NES Top Gun
Hated this game growing up!  I never could land the freaking plane!
Impossible.

I got this game back in the mid 1980s when it came out.  I hated it.  Namely because I never could land the damn plane on the freaking aircraft carrier.

For a mid 1980s game, it's a fairly decent, if boring, flight simulator.  But don't think you'll be getting a real flight simulator.  You just chose your plane, then you you fly in this big boring blue frame for a while, and try to dodge missles.  There's no real music.  That's the whole game.  There are four missions, but I only got to the third mission.  There's a good reason for that.

But what makes this game so notorious for those who remember it (my generation, basically), is landing the plane on the aircraft carrier.  When you land the plane, you get a long approach, in which the game will continually tell you to press up or down on the control pad, to made sure you are aligned properly.  And no matter how meticulously you follow the instructions, YOU ALMOST ALWAYS CRASH.  I can remember being a little kid and getting so frustrated at this game because I could never land.  My brother landed once or twice, but that's about it.

The other bad part is, I think in mission 3, you have to fuel midair when a big fuel plane comes up on top of you.  Just like landing, you have to press up or down to make sure the cable that will transport the gas from the fuel plane to your aircraft is properly aligned.  Just like the landing on the aircraft, you can never make the connection.  If the connection is not made, then the fuel aircraft will break the connection, leaving you to certain death as you will run out of fuel  before you reach the aircraft carrier, which you won't be able to land on anyway.

The reason why I could never get past mission three is, if I remember correctly, you have three lives.  You lose the first two lives on the first two missions because you can't land, then you lose your life because you can't fuel.  I think the fourth mission has to do with a space shuttle, but I never knew any of my friends who had the game to get to that level.

Just a really bad game.  Google Angry Video Game Nerd's review of it, he is, as usual, spot on (beware, he has a lot of adult language to the point his reviews are borderline obscene, but still funny as hell).

Oh, also, this game has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE.  The movie even came out well before the game.  NO CONNECTION at all.
NES Top Gun
Hated this game growing up! I never could land the freaking plane! Impossible. I got this game back in the mid 1980s when it came out. I hated it. Namely because I never could land the damn plane on the freaking aircraft carrier. For a mid 1980s game, it's a fairly decent, if boring, flight simulator. But don't think you'll be getting a real flight simulator. You just chose your plane, then you you fly in this big boring blue frame for a while, and try to dodge missles. There's no real music. That's the whole game. There are four missions, but I only got to the third mission. There's a good reason for that. But what makes this game so notorious for those who remember it (my generation, basically), is landing the plane on the aircraft carrier. When you land the plane, you get a long approach, in which the game will continually tell you to press up or down on the control pad, to made sure you are aligned properly. And no matter how meticulously you follow the instructions, YOU ALMOST ALWAYS CRASH. I can remember being a little kid and getting so frustrated at this game because I could never land. My brother landed once or twice, but that's about it. The other bad part is, I think in mission 3, you have to fuel midair when a big fuel plane comes up on top of you. Just like landing, you have to press up or down to make sure the cable that will transport the gas from the fuel plane to your aircraft is properly aligned. Just like the landing on the aircraft, you can never make the connection. If the connection is not made, then the fuel aircraft will break the connection, leaving you to certain death as you will run out of fuel  before you reach the aircraft carrier, which you won't be able to land on anyway. The reason why I could never get past mission three is, if I remember correctly, you have three lives. You lose the first two lives on the first two missions because you can't land, then you lose your life because you can't fuel. I think the fourth mission has to do with a space shuttle, but I never knew any of my friends who had the game to get to that level. Just a really bad game. Google Angry Video Game Nerd's review of it, he is, as usual, spot on (beware, he has a lot of adult language to the point his reviews are borderline obscene, but still funny as hell). Oh, also, this game has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE. The movie even came out well before the game. NO CONNECTION at all.