10 Controversial NES Games

[@ooftaZone]

River City Ransom ruled. Rented that just about every weekend for longest time. Wanted copy so bad, but was never on retail shelves.

[@ClintonBowden-jo4yy]

Agreed. My #1 game of all time

[@ningen1980]

I feel you, dude. Such a great game.

[@FormlessJKD17]

Better than DD, tmnt and battle toads

[@FormlessJKD17]

I would use enemies as weapons 😂

[@thedustinsean]

Agreed.

[@NateB1976]

“I’D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR.”

[@jwcrawley]

GOOD LUCK! YOULLLLLLLLLL NEED IT!

[@ironbowtie]

"Big money! Big prizes! I love it!"

[@mikertnizze]

I loved that game!

[@Babensha]

I was gonna comment that LOL

[@davidhankins8070]

something used from the O G robpcop

[@angelsandautobots]

I've been playing Castlevania II since the year it was released. Never did I or anyone I know complain about the day/night cycle. If anything we looked forward to it because it meant we got to hear Bloody Tears in the morning.

[@jaredelizardo201]

@angelsansautobots#just cuz you and your Bruhs didn't doesn't mean no one else did Jackass!

[@yogidemis8513]

I never complained about day/night cycle, in fact I thought it bought more realistic to the game play.

[@jamesk8147]

No one complained. It’s still my favorite Castlevania on the NES.

[@robertmagill6005]

The complaints are the unnecessary pause in gameplay. It should've switched from night to day without interrupting gameplay for more than a second.

[@user-vd8vk5ju3q]

Right?! Castlevania music is so good.

[@dieseljester]

River City Ransom was one of my favorites growing up. I thought that it was a refreshing change of pace from the standard side-scrollers of the day. It blew my mind that I could go both ways on the map at any time that I wanted.

[@ClintonBowden-jo4yy]

I agree. There are too many softies theae days that get offended over the most minuscule detail.

[@toddburgess5056]

Smash TV = Running Man movie

[@groundhog5923]

Loved that game. Never knew there was a controversy about it. There was a few months where I enjoyed playing it and my nephews could hide behind me as they learned video games, but before long they were kicking my butt in Madden.

[@Waytigo]

"Ill buy that for a dollar!"

[@tuneman83]

​@@groundhog5923 that's because it wasn't. This guy's definition of "controversial" seems to just mean that they're hard games.

[@roberthernandez782]

That game was so much fun!!

[@satanmitdengeilenbarthaaren]

​@@tuneman83 he pulled a lot of these "controversies" out of his butt😂

[@robonintendo]

Bionic Commando had Hitler, and Hitler's face graphically exploded!

[@Delekhan]

And the english localization called the "The Badds". LOL! I remember when I saw the portrait of "not Hitler" when I was playing it (about 10 years old). I recognized him and his mustache but didn't really understand who he was or who I was seeing. Right over my head. People are too uptight when it comes to games. We used to watch violence on Loony Tunes and turned out alright. Now don't get me wrong, I won't let my son play GTAV until he's much older but... lighten up. Well, you can parent however you want but. Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

[@xphiles2345]

also the first game i ever saw a curse word in.

[@loneshewolf74]

@@Delekhan Parents are now letting kids watch Cocomelon and Skibidi Toilet and other pure brain-rotting garbage, which is a trillion times worse than Looney Tunes, which I have also watched and still love. Humanity is doomed.

[@Cereal2Bowl]

​@@loneshewolf74 Indeed! "They" won't be happy, and we won't comeback from all this; till we have to rediscover fire again!!

[@christopherjordan5826]

I came here to bring up this game

[@robn880]

Nobody that was playing NES, or anyone else that I remember, had an issue with any of these games. This feels like applying current sensibilities to past items. People in 1989 weren't saying "are these themes appropriate for a family-friendly console like the NES?" Anyone with a stick that far up their ass wasn't playing video games and any"harmful stereotypes" were completely intentional! Lol

[@brycelynch2138]

These were the same folks who freaked out when they found out that Samus Aran was a woman.

[@mxx720]

Also, many of these were arcade adaptations, so the controversy wasn't even about the NES. Smash TV was much gorier in the arcade. Nobody really batted an eye at the NES version because it was so toned down, both in content and graphics. Same with NARC. It wasn't a console issue at all.

[@wargameboy72]

@@robn880 Growing up as an NES/ Turbo Grafx 16 kid. My parents and grandparents had no idea what games I was playing and they didn't care either!! People weren't big babies like they are today!!! So I agree with you...

[@dinorocker8647]

Actually pal, those "current sensibilities" were still around durin' the 80's as far as games, music whatever goes, that shit's still around today but it's around other things now.

[@TheBlackSeraph]

People have been bitching about the potential social ramifications of video games since Pac Man and Donkey Kong. The attitude that video games were for kids was more prevalent back then than it is now.

[@richfutrell753]

References? I don't remember any controversy about at least half the games you listed.

[@analiysanchez9949]

You are correct sir. That’s cuz they’re weren’t any. Unless parents wanted to be a baby about what there kid was playing there was zero actual controversy. Congress didn’t get involved. Gonna click the don’t recommend channel so I don’t have to see this bozo again

[@scottcharney1091]

Some of these are a bit contrived.

[@MLDrummer90]

What I learned from this video, people being offended over practically nothing isn’t anything new lol

[@jeffb.6642]

nope, just that the demographics of who was offended then and who is offended now has flipped sides.

[@townside_woodcraft]

Honestly back then most parents didnt care or even pay any attention to what games you were playing , thats my experience anyway with me and my friends

[@MLDrummer90]

@@townside_woodcraft yeah my parents didn’t really care either, I mean I had conker’s bad fur day and my dad thought it was hilarious haha

[@MLDrummer90]

@@Snowman-556 you’re probably right lol

[@KeithFaber]

The difference was that if someone got offended in those days nobody gave af

[@sotheresthat7882]

I loved Deadly Towers, probably because I didn't have the internet to tell me I was wrong in 1988.

[@davidmyhra4931]

I spent hours mapping the dungeons on graph paper. I loved the game.

[@zanarking420]

@@sotheresthat7882 gold armor! Quad sword ⚔️ shot 💕

[@lisagilbert3738]

This ^ I must have been 6-7 when I used to play it and you could avoid a lot of the dungeons and simply go to the towers if you didn't want power ups like the golden armour

[@minksaintmusic5139]

This guy is 100% right. Back in 1988 players and critics alike (every newspaper employed a full-time NES critic) were debating Deadly Towers and its larger message about game development standards. You couldn't escape the discourse, it was everywhere. Who can forget Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush arguing about Deadly Towers during the 1988 presidential debate? Many say that Bush's take on River City Ransom's non-linear progression system is what won him the election.

[@samanthasparkles1221]

Most people commenting were kids playing the NES in 1988. They were happy just playing a new game. They have nostalgia bias. Adult critics had different expectations. River City Ransom is amazing though

[@MrVariant]

Thee3nd said it best lol ejaculate swords with this awful game. Bad title for the vid as it's not a controversy

[@komodosp]

Pffft - that's history revisionism at its worst. It was the consensus on the opinion of River City Ransom between USSR and The West that ended the Cold War.

[@ruskerdax5547]

Thankfully Senator Seanbaby put an end to the Deadly Tower menace.

[@danieldrake296]

😂

[@dibari22]

River City Random is easily one of my top-10 favorite games on any platform of all time. I'm 45 and play it with my 8 year old son now.

[@aplus1080]

That's so tight. READ THOSE BOOKS, BABY!

[@aspieatheist6040]

Simon's Quest garnered controversy over a Nintendo Power magazine cover about the game. It featured Simon Simon holding the severed head of Dracula along with his heart. [The game was a sequel to Castlevania, in which you had to kill Dracula. As it turns out, just before Dracula died, he cursed Simon to die of a curse unless he could lift the curse. In order to lift the curse, Simon had to find different body parts of Dracula including his head and heart in order to bring him back to life and kill him again. (All of Dracula's body parts were hidden by Simon so that just that couldn't happen)]. The cover was very dark and scary, and it gave kids nightmares. Parents complained, and Nintendo Power later admitted that it was their worst cover ever.

[@clinteasthood81]

This. But I don't remember any complaints about the game itself, even with the day/night switches.

[@ericanderson7346]

I had that issue, it only made me want the game more! When I got it for Christmas, I spent the entire day playing it. Was hooked from the opening music in the first town.

[@AirQBert]

Aw man, River City Ransom was SO ahead of it's time, but it definitely could have used a larger manual to try to explain things better in a pre-internet era.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

Yeah the biggest problem with most NES games was they explained very little in the manual and almost nothing in-game. You needed guides just to get thru.

[@JoshBenware]

Part of the fun was figuring them out

[@AirQBert]

@@JoshBenware always drove me nuts as a kid, though I was super excited when I found out what dragon feet, acro Circus, and Stonehand did.

[@markhomma5447]

@@AirQBert My friends and I would toss eachother from end to end of the maps after we got javelin man. You'd think it would have led to fights but we found it hilarious. Battletoads on the other hand.....that lead to fights.

[@AirQBert]

@@markhomma5447 same! Though it was me and my brother so we’d race to get that just to have a rocket to hurl across stages!

[@jchaha66]

River City Ransom is one of the greatest games I have ever played. I played through that game so many times as a kid.

[@DamonNomad82]

I actually played River City Ransom once, at the house of a cousin who had an NES. I found it fairly enjoyable, but didn't know the name of it until watching this video just now, when I recognized the footage, especially the tendency of defeated enemies to say "barf"...

[@TrollDecker]

Desensitised, not decentralised. Accusations, not acquisitions. And on top of that, you might need to proofread your scripts a lot more. You're repeating the same things over and over again, and "The game's graphics were notably graphic" is just a bad sentence altogether.

[@kenmathers8765]

Agreed. I'm pretty sure, maybe during the second game, he said the violence was persuasive instead of the violence was pervasive!

[@EmeraldKnightR]

@@kenmathers8765 In that context, persuasive is the correct word, meaning that it could potentially persuade children to thinking violence was acceptable.

[@NibblesTheNibbler]

Also, Ku Klux Klan, not Klu Klux Klan

[@joshuaperham3045]

​@EmeraldKnightR Based on the context I assume the intended word was "pervasive", as critics were upset that violence was featured heavily throughout the game.

[@stephenkuper]

Yes, but the graphic dentralised acquistions did create a notably graphic persuasive cult following.

[@mikelee8937]

I'm still at a loss for how Nintendo was seen as such a "family friendly console". They had games for Friday the 13th, Rambo and Robocop. Not exactly Disney heavy in their early library.

[@silversidewinderREACTS]

Predator, Nightmare on Elm Street... wild, bad but fun.

[@user-vd8vk5ju3q]

Yeah! Friday the 13th. Loved that as a kid.

[@belstar1128]

didn't they also make a Robocop kids show ? it was a strange time. i first saw Robocop when i was a young kid and liked it but Friday the 13th is way too edgy

[@carlos_herrera]

Narc was like the 3rd game we got for the NES, at ~8 years old.

[@munroechainsawcarving851]

Back then kids watched all those movies and there wasnt much fuss about anything like that. I dont really think there was even controversy about these games to be honest, or if so, it was widely unknown. I miss those times.

[@rocketimpossible5196]

Simon's Quest is one of my favorite video games ever. I literally learned the path to Dracula from a stranger in a dark alley outside an arcade, exactly like in the game. It was a unique gaming experience in an era of janky games, and it's still one of the best soundtracks ever.

[@marcusjackson6696]

The soundtrack yes. The game? Not so much...

[@zeppie1138]

The soundtrack was unreal, and I loved the game too. Had to call the hotline to figure out how to get to the top of Deborah Hill tho! Oh, and never, ever look into the death star!

[@bildo1977]

Abadox. It was not only a ripoff of Life Force, the Japanese version had you rescue a naked space princess after beating the last boss!

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

I remember renting Abadox as a kid. Never knew this, though!

[@userarchive]

​@@scramblesthedeathdealereven if you can't recall now, I'm sure you still appreciated it then! Good day, brother! 😊

[@JinzoCrash]

Was a rewarding award for fighting like hell to get there to the end.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

she has clothing in the American version.

[@wargameboy72]

@@bildo1977 I don't remember her being naked..? But then again, I haven't played Abadox to completion in over 20-years. So I could be wrong. Abadox is awesome but very tough to complete...

[@TanookiSuit]

What parallel existence are you from? None of these were controversial in the day or even now.

[@imaramblins]

I was wondering the same. I never, ever heard this so called "parent and media outlet outrage" that was alleged.

[@MarquisLeary34]

NARC kiiiinda was, but not really.

[@zanarking420]

I love deadly towers!

[@billyconner]

I feel like this history is made up. I lived through this era. There was no controversy on these game I can remember. The media ignored console games until Night Trap was released. Im also curious where he got information on what fans thought about the games… There was no internet and the only magazine was Nintendo power for the longest time. Back then players played games for what they were and there were very few games hated by players. Even extremely hard games were seen as a challenge. There were not game review sites to tell you to avoid games or having forums of players rallying against one.

[@NintendoHacker1980]

But he made it sound good

[@TheSBleeder]

Do you know the meaning of "controversial"? Mortal Kombat was controversial. Doom was controversial. These games were not.

[@RatBasterdEntertainment1]

Those are both post NES era

[@Lebowski333]

take it easy

[@timwalker5804]

Actually there was lots 9f controversy from being too addicting and being too much violence and everything he said was true

[@zibberebbiz]

lol I love outraged internet comments about nothing

[@americangrillnyc1495]

😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂

[@AmericanWolf40]

And here we are in 2024, and there are still people who don't realize that simply not buying a game that you don't like is an option, as opposed to trying to force everyone else in the entire freaking world to stop playing it.

[@nathanmeyers7485]

It’s the other way around now. If you won’t play certain games, you’re a hateful bigot.

[@KasumiRINA]

Well tell that to guys that tried to cancel Wolfenstein and now Indiana Jones for being offensive to Hitler supporters.

[@Athlynne]

Simon's Quest is probably my all-time favorite NES game. As a kid, I had very little trouble with it. I was able to play and beat it, which I'm not sure I ever managed with the first Castlevania.

[@Ken9284]

The first castlevania was impossible

[@Thrawn.]

LOL at River Ciry Ransom being a problem but Double Dragon was fine.

[@davidfrederick1971]

I cant believe in the NARC game their are store front with the words "Adult Books" WOW

[@ThunderFist1978]

Not to mention they didn’t change the names of characters like Joe Rockhead and Kinky Pinky.

[@Kevinsyel]

@@ThunderFist1978 yeah, the level with "Adult Books" WAS Kinky Pinky's level. Then the level with the meth labs had enemies throwing hypodermic needles at you like throwing knives. One thing I disagree with in the commentary, was that the game "encouraged" shooting first. While it was safer to play that way, you got way more points and 1ups if you arrest enemies

[@MrZerakian]

The fact that you have Deadly Towers on here is amazing. I have only one buddy that even knows what that game is. God I remember playing that at five years old and NEVER getting far.

[@jeremylatham1160]

Great hard game

[@GatorNation79]

I had forgotten about the game till just now

[@MediumQuality]

Great video. There were some games that I'd heard of and some that I hadn't. It's really fascinating how what has been considered controversial has changed over time. Those exploding bodies in NARC are pretty wild though. Can't wait to see what you come up with as you enter the 16-bit era.

[@SNEStalgia]

Thanks dude! I'm really enjoying making these, I'm really excited to cover SNES games!

[@toddburgess5056]

Also got Simons quest the year it came out and absolutely loved it, still do. Around 1990 there was a NES VHS "hints and tips" video i watched that answered a few of the confusing parts of the game like the wirlwind that sweeps you up and transports you to one of draculas mansions.

[@jshain4117]

I had that same VHS that I used to find out how to get to Dracula's mansion

[@toddburgess5056]

@@jshain4117 it has to be the same one! I doubt there were very many of those floating around at the time lol

[@jshain4117]

@@toddburgess5056 I just searched it online and the one I had was one of the tapes that Game players magazine released.

[@turinturambar347]

Simon's Quest and Clash at Demonhead are 2 of my favorite NES games. I LOVED the exploration element, which was so rare back then. Not that the games don't have their flaws, they do. Especially Simon's Quest. But both games are in my top 10.

[@Indium111]

River City Ransom and Simon's Quest were two of my favourite games on the NES. They were, and still are, awesome!

[@Shorty_Lickens]

Uninvited was a nightmare because few of the puzzles made any sense. At one point its possible to pick up a gem that kills you. But not right away, so you can reload and try again. It kills you slowly over time and you dont know its the gem doing it. And putting it back doesnt save you. So basically if you pick up what appears to be an important object you are doomed and you'll never know why or how.

[@robertblackmore703]

I loved Simon’s Quest. Probably my favorite of the original NES run. The map from Nintendo power did not line up with the game, but it sort of helped figure out what places were adjacent.

[@johnst3296]

Avadox looks a lot like Lifeforce....

[@NateTheGnat]

Maniac Mansion lets you put a hamster in the microwave. Ding. That's controversial right there.

[@SNEStalgia]

I covered Maniac Mansion in a previous video :)

[@AlphaZeroX96]

I'm one of the people who likes Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. It's one of my favorite NES games.

[@shanewhitehorse2186]

Ninja Gaiden...Double Dragon...and BattleToads...seemed like they would be more controversial than these games....

[@danialholden2064]

Ninja Gaiden was Sega

[@MichaelMooneyPopCultureX]

Shinobi was Sega ​@@danialholden2064

[@chaseviking5096]

​@@danialholden2064 and?

[@chaseviking5096]

​@@MichaelMooneyPopCultureX and?

[@ryanfortin9166]

​@@danialholden2064 it was on nes also

[@samael2112]

Hi! Do you have the sources for each game? I'm 48, so I was a kid that just rented games based on the covers. I played NARC and Smash TV in the arcades, and yeah, they were graphic, but that was part of what was cool about it! I would really like to read what reviewers in the 80s/90s thought about these and other games.

[@quezlar4792]

ironically, deadly towers had to be changed in localization because it was Originally named Hells bells

[@borderite88]

it also had unique cartridge with a red light

[@ericanderson7346]

The game became far less frustrating with the cheat code that gave you all the items and upgrades.

[@riftninja420]

TMNT BACKGROUND MUSIC FOR YOU INTRO. NICE!

[@jesterskully563]

5:14 River City Ransom is my favorite of all time

[@thomasjw76]

Thank you! So glad to see people appreciate RCR's greatness. IMHO the greatest game for the NES bar none.

[@djbeezy]

That game was so awesome!!!!

[@bigbluebowtie]

Mine too!!!

[@lisagilbert3738]

I like how most of the games on here were actual favourites for me as a kid. Castlevania II and deadly towers were huge ones for me

[@Vienticus]

I actually liked the challenge of Deadly Towers back in the day, but the friggin game kept freezing on me. I got really far one time and then rage quit when the game froze.

[@joeymacky9]

Deadly towers was a mother f8er for a 9 year old me

[@lonndragon]

Sources for any of this at all? Honestly it sounds like you’re using “trust me bro” as a source.

[@c31979839]

That's kind of what I was thinking. He keeps asserting things, but I'd be curious to know his sources.

[@BikiniBottomDispatch]

Someone wanted to get KZbin views.

[@Thegeekmonger]

I don't remember any Controversy over any of theses games...I actually had a few

[@belstar1128]

it was only in newspapers

[@jamesarnold2399]

Video game consoles are like DVD players, VCRs, etc. They can't be considered family friendly or not. It's a matter of what you play on it.

[@loneshewolf74]

Remember everyone, it was Nintendo of Amuuuuurica that decided Nintendo games should only be for small children.

[@KasumiRINA]

@@loneshewolf74 Yup, they said that "a game like Night Trap won't ever appear on a Nintendo platform" under oath... it's now on Switch.

[@TEN89_jburney]

Oh man I remember playing Smash TV, What a throwback! It's been so long.

[@TheDadWhoPlays]

lol. I didn’t expect Abadox to be the first game on the list. I didn’t know anyone else knew about that game. Still have my original game and enjoy playing it often. 😅

[@shawn576]

A lot of these shitty games were hated most people experienced games by renting them. Rented games very rarely had instruction manuals. If the game wasn't 100% clear on what to do, it was basically a shit game nobody enjoyed.

[@wargameboy72]

Bro, When Castlevania 2 came out, it was Not controversial!!! Infact most kids loved Castlevania 2, more than part-1. In the 80s kids had a lot less games.. So back in the day, kids absolutely loved games with lots of secrets..Games like (Zelda 1 and 2) (Metroid) (Maniac Mansion) (StarTropics) (Zoda's Revenge) (Crystalis) (Super Mario Bros 3) and many, many more!!! Castlevania 2 only got shit on after the AVGN made his famous first video.. And then people who never played the game jumped on the band wagon. I still enjoy some of James's old videos as the AVGN, but that's just a character James plays as. And the videos are ment to be extremely over the top and played for laughs. It's entertainment Not reality!!!

[@JKennedy442]

I agree it was super popular but yeah almost nobody knew how to beat it. That was fairly common for games back then though so it wouldn't really make you dislike a game.

[@FreakyLynx]

I remember renting Deadly Towers, playing it for hours and feeling I was getting close to the end… and then the game crashed and had to be restarted. I haven’t played it since.

[@ericanderson7346]

If you ever do again, like with an emulator, try this: 1) Get character killed 2) On the continue code that it gives you, change the first two characters to EF or FE, then start from there. 3) Just avoid the corners that send you to dungeons, and blast everything in your path

[@GeoffClark]

There’s a reason that the Xillenial generation has the world in the advanced tech state it’s in now. We had these insanely difficult games as kids, with no save states, no internet, no balance patches, no updates, etc. This is one of the things that made us into the success we are today.

[@KasumiRINA]

Great video and interesting topic!

[@mychalevenson7710]

I forgot how much Abbadox did with the hardware. The perspective on Deadly Towers is really modern. At the time, it was a popular game, forward thinking for its time, and quite graphically impressive. It came out a few months after the original Zelda.

[@zerogeewhiz1]

Desensitization is the word you were looking for there during Smash tv. Not decentralization.

[@channelz2929]

My experience with Deadly Towers was exactly as you described in your review.

[@jamesrose1641]

This program has brought back so many memories for me.Thank you for the show!

[@sergiomontes9874]

Death race is like an old school GTA lol

[@TheRayvolution]

No Rygar???

[@channelsurf17]

I was done when he put River City Ransom on here lol. Also, he claimed Castlevania 2 is controversial because it's a shift from the previous game, but doesn't mention Zelda 2 which pretty much did the same thing. Only controversial game here is Narc. Fail video.

[@TheBlackSeraph]

Agreed. It wasn't uncommon for the second game to shift gameplay style - be it Zelda 2, Castlevania 2, Super Mario Brothers 2, Bubble Bobble 2.

[@belstar1128]

Zelda 2, is a better game

[@desmien679]

Some of these games especially Narc and SmashTV were originally popular arcade games which were much more violent versions of these games. As a kid I've played both in arcades but I never saw the NES versions of them untill now. I can however say that they were heavily downscaled from the original arcade versions.

[@JinzoCrash]

CLICKBAIT... these are not "controversial" games. NEVER heard ANYONE make the claims you are.

[@ScarysReviews]

didn't CREDIT Angry Video Game Nerd..

[@ShinAkuma3000]

That Rolling Thunder looked just like Shinobi.

[@jeremylatham1160]

Rolling Thunder was an awesome gamd

[@keinlieb3818]

Talking about controversy, should have seen my grandma's reaction when I was playing mortal kombat

[@O.G.Trashboat]

I spent a lot of time playing Smash TV on the SNES! It was so much fun playing co-op in Smash TV!

[@Brinonymous]

Retrospect is a helluva thing. Wild to see what was labelled as controversial back then compared to what we see now. Based on Abodox alone... imagine going back and showing someone gameplay from Outlast or The Evil Within. Or in terms of open, non-linear games with vague stories and direction, show them Elden Ring.

[@richspeck8932]

I've never heard of that first game, but Metroid was way scarier than anything I saw here. I loved Deadly Towers, but I could never get far

[@arisdulgerian2053]

I remember playing NARC on my NES. I was surprised the NES had it. I used to play it a lot in the arcade.

[@davida.taylor8444]

Had no idea that this was the video i needed to watch but i enjoyed it.

[@100percentSNAFU]

It wasn't just games back then, it was music and movies as well. I remember all the fuss over "ghetto rap", heavy metal, the occult, and movies like Robocop and Total Recall.

[@nickm9102]

Clash at demonhead looks like they got ahold of the code for Legend of Zelda 2 and did some basic changes then released it.

[@Timetoeat_313]

I enjoyed your video. It unlocked a lot of memories.

[@littlemax2012]

Contra was my favorite game. Players were able to blast everything, no shame, no wipe.

[@dianadinh-andrus7985]

Death Race was based on a movie of the same name which provided all of the context that was missing from the game.

[@TheOldestSoul]

River city Ransom was controversial?! It was one of my top 5 games growing up!!! I STILL love and play it!

[@Cornerdweler]

Was really expecting whomp-em to be number one.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

I loved Uninvited, especially when I hated it. I got stuck in one part of that game for a month before I realized you needed to cut up the couch in the foyer to get a random key. The only game that locked me out that badly was Wrath of The Black Manta.

[@ElValuador]

The Smash TV and NARC arcade cabinet versions were awesome.

[@thejoethe]

3D WorldRunner! Man, that's my childhood game. it was underrated for sure. if you had the red and blue 3d glasses, it would kind of look 3D. Otherwise, it'll look like if you were cross eyed. I miss playing that game.

[@garyv2498]

I didn't know NARC had a greenhouse stage. That's hilarious. Gotta stop them from growing weed kids!

[@Spongemonkey26]

I remember renting Rolling Thunder from the video store when I was a kid. It was indeed a tough game.

[@NordicDan]

Starting right off with Abadox. Nice. I'd love to see a rehash of that on modern consoles, done in HR Giger biomechanical style.

[@zackallen76]

I remember Smash TV and NARC as being arcade games. I never saw them when I grew up looking over NES games in the store.

[@bildo1977]

I had both of these games on the NES back in the day.

[@Geminimerc]

I was a kid when most of these games came out and I don't remember most of the controversy but I do remember things being talked about as far as violence in video games. I do love Rolling Thunder though.

[@GeoffClark]

Also, no one in this era complained about the games, the content, or difficulty. That stuff didn’t start until the mid 90s with Mortal Kombat and Doom.

[@jasonavina8135]

Having lived through the release of all these games and played them *at the time* most of these were not controversial except NARC(as pointed out by others). I never heard of Rolling Thunder before now so maybe that was too. In fact Simon's Quest is well regarded as the most classic Castlevania game of all time and one of the greatest NES games of all time. The day night mechanic added an element of horror that as a kid was really innovative and fun and was perfect for a game about Dracula.

[@DevMeloy]

All of our games were hard back in the day, that's how we had replayability. If games were as easy as they are now we would have been bored in 5 minutes. We might have gotten two games a year and shared him amongst the neighborhood.

[@thac0twenty377]

young gamers don't get that

[@KasumiRINA]

That's how you get more quarters paid in arcade or persuaded to buy instead of renting a 40 minute game.

[@TysonBegford]

Taboo is controversial…It’s a tarot card reading NES title, that is disturbingly accurate, and was said to have correctly predicted numerous deaths. I can say anecdotally, there’s something supernatural about it

[@talon12020]

That's an urban legend. There's nothing supernatural about it, it's just a terrible nongame.

[@Codename_Firefly]

The things the tarot cards say don't even make sense in that stupid game

[@TysonBegford]

@@Codename_Firefly the text is in engrish

[@Rusty-METAL-J]

CII: S.'s Quest haters must've lost the argument. I'm glad. I love Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's the 1st 1 I had a chance to play as well as play through to win the game. I liked the way you searched a huge castle full of menacing entities. I had an NES but I din't have those games. Friends gave me Castlevania IV on the SNES & I played part of it but the circumstances of my life din't afford me the chance to finish it.

[@chall6761]

I remember moms lined up around the block at my local Toys R Us to protest the release of Abadox!

[@metagamer5623]

Smash TV was an arcade game ported to the NES. I would hardly call this a controversial NES title. That's like calling Mortal Kombat a controversial SNES title.

[@thac0twenty377]

Metal Kombat was. I remember the news qhen that one hit lol

[@davidbermudez7704]

I believe in my childhood I rented the the controversial games on the list. Abodox was controversial because of the gore I still remember renting it at a video store. I guess because I rented horror movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre it didn’t bother me. Deadly Towers as well but I didn’t see anything wrong with it I was just having fun as a child on Friday nights. I didn’t rent River City Ransom at a video store but played it at a friend’s house after school. I didn’t see anything controversial with the game it was just fun like Double Dragon 😊😊😊😊 Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest I rented that game at a video store and it kept me awake Friday nights to Saturday mornings trying to solve the puzzles and beat it. The stage music is memorable! The first time I played Rolling Thunder was at my best friend’s house that was my next-door neighbor. One Friday night he invited me to sleep over so I asked for my parents' permission and told me it was okay after finishing my chores. We took turns trying to beat the game and would even laugh at me because I was skinny like the character in the game 😂😂😂😂 Oh man, how can I not forget Smash TV? If you’ve watched the classic movie “Running Man” before it was very similar to that except it wasn’t a crowd trying to kill you. The first time I played it was at the Arcades and so when it came out for NES port I rented that game as well. I had so much fun playing it on Friday nights trying to beat the game but when it came out on SNES it blew my mind. I didn’t play Death Race before so I don’t know if it’s controversial or not. Now the first time I played NARC was at an Asian Market near the Jr High School I used to attend. Almost every single day after school I played a violent game but not before buying my hotdog with nacho cheese and jalapeños, Nachos with jalapeños and Orange Bang. Then one Friday night at a video store saw it on the display rack for the NES and had to rent it. It wasn’t Arcade quality but it was much fun and yes because of blood, gore, and drugs it was controversial. Never knew there was a game called “Uninvited” only Chiller but the first time I played it was on PC and then rented for the NES. Never played Clash at Demonhead before.

[@chauncey2670]

Every game that 5 ppl liked doesn’t mean it has a “cult following “ geez

[@jayflittner1632]

I loved river city ransom I actually just downloaded it on Nintendo switch it was such an awesome game but never knew you had to travel backwards a few times to beat some bosses

[@prodigalpriest]

I enjoyed playing Simon's Quest after it came out. It gave a good side-scrolling action platformer more of an RPG feel.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

I remember renting Abadox as a kid, my parents didn't care. It stuck out to me with the gory stages and stuff, pretty cool!

[@Skeloric]

For everyone not knowing about the controversies mentioned, it is because none of them were ever national as much as regional. Also, we in the US are somewhat lax in this but check out Canada or UK or Australia for which games they deemed "inappropriate" and stopped from entering their countries - some times the reasoning is very suspiciously about "morals" and ascribing qualities to a game that simply are not there. This is also why importing a console to play imported games becomes a weird niche part of the hobby, because the game only existed in some other country. Some of us lived some nice sheltered lives that let us miss out on some church preaching against stuff like video games.

[@Krossfire623]

Deadly tower was my game. I loved that game.... still have it and play it at a minimum 3 times a year. Castlevania 2 was the first game of the series I played. It was also a great game. Smash TV was ahead of its time.

[@jaconbran2367]

Every time I hear River City I think of the Scottish tv Soap which to be fair also has its share of drug dealing mobsters😂

[@maridegall]

Simon's quest was my favorite game as a kid. And river city ransom ruled