The 20 Hardest NES Games

The 20 Hardest NES Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are snapping those stupid rectangle controllers, these are the 20 Hardest NES Games. If you are too young to have played these as a kid, we recommend you get your hands on them to test the limits of your rage. Let’s go!

#20: “Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels” (1986)

Some may know it as Super Mario Bros. 2. Some know it as The Lost Levels. All know it as the most pain inducing experience of the 80’s. While it retained the original game's aesthetic, it significantly increased the difficulty. Now filled with traps, fake power-ups, and levels that demand clairvoyance to complete, Nintendo may have asked too much of their players as it’s trial and error at its worst.

#19: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1989)

I shouldn’t have claimed The Lost Levels as the most pain inducing experience of the 80’s so early, because it gets way worse. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is difficult for one core reason, it is poorly designed … AND NO I’M NOT MAKING EXCUSES. Despite featuring excellent graphics, good music, and the strength of its Konami name, the game is plagued by nearly impossible jumps, a terrible resource system, and crippling framerate issues. By the time most players reach the infamous swimming level, watch out, the console is in danger of curb stomping.

#18: “Top Gun” (1987)

Top Gun on the NES infamously featured two endings, which was uncommon for its time; The first ending has Maverick beating the bad guys and saving the world, the second had me shot-putting the NES controller through my little brother's head like a lawn dart. Flying and shooting down enemies isn't more difficult than in most dogfighting games. The real challenge is landing the plane, specifically landing on an aircraft carrier, which is nearly impossible. Even if you follow all the on-screen instructions, you might still crash into the ocean or the arse of the ship.

#17: “Blaster Master” (1988)

Blaster Master, like most entries on this list, land in the category of phenomenal, awesome, fantastic, enjoyable, BUT WAY TOO HARD. Many consider Blaster Master one of the best NES games, but even its fans will admit it's immensely difficult. You have to beat the game in one sitting, and they certainly don't make it easy. All this because the protagonist followed his frog down a hole and encountered radioactive mutant monsters? What a piece of crap.

#16: “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” (1987)

I’m still heavily regretting my earlier claim about the most painful game of the 80’s, because 1986-1989 was just constant gut punches from Nintendo. The problem with Punch-Out!! is that each new set of fighters significantly increases the game's difficulty. This makes it nearly impossible for players to learn at a reasonable pace. To make matters worse, the game treats your accomplishments like you did absolutely nothing, and by the time you reach the Mike Tyson fight, it assumes you must be a perfect player. You can’t beat fighters without learning their move sets, and practicing, but you can’t practice without beating every fighter before them to reach their level.

#15: “Gauntlet” (1985)

NES gamers eventually realized that most NES ports of arcade games would be mere shadows of their original versions, typically retaining only the crushing difficulty. Gauntlet took this too a new level, almost like they knew people would expect it to be lesser, so they made it even lesserererer. Maze-like levels, unintuitive puzzles, and the fact that your health is constantly dropping. This means you're solving those levels and puzzles while racing against a soft time limit. Gauntlet earnt about an hour of my time before it got relegated to the bottom of the plastic tub I kept my NES games in.

#14: “Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom” (1991)

Yaaaay, our first entry for the 90’s. And it didn’t disappoint … Or did, I’m not sure. The debate over which Ninja Gaiden game is the toughest will undoubtedly continue, but Ninja Gaiden 3 earns its spot on this list very comfortably. A limited continue system, overwhelming number of constantly respawning enemies, and floaty jump controls strip away everything you could rely on in previous Ninja Gaiden games to gradually progress. Much like Battletoads, the lack of any illusion that you can eventually beat it makes Ninja Gaiden 3 the least enjoyable entry of the three.

#13: “Ikari Warriors” (1986)

Remember that episode of the Simpsons? The one where Bart wants the game Bonestorm, but instead Marge buys him Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge? That was essentially my Christmas, but replace Bonestorm with Contra, and Putting Challenge with Ikari Warriors. Like Contra, Ikari Warriors fills the screen with deadly projectiles ready to ruin your day. Unlike Contra, Ikari Warriors' terrible controls, poor graphics, and hidden threats leave you never really sure why you're dying.

#12: “Friday the 13th” (1989)

This game is infamous for several reasons, none of which are moderately enjoyable. It might not be remembered if it weren’t adapted from a famous horror film series, or perhaps it would be remembered for its EXTREME difficulty. The game is immensely challenging due to how goddamn confusing it is, with minimal help, you’re left to figure out its awful mapping system before Jason kills off your fellow camp counselors. Also, we don’t recall Jason wearing a purple tracksuit in the movies. The NES tracksuit became so famous it was available as a Jason costume in the recent Friday the 13th multiplayer game.

#11: “Castlevania” (1986)

Castlevania was first introduced on the NES in 1986, and its innovative mechanics, killer soundtrack, and impressive enemies quickly made it one of the most successful games on the console. Castlevania scales its difficulty with every step your character takes. Every action you commit to is final, you can't readjust your trajectory once you jump or pull back your whip after you crack it. Because of this, every move must be deliberate, with no room for error. The slightest mistake will cost you your life. And so many goddamn times it cost me my life. I am one of the rare players who never committed, and never beat this damn monstrosity … Love it though.

#10: “Contra” (1987)

Remember the Konami Code? In Contra, and with the code, you start with 30 lives, and you’ll likely need most, if not all, of them to complete the game. Genuinely most players have never touched the game without the code, because without the Konami Code, you only get three lives, making Contra extremely difficult to beat. The game uses a one-hit, one-kill mechanic, meaning that any contact with enemies or hazards will instantly end your life. In standard gameplay, this means you can only get hit three times before you’re forced to start over from the beginning. Let me say that louder for the people in the back. THREE HITS!

#9: “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” (1987)

The game that was so rough, they stripped the ‘legend’ straight out of the title. We don’t mind that the second Zelda game switched from a top-down view to a side-scroller after the first game. What we do mind is Death Mountain. It’s a dungeon level that is as unpleasant as being in an actual dungeon .. And I’m talking about an aggressive BDSM dungeon. While there are some great Zelda games that all offer a fair challenge, Zelda II just pushed the difficulty a bit too far. I guess you gotta walk before you can run.

#8: “The Immortal” (1990)

This game sounds like an early Evanescence song, and I don’t know what would have been worse. The Immortal is essentially a practical joke masquerading as a game. Its maze of traps and hidden dangers means that the only ways to progress through this nightmare are to cheat or repeatedly die until you figure out the exact pixels you can and cannot interact with. It has infamously inspired a long line of flash games that operate similarly, forcing trial and error to be the game’s main mechanic.

#7: “Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse” (1989)

Castlevania 3 makes Castlevania 1 look like a brisk walk in a park on a beautiful sunny day. Castlevania 3 is justifiably remembered for its notorious stairs. Many levels require you to climb stairs while dodging enemies and projectiles, but the stairs limit your movement to such a degree that you must navigate at a glacial pace to avoid everything. This design choice is cheap in a way that other games in the series often manage to avoid. Overall, Castlevania 3 is a collection of platforming death traps, topped off by a brutally challenging three-stage boss fight that forces you to start the level over if you die at any point. It’s a beautifully nightmarish game.

#6: “Mega Man” (1987)

The game often credited with starting a new era of NES difficulty continues to be one of the hardest NES games ever, even after years of tough competitors, in fact, it continues to be one of the hardest games of all time PERIOD. The original Mega Man is challenging for the same reasons as other retro Mega Man games: tricky platforming, tough bosses, and resilient enemies. However, this entry (unlike later entries) has no energy tanks, no passwords, and less refined controls. It’s a brutal romp through a brutal game, and you may find yourself blue in the face.

#5: “Fester’s Quest” (1989)

It’s hard to believe that a game based on the 1960s Addams Family series could be considered one of the hardest NES titles of all time, but over the years, it has proven itself deserving of that dubious honor for all the wrong reasons. Most of the difficulty in Fester’s Quest stems from the game’s problematic controls. Fester moves as if he’s as disinterested in the game as you are, yet you’re expected to navigate tight spaces filled with endlessly respawning enemies that offer no breathing room. Unintuitive puzzles and bizarre first-person segments that were poorly conceived from the start make Fester’s Quest challenging for (and I hate to repeat myself) all the wrong reasons.

#4: “The Adventures of Bayou Billy” (1988)

The side-scrolling levels in Bayou Billy are among the toughest in the genre (and that includes TMNT), but the game’s driving levels also stand out as some of the most difficult driving sequences on a console notorious for its challenging driving games. Additionally, the light gun levels are incredibly tough and nearly unbeatable even with a functioning NES zapper, which mine NEVER WAS. That said, credit is due to Konami for creating a game called The Adventures of Bayou Billy that is so difficult it continues to be discussed over 30 years later. Trust the publishers of Metal Gear to turn some weirdness into magic.

#3: “Ghosts ‘n Goblins” (1985)

Ghosts and Goblins has been known for its difficulty for so long that it’s easy to overlook why the game is so Goddamn hard in the first place. However, just a few minutes with this notorious game will quickly reveal that the game’s enemies are the reason. The basic enemies in Ghosts and Goblins could easily serve as minibosses in lesser games. Adding to the challenge, there’s really only one effective weapon available, and you only have two hits before you die. And this NES has two more deaths before it dies, of kicking.

#2: “Battletoads” (1991)

Yes, we all know that Battletoads’ legendary speed bike level epitomizes NES difficulty and is a shared experience of gaming frustration from that era, but for those who dedicated time to mastering this sequence, you’ll come to learn that it is only a SLITHER of the difficulty this games’ levels have to offer (Rat Race and Terra Tubes being the highlight for difficulty and brutal, BRUTAL trial and error). On top of the games’ already crushing difficulty, co-op mode is designed to make you despise your playing partner with melee friendly fire that’s nearly impossible to avoid to a shared life total that ends your run when one player dies, which they may well in real life, because I’m sick of restarting this game.

#1: “Silver Surfer” (1990)

By design, side-scrolling flight action games are meant to be hard. However, Silver Surfer takes this concept to a whole new level. The game would already be difficult with its bullet hell death maze patterns, but it becomes notoriously memorable due to its poor visual design, which makes it nearly impossible to distinguish between projectiles and the environment. The reason why this game is spectacularly difficult is because of poor game design, it isn’t charming like Dark Souls, or beautiful like Elden Ring, it’s just a bad game, putting all responsibility on the player.