Check out the NES Gauntlet shirt (Or Mainline Medley shirt!) it is very cool :) store.streamelements.com/kosmic

the hardest part about little samson is finding a copy

I love that you put adventure island up there. I've been saying for years that game needs to get more attention for its difficulty. Game is brutal.

Blaster Master is my all-time favorite NES game. Way ahead of its time. Very good soundtrack too.

I always found Super Mario Brothers’ final boss super hard, by which I mean the last hammer brother in 8-4. Literally the whole game I have no problem with until that one guy!

The second I saw this list, I knew Holy Diver was taking number 1. I remember seeing a TAS for it like 10 years ago, and a handful of people were asking if the game was legitimately even beatable.

In Zelda 2 finding Bagu was probably the hardest thing back in the day. Sure the slime says that master is in the forest or whatever. But I remember searching the forests and I kept getting the monster screens and just kept missing Bagu somehow. This was before the internet so that took forever. Then finally getting into Death Mountain and the damn alligators would eat through my lives in no time. I'd get so close to the hammer and then have to start all over. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized Death Mountain was much easier if you level your attack to 5 before attempting. Also, to make the game MUCH easier; only collect the items from palaces. Leave the bosses until you need the last 6 levels; then go back and beat them to get the last, most expensive levels for free.

The only really hard part about Kid Icarus is that halfway through the second level, the game stops you giving you health until halfway through the fourth level. After that it becomes relative easy.

Double Dragon 3 and Adventures of Bayou Billy were two I remember renting and being unable to beat, and I had beaten Battletoads, all the Castlevania games, Ninja Gaiden 2+3, Batman, and a handful of other hard games. Bayou Billy especially felt like you were a punching bag that occasionally would get lucky.

Great video! Adventure Island is INSANELY hard at the end. The jumps on 8-3 are damn near impossible... It took me hundreds of tries to get through it and I had to leave my NES powered on for an entire month to finally beat it. Gets my vote at the hardest NES game of all time.

the fact that ghosts n goblins is only in the hard game tier shows how difficult these are

I've beaten about 10 of these games so far and I would pretty much agree with the rankings. I strangely picked up adventure island to play as something 'easy' after spending 3 weeks on battletoads and then quickly realized it was not going to be an easy one :D

Funny thing about Blaster Master, the Japanese version of the game, Metafight, actually does have infinite continues, along with some level layout differences, less lag overall, and a completely different story.

The actual hardest NES game might be Recca on hard mode or "zanki attack" mode, although maybe not for Kosmic since he mentioned not messing with shooters (but this one is def valid to mess with cuz its really good and really hard). Other honorable mentions are Dragon's lair, Challenge of the dragon (unlicensed i think lol and a beatemup), Transformers: Convoy no Nazo, and Druaga no Tou aka tower of druaga, all which could def be higher than the midway point of the list. Plenty more I'm sure, there were some whack ones, especially j only.

Snake rattle and roll was kinda hard for me. I was only able to beat it using game genie cheat codes.

Holy Diver is insane. And yeah, the only way you can progress is if you find some "tricks" to beat enemies without getting rekt. I felt so relieved when I learned that you could change the pattern of one enemy by pressing Start, lol.

I still remember watching Joel's Hardcore Friday VOD that was dedicated to Battletoads, he ended up having to split the segment across several different days (and 6 really lengthy attempts) The finale to that roughly 9-hour marathon was so goddamn worth it though

another pogkosmic video I really enjoy the way you detailed things, and the way you address "what is difficulty?" and explained some nuances where the list may change based on perspective

I'm surprised Zelda 2 is so high. I didn't think it was that tough TBH.

Sometimes, "really hard" means "randomly unfair", like the bits you mention about Silver Surfer.

I thought to myself "Wait but Metriod is harder than that" then I remembered that I'm only remembering Gamechamp's low% run

I like how "Holy Diver" is its own difficulty.

Mission Impossible is never in any hardest NES game list but totally deserves a spot.

I’m surprised neither of the Startropics were mentioned

That's a pretty good list. Here' s a few that I think deserve to be there: Gradius, Breakthru, Bionic Commando, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Maniac Mansion, and especially Time Lord. Good F%$#& luck with that last one. Also, you're way undervaluing how hard Ghosts and Goblins is.

At first I thought "Tier list? Meh!" but then I remembered that Kosmic always has some interesting ideas about game design, so I ended up watching it, which I don't regret.

Zelda 2 difficulty curve be like "Oh this is fun and easy" *Death Mountain:* "I fucking hate my life" *Back to easy* *The Great Palace:* 😶

Just bought a shirt! I love watching the Gauntlet. Even if you don’t do one this year, I’ll always enjoy watching this one 😁

By far one of the most accurate lists I've seen on the matter, IMO. Adventure Island has one of the hardest jumps in the entierety of gaming in 8-3, and I'm sick of so many people pretending otherwise. Like...that game deserves its spot for that short series of jumps there alone. 💀

Megaman 1 has the Yellow devil which I cannot beat for the life of me.

I think a lot of the reputation that Silver Surfer has comes from the fact that AVGN made a video about it. Quite a few "common opinions" about NES games seem to stem from stuff the AVGN said.

Snake Rattle n Roll and Solar Jetman are extremely difficult Oh, and we can't forget Double Dragon III

MegaMan 2 gets a lot of extra favorite-points for the music alone. The ost is kind of a masterpiece. I will die on this hill.

I got a gauntlet shirt as soon as they were available. I’ve had more compliments on that shirt than any other I’ve ever worn. I should probably get another…

In Castlevania 2, I can see getting stuck using Dracula's Heart on the ferryman because the clue to do that is inside the mansion you get to using Dracula's Heart on the ferryman. Outside of that, everything has enough clues to figure out, you're just not going to finish the game quick enough for the best ending on a first playthrough. The NPC banter reminded me of good ole B2 Keep on the Borderlands in the Basic D&D box, specifically the tavern rumor table which included some information that was false, some fantastical or mundane fluff, and a few dungeon clues.

Ghosts and Goblins. My dear Lord. I truly don’t understand how this is beatable without saves, like I had to do 5,000 times in my NES classic. But I’ve seen it done. You just have to be a freak.

Thank you for mentioning the adventure of link manual. It literally tells you all the cryptic stuff or heavily hints at it.

Should have definitely had double dragon 3 on this list and maybe Adventures of Bayou Billy. Such a great console the original NES was. I’m so glad to have grown up with it not only to have played amazing games on it but playing current indie games in the old pixel art style doesn’t bother me at all while a lot of newer gamers see that old pixel style and immediately pass.

I miss the gauntlet a lot. Great times watching you play some of these games! The Battletoads and Zelda 2 completions in a single day were legendary.

The lack of continues on NG3 can be dealt with a little with a trick I don't see much. On the level right before the ship (6-2) you can recollect the one-up over and over to max out your lives to 9 (IIRC), takes a couple turns due to time limit but nice to have those extra lives in stage 7. I agree it's the hardest NG, I was so proud to beat that one before my buddies in school. If you want an extra challenge on Battletoads, beat it with 2 players. :) I'm horrible at punch out so I'd have that higher.

The final boss in Batman is easy to beat if you just run up to him and punch him pointblank. His projectile will miss (it has a deadzone in front of him). Just keep mashing and chase after him if he runs away. My recommendation for hard games to try: Quattro Adventure(a collection of 4 platformers games), Sky Shark(a short shmup that I find pretty hard because the speed of the enemy bullets and the size of your own hurtbox) and Summer Carnival '92: Recca(also a shmup, has a second difficulty that is much different if you beat the original difficulty).

A lot of these games, I think, are brutally difficult until you kinda figure out the trick behind them. Ninja Gaiden gets SO much easier once you learn how to make use of the special items. Tyson is hugely about just learning that uppercut. If you can beat Tyson the rest of the game takes like no effort except maybe Mr Sandman.

Given that “Blaster Master” predates “Castlevania”’s move into the “Metroid” realm, shouldn’t they realistically be called “Blastroids?” Or “Mastroids?” Glad to hear that my brother and I weren’t stooges for a.) owning it when it came out yet never completing it.

Glad you made this vid explaining the gauntlet as i never browsed through the several hours vid. Very sad i never played Battletoads or Blaster Master among others, extra appreciation for including Holy Diver. Metroid was super difficult for me to complete, but i know Kosmic has true gaming abilities. Still owe you a t-shirt order, thanks for all the informative commentary.

3 hard nes games you missed: 3-D Worldrunner Gauntlet Back To The Future 2 & 3 I’m actually amazed you didn’t put a single LJN game in your top hardest games list.

He completely lost me at Mega Man 2 is harder than 1.

Did you know that on every second boss in BLASTER MASTER (2nd, 4th, etc) if you toss a grenade at the boss then pause as it hits, it will continue to hit them? Just leave it on pause for a couple of minutes and when you unpause, the boss is toast.

Blaster Master is one of my all-time favorites. I'm happy to know that I have beaten a game ranked "very hard" by a legendary gamer even if I don't stand a chance against most of the rest.

Ah, warms my heart to see Holy Diver still get its own tier after all these years...thank you Team Spooky crew for suggesting i add it in my marathon way back!

Joker (in Batman) is easy if you just use the fist. You don't take contact damage from him as long as he's flashing from being hit, so you can just jump punch yourself into his space and keep tapping. If you get lucky, you don't even have to dodge any lightning.

I watched your playthrough of Holy Diver on Twitch, GG for beating it. I've beaten Hagane: The Final Conflict on SNES but I can't beat Holy Diver. You actually got lucky with the final boss because the game has a reputation of "soft locking" if you spam the Thunder magic on the final boss' first form. Retro Bit actually bought Holy Diver from Irem and they did an official U.S. release of the game. I actually have a collector's edition of the U.S. release that I bought through Castlemania. So the game is no longer Famicom only. Retro Bit did the same thing with Metal Storm and I have a collector's edition of that too.

Thanks for reminding me I need to beat Adventure Island without continues

Bucky O'Hare ROCKS. Love that game I'd recommend checking out Solomon's Key if you want another fun hard NES game

Maybe worth a mention, Gradius II is known to be quite hard as well, I've played it many times now and the first level is still beating my ass to this day lol But besides that, it's a great game which sadly didn't had an international release at the time (because of some memory mapper the Famicom used) And playing on PAL NES will have a funny effect gameplay wise, it's not an emulator glitch

Great list! I actually played them all except Big Nose and Holy Diver. I agree that Adventure Island and Battletoads should be at the top. Ghost'n'Goblins was a pain for me so that one would be higher on my list.

Great list man. Ninja Gaiden 2 is the only one that I wouldn't rank so difficult since once the end bosses are figured out it's pretty routine. Life Force is another great game that offers a great challenge without the code

The only Bucky O Hare game I played was an old PC game (new at the time). For its time, it had excellent graphics and smooth physics that were very traditional but also felt very good. It's just a basic sidescroller, but definitely a good one.

you're crazy for that mega man opinion

Really fun video! Little surprised that Legacy Of The Wizard (or Dragon Slayer IV) didn't get a mention, but its difficulty is based on using glitches and hidden doors that are never explained to the player. So I suppose it wouldn't crack the list anyway.

Would you be willing to make this an ongoing series? You ranked these games but would you be willing to rank the rest of the games that you play and then compare them to these after you get so many finished? It would be cool to see some of the lesser known difficult titles be ranked with the well-known ones. This was such an awesome video. I myself have beaten quite a few of these and mostly agree with this list.

Technically not an NES game, but I'm curious where you'd rank SMB2J on there

You beat Holy Diver?! Damn that's impressive. I'm currently working on that one myself. The 3rd level is kicking my ass. I beat it once and I can't get back to level 4.... I didn't want to save state or use cheats, I felt like that would sour the victory... Also, my skills are increasing.... Arguably the hardest NES... And maybe one of the hardest games period! Not a long game, but I don't think the average person could beat this game.

It's interesting how many of these games (namely Ninja Gaiden 3, the Castlevania games, Zelda 2, and Battletoads) were either deliberately or accidentally made harder during their localization, or in the case of Battletoads, nerfed in subsequent revisions and the Genesis port.

I remember watching you doing the Alucard route in C3 and warning you about stage 7, which took me like 3-4 hours my first time (after I'd already beaten the Sypha route many times), and you did it in like less than an hour lol. Also agree on Ninja Gaiden. It feels bad because the movement, combat, and general mechanics (music too obv) are amazing for an NES game but the difficulty is super cheap and shallow. As a result the game overall doesn't feel very satisfying like Castlevania where it's a good mix of strategy and execution, it just feels like trying to bullshit your way through the terrible enemy respawning system and death pits that accompany them.

Wow, I actually feel similarly about the first 2 MegaMan games! MegaMan 2 seems to pull way more cheap tricks than 1, but I think it was just so much more popular that most people overlook them through familiarity.

I'm just happy to see anyone mention Bucky. xD I largely agree with this list though and how you ranked stuff.

Ikari Warriors with no cheat codes makes the traditional list of hard NES games (GnG, Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, etc) look like Kirby's Adventure in comparison. Q-Bert, Arkanoid, and Athena are also brutal, harder than the traditional hard games

They just don't make games this hard anymore. They make games with deliberately bad controls in the spirit of QWOP, but almost every game back then had bad controls. People complain about rage games like Jump King, but every NES platformer is basically jump king with people shooting at you. These are also some of the greatest NES games. Battletoads was late in the 8-bit era, and stands up visually to some SNES games. It's a great game even if you never get past the 3rd level. Blaster Master is a relatively unknown gem, and it has really satisfying graphics, sound and controls. That freaking crab boss though. Kid Icarus is great, but you never hear people talk about it except that it was on that Nintendo cartoon. Both Metroid and Blaster Master felt really novel for that non-linearity, backtracking to go to later levels. I guess you had that in RPGs, but it seemed really fresh in a platformer.

Actually, I only started playing Ghosts N Goblins as an adult and it was a bit too difficult for me and was not fun to play. But as a kid, I liked to play and beat games like Darkwing Duck, The Guardian Legend (still my favorite game from that era) and Bucky O Hare....

I played battletoads everyday (till I ran out of continues) some times twice a day for 5 months before I finally beat it without using a continue.

As soon I saw that thumbnail, I recognized Holy Diver and thought of that goddamn pillar boss. And I'm not even a speedrunner, just a guy who's played through the game a few times normally.

obligatory "zelda 2 does not belong on this list"

Anybody played Snake Rattle and Roll? I find that one crazy hard once you get to the icy levels

This guy!! First time watching,won't be back ! He is way to good and makes me feel bad!😢 Rock on ,your awesome

TMNT isn't too bad until the technodrome, which I think is virtually impossible to do without taking damage

Zelda 2: Hard Mike Tyson's Punch Out: Too easy to even rank WHAT???? :D Different people have different skills I guess. Thanks a bunch for the video!

I always thought Rygar was super hard and the most impossible NES game ever. Turns out as an European I grew up with the PAL version which stopped me from gaining more exp halfway through the game. Having played the US version, I have to agree, it's pretty easy (but fun).

Have you done Castlevania 3's second quest, and if so, would you rate it even higher, or did your rating already factor it?

So glad to see battle toads getting the respect it deserves, one of my favourite games for sure

I didn't see Karnov anywhere on your list. Now THAT's a hard game!

Wow, you are an NES master! I am surprised nobody ever mentions Abadox or 8 Eyes for the list of Hardest games. I played those both growing up and never came close to beating either. Nobody I know has came close!

Home alone was the hardest game we actually had. Theres probably a trick people know about that makes it easy, but the traps disappear as the time goes on. I remember beating it when I was an adult and being so hyped for 10 seconds and the end screen is super lame

Rolling Thunder is pretty dang tough. so was thundercade.

That is a pretty sweet shirt. Totally bought one, can't wait to check it out in person

Blaster Master having been designed with turbo in mind makes sense because Hudson Soft was pretty heavily involved in the design of the PC engine and that had turbo by default

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="450">7:30</a> no worries Kosmic, I'm with you on Mega Man, looking at my own history on both Twitch and KZfaq, it's clear that I have been running more Mega Man 1 than the other games in the franchise, it's an accessible and short game to beat, and there's no need to use any pause tricks either, as I have proven many times before (although it makes speed runs faster). Overall I would say 1 and 3 are the ones I gravitate the most toward on the NES.

That shirt is dope for sure!!!

Great video, thanks!

Great list +1, is very accurate for people wondering where games rank in terms of difficulty. The only things I'd change are putting Megaman 1 and Punchout higher, which you say anyway you got good at by beating Mike Tyson before starting. (nitpick) Remember Dracula in Castlevania 1 being incredibly tough, so that'd be on my top 10. P.S. Silver Surfer is fun indeed.

Interesting list! I actually do similar things and have played a lot of these blind and or raced them blind vs a buddy as part of my series. Holy diver was insanely difficult but unsure if i would rank above battletoads! You should give dragons lair a try ^^

I'd like to see where you would rank "Adventures of Dino Riki" and "Fester's Quest" on this list.

I spent SO MANY HOURS on Blaster Master. Never could beat it, but got so close so many times it still makes me sad over 30 years later.

No Rush ‘n Attack?

Cool list! You're right, ranking NES games by difficulty is really hard because of all of the factors involved. If you ever do another one of these (if you haven't already) some games to consider might be: Double Dragon 1,2,3, The Adventures of Bayou Billy, Cobra Triangle, Ironsword: W&W2, Fester's Quest. I think that Time Lord is the hardest NES game that I've beaten without Game Genie. Arkanoid might be as close to impossible of an NES game to beat legit though.

Pretty spot on. Only thing I would change is move Battletoads down 1 space. Spent many hours as a kid trying to beat adventure Island. Made it so far but never beat it. Right up there with Soloman's Key and Festers Quest for me. I beat all those game too, except Silver Surfer and Adv Island.

Didn't expect Adventure Island to be ranked above Battletoads.

Nice video, you should try The Adventures of Bayou Billy, I've heard it is harder than battletoads!

Thank you for mentioning Adventure Island. I never hear it discussed much as far as difficulty because at the beginning the first levels are easy. However the difficulty slowly but steadily increases. Until you find out the nasty surprise the game has in store: The later levels, many of them have no weapon pickup. So if you are going through and you die *once* you could be effing screwed unless you have some absolutely insane reflexes. The levels are tough enough with a weapon but without one? Hooooo boy... And with Blaster Master you hit the nail on the head as far as inconsistency. For example I regard the boss of Area 3 as one of the hardest in the game. A lot of young players rides into Blaster Master ended at that thing. But at least Area 3 had legendary music if that was as far as one could get. :P

Blaster Master blew my mind as a kid... such good and varied gameplay.

My favorite hard NES game is Super Pitfall... You're just not going to beat it without a guide or weeks of hunting down every needed item (I won't spoil more than that). But it's also just kinda unfair because Harry doesn't control well and will just glitch into floors or walls because of some coding oversights... which is cool for speedrunning but not so cool for casual play.