What games are STILL TOO HARD?

[SoulBlazer]

Okay, I've been playing PC and video games for over 20 years now. I'm a vetern in every sence of the word when it comes to eletronic entertainment. I've taken numerous hard games, like the Ninja Gaiden series, and played them over and over again until I can bend them over my knee and slap them silly. I laugh in the face of anything I face in a RPG because I know I've seen worse. I have numerous scars from the may battles I have waged and won over the years (and one small physical one as well, long story behind that one). :)

And since emulators and the god-send known as save states came out, many MORE games I could never quite beat back in the day have fallen pray and have gone up on the huge 'conquered game' list. ;)

But even with the help of emulators, even with much pratice, and the experience of being a calm and mature adult now, there are STILL some games that I just CAN NOT beat no matter WHAT I try! :angry:

Some examples? Any of the Ultima games for the NES or other consoles. Even with a walkthrough in hand, there's just too much random stuff that happens and the game is seriously slanted for you NOT to beat it in the first place.

Another one? Ghosts and Goblins. It pains me to admit that yes, even after all these years, this 'most difficult video game ever made' is STILL impossible for me to finish (I'm talking about playing it both ways through, in order to get the good ending).

Yet another? Pitfall. Well, I mean I can finish it with a okay score, but I've long desired the perfect one, with full points, the highest one possible -- and even with guide in hand showing me to how to do it in the time period, I end up screaming in frustration before long.

So, how about YOUR OWN personal horror stories on the evil games? :D

[Mr. Smashy]

No offense, but I consider the use of save states outside of the original game's programming and the use of walk-throughs to be cheating.

And beating a game by cheating doesn't mean a damn thing.

[Daria]

Some examples? Any of the Ultima games for the NES or other consoles. Even with a walkthrough in hand, there's just too much random stuff that happens and the game is seriously slanted for you NOT to beat it in the first place.

Psh... I was playing Ultima Exodus when I was 6 years old. Obviously walkthroughless.

Hard games? I think the hardest game I've ever played was Out of this World for the genesis. We rented it when I was a kid, god that was a hard game to "find again" couldn't remember the title and had a vague memory about being attacked by a "bear" and escaping from a cage. Anyway tried it on the emulator... still stunk at it.

I really need to buy that game sometime.
________
Methadone rehab forum (http://www.rehab-forum.com/methadone-rehab/)

[Drexel923]

Another one? Ghosts and Goblins. It pains me to admit that yes, even after all these years, this 'most difficult video game ever made' is STILL impossible for me to finish (I'm talking about playing it both ways through, in order to get the good ending).

You think that's bad...I can't even get passed the first level. :embarrassed:

[captain nintendo]

KID ICARUS @_@ I dont think I ever beat it....... :(
Time to go challenge that god forsaken game again. :evil:

[NeoVenom]

Out of This World is a SUPER hard game for me aswell. I got stuck and gave up on the game. Majority of graphic-adventure games are hard like The Dig for example for PC. Maniac Mansion is hard at some points as well as Zak and the Alien Mindbenders. Leisure Suit Larry was a bit hard for me aswell. LOL. Games that I haven't beat yet are considered the hardest games I ever played. LOL

[NE146]

No offense, but I consider the use of save states outside of the original game's programming and the use of walk-throughs to be cheating.

Of course it is. And let me tell you it worked damn good to get that 300 score in 2600 Bowling :D (I did it to see what happened, if anything. But of course nothing did)

One game that is still too hard for me even with save states is BATTLETOADS. Lordy those speed bike levels.. they're just too fast for my crickety fingers x_x

[Gamereviewgod]

Battletoads. That final tower acsending is infuriating.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

i beat ultima quest of the avatar when i was a kid. no walkthroughs or anything. ghosts and goblins is pretty damn impossible. and the already mentioned battletoads.

ever play gradius 2 for the famicom? it makes ikaruga seem so easy in comparison. that's a tough one.

[Jibbajaba]

I don't understand everyone's thing with Kid Icarus. That was the first game I ever beat, and I was 11 or 12 (no I did not use any codes). And I'm not at all good at beating games. I'll bet ive beaten less than 20 games in my life. I started playing Super Mario Bros. when I got my NES back in 1987, and I didn't beat it until about 3 years ago.

And whoever made that comment about not being able to get past the first level on Ghosts and Goblins, I'm the same way. On a really good day I'll reach level 2, only to be slaughtered as soon as I get there.

Anyone ever try to beat Turrican for Genesis without using a code? That game is ridiculous!!!

[Crush Crawfish]

Has anyone beaten Terra Cresta for the NES? That game is freakin' impossible!!!!!!! HARDEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!! The only way to beat it is to create a paralell universe where the game is easy!!! LOL

[le geek]

I have tried and tried and have yet to beat Castlevania, SMB and SMB 3, but I haven't given up hope yet.

Sorry, but I beat Out of This World in a week! (Great game BTW)

And I will be very impressed with anyone whose beaten Shadow of the Beast on the Amiga without cheating (I can get to Castle with the Key, but that's about it)...

Cheers,
Ben

[Funkenstein]

I got about halfway through Out of this World when I was younger before I gave up. I need to buy that game too.

Less than a month ago a freind and I sat down taking turns on Kid Icarus. It took us something like 3 hours to get to the first fortress and then we just gave up. That game is obscene.

When I was a kid I always had problems with Sewer Shark and Legend of Zelda, but I beat both of them with ease when I reacquired them at a later age.

Then I got Bram Stoker's Dracula for the Sega CD and Fester's Quest for the NES and they're both just as infuraiting as ever.

[Kejoriv]

Super Mario Bros 2. I always get stuck at a certain part. I just give up after that. Also I am 22 years old. I grew up on Nes. :embarrassed:

[Daria]

Yeah Fester's Quest is an ass pain... especially when you get to the hospital.

And I never figured out how to equip the whip. Or talk to the people in the hotdog stands.
________
Weed vaporizer (http://weedvaporizer.info/)

[roxybaby]

I've beaten the game before, but the level of the original Earthworm Jim where you only have 99 seconds to get your water pod through a ridiculously long course has made me give up on that game many times.

[Barbarianoutkast85]

I still cant beat Contra I can make it to the 3rd level.
MegaMania my friend can make it threw all the levels twice i cant make it threw them all once...OH well just need more practice.

[Funkenstein]

Yeah Fester's Quest is an ass pain... especially when you get to the hospital.

And I never figured out how to equip the whip. Or talk to the people in the hotdog stands.


You're still better than me. I'd usually die just walking down the first street. How are you supposed to kill frogs with a musket? Jeez. I think I made it to the house Wednesday was in one and she gave me vice grips or something. I hate that game.

***Update***

Well that's an odd little avatar coincedence isn't it?

[Kid Ice]

I could never get anywhere in the original Gradius. That's the only game I can think of that I avoid specifically because it's so hard.

[Azazel]

Most of those RPG games mentioned I've beaten without walkthroughs like Ultima Exodus and Quest of the avatar, especially cause we didn't have any walkthrough for them back than. Never played much of those adventure type of games except for Space Quest and King Quest which I never beat any of them.

I've beat Contra and Kid Icarus on numerus occasions. I can do Contra without using the 30 man code and without continuing. I use to be able to do Ghosts and Goblins without continuing but that was many years ago. I think Battletoads is one of the only ones listed that I've never beaten.

I haven't played the Famicom Gradius 2 but I have beaten the PC Engine version as well as the Deluxe Pack. If I can beat that level that has the ice berg or at least that what I remember them being I can beat it with one life. Otherwise I'm screwed and I have to start the level over with no powerups.

I also use to be really good at Megamania. I could get the top score before it resets on you.

Other games that I found hard and couldn't beat.
Faria on the NES
Valis I've only beaten thre 2nd one and can't seem to conquer the last level in any of the other games in the series.
Gunstar Heroes
Super Tempo
Hissatsu
Strider arcade/Megadrive/PSX version
Landstalker(couldn't beat the final dungeon)
Light Crusader

[petewhitley]

The last level of Driver for the Playstation. The only game I ever actually broke a controller on.

[Doonzmore]

For me, video games is all about fun and if the game pisses you off then just simply dont play it. Don't become a slave to your own damn video games and of course the cheats make the game a whole lot funner. But anywho these are somegames that i never beat and i probably never will....

Goofy's histarical history tour (Genesis)
Bimini Run (Genesis)
Super Magnetic Neo (Dreamcast)

[Sotenga]

Friggin' Ninja Gaiden 3. I don't like to whine and blame the game for my suckiness, but Tecmo went overboard on the frustration factor here. And then there's Blaster Master, which is quite the difficult game, and you're given limited continues here. Sunsoft made lots of their games difficult, but they usually gave you infinite chances. The only exceptions I can conjure here is Blaster Master and Journey to Silius, which is also insanely difficult. And I gotta mention Battletoads, of course. I've sorta gotten used to the speedbike leve, but that surfing level can be pretty tricky. What makes me fold, though, is that Terra Tubes level, and those goddamn instant death rubber ducks. Many a headache they gave me when I beat the game... equipped with a Game Genie. I am SUCH a lightweight. :(

[Aussie2B]

I have to agree with Battletoads and Shadow of the Beast. Insanely hard games those are. I also haven't beaten Batman for NES, despite how much I love it. The last level is just such a bitch. I can get through it, but it takes A LOT of tries and time, and then I pretty much instantly get killed by the Joker. When I gotta do the stage all over, I usually just turn the system off at that point. :/

[raivyn]

well i cant remember which games i've beaten and which games i haven't for my nintendo systems. i normally got tired of playing them before i got far enough to beat them. i do however remember anger and frustration wanting to break my controller... then more anger and frustration that the darn thing just wouldn't snap!!! damn nintendo what's the big idea putting that thing together so well???!!!?!?!?
i was much better at sticking to my pc games and beating them. i remember when i finally beat that root game... below the root or under the root i can't remember which. halleluhah!!!

[Quintracker]

The ninja gaiden games always had me cussing at the TV :angry:

I noticed a few people mention Out of This World, but I found the game rather easy. :hmm: BTW I have an extra loose snes cart of it that I'll sell for cheap if someone wants to give it another go. ;)

[DRBagabundo]

One game for me was Vector Man for the Genesis. Man that game was tough. I think I never got passed the 5th level. I actually picked up the compilation on the Dreamcast and used the cheat code to get to the last level...but then I got no ending and it said something about cheaters never winning...lol, that was a good one. Another tough game that I actually did beat was Gunstar Heroes. Everyone knows what that incredible game is about. It still amazes me to this day how much of a great game it was.

[slip81]

The are quite a few platformers that I have that I hav't beaten simply because I just never invested the time, butthe one game that I put hours upon hours into, and still could not beat, Rambo for the NES. It was the first game I got for the system back in 86 and I could never beat it. Ten years later when I was making a stack of videogames I wanted to sell, instead of putting Rambo in it, I smashed it after remembering how much it pissed me off back in the day. Oh and Mega Man 4 cause me to huck my NES controller across the room on may occasions, I never beat them on either.

[KirbyStar27]

Ninja Gaiden :(

[Tetsu]

Out of this World for Super Nintendo, I never beat it when it was new. A couple of years later, my cousin got the 3DO version, and I managed to beat that because the control was much better and the gameplay was faster. But just when I thought I could hang up my OOTW hat and die happy with my sweet victory, Interplay releases Heart of the Alien for Sega CD, the sequel to Out Of This World. And I thought OOTW was hard!!! Heart of the Alien was so ridiculously difficult that I couldn't get farther than 3 minutes into the game. STAY AWAY FROM IT, IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY

[-hellvin-]

Hmmm...seems a lot of people found Out Of This World hard. I guess I could throw a vote in for that. Wasn't a problem until this part where you're in some stadium trying to take off in this ship and I could not figure out wtf you were supposed to do.

Other than that, I'd say Ghosts & Goblins for the NES. No matter how hard I've tried I always seem to screw up somehow, mostly from bad timing in jumps and landing on a zombie's face in my underpants. That's always how I die.

[Funkenstein]

No matter how hard I've tried I always seem to screw up somehow, mostly from bad timing in jumps and landing on a zombie's face in my underpants.

Welcome to every day of my life. LOL

[junglehunter]

Double Dragon 2 (NES):o
Ghosts 'n' Goblins (multi)

[whoisKeel]

I have to agree with Battletoads and Shadow of the Beast. Insanely hard games those are. I also haven't beaten Batman for NES, despite how much I love it. The last level is just such a bitch. I can get through it, but it takes A LOT of tries and time, and then I pretty much instantly get killed by the Joker. When I gotta do the stage all over, I usually just turn the system off at that point. :/


oh yeah batman...back in the day a friend of mine and i used the game genie with infinite ammo and lives. we spend a good 2 hours on joker and couldn't beat him. good game, but gets insanely hard.

ghosts n goblins of course ;)
i don't think gradius is too bad...once you get past level 3 it's all downhill.

i have the most trouble with platformers these days, especially the ones listed like kid icaras, earthworm jim. although i rock at castlevania :)

[BHvrd]

Most of the nes/snes/genesis simpsons games. Bart's Nightmare, Bart vs. The World, Bart vs. The Space Mutants.

I also agree with Ghosts 'n Goblins, and Battletoads.

I never had that much trouble with Out of This World, surprised to hear so many did/do.

[Sion]

Like previously posted Ghosts and Goblins kicks my ass everytime

[Sotenga]

UPDATE: Ninja Gaiden 3 and Blaster Master are no longer unbeatable. I BEAT THEM! :D

Battletoads remains at large. :angry:

[downfall]

Dragon's Lair on NES is one. Ugh. I'd rather try and beat some kind of monstrosity of a lot of these other games combined.. like Battletoads in Ghosts and Goblins or something. I really just despise that version of Dragon's Lair. Not only is it way too difficult anyway, the really non-good control makes it that much harder. Ah well.

Aside from that, there aren't really a whole lot of games that I particularly find all too difficult. Most games just take practice on my end... I've beaten numerous games that I said I'd never beat by simply sitting down and playing through them.

For example, I just recently played Metal Slug for the first time and got completely OWNED. Couldn't even get through the first mission, much less the rest of the game. Now, I can breeze through the whole game on about 10 credits, as compared to the 80 or so it took the first time I beat it.

That's not to say that some games don't still own me:

Ikaruga
Battletoads

etc., but I chalk it up to lack of playing time really. Sure they're hard games, but that's the way I'd rather it be. Gives me all the more reason to play them. Except that Dragon's Lair game.

[Darkness X]

Clockwork Knight(Saturn)

I think it's just the way the controls are set up(like you can't just hold a button down to run), that always messes me up on long jumps. I've always turned this game off, because of the risk of breaking my Saturn...

VectorMan(Genesis)

I never did beat that one with out cheats, I forgot what it was, but this one 3D type level always made me mess up!

[jetsetradio4ever]

BTW I have an extra loose snes cart of it that I'll sell for cheap if someone wants to give it another go. ;)

I've never actually played this game but I'll try it. How much is it?

Oh yeah, someone said maniac manson. GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! HULK MAD!!!!!! I got the riggin octopus food, but I can't get upstairs past that.....that......that thing!! It's too fast.

Just post back about 'Out Of This World', plz!

[Daria]

I wish he had an extra genesis version, but anyway... Out of This world's gameplay's akin to Dragon's Lair as I remember it. You have to hit a certain button at a certain time to overcome the "puzzle" in each scene, you solve the puzzle, watch the results. Repeat.

The game it's self is based on old sci-fi movies and has a very abstract alien atosphere to the game. The graphics are incredibly stylized, and if remade today I'd imagine the game would be very flat looking and cell chaded.

In it's day though, you felt like you were playing a movie.

At least that's how I remember the game, I've only played it once in the past 10 years or so and I died on the first screen. So my impressions may be more then a little fuzzy.
________
AVANDIA SETTLEMENTS (http://classactionsettlements.org/)

[Sosage]

At least that's how I remember the game, I've only played it once in the past 10 years or so and I died on the first screen. So my impressions may be more then a little fuzzy.

No offense…but I think your memory is very fuzzy on this one. Your comparison to Dragons Lair is stretching it a bit imo. :)

As for difficulty, Out of this World wasn’t terribly hard if you approached it with the right frame of mind. The way you had to solve a lot of situations was never very clear and required some experimentation. The cage scene for example…you were forced to stand there and experiment with different control inputs in an attempt to figure out what you are supposed to do(with absolutely nothing clueing you in to what you are supposed to be hitting)…and how many people spent at least five lives getting eaten by the damn beast in the beginning because they didn’t know they were supposed to run away from it (this was during an era whose playable characters could instantly kill/shoot/kung fu all of their adversaries…wait…we are still in that era…anyways, the game tried to make you think about escaping peril in more ways than just shooting your enemy…figuring out what the game wanted from you, as the player, was the real challenge…and although it had its “shoot the enemy down” conflicts, these paled in difficulty to the sections where you had to think logically about your environment)?

Battletoads…now that is hard. Rush N’ Attack also gave me a lot of problems (although I might be in the minority there).

[Gapporin]

Gradius, like someone mentioned, is pretty hard.

So is Darius Twin (SNES). Even with eight lives, I can't get past the third level.

Or I just suck at shooters. :embarrassed:

[Daria]

At least that's how I remember the game, I've only played it once in the past 10 years or so and I died on the first screen. So my impressions may be more then a little fuzzy.

No offense?but I think your memory is very fuzzy on this one. Your comparison to Dragons Lair is stretching it a bit imo. :)

Oh! Well yeah I guess it is. XD

As I said I played it once as a rental a long time ago, and until I tracked down the rom I didn't even know the title. All I could remember was a bear, being in a cage and getting shot... and of course the graphics. It's like one of those vague childhood memories you aren't sure even happened.
________
MAGYAR SUZUKI (http://www.suzuki-tech.com/wiki/Magyar_Suzuki)

[rbudrick]

Hmmm, this is interesting. I beat Out of this World in one night...I didn't think it was that hard at all...some tough puzzles, but not too hard.

Jopurney to Silius? Beat that in one night too. Same for Gunstar Heroes and Strider for Genesis.

As for those who can't beat Gradius or Gradius 2, it is absolutely imperative that you power up without missing any of them in the first level. After that, it's smooth sailing for both games. Gradius is pretty easy after that. Gradius 2 is still pretty hard. If I die once in Gradius 2, I VERY rarely am able to go on (with the lives I have). Much better to lose all lives and continue. The 30 lives code is useless in Gradius II because it so much better to lose all your lives and continue so you can grab the pre-stage power ups again.
I thought Gradius 2 was impossible until I figured these tiops out. As soon as I did, a couple days later I had beaten it.

Kid icarus? Really? It was the first game I ever beat when I was like 8 or 9 years old (Well, Pitfall 2 was the first, so I guess KI was 2nd). I'm pretty sure I can still beat that game on one life. Damn I love that game...

I can do the same on Ninja Gaiden, Festers quest, Contra, and Castlevania. Fester's Quest you have to beat on one life because it too much of a pain in the ass to walk back from the beginning.

Battletoads and Ghosts and Goblins I have yet to legitimately beat.

However, if you want the hardest damn game that ever existed (and you WILL NOT beat it with out cheating), it is most definitely Holy Diver for the Famicom. No Japanese skills necessary. It is an AWESOME action sidescroller and it is a bitch. I made it to Level 5 I think and gave up playing fair after that. It just can't be done. I don't care, it just can't

Can anyone do better than my level 5 on Holy Diver? I just am dying to see someone beat that without cheating. Hmmm, that would make a killer "speed run" video...

-Rob

[Gigolo]

Lolo......
Damn you to hell Lolo...DAMN YOU !!!
And take that little bitch Lala with ya' !!! :angry::angry::angry:

[o2william]

Here are some games I've proud to have beaten legitimately. All are NES (what is it with the tough games on this system?)
Ninja Gaiden, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gauntlet, Section Z, Batman, Kid Icarus (a cinch for me now), and Gradius. Gradius was such a struggle that I once wrote an article (http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/gradius/) about my experiences with it. Also, Gradius III and Super GnG for SNES.

Now, as for games that are STILL too hard... Ninja Gaiden 3, R-Type Delta, Castlevania x68000 (on CV Chronicles), Fester's Quest, Arkanoid (NES), Vectorman. I've vowed to beat the first three someday, but I just don't care enough to tackle the last three. There are plenty of less frustrating games out there!

[kainemaxwell]

Qix Neo's a pain in the ass.

[Mark III]

Hey this threads making me want to play ghosts and goblins again to see if I can finally get past the 3rd stage.

I thought Silver Surfer on the NES was pretty hard, don't think I ever managed to beat it. Another game: Captain Planet for the NES, for a kid's game it was really friggin hard, I coulsn't even beat the first level.

Other than that I'd have to say Art of Fighting 2 on the Neo. This has got to be the cheapest, most agravating fighting game ever made. I eventually had to sell mine because I knew the Computer's cheap ass tactics would eventually make me throw my controller through the screen.