's lair wasnt very popular , because it is THE most difficult game on the NES
These internet top 10 lists are definitely popularity contests. I think I ended up going through about 30 of them when I was tallying up points and Punch-Out was the only one I didn't expect to see.
NES Dragon's lair, that's N awesome game
Oh my god. Thank you for this. I'm someone who enjoys a good hard game, but I also have a pet peeve about these "hardest NES games EVER" lists. As you say, they double as "top 10 AVGN episodes" lists which simply parrot back his (exaggerated for comedic sake) opinions on the games and don't actually feel like the people involved have given the things a real proper go. This video of yours made me feel absolutely vindicated, punching the air going "FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS SHIT!". Even using Contra as your opener is a great example of how the perceived difficulty... differs from the reality of the challenge. (Hello, fellow deathless clear pal!) Thank you again for this, and I eagerly await your further findings with this list you've made.
(Oh and a humble request: Please, for the love of God, when you get to doing Silver Surfer? Debunk that repeated nonsense where people are like "THIS GAME IS SO HARD, YOU TOUCH ANYTHING AND YOU DIE IN ONE HIT". It's a shooting game. Those are the RULES of a shooting game. It's like saying Mario is impossible because if you fall in ONE PIT you die. It's parroted nonsense from the AVGN again, without consideration for the actual game. I went off a little but I'll leave you to it, would love if you addressed this in that video
First of all, thank you for this comment. I'm glad there are more of us out there who understand that ending up at the "Game Over" screen a few times doesn't necessarily mean the game is utterly "UNPOSSIBLE."
Secondly... I'm not kidding, what you said about Silver Surfer literally gave me goosebumps. Hopefully you'll see why shortly, that's the next game I played and the editing is about wrapped up.
@@AuthorativeMrM A hard game player cut from my own cloth! Eagerly awaiting this one =)
Great episode been watching all day since I found the channel
Thanks, man! Sorry for the super late reply, UA-cam dumped your comment in my approval box for some reason 😕
I don’t know if I’ll ever beat castevania 😅
It took me a week or two of practice to finish originally, but I'd definitely say it was worth the investment of time! It's been one of my favorite games ever since!
awesome episode and dude..... cant say i have anything to argue here at all. U nailed it man
Well reasoned list!good job..these were too hard for me
You're not the only one!
I finally made it to Dr. Wily's castle in Mega Man 2... without cheating. I'm 36, I had it as a small child! 🤣
Great video!..i like your partner(it helps to have someone to make the video with and speak to)..i like how that dice roll worked out for you(Bam)..your analysis of the game difficulties is accurate i believe..do you remember Iron Tank?1989 Nes..stay safe
Thanks, OG. Sometimes you just get a lucky roll, you know?
Giving Super Mario Bros 3 a rating of 5 is a bit much. I'd probably only give it a 4. It really is a pretty easy game. Challenging in some areas, but overall, not that hard.
At the time, it was more about establishing a reference point with a game that pretty much everyone had some experience with. I think most people would rank it in the 4-6 range on their own scales, so it hits a good center point while also being a game that just about everyone can identify with.
Starship Hector seems to be pretty hard but its pretty niche so I understand why its not on the list.
Yeah, most of those "Hardest Game of 'X' Console" lists are pretty much popularity contest results, so a bunch of these games stole spots from a ton of less-known-but-harder games!
You have a piggy!!!! Subscribed. Well made video too, but I was initially influenced by your choice of pet
Thank you, I'll take it! :D
I don't think Zelda 2 deserves its reputation as super challenging, with the exception of the rather absurd difficulty spike early on at Death Mountain, but then once you're past that, it's fine.
BFisch I agree, it definitely puts up more of a fight than many of the other Zelda games, but I wouldn’t say that its difficulty is especially remarkable. The Death Mountain gauntlet is a little cruel so early in the game, but it’s not like it’s a game-ender
Holy cow dude. The opening for this video gave me chills lol.
I can see why people make such a fuss for this series of yours. The level of editing is really something to aspire to. Your approach for this episode is so uplifting, too!
I love the criteria and your scientific approach to what you consider a hard game vs. a challenging one 👌🏼
Great video! 👍🏼
Thanks, Omega! I think a lot of people would be surprised how many “hard” games are totally beatable with just a little practice. I guess the main thing is to focus on what you like in the game, for me that’s always numbed the frustration of dying repeatedly. ☺️
Great video MrM and yeah contra can be fair with powerups and the hitbox is fair i need to check your contra NDR and loved paco playthrough lol
Your content is incredibly well made and your personality is fantastic! I just shared this channel with all my friends because it’s seriously top notch. 🙏
Wow, thanks man! This made my day, I appreciate the kind words!
Good Lord is this a damn good video! And I also agree with you. I've never found Contra to be that hard. And with the cheat code you have plenty of opportunities to practice. I believe I also saw Tyson on your list. Another game that isn't hard... well at least until you get to Tyson himself. I've never been able to beat him sadly, but the rest of the game is a breeze.
I still haven't gotten around to giving Punch-Out a solid attempt yet ... to be honest I'm not sure how it will go, since I'm pretty terrible at reflex-driven games (like rhythm games). But here's hoping! You're the first person to say Punch-Out "isn't that hard," lol
@@AuthorativeMrM on your scale i would put punch out at a 3 or 4. I’m being serious. Its a cake walk once you understand the fighters. Tyson is what makes it a solid 10 impossibility for me. I’ll breeze through the game with my eyes closed and then last a tenth of a second when Tyson comes on screen.
No Kid Icarus...
There's a marked difference between a game that's hard to learn and a game that is flat out difficult.
GTA 3 can be hard, but once you learn the game, it becomes much easier.
Ninja Gaiden is hard, no matter how much you know the game. There's no way to play the game 100% consistently.
With that said, this is a cool idea for a series. Will be watching the rest of it.
Yeah, I think for the most part, a lot of the games that people commonly write off as "impossibly-difficult" fall into the first category of games you mentioned.
There are some games that I've played that, even after learning the game backwards and forwards, are unreasonably difficult to play WELL with any degree of consistency (Ghosts N Goblins come to mind, TBH). These definitely tend to stand out compared to games that are challenging only to the point of developing that specific skillset.
I agree Contra isn't that hard of a game. I don't understand how it always ends up on these lists. Now Contra 3 the Alien wars on SNES that game is hard
For sure, I've always found Contra 3 to be pretty difficult and it shames you for picking the lower difficulty levels, lol. And Hard Corps on the Genesis is pretty insane, too.
you want hard? play fucking ghosts n goblins resurrection on legend mode and do the shadow levels… makes battle toads look like baby’s first game
If Ghosts N Goblins Resurrection had been on the NES back in the day, I'm sure it would be on the list✌
Just because Contra gives you the ability to complete it and it’s a good game that’s rewarding to beat. Does not mean it is one of the most incredibly huge kick in the balls I have ever experienced on an NES. You realize that this game is decently long and if you get hit 3 Times from brutally designed levels you have to start from the VERY. BEGINNING. And It’s absolutely ridiculous that you put it only 1 above SMB3 Like- Your obviously incredibly biased because how many times you played it. IMO
Thank you for the comment, it’s okay if you don’t agree with ... well, my entire premise, it sounds like. I did address every one of your points in the video, so I won’t rehash them here. I am curious if you beat Contra, and also what other NES you’ve experienced that you are comparing Contra’s difficulty to?
@@AuthorativeMrM I beat it with the code but it was still incredibly hard. And well, the games I’m comparing it to are basically everything. Mario Bros., Castlevania, Mega Man, Gradius, etc. I just think even if I tried for months there’s not even a possibility that I could beat it without the code. Honestly I would probably agree on one thing. It does not deserve to be in the top 10 and it is a pretty high-quality video. I think that putting it just above Smb3 is something I really wouldn’t agree with. I suppose it is my opinion and you may be just a lot better at this particular game but Contra is the only game that I think would be impossible for me to beat without the code. Those base stages are brutal. And this is just a matter of opinion so I was probably just overreacting. And I haven’t even played the absolute HARDEST NES games besides Ghosts N’ Goblins so Ig I wouldn’t have a very... experienced take
Also, your later videos are honestly pretty great-
@@gonkdroidincarnate4237 This is very interesting, thank you for sharing this. And to be fair, when I was originally playing the game, I wouldn't have gotten too far into Contra without the code and continues, either. It's definitely not an easy game, but I've always found it super fun and rewarding to play. Again, I appreciate your comments, it's good to hear some counterpoints on the subject.
I beat punch out when i was 8 years old, yes it took awhile and was hard, but if an 8 year old can get good enuff to beat it then i think its difficultly is overrated
Seems many people confuse challenge for unfairness in old NES games.
Contra is not that hard. Contra 4 for the DS is a lot more difficult. Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 I´ve beaten with some practice, but 3 is BS with the limited continues.
Ghost & Goblins is probably the hardest one in the list, the stiff controls and random patterns of enemies like the Firebrand demon make it unfair.
Battletoads is another tough one, but more fair than Ghost & Goblins.
I wholeheartedly agree, Inti! ❤️
What witchcraft has given you such low sub numbers with this kind of quality?
/sub
Lol, just the randomness of the algorithm, I guess...
Subbed before this channel blows up!
Here's one of my top picks:
*Abadox*
And that is also one of my favorite NES games. So far I’ve only managed to beat it by cheating my ass off. 😎
@@AuthorativeMrM 🤣
Don't feel too bad, I've cheated my ass off and *still* not beaten it!
sub sub sub sub
holy shit 335 views. wtf thanks for showing me this youtube, thanks for making the video
Thank you for watching!
Looks fun. I might try it.
I'd go far and say Ninja Gaiden 3 is relatively easy compared to first game thanks to improved sword and climbing and jumping
I’ve heard that it is easier in some ways compared to the first two games, but I haven’t put that to the test, yet. Looking forward to trying it out, though!
The HARDEST NES game is HOLY DIVER !!!
But according to popular opinion, it's actually Ghosts N Goblins, idk. If Holy Diver had actually come out on the NES back in the day, I'm sure it would have made everyone's list.
@@AuthorativeMrM that's true,but every people who disagree aren't capable to beat Holy Diver!!!
Those games are hard, except Contra. Contra is not hard. Super C is hard, but not Contra. Contra is a game that anyone can beat. Ninja Gaiden, totally different story.
Yeah, Ninja Gaiden definitely demands a LOT more skill and experience from the player. I still think Ninja Gaiden is beatable for most people, but it takes so much more practice than Contra that I think a lot of people just give up in frustration.
His thesis is based on his personal semantics and his usage of the words „hard“, „challenging“ and „unfair“. He uses hard as a synonym for unfair games and use the Word challenging for games, that are difficult to master but not unfair. You easily could make a definition for hard that doesn‘t make this destinction. He says, that games aren’t hard, when you can master them. But of course every game gets easy when you played it long enough. The only question is, how much you have to learn/memorise to master it. He of course is right tho, that almost all toplists are just easy clickbait/nostalgiabait and put the easy picks on top instead of researching games that might be harder but less known
I can’t tell if you’re criticizing something or just giving everyone a synopsis of what the video is about, but thank you for watching
I was criticising your hypothesis, because it’s based on personal semantics and missing a intersubjectively understandable definition of „hard“. That’s sounds meaner than it’s meant to be, I enjoyed the series so far and hope you’ll get more views after popping up at people‘a recommendations. It’s nice to see small channels with that much effort and Paco is bae!
@@SuperMistertoast No offense taken, I welcome and appreciate other takes on the subject. Thank you for the feedback!
Obviously the people who put out the lists that you compiled yours from haven't played Holy Diver or Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight. In fact, Battletoads wants to be Holy Diver when it grows up. I agree, most of the games on this list don't belong on it, I personally have beaten most of them (and without any codes or Game Genie like devices.) And I would disqualify The Adventures of Bayou Billy from any list like this because that game is just plain unfair.
I have not played Holy Diver myself, but it's definitely on my to-do list. And I'm convinced that Bayou Billy is beatable ... but I can't personally claim to see anything beyond the first level. I might give that one a solid try one of these days.
Make me sick how many people put Battletoads on a pedestal like it's the most unbeatable game. All it takes is patience and practice
Unfortunately, patience is in limited supply these days, lol
@@incr8765 I purposely died on Battletoads 100 times and still beat the game without getting a game over. Check my channel
It takes patience and practice to beat any hard game, so whats your point?
very cool
Thank you for your help, Z!
Bayou Billy should've been on this list
Yeah, there’s a definitely a handful of games that I think should’ve been in there. After I get through the “popular opinion” picks, I’ll probably start on my own list of games, including Bayou Billy!
@@AuthorativeMrM please do, great job on the videos, keep it up
Yeah personally I can’t stand that guy too. He’s annoying and all he does is curse and act like an idiot. Yet so many people subscribe to him and eat into his annoying shit. I do however, disagree with you on the difficulty. It’s not as frustrating as he said but it’s not as easy as you say either. With only 3 lives, the game is severely improbable to beat. I’ve beaten the game hundreds of times but only by using the “code”. Nice post anyway.
You seem to have already made up your mind and have decided to find ways of proving your confirmation bias. That doesn't seem very scientific for a self-proclaimed "man of science". Other than deciding that Super Mario 3 represents the most balanced difficulty, just because you personally find it to be that way. That was very scientific
Well, you’re free dislike or disagree with whatever you like, but you should know I did get a bit of a laugh out of this. Thank you for this comment.
If you really like pain and punishment. These games are hard? 8-10 year-old kids were beating these games....... So you as a grown adult cant?
I'm not sure what you are referring to or who you are talking to, but thanks for the comment anyway
Ghosts and goblins.... IMPOSSIBLE!! ARGGGGHH 🤬
Lol, it’s not THAT bad …
Okay, it is. 😆
@Tom Ffrench it definitely takes away some of the sting of failure when you aren’t punished any more severely for a game over than just losing a single life.
Of course, someone could easily see that the other way, that every death is essentially treated as a “Game Over.” 🤷♂️
Contra!? 🤣 come on! Last time i beated contra was in a mall in Miami, in a bootleg Nes mini!
Lol... I hear ya, man!
Paco 😍
I’ve beat battletoads…..don’t even attempt to say that shit is easy lol
I have made many attempts to beat Battletoads and I would definitely NOT say that game is easy! :D
i have beat all of those as a child except battler toads , i didnt beat it until i was in my 20's and silver surfer which i have never played , I guess beat one hard game the rest are not difficult out of all them the most annoying is ghost and goblins cause you have to beat it twice but man , i still say battle toads is the most difficult of them all.. I think its the fact when i was a kid ii played it over and over and over ....I remember in 7th grade no one though i could beat ninja gaiden ..had to go to some kids house on how it was done lol
I played only a few of these games as a kid and I could not make significant progress with any of them, lol
Whoa!
I love you now!
Thanks! You’re a Metroid Prime fan, as well?
@@AuthorativeMrM Yes, I am! I have 100%'ed them even, more than once. Even did a casual speedrun of the first prime.
I absolutely adore Metroid.
Prime 2 is my favorite though.
@@AuthorativeMrM How did you know? Oh, the luminoth elder for my profile picture. Yes.
Metroid Prime is one of my all-time favorite games. I was actually a bit disappointed with MP2 when I first played through it on the GameCube, but I’ve grown to like it more than the original. The atmosphere in that game is pretty amazing and Dark Samus is awesome.
I like your friend!;)
Lol, thanks Becky. He was nervous about his big debut, so hopefully it doesn’t go to his head!
You seem very cocky
This is a great game, and it's tough. But to beat this game without the cheat code......I think it can be done, and i will agree this game shouldn't be on the list for toughest games. Other games like Silver Surfer should of made the list. I also agree that Mega Man shouldn't be on the list either due to all the health pick ups, live pic up's. and boss weaknesses to weapons.
Yeah, Contra is challenging, but I think totally beatable for just about anyone, if they are willing to give it the time. The 30-life code is a great way to practice, though.