The Nintendo Entertainment System has often been championed as the most important and influential video game home console of all time. It's home to classic Nintendo games such as Super Mario Bros. 3 and the original The Legend of Zelda, but it also had plenty of original and licensed games designed to drain any and all happiness from players.
Difficulty is an ongoing and ever-present conversation in the world of gaming, and part of that is due to how games can be positively and negatively difficult, the reasons for which can vary wildly. People will always complain about certain games being impossible to beat, but on the NES, there were cases in which this was as accurate a statement as any.
8 Mega Man
No one would deny that Mega Man is one of the most pivotal and impactful games in the history of the medium. Series veterans who look back nostalgically on the original entry would likely scoff at anyone considering it to be impossible to beat. The reality is though that the NES classic smacks people in the face as it requires a level of familiarity and muscle memory in order to garner the most out of it.
Two things can be true at the same time in terms of what Mega Man is as a game. It's a valid sentiment that it helped shape what the 2D platforming genre could become. At the same time, it was a clear indicator of how obtuse controls and an absence of quality-of-life features that were added in later entries greatly improved the series as a whole.
7 Top Gun
In 2023, Top Gun has never been more at the forefront of pop culture, and that's mostly due to the cinematic experience people flocked to the theater for in May of 2022 called Top Gun: Maverick. Fans of fighter pilots and dog fights in the sky weren't as fortunate when the Top Gun game was released on the NES in 1987.
The flight simulator genre can be quite intimidating by current game design standards, so it's easy to understand why one based on the Top Gun license made for the NES would feel almost impossible to complete. It also happens to provide directional feedback to the player without clarifying that it is inverted, meaning that anyone holding the control is bound to send their jet crashing back into Earth. Top Gun for the NES is a great example of why sometimes, movies should simply stay movies.
6 The Legend of Zelda II: Link's Adventure
The Legend of Zelda is a series that's always presented its fair share of challenges, but overall no one would describe it as a particularly difficult franchise. However, its second installment, The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, bucks the trend in both difficult and overall game design.
Not only were players surprised by the gameplay of this NES sequel, but the grinding and puzzle-solving it asked of players were also quite shocking. Tales of players beating the original game numerous times are rather common on the internet, but stories of those who have tasted the sweet victory of completing The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link are worth their weight in gold.
5 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Whenever anyone discusses difficult gaming franchises the conversation usually starts with Dark Souls and Castlevania. Each has made its mark in both the modern and classic landscape of video games. The former helped shape a modern subgenre and the latter has many desperately yearning for it to make a return.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES might have been a time when fans felt like they got enough Castlevania in their life. Players had to ascend sections of the game while multi-tasking in an attempt to defeat enemies and avoid environmental hazards and projectiles. Gamers get upset when a modern boss fight surprises them with a second or third stage to the fight, but that was the norm in this NES Castlevania classic.
4 Fester's Quest
The NES and other classic gaming systems existed at a time when games were generally easier and cheaper to make when compared to the monolithic industry of today. Because of that, there were plenty of games that featured a secondary character from a beloved pop culture series as the main protagonist. That's where 1989's Fester's Quest comes to light.
The audacity of developer Sunsoft to not only make a game based on an ancillary Addams Family character but to also make the game as difficult as possible is worth mentioning. Far too little time was spent balancing the feel of the controls as players will have to fight against Fester sliding across the screen like he's on roller skates. Add in that it featured weird first-person sections and puzzles designed by people who don't understand good puzzle design and it's crystal clear why this was Fester's first and only quest.
3 Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair will always be beloved for what it managed to accomplish in terms of bringing the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon into the world of gaming on the NES. The numerous death animations made players want to witness all of the odd ways in which Dirk the Daring could meet his demise.
It played less like a fluid and active gameplay experience and more so like a never-ending marathon of precise button inputs. Though it's labeled as a puzzle platformer, the only real puzzle players will be tasked with solving is how anyone ever beat this game. Most people who boot it up for the first time can't even manage to get passed the first section.
2 Ghosts 'n Goblins
It's impossible to talk about the most difficult games on the NES without the mention of Ghosts 'n Goblins as its reputation precedes itself. Knowing that the game is only six levels, yet anyone would be hard-pressed to find someone who actually beat it, is enough evidence as to why it has the infamy it does.
The idea of trying to complete a game without being hit more than twice seems like the type of thing that only speedrunners would try and out-maneuver. Not only are players left trying to combat the various enemies looking to end a playthrough in the blink of an eye, but they'll also be left fighting against the game's less-than-stellar controls and feedback.
1 Battletoads
Sure, the Battletoads made a name for themselves as a trio of brash and gross dudes trying to get by. If someone wasn't turned off by their 90s aesthetic and attitude, it wouldn't take long for the game's insane difficulty to make them bounce off as if the experience was entirely made of rubber.
Rash, Zits, and Pimple could only reach their conclusion with the aid of people off-kilter and patient enough to see Battletoads through. The sheer mention of the auto-scrolling motorbike sections will send familiar players into a mental battle of fighting off the anxiety-inducing flashbacks created by such a life-draining and anger-inducing experience.