What is the most difficult game you've ever played?

[OldSchoolGamer]

What is the most difficult retro game you've ever played for?...

• NES
• SNES
• Genesis
• Master System
• Arcade
• TG-16
• GB/GBC/GBA
• Whatever other retro system you want to include

If enough people respond with their opinions, then I can set up a poll to vote for THE most difficult game of all-time.

(If you're reading this, how long does it actually take to type a few words?... so PARTICIPATE!)

[Abystus]

NES

1. Prince of Persia
2. Battletoads
3. Bucky O'Hare
4. Karate Kid
5. Ninja Gaiden
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

ARCADE

1. Mortal Kombat II
2. WAR: Final Assault

[OldSchoolGamer]

I must say, I am shocked at a couple of your choices... Karate Kid and MK2. You can't beat MK2 with, lets say, ten bucks worth of quarters?

The other NES games I agree. I have yet to make my list. I want to think about it for alil bit before posting it. But I know Battletoads will be in the Top 3, maybe even #1. I've never played Prince of Persia longer than a couple minutes. But I remember I quit playing it because I had difficulty just moving around, lol. So if it's difficult just moving, then I'm sure that game is pretty darn hard. Ninja Gaiden and Bucky O'Hara are tough ones too. I'll post my list in a day or two.

[Abystus]

I must say, I am shocked at a couple of your choices... Karate Kid and MK2. You can't beat MK2 with, lets say, ten bucks worth of quarters?

The other NES games I agree. I have yet to make my list. I want to think about it for alil bit before posting it. But I know Battletoads will be in the Top 3, maybe even #1. I've never played Prince of Persia longer than a couple minutes. But I remember I quit playing it because I had difficulty just moving around, lol. So if it's difficult just moving, then I'm sure that game is pretty darn hard. Ninja Gaiden and Bucky O'Hara are tough ones too. I'll post my list in a day or two.

I can beat MK2 on the just about any difficulty level fairly easily, but like any game you play a lot you get to know how to be "cheap" against its obstacles. Also, MK2 is a game with multiple difficulties levels, so we should be rating it based on its highest difficulty level (and any other games that can have their difficulties changed). So I would have to say that if you had no experience on how to play MK2, and it was set to its highest difficulty level, then I would assure you 10 dollars in quarters would not be enough to beat the game at 50 cents per game.

I am not sure if you have seen the AVGN Video on the karate kid game but there it is. What makes this game hard is that there is no invincibility window after being hit, enemies keep re-spawning, and impossible bonus levels. As you can see from the video he gets pretty upset with it.

I have also added "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for the NES to the list above due to its respawning enemies, pixel perfect jumps, impossible water level, etc...

[Helder]

The hardest old school game I ever had a hard time with (Even hacking codes for it too didnt make it that easy to beat) was SNES Battle Toads in Battle Maniacs. The almost impossible to beat jet bike levels with alot of crazy jumps and one mistake you lose a life and with only 2 or 3 continues it gets hard. After that first bike race level is yet another one a level or 2 after followed by the hardest level of them all the Handlebar on Rails level with the crazy rat on a buzz saw bike. The only way to get far in these 3 levels is to know some tricks but you learn them after you die soooo many times but even then they are almost impossible to beat. I bet my friends money if they could beat the handlebar level and I would give them unlimited lives but none could.

[OldSchoolGamer]

So I would have to say that if you had no experience on how to play MK2, and it was set to its highest difficulty level, then I would assure you 10 dollars in quarters would not be enough to beat the game at 50 cents per game.

Well I stink at fighting games, so you could give me 50 bucks and I'd probably struggle.

so we should be rating it based on its highest difficulty level

I think we should base it on the default difficulty level, which in most cases is 'Normal'. Because most people play on the default difficulty level and they remember the game on that level. But whatever is cool.

As you can see from the video he gets pretty upset with it.

There's a shocker. He actually got upset with a game? lol

impossible bonus levels

It takes awhile to get the hang of it. But once you figure it out, the bonus levels aren't that hard. The other aspects that you listed are indeed difficult.

I have also added "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for the NES to the list above due to its respawning enemies, pixel perfect jumps, impossible water level, etc...

Yeah, that's definitely up there. The jumps were so aggravating. The water level is extremely difficult. But I remember I mastered it after numerous tries when I was younger and I would show off to my friends and beat the level barely touching the seaweed. There was even a time or two where I completed the level without touching the seaweed at all. I recently played that game and I failed miserably at the water seaweed level. Besides over a decade going by without playing the game, I think the fact that I was using a Playstation 1 USB controller instead of the original NES controller contributed to me performing so poorly.

[silentkiller]

The hardest game that I ever played is Breath of Fire 2 (SNES).

Without cheats, you won't possibly win the game.

[Rune]

The hardest game that I ever played is Breath of Fire 2 (SNES).

Without cheats, you won't possibly win the game.

I actually did beat the game. I spent dozens of hours leveling up my characters and unlocking *everything* in the game. I believe that was the game that caused me to say 'eff it!' to getting extras in videogames! :P

Hardest game? Hmm. I beat Karnov but I left the Nintendo game system on for at least 3 days... I remember Earthbound was pretty hard at the very end if you didn't level up your characters. The original Mother (J) was even harder but I used cheats for it.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Yeah, Karnov was hard as hell.

[silentkiller]

Yeah, Karnov was hard as hell.

I think Fantasia: Mickey Mouse Magic (Sega Genesis) is worst game. It has the worst jumping control button.

[BeyondTheStatic]

It's too difficult to judge every game I've played within this context.

Some games were so horrible that I couldn't stand to waste my thumbs on them for another minute (let alone a second rental [or even my sanity]), so there's no telling how they fare difficulty-wise without playing them to at least 25% completion.

Transformers: Comvoy - NES (correct spelling uncertain) was a shitty-ass game that was harder than hell. I didn't even want to hack it for very long. Good luck seeing every bullet against a nearly-indistinguishable background! (OK, so I might be slightly color-blind.)

Solstice - NES was awesome, though frickin' difficult, mostly due to the newbie attempt at making an isometric game playable (poor controls). (LandStalker for Sega Genesis redeemed the isometric adventure genre for me.)

So how are you judging? By the games I've played and beaten? By the games I've spent countless joyful hours playing, with an equivalent number of failures? Or games which were so hard--and sucked so hardcore--that I gave up on them within mere minutes of playing them?

It goes far beyond caffeine-fueled, high level nervous system reaction speed. Take Milon's Secret Castle for instance. You think you've progressed so far (and without dying even once for so long) and then what? There just aren't enough clues in the game to lead you any further. So you shoot every wall until there is nothing else left to accomplish except for finding a guide somewhere (or, alternatively, taking a walk and forgetting the game, as I did for so long) just so you can put another conquered game under your belt. Where is the fairness? Anybody?? Am I alone??? (don't answer that)

98% of the games I've played are hard: too hard, and no fun. They're mostly background noise; things best left forgotten and not remembered. A very small percentage are/were actually any good!