I just beat battletoads this morning after 20 years finaly I can put it on the shelf

When I was little I found a copy of Zelda 2 outside on the ground. I played it and discovered the battery wasn't working so I couldn't save my progress. I would play for hours before I had to turn my NES off and start over next time. I did this over and over until my mom bought me a brand new copy of Zelda 2 for my birthday. I was finally able to beat it! A very underrated Zelda game in my opinion.

Ghost n Goblins introduced me to game rage.

I beat both levels of Ghosts and Goblins in 1990 and it was the toughest thing I'd ever done by that point in my life. I recall getting up on a Saturday morning and started playing. 2 hours became 4. 4 became 6. then 8. then 10,12, 14 hours. I paused the game and went to bed, got up and kept going. All day Sunday I played that GD game. I recall being in the 2nd world level 5 and being there for hours on end unable to progress. After another long pause to sleep again I got up on Monday which was Memorial Day (holiday....no school). I went into what would become my final stretch to the end...progressing finally to the top of level 6. At the end of level 6 when I finally killed *Both* of the Satan boss enemies and that key came down from the top of the screen the astonishing ecstatic joy of the accomplishment was beyond anything I've ever felt playing any modern game. It was a supreme victory after so very long All that hard work, all those hours. I finally finished the game after a 3 day marathon of pain and frustration. And of course, like with most NES games, the ending was completely underwhelming for what I went through to see it. Millennials just have no idea what we Gen-X'rs went through. No clue.

I read this list's title as "It's been a while since we mentioned Battletoads."

Contra is a game that seems really hard when you first play it, but as soon as you learn the enemy attack patterns (which are pretty basic) and stick with the spread gun it's not too bad at all, even without the Konami Code. I think Battletoads deserves the #1 spot though, I can't even get past Level 9, despite putting countless hours into it.

I love how you used AVGN for Silver Surfer!

Up Up, Down Down, Left-Right Left-Right, B, A....then Start!

Watchmojo: "this won't have broken games." - opens up with top gun...

Really? No Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse? It was a lot harder than the other nes Castlevanias

Hudson's Adventure Island should have been on that list maybe even edging out Battletoads as Number 1. The game starts deceptively approachable enough but as you progress the difficulty curve suddenly starts to ramp up. Even with experts playing there are no deathless playthroughs that I know of. And even with experts playing completing the game takes countless attempts. It is seriously one of the hardest games ever made.

Glad to see Fester's Quest and MegaMan 1 made the mentions those were 2 of the hardest games ever to beat when I was a kid.

When I was a kid, I managed to pass the turbo tunnel in Battle Toads ONCE! With my last life and last continue. And then I died in the next level shortly after. I don't even remember how that level looked like. That made me throw the controller away in anger and I never got back to that game ever.

Battle toads was one of my favorite games for NES. My neighbor down the street had it and any time we were playing NES at his house that was my pick. That game is legit.

I'm 41 years old and the pool level still makes me cringe on TMNT lol!

Ghosts N Goblins was the beta version of Dark souls

Batman for the NES was a hard one too

I think this is a Top Ten Angry Video Game Nerd Episodes list...

I was getting ready to write, "No Battletoads?"

I actually always found it very difficult to refuel in Top Gun.

Battletoads is not that hard when your name is Bootsy.

Top hardest games in NES: all of them! lol

Didn't realize I had PTSD until you showed that TMNT dam stage.

The first NES game I ever owned was Zelda 2. I love playing Dark Souls now. Some things never change :)

Wow, most of these games I either owned or played a lot as a kid. Wow, why was I a happy kid again?

The only way I was able to beat ninja Gaiden was by installing the emulator and save non stop through each level. The rage I went throw to finally beating that game after 26 years was intense and also self gratifying to accomplishing that life goal.

I'm 26, just wanted to say that game "festers quest" was really hard as a child.. and somewhat spooky. It was hard to grasp but one of the games I was very fond of. Thank you

I remember as a kid setting out to beat contra without dying. Took forever but eventually did it. Never played it after.

One of the hardest NES games ever made is hands down Kid Icarus.

Surprised Bayou Billy isn't on here...game was extraordinarily tough to make it through especially some of the driving levels. The silver surfer AVGN part was hilarious. Good job putting that in there!

I remember having a serious time of it with Zelda 2 back in the day, but I play it now and I think it's one of my favorite NES games.

Its really cool when WatchMojo puts AVGN clips in their videos. Keep up the awesome work 👍.

landing on the carrier is nothing compared to aerial refueling in that game. i have that damn music stuck in my head for the rest of my life because of that

HE'S GONNA TAKE YOU BACK TO THE PAST

The nostalgia was on heavy on this list. Good job

This video makes me turn toward Dark Souls games, point my finger and start laughing.

Bart vs The Space Mutants. Even Level 1 is hard

Castlevania BULLSHIT Castlevania 3 is much much MUCH harder

Great list. To this day, rank some of these as the most difficult games I've ever played, especially Ninja Gaiden.

Rygar. Unless you knew the code to continue, you had to beat the whole game with one man. Fall into a pit? Start from the very beginning. Also deadly towers was pretty tough without the secret armor.

Proof that Battletoads is the hardest game ever made in the history of humankind: WatchMojo just showed one single scene beyond level two LMFAO.

Guardian Legend. The absolute ridiculously hard game. Graphics were amazing, gameplay was crazy fast and the bosses were huge.

Im 33, when I was little most NES games were above my skill level though I played most of them thanks to my older brothers, I've never beat any of them and im still struggling today. Im currently switching between super mario 3 and startropics. Your sanity can only handle so much every day.

Everyone forgets about Zanac!! That was by far one of the most difficult NES games I've ever owned or played. For those who don't know it, it's an overhead shooter where you fly in a space ship and have to defend against several difficult and numerous alien does that come at you from literally every possible angle. It is a fun game, but difficulty is through the roof hard!!!! Check it out!

Thanks for the list - I've managed only 2-3 total landings in "Top Gun." "Fester's Quest" is incredibly challenging too.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was one of the most frustrating gaming experiences of my life. The first time I managed to actually defeat Dracula, I still lost because the time ran out on me as I was waiting for that stupid glowly-sphere thing that pops up when you defeat an enemy to come down.

I had every single movement memorized on Contra. I could breeze through it without thought, without ever getting hit, killing everyone, and beating the game with 100% accuracy. lol

I am glad you have mentioned street fighter 2010...that was my favorite game of all time

Ninja Gaiden harder than Ghosts and Goblins? No way! (Good list though)

Nice vid, like every other one! Keep up the amazing work! -Evan

Blaster Master! Couldn’t beat the last level!

ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY WAS HARD ASF!!

It took me over a year to beat Ninja Gaiden. It was hard, but a lot of fun to play. I loved the cutscenes.

Make top 10 months of the year

Between my brother and myself, we had every pick but the silver surfer game and Mario lost levels (never had Mario all stars). I honestly can't argue with any of your picks.. battle toads/ghosts & goblins were the bane of our existence for some time... well done list

By far the most difficult NES title I ever played as a kid was legendary wings. No other game even came close to the level of difficulty in this game for me. Ninja Gaiden was tough, and the Eagles made it incredibly hard, especially in world 6 in particular. But the story was too engaging for me to give up easily. But after 30 + years, legendary Wings Still Remains one of the toughest games I've ever played.

Top ten controversial franchise installments. You know, those games in a franchise that people NEVER stop arguing on whether they're good or not. Example, Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Sonic adventure 2, Mass effect 3, Any Final fantasy game after 6 LOL. It'd be a fun list mainly just to watch the comments explode.

Marble Madness.

I still have many of these games, and after 25 years I can't beat ghost n' goblins and TNMT. Best regards from México city.

Some games had cheap difficulty levels like Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania that made them more frustrating than hard but congrats on choosing Battletoads as number one. We had that game as kids and it was extreeeeemly haaaaard. The cave dash areas with the hover bikes required expert timing and memory!

80s were brutal for gamers

Little Nemo-Dream Master should be in this list

I’m replaying all my favorite NES and Genesis games on an anbernic RG35XX that I picked up for $40 .. I’m 39 years old and haven’t seriously played a video game since the first Silent Hill on PS1 .. I’m currently stuck on El Viento and Veediots .. the levels are just polluted with enemy’s and traps, plus it’s wildly frustrating to start all over again when you make a mistake and lose .. but I keep coming back to em’ becasue they’re so much fun! I respect all these KZfaq cats that can speed run these and other games like em’ .. I feel like the older games are just so much more challenging

I had Zelda but I was so young that I didnt know anything about saving and the battery or anything like that. So it was borderline impossible to beat without any guidance. I remember once, playing by myself and obvious by pure luck, I found the gauntlet. And then when I was done playing I turned it off. Never thought twice about it. I told my brothers. They got excited and asked me if I saved it. And I just started at them blankly. Anyway, that was how I learned about the concept of "saving" a game.

Top 10 games were decisions matter.

Did anyone expect Battle Toads to not be #1?

As a kid I remember playing Link and getting soo frustrated, just to get that damn HAMMER 🔨 LOL and I loved itttttt!!!!!!! Still do!

Im 36 years old and had all of these games when they came out... Good memories.

Had contra (called “probotector” in Australia) and battletoads. Finished em both countless times.

Deadly Towers definitely should have been on this list 😎

Yall left out Life Force. Ending was like impossible! Good video👍

Back to the future 2 & 3 for the nes should be definitely the hardest, that game pushed the boundaries of gaming and encouraged you to make maps to find all the objects of the game. Yeah one of the few games that forced you to study and sketch homemade blueprints of 3 timeline maps and see how they intertwined in order to find secret areas where objects may lay hidden. After you find any of those spots (doors leading to rooms) you had to survive the time challenges , many of them annoying, others relentless. Then you have to find the location in each timeline map where any of those objects belonged and if you failed to guess the object's name correctly, the item will dissapear from your inventory and go back to the room you find it in the first place. There are 40 objects in total and 40 hidden locations to place them. And that's just one game then you have to play back to the future 3.

next up top hardest super NES games :P

Rush -N- Attack was difficult to me

In the Gameboy version of Metroid I made it a considerable way into the game when I found out I had not gathered some item I needed to get through that board. Then I found I could not go backward to get that item. I had gone through at least four sets of batteries at that point and I had no desire to start a whole new game so never made it past that point.

The Zelda II game over screen with Ganon's laugh, it's enough to give me nightmares 30 years later. LOL.

Top 10 games with good sidequests.

My honorable mentions: Bionic Commando & Burai Fighter

I still remember top gun xD Man this game was so difficult... Contra is love 😍 finished many times.

Im proud to say Ive beaten four of the total games showed, including the honorable mentions list

What about Snake Rattle 'n Roll? This game was hell after the first 3 Levels!

I remember how I felt when I first finished Adventure of link for the first time after 20 years. That last temple tho... I just cant count how many game over I had, just reaching the f*cking palace was a pain in the ass

I was playing TMNT as a kid and could beat it, just needed to be patient and learn when to attack enemies. The maps, especially the last one, was pretty confusing the first time I played it, but I was able to figure them out. I miss these types of games, now-a-days you either have a tutorial the whole game showing you where to go/what to do, or you just run left to right.

I’ve beaten all these games. When I was a kid, I had patience and could sit down for hours and try again and again. The hardest in this list for me was probably TMNT.

boy and his blob could have made this list....one of the greatest classics of all time maybe the most underrated game in history of gaming! in my humble opinion of course

super c is harder than contra

They pushed and advertised the hell out of battletoads and when I bought it I was so happy to see the graphics that was where happy ended. Game was hard af.

Ah happy (and frustrated) memories! What was that game where you progressed up and around a 3D cylindrical tower, playing a frog and solving puzzles and traps..? THAT was hard 😆

Good lord I cringed watching that guy who kept dying on level one of Contra

legend said if you beat silver surfer you will be the new herald of galactus

Willow, if you ever played that one, it was impossible. It was the only game my friends and I couldn't wrap in a weekend.

Bayou Billy was no picnic that's for sure. I recall having problems with Days of Thunder and continuously hearing, "Nice try, Buddy!"

I still have my original copy of Fester's quest

Haha yes! I'm 37 and agree battletoads was beyond frustratingly impossibly hard. Alot of nostalgia value here. Life force (contra in space) was damn hard too

Shadowgate is the only game I've never completed. Even went back to it later. Best NES soundtrack by far.

Zelda 2, a Link to the past was one of the first games I played as a kid, and it's the first game I ever completed. I loved TMNT, but couldn't finish it as a kid. That underwater level was my undoing. It wasn't until I was much older that I was able to finish that one. Haven't finished any of the other 8.

The most hardest nes game I have ever played! Was who framed roger rabbit! That game is impossible!!

Shock that rushing attack and master blaster was not in the top 10

This is a super-accurate list.

JAWS, Friday the 13th, TNMT were a few of the games I struggled with beating.