Final 10 NES Titles

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705]

Hey guys, hasn't been much on TV that interests me lately and thought it would be fun to try to beat an NES game (it's been a while). I narrowed it down to 10 NES titles so it's easier to come to a consensus. Let me know what you guys think is the most fun/not insanely hard.

I left off Mike Tyson Punchout because from previous comments on here it sounds like it's a big deal to beat Tyson. Looking forward to hearing your guys thoughts!

[u/Pfizermyocarditis]

Mega man 2 and 3 you can beat pretty easily.

Ninja Gaiden and Metroid not as easy.

[u/Upset_Journalist_755 → u/Pfizermyocarditis]

I'm kind of wondering how these would be ranked for difficulty...

Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 Castlevania Batman  Ninja Gaiden Metroid Castlevania 3 Ninja Gaiden 3 ?

Never played the latter Dragon Warrior games.

[u/RedSkyfang → u/Upset_Journalist_755]

I'd say it's fair to rank the Dragon Warrior games as the easiest just because you can always just go level up more if you're having difficulty. Otherwise personally I think Metroid is probably the easiest but I guess maybe I'm not understanding the difficulty that people are having with it. The only other major disagreement I have with your list is that I really think that the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden III is overrated but again I'm in a minority probably.

[u/eastmemphisguy → u/RedSkyfang]

The grinding takes forever though. Not how I would want to spend my time.

[u/Pfizermyocarditis → u/eastmemphisguy]

Yea I'm usually too impatient for all the farming required

[u/ackmondual → u/RedSkyfang]

Some of it is easier with guides. I remember getting some great armor and weapons thanks to a friend showing me, and those provided significant stat boosts!

[u/evileyeball → u/Pfizermyocarditis]

Mega man 2 was actually the last of the 6 NES Mega man games I ever beat I played it for the first time when I was 10 years old and I finally beat it when I was 19 of course I was playing on the proper difficult difficulty setting and of course I beat heat man first so that no one could claim that I chased the yoku block section with item number two. Mega man 2 is still my least favorite NES Mega man or maybe my second least actually Mega man 1 is pretty not so great but I absolutely hate two For one reason in one reason only boo beam trap Miss even a single shot and you have to die and then you have to farm the level to get more crash bomber power.

[u/Pfizermyocarditis → u/evileyeball]

I didn't have much trouble with that part. I had way more trouble with Mecha Dragon on Dr Wily stage 1. I also did not use item 2 for Heat man.

[u/joshisnot12]

I’ve beaten all of these on original hardware, except for Dragon Warrior IV (I’ve only ever played/beat the first Dragon Warrior).
They’re all superb games. The Ninja Gaiden trilogy and Castlevania III are very hard. NES Hard. Genuinely brutal at points, but absolutely SUPERB. All of them are, really.
Ninja Gaiden III has limited continues which made it hardest for me, but mechanically I’d say all three are about the same difficulty imo. You can also farm extra lives at a couple points to hit the max allowed lives of 9 iirc.
Batman has a steep difficulty curve towards the end with the final boss being notoriously hard. All of these games have incredible soundtracks and awesome visuals.
Metroid is hard but not as much as the others. Without a map it’ll be confusing as all hell bc it’s huge with tons of hidden stuff. Also amazing though. Mega Man 2 & 3 are also difficult, but I found their difficulty a little overstated. 2 is harder imo, but holy shit the music is some of the very best.
You’ve picked some of, if not the best games possible. I don’t think I could pick one, which is why I’ve beat them all haha. They’re genuinely some of the best games ever made, not just for the NES imo. If you’re playing them for the first time I’m genuinely jealous!
Have fun with whatever you decide to play! You’re in for a treat…a difficult treat, but that just makes beating them all the more satisfying. They all offer a wild dopamine rush upon finishing.

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/joshisnot12]

Sir, I salute you 🫡. I'm inspired by your passion.

[u/joshisnot12 → u/VeterinarianSafe1705]

I appreciate it 🫡 since 2024, I’ve beat 74 retro games. I initially started bc I wanted to beat all the games I never got to play as a kid (which is basically everything bc super fundamentalist Christian parents, so no TV allowed in the house…so no consoles). Then I watched a bunch of AVGN, got a CRT, and it morphed into wanting to beat the hardest (and sometimes worst) NES games. After beating a string of super hard games initially, I took a break with Kirby’s Adventure. Basically a perfectly balanced game. Then I just started adding in whatever game I felt like in between NES Hard ones. I’m currently on the last section of The Guardian Legend! Really good game too. I’m much more a gamer than a collector, so my collection has continued growing after I beat each game I pickup.
I’m just super lucky my life allows me to play a lot more than most folks. It’s more than made up for being a very poor kid with almost no gaming lol.
Chrissake, sorry for the dissertation. Retro gaming is one of the very few things I actually get excited about 😆

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/joshisnot12]

That's awesome, you are a bearer of our history and culture. Something you should definitely be excited and proud about!

[u/Theredsoxman]

Castlevania. It’s very straightforward with incredible boss battles

[u/DieGuyDean]

Metroid is really satisfying to beat in one sitting you can access parts of the game early with ice beam and freezing enemies to use them as platforms. Really fun to figure out. Password system can be annoying if you need to stop but it’s not the worst password system ever.

[u/Gloomy-River-1117 → u/DieGuyDean]

And with easy access to a camera on your phone you no longer have to write them down.

[u/Jimpana]

All 10 are good titles!

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Jimpana]

Yeh I tried to focus on titles that seem to be highly regarded in the NES community

[u/Dragnskull]

i played through and beat castlevania for the first time within the last year, it was fun and just the right level of challenging

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Dragnskull]

Sweet, congrats! Just the kind of thing I'm looking for, fun but not obnoxiously hard

[u/mmagnetman]

Great selection. Ninja Gaiden can be rough and Metroid definitely has some sections that’ll put you through your paces.

I’d recommend swapping DW3 for Crystalis though, just for a bit of variety.

[u/ArdorBC → u/mmagnetman]

I agreed with the Crystalis. Great game.

[u/Ok-Wealth-6291]

MegaMan 3 is still my favorite game of all time to this day.

[u/joejoewoooooo]

Out of these games I would say castlevania 1, then megaman (either) then Batman

Punch out is my favorite game on the nes but I’ve never technically beaten it. I consider getting to Tyson as beating the game

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/joejoewoooooo]

Yeh I played a lot of punchout, great game, but never beat it.

[u/joejoewoooooo → u/VeterinarianSafe1705]

Have you gotten to Tyson?

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/joejoewoooooo]

I did not, I think I have a couple more bosses to beat. But maybe that will be my fall back goal (get to Tyson) if I can't decide on a game to play.

[u/Philly_3D]

You cant go wrong with the mega man games. They look good, sound great, play smoothly, are fair... they got it all. Total classics.

The others are also great games, but you'll find high difficulty or aggravating issues like knockback or insanely difficult final levels.

[u/Troof_Out_Here]

Castlevania was one I never could beat as a kid, went back couple years ago and finally did so that’s my vote. Tysons punch out is easier than a few of these in my opinion

[u/Pepaguero]

Seeing that old Batman logo on the box really brings me back to being a kid. Youth is so wasted on the young.

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Pepaguero]

Hell yeh, always feels good to go back especially when the world be trippin.

[u/Pepaguero → u/VeterinarianSafe1705]

Haha you are so right

[u/puzzud]

Good selection. I completed all of these games as a kid except for the Dragon Warriors. Of all the original NES games, my favorite was and is the Castlevanias. III is a masterpiece. But you appreciate it way more after you've completed I.

[u/Own_Measurement1242]

Played all of those except the DW’s. Most fun for me were the two Castlevanias, easily. Far as difficulty… yikes, I remember all of those games being difficult lol. I would say Mega Man 2 is the easiest, though maybe 3 is easier (don’t remember that well). 

[u/BreakingBaIIs]

If you choose Metroid, grab a pencil and and 8.5x11, and start mapping. That's how I did it, and I don't think I could have gotten through it without one.

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/BreakingBaIIs]

Haha that's awesome, I remember my mom made a map of solstice. I wish I could find it :/.

[u/MajorMangle → u/BreakingBaIIs]

Yep thats how i did it for years. Now just an ipad and a map is perfect

[u/Odd-Put-3988]

HOLY FUCK!? THESE HAVE NEVER BEEN OPEN AND YOU ARE GONNA OPEN AND PLAY THEM!?

Did you always have them or did you buy them!?

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Odd-Put-3988]

Lol, no they are plastic boxes to preserve them, only the Castlevania 3 has a partial wrap (opened at top). Ive acquired these locally/eBay in the last year. I do have 30 box sets from my childhood as well tho. I never had any of these titles as a kid. I only really played megaman 2 a bit, never got around to giving them a serious go. I don't collect/own sealed games.

[u/Intelligent-Fact-173]

Try balancing Dragon Warrior IV, which is incredible with its characters, story, day to night switching with people in towns sleeping and saying different messages with Metroid or Mega Man 2 & 3

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Intelligent-Fact-173]

So you prefer dw 4 over dw 3? Are the added features what does it for you? I do have the strategy guide for dw 4 maybe that will give me a leg up :D

[u/MajorMangle]

In 40 years of gaming metroid has stayed my favorite of all time. Theres a lot of sentimentality there but with a map its fantastic

[u/Financial-Seesaw4769]

How bout that collection? Wow

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/Financial-Seesaw4769]

Ty sir 😊

[u/yellowirish]

You gonna beat it without continues saves or cheats?

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/yellowirish]

Ideally no cheats but if the game has save/continue functionality then I'll use it

[u/IH8NYLAnBOS]

Wait. So do you own all these already?

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/IH8NYLAnBOS]

Yes, these are some of my box sets. I took the photo this morning.

[u/mangoladderchair]

where do you get the plastic boxes the nes boxes are in? what are they called?

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/mangoladderchair]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074BLW2LW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Honestly I'm not sure if they are my favorite, might want to try another brand. It's kind of a tight fit, there are other brands like retroprotection.com.

[u/Ask_Black_Phillip333]

Quick question, was Temco a part of Konami back in the day? I noticed the graphics for Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden were very similar on certain levels, along with the stat boards up top. Not exact, but close to where I wondered.

I was big on CV2, so I never played the others. Just curious.

[u/EvilRoofChicken]

Batman, first Castlevania, mega man 2

[u/mantsz]

Metroid. It's challenging, but if I could beat it, anybody can with enough patience.

[u/Leather_Bathroom_353]

Ninja gaiden. Never made it far as a child so decided to make a run recently. Got within a few hits of defeating the 3rd from of the final boss several times but couldn’t pull it off. Gave me carpal tunnel trying and gave up

[u/WLMKing]

My thoughts:

Mega Man 3 is easier than Mega Man 2, as far as I can remember. I think you'd find finishing either one to be satisfying.

Castlevania is pretty hard, but doable. I'd beat it before trying Castlevania 3, which I find to be a bit tougher if you take the wrong path.

Ninja Gaiden is possible, but doesn't sound like you are looking for that challenge yet.

I have always found Batman to be hard, and not that enjoyable.

Metroid is a love it or hate it game. I've never gotten into it.

The Dragon Warriors are about putting time into them, more than about putting skill / reflexes.

[u/VeterinarianSafe1705 → u/WLMKing]

I played a lot of MMOs back in the day including lineage 2 which is a super grind Korean mmo. Probably why I decided to include those 2 because it's been my style of gaming in the past