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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we're snapping those stupid rectangle controllers, these
00:20are the 20 hardest NES games. If you're too young to have played these as a kid, we recommend
00:25you get your hands on them to test the limits of your rage. Let's go.
00:29Before we continue, we publish content all week long so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:34the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:38Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
00:50Some may know it as Super Mario Bros. 2, some know it as The Lost Levels, all know it as
00:55the most pain-inducing experience of the 80s. While it retained the original game's aesthetic,
01:00it significantly increased the difficulty. Now filled with traps, fake power-ups and
01:04levels that demand clairvoyance to complete, Nintendo may have asked too much of their
01:08players as it's trial and error at its worst.
01:25Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I shouldn't have claimed The Lost Levels
01:36is the most pain-inducing experience of the 80s so early because it gets way worse. Teenage
01:41Mutant Ninja Turtles is difficult for one core reason, it is poorly designed and no
01:47I'm not making excuses. Despite featuring excellent graphics, good music and the strength
01:52of its Konami name, the game is plagued by nearly impossible jumps, a terrible resource
01:57system and crippling framerate issues. By the time most players reach the infamous swimming
02:02level, watch out, the console is in danger of curb-stomping.
02:17Top Gun Top Gun on the NES infamously featured two
02:26endings, which was uncommon for its time. The first ending has Maverick beating the
02:29bad guys and saving the world, the second had me shot putting the NES controller through
02:34my little brother's head like a lawn dart. Flying and shooting down enemies isn't more
02:38difficult than in most dogfighting games, the real challenge is landing the plane, specifically
02:43landing on an aircraft carrier, which is nearly impossible. Even if you follow all
02:47of the on-screen instructions you might still crash into the ocean or the arse of the ship.
02:56Blaster Master Blaster Master like most entries on this
03:07list lands in a category of phenomenal, awesome, fantastic, enjoyable, but way too hard. Many
03:14consider Blaster Master as one of the best NES games, but even its fans will admit it's
03:19immensely difficult. You have to beat the game in one sitting and they certainly don't
03:23make it easy. All this because the protagonist followed his frog down a hole and encountered
03:27radioactive mutant monsters. What a piece of crap.
03:36Mike Tyson's Punch Out I'm still heavily regretting my earlier claim
03:45about the most painful game of the 80s because 1986 to 1989 was just constant gut punches
03:50from Nintendo. The problem with Punch Out is that each new set of fighters significantly
03:55game's difficulty. This makes it nearly impossible for players to learn at a reasonable pace.
04:00To make matters worse, the game treats your accomplishments like you did absolutely nothing
04:03and by the time you reach Mike Tyson's fight, it assumes you must be the perfect player.
04:08You can't beat fighters without learning their movesets and practicing, but you can't practice
04:12without beating every fighter before them to reach their level.
04:24Gauntlet NES gamers eventually realised that most
04:35NES ports of arcade games would be mere shadows of their original versions, typically retaining
04:40only the crushing difficulty. Gauntlet took this to a new level, almost like they knew
04:45people would expect it to be lesser, so they made it even lesser. Maze like levels, unintuitive
04:51puzzles and the fact that your health is constantly dropping. This means you're solving these
04:54levels and puzzles while racing against a soft time limit. Gauntlet earned about an
04:59hour of my time before it got relegated to the bottom of the plastic tub I kept my NES
05:03games in.
05:10Ninja Gaiden 3 The Ancient Ship of Doom
05:12Yay, our first entry for the 90s, and it didn't disappoint. Or it did, I'm not sure. The debate
05:30over which Ninja Gaiden game is the toughest will undoubtedly continue, but Ninja Gaiden
05:343 earns its spot on this list very comfortably. A limited continue system, overwhelming number
05:40of constantly respawning enemies and floaty jump controls strip away everything you could
05:44rely on in previous Ninja Gaiden games to gradually progress. Much like Battletoads,
05:49the lack of any illusion that you can eventually beat it makes Ninja Gaiden 3 the least enjoyable
05:53entry of the three.
06:02Ikari Warriors
06:11Remember that episode of The Simpsons, the one where Bart wants the game Bonestorm but
06:15instead marge buys him Lee Carvolo's putting challenge? That was essentially my Christmas,
06:20but replace Bonestorm with Contra, and putting challenge with Ikari Warriors. Like Contra,
06:25Ikari Warriors fills the screen with deadly projectiles ready to ruin your day. Unlike
06:29Contra, Ikari Warriors' terrible controls, poor graphics and hidden threats leave you
06:32never really sure why you're dying.
06:43Friday the 13th
06:51This game is infamous for several reasons, none of which are moderately enjoyable. It
06:55might not be remembered if it weren't adapted from a famous horror film series, or perhaps
06:59it would have been remembered for its extreme difficulty. The game is immensely challenging
07:03due to how goddamn confusing it is. With minimal help, you're left to figure out its awful
07:08mapping system before Jason kills off your fellow camp counsellors. Also, we don't recall
07:12Jason wearing a purple tracksuit in the movies. The NES tracksuit became so famous, it was
07:16available as a Jason costume in the recent Friday the 13th multiplayer game.
07:31Castlevania
07:32Castlevania was first introduced on the NES in 1986, and its innovative mechanics, killer
07:44soundtrack and impressive enemies quickly made it one of the most successful games on
07:48the console. Castlevania scales its difficulty with every step your character takes. Every
07:53action you commit to is final, and you can't readjust your trajectory once you jump or
07:58pull back your whip after you crack it. Because of this, every move must be deliberate with
08:02no room for error. The slightest mistake will cost you your life. And so many goddamn
08:06times it cost me my life. I'm one of the rare players who never committed and never
08:10beat this damn monstrosity. I do love it though.
08:19Contra
08:29Remember the Konami code? In Contra, and with the code, you start with 30 lives, and
08:33you'll likely need most if not all of them to complete the game. Genuinely, most players
08:38have never touched the game without the code, because without the Konami code, you only
08:42get 3 lives, making Contra extremely difficult to beat. The game uses a one-hit-one-kill
08:47mechanic, meaning that any contact with enemies or hazards will instantly end your life. In
08:52standard gameplay, this means you can only get hit 3 times before you're forced to
08:56start over from the beginning. Let me say that louder for the people in the back. 3
09:00HITS.
09:10Zelda II The Adventure of Link
09:22A game that was so rough they stripped the legend straight out of the title. We don't
09:26mind that the second game switched from a top-down view to a side-scroller after the
09:29first game. What we do mind is Death Mountain. It's a dungeon level that is as unpleasant
09:34as being in an actual dungeon. And I'm talking about an aggressive BDSM dungeon. While there
09:39are some great Zelda games that all offer a fair challenge, Zelda II just pushed the
09:43difficulty a bit too far. I guess you gotta walk before you can run.
09:54The Immortal This game sounds like an early Evanescence
10:08song and I don't know what would have been worse. The Immortal is essentially a practical
10:12joke masquerading as a game. It's maze of traps and hidden danger means that the only
10:16way to progress through this nightmare is to cheat or repeatedly die until you figure
10:20out the exact pixels you can and cannot interact with. It has infamously inspired a long line
10:25of flash games that operate similarly, forcing trial and error to be the game's main mechanic.
10:39Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
10:53Castlevania III makes Castlevania 1 look like a brisk walk in a park on a beautiful sunny
10:56day. Castlevania III is justifiably remembered for its notorious stairs. Many levels require
11:02you to climb stairs while dodging enemies and projectiles, but the stairs limit your
11:06movement to such a degree that you must navigate at a glacial pace to avoid everything. This
11:11design choice is cheap in a way that other games in the series often manage to avoid.
11:16Overall, Castlevania III is a collection of platforming death traps topped off by a brutally
11:21challenging 3 stage boss fight that forces you to start the level over if you die at
11:24any point. It's a beautifully nightmarish game.
11:38Mega Man
11:39The game often credited with starting off a new era of NES difficulty continues to be
11:57one of the hardest NES games ever, even after years of tough competitors. In fact, it continues
12:02to be one of the hardest games of all time, period. The original Mega Man is challenging
12:07for the same reasons as other retro Mega Man games. Tricky platforming, tough bosses
12:12and resilient enemies. However, this entry, unlike later entries, has no energy tanks,
12:17no passwords and less refined controls. It's a brutal romp through a brutal game, and you
12:23may find yourself blue in the face.
12:32Fester's Quest
12:42It's hard to believe that a game based on the 1960's Addams Family series could be considered
12:46one of the hardest NES games of all time, but over the years it has proven itself deserving
12:50of that dubious honour for all the wrong reasons.
12:54Most of the difficulty in Fester's Quest stems from the game's problematic controls. Fester
12:58moves as if he's as disinterested in the game as you are, yet you're expected to navigate
13:03tight spaces filled with endlessly respawning enemies that offer no breathing room. Unintuitive
13:08puzzles and bizarre first person segments that were poorly conceived from the start
13:12make Fester's Quest challenging for, and I hate to repeat myself, all the wrong reasons.
13:24The Adventures of Bayou Billy
13:34The side-scrolling levels in Bayou Billy are among the toughest in the genre, and that
13:38includes TMNT, but the game's driving levels also stand out as some of the most difficult
13:42driving sequences on a console notorious for its challenging driving games. Additionally,
13:47the light gun levels are incredibly tough and nearly unbeatable even with a functioning
13:51NES zapper, which mine never was. That said, credit is due to Konami for creating a game
13:56called The Adventures of Bayou Billy that is so difficult it continues to be discussed
14:00over 30 years later. Trust the publishers of Metal Gear to turn some weirdness into
14:04magic.
14:10Ghosts and Goblins
14:19Ghosts and Goblins has been known for its difficulty for so long that it's easy to overlook
14:23why the game is so goddamn hard in the first place. However, just a few minutes with this
14:28notorious game will quickly reveal that the game's enemies are the reason. The basic enemies
14:33in Ghosts and Goblins could easily serve as mini-bosses in lesser games. Adding to the
14:37challenge, there's really only one effective weapon available, and you only have two hits
14:40before you die. And this NES only has two more deaths before it dies, of kicking.
14:51Battletoads
15:03Yes we all know that Battletoads' legendary speed bike level epitomises NES difficulty
15:08and is a shared experience of gaming frustration from that era, but for those who dedicated
15:13time to mastering this sequence, you come to learn that it is only a slither of the
15:18difficulty this game's levels have to offer, Rat Race and Terror Tubes being the highlight
15:22for difficulty and brutal, brutal trial and error. On top of the game's already crushing
15:27difficulty, co-op mode is designed to make you despise your playing partner, with a melee
15:32friendly fire that's nearly impossible to avoid, to a shared life total that ends your
15:36run when one player dies. Which they may well in real life, because I'M SICK OF RESTARTING
15:41THIS GAME!
15:48Silver Surfer
15:59By design, side-scrolling flight action games are meant to be hard. However, Silver Surfer
16:04takes this concept to a whole new level. The game would already be difficult with its bullet
16:08hell death maze patterns, but it becomes notoriously memorable due to its poor visual design, which
16:13makes it nearly impossible to distinguish between projectiles and the environment. The
16:17reason why this game is spectacularly difficult is because of the poor game design. It isn't
16:22charming like Dark Souls or beautiful like Elden Ring, it's just a bad game, putting
16:27all responsibility onto the player.