This makes me want to try Dino Riki Again. Is there just one hidden bird icon? Or is it like one per stage and you have to know the locations? I just tried it, the platforming is miserable. I'm hoping there's a hidden bird on the first stage somewhere.
Yes! There’s one on nearly every stage. And often right before you need it. Once you know where they all are you can bypass almost all the jumping. It even flys over the fire traps and anything else.
@@ShmupJunkie It seems like some of the later stages don't have them? Also since Holy Diver is on this list, it includes famicom. So What about Recca? Maybe you dont find that one impossible.
I remember finding one on every one of the last stage 4 sections except the very last stage before the boss. But that area is doable without it. Im positive there is one for the stage 4 lillipad area and also the green stage.
There's actually a trick in Dino-Riki that not too many people know about. If you have a 2nd person on hand, they can fire on the 2nd controller, while you control Riki on the first. Me and my brother were able to beat the game by having a turbo controller in the 2nd port - he'd be firing, and I'd worry about the platforming. Good ol' days...
@@ShmupJunkie Same here. My friend at the time didn't believe me that I beat all 3 bosses, so I had to beat the game a 2nd time in front of him at his house for him to believe me. That spinning blade slash thing was a life saver and I memorized all of the enemy placements as well as item drops. It was the only way to beat it.
I remember having trouble beating the first Castlevania at first, but now i can play through it with ease and finish it in like 45 minutes. I remember at first it took me days, even left my nes on overnight haha. But yea, i did it as an adult, i assume you did as a kid which is actually more impressive imo.
@@loki.odinson It's not that hard when you get the pattern down. Stand right in front of him and jump half a second after he opens his cape to shoot those fireballs and hit his head. Also have the holy water and lots of hearts lol.
The first Batman on NES is a masterpiece. I still play it once in awhile. You should definitely cover the Power Blade series Shatterhand, and Shadow of the Ninja. More tough as nails NES action platformers on a Part 2 video. :)
Agreed on all those games. Batman is a total masterpiece and I really dig Shatterhand and Shadow. Depending on how well or not this video does and if there is interest, I would certainly do more.
@@dangunheadachron1603 That’s the idea. I’m trying to expose new audiences to the genre. It’s hit and miss. Some themes do better then others. This one is off to a really poor start unfortunately but it’s early. Hoping it gets more interest as I thought it came out really well.
There's actually an input bug in Holy Diver. Pressing any 2 buttons, including dpad, on the same frame results in 1 of the inputs getting eaten, and the A button has lowest priority. It's consistent so you just have to be sure to either jump first then move, or be moving then jump.
Good to know wow! Or would have been good to know a lot sooner haha. I never knew the system behind it. I could just always tell that sometimes a jump just wouldn't happen. So I kind of started doing what you're saying naturally, feeling like I had to be very deliberate in my jump timing and couldn't just rely on it happening every time I pressed the button. So now I know why!
Thanks for this info! I remember an old Shmup Forums post describing a programming mistake in Holy Diver, and was sure the jumping issue mentioned in video were the result of it. But couldn't for life of me remember what the issue was specifically. That input bug was definitely it, and after seeing how hectic the game gets in this video, that sounds like one stress inducing bug. Lol
You nailed it! I will never forget beating Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Metroid, Fridaythe 13th, and the Zelda games as a kid. NES is by far my favorite console. I still play it regularly, and am still beating games for the first time creating excellent memories.
I would definitely say the same in terms of the NES being my most nostalgic console of all time. The only other system I still play just as much is my Turbografx/PC Engine for all the shooting games I loved on there and still replay. But when it comes to the feels and especially the platformers, just nothing touches the NES. I still prefer those original classics to most of the sequels that came later.
I prefer all the 8 bit systems generally over the 16 bit ones (except Arcade, I love everything arcade till around '95)..I feel like there was more variety in the 80's and early 90's games than anything that came afterwords :)
Have you tried Clash At Demonhead and Battle Of Olympus? Both are epic games that take awhile to go through, I've never completed them yet myself :) Ohh and Xexyz!
That would be tricky! It's so easy to get upended during a run with a random death in these games due to all the pitfalls and your timing being off ever so slightly. I've done it for them individually but never tried it in a row lol. Usually it takes a handful of tries before I can get a lucky run like that.
@@TheElectricUnderground Agree there I have no love for that trilogy. Nor much for the remake on pc engine either. Nobody really got it right porting them.
People don’t believe me when I say I still usually watch the cut scenes when replaying it. Even though we’ve seen them endless times. It still takes me back.
I was just saying the same thing. this video made me cry because I relieved some of my childhood. I really wish things were like the 80s and 90s. Life was much better than
HARD NES Games that Kicked our Butts but we can't stop playing. Games so good that despite the struggle, or especially the struggle, they remain nostalgic favorites to replay. Can you beat some of these games? Enjoy this super fun video of my personal struggles and share your gaming experiences in the comments.
There's a number of them I've completed at least once, and there's some that just whoop my ass lol. All the Castlevanias are so well made, they're tough, but can be mastered. Like Gaiden and tons of shmups. Great vid man! 👏 🎮
Try Blaster Master on the NES. It was such a great game with amazing music. The beginning levels weren't too bad, but once you arrived at Level 4 and beyond it punished you for the tiniest mistakes. Level 8 was beyond brutal filled with quick deaths and a boss that will make you cry. It had Limited Continues, so you needed to make your deaths count because once you ran out, it was back to Level 1.
I have such fond memories of these games.. I remember my dad would stay up late into the night with me on weekends playing Ghosts and Goblins. I think Hudson’s adventure island was one of the very few games I could not be in my childhood.
That’s a cool dad to work on that with you. My folks didn’t know anything about or touch games, but at least they got them for me. So I tried to spend lots of time playing with my son who’s all grown up now. Adventure Island is one of the more brutal games!
I found Double Dragon II to be easier than the original NES Double Dragon as you can use high quality special moves early in the game. In the NES Double Dragon, you had to build experience just to master special moves like the Jump Kick, Hair Pull and Throw, Elbow Punch, Pin Attack, and Jumping Spin Kick. You also had no continues which made it just as hard. At least in the arcade Double Dragon, you don't have to face Jimmy Lee, and just have Machine Gun Joe (Willy) as your final boss.
Had the difficulty been adjusted/balanced better it could be known as an all time classic as opposed to it's cool but impossible reputation. Instead of famous it's now infamous lol.
Great video! In my heyday I could beat Ninja Gaiden on a single life without taking a hit until Bloody Malth. That was before I knew how powerful the spinning slash was. I could also beat NG2 on a single life. Now NG3, that was by far the hardest of the trilogy, at least in the US. I've only beaten it once. They screwed up the controls. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I loved Ninja Gaiden so much I often use it's protagonist as my profile name, lol.
hahah, my brotha from anotha motha. We both share that love. I'm the same way. I can still run through it no death but not often, as one way or another something gets you. I still love playing through it though like almost nothing else. I never did jive with 3 as much as the first two either. I like the momentum of constantly being on the move in the first game and the second. The verticality in 3 was cool and a fun change of pace, but it also slows the game down in ways and turns it into something else. I eventually learned to appreciate it for what it is, but I don't enjoy replaying it as much either as the first two.
@@ShmupJunkie Another thing that bothered me about part 3 was the story. I absolutely loved the stories of the first two games with Jaquio, Ashtar, the demon world, magic swords etc. Part three with it's bio-engineered robots and no real ties to the first two other than Foster and Irene really lost something. And again, the floaty controls really screwed it up. On a CRT TV I can still rip through the game no problem. Every pattern is burned in my brain forever. I remember years ago in Nintendo Power one of the game counselor's best accomplishments was beating both NG 1&2 in under two hours. I thought I was hot shit for doing it in 45 minutes, lol.
The NES was definitely one of the best video game consoles of all time, with many interesting adventures that inspired me. As a child I was an avid reader, so I loved games with a good backstory. Games with cutscenes were among my favorite, and it made them so much more than an ordinary game. I definitely left it behind and "graduated" to the Sega Genesis and SNES after finishing numerous games, but nothing could replace the feeling of playing the NES. They are some of my mist treasured childhood memory, whether playing solo or with my little brother. This was a great video! Well done! Thank you!
You probably already know this but this topic was inspired by your video a month ago... which was also a great nostalgic watch. So thank you for the inspiration! It reminded me how much I enjoyed my NES and that I had yet to make a dedicated video for some of those personal battles.
@@ShmupJunkie Well I'm very honoured! The more I play other systems, the more I keep coming to the same conclusion as you. NES is where it's at for me and I never seem to get sick of anything it throws at me. I'm glad you and so many others here are on the same page!
"I love the power glove, it's so bad"-"Californiaaaa". Your reference to The Wizard(Favorite movie as a kid) and Dune earned you a huge sub. Love those movies to death and all the games you listed are my games too lol. Ninja Gaiden for life! Great video! Other mentions that drove me crazy: Blaster Master, Contra and 8 eyes. Don't forget Battle Toads. Raage!
Thanks! And welcome to the channel. I love making fun vids like this and always pepper in my fav movies and stuff I was into from that era. Good timing as I’ve been MIA for a couple months working hard on a new vid that releases in just a couple hours. Oh yeah… Ninja Gaiden for life 🤘
What was especially frustrating and challenging in Ninja Gaiden was that if you died on any of the 3 different end bosses on 6-3, the game sent you all the way back to 6-1. Ghosts n Goblins was Dark Souls before there was a Dark Souls and the game literally trolled you when you died.
I only wish Ghosts N Goblins was as easy Dark Souls. I would have beat it with far less torture back then haha. Dark Souls is pretty perfect in terms of where a good difficulty lies. Bloodborne especially was my favorite of their games.
You are an amazing story teller, great video editing ,great voice, awesome games,all this got a little tear in my eyes at the end, thank you , your video was really really good!
You’re very welcome it’s always much appreciated to hear that it’s being enjoyed. It took a lot of videos and practice to eventually get to this point in editing and putting a fun video together. But I’ve always enjoyed it and hope to make more like it.
Dick Tracy was a game that I played through as a kid just fine, but when I came back later in life, it wrecked me so hard I couldn't fathom how I ever beat it before.
We used to have a list called "Games to be Annoyed By" and Ninja Gaiden was #1 on that list and never lost its spot. I clearly recall one Saturday when we were playing for money my friend lost for the last time and he calmly stood up, popped the cartridge out of the NES, walked outside and hurled it down the street as hard as he could. He came back inside and asked if we wanted to order pizza like nothing had happened. The funniest part is that we had rented it and he needed to return it the next morning.
😂 I can see that happening. What I loved about NG though is the game was also really good, at least to me. Just that final stage was maddening having to redo. So once I cooled off in a day or two I wanted to play it again. I can't say the same for ghosts n goblins.
Great video, I love the references to your earlier videos, especially the ninja gaiden part! The way you talk about these games is a lot of fun to listen to. You go much more in depth on the gameplay and your experience of it than other RUclipsrs, and it's definitely something I miss with other retro gaming RUclipsrs. Especially because I've never even seen an nes in my life, that console is twice as old as I am
I've been wanting to remaster that old Ninja Gaiden video for a while now so this was a perfect chance to reboot it. Throw in some of my favorite parts from the original and make it even better. My favorite NES game deserved no less. I really had a fun time making this so thank you. I hope it does well enough so I can make more like it.
Man, half these games I finished, half I didn't hear about them. I do however have the memory of accidentaly despawning enemies in the last stage of Ninja Gaiden, specifically on that imposible jump. Great video!
Thanks! I never got lucky and despawned that enemy back in the day. It wasn't until much later and the interent that I learned it could be done. And then wished I knew it sooner!
In speaking of Ninja Gaiden, one of my favorite games of all time is Ninja Gaiden I, II, and III on Xbox 360. I hope that they'll make a new one soon. By the way, thanks for the great video and the trip down memory lane with the games mentioned in this video.
I'd love to see another NG game yeah and am all for it. Though who knows if that kind of game will be welcomed by the masses in this day and age. I thought they did a really great job bringing it into 3D with the original and even enjoyed the second one too.
I remember with Contra as a kid and before I knew the 30 man code, I grabbed the machine gun and left my game on for like 13 hours just shooting guys that walked on screen. We were at a town bbq or something so when we finally I got home and I ran it to find I had about 41 lives I finally finished Contra for the first time. After I learned the code I soon realized I could do it with the 3 lives your giving. Great times and memories.
lmao that's funny. How did you just leave it shooting guys? Like in a spot where nobody comes from behind you and just taped the fire button down? You're right about the code. A game that originally seemed so brutal became no problem later on. BTW if you're a fan of Contra and haven't before, check out Super Cyborg. It's about a couple years old and on modern consoles but as close to playing SuperC as it gets. I featured it in my last Run N Guns video and it got a ton of response. Game is killer. Not only that, but I'm currently playing an early build of a game coming later this year that I'll show in the next video called Iron Meat. Another Contra homage that so far is just as good or even better. Loving it so far. These two games are literally better than any Konami made Contra game I've played since Contra III on SNES. Can't believe two of the best Contra games out there now are not made by Konami 😅
@@ShmupJunkie I used a combo of tape and rubber bands to hold the fire button down, and I did it in the jungle stage where the back part where you drop in still showed water. That way no one could spawn behind me, just in front of me.
Damn birds, is right! I was terrible Ninja Gaiden as a kid but as an old guy now, I managed to get a no-death clear of this bastard a couple of years ago. Save state practice really helped lessen the time it took to practice and memorize everything. Ghosts n Goblins still kicks my ass though. Awesome video, Junkie!
I'm in the same boat. Even though I got really good at it, I don't know if I ever did get a no death on NG as a kid. Not until I got much older and just played it to death where it became second nature. Can't say the same for GnG though, it's so unpredictable and random sometimes I have no desire to even attempt such a feat. Though I know there are folks out there that do.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah Kudos to those who can get through both loops of GnG without dying. The recent GnG Resurrection is another game that took me a long time to complete. Hard as hell!
With the older games, you had to restart at checkpoints after dying so infinite continues let you keep trying, but still forced you to improve and learn the game. I liked that. The games that let you credit feed without penalty and finish it without improving your skills or effort just lose any challenge or fun for me.
Awesome video, I laughed a lot especially with Bayou Billy 😆, which still I havent beated yet. I remember finish Ninja Gaiden just once when I was 10 or 11 using only that cyclone slash or whatever that power up was called. Ninja Gaiden 2 was way easier and beated many times, but then directly from Hell's oven came Ninja Gaiden 3 and kicked my @$$ way worse than the first game. So many great games that requiere practice and patience but once you beat them it felt so damn good. What a great time to be alive.
Thank you. I had a bunch of fun making it so it's been so cool seeing the great response and enjoyment from everyone. Maybe I had a little too much fun with bayou billy haha. I think most people say that about NG3 being the hardest, mainly with the US changes they made. I definitely thought 2 was much easier, but it's still possibly my favorite one. It's like the original only improved with an even cooler story and visuals.
Beating Ninja Gaiden was one of my proudest NES achievement. It look serious time and mastery. When I finally did it was the biggest fist pump and hell yeah ever.! A recent game like that in terms of difficulty and making you have to get good was Returnal. That game was amazing!
Imagine having to restart ninja Gaiden every time you die! 😂 At least they weren’t quite that sadistic. Housemarque has a good track record with their games. I was just playing The Reap for another video I’m working on.
Dude so funny. I fell down the rabbit hole of nes docs and your vid had me laughing so hard. Thank you!! Wizards and warriors is one of my all time favorite nes games! I just like yelling that.
You know what? Mine too! I played the heck out of both Ironsword/W&W games. You'd think that endlessly climbing your way up through levels and getting knocked down to start over would get annoying, but I just couldn't stop playing it. Just fun to play, good controls, cool music and effects. I still play one or the other every year or so too.
Good to see you again! Ninja Gaiden and Ghosts and Goblins both used the committed jump design (Castlevania did as well). There was no way to change trajectory once you started your jump. On top of the brutal difficulty of enemy patterns and damage ratios, your jumps had to be perfect. I never played them when they originally released. I tried them out when they were re-leased on the Nintendo Online's NES games, and I "noped" out pretty quickly. I managed to finish stage 1 of Ninja Gaiden, but I couldn't get through stage 1 of Ghosts n' Goblins. These games were hard, because most require a ton of memorization, and there is little or no room for improvisation or course-correction.
NG took it to a whole extra level too, not just with jumping but moving in general. The way enemies respawn endlessly and come at you from behind. It's basically saying don't stop moving forward and stay in rhythm or you'll be punished lol. So even if you could jump backwards or in reverse, something would punish you severely for doing it. Vania is very rhythm based too strangely enough even if you don't have to play it that way. I eventually discovered a flow to the enemies and staying in a certain rhythm with them made the game flow easier. Like swimming with the tide instead of against it if that makes sense. A lot of really good game design went into those early games and all that movement limitation was on purpose. Not gonna comment on GnG though that port was unfriendly lmao.
@@ShmupJunkie Yes, I noticed that "forward momentum" too when playing NG on Nintendo Online. The birds in stage 2 were the worst, as you noted. That's when I noped out. Yes, movement restrictions were on part of design. That doesn't mean I had to like them, even as a kid. :)
Brought back memories of me and my brothers taking turns playing Ninja Gaiden and then laughing hysterically watching them get frustrated every time they would die. Ah the good old days. Thanks for this.
Thanks. As much as I adore shmups and will keep plugging them, I think we all have a wide variety of games we like playing. So I'm always testing what my community and viewers are interested in and try to mix it up. It's also a great strategy to get new subs that wouldn't normally click on a "shmup" oriented video, but may find how I present them compelling enough to give them more time and branch out into the genre more. Although I doubt watching Dino Riki here would actively make someone want to play it ahaha
@@ShmupJunkie funny you say that, cause it made me dig out my old cartridge and try to find the wing items. I had forgotten I had that game so it was nice to see it showcased. Also...what happened to Timmy? Did he move out? XD
Funny enough I think that's possibly one of the easier levels in the game once you memorize it. Even though it seems impossible at first. I always had the most trouble with some beat em up sections.
@@ShmupJunkie Correct, it is easy for old gamer like ourself. The level I always get trouble is one of the finals one with the rat boss you have to race and catch. Love that game top 10 of Nes era.
@@neojaw2192 I think I first heard the term “dance with death” while reading the old Sword of Truth books. It was used very poetically in the novels and I remembered it ever since.
Aaaaaaah, the NES, home of some of the best and also the most painful gaming experiences. But it attracted us like moths to an open flame. Really wishing to see one day from you a video about every NES shooter. I realize that even Donkey Kong 3 must be in it 😆
Ha! You can bet it will happen. Though I'm getting the most requests for an Every SNES Shooter video first. The NES/Famicom is going to be a beast! Easily over 100 of them I think lol. Such a massive library.
@@ShmupJunkie At least the SNES shooter video will be notably easier, considering its library is around 30, maybe a bit more if you include some hybrid games like Rendering Ranger or Super Turrican 2. Speaking of SNES shooters: which ones are, in your opinion, the best vertical and horizontal co-op shooters in its library?
Right? haha. I know they did want you to get your money's worth and not finish it so quickly, but sometimes it was a bridge too far. I think games like Contra, Metroid, even Vania straddled the line perfectly. Being very challenging but not to the point where it feels impossible.
At least Batman didn't kick you in the nuts like NG and make you redo the entire last level after a single death on the boss haha. I can't recall how many times I had to replay that final stage originally before I finally got through all 3 bosses.
This is the funniest video you've made so far, Junkie 🤣 That Ghost n Goblins 2nd loop is so darn cruel! In my childhood with GBA bootlegs and its NES emulator within, my pick were the Megaman games. People say Megaman games are hard, but in comparison to other games on the NES, the Megaman games are a cakewalk.
It's true, the original MM and some others are a nice challenge, but thankfully nothing on the level of brutality compared to these. Holy Diver especially is just evil personified. Ghosts n goblins may be cruel and unfair with it's janky code and randomness, but Holy Diver is cruel in the most purposeful and calculated way that few aside from IREM could pull off. It punishes you on purpose and intentionally for playing it wrong just like a good shmup hahaha. Approach that one with caution.
Punch Out is like an old pair of shoes and so much fun to this day. Timing is so spot on that I feel like I should only play it on my CRT. It may not be as hard as the others, but it was an early game and I was very young. So I remember we struggled with the last third of the game for a long time before finally getting through it. It was just a simple concept executed so well and played to the strengths of the console.
You make me want to try ghosts n' goblins again... Your videos are awesome! For me it was 8 eyes as a single player experience. So good I kept going back!!!! I will always love going back to the ninja Gaiden games!!!
It made you WANT to play it? 😂 I thought it would only remind most of why they don't play it anymore lol. Even for me that game is a love hate relationship. I love the sequels and play them all the time but I don't come back to the NES version often... mainly for this video. It's a real ass kicker. Now Ninja Gaiden I still can't stop playing all of them. Masterful games. ❤
@@ShmupJunkie Yup, I want to play ghosts n goblins again... back in the mid 80's it was one of the first games my buddy owned... and it owned us again, and again, and again... Love hate indeed! We only made it to level 3 back then... now... well... not much better!
This video actually made me cry with happiness because I felt my childhood flash before my heart, as I remembered the music and how hard these games were. This was truly the golden years of gaming 😍🥰💞😍 thx
I’d much rather have made you cry with the joy of nostalgia than cry in pain from frustrating memories haha. I agree no matter how hard these games were I have nothing but great memories that remain from them. It’s why we still play them ☺️
@@ShmupJunkie thank you so much. The music of the games alone bought back so many happy times like Xmas and my mom. Giving me some of these games for the first time. I really appreciate this💞💞💞🥰
I never had the pattern recognition and reflexes to make it far in these games. I had castelvania and also ghost and goblens I still loved playing them as far as I could get.
What I learned more than anything is it's 90% memorization and practice of timing than reflexes or skills. That helps to get good faster but that's mostly it. Now that I'm old and don't have the reflexes it's what I have to rely on most haha
There's a trick that makes the bosses in Ninja Gaiden a little easier and more fun. You cancel your atack in the air by pressing down. Timing it right you can get 4 atacks in per jump. The NES is what got me back into gaiming. In my early 30s I went back and beat all the games that traumatized me as a kid. My favorite is Battletoads.
I didn't learn that speed slash trick until the internet and online videos, but I do know it now. Not the easiest thing to pull off and only super useful on the final boss. But yeah it makes phase 2 so much easier. I didn't want to use it for the video since it's not something I knew or thought to do back in the day. But now that I do, plus the wall climbing jump trick, I do use it. I almost did Battletoads but it's so obvious, I went with Holy Diver to change it up.
@@ShmupJunkie haha figures you would know about the speed slash. I agree it's not very useful for most the game but I do try to use it because it's satisfying to pull off a four slash. Glad you covered holy diver. Tripped me out when I found out about that game. I've never played through it but I spin the vinyl a couple times a year. Probably Dios best solo album. You interested in doing a 2 player playthrough of a hard game on fightcade? I play street fighter 2 on there all the time but I've been wanting to do a 2 player playthrough of a hard game on there.
Back in 1990, my best friend and I decided to try to finish Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 in a single day. We did it but I cannot tell you the number of times we collapsed to the floor screaming in frustration. It literally took the entire day and we swore we would never do something so foolish again.....until the next weekend when we finished Wizards and Warriors, Rygar and Trojan in about 36 hours . Lol good times.
This is the first video I've ever seen from you and I LOVED it. What a great nostalgic trip through some of these insanely hard NES games, it really felt like going on a retro journey. Fantastic video!
Thanks! And welcome to the channel. I had a blast making this and will likely do more in the future. And hope you enjoy some of my other recent stuff as well. We have an awesome community here.
That last level kicked all our asses man. One of those games where you end up playing into the night or through it repeating that last level until you just force your way through it. In retrospect, it's so beatable now and easy knowing all the tricks and having it memorized. But it sure wasn't back then and felt pretty unfair and impossible.
Thanks. Think this is my third best performing vid. The recent 80s 90s video is almost at 500k and the Mega Drive Shooters is 750K. This is one of my favs though I had some stupid fun with the script haha.
i have to give you my oldman respect , i didn't finish lie 95% of games i own for my nes, its just too damn hard , i give up most of them without ever see the ending
There were plenty I didn't finish either if I didn't like them enough. But some were so good, at least at the time, I wanted to keep playing. I admit there's plenty that got left behind for many of us and never finished.
This takes me back to the absolut best time in my life.. ofc im still play video games but the feeling this games gived us is Epic. This was our Golden Game era
I grew up playing a ZX Spectrum where games had 3 lives and no continues, those punishingly difficult games got me a first class degree in swearing obscenities by age 10. I moved onto the NES after that and learned a new vocabulary, mostly invented by myself. Yeah, those games back then were difficult, some extremely so, but i learned my trade the hard way. Modern gaming is a cakewalk compared to the Speccy and the NES. No internet, no guides, no saves, just die, repeat, die, repeat, die, repeat...win!! Good times.
We had Nintendo Power and paid game counselors taking phone calls haha. We didn't have the ZX here in the states so I didn't get to play those, but I definitely have an idea. As I played many similar PC based games that were nigh impossible and I often gave up on. The quality varied so greatly. What I do love about the NES is how many really good games it had making it worthwhile to keep plugging away. Some I never even thought I would finish and only did due to their fun factor and playing it every chance I had. I think the majority of people never legit finished games like Vania and Contra and only saw part way. And yet they still adore the games for what they did see and it left a lasting impression.
@@PedroFerreira-sx2gd Yeah i agree, the Speccy was hardcore gaming before hardcore gaming was even a thing lol. The NES had far more playable games though, and i swear i've stiil got the indents from the corners of the NES pad on my hands from the 80's...
@@ShmupJunkie I agree with you that most gamers probably never saw the end title screen of many games, particularly the games who's legacy grew to become known as Nintendo hard. I refused to phone up and pay for the Nintendo help line, or rather my Dad refused...so that was that. Most cheats, hints and tips spread through word of mouth from friends in the playground, as did many a Speccy game rented from the library and copied on tape, or NES games too expensive to own. Gaming was challenging back in those days, but i wouldn't change it for the World.
I remember making that photoshop bird edit a couple years ago and laughing my ass off, so I wanted to use it again here haha. The original and also part two are just games I have yet to tire of replaying.
I used to think Ninja Gaiden's cruelest feature was how it puts you all the way back when losing against the last boss. However, when I eventually learned that the beaten forms of the boss stay beaten, it was just a matter of playing the last stage over a few times. The hardest NES game I've beaten is probably Battletoads - I know, boring answer. I had to re-start that game soo many times during those couple of weeks when I learned it... I never use save states or such even for practice, it would feel like I did something dirty, so I cannot really participate in speedrunning without having a disadvantage (it's standard for speedrunners to practice with save states).
If it wasn't for the boss staying beaten it would have been a whoooole lot longer to finish an already hard game. At least you could get to each boss with the spin slash and just kill them quick. Now I can just run it clean no continues, but back then I had to replay the last level at least once also for that second form. I remember reading that it was a coding mistake that happens on the boss and Tecmo didn't intend you to redo the level. But I honestly have a hard time believing that. It's too obvious to catch and no way they missed it in testing. I think they wanted to make it hard at the end and then didn't want to admit to it later when called out on it ahaha.
Ninja Gaiden 1 and Bionic Commando kicked my ass back in the day. While I enjoyed it back then, I really don't like those kinds of games anymore. I give kudos to people that have mastered them. I did manage to beat those 2 games. I think the 8 bit controls were really tough to master. 16 bit seemed much better and easier. Great Video and funny too.
Thank you. And it’s weird but I’ve become the opposite. I still play modern games and enjoy them but I do get tired of the hand holding and exposition. So I start craving arcade style games and older stuff from my childhood. Or modern indie games that often channel that same gameplay style. Though I admit I no longer have the time to beat my head against the wall like we used to 🤣
One game that made me go crazy on the NES was Bionic Commando, I just HAD to beat it. It's not as hard as Ninja Gaiden, but I love the way they wrapped everything on a good narrative and the unique bionic arm system. Another ninja game that was very hard and I don't see much love for it is Kage: Shadow of the Ninja, which I find better than Ninja Gaiden in many senses, and I absolutely love it. I never managed to play Holy Diver until I was an adult, and as a metalhead I had to beat it (with savestates, but hey, I don't have infinite time anymore as I used to as a kid). Great video!
I absolutely adore Bionic Commando. Even if I don't remember having a ton of trouble with it for whatever reason, it was still a good challenge and took plenty of replays to get through. That surprise ending is what really stuck with me as it was so unexpected. Here is a 12yr old jewish kid suddenly finding out hitler is the big bad and then getting to see his face explode at the end lmao. Shadow of the Ninja is fantastic and I will certainly showcase it one day. My main love of Ninja Gaiden is just the speed and momentum of the game, how it feels playing in it's rhythm. So it was always a cut above for me. Plus that great music and the cut scenes. But for most people who didn't completely master it, it was just an endless cycle of frustration. So something like Kage was much better suited to most players and not solely focused on playing flawlessly.
GnG was always one of the toughest games for me on the system too, always owned me one way or another even if I slogged my way through. Definitely not in the same league as Ninja Gaiden. I think I have a stockholm syndrome thing going with goblins haha
Superb video!! I always enjoy seeing the NES get some love, not to say Ninja Gaiden. I must admit I am proud to say that I have completed most of the ones featured here bitd and eventually every know and then, except for Dino Riki and Holy Diver. Holy Diver is high on my list, Dino Riki I need to get back at it. Loved the NG as the opening featured game 💯🙂
Thanks my dude! Of course Ninja Gaiden had to be first. Anything else would be uncivilized. Just do yourself a favor on Dino Riki and make sure to look up or memorize where all those bird icons are. I don't know how anyone could finish it trying to do the actual platforming hahaha.
Great video! I really need to try Holy Diver and Dino Riki. The rest I've already been through the gauntlet on. Most recent game that bashed me down repeatedly was the Japan-only Valkyrie no Boken. Such a ridiculous and often cryptic challenge. Excellent english translation patch available for it though. Thanks for the entertainment, as always!
You'll definitely get on with Dino Riki if and only if you look up and learn all the bird icon locations to skip all the platforming. Mark my words you will try the platforming for giggles and it'll be fun at first. But there's no predictable way to play or clear the damn thing without flying over it all lol. Holy Diver is a son of a b 😂 I find it less enjoyable to play and more like going to war when I pick it up. It's not that it isn't cool, but it's the definition of a beast to play through. I'd enjoy getting your thoughts on either game once you do though.
i remember staying at my Aunts for a summer in the late 80s. I brought my NES with me of course. She had bought me a couple of games. One of them was Ninja Gaiden. I was absolutely hooked on it for weeks. So brutal... but so good. I remembered dying on the last stage so many times one day and got got so angry that I scream-cried so loud that my Aunt thought I had seriously injured myself lol. I too lost my gaming privileges for a week. I still have never finished the game. But I intend to soon.
Mike Tyson’s Punch out and Battletoads are my favorite NES Hard games. Beat Mike Tyson when I was 10 years old. Beat the Japanese version of Battletoads 8 years ago, but I’m coming for you USA version! Great video!
Thanks! I can't remember how long or when I finally beat punch out. Those last few fights were kicking our ass back then, even though now it seems easier knowing all the tricks. I never did try or play the JPN version of Toads, nor Bayou Billy. I guess once you finish the US version it would be easier to go back. But I still can't beat Toads now unless I went back and practiced a bunch again. It's been too long. Maybe for the next NES video haha.
I beat a few of these. Bayou Billy (not really that hard of a game) was the crown jewel because Captain N said he couldn't beat it. I was so proud of myself!
Lol I remember that now. I was watching that old episode of N looking for some assets for this video and saw that. I agree. BB has that reputation because it seems impossible at first. It’s so hard off the bat on stage 1. But it can be figured out and “cheesed” quite a bit. Some NES games you had to cheat right back to complete haha.
I loved this video ! And you are 100% correct when an nes game has unlimited continues you know it's a controller snapping game! I recently beat super contra for the first time and I have to say I have fallen in love with my nes all over again !
SuperC is so good! Speaking of which, did you see me feature Super Cyborg in my last Run n Gun's video? If you love NES SuperC you gotta play it. It's on Switch, Steam, PS4 etc and only a few bucks.
I love Ninja Gaiden 1 on NES. I played it as an rythmus game on my NES Mini, cos I know when to jump if I listen to the rythmn of the music. Ghost N' Goblin and Super Ghouls N' Ghost is a kinda Love/Hate Relationship, same goes for the firsr Gargoyles Quest on Gameboy. The damn tower and the 1st boss oooooofffff. But yah I kinda love the NES Hard Difficulty😃😭Good Video Man🙂
my buddy and I played so much Bayou Billy growing up that it made me very sad to grow up, become old and realize that the majority of gamers hated it for it's difficulty
It's too bad as despite it having it's issues I enjoyed it too and have some good memories. That's all that matters in the end. Plenty of much worse old games out there I love too. Nostalgia is like that.
@@ShmupJunkie than you for the entertaining content but only are the visuals crisp but the commentary is actual hilarious and informative at the same time.
So the trick with Holy Diver's jump is that it eats your inputs if you press jump and start moving at precisely the same time. That's why you end up walking off ledges. Definitely buggy, and it changed the way I played the game, always making sure to either start moving before jumping or jump first and then adjust mid-air. And yes, the game is absolutely brutal.
I realize now that's how I was forced to play the game but I never really thought about why. Just naturally started being more careful and deliberate with jumps. You and one other mentioned the same thing. But I had no idea the exact mechanic or why it was happening!
It's one thing you never hear anymore, when I was younger so many people gave up a game cause it was too difficult and finishing it was a challenge, games now just make failure not an option. It's rare now to find a game difficult.
Thanks! Been wanting to do a fun nostalgic vid like this for a while with some of the games I had stories for. It was a good time and the video is doing well so maybe there's a sequel in it's future.
man! such memories (and nightmares!! - lol) thank you for this awesome video! Back then i used to look at the box art in frustration after i couldn't beat a level and wonder if there was some secret hidden there! :'(
Hahaha well thanks. I do truly adore the game so it’s easy for me to wax poetic and be funny about it. I think we all pronounced it wrong as kids until we knew better or saw it in the wizard. Same thing with Gradius and Darius. Never said those right until years later.
Thanks. It takes a long time to make these videos but it’s always worth taking the extra time to get them just right. I had a lot of fun making this one.
The sad part is that it's not even that hard of a game until you reach stage 6. With all the health it gives you. I think most I knew made it to the final level but the noped out there haha. That's the "stay up all night grinding away until you get good" segment where it suddenly gets it's reputation.
I didn't grow up with the NES unfortunately. But as an adult, I beat Zelda 2, Mario 2 USA, and Castlevania 1. All super duper tough, I even have the playthrough I did for Mario 2 on my channel where I beat the game on my last life and last tick of health 😰
You know... of all the hard NES games I've played, I never went back and played the Japanese Mario 2. And I do really enjoy the old Mario games and their speed. I think I would really like it honestly.
Bayou Billy is masochistically difficult, even with the upgrades from the training levels. Mad City on the Famicom is far more playable. It's an average beat em up on the NES, but there's variety to it with the shooting/driving stages. And the soundtrack is another classic 8-bit Konami banger.
I’ve yet to try mad city but I keep hearing about it. Though I guess now that I can beat Billy it may seem a bit easy. But I totally want to try it and see the different ending I’ve heard about.
I remember as a kid beating The Guardian Legend for the first time. That was as bullet hell as the NES could get and it kicked the shit out of me for a while there. Eventually i learned which side weapon to use on bosses.
Awesome video as usual SJ! I didn't expect to see R.C. Pro Am in here. I love that game but hate that the computer cheats when you have finished a lot of consecutive races in first place. I guess Midway got inspired by it when they programmed the rubber band AI for NBA Jam and NFL Blitz. Seeing the old Bayou Billy comics from Archie Comics is another thing I wasn't expecting. I love those comics! Too bad it was such a short lived series.
Thanks man! I really had fun making this so I do hope it picks up and does well. I'd enjoy making similar and visiting other games I couldn't here. RC Pro AM was awesome and such a fun game. But yeah I included it because I recall how cheap it could be. Artificially making the AI catch up and make you sweat. No way a human player could do that. I never did see or read those comics back then or even knew they existed. Wasn't til later I randomly came across them online.
@@ShmupJunkie, I remember seeing issues one and two of the Bayou Billy at a supermarket in December of 1989 and I had to have them. I found issue three at a different supermarket during spring break of 1990. It took me years to track down issues four and five, but I eventually got to read the whole story. I love the comics so much that I paid the original penciler (Amanda Conner) for a commission when I went to a convention in the mid 2000s.
While Lifeforce, Contra, and Bionic Commandos are a few of my favorites, I think I was most surprised by the Sunsoft Batman. My friend would rent NES games from the local video store, and once it was Batman. We couldn't get over how tiny yet extremely cool he was! The wall jump was incredible, and the batarangs felt so good to throw. We eventually beat it that weekend before needing to return it, but holy crap that level 4 was freaking hard!
Beating Batman the weekend you rented it is pretty dang impressive. That’s one tough game and I loved it too. Never owned it either but a friend did so we finished it that way. All of my favorite Sunsoft games were on NES. They had a great run during the late 80s. Loved their music too.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, it was a long, long night. And an even rougher day the next day when we had to work some. Agreed about Sunsoft too. I had was Sega, my friend was all Nintendo. When Blaster Master finally game to the Genesis, I was super pumped and bought the game immediately but was a bit let down.
the first game i ever personally owned was Cybernoid. i've never seen or heard of anyone beating the game. i even put myself through instant anger moments whenever i think i might get it today only to get so mad i stop playing all games for the day
This makes me want to try Dino Riki Again. Is there just one hidden bird icon? Or is it like one per stage and you have to know the locations?
I just tried it, the platforming is miserable. I'm hoping there's a hidden bird on the first stage somewhere.
Yes! There’s one on nearly every stage. And often right before you need it. Once you know where they all are you can bypass almost all the jumping. It even flys over the fire traps and anything else.
@@ShmupJunkie It seems like some of the later stages don't have them?
Also since Holy Diver is on this list, it includes famicom. So What about Recca? Maybe you dont find that one impossible.
I remember finding one on every one of the last stage 4 sections except the very last stage before the boss. But that area is doable without it. Im positive there is one for the stage 4 lillipad area and also the green stage.
Whoa "mutha F%ckin MIKE" knows who Shmpjunkie is !!!!!!!! COOL . Beans. .... guys. ... .. . . :-))))) ... . . ~ Cheers , ~ "the" Rev
There's actually a trick in Dino-Riki that not too many people know about. If you have a 2nd person on hand, they can fire on the 2nd controller, while you control Riki on the first. Me and my brother were able to beat the game by having a turbo controller in the 2nd port - he'd be firing, and I'd worry about the platforming. Good ol' days...
Beating the original Castlevania in front of my brother and father was the proudest moment in my gaming life.
You had proof! I remember with Ninja Gaiden people literally didn't believe I finished it. You needed a friend watching to vouch for you lmao.
I still haven't been able to beat Dracula without Save States. 2 forms for Dracula and he is so damn difficult. Much respect to you.
@@ShmupJunkie Same here. My friend at the time didn't believe me that I beat all 3 bosses, so I had to beat the game a 2nd time in front of him at his house for him to believe me. That spinning blade slash thing was a life saver and I memorized all of the enemy placements as well as item drops. It was the only way to beat it.
I remember having trouble beating the first Castlevania at first, but now i can play through it with ease and finish it in like 45 minutes. I remember at first it took me days, even left my nes on overnight haha. But yea, i did it as an adult, i assume you did as a kid which is actually more impressive imo.
@@loki.odinson It's not that hard when you get the pattern down. Stand right in front of him and jump half a second after he opens his cape to shoot those fireballs and hit his head. Also have the holy water and lots of hearts lol.
The first Batman on NES is a masterpiece. I still play it once in awhile. You should definitely cover the Power Blade series Shatterhand, and Shadow of the Ninja. More tough as nails NES action platformers on a Part 2 video. :)
Agreed on all those games. Batman is a total masterpiece and I really dig Shatterhand and Shadow. Depending on how well or not this video does and if there is interest, I would certainly do more.
@@ShmupJunkie i think non shmup related content is a great idea. You'll draw in more people. Maybe they'll discover the shmups we love :)
@@dangunheadachron1603 That’s the idea. I’m trying to expose new audiences to the genre. It’s hit and miss. Some themes do better then others. This one is off to a really poor start unfortunately but it’s early. Hoping it gets more interest as I thought it came out really well.
There's actually an input bug in Holy Diver. Pressing any 2 buttons, including dpad, on the same frame results in 1 of the inputs getting eaten, and the A button has lowest priority. It's consistent so you just have to be sure to either jump first then move, or be moving then jump.
Good to know wow! Or would have been good to know a lot sooner haha. I never knew the system behind it. I could just always tell that sometimes a jump just wouldn't happen. So I kind of started doing what you're saying naturally, feeling like I had to be very deliberate in my jump timing and couldn't just rely on it happening every time I pressed the button. So now I know why!
Ah, nuts, I just posted the same thing and didn't notice this comment. Yep, that's it. Surprised no one has gone in to fix this particular bug.
Thanks for this info! I remember an old Shmup Forums post describing a programming mistake in Holy Diver, and was sure the jumping issue mentioned in video were the result of it. But couldn't for life of me remember what the issue was specifically. That input bug was definitely it, and after seeing how hectic the game gets in this video, that sounds like one stress inducing bug. Lol
You nailed it! I will never forget beating Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Metroid, Fridaythe 13th, and the Zelda games as a kid. NES is by far my favorite console. I still play it regularly, and am still beating games for the first time creating excellent memories.
I would definitely say the same in terms of the NES being my most nostalgic console of all time. The only other system I still play just as much is my Turbografx/PC Engine for all the shooting games I loved on there and still replay. But when it comes to the feels and especially the platformers, just nothing touches the NES. I still prefer those original classics to most of the sequels that came later.
I'd add Battletoads and Double Dragon as accomplishments
No u didn’t
I prefer all the 8 bit systems generally over the 16 bit ones (except Arcade, I love everything arcade till around '95)..I feel like there was more variety in the 80's and early 90's games than anything that came afterwords :)
Have you tried Clash At Demonhead and Battle Of Olympus? Both are epic games that take awhile to go through, I've never completed them yet myself :) Ohh and Xexyz!
My favs are the ninja gaiden games on nes, stone cold classics. It would be cool to go through one day and no death all 3 in a row ha
That would be tricky! It's so easy to get upended during a run with a random death in these games due to all the pitfalls and your timing being off ever so slightly. I've done it for them individually but never tried it in a row lol. Usually it takes a handful of tries before I can get a lucky run like that.
@@ShmupJunkie yes I'm looking forward to covering the games on the channel at some point :-) Shame trilogy on snes is so underwhelming
@@TheElectricUnderground Agree there I have no love for that trilogy. Nor much for the remake on pc engine either. Nobody really got it right porting them.
Man, just hearing the Ninja Gaiden songs is enough to put me in a massive nostalgia trip.
People don’t believe me when I say I still usually watch the cut scenes when replaying it. Even though we’ve seen them endless times. It still takes me back.
I was just saying the same thing. this video made me cry because I relieved some of my childhood. I really wish things were like the 80s and 90s. Life was much better than
Absolutely 👍
@@ShmupJunkie It's a crime NOT to watch them.
Level 4-2: Unbreakable Determination is one of the best tracks in video game history!
HARD NES Games that Kicked our Butts but we can't stop playing. Games so good that despite the struggle, or especially the struggle, they remain nostalgic favorites to replay. Can you beat some of these games? Enjoy this super fun video of my personal struggles and share your gaming experiences in the comments.
There's a number of them I've completed at least once, and there's some that just whoop my ass lol. All the Castlevanias are so well made, they're tough, but can be mastered. Like Gaiden and tons of shmups. Great vid man! 👏 🎮
Ninja Garden gave turrets syndrome.😂 Ninja Garden made go RAGE SUPER SYAN.
@@sammylane21 Gotta love that autocorrect. Ninja Garden sounds like a game that needs to happen! 🤣
Try Blaster Master on the NES. It was such a great game with amazing music. The beginning levels weren't too bad, but once you arrived at Level 4 and beyond it punished you for the tiniest mistakes. Level 8 was beyond brutal filled with quick deaths and a boss that will make you cry. It had Limited Continues, so you needed to make your deaths count because once you ran out, it was back to Level 1.
Never played Holy Diver, T&C and Karate Kid but I've beaten the other games (Dino Riki without continue code).
I have such fond memories of these games.. I remember my dad would stay up late into the night with me on weekends playing Ghosts and Goblins. I think Hudson’s adventure island was one of the very few games I could not be in my childhood.
That’s a cool dad to work on that with you. My folks didn’t know anything about or touch games, but at least they got them for me. So I tried to spend lots of time playing with my son who’s all grown up now. Adventure Island is one of the more brutal games!
"Ninja Gaiden is a dance. And just like real life; if you lose the rhythm and mess up: you die."
Best line I've heard in a while.
Ninja Gaiden brings out the philosopher in us. Either that or a bout of Tourettes 😅.
Double Dragon II and Contra are my two favorite NES games of all time, so you know I love a good Nintendo difficult NES game! Cheers and rock on!
Anyone who doesn't love the original Contra can't be trusted haha. That game is just too good for a quick run through, alone or with a friend.
@@ShmupJunkie oh, 100%! And you got to beat it at least once without the code, you truly feel on top of the world! Cheers to that!
I found Double Dragon II to be easier than the original NES Double Dragon as you can use high quality special moves early in the game.
In the NES Double Dragon, you had to build experience just to master special moves like the Jump Kick, Hair Pull and Throw, Elbow Punch, Pin Attack, and Jumping Spin Kick. You also had no continues which made it just as hard.
At least in the arcade Double Dragon, you don't have to face Jimmy Lee, and just have Machine Gun Joe (Willy) as your final boss.
I remember playing Ghosts n Gobblers all night long. It was addictive. Loved the design. The colors and sounds. It was ahead of it's time.
Had the difficulty been adjusted/balanced better it could be known as an all time classic as opposed to it's cool but impossible reputation. Instead of famous it's now infamous lol.
Ghosts n Gobblers sounds pretty iffy. Japanese definitely are into some weird shit!
Great video! In my heyday I could beat Ninja Gaiden on a single life without taking a hit until Bloody Malth. That was before I knew how powerful the spinning slash was. I could also beat NG2 on a single life. Now NG3, that was by far the hardest of the trilogy, at least in the US. I've only beaten it once. They screwed up the controls. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I loved Ninja Gaiden so much I often use it's protagonist as my profile name, lol.
hahah, my brotha from anotha motha. We both share that love. I'm the same way. I can still run through it no death but not often, as one way or another something gets you. I still love playing through it though like almost nothing else. I never did jive with 3 as much as the first two either. I like the momentum of constantly being on the move in the first game and the second. The verticality in 3 was cool and a fun change of pace, but it also slows the game down in ways and turns it into something else. I eventually learned to appreciate it for what it is, but I don't enjoy replaying it as much either as the first two.
@@ShmupJunkie Another thing that bothered me about part 3 was the story. I absolutely loved the stories of the first two games with Jaquio, Ashtar, the demon world, magic swords etc. Part three with it's bio-engineered robots and no real ties to the first two other than Foster and Irene really lost something. And again, the floaty controls really screwed it up.
On a CRT TV I can still rip through the game no problem. Every pattern is burned in my brain forever. I remember years ago in Nintendo Power one of the game counselor's best accomplishments was beating both NG 1&2 in under two hours. I thought I was hot shit for doing it in 45 minutes, lol.
The NES was definitely one of the best video game consoles of all time, with many interesting adventures that inspired me. As a child I was an avid reader, so I loved games with a good backstory. Games with cutscenes were among my favorite, and it made them so much more than an ordinary game.
I definitely left it behind and "graduated" to the Sega Genesis and SNES after finishing numerous games, but nothing could replace the feeling of playing the NES. They are some of my mist treasured childhood memory, whether playing solo or with my little brother.
This was a great video! Well done! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing some of your personal battles with some truly tough titles here. This was an awesome watch!
You probably already know this but this topic was inspired by your video a month ago... which was also a great nostalgic watch. So thank you for the inspiration! It reminded me how much I enjoyed my NES and that I had yet to make a dedicated video for some of those personal battles.
@@ShmupJunkie Well I'm very honoured! The more I play other systems, the more I keep coming to the same conclusion as you. NES is where it's at for me and I never seem to get sick of anything it throws at me. I'm glad you and so many others here are on the same page!
"I love the power glove, it's so bad"-"Californiaaaa". Your reference to The Wizard(Favorite movie as a kid) and Dune earned you a huge sub. Love those movies to death and all the games you listed are my games too lol. Ninja Gaiden for life! Great video! Other mentions that drove me crazy: Blaster Master, Contra and 8 eyes. Don't forget Battle Toads. Raage!
Thanks! And welcome to the channel. I love making fun vids like this and always pepper in my fav movies and stuff I was into from that era. Good timing as I’ve been MIA for a couple months working hard on a new vid that releases in just a couple hours. Oh yeah… Ninja Gaiden for life 🤘
What was especially frustrating and challenging in Ninja Gaiden was that if you died on any of the 3 different end bosses on 6-3, the game sent you all the way back to 6-1. Ghosts n Goblins was Dark Souls before there was a Dark Souls and the game literally trolled you when you died.
I only wish Ghosts N Goblins was as easy Dark Souls. I would have beat it with far less torture back then haha. Dark Souls is pretty perfect in terms of where a good difficulty lies. Bloodborne especially was my favorite of their games.
You are a pro bro. I can’t get pass 6-3.. feels impossible. Some day tho.. Ghost & Goblins I can’t handle that level of frustration…
You are an amazing story teller, great video editing ,great voice, awesome games,all this got a little tear in my eyes at the end, thank you , your video was really really good!
You’re very welcome it’s always much appreciated to hear that it’s being enjoyed. It took a lot of videos and practice to eventually get to this point in editing and putting a fun video together. But I’ve always enjoyed it and hope to make more like it.
Dick Tracy was a game that I played through as a kid just fine, but when I came back later in life, it wrecked me so hard I couldn't fathom how I ever beat it before.
We used to have a list called "Games to be Annoyed By" and Ninja Gaiden was #1 on that list and never lost its spot. I clearly recall one Saturday when we were playing for money my friend lost for the last time and he calmly stood up, popped the cartridge out of the NES, walked outside and hurled it down the street as hard as he could. He came back inside and asked if we wanted to order pizza like nothing had happened. The funniest part is that we had rented it and he needed to return it the next morning.
😂 I can see that happening. What I loved about NG though is the game was also really good, at least to me. Just that final stage was maddening having to redo. So once I cooled off in a day or two I wanted to play it again. I can't say the same for ghosts n goblins.
Great video, I love the references to your earlier videos, especially the ninja gaiden part! The way you talk about these games is a lot of fun to listen to. You go much more in depth on the gameplay and your experience of it than other RUclipsrs, and it's definitely something I miss with other retro gaming RUclipsrs. Especially because I've never even seen an nes in my life, that console is twice as old as I am
I've been wanting to remaster that old Ninja Gaiden video for a while now so this was a perfect chance to reboot it. Throw in some of my favorite parts from the original and make it even better. My favorite NES game deserved no less. I really had a fun time making this so thank you. I hope it does well enough so I can make more like it.
I really like your selection of games. It felt like perusing the gaming section of a late 80s, early 90s rental store. Good times, good times
Man, half these games I finished, half I didn't hear about them. I do however have the memory of accidentaly despawning enemies in the last stage of Ninja Gaiden, specifically on that imposible jump. Great video!
Thanks! I never got lucky and despawned that enemy back in the day. It wasn't until much later and the interent that I learned it could be done. And then wished I knew it sooner!
In speaking of Ninja Gaiden, one of my favorite games of all time is Ninja Gaiden I, II, and III on Xbox 360. I hope that they'll make a new one soon. By the way, thanks for the great video and the trip down memory lane with the games mentioned in this video.
I'd love to see another NG game yeah and am all for it. Though who knows if that kind of game will be welcomed by the masses in this day and age. I thought they did a really great job bringing it into 3D with the original and even enjoyed the second one too.
I remember with Contra as a kid and before I knew the 30 man code, I grabbed the machine gun and left my game on for like 13 hours just shooting guys that walked on screen. We were at a town bbq or something so when we finally I got home and I ran it to find I had about 41 lives I finally finished Contra for the first time. After I learned the code I soon realized I could do it with the 3 lives your giving. Great times and memories.
lmao that's funny. How did you just leave it shooting guys? Like in a spot where nobody comes from behind you and just taped the fire button down? You're right about the code. A game that originally seemed so brutal became no problem later on. BTW if you're a fan of Contra and haven't before, check out Super Cyborg. It's about a couple years old and on modern consoles but as close to playing SuperC as it gets. I featured it in my last Run N Guns video and it got a ton of response. Game is killer. Not only that, but I'm currently playing an early build of a game coming later this year that I'll show in the next video called Iron Meat. Another Contra homage that so far is just as good or even better. Loving it so far. These two games are literally better than any Konami made Contra game I've played since Contra III on SNES. Can't believe two of the best Contra games out there now are not made by Konami 😅
@@ShmupJunkie I used a combo of tape and rubber bands to hold the fire button down, and I did it in the jungle stage where the back part where you drop in still showed water. That way no one could spawn behind me, just in front of me.
I think the "They tried and died" describes my experience with most of the games on this list lol
hahaha, yeah, you and the rest of us. That's just how it went back then playing the old school way pre save state practice.
Damn birds, is right! I was terrible Ninja Gaiden as a kid but as an old guy now, I managed to get a no-death clear of this bastard a couple of years ago. Save state practice really helped lessen the time it took to practice and memorize everything. Ghosts n Goblins still kicks my ass though. Awesome video, Junkie!
I'm in the same boat. Even though I got really good at it, I don't know if I ever did get a no death on NG as a kid. Not until I got much older and just played it to death where it became second nature. Can't say the same for GnG though, it's so unpredictable and random sometimes I have no desire to even attempt such a feat. Though I know there are folks out there that do.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah Kudos to those who can get through both loops of GnG without dying. The recent GnG Resurrection is another game that took me a long time to complete. Hard as hell!
As a kid I loved the idea of infinite continues, but as an adult, I've realized infinite continues = incredibly incredibly incredibly hard game
With the older games, you had to restart at checkpoints after dying so infinite continues let you keep trying, but still forced you to improve and learn the game. I liked that. The games that let you credit feed without penalty and finish it without improving your skills or effort just lose any challenge or fun for me.
@@ShmupJunkie Yea, like I enjoy neo geo games, but its hard to resist quarter pumping at home.
Oh MY GOD the Ghost and goblins section is spot on too!
Unfortunately for the majority of us, spot on in a very nightmarish memories sort of way haha.
Awesome video, I laughed a lot especially with Bayou Billy 😆, which still I havent beated yet. I remember finish Ninja Gaiden just once when I was 10 or 11 using only that cyclone slash or whatever that power up was called. Ninja Gaiden 2 was way easier and beated many times, but then directly from Hell's oven came Ninja Gaiden 3 and kicked my @$$ way worse than the first game. So many great games that requiere practice and patience but once you beat them it felt so damn good. What a great time to be alive.
Thank you. I had a bunch of fun making it so it's been so cool seeing the great response and enjoyment from everyone. Maybe I had a little too much fun with bayou billy haha. I think most people say that about NG3 being the hardest, mainly with the US changes they made. I definitely thought 2 was much easier, but it's still possibly my favorite one. It's like the original only improved with an even cooler story and visuals.
Beating Ninja Gaiden was one of my proudest NES achievement. It look serious time and mastery. When I finally did it was the biggest fist pump and hell yeah ever.! A recent game like that in terms of difficulty and making you have to get good was Returnal. That game was amazing!
Imagine having to restart ninja Gaiden every time you die! 😂 At least they weren’t quite that sadistic. Housemarque has a good track record with their games. I was just playing The Reap for another video I’m working on.
Dude so funny. I fell down the rabbit hole of nes docs and your vid had me laughing so hard. Thank you!! Wizards and warriors is one of my all time favorite nes games! I just like yelling that.
You know what? Mine too! I played the heck out of both Ironsword/W&W games. You'd think that endlessly climbing your way up through levels and getting knocked down to start over would get annoying, but I just couldn't stop playing it. Just fun to play, good controls, cool music and effects. I still play one or the other every year or so too.
Good to see you again!
Ninja Gaiden and Ghosts and Goblins both used the committed jump design (Castlevania did as well). There was no way to change trajectory once you started your jump. On top of the brutal difficulty of enemy patterns and damage ratios, your jumps had to be perfect. I never played them when they originally released. I tried them out when they were re-leased on the Nintendo Online's NES games, and I "noped" out pretty quickly. I managed to finish stage 1 of Ninja Gaiden, but I couldn't get through stage 1 of Ghosts n' Goblins.
These games were hard, because most require a ton of memorization, and there is little or no room for improvisation or course-correction.
NG took it to a whole extra level too, not just with jumping but moving in general. The way enemies respawn endlessly and come at you from behind. It's basically saying don't stop moving forward and stay in rhythm or you'll be punished lol. So even if you could jump backwards or in reverse, something would punish you severely for doing it. Vania is very rhythm based too strangely enough even if you don't have to play it that way. I eventually discovered a flow to the enemies and staying in a certain rhythm with them made the game flow easier. Like swimming with the tide instead of against it if that makes sense. A lot of really good game design went into those early games and all that movement limitation was on purpose. Not gonna comment on GnG though that port was unfriendly lmao.
@@ShmupJunkie Yes, I noticed that "forward momentum" too when playing NG on Nintendo Online. The birds in stage 2 were the worst, as you noted. That's when I noped out.
Yes, movement restrictions were on part of design. That doesn't mean I had to like them, even as a kid. :)
Ninja Gaiden is WHY I have Hypertension today at 47 years old. LOL!
Brought back memories of me and my brothers taking turns playing Ninja Gaiden and then laughing hysterically watching them get frustrated every time they would die. Ah the good old days. Thanks for this.
Almost as good as two player Contra and leaving your friends behind on the waterfall stage to die because they can't keep up! haha
It's nice to see you branch out into other genres :)
Thanks. As much as I adore shmups and will keep plugging them, I think we all have a wide variety of games we like playing. So I'm always testing what my community and viewers are interested in and try to mix it up. It's also a great strategy to get new subs that wouldn't normally click on a "shmup" oriented video, but may find how I present them compelling enough to give them more time and branch out into the genre more. Although I doubt watching Dino Riki here would actively make someone want to play it ahaha
@@ShmupJunkie funny you say that, cause it made me dig out my old cartridge and try to find the wing items. I had forgotten I had that game so it was nice to see it showcased.
Also...what happened to Timmy? Did he move out? XD
Battletoads still playing that turbo tunnel, bring me a smile everytime I passed it.
Funny enough I think that's possibly one of the easier levels in the game once you memorize it. Even though it seems impossible at first. I always had the most trouble with some beat em up sections.
@@ShmupJunkie Correct, it is easy for old gamer like ourself. The level I always get trouble is one of the finals one with the rat boss you have to race and catch. Love that game top 10 of Nes era.
I use the same “dance” analogy for hard games… couldn’t believe someone else think of it like that
@@neojaw2192 I think I first heard the term “dance with death” while reading the old Sword of Truth books. It was used very poetically in the novels and I remembered it ever since.
Aaaaaaah, the NES, home of some of the best and also the most painful gaming experiences. But it attracted us like moths to an open flame.
Really wishing to see one day from you a video about every NES shooter. I realize that even Donkey Kong 3 must be in it 😆
Ha! You can bet it will happen. Though I'm getting the most requests for an Every SNES Shooter video first. The NES/Famicom is going to be a beast! Easily over 100 of them I think lol. Such a massive library.
@@ShmupJunkie At least the SNES shooter video will be notably easier, considering its library is around 30, maybe a bit more if you include some hybrid games like Rendering Ranger or Super Turrican 2.
Speaking of SNES shooters: which ones are, in your opinion, the best vertical and horizontal co-op shooters in its library?
Forgot to tell the game makers there wasn’t a coin slot on the side of the Nintendo.
Right? haha. I know they did want you to get your money's worth and not finish it so quickly, but sometimes it was a bridge too far. I think games like Contra, Metroid, even Vania straddled the line perfectly. Being very challenging but not to the point where it feels impossible.
this channel is PURE GOLD
Ninja Gaiden and Batman were 2 that I owned, and beat as a kid. Weekends with a friend over, staying up all night and failing, lol. Good times.
At least Batman didn't kick you in the nuts like NG and make you redo the entire last level after a single death on the boss haha. I can't recall how many times I had to replay that final stage originally before I finally got through all 3 bosses.
@@ShmupJunkie I can't remember how many nights me and my buddy would get to the final stage just to give up hours later. Absolutely brutal.
This is the funniest video you've made so far, Junkie 🤣 That Ghost n Goblins 2nd loop is so darn cruel!
In my childhood with GBA bootlegs and its NES emulator within, my pick were the Megaman games. People say Megaman games are hard, but in comparison to other games on the NES, the Megaman games are a cakewalk.
It's true, the original MM and some others are a nice challenge, but thankfully nothing on the level of brutality compared to these. Holy Diver especially is just evil personified. Ghosts n goblins may be cruel and unfair with it's janky code and randomness, but Holy Diver is cruel in the most purposeful and calculated way that few aside from IREM could pull off. It punishes you on purpose and intentionally for playing it wrong just like a good shmup hahaha. Approach that one with caution.
Glad you put Punch Out in the ending montage. I didn't beat Mike Tyson until college, with the help of emulators and save states.
Punch Out is like an old pair of shoes and so much fun to this day. Timing is so spot on that I feel like I should only play it on my CRT. It may not be as hard as the others, but it was an early game and I was very young. So I remember we struggled with the last third of the game for a long time before finally getting through it. It was just a simple concept executed so well and played to the strengths of the console.
You make me want to try ghosts n' goblins again... Your videos are awesome!
For me it was 8 eyes as a single player experience. So good I kept going back!!!!
I will always love going back to the ninja Gaiden games!!!
It made you WANT to play it? 😂 I thought it would only remind most of why they don't play it anymore lol. Even for me that game is a love hate relationship. I love the sequels and play them all the time but I don't come back to the NES version often... mainly for this video. It's a real ass kicker. Now Ninja Gaiden I still can't stop playing all of them. Masterful games. ❤
@@ShmupJunkie Yup, I want to play ghosts n goblins again... back in the mid 80's it was one of the first games my buddy owned... and it owned us again, and again, and again... Love hate indeed! We only made it to level 3 back then... now... well... not much better!
I didn't own Ninja Gaiden, but we did own Ghost n Goblins. I loved that game.
That was not an easy game to love back then, you are a greater man than I! haha
This video actually made me cry with happiness because I felt my childhood flash before my heart, as I remembered the music and how hard these games were. This was truly the golden years of gaming 😍🥰💞😍 thx
I’d much rather have made you cry with the joy of nostalgia than cry in pain from frustrating memories haha. I agree no matter how hard these games were I have nothing but great memories that remain from them. It’s why we still play them ☺️
@@ShmupJunkie thank you so much. The music of the games alone bought back so many happy times like Xmas and my mom. Giving me some of these games for the first time. I really appreciate this💞💞💞🥰
I never had the pattern recognition and reflexes to make it far in these games. I had castelvania and also ghost and goblens I still loved playing them as far as I could get.
What I learned more than anything is it's 90% memorization and practice of timing than reflexes or skills. That helps to get good faster but that's mostly it. Now that I'm old and don't have the reflexes it's what I have to rely on most haha
There's a trick that makes the bosses in Ninja Gaiden a little easier and more fun. You cancel your atack in the air by pressing down. Timing it right you can get 4 atacks in per jump.
The NES is what got me back into gaiming. In my early 30s I went back and beat all the games that traumatized me as a kid. My favorite is Battletoads.
I didn't learn that speed slash trick until the internet and online videos, but I do know it now. Not the easiest thing to pull off and only super useful on the final boss. But yeah it makes phase 2 so much easier. I didn't want to use it for the video since it's not something I knew or thought to do back in the day. But now that I do, plus the wall climbing jump trick, I do use it. I almost did Battletoads but it's so obvious, I went with Holy Diver to change it up.
@@ShmupJunkie haha figures you would know about the speed slash. I agree it's not very useful for most the game but I do try to use it because it's satisfying to pull off a four slash.
Glad you covered holy diver. Tripped me out when I found out about that game. I've never played through it but I spin the vinyl a couple times a year. Probably Dios best solo album.
You interested in doing a 2 player playthrough of a hard game on fightcade? I play street fighter 2 on there all the time but I've been wanting to do a 2 player playthrough of a hard game on there.
Back in 1990, my best friend and I decided to try to finish Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 in a single day. We did it but I cannot tell you the number of times we collapsed to the floor screaming in frustration. It literally took the entire day and we swore we would never do something so foolish again.....until the next weekend when we finished Wizards and Warriors, Rygar and Trojan in about 36 hours . Lol good times.
This is the first video I've ever seen from you and I LOVED it. What a great nostalgic trip through some of these insanely hard NES games, it really felt like going on a retro journey. Fantastic video!
Thanks! And welcome to the channel. I had a blast making this and will likely do more in the future. And hope you enjoy some of my other recent stuff as well. We have an awesome community here.
Ninja Gaiden was the one that got away from me as a kid. That last level… pure hell.😢
That last level kicked all our asses man. One of those games where you end up playing into the night or through it repeating that last level until you just force your way through it. In retrospect, it's so beatable now and easy knowing all the tricks and having it memorized. But it sure wasn't back then and felt pretty unfair and impossible.
Brother you BLEW TF UP with this video. Almost all your videos are in the 20k's and this one sits at 236k as of today haha. Good shit dude.
Thanks. Think this is my third best performing vid. The recent 80s 90s video is almost at 500k and the Mega Drive Shooters is 750K. This is one of my favs though I had some stupid fun with the script haha.
i have to give you my oldman respect , i didn't finish lie 95% of games i own for my nes, its just too damn hard , i give up most of them without ever see the ending
There were plenty I didn't finish either if I didn't like them enough. But some were so good, at least at the time, I wanted to keep playing. I admit there's plenty that got left behind for many of us and never finished.
Arcus just did his 80,000 play of Ninja Gaiden - a true master of the game.
Arcus is insane yeah. Hard to imagine anyone playing a game that much. But he has good taste!
This takes me back to the absolut best time in my life.. ofc im still play video games but the feeling this games gived us is Epic. This was our Golden Game era
Loved you ended with The Batman music. Still here that song in my head.
No kidding. Sunsoft music was god tier in their NES days. Gremlins 2, Blaster Master, Silius… all bangers!
I grew up playing a ZX Spectrum where games had 3 lives and no continues, those punishingly difficult games got me a first class degree in swearing obscenities by age 10.
I moved onto the NES after that and learned a new vocabulary, mostly invented by myself.
Yeah, those games back then were difficult, some extremely so, but i learned my trade the hard way.
Modern gaming is a cakewalk compared to the Speccy and the NES.
No internet, no guides, no saves, just die, repeat, die, repeat, die, repeat...win!!
Good times.
Agree. Spectrum games were even harder.but the games were nor só fun as the nes
We had Nintendo Power and paid game counselors taking phone calls haha. We didn't have the ZX here in the states so I didn't get to play those, but I definitely have an idea. As I played many similar PC based games that were nigh impossible and I often gave up on. The quality varied so greatly. What I do love about the NES is how many really good games it had making it worthwhile to keep plugging away. Some I never even thought I would finish and only did due to their fun factor and playing it every chance I had. I think the majority of people never legit finished games like Vania and Contra and only saw part way. And yet they still adore the games for what they did see and it left a lasting impression.
@@PedroFerreira-sx2gd
Yeah i agree, the Speccy was hardcore gaming before hardcore gaming was even a thing lol.
The NES had far more playable games though, and i swear i've stiil got the indents from the corners of the NES pad on my hands from the 80's...
@@ShmupJunkie
I agree with you that most gamers probably never saw the end title screen of many games, particularly the games who's legacy grew to become known as Nintendo hard.
I refused to phone up and pay for the Nintendo help line, or rather my Dad refused...so that was that.
Most cheats, hints and tips spread through word of mouth from friends in the playground, as did many a Speccy game rented from the library and copied on tape, or NES games too expensive to own.
Gaming was challenging back in those days, but i wouldn't change it for the World.
The expression that you put on Ryu's face, priceless lol. And your right, one of the best games ever made I'm my opinion
I remember making that photoshop bird edit a couple years ago and laughing my ass off, so I wanted to use it again here haha. The original and also part two are just games I have yet to tire of replaying.
I used to think Ninja Gaiden's cruelest feature was how it puts you all the way back when losing against the last boss. However, when I eventually learned that the beaten forms of the boss stay beaten, it was just a matter of playing the last stage over a few times.
The hardest NES game I've beaten is probably Battletoads - I know, boring answer. I had to re-start that game soo many times during those couple of weeks when I learned it... I never use save states or such even for practice, it would feel like I did something dirty, so I cannot really participate in speedrunning without having a disadvantage (it's standard for speedrunners to practice with save states).
If it wasn't for the boss staying beaten it would have been a whoooole lot longer to finish an already hard game. At least you could get to each boss with the spin slash and just kill them quick. Now I can just run it clean no continues, but back then I had to replay the last level at least once also for that second form. I remember reading that it was a coding mistake that happens on the boss and Tecmo didn't intend you to redo the level. But I honestly have a hard time believing that. It's too obvious to catch and no way they missed it in testing. I think they wanted to make it hard at the end and then didn't want to admit to it later when called out on it ahaha.
Ninja Gaiden 1 and Bionic Commando kicked my ass back in the day. While I enjoyed it back then, I really don't like those kinds of games anymore. I give kudos to people that have mastered them. I did manage to beat those 2 games. I think the 8 bit controls were really tough to master. 16 bit seemed much better and easier. Great Video and funny too.
Thank you. And it’s weird but I’ve become the opposite. I still play modern games and enjoy them but I do get tired of the hand holding and exposition. So I start craving arcade style games and older stuff from my childhood. Or modern indie games that often channel that same gameplay style. Though I admit I no longer have the time to beat my head against the wall like we used to 🤣
One game that made me go crazy on the NES was Bionic Commando, I just HAD to beat it. It's not as hard as Ninja Gaiden, but I love the way they wrapped everything on a good narrative and the unique bionic arm system. Another ninja game that was very hard and I don't see much love for it is Kage: Shadow of the Ninja, which I find better than Ninja Gaiden in many senses, and I absolutely love it. I never managed to play Holy Diver until I was an adult, and as a metalhead I had to beat it (with savestates, but hey, I don't have infinite time anymore as I used to as a kid). Great video!
I absolutely adore Bionic Commando. Even if I don't remember having a ton of trouble with it for whatever reason, it was still a good challenge and took plenty of replays to get through. That surprise ending is what really stuck with me as it was so unexpected. Here is a 12yr old jewish kid suddenly finding out hitler is the big bad and then getting to see his face explode at the end lmao. Shadow of the Ninja is fantastic and I will certainly showcase it one day. My main love of Ninja Gaiden is just the speed and momentum of the game, how it feels playing in it's rhythm. So it was always a cut above for me. Plus that great music and the cut scenes. But for most people who didn't completely master it, it was just an endless cycle of frustration. So something like Kage was much better suited to most players and not solely focused on playing flawlessly.
I still put ninja gaiden as the toughest game I ever beat. What a masterpiece. I never had the patience to finish ghosts n goblins though
GnG was always one of the toughest games for me on the system too, always owned me one way or another even if I slogged my way through. Definitely not in the same league as Ninja Gaiden. I think I have a stockholm syndrome thing going with goblins haha
What an AMAZING video! Just 2 words for you, or better 4 words! Thank you, my friend!
You're welcome! I had so much fun making it and would do another one someday in the future. There was still so many I wanted to include.
Dayum, Billy doing 180mph in that jeep must be a typo.
Maybe he had it suped up and used moonshine for fuel lol
Superb video!! I always enjoy seeing the NES get some love, not to say Ninja Gaiden. I must admit I am proud to say that I have completed most of the ones featured here bitd and eventually every know and then, except for Dino Riki and Holy Diver. Holy Diver is high on my list, Dino Riki I need to get back at it. Loved the NG as the opening featured game 💯🙂
Thanks my dude! Of course Ninja Gaiden had to be first. Anything else would be uncivilized. Just do yourself a favor on Dino Riki and make sure to look up or memorize where all those bird icons are. I don't know how anyone could finish it trying to do the actual platforming hahaha.
@@ShmupJunkie will surely do but I got very impressed with you beating Holy Diver, the game is very, very difficult 😦 my respects.
Honorable mention for this list - battletoads
Great video! I really need to try Holy Diver and Dino Riki. The rest I've already been through the gauntlet on. Most recent game that bashed me down repeatedly was the Japan-only Valkyrie no Boken. Such a ridiculous and often cryptic challenge. Excellent english translation patch available for it though. Thanks for the entertainment, as always!
You'll definitely get on with Dino Riki if and only if you look up and learn all the bird icon locations to skip all the platforming. Mark my words you will try the platforming for giggles and it'll be fun at first. But there's no predictable way to play or clear the damn thing without flying over it all lol. Holy Diver is a son of a b 😂 I find it less enjoyable to play and more like going to war when I pick it up. It's not that it isn't cool, but it's the definition of a beast to play through. I'd enjoy getting your thoughts on either game once you do though.
I swear, no enemy in a game has ever dealt more damage to my psyche than the BIRDS from Ninja Gaiden.
Still the greatest video game villains of all time! lmao
It's crazy for me how the play style of nes games taught me life lessons that today at 38 years old I still apply when learning something new
i remember staying at my Aunts for a summer in the late 80s. I brought my NES with me of course. She had bought me a couple of games. One of them was Ninja Gaiden. I was absolutely hooked on it for weeks. So brutal... but so good. I remembered dying on the last stage so many times one day and got got so angry that I scream-cried so loud that my Aunt thought I had seriously injured myself lol. I too lost my gaming privileges for a week. I still have never finished the game. But I intend to soon.
Mike Tyson’s Punch out and Battletoads are my favorite NES Hard games. Beat Mike Tyson when I was 10 years old. Beat the Japanese version of Battletoads 8 years ago, but I’m coming for you USA version!
Great video!
Thanks! I can't remember how long or when I finally beat punch out. Those last few fights were kicking our ass back then, even though now it seems easier knowing all the tricks. I never did try or play the JPN version of Toads, nor Bayou Billy. I guess once you finish the US version it would be easier to go back. But I still can't beat Toads now unless I went back and practiced a bunch again. It's been too long. Maybe for the next NES video haha.
I beat a few of these. Bayou Billy (not really that hard of a game) was the crown jewel because Captain N said he couldn't beat it. I was so proud of myself!
Lol I remember that now. I was watching that old episode of N looking for some assets for this video and saw that. I agree. BB has that reputation because it seems impossible at first. It’s so hard off the bat on stage 1. But it can be figured out and “cheesed” quite a bit. Some NES games you had to cheat right back to complete haha.
I loved this video ! And you are 100% correct when an nes game has unlimited continues you know it's a controller snapping game! I recently beat super contra for the first time and I have to say I have fallen in love with my nes all over again !
SuperC is so good! Speaking of which, did you see me feature Super Cyborg in my last Run n Gun's video? If you love NES SuperC you gotta play it. It's on Switch, Steam, PS4 etc and only a few bucks.
@@ShmupJunkie nope but just went back and watched it quick and yep just downloaded super cyborg on my switch !!! Keep the videos coming !!!!
I love Ninja Gaiden 1 on NES. I played it as an rythmus game on my NES Mini, cos I know when to jump if I listen to the rythmn of the music. Ghost N' Goblin and Super Ghouls N' Ghost is a kinda Love/Hate Relationship, same goes for the firsr Gargoyles Quest on Gameboy. The damn tower and the 1st boss oooooofffff. But yah I kinda love the NES Hard Difficulty😃😭Good Video Man🙂
my buddy and I played so much Bayou Billy growing up that it made me very sad to grow up, become old and realize that the majority of gamers hated it for it's difficulty
It's too bad as despite it having it's issues I enjoyed it too and have some good memories. That's all that matters in the end. Plenty of much worse old games out there I love too. Nostalgia is like that.
Great fracking video brother. You've yet to disappoint me 😜🤘🖤
Thanks dude! What can I say besides I will do my best no to haha
@@ShmupJunkie than you for the entertaining content but only are the visuals crisp but the commentary is actual hilarious and informative at the same time.
So the trick with Holy Diver's jump is that it eats your inputs if you press jump and start moving at precisely the same time. That's why you end up walking off ledges. Definitely buggy, and it changed the way I played the game, always making sure to either start moving before jumping or jump first and then adjust mid-air. And yes, the game is absolutely brutal.
I realize now that's how I was forced to play the game but I never really thought about why. Just naturally started being more careful and deliberate with jumps. You and one other mentioned the same thing. But I had no idea the exact mechanic or why it was happening!
Ghosts and Goblins. Mayn, that game was hard but super addictive!
If it wasn’t so addictive I doubt anyone would have ever finished it at all 🤣
@@ShmupJunkie now that is true! 🤣
The clip from the original "Dune"? Chef's kiss
It's one thing you never hear anymore, when I was younger so many people gave up a game cause it was too difficult and finishing it was a challenge, games now just make failure not an option. It's rare now to find a game difficult.
Bucky O'Hare is also an NES game that is difficult, but is also hard to stop playing regardless 👍
Amazing stuff. Loved the humour and nostalgia. So much suffering haha. Well done
Thanks! Been wanting to do a fun nostalgic vid like this for a while with some of the games I had stories for. It was a good time and the video is doing well so maybe there's a sequel in it's future.
man! such memories (and nightmares!! - lol) thank you for this awesome video! Back then i used to look at the box art in frustration after i couldn't beat a level and wonder if there was some secret hidden there! :'(
13:43 Red Devil Tea bags you before Tea bagging was even a thing! Ha ha ha
hahaha, I never thought of it like that until I was much older. Then it started looking a bit suspect. Or just dancing on your grave really.
Your breakdown of Ninja Gaiden was awesome! What earned my subscription is your bit about mispronouncing Gaiden! THANK YOU!!! LOL
Hahaha well thanks. I do truly adore the game so it’s easy for me to wax poetic and be funny about it. I think we all pronounced it wrong as kids until we knew better or saw it in the wizard. Same thing with Gradius and Darius. Never said those right until years later.
Beautiful editing so many good cut ins lol
Thanks. It takes a long time to make these videos but it’s always worth taking the extra time to get them just right. I had a lot of fun making this one.
Yup, ninja gaiden is a game I need to really sit down and beat lol. It's not easy to admit that, considering how long I've been gaming for
The sad part is that it's not even that hard of a game until you reach stage 6. With all the health it gives you. I think most I knew made it to the final level but the noped out there haha. That's the "stay up all night grinding away until you get good" segment where it suddenly gets it's reputation.
I didn't grow up with the NES unfortunately. But as an adult, I beat Zelda 2, Mario 2 USA, and Castlevania 1. All super duper tough, I even have the playthrough I did for Mario 2 on my channel where I beat the game on my last life and last tick of health 😰
You know... of all the hard NES games I've played, I never went back and played the Japanese Mario 2. And I do really enjoy the old Mario games and their speed. I think I would really like it honestly.
@@ShmupJunkie You should! It's very good. I never beat the original FDS version myself, but I did beat the All-Stars version aka Lost Levels.
Bayou Billy is masochistically difficult, even with the upgrades from the training levels. Mad City on the Famicom is far more playable. It's an average beat em up on the NES, but there's variety to it with the shooting/driving stages. And the soundtrack is another classic 8-bit Konami banger.
I’ve yet to try mad city but I keep hearing about it. Though I guess now that I can beat Billy it may seem a bit easy. But I totally want to try it and see the different ending I’ve heard about.
I just ran across this channel and it's exactly what I've been looking for.
Welcome! Glad you found it and hope you enjoy whatever you find interesting.
I remember as a kid beating The Guardian Legend for the first time. That was as bullet hell as the NES could get and it kicked the shit out of me for a while there. Eventually i learned which side weapon to use on bosses.
@Shmup Junkie Hey look 👆👆 A scammer!
Awesome video as usual SJ!
I didn't expect to see R.C. Pro Am in here. I love that game but hate that the computer cheats when you have finished a lot of consecutive races in first place. I guess Midway got inspired by it when they programmed the rubber band AI for NBA Jam and NFL Blitz.
Seeing the old Bayou Billy comics from Archie Comics is another thing I wasn't expecting. I love those comics! Too bad it was such a short lived series.
Thanks man! I really had fun making this so I do hope it picks up and does well. I'd enjoy making similar and visiting other games I couldn't here. RC Pro AM was awesome and such a fun game. But yeah I included it because I recall how cheap it could be. Artificially making the AI catch up and make you sweat. No way a human player could do that. I never did see or read those comics back then or even knew they existed. Wasn't til later I randomly came across them online.
@@ShmupJunkie, I remember seeing issues one and two of the Bayou Billy at a supermarket in December of 1989 and I had to have them. I found issue three at a different supermarket during spring break of 1990. It took me years to track down issues four and five, but I eventually got to read the whole story.
I love the comics so much that I paid the original penciler (Amanda Conner) for a commission when I went to a convention in the mid 2000s.
Ghosts & Goblins and Wizards & Warriors are why I have a masochistic streak, I think.
Holy Diver looks like if Zelda 2 were a Metroidvania.
I remember when I first beat ninja gaidnen. it took me a long time but i mastered it
Great work! I heavily enjoyed. 👍👌👏😀
Rugged Terrain, what a theme! A bummer that a 16-bit Ninja Gaiden never came out.
While Lifeforce, Contra, and Bionic Commandos are a few of my favorites, I think I was most surprised by the Sunsoft Batman. My friend would rent NES games from the local video store, and once it was Batman. We couldn't get over how tiny yet extremely cool he was! The wall jump was incredible, and the batarangs felt so good to throw. We eventually beat it that weekend before needing to return it, but holy crap that level 4 was freaking hard!
Beating Batman the weekend you rented it is pretty dang impressive. That’s one tough game and I loved it too. Never owned it either but a friend did so we finished it that way. All of my favorite Sunsoft games were on NES. They had a great run during the late 80s. Loved their music too.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, it was a long, long night. And an even rougher day the next day when we had to work some.
Agreed about Sunsoft too. I had was Sega, my friend was all Nintendo. When Blaster Master finally game to the Genesis, I was super pumped and bought the game immediately but was a bit let down.
the first game i ever personally owned was Cybernoid. i've never seen or heard of anyone beating the game. i even put myself through instant anger moments whenever i think i might get it today only to get so mad i stop playing all games for the day
Before there was Dark Souls, there was 8 bit NES. I passionately hated Kid Icarus for its difficulty.