Hudson’s Adventure Island (1986): Getting Past Area 8-3

Hudson’s Adventure Island on the NES is the hardest game I’ve ever beat in my entire life. So far, at least. I thought it would be good to help any fellow Adventure Island players out there with my strategy for what is, bar none, the hardest part of an already hard game: Area 8, Round 3, Section 4. This part is so difficult that it has its own section on Adventure Island’s Japanese Wikipedia article. No one should have to suffer through the pain of this level – the AD on Game Center CX who was asked to complete Adventure Island for the sake of the show was stuck on this level for a grand total of nine hours before being forced to throw in the towel. It was the first game in the show’s history where even the people who were hired to be good at games couldn’t finish one. That’s how blisteringly, controller shatteringly difficult this section is.

The Strategy

In this section, there are a grand total of eight platforms you must traverse to make it to the end of the level. Each of those platforms begins to fall from under you as soon as your feet touch them. Holding down the B button while you run along them is a necessity to making it to the other side on time (at least for awhile, but we’ll get to that.)

There are eight platforms in total. I found that mentally counting them as you cleared them helped a lot; there was more than a few times where I zoomed past the fifth platform and mistakenly thought I had cleared the dreaded seventh one, only for my hopes to be dashed.

There are bats on the second, fifth, and seventh platforms respectively. You can jump over the second bat, and kill the fifth bat with your weapon relatively easily. The third one, though, is the problem child that has made life hell for many trying to beat this game.

Once you’ve tackled the first five platforms, you’ll end up on the sixth. Proper technique on this sixth platform is crucial. On that sixth platform, run to the edge of it like you did the others. Just before you jump off of the edge, let go of the B button. This is absolutely imperative if you want to clear this area. It can be harder than it sounds since there’s a set rhythm to clearing the previous five platforms, making it difficult to break habit once you’ve gotten to this point.

Now, as soon as you’re in the air with your B-less jump, start mashing the B button to make Master Higgins throw his weapon towards the bat. I’m sure there’s some precise trick to timing this perfectly, but I was always in such a blind panic at this point I didn’t notice one. If you’ve timed it just right and the stars have aligned, you should kill the bat just as you hit the seventh platform.

MAKE SURE YOU DON’T JUMP AS SOON AS YOU HIT THE SEVENTH PLATFORM! The window in which the bat will die and you’ll land is short enough that it tricks your eyes into thinking you’re going to run into the bat. I made this mistake many, many times thanks to my twitchy reflexes – even after I had already successfully killed the bat, my thumb would act on its own and send Master Higgins flying into a bottomless pit just shy of the final run. Don’t let this happen to you!

Another note to remember: there’s a bonfire on the other side once you’ve cleared the eighth platform. Don’t be afraid of it – touching it won’t kill you, but will instead activate the hidden red pot for this level. This psyched me out the first time I saw it and I fell to my death.

To summarize:

• Jump from the first platform to the second
• Jump over the bat on the second platform, over to the third
• Clear the third platform, as well as the fourth like normal
• Throw your weapon at the bat on the fifth, jumping onto the sixth platform
• On the sixth platform, run along it as normal until you reach the edge of it.
• Once you reach the edge of the sixth platform, release your hold on the B button and jump
• Once you’re in the air, lob your weapon at the bat in front of you like crazy
• If done right, the bat should die just as you touch the seventh platform. Take care not to jump as soon as you hit the seventh platform.
• Clear the seventh platform as normal. ]
• The bonfire on the other side of the eighth platform won’t hurt you, so jump without fear.

I understand that the audience for a strategy for a near 40 year old game is probably not a booming one, but if I can help even one person out there with this soul crushing section, then my job here is done. Hope this helps!