The hardest Nintendo Entertainment System games I recall having beaten in my youth.

Super Mario Brothers 3

How I was ever able to negotiate for example, the later airship sequences — who knows. The very end wasn’t so hard; it was getting to the very end.

Metroid

I remember that summer, tactically chipping away at the map. Like many before me, I got through Tourian by the skin of my teeth with nervous, laser focus.

Ninja Gaiden

This is a game I have revisited in my adulthood, and even with save states, I can’t get through the final boss sequences. Any kid that beat this game was on another level.

Batman

The music made Batman such a beautiful game. To have beaten this game without the innovation of turbo seems impossible.

Mega Man 2

I can see how was able to get to the Dr. Wiley stages. I just can’t see how I ever got through them.

Zelda 2

Another labor of love, I even wrote my own strategy guide as a result. Ganon kicked my ass so many times before I finally had my moment.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Getting to the Technodrome, and then getting through the total chaos inside, and then defeating Shredder. How.