I was doing some curiosity googling and came across this video. I'm not about to download the game, but it sure does look hard....
Say, what is the hardest video game, anyway?
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
I don't know that that's really hard, so much as "using the player's expectations that it's going to play like 'Super Mario Bros.' against him." Most of the deaths in the video are avoidable, if the player stops assuming they'll be able to jump directly over gaps from the close edge. And, notably, the game gives the player a (infinite?) number of chances to try.
Many people have suggested a game called "I Wanna Be The Guy" ( link ) ranks up there.
Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
oh man that is the FUNNIEST game i have EVER seen
Posted by Saephon (Member # 9623) on :
I second I Wanna Be The Guy. Just try to beat it. TRY. *muffled sobs*
Posted by orlox (Member # 2392) on :
Almost 30 years and I still haven't seen Tempest surpassed from a pure motor skills standpoint.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I hyperventilate just watching other people play.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I dunno, I didn't find IWBTG that hard, just frustrating. I still managed to beat it.
I would say that any of the Touhou games can be devastatingly difficult. Also, the final level of the hard mode of Cave Story (Dokukutsu Montagari) was a pretty rough ride.
I dunno what the hardest game I've ever played is, but I know that there have been some games that I couldn't beat no matter how much I tried.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
It's probably not up there in the "hardest of all time" tier, but the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES was kind of stupid. It was one of the few I owned, but never beat.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Armoth: oh man that is the FUNNIEST game i have EVER seen
About two thirds of the way I couldn't stop laughing. I particularly like the ending, when he's running around the castle thinking "OK... now what?"
Posted by calaban (Member # 2516) on :
quote: It's probably not up there in the "hardest of all time" tier, but the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES was kind of stupid. It was one of the few I owned, but never beat.
QFT. I never made it past the level where you have to disarm the charges under the water. Well, maybe I did once.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Ninja Gaiden, the remake for the X-Box, was difficult enough for me that I only played it once.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
"Caverns" was our equivalent in college. It's an infuriating DOS game that I don't even want to go looking for.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I'd also say that "Smash TV" is the hardest game to beat on one credit, though. I think that may just be impossible.
Posted by krynn (Member # 524) on :
Top Gun for the original NES. I could never land on the aircraft carrier, and even the friends of mine who could still never got any further. the missions were just impossible.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
quote:Originally posted by Scott R: Ninja Gaiden, the remake for the X-Box, was difficult enough for me that I only played it once.
Deadly towers. unbeatable
Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
Zork and the underground empire. I defy any of you to beat it without using a walkthrough.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Philosofickle: Zork and the underground empire. I defy any of you to beat it without using a walkthrough.
I did, but it took me a hell of a long time.
quote:Final Fantasy I hands down, beats all else.
Gosh, I hope you're joking. I got I guess the "remake" for it on the PSP, and I blew through it with no difficulty whatsoever.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
I never knew anyone to get past Mike Tyson on MT's Punchout, and it took me forever to beat Super Mario Bros. 1. Call of Duty 4 on Veterans is nearly impossible as well.
But right now, I am playing a game called Mirrors Edge that is incredibly difficult. Great game though, it is Tomb Raider only done in a much better way.
Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
Star Wars: Rebellion on any difficulty higher than easy is freakishly difficult. You need to keep the game at a very slow speed because you can never let any production plants go idle to stay caught up with the computer.
I've beaten the 'cat mario' that you linked to at the top. It's a hilarious game, but I wouldn't call it difficult because one, you get infinite lives, and two it's just trial and error. There were only maybe two or three difficult parts in the game. A more challenging game is Super Mario World in the Special levels.
Final Fantasy I is quite a bit more difficult in the original NES form because of the medium, I think. The time to grind seems longer with the slow battles.
And perhaps the most difficult game I can think of is One Must Fall: 2097 on a modern computer at full speed and difficulty. Button bashing is your only prayer, and even then, it's not going to help. That said, I have so many fond memories of that game. I still rock out to the main menu theme.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Star Wars: Rebellion on any difficulty higher than easy is freakishly difficult. You need to keep the game at a very slow speed because you can never let any production plants go idle to stay caught up with the computer.
You're joking right? Are we thinking of the same Star Wars: Rebellion?
Usually when I play, with the galaxy on its largest setting, and with the difficulty at its highest level, I let the game run for a 150 or so days, sometimes more, just to give the computer a headstart, otherwise it's so easy it's no fun at all.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Battletoads, original NES version.
*Virtually impossible.*
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
It's probably not up there in the "hardest of all time" tier, but the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES was kind of stupid. It was one of the few I owned, but never beat.
I don't know if those NES games were just made for a Japanese sensibility, but many of them were so poorly designed, that no one but the video game freak could get anyone without terrible frustration. It's no wonder GameGenie was so popular. You couldn't get past the third level of battletoads without it- just couldn't, without weeks and weeks of frustration and repetition of the first levels.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:You couldn't get past the third level of battletoads without it- just couldn't, without weeks and weeks of frustration and repetition of the first levels.
I don't remember Battletoads being that difficult; was the third level the level with the speeder bikes?
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Yes, the one with the bikes. And don't give me any BS about you getting through it in easy time- it's ranked in IGN's top 5 of the hardest ever.
The level where you race the ball around a 360 degree race track is nearly impossible by itself without significant practice- there's no way you could beat the game with just the three lives given (plus continues) in less than a matter of months.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Yeah, the bike level sucked; I remember it being further on in the game, though.
That said, keep in mind that people who say they have had a different experience than you are not automatically lying.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:I never knew anyone to get past Mike Tyson on MT's Punchout
I could never get past the first minute of his Dynamite Punches; but a friend of mine, who did not own an NES and only played at his friends' houses, beat the game regularly.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I have beaten Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Final Fantasy I, BattleToads (after a long time of training the timing of boards), Deadly Towers (though admittedly with some Nintendo Power help on that one).
Never did beat TMNT (NES) or Master Blaster (NES), and my Castlevania always crashed just as I reached the Grim Reaper. Gave up on Hylide (NES) too.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Scott R: That said, keep in mind that people who say they have had a different experience than you are not automatically lying.
OF course not, it's just that Battletoads is my white whale, so I'm sensitive. Plus, I really do think anyone who says they could beat that game was either a maniac, or just lying. It was, for all practical purposes, unbeatable. That said too, I've seen videos of people beating it, but they've memorized every move of every level.
Self-correction: the hover car level was 3rd, the handbike level with the sphere was 9th, out of 10. But to get there you had to beat or warp through so many hard levels, it was ridiculous.
Plus, there were many obstacles in the game that could not be beaten the first time, such as the snake stages, which you had to learn one step at a time, or be extremely lucky. Same went for the pipes level, which had spikes layed out in landing areas that were impossible to predict, and had to be memorized. MAN that was a hard game.
Posted by Lanfear (Member # 7776) on :
Battletoads is commonly called the hardest game by the gaming media outlets...
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Has anyone ever beaten Shining Force II for the Sega Genesis? Of all the games that I haven't beaten, that was the one that I enjoyed the most.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
My friend Kirk and I beat Battletoads on the second rental when we were twelve.... The games that I recall giving us the most difficulty back then were Astyanax and the original Ninja Gaiden. (We eventually passed them, though.)
Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :
I miss the days when they'd make games that were easy to play but nearly impossible to beat...
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Tresopax is jonesing for Missile Command and Space Invaders.
Why do you think that is, Tres?
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
NetHack, Hack, or any of the various other "rogue-like" games.
Seriously.
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
Followed by ET on the Atari and Friday the 13th on the NES.
But unlike Nethack, it's not that they were hard . . . they were more broken than anything.
Can you even kill Jason?
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I was 13 when BattleToads came out, and had absolutely no life. I was also the sort of obsessive Nintendo kid that would play a board umpteen million times until I had memorized every tiny twitch that was needed to move on. I guess that would fall under the definition of "maniac".
Though, I must say, I remember BattleToads being amazingly stressful, especially the vehicle boards.
If I had been 15 when the game came out, I would have given up long before the end... probably long before the middle. I had made the switch to more instant-gratification sports/fighting games at that point, along with strategy games. Action games were pretty much out once I hit high school.
Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :
Super Ghouls and Ghosts anyone?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Scott R: Has anyone ever beaten Shining Force II for the Sega Genesis? Of all the games that I haven't beaten, that was the one that I enjoyed the most.
I play that regularly on my Sega emulator. Actually, I just finished playing it a couple days ago. I LOVE Shining Force. II is actually pretty funny too if you read the dialogue between some of the characters. It's fun to try and make it harder by playing with characters that aren't totally awesome on the face of it, though it might take awhile to build them up. Of course that also gets annoying after awhile, which is why I only play it every few months, along with Shining Force I, and Shadowrun for Sega.
Where did you get caught up? Frankly I think the hardest part of that game is the sheer time it takes to do anything. The long battles and the fact that it takes forever to get around could be an obstacle to finishing the game. Plus it has a couple puzzles, like putting the wooden board in the tree to get the Achilles sword to kill the giant, or finding the entrance to the cave to Creed's.
I love that game. Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: ... is my white whale...
Oh, false alarm.
*leaves thread*
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by TL: My friend Kirk and I beat Battletoads on the second rental when we were twelve....
YOU LIE! LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR!!!
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Well, see, the thing is, we played so much Nintendo, we were pretty much impossibly good. Nintendo was our lives.
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
Halo on mythic is hard, but i could not win a game against the com in virtua tennis...
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:I could never get past the first minute of his Dynamite Punches
Yeah, I could never even get to him. I couldn't get past Bald Bull the second time, I kid you not. Go ahead and laugh...
quote:Halo on mythic is hard
There is no mythic level on Halo, but Legendary is quite difficult, agreed. In fact, Halo 3 on legendary, and turn on all the skulls and that is nearly impossible. In fact, I would say that *is* impossible.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
How about Zach McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders?
I mean, Lucasarts was always known for it's strange adventure game puzzles, but that game takes the cake.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:Where did you get caught up? Frankly I think the hardest part of that game is the sheer time it takes to do anything. The long battles and the fact that it takes forever to get around could be an obstacle to finishing the game. Plus it has a couple puzzles, like putting the wooden board in the tree to get the Achilles sword to kill the giant, or finding the entrance to the cave to Creed's.
:nod:
I stalled out at the next to the last big battle, I think. I think the early game is delightful; but the last part just gets too bogged down with team management and, like you said, travel issues.
Posted by Shmuel (Member # 7586) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: "Caverns" was our equivalent in college. It's an infuriating DOS game that I don't even want to go looking for.
Caverns of Gink, perchance? Where you had to go over every inch of the platforms to change their color? I think I beat that once. (And only once.)
quote:Originally posted by Herblay: NetHack, Hack, or any of the various other "rogue-like" games.
Seriously.
Funny you should mention that. I just got the DOS version of Larn running again, over a decade after the last time I tried it. (It's easily my favorite of the genre.) I keep getting killed via careless mistakes. But I'm getting closer...
If text adventures count, then I nominate The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shmuel: If text adventures count, then I nominate The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
What? No, i beat that, and text adventures infuriate me. It just takes some luck, and having the book handy sometimes help. But only sometimes.
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
quote:Originally posted by Humean316:
quote:Halo on mythic is hard
There is no mythic level on Halo, but Legendary is quite difficult, agreed. In fact, Halo 3 on legendary, and turn on all the skulls and that is nearly impossible. In fact, I would say that *is* impossible.
that's what meant.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shawshank: Super Ghouls and Ghosts anyone?
I'm with Shawshank. That game is insanely hard, certainly the hardest game I've ever played. I'm not sure it's the hardest game ever, but most people have never "beaten" the game as even if you manage to plow your way through it you HAVE to beat the game in the correct way to earn the good ending. To do it that correct way is so hard nobody should be expected to attempt it.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
quote:Caverns of Gink, perchance? Where you had to go over every inch of the platforms to change their color? I think I beat that once. (And only once.)
No, that's far more complex. Caverns had one goal: get to the other side of the screen. The three motion options were forward, back, and jump... and "back" had the little pixel-man walking backwards instead of turning around.
It was all monochromatic, and you had to jump over pits, time moving platforms, avoid flying pixelated bats, etc... you just had to make it to the other side of the screen.
This game looked amazingly simple, but the timing and precision needed, combined with the lack of user-friendly game controls, made it ridiculous. I don't know if it could be beaten, or if it just went on into eternity. I only ever got to level 8 or 9, and my friend got to level 13 once (but only once). Pretty sure it was either 1 or 3 lives, and then you had to start from the beginning.
I had to change the name of the .exe file on my computer to break my friend's addiction.
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