What's the hardest (but still playable) game you've ever played?

briany

As it says in the title, what's the game has delivered the most challenge, but also had a serious amount of playability to along with it? What made it so hard? What made you keep coming back?

The hardest I've played and finished is probably the original Mario Bros. 2. That's probably nothing compared to what most here but I'm proud of it and found the level design ingenious but fiendish, but also quite addictive.

Zapp Brannigan

Ninja Gaiden Black.

Grimebox

Dark Souls...

lol jk, I gave up on it again probably for the last time

Retr0gamer

Toss up between the PS1 version of Final Fantasy Tactics and the NES version of Ninja Gaiden. Ninja Gaiden is great but it's brutally difficult. The last level however is borderline unplayable thanks to a bug that sends you back 4 stages if you lose one life.

zenno

I think this one is the hardest one i ever played, hard to get to the last level...

Retr0gamer

Contra games for the reputation they have of being so difficult aren't too bad. Except Contra Hard Corp and Shattered Soldier. Those games are vicious.

grizzly

Good thread. I found Super Meat Boy fiendishly hard but still played it through.

Gatling

Battle toads from way back when nearly brought this /then young man to near tears ( sad to say )

flynnlives

Operation Flashpoint

CptMackey

F zero on the snes. The last championship was murder. I played it everyday as a young fella and only managed to finish it once on the hardest it got but the joy was unreal

FortuneChip

Demon's Souls.
I felt Dark Souls was far more forgiving, it was easier to summon help. It was easier to acquire souls & humanity, and you save the two lads with their Dragonbows, there weren't any cheap deaths.

The swamp & prison areas in Demon's Souls were torture!!!

sReq | uTeK

Would have to say ninja shinobi on the sega mega drive

JrdanB

Comix Zone on the megadrive was almost impossible to complete, but you could get past a few levels. Deadly game too!

Myrddin

OoT Master Quest is a tough game. But I'd prob second Ninja Gaiden on the NES

GreeBo

flynnlives wrote: »

Operation Flashpoint

coz of the boredom factor ?
I find it very hard to keep going.

jonon9

For me it would have to be playing Misery mod for the Call Of Pripyat.

2Mad2BeMad

Dark Souls
was one the hardest games i played
but after my first play through i just new the game and new what skills and weopens/armour suited best so it was much much easier after my 1st play through
but my god it was hard haha
but i dont think it was my hardest but definitly playable

o1s1n

JrdanB wrote: »

Comix Zone on the megadrive was almost impossible to complete, but you could get past a few levels. Deadly game too!

That game is great but man is it stupidly hard.

I've tried to finish it many times (recently enough too) but it always gets me.

At the moment I'll go with Ibara as I've been playing it so much. Can 1 credit up to the end of level 3 and then it all just falls apart. Can't stop coming back for more though.

PickledLime

Yikes, I've cleared Comix Zone on the Mega Drive and Platinum'd Dark Souls!

Clearing Devil May Cry 3 on Dante Must Die difficulty is probably my biggest achievement. This gen, I think Vanquish can be tough as nails, but it has a nice learning curve, also Wipeout HD. Still can't get that Zone Zeus trophy though

JrdanB

Anyone ever played Last Action Hero on the snes? I never got past the first level! because it was ridiculously long and if you died you seemingly went back to the very start.

Also it was playable in the sense that the buttons did stuff, but it was boring as f**k!

Finally, Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't look anything like him, in fact he was just some middle aged balding guy for some bizarre reason!

briany

jonon9 wrote: »

For me it would have to be playing Misery mod for the Call Of Pripyat.

Yeah, see, Stalker's a great game but I can't fathom why anyone would want to make it harder than it already is! I'm not saying that it's so hard in it's vanilla state but it's a reasonable challenge. Then there's that it's not just difficult gameplay but quite a hostile and oppressive atmosphere to boot. I suppose it's just that while I enjoyed the Stalker games, I also found them stressful. That's me, though. Other people will revel in the challenge that a mod like Misery provides but the thought of creeping through the Pripyat towers blocks at night with only your wits, a rusty AK and a handful of bullets protecting you from the horrors awaiting you in the darkness is shudder inducing. *shudder*

On the other hand, I might like to have a crack at Priboi Story for SoC, if it's really a proper fleshed out story.

Cookie_Monster

The only one that ever really bothered me was Super Mario 3. I think it was the third of forth level of the last world, just could not get it ever.

Retr0gamer

Having no saves in the original NES game was just nasty.

tupac_healy

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

Ninja Gaiden Black.

Ha! First reply! I was going to say that!!!!!

elfy4eva

Spellcaster on Sega master system. Really underrated and difficult sidescrolling RPG. Well worth a play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFB0M_Nkpt0

Memories! :')

..Brian..

Ninja Gaiden hands down by a county mile! Hardest games I've ever cleared. Second play through was in two days, 12 hour stints. The boss Alma I think (in the cathedral) took about 5 of those hours! Spawn, run into room, die. Spawn, run into room, die. Spawn, run into room, die!

Vicxas

Dark Souls, my god the rage.

Also, Contra on the Mega Drive. Nuts tough

ZiabR

flynnlives wrote: »

Operation Flashpoint

This was a tough one alright, one bullet from 500 yards and your gone, back to the start! I remember the last mission, feck sake it took be ages!

jaffusmax

Demons Souls! Have been through Dark Souls a few times!

Dave_The_Sheep

logik wrote: »

This was a tough one alright, one bullet from 500 yards and your gone, back to the start! I remember the last mission, feck sake it took be ages!

Never finished it.

That AI seeing through trees bu- behaviour was ... interesting.

super_furry

Last Ninja 2 on the C64. No saves, dubious collision detection, insanely obscure puzzles and I still loved it.

ShadowHearth

Serious Sam 1 and 2 on serious difficulty. Was hard, but satisfying when you ppull it off!

o1s1n

PickledLime wrote: »

Yikes, I've cleared Comix Zone on the Mega Drive and Platinum'd Dark Souls!

Clearing Devil May Cry 3 on Dante Must Die difficulty is probably my biggest achievement. This gen, I think Vanquish can be tough as nails, but it has a nice learning curve, also Wipeout HD. Still can't get that Zone Zeus trophy though

Fair play! You got da skillz :pac:

Ever try to play shmups? Here's the one I mentioned above which I'm playing absolutely loads of on my cab. (Both trying to 1 credit it and aiming for high scores)

Fast forward to 2.40 if you want a good example of some of the more difficult parts (still the first level by the way! :pac:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg99oJIRIGE

Grimebox

F-Zero X on master difficulty on the N64. I played it again recently and haven't a ****ing clue how I pulled it off. I wouldn't even come first on each track, I would kill at least 5 rivals on every race so they wouldn't accumulate more points than me.

long range shooter

Pacman

degrassinoel

XCOM:Enemy Unknown

sure it's easy to save scum, but ironman/anything above normal is bloody tough for me, do-able but tough.

humanji

Hardly surprising to see so many older games listed. I think for me it'd be Jet Set Willy. It was bad enough that I didn't have the dexterity to make it past most of the obstacles, I only found out years later that the game was bugged and couldn't be finished without hacking it.

2smiggy

ghouls and ghosts was surprisingly tough IMO

I'd often throw that on again or Shinobi , both very tough

penev10

OK obscure one on the way, MS Gundam: Pilots Locus on the Gamecube. Great game, probably the best Gundam game imo. Finishing the game with the "Goodies" is handy enough but the later stages of the "Baddies" campaign require god-like prowess as you are outnumbered, outgunned and facing seriously ruthless AI. I never finished it but the large arenas and multiple approaches to the missions always had me coming back.

Neeson

I would say that Gaelic Football game that was out years ago for the Playstation. But it would fall under unplayable I suppose.

Games would finish with a team winning by 2 points to no score.

penev10

Neeson wrote: »

Games would finish with a team winning by 2 points to no score.

You could score points??? You must have some serious skills. The games I played on it always finished with a hatful of goals but no points!

Ibara!
some day I'll do it

enda1

That Deep Blue chess game is tough, but still beatable

/Kasparov

Dazzler0911

Knightmare (based on the Kid Tv show) on the Commodore 64. Literally impossible to get out of the first room at the start of the game !

mylittlepony

For me Street of Rage in the final level ;
you cant win either way,
you lose you get killed, you win you still get killed off.
shocking when it happen the first time it was so bizzare :mad:
Is it just me or was it a trick level?
it was the sega machine.

Jonny7

Multiplayer starcraft is a tough one to beat

Retr0gamer

mylittlepony wrote: »

For me Street of Rage in the final level ;
you cant win either way,
you lose you get killed, you win you still get killed off.
shocking when it happen the first time it was so bizzare :mad:
Is it just me or was it a trick level?
it was the sega machine.

Didn't happen in the first game at all. Are you talking about Streets of Rage 3 maybe? In that one you can't beat the game if you play it on easy, that might be it.

Professey Chin

Said it before and I'll say it again.(and again and again and again)

Treasure Island Dizzy


Bastardin egg

Kirby

I wanna be the guy.

Its free. Go download it. So unforgiving. Required alot of patience. Think ninja gaiden on crack.

tupac_healy

Dazzler0911 wrote: »

Knightmare (based on the Kid Tv show) on the Commodore 64. Literally impossible to get out of the first room at the start of the game !

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Im glad someone brought this up! How the bloody hell do you get out of the first room!!!


Grrrrrr

Patser

King Arthur strategy/rpg game.

Great looking, strong alternative to Total War games with lovely bits of mythology thrown in. Until you set loose continuous respawning Armies of Samhain, fully souped up while your armies just disintegrate from never getting a chance to heal. Difficulty curve of a cliff.