Classic NES Games That Are Painful To Play Today

I know what you are thinking: Aren’t most NES games painful to play nowadays? There is certainly an element of truth to that, but I would say most of the better releases on the console are still relatively fun, even if they can’t really live up to the games that came out on the SNES and beyond. Super Mario Bros. 3, Kirby’s Adventure, most of the Mega Man games, Crystallis, River City Ransom, Duck Hunt, Little Samson, and Contra are all eternal, and that’s far from a complete list.

However, we are talking about games that are 40 years old, and the gaming landscape has changed so much since the ’80s. An NES masterpiece is still a masterpiece, regardless of whether it has aged well, but that doesn’t matter all that much when someone is trying to play one of these classics in 2026. I would recommend all these NES games to everyone, as long as they have a high tolerance for frustration.

The Legend of Zelda Is Perfect For Its Era (And Only Its Era)

Play The Original Zelda, But Let Yourself Move On if It Doesn’t Click

Let’s just get one thing clear: The Legend of Zelda sits comfortably among the most important games of all time. Shigeru Miyamoto’s vision of an “explore and do it yourself” adventure basically set the stage for modern non-linear design; however, appreciating its historical legacy is wildly different from actually sitting down to play it from scratch today.

Without its original manual, LoZ‘s cryptic nature can quickly spark endless frustration, especially for younger players who are only familiar with modern games. Although not completely devoid of hints, Zelda largely expects you to explore every inch of every page, with plenty of secrets hidden behind a wall or bush that doesn’t look all that different from everything else. Their placement usually gives away that there might be a secret, but you must really check everywhere and be constantly attentive.

LoZ was intended to be one of those games that players discuss with their friends, allowing them to collectively solve puzzles and just accumulate resources. Nowadays, newcomers will just be playing alone in their room, with maybe a guide open to lead them, which also ruins most of the fun.

Metroid Has Aged Poorly, But Its Ambition Still Shines Through In Places

Play Metroid: Zero Mission Instead

A lot of what I said about The Legend of Zelda also holds true for Metroid, but I personally think it has aged considerably worse, to the point that newcomers to the franchise should start with Super Metroid and skip the original. Similar to Link’s debut, Samus Aran’s first adventure was absolutely groundbreaking in its approach to exploration, shattering the “walk right to win” and stage-based design that defined the NES era.

Right from the start, Nintendo knew that Metroid‘s calling card would be ability-gated progression, and the first game almost nails this aspect. Unfortunately, the environments are so bloody similar that keeping track of everything can be downright headache-inducing, and the map really needed identifiable landmarks to make navigation much easier. Nintendo learned this lesson pretty quickly, as future Metroids avoid this issue.

Identical hallways are far from the game’s only “painful” element, as even the controls are stiff and awkward. With so many great Metroid games available, including a GBA remake of the first game, there is little reason to play this one.

Dragon Quest 3 Is At Its Worst On The NES

Play Any Of The Dragon Quest 3 Remakes (Or Dragon Quest 5… Or 8… Or 11)

Dragon Quest is gaming royalty in Japan, and it’s well-respected in the rest of the world. While the series took a long time to find its footing in North America, the first game was an instant success in Japan, and Dragon Quest 3 was and still is regarded as a juggernaut with almost no peers.

Do not play the NES version of DQ 3, or Dragon Warrior 3. Simply put, the original is the worst version of this masterpiece, with the Game Boy Color, SNES, and HD-2D remakes being far superior. Square Enix re-released the game multiple times because of its iconic status AND because some aspects could have been improved. Even if those versions weren’t available, DQ3 can be difficult to love nowadays, and many of its flaws stick around throughout most of the campaign.

DQ3‘s class system was highly influential, particularly the ability to change a character’s job; however, switching classes causes your character to reset to Level 1 and halve their stats, turning the mid-game into a tiring grind. The limited inventory is just tedious, and the same can be said for the absurdly high encounter rate in the dungeons.

Mega Man Wrote The Playbook To Achieve Greatness

Play Mega Man 2… Or Any Of The Other NES Mega Man Games

Remember in the intro when I said that “most of the Mega Man games” have aged well? Well, let’s talk about the exception. Mega Man deserves credit for introducing the world to the blue bomber and its boss-weakness system, as well as for letting players tackle stages in any order, which was novel at the time. However, Capcom made the game obsolete within a year by releasing a sequel that was superior in every single way.

Compared to Mega Man 2 alone, the original game feels absolutely ancient, a prototype that occasionally embraces the worst traits of the “Nintendo Hard” era. Despite being absurdly difficult, it launched with no password or save system, meaning you have to defeat all six Robot Masters and Wily Fortress in one go. E-Tanks weren’t introduced until the sequel, so you cannot even save a heal for when you need it. Although not terrible, the controls aren’t as good as in the sequels, and Mega Man feels just a bit too slippery.

Except for maybe Mario, Mega Man has the best track record on the NES, with most of the games standing the test of time beautifully. The first game just cannot hold a candle to any of its successors, and there is very little reason to spend time playing a great proof of concept when the franchise has another 5 games on the same console that are far better.