/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.9608390]

What's the hardest NES game?

I'd go with Zelda 2

[Anonymous No.9608392]

not even close

[Anonymous No.9608413]

>>9608390
Battletoads or Makaimura. Zelda 2 is alright once you git gud just like every other 'Nintendo hard' game. The ones I mentioned are just bullshit, they are unfair games, it's impossible to git gud at them and consistently win after your first playthrough or two. For example, I can beat Ninja Gaiden in less than an hour right now even though I haven't played it in a while

[Anonymous No.9608425]

>>9608413
Those are hard games but Championship Lode Runner is definitely the hardest game in the entire library, if you exclude Famicom only games then it would be no ABBA Ikari Warriors

[Anonymous No.9608428]

Punch Out
Ninja Gaiden 3
Adventure Island
Castlevania III
SMB2J

[Anonymous No.9608430]

>>9608428
Is Ninja Gaiden 3 even vaguely beatable without save scumming

[Anonymous No.9608439]

>>9608425
You mean THE hardest game? Now I want to try it, never played Lode Runner.
>early arcadey FC game by Hudston
>the longplay is over 2 fucking hours
>longplays are usually 0 mistake runs
>anon says it's the hardest famicom game
Oh my fucking god... I'll pass

[Anonymous No.9608442]

>>9608430
Yeah, if your ROM is named Ninja Ryukenden 3. Same with CV3, if its Akumajou Densetsu then you're good

[Anonymous No.9608445]

Probably that one piano lesson game since you actually need to be pretty good at playing the piano to beat it.

[Anonymous No.9608447]

>>9608439
Arino played it on Game Center CX and got stuck on the first level.

[Anonymous No.9608450]

>>9608439
It's by Broderbund, Hudson just handled the Famicom port.

[Anonymous No.9608457]

>>9608439
It's no contest the hardest game in the system,
people saying anything else are just unaware of its existence, check the archive if you want to know more
every other answer is just wrong, although >>9608445 is a sleeper pick that often goes unnoticed

[Anonymous No.9608460]

>>9608447
Arino is admittedly very bad at video games, he got multiple game overs in Green Hill Zone in Sonic 1

[Anonymous No.9608465]

>>9608390
Battletoads for sure

[Anonymous No.9608474]

>>9608457
>the 3rd world has its advantages
I wonder where that anon is from. I'm a 3rd worlder too. I still play Famicom versions of everything because it's more nostalgic. Well, unless it's an RPG

[Anonymous No.9608484]

>>9608390
Uh, one of the Ninja Gaiden games, or Battletoads. Actually, Holy Diver was supposed to be pretty merciless, if memory serves right.

[Anonymous No.9608491]

>>9608390
Mission: Impossible has to be up there

[Anonymous No.9608496]

Zelda 1

[Anonymous No.9608508]

Kid Icarus

[Anonymous No.9608513]

>>9608474
Europeans in general often had a couple multicarts because you could buy them in common vacation countries.

[Anonymous No.9608547]

>>9608425
>>9608457
It looks like a puzzle game, which is kind of cheating if you want to name hardest game. The thread was moreso looking for hard gameplay wise. Any puzzle can be inpossibly difficult if one wants to make it so.

[Anonymous No.9608596]

>>9608390
lolno
Castlevania 3 is way harder

[Anonymous No.9608604]

>>9608390
Recca

[Anonymous No.9608793]

I think castlevania 3, at least out of the ones my friends played. I had friends who beat battletoads and almost beat ninja gaiden, I was never that good. But ive beat zelda ii, it not hard, just tedious.

[Anonymous No.9608808]

>>9608596
Castlevania 3 is not hard. Sypha can clear the whole screen of enemies with one use of her lightning spell and bosses die with two lightning spells per phase and you find more than enough hearts to spam it.

[Anonymous No.9608841]

>>9608390
Zelda 2 isn’t thaaaaaat hard (I’ve never finished it)
There is a big difficulty spike when you hit Death Mountain, and another on the road to the Final Palace. This filters many.

[Anonymous No.9608879]

>>9608808
I can complete 7 and 9 levels with lightning. But I need savestate with it at start of level. If you die and lose it, its over.For its random drop you need eternal loads.

[Anonymous No.9608886]

>>9608390
holy divuuhhhhhh
you won't survivuhhhhh
you can't beat the boss without glitching the game att
level fiveuhhhhhh

seriously though this game makes ghosts and goblins look like super mario bros

[Anonymous No.9608898]

[Anonymous No.9608946]

adventure island was fucking harrowing. probably not *the* hardest game but it's for sure the hardest game i've ever beat.

[Anonymous No.9609310]

What are some games where input lag matters? And I mean REALLY matters, now like when retards complain about 'muh mega man legacy collection input lag literally impossible' and all that other stuff that's not even noticeable when you are not a scrub. I know that CRT+real hardware make Battletoads and Punch Out easier. So basically I think the games that require this are the hardest

[Anonymous No.9609412]

Battletoads.

Battletoads is not hard in the same way Ninja Gaiden, Zelda, or Castlevania are hard. No matter what you say about those games, their mechanics can be mastered. Even if it's really damned unlikely, it is still POSSIBLE to make it through even the most difficult sections on your first try, if your skills with the mechanics are honed. Battletoads is not like that. It is literally won through trial and error. Throughout the entire game, there is not one fucking action taken that a reasonable person would expect any player to make on a whim. Beating the game requires you to die multiple times. Period.

[Anonymous No.9609424]

the really badly designed games were the hardest, like pic related

[Anonymous No.9609462]

>>9609424
Silver Surfer isn't even that badly designed. It's a good shooter with Touhou energy. It's not unfair, it's just brutal. That said, a turbo controller is kinda mandatory to get long-term enjoyment out of it. And maybe the password that gives you infinite continues too.

[Anonymous No.9609475]

>>9608390
idk probably one of those random action 52 games that are literally impossible to beat

[Anonymous No.9609478]

>>9608390
Arkanoid always seemed really tough.

[Anonymous No.9609479]

>>9609462
Do you want a cheat code that makes you immune from damage as well?

[Anonymous No.9609480]

The sheer autism in this thread
>OP clearly looking for discussion about the hardest games other people remember playing
>lists a popular game people actually give a shit about
>expecting replies like "I gotta go with Contra haha that game is hard"
>Anons proceed to debate over what the literal, actual hardest NES game is

[Anonymous No.9609482]

>>9609479
I'm sorry you enjoy carpal tunnel and outdated arcade crap that has no place in a console game.

[Anonymous No.9609487]

I wanna know why you can't download the hacked modded roms and complete rom files

That's annoying. Or is there a place that you can?

[Anonymous No.9609491]

>>9609487
*as complete .rom files*

[Anonymous No.9609492]

>>9609462
>Silver Surfer isn't even that badly designed.

nah the level design is genuinely horrific in places, specifically on the top down levels its impossible to tell if the terrain will one hit kill you or if you'll fly over it until you bump into it and die, some of the projectiles have identical color to the terrain making it extremely difficult to see, and the basic design of the board make it night impossible to navigate the diagonal tunnel parts due to his long it is and how narrow the tunnels are(never mind trying to kill enemies in them that you cant hit without being right in front of). The horizontal levels aren't AS bad but the way the terrain constricts you combined with how high your shots come compared to how tall your sprite is make for some seriously unforgiving bullshit
>>9609479
do you not like having flesh on your thumb tip? Because a game like Silver Surfer will rub it right the fuck off without a turbo button

[Anonymous No.9609493]

probably some obscure dogshit game like the terminator with only 3 lives no continues.

[Anonymous No.9609497]

>>9608390
I've beaten castlevania III, ninja gaiden 1 and 2, zelda 2, I cannot beat contra or super c. an ulimited continue game has to practically be kazio tier to overcome the average limited continue game.

[Anonymous No.9609504]

>>9608390
Bait. Anyway obviously Battletoads. Ghosts 'n' Goblins comes close.

[Anonymous No.9609507]

>>9609480
>actually answering the OP's question is autistic

[Anonymous No.9609510]

>>9608430
Yes. You end up memorizing the levels pretty quick if you are dedicated. I have beaten NG1, 2, and 3 and the sequels were definitely smooth sailing after beating 1.

[Anonymous No.9609520]

>>9609492
>its impossible to tell if the terrain will one hit kill you or if you'll fly over it until you bump into it and die
So shoot it. If your shots stop, you can't touch it. If they pass through, it's safe. This is blatantly obvious.

[Anonymous No.9609624]

>>9609412
The main difficulty with battle toads is how different each stage is from each other, it’s a complete variety game and never lets you get into a rhythm in playing it

[Anonymous No.9609640]

How hard is it to beat original Castlevania? I want to beat it for years.

[Anonymous No.9609645]

1943 and adventure island I gave up on before I could beat them. The last level of kung fu heroes was tough as well

[Anonymous No.9609657]

>>9609640
Easier than SMB1 warpless (if you don't use the continue code that is)

[Anonymous No.9609691]

I don't know if it's the hardest, but this piece of shit is living proof that the nintendo seal of quality means absolutely fuck all.

[Anonymous No.9609702]

>>9608547
what did he mean by this

[Anonymous No.9609750]

>>9608946
if you beat it without the hudson bee then that's fucking insane

[Anonymous No.9609760]

>>9608390
Battlefrogs mogs that shit OP

[Anonymous No.9609763]

>>9608428
Not bad but battlefrogs steps on these

[Anonymous No.9609770]

>>9608793
Beat battletoads
Almost beat ninja gaiden

Pick one

[Anonymous No.9609779]

>>9608604
Also good answer. That shit hard

[Anonymous No.9609792]

>>9608513
Yep, when I got a Game Boy Pocket on a family trip to Tenerife, I also got a multicart for it. It claimed to be 32 games in 1, but it was more like, 12 or even 8, and the games were just listed again with different titles. Apparently some multicarts actually feature modifiers or cheats for the game when you select the alternate titles, but as far as I could tell, this wasn't the case with mine or my brother's, and it was the exact same game.

I can't seem to find any pictures online of the one I had, and I still have that thing lying around somewhere, so I guess I should dig it out and take a picture of it just for reference's sake. I don't think these things have much value, but there's some niche collectors who collect these bootleg Game Boy carts because they're fun and usually very cheap, some of the more unusual ones don't even have a menu interface, instead they have pic related, a little button on the cartridge body which you press, rebooting the Game Boy and loading the next game in line.

[Anonymous No.9609803]

>>9608445
I completely forgot about that one existing. I guess it'd probably be up there since it requires a completely separate skillset from normal videogames. I'm assuming also that it's a sign of how authentic and legit it is as a teaching tool when to beat it as a videogame, you need to have become a pianist like it intends you to.

>>9608457
Hah, almost like Extreme Rise Of The Triad, except it's probably a lot more fair. Pretty sick that they put together a special version of the game to be a serious challenge run for the most elite of fans, game devs don't do that today, and they honestly didn't do it very much back in those days either. I respect it.

[Anonymous No.9609817]

>>9609462
>with Touhou energy
what does that even mean?

[Anonymous No.9609840]

>>9608390
Due to extensive research done by the University of Pittsburgh, Battletoads has been confirmed as the hardest NES game known to man. The research is as follows. Pocket-protected scientists built a wall of iron and crashed a Battletoads cart into it at 400 miles per hour, and the cart was unharmed. They then built a wall out of Battletoads and crashed a car made of iron moving at 400 miles an hour into the wall, and the wall came out fine. They then crashed a diamond Battletoads made of 400 miles per hour into a wall, and there were no survivors. They crashed 400 miles per hour into a diamond traveling at Battletoads. Western New York was powerless for hours. They rammed a wall of Battletoads into a 400 mile per hour made of diamond, and the resulting explosion shifted the earth's orbit 400 million miles away from the sun, saving the earth from a meteor the size of a small Washington suburb that was hurtling towards mid-western Prussia at 400 billion miles per hour. They shot a Battletoads made of iron at a car moving at 400 walls per hour, and as a result caused two wayward airplanes to lose track of their bearings, and make a fatal crash with two buildings in downtown New York. They spun 400 miles at Battletoads into iron per wall. The results were inconclusive. Finally, they placed 400 Battletoads per hour in front of a car made of wall traveling at miles per iron, and the result proved without a doubt that Battletoads were the hardest NES game of all time, if not just the hardest NES game known the man.

[Anonymous No.9609843]

>>9609792
Wasn't even that upset that the 32 in 1 cart I had wasn't a full 32 different games, because it had a lot of them still. Tetris and Dr. Mario alone were well worth it, but there was also Flipull, Serpent (labeled as Snake, its game over screen was really sad to me), as well as Battle City, which I learn many years later to be a Famicom game which was never officially ported to Game Boy or to the western world, which I guess made it a little bit special. Fun game, too.

>>9609817
Bullet hell, I guess?

[Anonymous No.9609857]

>>9608390

[Anonymous No.9609904]

>>9609792
>Apparently some multicarts actually feature modifiers or cheats for the game when you select the alternate titles, but as far as I could tell, this wasn't the case with mine or my brother's, and it was the exact same game.
Yeah, some do. I had a 15-in-1 cart that had 13 different games, two of which were Double Dragon 2 and Super Mario Land, then the final two were "Double Dragon 1" (Double Dragon 2 except you start on the final level) and "Mario Girl Land" (Super Mario Land except you start on 3-1).

It wasn't the norm, but it happened occasionally.

[Anonymous No.9609907]

>>9608390
Takeshis challenge if you try to beat it the legit way

[Anonymous No.9609914]

>>9609907
What's "the legit way" and why is that so hard? I've beaten it.

[Anonymous No.9609928]

>>9609904
Actually managed to find a picture of it.
"Boy Soccer Team" was Captain Tsubasa VS, the rest should be fairly obvious.

[Anonymous No.9609931]

Legacy of the Wizard.

[Anonymous No.9609940]

>>9609840
I enjoyed this silly post.

[Anonymous No.9609942]

>>9609840
That brings back memories, thank you.

[Anonymous No.9609984]

>>9609840
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRPXRHS4XNQ

[Anonymous No.9610093]

Deadly Towers…

[Anonymous No.9610232]

Sorry if this gets a bit away from OP's topic, but I was sent on a nostalgia spiral on the subject of those Game Boy multicarts. Let's see, going through my memory, I think me and my brother had these games on ours, some shared, some not:
>Tetris
>Dr. Mario
>Battle City (port of Famicom-only game)
>Snake (Serpent, ergo Snake but with some added gameplay depth compared to the classic ones, has very awkward controls though)
>Flipull
>Tom & Jerry (based on that not very good movie, I liked the cartoons way more)
>Super Mario Land
>"Super Mario 4" (actually a reskinned Crayon Shin-Shan game)
>Hercules (based on the Disney movie/cartoon, was kind of awkward and difficult to play, didn't enjoy it much)
>Alleyway (a good Breakout clone)
>Othello
>Bomb Jack
>Hugo (one of those Crazy Castle games, with that European cartoon troll I never quite liked)
>Motocross Maniacs
It ranged mostly from decent to very good, so combined with the number of titles, the value was through the roof, thank God for piracy! Tetris even worked with the link cable.

>>9609792
I saw mention of an Atari 2600 multi-game cartridge which actually WAS 128 in 1, but it was one of those button cartridges, ergo if you wanted to play the 128th game on the cartridge, it means you had to press that button to reboot and cycle through each game in order to get to the end, 127 times.
I'm glad that multicarts with a menu interface are more common, I'm not sure I would have played mine as much if I had to do that manual cycling shit.

>>9609904
I saw some recollections others mention where this stuff was really inconsistent. Like a cartridge could do that thing where it has a bunch of repeats, and MOST of them are the same as the last time, but then one or two is modified like that to start you on a later level, without any of the other ones doing stuff like that.

[Anonymous No.9610248]

>>9610232
I know there's this NES multicart that has like 20 different variants of Contra with all kinds of weird mods.

[Anonymous No.9610258]

>>9608390
Some games with a good hard are:
>Castlevania 3
>Ninja Gaiden
>Vice: Project Doom
If you want ones with BS difficulty:
>Miltons Secret Castle
>Sword master 2
>The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy

[Anonymous No.9610436]

>>9608390
Solomon's Key without guides or savestates. Good fucking luck.

[Anonymous No.9610443]

>>9610436
I've done it. It's hard, but really rewarding.

[Anonymous No.9610445]

>>9608390
I'd say ducktales. WHAT AN EPIC CHALLEMGE!

[Anonymous No.9610518]

>>9609702
I meant strict puzzle games are not really in the same category as video games since it's pretty much 0 mechanics and all 'thinking'. It's different than having to fight a boss or dodge a million enemies.
>>9609507
I guess I should've titled it 'what's the hardest but fair game'. Having to beat a long game with 3 lives isn't fair.

[Anonymous No.9610530]

>>9609640
yeah i'd vouch for the guy sayin it's easier than mario 1, but then again it depends on what kinda games you're good at
there's hard stuff in it sure, but the game is slow and methodical, and the physics are pretty basic, so when ya know the levels and boss patterns, it's like doin quick math in your head, you'll fuck up sometimes sure but most arithmetics can be done in rapid succession

[Anonymous No.9610534]

>>9609640
Not hard at all. All the difficulty of the game is in learning how and when to use the right subweapons.

[Anonymous No.9610546]

>>9610534
>the right subweapons
Which is the Holy Water for all bosses but the first.

[Anonymous No.9610564]

>>9609624
That's only half the issue. The other half is you are constantly being blindsided by hazards you could not possibly have anticipated without trial and error. I'm not exaggerating here. Absolutely NOBODY is going to get through Volkmire's Inferno without dying AT LEAST 3 times, their first run. Nobody is going to know how to dodge those bubble-blowing things in the final stage before they instantly kill you. Nobody is going to know which direction those wheels you have to outrun in Terra Tubes will turn at the end. Nobody is going to anticipate the multiple times in Arctic Caverns where the game decides to drop you into a pit of spikes.

If ANYONE considers this good game design, or "subversive", or "innovative", they're probably a legitimate sociopath.

[Anonymous No.9610583]

>>9608898
https://youtu.be/km9vYa2GIUI

Did James actually beat this legit? He's a pretty shit gamer from all I've seen. This seems like something that should have been way out of his league

[Anonymous No.9610606]

>>9610564
Limited continues were the biggest issues really with the game design there. For all the absolute bullshit that game throws at you, you should be able to restart from the current level as often as you wish. It would have have still been a very difficult game but way more manageable

[Anonymous No.9610610]

>>9610583
He's not that shit a gamer. I mean, he beat Contra all on his own before he even started playing AVGN, he beat Ninja Gaiden, and he beat Street Fighter 2010.

But it's entirely possible for this one he asked Mike to come in and do it.

[Anonymous No.9610664]

>>9610564
Really?
I think most of the game is reactionary rather than memorisation

[Anonymous No.9610667]

Get good at juggling birds in the wookie hole, and Battletoads gets easier.

This game though...the constant bombardment.

[Anonymous No.9610669]

>>9610583
>>9610610
Almost all video game footage in older AVGN videos is Mike playing.

[Anonymous No.9610668]

>>9610546
Gross, if your not an axe fiend then don’t talk to me

[Anonymous No.9610696]

>>9610669
That is not true. Hell, he had an entire episode detailing how he makes an episode, and said if Mike was ever there, he was only taking notes while he was the one playing.

He also posted photos on his old Cinemassacre website back in the day as proof of him beating the games.

[Anonymous No.9610703]

>>9608390
Either Battletoads, Championshiop Lode Runner, or Abadox maybe also Burai Fighter

[Anonymous No.9610773]

While it's not an NES exclusive, nor is it likely the hardest of all, The Immortal deserves mention. Unless you're using a guide, you will die A LOT. The intentionally obscure puzzles are built around this, hence the title. As noted here >>9608547 though, puzzle games can be considered a different type of difficulty. Pic related is actually from the Genesis version, but the games are similar aside from graphics and sound quality.

[Anonymous No.9610785]

adventure island by far

[Anonymous No.9610828]

>>9610773
I must have played this on/off for fifteen years before I finally beat it. Satisfying ending.

[Anonymous No.9611061]

Transformers: Comvoy no Nazo. If you can get past the first level then God bless.

[Anonymous No.9611075]

https://w.atwiki.jp/famicomall/pages/358.html

From the "Beat all Famicom games" challenge where they cry how pitiless CLR is.

[Anonymous No.9611079]

>>9610703
>Abadox maybe also Burai Fighter
Again, no big deal with a turbo controller.

[Anonymous No.9611086]

>>9609462
Once you have a turbo controller the big issue is not crashing into things and getting fucked by the player's giant hitbox.

[Anonymous No.9611095]

>>9610436
The Mexican Runner took slightly under 6 hours to beat this one. It's certainly no cakewalk.

[Anonymous No.9611105]

>>9609492
>do you not like having flesh on your thumb tip? Because a game like Silver Surfer will rub it right the fuck off without a turbo button
I beat Kung Fu last summer and it almost peeled the skin from my thumb. And that's just a silly 15 minute long NROM game.

[Anonymous No.9611119]

>>9608390
Zelda 2 isn't even the hardest nes Zelda game

[Anonymous No.9611125]

>>9611119
?
How do you figure

[Anonymous No.9611136]

>>9611119
I dunno, its hard to say. Zelda 1 is harder in the sense that it's more cryptic on what to do next while Zelda 2 is less so but harder combat wise.

[Anonymous No.9611141]

>>9608390
Zelda 2 is not even in the top 30 of the NES, zoomzoom

[Anonymous No.9611164]

>>9608442
I should try Ninja Gaiden 3 again now that I know the Jap version doesn't have limited continues. I really liked the first two when I played them on my Wii back in 2007 but was immediately filtered by limited continues on the third.

[Anonymous No.9611168]

>>9609907
doesn't that game require you to wait on a screen and do nothing for like 5 hours?

[Anonymous No.9611202]

>>9611168
One hour, and it's one of two possible solutions to that puzzle, so even that is not required.

[Anonymous No.9611318]

Might & Magic

[Anonymous No.9611367]

>>9608390
I genuinely can't understand how can someone beat Battletoads without save states

[Anonymous No.9611383]

>>9608425
Fun game though

[Anonymous No.9611435]

>>9610518
>It's different than having to fight a boss or dodge a million enemies.
in the end it's all trial and error

[Anonymous No.9612592]

bump

[Anonymous No.9612724]

>>9611164
It's not the only change, the difficulty was greatly reduced to the point the game is a joke. It's like the easy mode of the real game.

[Anonymous No.9612757]

>>9609478
It was a game that was designed to eat quarters. Of course it was "tough".

[Anonymous No.9612859]

>>9612724
Or it's the actual difficulty and the US game is the quarter munching anti-rental version.

[Anonymous No.9612912]

>>9608413
Battletoads is unfair and bullshit but it definitely possible to git gud and win consistenly at them.
Maybe not 10 times in a row but still.

Makaimura is unfairly hard too yes, but at least you can get unlimited continues.

My bet placed on Adventure Island 1 without a bee. Bee is a cheat, but it's sort of legal cheat, you may or may not get it depending on your goals.

[Anonymous No.9612915]

>>9608390
Any of those 3 live/no continue famicom kusoge are harder than Zelda 2

[Anonymous No.9612919]

>>9612859
If thinking that makes you feel better about having to play the easy mode of a game designed for 10 years old

[Anonymous No.9612950]

>>9612915
>Any of those 3 live/no continue famicom kusoge
Fuck you Chubby Cherub.

[Anonymous No.9612972]

>>9612912
Continues are not cheat, even hidden. They were how those games were intended to be played.

[Anonymous No.9613796]

>>9609478
just started playing things about a month ago and the furthest i've made it is round 7. seems crazy i've only seen 1/6 of the game

[Anonymous No.9613863]

>>9612972
If they were intended then the devs would have explicitly included them. The fact is you have to find a hidden item to enable them which makes them a hidden cheat.

[Anonymous No.9613903]

>>9608390
I'd say Battletoads is the hardest because it puts up a variety of different challenges requiring precision and reaction speed. Every stage is different so you have to master multiple different modes to get through it. And if you say it's easy because you practiced and got good, well that's the fucking point. That's why it's a good game.

[Anonymous No.9613923]

There's hard that you want to play and hard that you don't want to play and I feel like the last category should not be considered. I don't think anyone cares which adventure game has the most nonsensical unguessable puzzles or which no continue action game relays the most on luck.

So as for the hardest action games it is always shmups in every generation. They have a level of reflex test that limits how much memorization can allow you to auto-win are very strict with how many times you can get hit and the genre just pushes it's own difficulty more often then say platformers.

[Anonymous No.9613928]

>>9613923
shmups can be cheesed with a turbo controller, so...

[Anonymous No.9613947]

>>9613928
>shmups can be easy if you cheat

[Anonymous No.9613989]

>>9613928
Past a certain point shmups all come with auto-fire making your point stupid. Even before than auto-fire still doesn't reduce the category as being the hardest. There are handful of platformers like gng and some beat em ups (all arcade versions) that can rival the lower and mid difficulty shmups. Auto fire might make them rise a few positions in the rank but it's not changing the overall point that shmups are simply the hardest action genre in every generation.

So these threads are stupid because there is nothing to fucking debate. The answer for action games is always, always shmups. One word answer for the action games which is all anyone talks about. It might be interesting to talk about non-action games: puzzles, pnc adventure, turn based games, strategy games but they never want to do that.

[Anonymous No.9614250]

>>9612912
>My bet placed on Adventure Island 1 without a bee. Bee is a cheat, but it's sort of legal cheat
No, not really. The American manual tells you how to activate continues, though without telling you the exact location of the bee, just that it's somewhere on the first level.
The Japanese manual doesn't mention a continue function at all.

[Anonymous No.9614258]

>>9614250
So Japanese Famicom Adventure Island is the hardest. Case closed.

[Anonymous No.9614269]

>>9614258
The game itself is identical though. Only the manual is different.

[Anonymous No.9614284]

>>9614269
In the US version it isn't cheating to use the bee, in the Famicom version it is.

[Anonymous No.9614293]

>>9613863
>If they were intended then the devs would have explicitly included them. The fact is you have to find a hidden item to enable them which makes them a hidden cheat.
The point was to sell strategy guides and Famitsu copies. Do you think those retarded Famicom games like Atlantis no Nazo were intended to be beat legit? Kids had to pay to see the end, or hope a classmate knew every secrets instead. Continue codes and secrets were the same.

[Anonymous No.9614295]

>>9608390
I've beaten Zelda 2 and I suck ass at video games. Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, and Castlevania make me tremble in fear.

[Anonymous No.9614302]

>>9608898
Is this the one that gives you epilepsy?

[Anonymous No.9614309]

>>9614295
CV1 is a breeze if you can hang on to the holy water. CV3 is a fair challenge on Famicom.

[Anonymous No.9614316]

>>9614309
I was goaded into not ever using holy water and am weak against the medusa heads

[Anonymous No.9614326]

>>9614293
>The point was to sell strategy guides and Famitsu copies
>names a game that came out before Famitsu even launched its first issue

[Anonymous No.9614369]

>>9614295
Castlevania 1 is not that bad if you're decent at pattern recognition and/or don't give up at it. Ninja Gaiden is pretty easy aside from 6-2 and the last two bosses. Can't speak for Battletoads I need to spend more time with that one.

[Anonymous No.9614535]

>>9613863
>>9614326
Puristards, ladies and gentleman.

[Anonymous No.9614745]

>>9614316
it's really not a bad idea when you're trying to learn the game initially, later on when you remember it all it does kinda trivialize things though. that said, if you're really deadset on it, cross helps against the medusa heads especially in double/tripleshot form, and is the second best subweapon period. it's also that way in castlevania iii when ya play that (play a translation of the jp rom your first few times, it's less stupidly designed generally).

[Anonymous No.9614820]

>>9613863
>>9612972
You have to put yourself in the mindset of the time.

In order to continue in arcade games you had to pay up. Then suddenly, console games are getting arcade ports at home (or games designed like other arcade games like Adventure Island) and devs wondered how you can make that fair.

For a while games tended to have hidden continue mechanics, AI isn't the only one, Rad Racer is another example from the same time period. After a while that disappeared in favour of non hidden continues, but very limited in numbers, before eventually infinite continues became a norm. These changes happened with mentalities in game design straying further away from arcade and closer to console.

Continues in AI and Rad Racer being hidden is simply because mentalities just did not think it was normal to have free infinite continues just yet, especially in regards to games that follow gameplay standards of arcade games

so yeah you can call that a cheat if you want, just don't forget the mindset of the time period when you think that. Had the same game been made a few years later, continues wouldn't be hidden, and that's exactly what happened with AI2 and 3 (the bee only helps to keep your items upon continuing)

[Anonymous No.9615623]

>>9614820
How far do you want to extend this? Did I now beat SMB savescumming because modern games are so dumbed down that, were it made today, I would get infinite lives and auto-saves every second?

[Anonymous No.9615676]

>>9614820
>or games designed like other arcade games like Adventure Island
Adventure Island is an arcade port you retard.

[Anonymous No.9615763]

>>9613947
I was fine with not developing carpal tunnel syndrome at the age of 12.

[Anonymous No.9616028]

>>9610093
I'm going to give this a serious go. If I could finish Hydlide, I can finish this.

[Anonymous No.9616040]

>>9611079
Maybe stop cheating with turbo.

[Anonymous No.9616041]

>>9610093
>>9616028
It's not a hard game at all, you just gotta be willing to draw maps when you get in the dungeons. Do that and it shouldn't give you much trouble

[Anonymous No.9616043]

>>9616028
Hydlide isn't hard though.

[Anonymous No.9616045]

>>9615763
You can keep make whatever excuse you want. It's still cheating.

[Anonymous No.9616047]

>>9616043
You found the fairies on your own? The jewels?

[Anonymous No.9616054]

>>9616047
Yes.

[Anonymous No.9616060]

>>9616047
There is no way anyone finds the third fairy in the computer version on their own. The NES version on the other hand changed the method to get it to something simple.

[Anonymous No.9616063]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_wI2jsAdoQ
Good Ending route requires you to do some real precise timing moves to get the other treasures by the third stage.

[Anonymous No.9616075]

>>9616060
People that call the "NES version" Hydlide instead of Hydlide Special have in general never touched the original Hydlide.

[Anonymous No.9616079]

yeah don't feel bad that you used GameFAQs to look up where all the hidden crap in LOZ is. these games were meant to be played by you obtaining a strategy guide.

[Anonymous No.9616087]

Zooming is damaging to the brain.

[Anonymous No.9616125]

>>9611125
In Zelda 2 you fight one or two tough enemies at a time. In Zelda 1 you're surrounded by a dozen enemies at a time. Puzzle wise they're equally obtuse, but then Zelda 2 has platforming sections full of bottomless pit cheap shots.

[Anonymous No.9616139]

>>9610093
Deadly Towers gets way too much shit because your character starts underpowered. Like >>9616041 says if you do maps in the dungeons it's not that bad, just make sure you find the hidden areas in the towers with the good power ups. The game is actually pretty fun.

[Anonymous No.9616143]

>>9616079
The NES Zelda games are more fun as action games than adventure games anyways. They're better monster stabbing simulators than they are cave finding sims.

[Anonymous No.9616151]

>>9614535
Is it "purist" to state a literal fact? There is no evidence whatsoever that cryptic shit in games or limited continues were part of some crazy schizo conspiracy plot to make deals with Famitsu or whatever. Continue codes were left in because they were meant for debugging, and there was no real incentive to take that code out (because the odds of kids figuring out the code by themselves are very low). That's literally it.

[Anonymous No.9616157]

I've "1cc'd" Ninja Gaiden, Contra, Super C, Castlevania 1 and 3, and every NES Mega Man game.

I've never beaten Adventure Island. Hell I don't even know if I'm come close. I think I've gotten to world 4 maybe? I don't even know how many there are. For such a cute, colorful and simple game it sure is fucking brutal

[Anonymous No.9616173]

>>9616157
There are 8, I gave up on 8-2. Out of 8-4. Webm related.

[Anonymous No.9616184]

>>9616157
I beat it with savestates years ago, never on original hardware though.

[Anonymous No.9616187]

>>9616184
>I beat it
>with savestates

does not compute

[Anonymous No.9616193]

>>9616157
What's so hard about it? Looks like a basic platformer.

[Anonymous No.9616194]

>>9616187
Try re-reading the post, that might help.

[Anonymous No.9616195]

>>9609691
try the JP version (Mad City)

[Anonymous No.9616196]

>>9608390
No.
The hardest game is some licensed bullshit that is just stupidly unfair and no amount of practice will help you.

[Anonymous No.9616206]

>>9609480
this is 4chan

[Anonymous No.9616212]

>>9616193
Go ahead anon, give it a run and see how far you get. Report back

[Anonymous No.9616213]

>>9614302
yup

[Anonymous No.9616228]

>>9616195
Mad City is so easy it's just boring, Bayou Billy is much more fun.

[Anonymous No.9616240]

>>9609478
I never made it past round 15

[Anonymous No.9616301]

>>9616193
See >>9616173
And remember, you NEED to collect the food to keep the stamina bar up, or you die.

[Anonymous No.9616345]

>>9608390
What's the most 'fair'+challenging NES games? I'd assume something with continues or a password system; maybe the later Megamans, the Castlevania trilogy and Contra?

[Anonymous No.9616373]

Elnark no Zaihou (Elnark's Treasure) It took over 10 years for someone to beat it

[Anonymous No.9616386]

>>9616301
well again, is just looks like a basic platformer with a bit of enemies to dodge. I was expecting worse.
>>9616212
nah, looks boring

[Anonymous No.9616394]

Hardest game is Rogue 1979 Nes port

[Anonymous No.9616462]

>>9609480
Still probably the best thread on the board right now

[Anonymous No.9616509]

>>9616040
>>9616045
Nah, it's not cheating.

[Anonymous No.9616535]

>>9616386
You can't understand unless you play it. It might look easy if you think it controls like SMB3 or something, but no, the physics are fucked.

[Anonymous No.9616537]

>>9614535
if you didn't travel back in time to 1986 and personally be gangbanged by the developers, can you honestly say you actually beat adventure island?

[Anonymous No.9616616]

The Ice Level in Battletoads is hard.

[Anonymous No.9617173]

>>9614284
>using information in the manual is not cheating categorically
>be japanese
>find the bee on your own
>fuck me guess I cheated then.

[Anonymous No.9617181]

>>9616193
Look at how much shit is flying all over the screen

[Anonymous No.9617187]

>>9614284
>Blaster Master lets you strafe by holding B
>not mentioned anywhere in the US manual
>therefore, it's cheating
See pic related? That's you, you fucking clown.

[Anonymous No.9617190]

>>9616193
>Looks like a basic platformer

That's your first mistake.
I believe it was my first mistake too when I saw friend playing this game back in 90s

Then I actually played it myself

[Anonymous No.9617231]

>>9616616
It gets way harder than that. I'm amazed so many people got filtered by the Turbo Tunnel. Later levels like Terra Tubes and Rat Race are way harder. I've gotten as far as the final level before so I know I could beat this legit but have to redo the entire game every time is just frustrating.

[Anonymous No.9617247]

>>9617173
Well yeah. Most people found the warp zones in Super Mario Bros on their own too, is it not cheating to warp straight to world 4 and then to world 8?

[Anonymous No.9617412]

>>9617187
clowns are actually funny though, unlike that staid rube

[Anonymous No.9617447]

>>9617231
Charlie Browning the bomb in Rat Race is brutal. The last level is probably the hardest.

[Anonymous No.9617573]

i can't believe the megaman clone featuring a loli hasn't been mentioned. something conquest iirc

[Anonymous No.9617702]

>>9617573
Krion Conquest

[Anonymous No.9617708]

>>9610664
From someone who can beat it, let me assure you, you are out of your fucking mind. It is pure memorization

[Anonymous No.9617712]

>>9611079
Abadox no big deal without turbo. Battlefrogs is the answer you are all looking for

[Anonymous No.9617720]

>>9616193
I can beat battlefrogs and let me assure you adventure island is fucking hard. I’m gonna sit down and beat it this next year or so. It ain’t gonna be battlefrogs but I’ve played it enough to know it’ll come close

[Anonymous No.9617727]

>>9617231
It’s just cause if turbo is filtering you you’re gonna drop the game after realizing it ain’t getting any easier

[Anonymous No.9617745]

>>9617702
yeah that's it. you get like 3 lives to beat the whole game. it's bullshit

[Anonymous No.9617765]

>>9608808
I don't even know where you get that person. I can't make it to a single party member in Castlevania 3. It's THAT hard.

[Anonymous No.9617820]

>>9616386
The game is on a timer, you need to pick up fruits or else you die. Fruits often appear at the last second and require such precise movement at full speed there is no way you can get them on your first playthrough (you can't backtrack).

You can get weapons to kill enemies but most of them are hidden in eggs which only show up if you jump at the right spot. You don't have time to jump at every spot. Fruits are also hidden in eggs, some levels you literally can't complete unless you find several hidden eggs. Even if you do find the eggs, you may still accidentally make it bounce down a pit.

You die, you lose your weapon, you may not find one for the entiterity of the level for all you know so you need to learn to dodge everything. Enemies and platforms are everywhere and require precise movement to avoid, alternating between a running jump at full speed and a small walk jump, etc

The game loves to troll you with enemies that appear out of nowhere or platforms that fall down under your feet unexpectedly; so even if you have godlike reflexes, the constant trolling will kill you. I even found myself in a dead man walking scenario because I was playing too slow: a jump I didn't have enough momentum to make, but I couldn't backtrack for said momentum

so the game is all about dying and dying and learning everything by heart while mastering the somewhat unique controls (this was long before controls in games were streamlined and standardized and every game plays the same), it will test your memory and your muscle memory and your patience. Oh and if you go too fast on a game over and fail to input the continue button combinatio you might as well throw the controller against a wall