DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE!!!

[Raccoon Lad]

Well after downloading Rolling Thunder for MAME, and enabling every cheat for the game, I got stuck on round 8 and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't beat the level. It seems some games are not only hard, but nearly IMPOSSIBLE!

List the games you've played that are so difficult, they're virtually impossible to beat, games that no amount of save-state cheating, or use of Game-genie codes can ever allow you to see the ending.
I'll start:
Rolling Thunder: NES or Arcade
Ghosts'n Goblins: NES or Arcade
Dragon's Lair: NES
Battle Toads: NES

[CrazyImpmon]

Athena - NES (you're more likely to hang yourself before you get to the end)
Cheetahmen2 - NES (has anyone actually gotten far at all?!?)

And Super Pitfall for NES. Try to solve the second quest. The first quest is solveable (albeit damn hard) but the second quest is not finishable.

[maxlords]

Rayxanber II for PC Engine. Hardest shmup EVER, and that's saying something. Someday....I'll see the level 1 boss...someday...

[WiseSalesman]

re: Dragion's Lair -
There's a difference between difficulty and stupidity.

[zmeston]

This is very new-school, but anyone who can defeat all the single-player challenges in TimeSplitters 2 should be made the deity of a new religion.

-- Z.

[Tempest]

The whole Rayxanber series is freaking nuts! I don't know how anyone can even play those games. Talk about impossible...

I always thought that Gitaroo Man on Master Play was impossible. The normal game is fine, but the Master Play is too hard.

Tempest

[Sega Hitman]

I'm pretty sure Double Dragon 3 for the NES wasn't meant to be beaten. I don't remember ever getting past the first level. I've practically beaten the Genesis version, but not the NES one.

Ninja Gaiden is also much too hard for me. I'm sure there are a bunch of people here who beat it without a problem, but ya, I suck.

-Hitman-

[Tetsu]

Jim Power in the Third Dimension for SNES was ridiculously hard. So was Rolling Thunder 3 for Genesis.

[Anonymous]

Did anybody ever beat Total Recall for the NES? I could never get past like the second level.

Oh, and battletoads. I made it to around level 8 or 9, and it blew my mind that there were 12 levels. HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY GET ANY HARDER?

[zmeston]

Did anybody ever beat Total Recall for the NES? I could never get past like the second level.

Oh, and battletoads. I made it to around level 8 or 9, and it blew my mind that there were 12 levels. HOW CAN IT POSSIBLY GET ANY HARDER?

I managed to beat both of those for NES strategy guides, back when my reflexes were at their peak and I had no adult responsibilities. Good times, good times. I seriously doubt I could beat Battletoads now -- not just because of my dimmed reflexes, but because I wouldn't have the patience for the play-memorize-die-repeat process.

-- Z.

[Anonymous]

the play-memorize-die-repeat process.
-- Z.
I remember a time when the play-memorize-die-repeat process was one of the better parts of a game. Now, and I know this is as much my problem as it is the developers, it seems like a game is designed to be beaten on the first try. I guess that's what I get for choosing crap like reason and responsibility for a perfect Shoryuken.

[zmeston]

the play-memorize-die-repeat process.
-- Z.
I remember a time when the play-memorize-die-repeat process was one of the better parts of a game. Now, and I know this is as much my problem as it is the developers, it seems like a game is designed to be beaten on the first try. I guess that's what I get for choosing crap like reason and responsibility for a perfect Shoryuken.

Games are definitely easier than they used to be, as developers and publishers are forced by ever-escalating development costs to cater to casual/mainstream gamers, and I've grown "soft" because of it.

Battletoads was a game where the p-m-d-r process was tortuous, as you'd generally only make it a few moments past the point where you died the last time until you died again. (That's how I vaguely remember it, anyway.) Back then, I could tolerate it; now, I'd go apeshit. I'm spoiled for checkpoints, sad as that is.

-- Z.

[Rezrov]

Athena - NES (you're more likely to hang yourself before you get to the end)

100% correct. My brother and I cut our teeth on this game for weeks, and never got to the end. Then we tried with every cheat code in the game genie arsenal, and the game still wasn't winable. I remember shattering this game with a hammer, and feeling very satisfied afterwards.

- Shawn

[TRM]

I'm pretty sure Double Dragon 3 for the NES wasn't meant to be beaten. I don't remember ever getting past the first level. I've practically beaten the Genesis version, but not the NES one.

Ninja Gaiden is also much too hard for me. I'm sure there are a bunch of people here who beat it without a problem, but ya, I suck.

-Hitman-

I thought that Double Dragon 3 was on NES was very easy. I've gotten to the last part of the last boss on numerous occasions, without much trouble, I just didn't beat Cleopatra yet.

[Gamereviewgod]

Deep Blue - Turbo, THIS is the hardest SHUMP ever made.....

[IntvGene]

What about Impossible Mission for the 7800? Nothing you can do will allow you to see the ending due to an programming error in the NTSC version. I think they fixed it in the PAL version...

Hence the name--Impossible Mission.

[davidbrit2]

Well, I play a ton of Guitar Freaks in the arcade, and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that I might be one of the best in Michigan, but there is no way anybody could clear Children's Sketchbook on Extreme difficulty without relying on dumb luck, or intense note-for-note memorization. If I could find note charts on the Internet, I'd put a link here, but take my word for it. It has one section that's essentially several bars of completely random two key notes that appear to be 32nd notes at 140 BPM. That comes to 560 notes per minute, or about 9.3 notes PER SECOND. Like I said, it's friggin' impossible.

[RJ]

Genesis:
Ghouls & Ghosts
Bart's Nightmare
Chakan: Forever Man
Gargoyles

PSX:
Fear Effect: nearly impossible w/out cheating
Einhander
PowerSlave: currently sweating thru it; fun but HARD as HELL!
DarkStone: never beat Draak, even w/ help, so I just play to his lair & quit
Thunder Force V

PS2: Fatal Frame: getting "Wandering Monk"

I also hate games where they throw boss after boss @ you, like MGS & Devil May Cry.

[kingpong]

Genesis:
Ghouls & Ghosts


I've always thought this game was relatively easy. Used to play through it regularly back in its heyday. Had no idea that anyone considered it difficult until the past few years.

Target Earth was the game that bugged me the most with difficulty. I never even bothered to play without invincibility - at least then I could have fun just blowing stuff up.

[bizounce]

I'm pretty sure Double Dragon 3 for the NES wasn't meant to be beaten. I don't remember ever getting past the first level. I've practically beaten the Genesis version, but not the NES one.

-Hitman-

I did that one, I remember renting it when it had first come out. It was really, really hard. I was determined to beat it. After a while, I understood enemy patterns and such. It took me a few weeks to beat that one.

[kainemaxwell]

I ended up making my own code in Battletoads just to get to and finally beat the Dark Queen!
(Along with a max life code)

[hamburgler]

Marvel vs capcom (I could never even beat the last boss because he was super tough to beat).

[Lady Jaye]

Two schmups that I can never get very far, no matter what I do: Cloud Master on the SMS and Zero Wing (arcade/Genesis).

[brandver3]

Maximo is super hard. I'm still 2 levels away from the last one, but I haven't gotten %100 on all the levels so i can't truly beat the game.

I second Gitaroo Man on master mode. My god, is that sick. I can't even beat the first song.

The wandering monk in Fatal Frame is easy......if you happen to have a game shark and unlimeted super good film. But without that I shudder to think about that game.

Totally Rad for the NES is pretty tough. You have to get through the level on 2 lives. Continues start you back from the begining, and the enimie regen the second you are out of screen from them, move a hair back into there side of the screen and bam, they are right back on you. And since you can back track, you'll be trying to avoid and oncoming enemy and suddenly get jumped by the one you just wasted.

Mega Man, nuff said.

[Eternal Champion]

I'm pretty sure Double Dragon 3 for the NES wasn't meant to be beaten. I don't remember ever getting past the first level. I've practically beaten the Genesis version, but not the NES one.

Ninja Gaiden is also much too hard for me. I'm sure there are a bunch of people here who beat it without a problem, but ya, I suck.

I'll second DD3 for NES. Totally different from any other DD3, exclusive to the NES. HARD. Not even a very long game! Takes a lot of practice, practice, practice. DD2 is much easier. Sometimes I play and it just goes horribly wrong. Other times great, and I've made it Stage 4. Then death. (I've only recently gotten it). I think it's the slow response of your character--it's pointless to ever punch or kick!

Ninja Gaiden--I liked it when it came out, but MAN, what a cheap-ass game. LOADS of cheap hits. That shouts "lack of creativity" very loudly to me.

ZANAC--I loved it way back when, I was determined to just make it half-way through the game. OMFG...I say it's one of the hardest games ever made. Back then I did make it to like stage 10....sheesh.

Chakan for Genesis--VERY difficult, and not even a password feature. Not a game I can sit through for more than an hour, just de-moralizing. Would have been nice to be able to turn it off and come back later. But I do like it, actually.

Thunder Force II for Genesis--forget it. I love it, but geez. I've seen past area 5 ONCE, and that was YEARS ago, when I did the "take the cart out when the system's on" cheat thing. Kicks my ass every time.

The last level in Revenge of Shinobi--you know the one. Zeed's Labyrinth. Bloody hell. Never beaten it. Maybe that's sad, I dunno.

Contra Hard Corps for Genesis--a little ridiculous. Sure, it's Play-Memorize-Die-Repeat, (That would be a great Classic Gaming T-shirt slogan) but the learning curve is a little steep. Cool game, but still.

R-Type 3 SNES--I know its reputation is being the "best 2-D shooter in history", and it DOES rock, but wow. Ass-kicking. :beaten:

I used to think I was good at shooters, but judging by this list, .... :embarrassed: