"Today gamers are a bit spoiled on video game difficulty for the most part. Players get multiple checkpoints and auto saves which greatly reduces how tough the game is overall. In our opinion,a good challenge is core to any good game and it’s what gives players that great feeling of accomplishment upon beating a boss or grueling level. Join BootHammer as we take a look at our picks for the Top 5 Hardest Video Games."
Decades later and this action classic is still hard as nails.
Um… what!? They don’t play the same, like at all. If we’re only talking about difficulty then Ninja Gaiden is on a whole other level.
Especially the first game. Even the game on Nintendo in 1988 was hard from what my older brother said 😂
@Sonic your brother is correct. Despite so many tries I never beat the 1988 version on the original hardware. I only beat it many years later via emulation with save states. There was a late game jump in a mine with multiple flying bats that would make me fall to my death every time. Since it was “Nintendo” hard and game over meant back to level one, it made it that single jump exceptionally stressful.
I picked up NG for OG Xbox in 2004. It was a very difficult game (which made it really fun for me), but I was able to beat it in a relatively short period of time.
To this day I don’t think I could beat the NES version without save states no matter how hard I tried.
I think they just meant in terms of being known for their extreme difficulty compared to their peers. "Oh, you wanna be tested? Go play Ninja Gaiden Black/Dark Souls!"
They meant by being unforgiving and hard as nails, not mechanics or genre. When a game tester said to Itagaki that his game was too difficult, he simply decided to make it even more difficult.
The bad camera controls that increased difficulty were not a problem, but a feature when it came to NG. Lol!
I think Demon's Souls was the original "Dark Souls" or Kings Field even. Ninja Gaiden is a totally different style of game. And if we're being honest here, it borrowed heavily from Onimusha and Devil May Cry at the time.
I had a ton of fun with Onimusha, but if we are discussing difficulty only, Onimusha was a breeze when compared to NG.
Difficulty of is part of the games but that doesn’t make it like Souls games. Gameplay is much different so no
Actually… the OG is King's Field. The Souls games aren't about the difficulty and From has pretty much been working on the formula since 1994
FromSoftware's PS3 masterpiece changed everything.
The lock on and intense and in depth one on one combat was always something I've been a fan of. Ocarina of time definitely deserves credit there as well which is also one of those games that may have inspired souls. Souls has done an amazing job at making many games better telling the world that difficult games are still great and loved.
I still have my PS3 copy, but I played that game for over 100 hours.
My copy was a gift for a religious occurrence, back in 2011.
Never opened it because I already knew the Souls games are not for me but it's always nice to have it in the collection.
Demon souls and the remake will be forever etched in my mind so many playthroughs and a proper gaming experience
Soulsborne games are infamously difficult. But why has that difficulty been the secret sauce to success for many of these titles in the genre?
Rewarded effort feels good.
Starting out bad at something and getting better with practice makes accomplishments meaningful.
Getting through these games feels like a journey of self improvement, lol.
You only have yourself to blame if things go poorly, but in a similar way overcoming challenge is similarly a function of your own growth.
I think because the games are fair. Gamers can tell that it’s due to their own abilities and not some BS.
I've always loved the sense of adventure and wonder in these games. There's no hand holding, there are surprises and traps everywhere and you have to figure out what some items do. Beating a heide knight was like an accomplishment for me the first time and it felt good to earn that sword he dropped. I've spent hundreds of hours in souls games ever since Kings Field on PS1. The lore is incredible and it makes you think about the history of the world you're in. I can't wait for Shadow of the Erdtree.
It's the recipe of fair difficulty, presentation, boss battles and lore that attract me to these games. The From Souls games have always had a nebulous quality to them that I find fascinating. Demystifying them is a big part of the fun.
I think its the atmosphere and gameplay. Each of these games unique ways to play and unique settings/atmospheres that are in a league of its own.
Battle toads isn't that hard, I remember my granny beating contra and mega man long ago... ghost and goblins is definitely my #1 hardest game
Great article :)
ohh yeah super ghouls & ghosts what a b*tch!
Oh hey, artificial difficulty made the list.
Why not put side-scrolling shoot em ups too.
Those have much higher amounts of artificial difficulty.
I've been having a few retro gaming sessions lately, playing some old 8 and 16bit games (ask your parents kids :)) and my god, how I ever got past the first level back then is beyond me.