Same here. Back in the day I used to beat Gate of Thunder on “Devil” difficulty with 1 life and I had reached to the point of beating Lords of Thunder on Super but not flawlessly. It’s taken me years to get back to even close to that. I’m still trying to master Normal difficulty in both of them. Ys I, II and IV are just absolute masterpieces. Took me more than 5 years to beat Ys IV this time because of time and my mishap, it’s really hard to get back in after stopping for so long. I don’t mind replaying it all over again but I think I’ll go back and do I & II. I really wish I could get a translation for the Xanadu Games. Those are two undiscovered treasures of gaming that seem to be so obscure that no one on this side of the world ever seems to mention them, however from the little I’ve seen and the lot that I’ve heard, they might be some of the best on the console. Someone started a translation project but never finished it seems.
I actually beat Devil’s Crush back in the day and also Duck Hunt! That was the level of dedication (and free time) I had as a young gamer.
Super Star Soldier was also one that I beat a few times as a child but it still eludes me as an adult. That game is just so punishing when you die and it’s not short either. I recently got back into Shadow of The Beast and I made some serious progress but didn’t complete it. That game is pretty easy once you figure out what you have to do.
I bought a copy of Shape Shifter same time I got my first copy of Lords of Thunder about 26 years ago and would you believe that I’ve hardly ever played that game?! I still have it in a box somewhere.