Games You Have Beaten on One Life

[rbudrick]

Hi Folks! Here's you're chance to brag! But me first! Heh heh.

What games have you beaten on one life? Let's hear it!
No Gameshark or game genie or other cheats allowed!

For me it's:

NES:

-Contra
-Super C
-Batman (That took me forever! And I got the videotape to prove it. Then some jerk erased the first level and the second. You see me kill the second boss then it records to the end of the game)
Fester's Quest (yeah, you kinda have to. If you die halfway through, might as well quit)
-Ninja Gaiden
-Ninja Gaiden II
-Bionic Commando (Maybe this was without continuing...can't remember--pretty sure it was one life)
-Castlevania


Genesis:
-Thunder Force III
-Last Battle

Atari 2600:
-Pitfall (Ok so I lied, I died once)
-Pitfall II (Skipped lotsa treasures to make it easier. Not like you can die...I just didn't get hit even once)


Can't think of any others right now....

Yours,
Rob

[portnoyd]

My only one life to my knowledge, and this is my claim to fame, I guess is Zelda 1. Without dying, in under an hour, and I have the video/MPEG to prove it :) I know people probably can beat 57 minutes (my best unrecorded is 54), but I have proof ;)

And then there's my friend Dave who beat Contra straight through twice on one life. That's some crazy shit.

dave

[digitalpress]

I can still beat Dragon's Lair and Space Ace with one life!

[Sniderman]

Space Ace (with all Energizer screens I might add!)

And I once (and only once) achieved a Pitfall II perfect score.

[Raccoon Lad]

I'm pretty sure I've beaten Fantasy Zone on the SMS on 1 life....though I never really paid it much thought. Beating the game the SECOND time through without dying, now THAT'S a challenge!

[Tempest]

Hmm let's see...

Dragon's Lair
Space Ace
Pitfall II (with all the treasures I might add)
Ikari Warriors
Midnight Mutants (does this count?)
Jumpman jr.
Miner 2049er (the first zone anyway)
Contra
Sonic The Hedgehog
Gradius III (if you die you're screwed anyway)
Altered Beast
Castlevania III
Castlevania IV

I'm sure there are others, but I just can't think today.

Tempest

[rbudrick]

How on earth did you beat Ikari Warriors on one life?

Arceade version? Nes?

Either way,

That's incredible.

-Rob

[DDCecil]

Ones I can think of at the moment:

NES:
Blaster Master
Demon Sword
Fester's Quest
Ninja Gaiden 2
Super Mario Bros.
" 2

SNES:
Contra 3 (On Easy, of course :lol:)
Super Castlevania IV

[Tempest]

How on earth did you beat Ikari Warriors on one life?

Actually it was the Atari 7800 version which is probably slightly easier due to some minor slowdown. But still it wasn't easy!"

Tempest

[mattpfeil]

Have really none of you beaten super mario bros 1 on one life?
i mean ive beaten it 7 times in a row on one life, im sure most people have beaten it once:P (and prolly more than 7 times in a row)

[Ascending Wordsmith]

I've beaten:

Bonk's Adventure (Revenge, Big Adventure, CD)
Super Mario Bros. (1-3)
Super Mario World
Jackal
Darkstalkers
Street Fighter (1, 2, 3, Super, Super II, Alpha, Alpha III)
Super Bonk (1, 2)
Sonic (1, 2, 3, Knuckles)
River City Ransom
UN Squadron
Power Blade
Oregon Trail (all party members survived)

And a few others.

@ Tempest

I think you got a typo there, buddy. You got Gradius III as a game you can beat on one life. It's okay we all make typing errors. Feel free to edit your list, because beating Gradius III with one life is about as probable as someone winning a jackpot lottery three years in a row. :wink:

[Tempest]

think you got a typo there, buddy. You got Gradius III as a game you can beat on one life.

I stand by my statement. Gradius III in one life. There was a time in my life when I was really into shooters.

Oh and also add Thundeforce III and UN Squadron (Arcade and SNES).

Tempest

[rbudrick]

Actually, I forgot,

I too have beaten Gradius on one life (NES) along with Gradius II (Famicom) and III (SNES).

If you can get powered up, it's not that hard. On the super difficyulty levels it is, but on Normal or easy it's not too too bad.

--Rob

[Ascending Wordsmith]

@ Tempest

You even made it through the "Boss Parade" with one life? You are the messiah of Konami shooters! I can't even pass the parade; it seems so cheap. Die, lose all power ups, go up against the Boss Parade, fail miserably, then repeat. If I'm lucky, I'll manage to keep a few speed ups in reserve, but that boss with the forcefield of Tylenol gelcaps is to massive to avoid. I would like to see someone beat Gradius III... just beat it. Not with one life or one continue... but just beat it. That's how bad I am at it; seeing someone else beat the game will give me a sense of closure. :)

[scooterb23]

Super Mario Borthers #1 and 3

Sonic the Hedgehog

Luigi's Mansion

Right now that's all I can think of...

[Tempest]

Actually I have the most trouble with the spider bosses on the next board. The collapsing ceiling before the spiders also gives me trouble from time to time.

Tempest

[ClubNinja]

Hmm, well besides just about every fighter I've ever played, I can only think of a few right now...

Doom (the three original missions)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic Chaos
Kirby's Dreamland (the original Gameboy, I think it's Dreamland)
Mega Man 2
Commander Keen 1,3, and 4 (good old PC games!)

[coleco_chris]

The only one I can think of is getting a perfect score on Pitfall II when I was younger & apparently had better reflexes-or something. Damn, anyone else feel like they're getting worse at video games?

[I Am Humanoid]

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet:

Galaga '90 for TG16

[bluecollarninja]

bad dudes.

strider

[moycon]

SuperMan Atari 2600

[rbudrick]

I almost forgot about the mega man games!

Anyway, I've beaten Mega Man 1 and 2 on one life.


Oh, and PC Kwajalein -All Gradius games are huge on overwhelming the baddies whenever possible (like w/ mega power ups). All Gradius games must usually be beaten on 1 life because you lose the power ups when you die (there are a few places where you might get away with dying and making a comeback, but not many). Stock up early and don't die. Oh, and have an extra force field ready to go when yours wears out. I used to think Gradius II was completely impossible till I got through the first 2 levels...there's just no frikkin way if you die...the rest just falls together.

Now Gaiares...there's a nasty bitch of a game...

-Rob

[pa_nes_ian]

:agrue:

[pa_nes_ian]

Super Mario Bros.

Contra (4 times in a row then the first stage got so damn hard because so many of those damn soldier assholes come up and it is like using slow on an Advantage)

[Raedon]

SMB
Space Taxi
Sonic I, II (thank you coins!!)
Shadow of the Beast II (I can't even finsh SotB I when i cheat!)
Awesome
I knew the patterns for DL and Space Ace though for a game to die in.. this is one of the best..

[batmanlivesatmyhouse]

Contra I and II, Mario Brothers 2 and 3, Space Channel 5, Mega Man 2, Cannon Spike, Gunbird 2, do fighters count?

[yiearkungfu]

Most of these are nes...

Gradius, Gradius 3, nemesis (gameboy), smb, castlevania adventrures (gb), yie ar kung fu (c64), mega man 2 (no energy tanks), zelda 1, duck tales, 1943, guardian legend, gyruss, metroid...all i can remember

[Magus]

just the original mario and river city ransom for me...i suck

[Tunnel Runner]

2600-Pitfall 1&2,Fathom.NES-All Megamans,Wizards&Warriors 1,2,&3,Zelda 1&2,Contra,Solomons Key,Pool of Radiance,Blaster Master,Bionic Commando,Rygar. SNES-Final Fight 1&2,Contra:the Alien Wars. Just to name a few.

[King_Collector]

my biggest accomplishment- mega man x-x3 with out 1 game over :)

[jaydubnb]

Great topic.

My list:

Contra - this game owned my life in the late 80s. The theme music of Stage one and the Base levels are permanently burned in my skull.

Star Parodia - not the hardest game, but I own it using the PC Engine (the ship, not the system ;) )

Gunstar Heroes - brings out my Contra skills :)

Zelda - havent done it in a while

Punch Out + Super Punch Out - I'm the KO King!

virtually every fighting game

Outrun

Only ones I can remember :)

[XpOsUrE]

Not really sure how many though I know one thing for sure it was a heck of a lot of fighting games that I beat like this more then any other genre :D .

[vintagegamecrazy]

Lets see

All of the Nes Marios
Battletoads for the Genesis
My goal is to beat Btoads Battlemaniacs for the Snes
Super Smash Bros.
Probably More but I can't think now

My other goal is to finish Zelda 2 with one life and time my self

[Sotenga]

Contra, Gunstar Heroes, Metroid, Gradius 3, and...

CASTLEVANIA!

The last one I'm especially proud of. :D

[Balloon Fight]

All marios, basically every fighting game, contra.

[Ed Oscuro]

http://www.forumplanet.com/classicgaming/castlevania/topic.asp?fid=3691&tid=1154041

Morgoth Galaxius:

"CV3- 1rst quest, once.

Haunted Castle- US version K 5 times, both Japanese version once. First quests on all of them. Defualt dipswitch settings. Trying for the back-to-back quests one-lifer, can't do it yet.

Vampire Killer- 5 times first quest, and once back-to-back quests.

And horribly, CV1 (US NES version) only once:("

He's working on Vs. CV (arcade version of CV1) which is much more difficult than the normal version.

[Sashanan]

Prince of Persia: not just without dying, without wasting time. Never stood still for longer than a split second, bypassed most guards without killing them, didn't stray off the main path for a power potion even once, and didn't die. Finished with almost 40 minutes remaining on the clock. Don't think I can repeat that feat without training, though.

I've also finished Golden Axe 1 for the PC without dying one time, but that was on an old XT on which the game ran so slow that it was much, much easier. You'd see every enemy attack coming from miles away; the way the game played it was all about tactics and no reactions.

[GamecubeFreek]

Contra (3 times through)
Panzer Dragoon 2 and Orta
Zelda 1 and Ocarina of time
Space Channel 5
Gitaroo Man
Punch out and SUPER Punch out
Dragons Lair and Space Ace
Nights into Dreams
Castlevania
a bunch of fighters

[FF6]

Anyone remember "Street fighter 2010" for the nes? 1 life. Still a good looking game.

Has anyone heard about this guy in Japan that beat "Ikaruga" (gamecube) with only one life??? It's seems impossible in that game. Well apparently someone in Japan is selling a dvd which shows the guy passing the entire game with one ship. I think it's on hard or something. Anyone know were I can see this video?????

[Dr. Morbis]

I've beat all the nes "regulars" in one life:

-SMB
-SMB 2
-Legend of Zelda
-Contra
-Super C
-Metroid
-jackal
-Ducktales, and I'm sure many many more.

But the 'one-lifer' I can do in my sleep that actually requires a lot of skill is:

-Castlevania 1 for nes.

[NintendoMan]

I beaten in one life:
Super Mario 1-3
Contra
Sonic 1-2
M.C. Kids

That's all that I can remember.

[Nexus_Android_Six]

SMB and The Adventures Of Dino Rinki (Pretty Easy though when you just hold down the fire button and have fire as a weapon) Also Alex The kidd In Miracle World.

[slip81]

sadly I have not beaten any games in one life (at least not that I can remember, maybe mega man 2, but I'm not sure), but reading this thread has inspired me to revisit some of my NES games. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has tapes and or movie files of their one life feats, I collect them and would love to have some of yours. If anyone wants to donate I'll be happy to provide you with the necessary media to make copies and postage for mailing. PM me if you've got anything.

[AMG]

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Super Punch Out
Metroid
Super Metroid
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Mortal Kombat 2-4
Street Fighter (a bunch of em')
CastleVania 2-3 & SOTN
Tekken 2, 3 & Tag
Spider Fighter (flipped without losing a life)
Asteroids (flipped without losing a life)

That's some.

[drwily008]

Ducktales (nes)- ....In 7 minutes!

[The Insomniac]

Sonic 3
Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Sonic Adventure

[§ Gideon §]

Great question! The only ones I have really kept track of are Zelda games (because your death count shows on the file select screen). I've done all of them (minus the first two & the oracles) on one life, because it pains me to be reminded of death.

Has anyone heard about this guy in Japan that beat "Ikaruga" (gamecube) with only one life??? It's seems impossible in that game. Well apparently someone in Japan is selling a dvd which shows the guy passing the entire game with one ship. I think it's on hard or something. Anyone know were I can see this video?????
Actually, I don't think that would be so big of a deal. Perhaps, he beat it on one life without firing once?

[BoosTDIt]

I realy enjoied beat-em ups back in the day.Sooo...
I specialized in beating
Arcade clasicss like
Final Figth
Captain Commando

But most enjoied
Konami's 1989 "Vendetta" cause u get to continue after the end and there were so many different moves and holds and wile the oponet is on the ground and so on - for the time it was innovative.

Lets not forget Double Dragon too.

[omnedon]

SMS Power Strike

You pretty much have to beat it with one life. LOL

[JaredCenter]

When completing a game on one life, I would say it would count if you have an audience watching you do it. Completing a game on one life is an incredible feat in itself. Without an audience, your achievement goes completely unnoticed, no one will talk about it to others, and no one will care.

Here are the games I completed on one life with an audience watching (the ones I can recall):

Pole Position (Arcade)
Konami GT (Arcade)
Contra (Arcade)
UN Squadron (Arcade)
Arkanoid II (Arcade)
Street Fighter II CE (Arcade, using E. Honda)
Mortal Kombat II (Arcade, using Liu Kang)
Blazing Lasers (Turbografx-16, Radio Shack display)
Vs. Super Mario Bros. (Arcade)

The achievements in SF2CE (1993) and MK2 (1994) definitely spread by word of mouth. As a result, I always had someone to play against. I would spend hours standing in front of a machine, with competitors always in fresh supply.

I was also the provincial champion of Super Mario Bros. and everyone knew it.

[§ Gideon §]

When completing a game on one life, I would say it would count if you have an audience watching you do it. Completing a game on one life is an incredible feat in itself. Without an audience, your achievement goes completely unnoticed, no one will talk about it to others, and no one will care.
You're right. I like your thinking.

[bluberry]

I got a few.

Final Fight One on Very Hard mode with Cody. I used the GBA version, none of the cheats.

Devil May Cry on the hardest difficulty setting, no item-cheesing either.

Cybernator for the SNES

Contra 3 on Hard

Castlevania: Dracula X (the SNES game)

Castlevania Chronicles (Original Mode, and I did it on the second loop two. The third one totally kills me, though)

And the coup de grace, Wario Land 2! Wait, what's that? You can't die in WL2? Bah.

[BoosTDIt]

When completing a game on one life, I would say it would count if you have an audience watching you do it. Completing a game on one life is an incredible feat in itself. Without an audience, your achievement goes completely unnoticed, no one will talk about it to others, and no one will care.
You're right. I like your thinking.

That's right and that's why all i listed was Arcade games.Always a great audience arownd.And deffinetly a great feeling!!! 8-) 8-)

[13u1313a]

Kirby's Dreamland
Mario Bros. 1
Gunstar Heroes (Normal Mode; take that Gunstar Green Mwahahaha)
Mario Land 1
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Spinball

[Policenaut]

Thunder Force III
Bonk's Adventure
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Mario Bros 1
Mario Bros 3
Rastan
Black Belt
Kung Fu Kid
Twin Cobra
1943

Those are that I can remember right now

[Howie6925]

Rampage-SMS
Super Mario One and Three
Street Fighter 2
thats all I can remember beating on one man of course mine are no suprise to anyone I think everyone beat super mario and street fighter in one man. :)

[charitycasegreg]

super mario bros 1, 3
Resident evil 2

I know all three are sooooo easy.

[Hamsnibit]

only one i can remember off the top of my head is NAM 1975

[Sibs]

Super Mario Bros. 1 and 3
Contra III:Alien Wars in Easy Mode
Super Castlevania IV
Super Mario World
Super Punch Out!! without getting knocked out once
Mega Man X
Mega Man X4

Those are the ones I know off the top of my head.

[Escape•From•Jenny•Island]

Only one I can think of is Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Beat Smithy with only Geno standing and 1HP left.

[stonic]

-----

[GobopopRevisited]

Not me but my brother...

Game: Super Mario RPG: Legend of The Seven Stars

Last form of Smithy... Mario? (the Power) Dead... Peach? (Support) Dead...
Geno? One Hit-Point Left... Items? Flower and a Great Guy Casino Card... nothing to do but press A.

Kerrr.... POW! Smithy Takes a Timed-Hit Star Gun right in the face! and BAM! game over... Lucky Bastard...

[tony_good]

SF II

SF II Champion Edition

hardest of all SFIII, 3rd Strike, hardest setting, no continuing, got the secret character, not losing one single match.

And I STILL only got A+ and NOT A++.

I was so outraged, I turned to drinking.

[Arcade Antics]

When completing a game on one life, I would say it would count if you have an audience watching you do it. Completing a game on one life is an incredible feat in itself. Without an audience, your achievement goes completely unnoticed, no one will talk about it to others, and no one will care.

Unless you tape it, that is ;)

I recently rolled VCS Dig Dug and Sky Skipper on one life.

Here's my question - rolling a game on 1 life vs marathoning a game. Which is a better example of a player's skill?

I vote the "roll on one life" as a better indicator of skill. If you can roll it on one life, there's a very good chance you could roll it until the end of time, given more than one life.

Marathoning a game leans a little less on skill and more on a matter of endurance - players quit when they're bored of the whole scene.

Rolling the score on one life leaves room for improvement (i.e., lowest time to complete the roll) and more challenge from other players in less time.

My two zenny. :)

[tony_good]

I beg to differ with Arcade Antics.

Maybe usually, but I HAVE rolled Kung-Fu Master in the arcade with one life, and it gets way too difficult after that! Even with 3 lives in reserve, I never flipped it more than twice.

[Arcade Antics]

I beg to differ with Arcade Antics.

Maybe usually, but I HAVE rolled Kung-Fu Master in the arcade with one life, and it gets way too difficult after that! Even with 3 lives in reserve, I never flipped it more than twice.

True - and I agree. :)

I was mainly thinking about "marathon" gaming in the sense that a game would last more than, say, ten hours and wouldn't really end (Pac-Man split screen) unless the gamer fell from physical exhaustion.

[stonic]

-----

[SegaAges]

capcom vs snk 2

let's see

burnout 3

i beat the hell out of tony hawk underground and got all the way through the game in 2 sittings (story and classic mode).

I have beaten separation anxiety for snes on 1 life (i need to get that game again) :)

[Rogmeister]

I probably haven't done it much, if at all...but does Super Punch-Out count if you go through the entire game (16 opponents) without even getting knocked down once? :D

[Mianrtcv]

Are arcade fighters like Soul Caliber, etc. included?
Did that and some of the like.
Castlevania

What's the topic again? Too fried to remember just now.
All my brain cells are on snooze. I'll try later. zzzzz.