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Top 10 Hardest NES games

These games were difficult and you probably never beat them without cheating

By Speederman10 itemsUpdated Jul 27, 2026

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10 ranked

1

Silver Surfer

High over the roof of the world, he soars... free and unfettered as the roaring wind itself! Behold the sky-born spanner of a trillion galaxies... the restless, streaking stranger from the farthest reaches of space... this glistening, gleaming seeker of truth, whom man shall call forevermore... ###The Silver Surfer! Now you can play the part of The Silver Surfer, pitting your surfing skills against the most evil minds in the cosmos. Battle over strange worlds and forgotten realms. Fearlessly fi…

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2

Battletoads

Battletoads are here to fight aliens form other words. Get into the battle with the most baddest toads on the planet! These toads are here to kick some rear end and chew gum...and they are all out of chewing gum. The aliens are attempting to invade the planet and all that stands in their way are these mutant toads. Battle aliens through intense and challenging levels. Shoot the invaders as quick as you can. Don't let them invade the planet or you lose! The planet needs your help! Are you ready?…

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3

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

Action-Boxing Game for the NES.

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4

Top Gun (1987)

Top Gun is loosely based on the film of the same name. It is an action game in which the player controls an F-14 Tomcat fighter through four different missions. The action is seen from a first-person cockpit view. Depending on the mission, different kinds of targets must be destroyed. There are always enemy aircraft, but some missions include sea and ground targets as well. Two weapons are available: machine guns (with unlimited ammunition) and missiles. The player can choose from three types o…

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5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a side-scrolling platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released by Konami (under the Ultra Games imprint in the USA and the equivalent PALCOM brand in Europe/Australia) in 1989. Alongside the arcade game (also developed by Konami), it was one of the first video games based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, being released after the show's second season.

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6

Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)

Ghosts 'n Goblins (魔界村, Makaimura, lit. Demon World Village), stylized as Ghost 'n Goblins, is a 1985 side-scrolling platform video game developed by Capcom for video arcades and has since been released on several other platforms. It is the first game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise. It was directed by Tokuro Fujiwara.

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7

Fester's Quest

Fester's Quest (also known as Uncle Fester's Quest) is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on the 1960s television series The Addams Family. It was released in 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe. It's just a kidnapping. Of an entire day. By an alien UFO! Will Fester sit still for this? The quest begins. For starters, take on slime replicators, skeeters, globules and giant scorpions. Your health is at stake, not to mention your life! Will you whip the Alien Bosses or w…

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8

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing is a platform video game for the NES and Game Boy. Based on the animated series of the same name, it was published by THQ and released December 1992. A Swamp Thing title was also in development by Microsmiths for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis but was canceled. It would have been published by NuVision Entertainment.

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9

Contra (1987)

The Famicom/NES versions of Contra are an expanded port of the arcade version, developed in-house. The biggest difference is that the levels are restructured and significantly longer, with stages 5 through 8 being derived from and expanded from areas in the arcade version's final stage. The plot is altered as well, being set in the year 1987 in the Amazon, rather than 2633 in the Galuga archipelago. Weapons are slightly different in function and frequency, and the Konami Code makes a famous app…

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10

Shadowgate (1987)

Shadowgate is a 1987 point-and-click adventure video game originally for the Apple Macintosh in the MacVenture series. It was also ported to various other systems. The game is named for its setting, Castle Shadowgate, residence of the evil Warlock Lord. The player, as the "last of a great line of hero-kings" is charged with the task of saving the world by defeating the Warlock Lord, who is attempting to summon up the demon Behemoth out of Hell.

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