5 Most Punishingly Hard Games on the NES

If you were lucky enough to grow up during the height of video games in the 1980s and early ’90s, you probably spent some time on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES is the console that revived the home video game industry following the crash of ’83. It features some of the most iconic titles of the era. Of course, if you’re familiar with the NES, odds are you’re well aware of the concept of “Nintendo Hard” because some games are practically evil. 

Challenging a player is excellent, but a handful of NES titles took it too far by making near-impossible obstacles, poor hit detection, and a variety of other problems that make them almost impossible to beat. That’s not to say that Nintendo Hard games are terrible — some are beloved. Still, some might bring back a nightmare or two for more than a few Gen-Xers. These five are some of the most punishingly hard games on the NES, and they’re presented in no particular order.

1) Contra

You’re probably thinking that you’ve beaten Contra dozens of times, but then ask yourself, ‘Have I done it without using the Konami Code? ‘ Every NES gamer who ever got their hands on a controller and fired up Contra knows it all too well: “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.” Entering that on the opening screen as the title rises will start you off with 30 lives, and they’re almost required to beat the game. Contra is notoriously difficult, so losing lives is practically a necessity of playing the game. The code makes playing Contra to the end fun and, in a word, possible. Sure, people have beaten it without those additional lives, but they are in the minority.

2) Fester’s Quest

If you want to trigger a NES player’s PTSD, all you need to do is mention Fester’s Quest. The game is based on the Addams Family TV show from the ‘60s, and it’s criminally hard. Its biggest hurdle is the controls, as they’re imperfectly programmed, leading to plenty of exclamations of “MY CONTROLLER ISN’T WORKING!!!” While that’s a common sentiment of NES players of old, they had a point. Enemies respawn so quickly in Fester’s Quest that it’s almost like you didn’t already kill them a thousand times, making it a painful slog. Add to that the ridiculous puzzles requiring a subscription to Nintendo Power, and it’s a tough game to beat.

3) Ghosts’ n Goblins

While it’s perfectly natural to code a game with some level of difficulty, it seems the developers at Capcom took the concept and sought to make a game as hard as humanly possible. The result was Ghosts’ n Goblins, initially released in arcades before being ported to the NES. This game is so difficult that most players can’t survive for more than a minute. The challenge gets progressively harder as the enemies come at you so fast amidst terrifying confusion that there’s little doubt you’ll survive. Not only that, but if you do the impossible and actually beat Ghosts’ n Goblins, well, “Psyche!” You have to do it all over again. Beating the game opens up the much harder second run-through, elevating player frustration to new heights. The game got the reboot treatment, and it’s almost as brutal as the original.

4) Silver Surfer

Marvel Comics fans likely rejoiced when Silver Surfer arrived on the NES in 1990. While the character does zoom about on a surfboard and shoots at enemies in what is a space-based scrolling shoot ‘em up, the Surfer’s power is drastically reduced. He should be all-powerful, but he dies amidst a hailstorm of unending bullet hell the likes of video games haven’t seen before or since. Dying in Silver Surfer isn’t an accident; it’s a feature of the game that’s resulted in a meme of the death screen. This game is so difficult that few can come close to beating it. Those who have are likely locked away somewhere for their own protection.

5) Battletoads

Battletoads is one of those games players remember fondly while also cursing it for its difficulty. The speed bike level alone is enough to push more than a few NES players to rage quit, but it does have a saving grace. The game’s co-op mode means you can suffer with a friend, and it’s one of the only ways to survive through the levels to the end. It’s an incredibly difficult game to beat. While some might compare it to The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ wanton cruelty in its water level, Battletoads beats it in overall difficulty, thanks in large part to its susceptibility to friendly fire, which is always a fun way to play with friends.

Did any of these Nintendo Hard games cause you countless hours of frustration? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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