The enduring term originated with Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games from the mid-1980s to early 1990s, such as Ghosts 'n Goblins (1986), Contra (1988), Ninja Gaiden (1988), and Battletoads (1991).
[4] Also, Damiano Gerli of Ars Technica observed that extreme difficulty made it possible for a game with little actual content (in terms of number of levels or opponents) to provide a long period of gameplay.
[1] The Houston Press described the Nintendo hard era as a period where games "universally felt like they hated us for playing them".
It can litter the playing field with spikes and bottomless pits ... or be so hopelessly obtuse you have no idea how to advance".
Noid (1990), Silver Surfer (1990), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) garnered their Nintendo hard difficulty "for all the wrong reasons".