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.