notoriously difficult NES games that you've beaten- and haven't?

[slab0meat]

I didn't have too many of the "hard" games listed in this thread... but..

 

- I had and played Ghosts N Goblins a LOT. Could never quite finish it.

 

- I could beat Mike Tyson's Punch Out with ease once I got used to it. No losses.

 

- Could beat Contra (1) with ease eventually also. I think I could beat it without dying at one point. Too long ago to be positive, though.

[Tanooki]

I haven't in a long many years, but when I was hammering the hell out of NES games in the 80s, 90s, and lesser beyond there were a lot and probably more than I can remember. :\

 

Here's some though, may update this if I remember more.

- Ghosts n Goblins

- Battletoads

- Ninja Gaiden (all 3)

- Mega Man 1-5 (never had 6 then)

- Zelda I & II

- Contra

- Super C

- Bubble Bobble 2

- Gradius

- Castlevania (all 3)

- Life Force

- Gargoyle's Quest II

- TMNT 1

- Fester's Quest

- Mike Tyson's Punch Out

- Batman

- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (yes it's goofy but it's nasty especially late game)

- 1942 and 43

- Metroid

- Kid Icarus

- Ikari Warriors

- Commando

- Karnov

- Shadowgate

- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

I don't recall ever taking down Battle of Olympus but only got that in the last 10 years and I was kind of over being abused for fun. Same can be said for Contra Force and that one I did fairly well like.

[NE146]

- Life Force

 

 

Everybody beat Life Force.. the question is, did they do it without the 30 lives? For myself, I can say for a fact that I have never.

[Emehr]

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Sandman and Tyson definitely get you in "the zone"; Super Macho Man as well, to a lesser extent)

Super Mario Bros. (not sure if this counts as notorious; World 3-1 infinite lives is the ticket)

Castlevania I (usually die at the reaper, beat it once, maybe twice)

Castlevania II (oh, the maps I made)

Castlevania III (yes, I used the 'Help Me' trick)

Contra (many times w/Konami code!)

Metroid (is this considered notoriously hard?)

 

I still haven't beat SMB 2 or 3, to my shame.

[+thegoldenband]

I don't even know how to begin to be Overlord or Star Voyager.

 

Funny that you single those out, since I've beaten both recently. It turns out that Overlord is ridiculously easy if you know what to do -- it can be beaten in under 5 minutes. Just send a ship with a tank directly to the enemy home planet, then drive in circles while shooting at the turrets once per revolution. They only fire back when you shoot, so they can't touch you if you play your cards right.

 

Star Voyager is more challenging but it only took me about 6 hours to beat it. Once you get a feel for the controls and for combat, the main thing is where the speed and weapon powerups are placed. If you discover them quickly, you can carve through the alien squadrons like a roast with plenty of time to spare.

 

Not sure what the hardest NES games I've beaten are -- and it depends on whether you use 1CC as the standard or not -- but some of the "sub-games" I've beaten from Action 52 are ferociously difficult, especially Silver Sword and Haunted Halls/Hill.

[StanJr]

 

Funny that you single those out, since I've beaten both recently. It turns out that Overlord is ridiculously easy if you know what to do -- it can be beaten in under 5 minutes. Just send a ship with a tank directly to the enemy home planet, then drive in circles while shooting at the turrets once per revolution. They only fire back when you shoot, so they can't touch you if you play your cards right.

 

Star Voyager is more challenging but it only took me about 6 hours to beat it. Once you get a feel for the controls and for combat, the main thing is where the speed and weapon powerups are placed. If you discover them quickly, you can carve through the alien squadrons like a roast with plenty of time to spare.

 

 

 

 

MIND BLOWN.

[Tanooki]

 

Everybody beat Life Force.. the question is, did they do it without the 30 lives? For myself, I can say for a fact that I have never.

I have, can't do it now, same for much of any of the others on there but in the 80s and 90s I could roll that entire list including in some cases the arcade versions of them too like GnG and Karnov for example. I'm so passive about playing these days I never put a huge effort into it unless I'm really drawn into a game which is not all that common so I just play to have fun, not to master and own that game hardcore.

[MadZiontist]

There's so many tough ones I never beat back in the day, or since for that matter. MTPO!! is one I never managed to get through. That one I always knew had the rep for being tough. Some ones I had no idea were considered tough until recently, I didn't really have a problem with back in the day: Zelda II, Double Dragon, SMB, Kung-Fu: the final boss is the easiest one actually if you're willing to be cheap - just keep sweep kicking, and he'll jump right into your kicks until he dies lol.

[mbd30]

There's so many tough ones I never beat back in the day, or since for that matter. MTPO!! is one I never managed to get through. That one I always knew had the rep for being tough. Some ones I had no idea were considered tough until recently, I didn't really have a problem with back in the day: Zelda II, Double Dragon, SMB, Kung-Fu: the final boss is the easiest one actually if you're willing to be cheap - just keep sweep kicking, and he'll jump right into your kicks until he dies lol.

 

Simply beating the first loop in Kung Fu is easy but beating multiple loops and rolling the score is very tough. I can beat Battletoads, but I can't come close to getting a million points in Kung Fu.

[MadZiontist]

 

Simply beating the first loop in Kung Fu is easy but beating multiple loops and rolling the score is very tough. I can beat Battletoads, but I can't come close to getting a million points in Kung Fu.

 

True. But I think getting through a game on the first loop is what we're talking about, and what most consider to be "beating a game".

 

Btw, I don't think any of the titles i mentioned that I've beaten are particularly difficult. Then there are games that others finish without too much effort, that I find challenging. Different brains-different games I guess.

[NE146]

I have, can't do it now, same for much of any of the others on there but in the 80s and 90s I could roll that entire list including in some cases the arcade versions of them too like GnG and Karnov for example. I'm so passive about playing these days I never put a huge effort into it unless I'm really drawn into a game which is not all that common so I just play to have fun, not to master and own that game hardcore.

 

I gotta say if you could beat Life Force with the default 3 lives.. that to me is an accomplishment. Especailly that darn fire level! I would even say beating Contra with no deaths is probably a little easier to be honest!

[mbd30]

 

I gotta say if you could beat Life Force with the default 3 lives.. that to me is an accomplishment. Especailly that darn fire level! I would even say beating Contra with no deaths is probably a little easier to be honest!

 

I could never beat that fire level in Life Force.

 

But last year I beat two loops of Legendary Wings without a death and shut it off out of boredom. That's something! It's not much but it's something.

[Tanooki]

I'd agree, but yes I used to be able to kill that game on the stock lives you were given back in the 90s when I was HUGE into buying second hand NES games (1995 and after.) All those games I said I rolled I really did and without using continues for those which are like arcade style games. The bigger stuff like the Zelda's, Metroid, Kid Icarus, too many deaths to remember so it's a sliding scale of accomplishment I guess.

 

I imagine if I applied myself I could still do it but as life is I have no way to find that many consistent hours each day to re-learn all that stuff down to some kind of gamer science to pull it off once more.

[icemanxp300]

This playing w/out dying brings back zanac x zanac for ps1. While it isn't an nes game it does however contain the nes version of zanac on it. Zanac is an awesome game. Regardless about like 5 years ago I got into playing ZXZ and was going for all the accomplishments. While they are not in English I found a translation online on what you had to do.

 

One of the accomplishments was to beat the game w/out getting hit or dying because it's basically a you get hit once you die game. Well I went through the entire game and did it and when I killed the end boss I was yelling "YES" and then I died. I forgot that MOFO exploded into a ring of bullets and I did not have my hand on the controller and by the time I try to move it was too late.

 

So I played it again LOL. This time I did not forget that exploding POS and I got my accomplishment I was going for. I basically beat that game back to back w/out getting hit. Of course it was obviously on easy

 

[iI.5] Profile Screen/Player's Note

 

https://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/581466-zanac-x-zanac/faqs/21722

 

Pretty sure I had all but like 3 unlocked. I did not get the no item clearing as that mean play the game w/out touching a single power up.

 

 

sorry for hijacking the nes w/a ps1 game LOL.

[Austin]

 

I could never beat that fire level in Life Force.

 

But last year I beat two loops of Legendary Wings without a death and shut it off out of boredom. That's something! It's not much but it's something.

 

Dude.. you can do Battletoads and Adventure Island. Life Force will be a cakewalk for you. The fire level--it's just knowing when to expect the flames. They are the same every time.

 

Legendary Wings is one I tried learning just recently. Didn't put much effort into it, and after a few tries I ended up making it a good way through the game. Seems like if you're fully powered up, it's easy.. and if you're not, it's a pain. I'd equate that to Life Force, where it's basically the same--easy when you're powered up, hard when you're not (simply because you don't have the necessary tools to deal with the action).

[Eltigro]

 

Seems like if you're fully powered up, it's easy.. and if you're not, it's a pain.

 

Seems a lot of shmups are like that. I have one for the TurboGrafx-16, Psychosis, that I've beaten a couple of times (back in the mid-90s) but each time I had to do it on one ship. The reason is pretty much what you said... if you die, you lose all your powerups and it's just too stinkin' hard to get back going. I would play along and if I died, I'd just reset the game and start over.

[TrekkiELO]

Beaten

 

NES

 

Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!

Punch-Out!! (1990) Mr. Dream

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. 3

Kung Fu

 

Edited February 20, 2017 by TrekkiELO

[StanJr]

 

Legendary Wings is one I tried learning just recently. Didn't put much effort into it, and after a few tries I ended up making it a good way through the game. Seems like if you're fully powered up, it's easy.. and if you're not, it's a pain. I'd equate that to Life Force, where it's basically the same--easy when you're powered up, hard when you're not (simply because you don't have the necessary tools to deal with the action).

 

 

 

Silver Surfer is EXACTLY this way. Power all the way up and you coast through the game as long as you don't run into any walls. But get killed mid-way through, and you are toast.

[PhilipTheWhovian]

And I probably won't beat any of these games, ever

[Joe C.]

Sure you will. Legendary wings is so beatable!

[mbd30]

Sure you will. Legendary wings is so beatable!

 

It's probably the easiest shoot em up of all time. You're ridiculously overpowered when fully powered.

[Austin]

 

 

 

Silver Surfer is EXACTLY this way. Power all the way up and you coast through the game as long as you don't run into any walls. But get killed mid-way through, and you are toast.

 

Yeah, it's brutal when you die in Silver Surfer. The more I have played it though, the more I have found myself recovering from death. It seems a lot of enemies can just be passed by, and you also get a screen clearing bomb every time you die--super useful when recovering.

[Tanooki]

That's one I forgot, dumb dumb... Silver Surfer. I never owned it, my brother bought it which was odd as he didn't like the comic and I got it monthly for a few years. I'd take it when he wasn't using it and got to where I could 1CC destroy that game. I can't do it anymore or anywhere close at least on the vertical stages as they drive me nuts. I can still blow away the horizontal stuff, but he's so long and the areas in places are annoyingly tight in the vertical I get in trouble. The key to SS as Austin said, pick your targets, if you go for them all you're in trouble.

[Joe C.]

 

It's probably the easiest shoot em up of all time. You're ridiculously overpowered when fully powered.

Agreed. Yet I love playing it 2 players. Always a good time

[Gentlegamer]

 

- Shadowgate

 

 

When I rented Shadowgate back in the day, I couldn't get past the second screen of the game.

 

For the whole weekend.