Top 10 Most Difficult NES Games Ever 

I beat a few of these games when I was a kid. When I've tried to play them as an adult, I have no idea how the hell I managed to do it.

ghost n gobilns is way harder then ninja gaiden...

Its hard to limit to just 10 or agree on the same 10. Ghosts N Goblins deserves to be on every list. That game man...

I hate making comparisons like this but I can't help but notice the clips never match up with the content being explained, like AVGN does. While talking about Ninja Gaiden's knockback mechanic, it shows damage-less gameplay, for instance.

DUDE, fuckin Battletoads was BRUTAL, still doesn't compare to Deadly Towers though.

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I mastered Battletoads (single-player) as a kid. Every game I played after that seemed easier.

So if I beat all these games, am I then officially badass?

Contra should come off the list. It's actually pretty easy once you get super spread gun (the red bullets that spray in several directions) . This was my first NES game and I memorized each level. Once you know the patterns and have super spread you can beat it without the 30 man code. I can honestly say I've beaten original Contra more times than I can count with only one guy. If Contra was one of those guys with insane leaps to time or completely random enemy spans up the ass then I'd say include it, but honestly it's pretty easy to learn. BAD ASS NES game though.

Great list. I agree with most of these. I do wish that when you were talking about the death mechanic, that you would show that death on the screen. Like the one I'm writing this during, when you're talking about Ryu Hayabusa getting knocked off ledges by enemies because of the mechanic when you get hit, you should have shown an example of that. Otherwise, great vid! :D

For some reason I enjoy these videos, something about the nostalgia of getting pissed off.

4:58 loool as a kid i could finish contra whenever i wanted...

This'll be the last NES top list, now working on other projects :-)

number 1 ...Dragon's Lair O__o

Fantastic list, totally agree with all of them. The format you've used for these top 10 lists is awesome. I can't be the only person who got nostalgically excited when they recognised the game as it was introduced before it appeared, simply by hearing the theme music. Some very frustrating, and brain tumor inducing difficulty right here. Congraturation! This list is happy end to your NES top lists... keep up the excellent work.

mike tyson's punchout? ppl will say it isn't difficult because a guy beat it blindfolded, but its because you can EVENTUALLY memorize everything. but its the same with all of these games

Wow Castlevania and Adventure of Link didn't even make the list? Considering how frustrating those can be, I don't even wanna try some of the other stuff on this list.

Watching this video reminds me just how difficult NES games were, I've not played all of these games but the ones on here I have played I definitely would agree belong on a top ten list. BTW On Fester's Quest not every enemy slowed you down, just the ones that "stung" you and you could cure this by using the vice grips that you collected from Wednesday Adams. This information obviously came from someone who played the game but never read the instruction manual, which I understand that's kind of hard to do considering the manuals for most NES games are long gone, but at the very least someone could use trial and error to figure out what items in an inventory are for.

I can proudly say that I finished Battletoads with no warp zones. I still play it to this day every once in a while.

Battletoads, ending friendships since 1989.

Ghosts n Goblins broke my co workers. It brought managers to their knees, and I've never beaten it. There are some things in life that aren't meant to be conquered...

This list is perfect Mr. Dolan. I kept saying "let Battletoads be #1."

Spelunker. I remember beating nearly all of the games on this list. Spelunker took a minor miracle to get past the first level. Insanely difficult and to this day the hardest video game I've ever played.

badluck bootsy beaten Silver Surfer on NES :o

Contra is one of easiest NES games, I passed it without single death in age of eight,

Castlevania? Anyone?

Surprised to see Contra on the list but I guess it can be daunting to new players. Ghosts n Goblins is definitely a tough game and one I have a love/hate relationship with. Spelunker is also very hard to play because of how precise your moves have to be, combined with small graphics and inability to fall from just about any height.

although i've never played battletoads, i always thought it was clever how during the driving (skiing??) levels, the game gave the illusion of going faster while still giving the player some ability to react to obstacles via blinking image of what was coming up next. a "stroke of genius" if you ask me

I am surprised, where is Super Mario Bros 2? That game was so hard that the U.S. sent it back to Japan! And they were given a re-color of 'Doki Doki Panic' as their Mario 2.

The Ninja Turtles are land turtles. They can drown. Turtles are my favorite animal is how I know!

When he mentioned battletoads, I felt my blood literally boil. That game caused me so much grief and rage. ESPECIALLY the sled missions.

I can remember when I was very little (about 5 or 6), my older sister gave me her NES and the games she had purchased for it. Among those games (which included Super Mario Bros., JAWS, MLB Baseball, Double Dragon, and Friday the 13th) was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Try as I might, I could never get past the third level.

Silver surfer: Touhou for beginners

Where's color a dinosaur ? That game is impossible !

Not one mention of that god forsaken hell hole of a water level in the Turtles game at #5? That was EVIL.

Beating MegaMan back in '88 was the pinnacle of my gaming career. I got so good at Contra that if I died 1 time I would restart the game... I once beat the Alien Heart w/laser just to say I performed Heart Surgery.TMNT is impossible, so is Ghost n Goblins. I think I sprained my wrist from punching solid oak out of Ninja Gaidens frustration.. this was all b4 the intranets!

Contra is one of the easiest games to learn. It's not even "Hard" difficulty. It's a joke with some decent experience.

The original Mega Man is NOT as hard as you made it seem.

Oh, man, I remember "Fester's Quest". Not only did you only have one life (requiring you to start over from the beginning if you were killed) but in order to replenish your life bar, you had to find five money tokens and THEN go to a hot dog stand. (Supposedly, Fester healed by buying and eating a hot dog.) And that was only ONE of the things that made it hard.

Ah, yes, the extremely difficult games of the NES. I remember having the TMNT game as a young child, and the frustration of never being able to get past the second level.

I played a game called Abadox back when I was like 9. That game was so hard, I wanted to commit genocide lol

I can beat contra without the konami code, come at me

Contra is really ridiculously easy once you've managed to beat the game a couple of times... Burai Fighter, THAT game caused me some sleepless nights.

I have beaten 7 of the games on this list, and without cheats - Metal Gear, Mega Man, Double Dragon 3, Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghosts 'N Goblins, and Ninja Gaiden. Fester's Quest was the only one I didn't recognize by its music at the beginning.

Dragons lair?

I grew up with these games and played them for hours on my NES. (Which I still have, tucked away in it's original box in my garage.) I absolutely loved them - the harder the game, the more I enjoyed it. Who the Hell wanted an easy game? Battletoads took me 6 weeks of solid playing to finish. And never once did I complain that it was 'too hard'. I still fire it up every now and again. I like the list - but the way you narrate during the video is almost as if you're complaining and whining. Gaming has gotten steadily easier over the decades to broaden the market appeal so 'fantastic' companies such as EA and Activision can make lots of money with their re-hashed, dumbed-down, achievements-given-for-pressing-jump, cinematic pumped "game" titles - oh, which also aren't difficult - so it should appeal to most. Gameplay over graphics *anyday* for me.

Thanks for the nostalgia. Battle Toads and TMNT were my favorites despite how hard they were.

Gyruss was such a hard game as well. The bosses at Jupiter and the Sun Levels were frustratingly hard without practice

You got FIVE lives in Contra? Isn't it THREE?

NES contra is not difficult at all.

"Congraturation, The story is happy end. Thank you." Does it get anymore hilarious than that?

I always miss Xevious, Isolated Warrior, Snake Rattle N Roll and Rush N´Attack. Those games are even harder than the most games in your video.

No Lost Levels?

what about Blaster master, metroid and castlevania? xP

I've beaten Contra without getting shot once. The only thing that can give you trouble is being forced to drop the spread for the laser or flame. Show some patience, shoot enemies that drop pickups where you're not forced to walk into them, and it's a breeze. Not even close to being one of the 10 most difficult NES games.

I beat silver surfer when I was 10 years old. To this day I consider it my greatest accomplishment in gaming.

Today the games are sooo easy... It just shows you... Click here, and you beat the game!

You got quite a few things wrong in the video. For example, in Silver Surfer you have 3(?) lives and when you die later in a stage, you restart at a checkpoint. It also has infinite continues. I suggest you actually play the games before making these videos.

So the racing level in Battletoads was where the entire game design from Flappy Bird came from? Neat.

There was no time limit in TMNT, thankfully since the only way to beat levels 3 and 5 is to stock up on scrolls. And the turtles don't drown, the current takes them back outside. This is beneficial if you're stocking up on pizzas and scrolls.

where's Mike Tyson's punch out?

Metal gear, Mega man, Fester´s quest, Contra or Turtles are not hard games. I also beat Ninja gaiden without too much of trouble.

I should've mentioned the time limit on the dam stage, which is actually quite easy if you swap turtles constantly. It's actually easier than the first part of the stage given the jump at the end.

Your Turtle Can Drown... Your TURTLE, Can Drown.

Didn't AVGN make the same "this image of silver surfer will be burned into your retina" joke? God damn that's lame.

Bootsy can beat Silver Surfer Angry Video Game Nerd channel he does it.

The turtles don't drown, they get caught in the flow and are brought back to the overhead screen.

That's it. Tomorrow I'm going to the nearest flea market/junk store to buy an SNES and/or NES. The fond childhood memories demand it.

LOL, I used to routinely beat Contra with 1 life :P

Where is Batman? I think Everybody played Batman on the Nes in the 80s and 90s and omfg that game is a bitch. I have owned that game since the 1991 and still can not beat it.

You are right on the mark for, "Ghosts & Goblins." Wow, what a nightmare that game was to play. Here are some additional REALLY hard NES games that I can remember, Danger Dolan: * Spelunker, staying alive * Elevator Action, mapping and staying alive * Hydlide, monsters keep coming * Challenger, great depth but really easy to die in * City Connection, split-second jumps * Legend Of Zelda (1), hard mapping and play * Star Voyager (very hard to shoot anything) * Valkyrie's Adventure (English Translated, constant attacks) * Castlequest (especially hard play and mapping) * Milo's Secret Castle, finding all the secrets * Friday The 13th, hard to play * Castelian, mapping and requires great reflexes * Deadly Towers (phenomenally hard mapping) * Gilligan's Island, mapping and play * Legacy Of The Wizard (very hard mapping) Do a review on any of these and you will see what I mean. :7

Fester's Quest was actually advertised. 28 levels and if you die once, you have to start completely over.

Super Mario Bros.? (I can already hear the "Obvious troll is obvious comments") this game is a bitch.

I'm Surprised Legend of Zelda II was missing. Not only was it deviated from the series, it was also extremely difficult because the controls were often not responsive.

I remember my brother playing Ninja Gaiden, he would leave the NES on overnight with his character in a safe little area just to continue where he left off the next morning.

I have played every one of these games and I cannot tell you how many controllers I have broken in half and how much money in the arcade I have wasted but thank you for making this video because it brought me back to my childhood and made my day

To me, the hardest part of Ninja Turtles was that final narrow hallway before you reach Shredder. If mom only knew that " I'm sick , can I stay home from school" translates to "As soon as you leave for work, I'm going to spend the entire day trying to beat that stupid hallway".

I remember my NES days when I was a kid, I can´t believe that I used to torture myself playing many of these games, but I guess is all thanks to that that now I can play pretty much every single todays generation game in the hardest difficulty and I think I wouldn´t even close to the normal difficulty of those NES games hehe

I use to love playing Battletoads with my little brother when we were kids. Even thought it was as hard as nails.

most difficult would be, in my opinion, Back To The Future... that game is hard as hell.

You stated that in Fester's Quest that getting hit "makes you go slower," But this isn't the case. There's only one type of enemy attack that slows you down and that is the frog enemy's spit. Your entire video gives me the impression that you get your information 2nd hand.

Does anyone else remeber Bald Bulls special punch from punch out? That was very frustrating

I was honestly expecting to see a game like "Solar Jetman" somewhere on this list. Super long game, difficult and awkward controls that were varied due to being based on a gravity mechanic that was different in nearly every stage. Your goal was to collect pieces of a spacecraft at the end of each level, and after 20+ levels of madness, you build the ship and have to endure an extremely difficult side scrolling shooter mission that takes only ONE hit, and gives you only ONE life to complete the game. Sure, they do have passwords to continue the game, but if you died in the final stage, you'd still have to play through the final ship part stage (which took a long time to complete) to get another slim to none chance at beating it. I loved that game.... but it was torture... brutal and unforgiving torture.

God damnit, Clinger Winger. Costing lifes in 2 player since the 80's.

If this were counting Famicom, then The Transformers: Mystery of Convoy would've definitely made it onto the list. You have to do Level 9 just right or you'll never get past it. And I don't mean it's easy to be killed: I mean you have to follow a specific pattern and even if you survive, you're sent back to the beginning for one misstep.

The turtles didn't drown in the sewers. You would just have to start over from street level, and you didn't lose any of them. They were swept away by the water, which you'd think they'd be able to swim in it, but whatever. The developers wanted to add that extra level of difficulty so they did.

And there's Star Force, Dragon's Lair and Lode Runner. Probably a couple more I've never played that deserve at least a honorable mention as well.

"This image will be burned into your retina" - Avgn Not cool man , not cool..

I think I might be a little bit of a sadist because every time I see that image of the Silver Surfer sob into his board I crack up.

I’m surprised Ghostbusters isn’t on here just from that one stairwell part because you have to run up 22 floors by mashing that A button while being defenseless against about five ghosts that fly around the screen and having item that have very little to no use

The toughest ones for me but beat all three were TMNT,Castlevania, Ghosts N Goblins. Its fun to play these now and run through them so fast when back in the day when they came out they took time to beat.

The trick to beating Contra on one life was to play two players and both get the guns that fire several bullets in a fan shape. That way you can constantly fill the screen with your own bullets so the enemy has no chance.

12:03 Clinger Winger is the bane of my existence. I have more trouble with that level than with Turbo Tunnel.

My No.1 most difficult game would be total carnage (arcade version). You have two analogsticks, one for movement direction and one for shooting direction, enemies that eat bullets like popcorn, deathtraps you simply cannot see because there is so much going on on the screen and of course ... one hit death

I've beaten battle toads... once. Best day in my history of being a gamer.

I find the most difficult NES game is the toy train level in Little Nemo. I used to have the joystick with slo-mo and could still barely beat it.

basically all game with the "ninja" in it, requires a real ninja level of skill and patience.

There is absolutely, ABSOLUTELY invincibility after you get hit in Megaman 1!

think people forget how hard the first Zelda was. I remember someone would figure out something new and tell everyone. it took me a lot of hours and taking to a lot of people before I beat the first world. then you realize the map that came with the game, that you tossed out cuz it was all wrong was actually for the second world. then you are stuck for months cuz you didn't know you can walk through walls. I think people forget how hard it was cuz it's so iconic and everyone knows the secrets now.

I would mention _Takeshi's Challenge_, but that one is literally just made to piss you off instead of legitimately challenging you.