Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise (1991, NES) by Color Dreams

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

This is the ugliest and worst-controlling NES game I’ve ever played. This is an atrocious game, which nobody should ever have the misfortune of playing...

Barbie (1991, NES) by Hi Tech Expressions

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

I didn’t see this coming, I admit it.

I like this speedrun.  And I’m man enough to admit it.

On the surface, of course I shouldn’t like this game...

Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES) by Nintendo

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

There are a handful of speedruns on the NES that are better than Super Mario Bros., but you’d be hard-pressed to name any that are more iconic or popular. Even games such as The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 3 cannot claim the level of pop...

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991, NES) by Acclaim

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

GAMES FROM THIS EPISODE OF THE AVGN:
–The Simpsons: Bart vs the Space Mutants
-The Simpsons: Bart vs the World
-Krusty’s Fun House
-The Simpsons: Bart vs the Juggernauts
-The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare

From the Penthouse t...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989, NES) by Ultra

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

After relatively short trials and games where I was on my own to figure the speedrun out, game #5 was a breath of fresh air. Thanks to the combined efforts of my two wonderful mentors, Skunky48 and TheNESMaster, this ended up being the fir...

Fester’s Quest (1989, NES) by Sunsoft

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

GAMES FROM THIS EPISODE OF THE AVGN:
–Fester’s Quest
-Home Improvement
-The Addams Family (SNES)
-Addams Family Values (SNES)
-The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt (SNES)
-The Addams Family (Genesis)

Coming off of the immensely-boring Bugs B...

The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout (1990, NES) by Kemco

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

There’s a theme with the AVGN Trials I have noticed at this point: not every game the Nerd ever reviewed is a good watch. Of course, there’s the good games… and then there’s the games that are “so bad that they’re good”.

And then there’...

DuckTales (1989, NES) by Capcom

Current Any% Leaderboard (filter for Difficult) (speedrun.com)

The AVGN reviewed DuckTales?

Sure did! See the video above? People were stunned by this, but that was one of my favorite points of the trials: the AVGN reviews a lot of games, and they’re not always “A shitload of fuck”...

Die Hard (1992) by Activision

Current Any% (Beginner) Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

I had never played NES Die Hard before I plunked down $100 USD to get my cart for the trials and play this challenge, which was honored (is that the right word?) by the AVGN in episode #28. I had no idea what to expect.

The last thing I expected wa...

Silver Surfer (1990, NES) by Arcadia

Current Any% Leaderboard (speedrun.com)

The saying is known throughout gamer circles, young and old. Those classic NES games, man. Some of them are “impossible”. We call that “Nintendo Hard”...