Challenge is something everyone craves every once in a while and games are no exception. Of course, most games include higher difficulty levels or bonus challenges to quench one's thirst for a worthy foe but, to the dismay of many, there are some games that take Hard mode to a whole new level. Listed are some games that, while not difficult by fault of poor programming (Superman 64 is not listed for that very reason and should have each copy melted down), they still pose a ridiculous challenge on anyone who plays them.
7. Ninja Gaiden (Take your pick)
Ninjas are awesome.
It shouldn't surprise anyone who has picked up a controller in the past 20 or so years that the Ninja Gaiden series is insanely challenging. From its old-school NES days to its newest next-gen entries, Team Ninja has been persistent in expecting peak performance from anyone who dares to pop the game in.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ZadSexa4o
Unfortunately, the only videos I could find were of people who have played the game so much that they can go through entire levels with little to no damage. However, its all much easier said than done because anyone who picks up a Ninja Gaiden game for the first time will be met with an incredibly challenging experience.
6. Mega Mans 1-8 (NES)
Mega Man can PLOW them down HAHAHAha...heh...
Although variety is not the forte of the old-school Mega Man games, each and every one of the NES titles are controller-tossingly difficult. Anyone who has played a Mega Man game on the NES has more than likely counted the amount of times they fell into a bottomless pit (I stopped counting around 30) and spewed endless curse words at their TV, and with good reason.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcMn3zK6s4
However, the closest I could get of showing an average joe playing the game was only getting hit a few times. Honestly, there are so many people who play the NES games obsessively to show off their skills. Well, there's nothing wrong with that but it makes it difficult to truly show how difficult these games are short of playing them yourself.
5. Platoon (NES)
You see this. A lot.
A mostly forgotten title in the NES library, Platoon had a rare breed of difficulty that made it hard to distinguish between poor programming and intended challenges. On one hand, you only had so many lives and it was game over with no continues but, on the other hand, enemies could kill you in a single shot (or by simply touching you) and could pop out of nowhere and kill you before there was any way to react.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXxoZuEAxc
Notice how enemies can jump right out of the trees and waste you before you have a chance to react? The worst part is that running through that horrid jungle maze is only the first bit of the game, which is easy in comparison to the later levels when invisible snipers can send you home in a body bag with ease. I also have a very personal gripe with this game because I get the music from the Jungle level stuck in my head every time I so much as think about it.
4. Siren (PS2)
Can you resist the call to throw your TV out the window?
From the developers of Silent Hill, Siren is a peculiar mix of trial-and-error gameplay and cIassic Japanese horror themes. The trial-and-error bit should be familiar to those who have played Hitman games, but there are three factors making Siren the more difficult game: First off, there's really no crowds to hide in, making most places perfectly exposed to enemies. Second, you die in 1-2 hits depending if the enemy bashes you over the head or shoots you. Third, there's little room for creativity which means that you are required to figure out and follow the game's strict logic.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crdepPh7R5A
Sightjack is terrifying.
3. Zaxxon (ARC)
Seriously, its a mean game.
Quite possibly a game developed by MC Escher so he could take away your lunch money, Zaxxon was insanely difficult due to the strange perspective-oriented controls that made trying to make heads or tails of the environment an eye-straining torture session. For me, the altitude meter at the left did next to nothing since the actual height of objects was questionable all the time.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHORFz6ZCC0
See how difficult it is to hit enemies? Every space battle completely messes with your head and the tiny force field passages do most people in.
2. Battletoads (NES, Genesis)
Anyone who played this game gets angry at this picture.
In what seems like a frustrated programmers attempt to lash out at the world around him, Battletoads is already notorious for its astronomical difficulty. What's most interesting about this game is that the difficulty actually increases when there's a second player present because you can kill each other on accident. On a side note, Battletoads is most likely responsible for countless backhands and ruined friendships.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idZ9C0Qtj2A
By far the best example of Battletoads' brutal difficulty is the Wind Tunnel level. Although the person in the link shows a completed run, I'd love to see anyone get this on their first try.
1. Silver Surfer (NES)
Pretty much sums it all up.
To be completely honest, I'm not sure why someone thought to make this one so agonizingly impossible. Silver Surfer is one of those games that will make you think that the developer has some kind of deep personal hatred for you and wants to make you cry like a baby. With death occurring by touching ANYTHING (yes, that includes walls) and restarting stages after losing all your lives, Silver Surfer is a game with an ending but is so mind-numbingly difficult that anyone who plays it will decide that this one wasn't intended to be beaten in the first place.
Example of difficulty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBzeTScRjrw
The horror. The horror....
But wait...
I found a nifty little video of the hardest boss fight I've ever seen while searching for material:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQZuidKexBQ
Sure, the games I've listed might be unfairly difficult but the above linked one is...Well...It will make the hardest boss you've faced look like Glass Joe.
Wasn't one of Silver Surfer's trademark powers his nigh-invulnerability? Why, oh why would anyone make a game where it would be so easy for him to get killed? I also second the Platoon nomination, mostly because it was a poorly-designed game overall. I never got to see past level 1 because GAHHHH TRIPWIRES OF INSTANT DEATH.
Agreed. For me I would add all 8 of the Dragovian Trials at the end of Dragon Quest VIII and Ruby weapon from Final Fantasy VII... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suj4Rku5tSs
I remember renting the Silver Surfer game when I was a kid. It had a Mega Man-style level select and I think the longest I lasted on any of the levels was about 30 seconds. I'm glad someone included this on a hardest list. It makes me feel like a little less of a loser.
Struggling to fight this white-haired dude with the nun-chucks for at least a night, probably two. Hell, maybe even three to find out when I finish beat him it was only the first boss. I quit. LOL. I quit Ninja Gaiden quite a few times. Good list.
I remember Siren. I especially remember trying to find all the different "frequencies" I can sightjack from only to be shot by a sniper shibito.
i agree with all of the ones i've played. it's a pity ninja gaiden is so hard because they're decent games, same for most of the megamans. I played battletoads on the snes but never with a second player and it was hard enough alone. Silver surfer i've never played but ONE HIT? And die from ANYTHING? That's just ridiculous.
What about F-Zero GX on the gamecube? That game was so hard, it literally took me months to get past the 4th or 5th race.
how about the first contra for the ps2? I'm just throwing it out there in general. I thought that one was pretty crazy at times. the list is great fyi :)
platoon! i thought i was the only one who owned that....never got past the second level when I was a kid..and when i beat the first level i thought it was a miracle!
@ kleeyook first of all, super mario 64 was an awesome game with what was fantastic programming at the time, and second, he said superman 64 not super mario 64
For me, #7 would be mario kart for the wii because I get hit with something almost every milisecond.
I agree with all of these choices. Thats why I did not get any of these games but played them over my cousins house. Castlevania should be top three though, Little Nemo: The Dream master should be top three on here too...
What's with the Contra comments? The game wasn't really that difficult, at least not in comparision with the titles mentioned above. Castlevania was much harder IMO.
yep i have ninja gaiden II and its a rage quiter.......did that this morning hahha anyways its still a load of fun and if you have any interest in it dowload it from the Wii's VC
@rohr2 I didn't put the last game on the list since I haven't played it. All of the listed games are ones that I've played and made me beg for mercy. The only regret I have is that I made it before I bought the Sega Genesis Collection for my PSP since it jogged my memory about how difficult Phantasy Star II and III were as well as Comix Zone and Altered Beast. In any case, I feel satisfied with this list overall anyway.
Megaman 2....... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!! It still makes me rage ! I can still hear the sound of many of my NES pads being smashed over the TV ! Although I did eventually complete it. Probably one of the most difficult games I've ever completed. None of my friends could do it, or even come close. I should also mention 'Solstice' for the NES., which was also mind-numbingly infuriating !
Where is Zelda 2 and the origional Metroid on this list, they're both crazy in degree of difficulty.
Whoever made that game in the youtube link you posted should rot in hell for all eternity.
why does everyone think ninja gaiden is so challenging? is it cuz of the hardest difficulty? i never really thought that game was that hard. dmc 3 was way harder imo. and seriously, i'm not a troll or anything. this is just really how i feel
Last Video pretty much made me think "What's wrong with developers these days?" AND WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU PUT THE LAST VIDEO'S GAME ON THIS LIST??? DID YOU SEE THAT BOSS FIGHT?
@jokingamer I've played (and still own) the NES version of Metal Gear and, going from the criteria I outlined in the paragraph before the list started, it is far too buggy for this list. There are far, far, far too many technical issues with the NES version. As for the MSX version (Which I've played via MGS3: Subsistence), it has a fair bit of challenge but it suffers more from a lack of solid direction than it does actual difficulty.
Demon's Souls is the new undisputed champion of this list hands down. I don't think anyone who has played that game will disagree.
I played battletoads for the Mega drive back in the day and had no major problems finishing it. Maybe the NES version was harder?
@PepitoneConQues Demons souls is, in my opinion, something different. The majority of games listed here are difficult for no reason. On DS on the other side, you know that when you die you messed up. That game is fair, something the others are not. Take the Silver Surfer one. It doesnt even make sense that a flying boy cant touch anything without dying...Thats why these games are almost unbearable and DS is not.
@ klasheen i agree with your last paragraph. @Cwagmire21 i think that while making games easier might not be a bad thing, it mos defnly hurts the experience. When you know you can die, when you know you have the last bit of health and still an alley to go to the next save, you experience something that you wouldnt if you simply had to sit for a while and then your health would be full again. I picked up some games i have missed (Prince of Persia, Bioshock and Fallout GOTY) and after i finished Prince of Persia i started Demons Souls...Can you imagine the shock? I dont think that you miss something from a game if its decently challenging, in fact, i think you enjoy it more. Be it for the difficulty, for the story as you put it, games shouldnt be so easy that allow someone to play them one handed while on the phone and and doing something else with your other hand.
You missed one, and it is this crazy mofo: Metal Gear. it probably surpasses all you listed here.
Personally i believe that Demon Souls Should have been up there, i know that it is a new game but i also know that it is very difficult! But i also might add that it is very fun and you feel a sense of accomplishment when you advance to the next level!!!!
Battletoads?!? I played that game when I was 9 with my friend, it did not pose a challenge to us then, lmao why is that on your list.
I did play Battletoads game for nes, but man that was so hard, which it was one of hardest games that I ever play in my life! Yeah, friendly fire in Battletoads was really funny and made it impossible to beat while hurting each other or starting over when one player lose his life so that me and my friend had to choose contra game instead, which it has much better 2 players mode, otherwise we just end up yelling at each other.
This is a great list,but you should consider doing one on more modern games seeing as many of the new and upcoming gamers now a days don't even know what a nintendo is. T.T
Nice list. Ah! The memories of broken controllers and enraged screaming. I was happy when the Game Genie came out, and even subscribed to their updates. It poses an interesting question, though. Are new games really easier? Or have we played so many with unforgiving difficulty that our skills are just higher?
after getting halfway through battletoads, it got brutal... and produced one very frustrated but persistent child.
Over years of afternoons spent with my brother playing it, I've come to really truly enjoy the tunnel race in Battle Toads. The level that made me rage quit was the water pipe level with the insta-death gears chasing you. But eventually I was able to face the leather-clad dominatrix whose lack of difficulty makes you feel a bit cheated. oh yeah, exoheather is right, Maximum Carnage definitely deserves a spot here (although I eventually beat that too, no assistance)
Why do you have allot of classic games here? Your missing a crap load of games that could of been here but I guess since its limited to 7, well you know. But there is Maximum Carnage, Double Dragon 3, Urban Reign, Shinobi II, Mario 3, Devil May Cry 1 and 3, mostly all Contra games except Shattered Soldier which wasn't that difficult. Not as hard as Hardcorps was at least.
nice list, but you missed contra. gotta love that game to play it without destroying your poor controller :P
nice list, but you missed contra. gotta love that game to play it without destroying your poor controller :P
I'm afraid I must disagree with your choice of Mega Man 1-8. Sure, some of the games were pretty easy, however Mega Man 2 and ESPECIALLY Mega Man 5 were pretty easy. Mega Man (1) and Mega Man 4 were the hardest, IMO. Mega Man 5 was a great game, but the lack of difficulty in that game was kind of a nuisance. You can tell the developers maybe wanted to ease up on the difficulty so they increased the probability that you'll get an extra life every time you kill any thing on the screen. That plus the mega buster itself added to the ease. I really hope I'm not coming off as one of those douche bags who struggles with a hard game, masters it, then says "durr dat game were really easy!" when a vast majority of people on the planet were frustrated by it. I just recently re-played my old copy of Mega Man 5 not too long ago and found it to be way too easy for a Mega Man game.
As for my oldschool NES dasy, the ones that I found too hard were: "Legacy of the Wizard" "Battle of Olympus" "Kid Icarus" "Metroid" And I'll agree with those who're making a case for "Demon's Souls(PS3)", that game is downright frustrating.
