toptenmaterial Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 What super tough NES games have you beaten? Which ones have you tried to beat, but no dice? I'm proud to have beaten Super Mario Bros 2, which I find tough as nails. Same with first SMB (8-3 is a bitch). I'll include Zelda II in this catagory as well. I have never beaten the original Castlevania- Frankenstein is where I end. I devoted a whole AA thread to the topic. Same with 3, though not with as concerted an effort. I beat Simon's Quest with the code like everyone else in '88. I cannot get far in Ninja Gaiden. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvgplus Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 So many games I couldn't beat or made it towards the end. Without using cheat codes: Only NInja Gaiden game I could beat was 2. Out of all the TMNT games I can beat 2 the Arcade game sometimes and one time I beat 3 but that is out of hundreds of attempts. I gave up on BattleToads to beat. Never have beaten Ghost N Goblins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 (edited) All these I've beaten: Battletoads Adventure Island Ninja Gaiden (no deaths) Ninja Gaiden 2 (I beat it without dying once) Ninja Gaiden 3 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (no losses) Batman (no deaths) Castlevania Double Dragon I don't know if Adventure Island is notorious for its difficulty, but it should be. Edited February 12, 2017 by mbd30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I have "beaten" Spelunker and it just starts over on the first level . I would really like to beat Ghost n Goblins one day . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I've tried to beat Ghosts n Goblins but I've never gotten far before giving up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Kid Kool took me FOREVER to beat. Party because it is a PITA and partly because the few times I got close to the end I somehow bumped the nes or something and froze the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe C. Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I have "beaten" Spelunker and it just starts over on the first level . I would really like to beat Ghost n Goblins one day . Spelunker was a fun one to finish. GnG, has anyone beat that? Too difficult for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe C. Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 What super tough NES games have you beaten? Which ones have you tried to beat, but no dice? I'm proud to have beaten Super Mario Bros 2, which I find tough as nails. Same with first SMB (8-3 is a bitch). I'll include Zelda II in this catagory as well. I have never beaten the original Castlevania- Frankenstein is where I end. I devoted a whole AA thread to the topic. Same with 3, though not with as concerted an effort. I beat Simon's Quest with the code like everyone else in '88. I cannot get far in Ninja Gaiden. Im with you on that Castlevania, that's one I'd really like to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Conan was absolutely brutal, but I beat it. Can't beat Battletoads and cannot get past 8-2 on Adventure Island. That level is evil. Kid Kool is tough, with all the springboards and the time limit, but I have fun with it. Castlequest is next to impossible without the map. Not very deep at all into that one. Castlevania is much easier when you realize that you just need to keep the Holy Water at all times after the first level. It makes Frank and the Grim Reaper both a snap. Dracula becomes the pain in the butt after that, but timing and boomerangs win the day. topten, was it you I made the video for? Kudos to mbd30 for beating Batman at all, much less no deaths. That's crazy. I don't even know how to begin to be Overlord or Star Voyager. With patience I think I could beat Dragon's Lair, but that game is very annoying. Reminds me a lot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I have beaten. Great library, lots of tough games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Conan was absolutely brutal, but I beat it. Can't beat Battletoads and cannot get past 8-2 on Adventure Island. That level is evil. Kid Kool is tough, with all the springboards and the time limit, but I have fun with it. Castlequest is next to impossible without the map. Not very deep at all into that one. Castlevania is much easier when you realize that you just need to keep the Holy Water at all times after the first level. It makes Frank and the Grim Reaper both a snap. Dracula becomes the pain in the butt after that, but timing and boomerangs win the day. topten, was it you I made the video for? Kudos to mbd30 for beating Batman at all, much less no deaths. That's crazy. I don't even know how to begin to be Overlord or Star Voyager. With patience I think I could beat Dragon's Lair, but that game is very annoying. Reminds me a lot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I have beaten. Great library, lots of tough games! You're not kidding about Adventure Island 8-2. I spent hours figuring out how to get through that stage without a weapon when I beat the game. It might be the hardest level in the game. Batman isn't too bad because you can always farm enemies for health and ammo. The Joker is the worst part, and I'll still die or game over to him sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 (edited) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is my bitch. Even as a kid I didn't think the water level was that bad, once I knew how to do it. And I learned fairly early on that it's not even worth it to fight most enemies in the last two levels, and to load up on kiais before hitting the Technodrome.Never did beat Double Dragon or Castlevania, though. Those games still kick my ass. Castlevania II is pretty easy (or at least easy-ish) if you know where to go. I could never actually beat Super Mario Bros. when I was a kid but I can do it without much trouble now. Edited February 12, 2017 by BassGuitari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Back in the day, I beat Castlevania and 1943 (with NES Advantage turbo fire). These days, I don't get nearly as far. Last time I tried Castlevania, I got to the Grim Reaper's stage, but died off. 1943 I did pretty well, again with the Advantage, but not nearly as well as I did back in middle school. I mean, 1943 doesn't really come up on a lot of people's "Hardest NES Games" lists, but there was a thread about it here a while back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I've beaten a lot of NES games that are considered somewhat "hard" back in the day by overplaying them to the point I felt they were pretty easy. Not any "no deaths" or anything like that.. I would just start it up and play it to the end with relative ease. e.g. Zelda 2, Ninja Gaidens, Tysons' Punch Out, Bionic Commando, Batman, Double Dragon, Megaman 1 & 2, Blaster Master, Golgo 13 etc. Games I've beaten but I don't think were easy at all: Ghosts and Goblins. I beat Karnov as well but I forget if it was easy or not. Now the games I've NEVER beaten is 1) Castlevania 1 and 2) Battletoads. Simply I think because I never really owned these games back in the day, and when I try them now I don't have the patience/time anymore to devote to trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 No, Karnov was NOT easy. At all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toptenmaterial Posted February 12, 2017 Author Share Posted February 12, 2017 Conan was absolutely brutal, but I beat it. Can't beat Battletoads and cannot get past 8-2 on Adventure Island. That level is evil. Kid Kool is tough, with all the springboards and the time limit, but I have fun with it. Castlequest is next to impossible without the map. Not very deep at all into that one. Castlevania is much easier when you realize that you just need to keep the Holy Water at all times after the first level. It makes Frank and the Grim Reaper both a snap. Dracula becomes the pain in the butt after that, but timing and boomerangs win the day. topten, was it you I made the video for? Kudos to mbd30 for beating Batman at all, much less no deaths. That's crazy. I don't even know how to begin to be Overlord or Star Voyager. With patience I think I could beat Dragon's Lair, but that game is very annoying. Reminds me a lot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I have beaten. Great library, lots of tough games! Yes, it was me you made the vid for, thanks! Some other folks made Castlevania vids for me too. This was back in 2011, and I was playing on the GBA. I no longer have the hardware, but I do have a PSP and the button layout is very nice for NES games, however it needs a new battery. When I get it up and running I think I'll rewatch your vid and go for another challenge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I've beaten Ninja Gaiden no problem. Mega Man 3 no problem. Mega Man 2 was a bit harder. I don't really consider any Mario game to be that difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey.shake Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Castlevania I & III, Mega Man 1-6, and Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 probably top my all-time proudest list for the system. Never came close as a kid, but plowed through each of them in the past few years. I thought Double Dragon was hard, but I had no idea it was so widely considered notorious. To be fair, I've only beat it once. I recently bought Battletoads. I have no intention of ever seeing the end of that damned thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toptenmaterial Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 I don't really consider any Mario game to be that difficult. Well at your skill set, probably not! I'd put Mario 1 and 2 as moderately difficult. I'm not sure how Castlevania 1 ranks (which I've never beaten) but I'm tempted to give it at lease an 8 out of 10. I know a lot of you guys think lists are lame but a difficulty scale here from you all would be interesting to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 (edited) I mean, 1943 doesn't really come up on a lot of people's "Hardest NES Games" lists, but there was a thread about it here a while back... It's way harder than other games that usually make these lists such as Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden. It just isn't as popular. I spent all day trying to beat stage 22 and gave up. Granted I'm not the best at shooters. Edited February 13, 2017 by mbd30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 I hate to self promote (sorry, not sorry), but I did a Top 30 Hardest NES Games feature a while back speaking to just this sort of thing. In short, I played a jury selected list of 35 or so games for a minimum 5 hours each and from that experiment, created the list. It was a lot of fun, and really challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 I added Battletoads to my list nearly two years ago. That was a huge accomplishment for me because I never thought I would finish it in my lifetime. Funny enough, it's mostly sheer memorization. If you can get that down (and have a little bit of luck at certain parts), you can get through it consistently. It's the learning to memorize it part that takes so much work and makes it difficult to clear for the first time. A limited amount of continues doesn't help matters either. I've finished a lot of other tough NES games. The Castlevanias, the Ninja Gaidens, the Double Dragons (Part 3 in particular always gives me a hard time near the end), VICE project Doom, Zelda II, Batman, etc., etc. There are some others I hope to tackle in the future, like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Battletoads and Double Dragon, Ghosts 'n Goblins and Adventure Island. Not sure if I'll have the patience for the later. 1943 was mentioned earlier in the thread. If I ever finish that one for the first time, it's going to be with a turbo controller. The final stages are absolutely stupid in that game--really poor game design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 I added Battletoads to my list nearly two years ago. That was a huge accomplishment for me because I never thought I would finish it in my lifetime. Funny enough, it's mostly sheer memorization. If you can get that down (and have a little bit of luck at certain parts), you can get through it consistently. It's the learning to memorize it part that takes so much work and makes it difficult to clear for the first time. A limited amount of continues doesn't help matters either. I've finished a lot of other tough NES games. The Castlevanias, the Ninja Gaidens, the Double Dragons (Part 3 in particular always gives me a hard time near the end), VICE project Doom, Zelda II, Batman, etc., etc. There are some others I hope to tackle in the future, like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Battletoads and Double Dragon, Ghosts 'n Goblins and Adventure Island. Not sure if I'll have the patience for the later. 1943 was mentioned earlier in the thread. If I ever finish that one for the first time, it's going to be with a turbo controller. The final stages are absolutely stupid in that game--really poor game design. I played Battletoads for a NintendoAge contest last year. That gave me incentive to finally beat the game. Too bad most players get stuck at the turbo tunnel because it's such a cool game with a lot of variety. Adventure Island is so much fun. But the difficulty becomes brutal in the later stages. Good luck with world 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 I played Battletoads for a NintendoAge contest last year. That gave me incentive to finally beat the game. Too bad most players get stuck at the turbo tunnel because it's such a cool game with a lot of variety. Adventure Island is so much fun. But the difficulty becomes brutal in the later stages. Good luck with world 8. Yeah, for me my roadblock on Battletoads was always the Terra Tubes. Adventure Island is going to be an interesting task. I think I am going to have to resort to using save states to learn the stages, then try to get through them normally after. I've seen the videos of the late parts of the game, and holy crap.. it looks insane. We'll see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd30 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Yeah, for me my roadblock on Battletoads was always the Terra Tubes. Adventure Island is going to be an interesting task. I think I am going to have to resort to using save states to learn the stages, then try to get through them normally after. I've seen the videos of the late parts of the game, and holy crap.. it looks insane. We'll see what happens. The first seven worlds are not that bad at all when playing through with continues. I'd say 6-1 is where the difficulty escalates. But 8-2 is where the game wants to crush your spirits and make you give up. If you can actually get past that stage after losing your weapon (and you probably will f!ck up and lose your weapon) then you should be able to complete the rest of the game. The final section of 8-3 with the falling platforms and bats takes a lot of trial and error, and it seems to give players the most trouble. Save states would be useful to practice that part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 I never beat any thing back in the old days without a game genie. They were all too hard. Even now impossible. Only thing I ever beat with out a game genie was the original legend of zelda on my WII with virtual console. I did both quests twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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