How many of these infamously difficult NES levels did you manage to beat?
Youre not imagining things: video games really have gotteneasier over the years.
Thats due, in large part, to the now-common addition of variable difficulty configs and other accessibility options.
Much of the NES library was known for its extreme difficulty.
Part of that was due to the consoles technical limitations.
It just wasnt always easy to make characters move as developers intended.
Sometimes it was much more conscious.
Decades later, these are the 15 hardest levels in NES games.
The games 8-bit NES port, of course, had none of that going for it.
On the NES,Dragons Lairis a platformer that has a lot of potential on paper.
The problem is that Dirk is big, slow, clunky, and an overall chore to play as.
You start the game at the castle drawbridge, and as you cross it, it begins to crumble.
Fall into the moat below, and you die.
Avoid that, and a monster arises from the moat.
Get hit by one of its fireballs, and you die.
Get past him, and the gate ahead closes.
Oddly enough, if you touch the gate, you also die.
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14.
Quick Mans Stage Mega Man 2
You knewMega Manwas going to be somewhere on this list.
The series has always been synonymous with difficulty.
The issue is those damn beams.
It also remains the hardest game in the series by a large margin.
Many kids were gifted this title because they loved the original so much.
Even into adulthood, few have ever beaten it.
And for most, the trouble started with Death Mountain.
In mostZeldagames, thats just a name.
Here, its a promise.
You will die a lot thanks to hordes of difficult and overpowered enemies.
Still, its never an easy trek.
Wrong.Silver Surferdoes not mess around from the very beginning.
Reptyls stage suffers from the same problems as the entire game.
Adventure Islandactually starts off as an enjoyable, fair platformer, but the later levels are ridiculously punishing.
The infamous World 8-2 is largely made up of clouds dry against an ocean backdrop.
Springfield Museum of Natural History The Simpsons: Bart vs. Later games were quite good, while the earlier titles, likeBart vs.
The Space Mutants, are best left forgotten like The Principal and the Pauper episode.
The Space Mutantstried to do a little bit more than the typical platforming.
Sometimes, poor programming was the worst enemy of all on the NES.
Hes fast, but actually not too difficult.
No, the real challenge is saved for the true final boss The Joker.
Mike Tyson Mike Tysons Punch-Out!!
!is all about pattern recognition.
The problem is that these patterns get more and more complicated and progressively difficult.
Act 6-2 Ninja Gaiden
TheNinja Gaidenseries has been known for its high difficulty since its inception.
Id say many of those games are actually tough, but fair.
They just requires a lot of patience and practice, much like a Soulsborne game.
Except for Act 6-2 of the first NES game.
This level is just a straight-up evil mix of annoying enemies and questionable design decisions.
The act kicks off with jetpack ninjas throwing stars at you, which admittedly sounds kind of awesome.
Just made a tough jump?
The Technodrome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Look, we all remember the dam level fromTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
And yet, the game only gets harder after that.
And theres not really any way to cheese it.
Basically, take your time, and use Donatello with his overpowered bo staff attacks as much as possible.
And youll probably still die a bunch.
Its just a massive struggle to get to him.
That feature was completely removed for the U.S. release, so any collision now means instant death.
Plus, theres a time limit and the roads were actually made narrower during localization.
Oh, and the controls sucked to begin with.
Its then a gauntlet of more frustrating enemies, long jumps, and a tricky crumbling floor bit.
Youll have to be pretty much perfect to end the counts reign of terror once and for all.
Stage 6 Ghosts n Goblins
Ghosts n Goblinsis arguably the most difficult game on the NES.
And extra lives and armor are not easy to come by.
Stage 6 features everything that made the rest of the game difficult, just ratcheted up to 11.
But if you dont finish the game with the cross equipped, youll be transported back to Stage 5.
Honestly, youre much better off just looking it up on YouTube.
The Revolution Battletoads
Battletoadsis the best NES game that most players gave up on at the third level.
At least this level looks cool thanks to a pseudo 3D effect rarely seen on the console.
Thats about the only good thing I can say about it, though.
Truly, anyone who can beatBattletoadswithout using any cheats deserves all the accolades they get.
