Right? He obviously didn't hold B to be ready to run, which is kind of odd considering he has no problem with trying to run full-speed through the rest of the level, getting him killed by pretty much every lame easy monster and pit in the whole board.

Sure, if you try to haul ass through the castle because you have infinite lives and hence no consequences, of course it's going to take you a million tries and seem impossible.

^^^that comment should have been here

No, it wasn't easy. Games back then expected more out of you.

Embarrassing secret: I didn't actually beat "Super Mario Bros" until I was almost 18. But that was due to lack of caring.

It was hard, but I don't recall whining about it. Games were SUPPOSED to be hard, you felt let down if they weren't. The feeling of triumph you get when you breeze through a level that once destroyed you is something that's increasingly rare these days.

Lets have a good old fashioned game of "Internet One-upsmanship."

Legendary Wings

Battletoads

You'll never beat it. Just like you'll never beat me at this "I'm the bigger internet game nerd" competition.

Bayou Billy

Adventures of Lolo.

I made it to the last boss in Battletoads twice. Fucking Battletoads.

I think I made it past the racing level twice. I can't imagine how much autism it would take to make it to the final boss.

FUCKING RYGAR, end of story...
The game was, like, half the size of Zelda or some shit and had no passwords or saving. If you lost your LIFE (singular), game over.

Double Dragon 3

Battletoads. I WIN!

Wizards and Warriors 3.

Huge (for its time) RPG style game with all sorts of skills to gain, multiple job classes for your character, a large world to explore...

AND NO SAVE SYSTEM OF ANY KIND. Not even a continue.

Bart vs the Space Mutants: hard AND shitty, a lethal combination. Battletoads was pretty bad, too.

Simon's Quest, in one sitting, without continues.

Contra

Simon's Quest? Seriously? I could run that whole game in less than 45 minutes when I was a kid.

I was also a GOD at Bionic Commando.

And the correct answer is: Ninja Gaiden. Any of them.

Also, NARC and it's literally impossible to beat end boss would fuck you guys in the pussies.

We didn't have a Nintendo but one time I had to fight my dad when he got drunk and got his knife out. Is battletoads hard like that?

I recall everyone talking about how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was impossible to beat. Though other than the underwater level, I had no problem.

I think we all gave up on that underwater level. It got easier after that, but fuck if I was gonna bother to keep playing- quit while you're ahead.

Battletoads goes without saying.


Ninja Gaiden (the last level)

Legacy of the Wizard

Ninja Turtles

Bayou Billy (FUCKING driving levels)

Simon's Castle

Zelda or Metroid without a guide telling you exactly which rocks to blow up.

Hardest NES Games Ever

Mega Man 1
Bayou Billy
Renegade
Double Dragon 1
Ghosts and Goblins
Silver Surfer
And...
The original Ninja Gaiden.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH

Jesus fucking CHRIST Silver Surfer. I made it to Mephisto ONCE.

Yeah, but when you failed a mission in San Andreas three times, you didn't have to restart the entire game from the beginning. There's more to difficulty than just the skill required to accomplish a single task. Games today are filled with saves and checkpoints and generally offer no real penalty for dying (AKA sucking at the game). They're made to be beatable by anyone from 6 to 60. Games back in the day existed solely to kick your ass and dare you to play them again.

I would also dispute your claims that modern games are more exciting or engaging, but my beard is growing dangerously large.

It varies. Super Mario Bros. 3 is still a lot more engaging than, say, Crackdown, but I think on the whole, with the higher production values and vastly improved technology, the average is more engaging games. And man, Super Mario Brothers has just not stood the test of time.

And I guess you guys are right. Games were much more punishing back then with their no save points and limited chances to get it right. But when I found NESticle in the late 90s, I never wanted to play Mega Man without horrible 16-digit codes ever again.

I also did not want to play it WITH horrible 16-digit codes ever again, either. My life is confusing.

Plus, if you suck at the missions in San Andreas, you can run around doing all sorts of shit that keeps you occupied for hours without ever touching the main quest. In Mario, if you suck, there's nothing else to do. You either save the Princess or you die.

I disagree that Mario hasn't stood the test of time. Legend of Zelda is maybe the only game from that era that has aged better.

I disagree that modern games are more engaging. It's more difficult to get into the right state of mind, yes, because there's no longer any novelty to the presentation and mechanics. However, using the original SMB as an example, it's a rock-solid game with fun mechanics and design, and I don't think the human brain has changed enough in the past twenty-odd years that it's impossible to be captivated by, it's just less novel.
As far as the San Andreas comparison is concerned, yes there's less to do in SMB if you suck, but there's no single part of San Andreas that is as solidly, perfectly designed as the whole of SMB. San Andreas, an excellent game, is a lot of uneven to downright sloppy parts coming together to create an enjoyable whole. There's merit to both.

This kid needs to be introduced to that shitty ROMhack masquerading as a sequel that is The Lost Levels. Kid would probably give himself a massive coronary on the first fortress level.

Unfortunately, I think the video was exclusive to the kid's profile (which he appears to have deleted completely- his parents must've caught onto the concept of future employers). Unless somebody downloaded a local copy for themselves, the clip is gone forever.

:(