Top 10 Hardest Games

Pinpointing the hardest games ever is all relative. Some of you might still be puzzling over how to turn off the waterfall in Monkey Island 2, 19 years after it was released. Others might be eternally grateful EA added a two-button mode to FIFA.

[renegade]

Ninja Gaiden is the hardest game I get frustrated when playing it. LOL

[lovestospoodge]

totally agree, ng:b was freakin impossible.
was DMC3 really that hard? i mean it was awesome, but difficult?

[ThanatosDMC]

DMC3 was hard. DMC3:SE was dumbed down from it's original normal difficulty.

Anyway, Shinobi i would say was harder than Ninja Gaiden and DMC mainly due to lack of moves and retarded way to kill enemies. It's almost like a retro game.

The Wii game that i found that was hardest was Mario Sunshine. I didnt know if i wanted to stop playing it, where im suppose to go next, or how fun is it to spray water on anything and anyone i met.

I never understood how some people had the hardest time against Maneater in Demons Soul's. I always thought it was the Flamelurker that was the hardest of the bunch. I had to kill him naked with Longsword +2 on my first go.

[despair]

sad this is that I believe that the original ninja gaiden for xbox was harder than the black edition. But normal difficulty was not hard other than the sometimes cheap Alma.

[WhatARump]

Yea I didn't find MGS THAT difficult, amazing game though.

I found demon's souls really easy uptil NG+ where I pretty much get 1 hitted. People often over exaggerate Demon's Soul's difficulty.

[JoySticksFTW]

Respect the game and it becomes very manageable and fun

I'd say Ninja Gaiden, because I f'n REFUSED to turn down the difficulty. Wasn't about to let the game insult me and call me a ninja dog and stuff

[BeaArthur]

I would love to find someone that actually beat that game on the hardest difficulty. I'm sure it's been done but until I find someone who actually has and can prove it, I will call the task impossible.

They also could have put Ninja Gaiden 2 up there as well because that game is freaking hard too.

[BlackTar187]

how would one prove it? the costumes maybe? to me DMC3 on hard was almost impossible went thru a controller just beating that game. tore my x button up to nothing.

Im only asking cuz i think i did im almost positive but i would have to find it and my xbox to show anyone and then what would i do. I am interested myself now i can maybe upload a pic if im telling the truth if you can tell me what criteria i would need to prove it

[BeaArthur]

Well if you did congrats, that's impressive. Although there is no way to prove it I guess because there weren't Trophies or Achievements back when that game came out.

[FACTUAL evidence]

I honestly think any megaman under X5 was extremely hard.

[blodulv]

No doubt.

[GodsHand]

I would say the standard Megaman Games were more difficult them the X series. X2 was extreamly easy for me.

[Yi-Long]

... but it was never 'frustrating' to me. It was difficult at times (especially the beginning when you still have a small health bar and level 1 weapons), but it always seemed FAIR, and it was always FUN, so it just made you try again and again untill you would progress a bit further.

I certainly don't consider myself a great gamer (not even all that good btw), but as long as a game is fun, fair, and offers a bit of a challenge, I like to take up that challenge :)

[Timesplitter14]

Well I haven't played all those games but I can tell you without doubt that Battletoads is harder than Ninja Gaiden Black and Demon's Souls combined.

It's just beyond human skill

[Dac2u]

Agreed, Battletoads was insanely hard. After weeks of playing, I was able to get to the level Terra Tubes without too much trouble(using warps of course). But, I rarely managed to beat that level. After, that the game just gets harder. Later on, when emulators came out, I was finally able to beat the game using save states, but damn, there's zero room for error in the later levels.

[AKS]

Shadow of the Beast 2 would send most "hard" games crying home to their mothers. It was beyond belief at times. Games used to be MUCH harder.

[kunit22c]

Demon's Souls is on here! That game is seriously hard! one of the hardest games this gen, I still havn't beat it!

[gunnerforlife]

this guy must really be bad at games lool
i dont even know why everyone complains about DMC3 :/
i beat that game on DMDM without doping a sweat :)

[Umbrella Corp]

No love to the Megaman games?

[hamoor]

where is silver surfer on the NES????

[GodsHand]

OMG, Silver Surfer got the best of me. I never did finish that game.

[Gun_Senshi]

Ninja Gaiden SNES are way harder then NG Black

Hardest Game Ever:

Paper Boy

Admit It, you never got past Wednesday in Paper Boy

[Marceles]

Ninja Gaiden on NES was even harder...Paper Boy actually wasn't hard, it just depends on how many subscriptions you messed up and made all the houses red with angry people lol. I used to always beat Paperboy though, that was one of my favorite games growing up.

[Pennywise]

Paper boy was hard, but there is a difference between hard difficulty and bad game design aka BattleToads!

[despair]

god i loved paper boy :)

[table]

paper boy was one of the first games i ever played alongside marble madness and zelda. Papaer Boy was difficult but I always found marble madness to be the hardest. I don't think I ever completed marble madness.

I bet the AVGN will know some real tough games.

[TANUKI]

Shinobi for sure.. that game made me scream FFUUUU! lol

The problem with hard games is, I usually give up after 2-4 attempts, so I tend to forget my frustrations. However, my most recent hard game has to be.... Call of Duty World at War... though, I'd say it's more cheap than hard.

Hmmm....

[peeps]

Ninja Gaiden 2 just gets really cheap towards the end. every ninja and his dog has multi firing rocket launches ffs, 1 mistake and u spend several attempts getting off the floor before being killed.

not to mention it has tough bosses that after defeating explode killing you if you were too close, but chances are you were too close cus u needed to be to attack it!!!

[CraigUK]

This person never played I wanna be the guy.

[Gun_Senshi]

I never made it past the second screen in that game!

Its a Free Game, Download and Enjoy.

http://gamejolt.com/freewar...

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Haha. Yes. Exactly. Hardest game ever.

[Gun_Senshi]

Yes I made it to SECOND SAVE POINT!

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Lol. No. Ninja Gaiden was super easy. Seriously. You just need to remember the enemies' patterns. DMC3 was a lot harder, IMO.

[zatrox]

Ikaruga wasn't that hard IMO, it just required you to focus.

[Awookie]

More like just playing it for a while, after u got a level or boss down its pretty ez the next time

[TheTwelve]

Disagree with Metal Gear Solid being on the list. Hard, but not THAT hard.

Highly agree with Ikaruga.

Agree with Battletoads.

Highly agree with Demon Souls.

Highly agree with top 3.

12

[Dsnyder]

Nuff said.

[Ghost_Sparta]

So true! I must say is really hard...It's possible I played more difficult games, but there are some parts of this game I don't remember anythig harder!

[littletad]

Hard game, but a rare true gem. I'm glad I own a copy. Wish they would announce a revival of the franchise.

[Alcon Caper]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[despair]

that is sick looks insane lol

[zatrox]

Touhou is easier than Ikaruga.
Touhou itself isn't too hard.

[Awookie]

Some people are actually converting this to SC2 with the map editor.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Its a little rough atm but the editors only been out for like 2 weeks.

[dkgshiz]

That game looks like an ADHD fest of a game. It would make me sick to my stomach.

[The Wood]

without the cheat. I played the japanese pirate so everything was ...yeah in japanese. Had to chip hios energy down bit by bit....took about an hour...The second disk wouldnt load but ive purchased every metal gear since. Some same piracy only kills....thats a lie. I would of never of played same of the games ive played if it wasnt for piracy as there were no demos like now.

[RoseSapphire]

I don't quite understand why Metal Gear was on the list. Even Contra isn't that terrible once you've gotten enemy patterns down. It always surprises me when people talk about Demon's Souls being incredibly difficult. I felt the game, like Ninja Gaiden, requires skill. It's not punishing you simply to be difficult, it's difficult only until you practice.

Devil May Cry 3, Battletoads, and Super Ghouls and Ghosts on the other hand. They're bastards.

[Anon7349]

Why is Demon's Souls on that list?

Even on my first playthrough I only died a handful of times, mind you most of those were on purpose because of the online system.

Demon's Souls isn't difficult at all, it's just unforgiving and you have to play cautiously. If you run around and fuck around, you'll die.. but if you're cautious and play carefully you can beat most of the game without dieing at all. Just listen to and watch your surroundings and do what seems logical in that situation.

[Ghost_Sparta]

If you played the first time around, there are some parts of the game you don't count whith, and die because you were caught in surprise, maybe the second time you're already prepared!...unless you saw some walkthrough videos before...

[AKS]

I would say Demon's Souls was fair and wasn't cheap in it's difficulty, but it would be highly unusual to not get mangled a few times going into the boss fights in 2-2, 3-2, and 1-4. But I loved that. You shouldn't be able to beat every boss the first time you play it like in many modern games. Demon's Souls was a refreshing break from weak games.

[ia_studio]

I almost beat every single boss on DS the first time the only boss I had problems was the maneater.

The second playtrough however I died against Phallanx! so I got pretty excited! the game turns realy hard as you complete again and again it's so awesome!

[AKS]

My original Faith/ DEX build was at around SL 270 before I deleted it to make a Luck build (in progress). I lost track of how many NG+ I was into it. I was able to clear most things without too much trouble, but the BP trolls were always a nightmare. They are so ridiculously powerful once you've gone through several NG+s. They are my most hated enemy.

I would agree that the Maneater encounter is the most difficult boss battle. It's puzzling why so many think the False King is harder. He's really not that bad, especially if you are good at rolling, pay attention to his patterns of attack and movement, and use Second Chance. If he starts acting strange, roll away. I think I've been soul drained by him once in maybe 500 hours of play.

[Celeras]

The only people I know who said Demon's Souls wasn't the hardest game they ever played, were fags who looked up everything about the game before they even bought it.. and started off as a Soul Arrow spamming wuss to steamroll through all the games initial challenges.

Get off your high horse. Not only is it the hardest game of this generation, in my opinion its the hardest game of all time.

[asdr3wsfas]

Most people beat Demon's Souls in 50 hours. There are NES games people owned and played for years that few ever finished. Back then you weren't expected to beat a video game - it was an accomplishment even if you owned it.

Play Mario: The Lost Levels, the game is sadistic. At least Demon's Souls gives you a chance to avoid a trap with caution and examination. Poison mushroom? Like anyone didn't die the first time they saw that. Almost every NES game in this thread is harder than Demon's Souls.

Max300 in DDR took me over a year to beat. It takes about that long just to get the stamina to survive the song. It requires stepping to 8th notes at 300 beats per minute for a minute and a half. And you're comparing it to a game that took me a couple weekends?

[Celeras]

Please. Half the NES titles mentioned aren't even genuinely hard games. There's a difference between being difficult, and being poorly designed.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

But you can get through it okay if you're careful and pay attention. Messages left by other players can be extremely helpful, too. I actually beat the Armor Spider on my first try thanks to a message that said "sniper's perch".

[Legosz]

I wanna be the guy is hard :P

[ia_studio]

so weird it's not on the list! that's the most unfair game ever!

[hoops]

Ghouls and Ghosts. The hardest, cheapest game EVER.

[GodsHand]

Super Ghouls & Ghost, don't know how many times, that gamed pissed me off. But I still beat it.

[cmrbe]

on NES till this day still haunts me.

[dizzleK]

hardest game? The Game. you lost.

[ia_studio]

So weird it's not on the list! that's the most unfair game ever!

[STONEY4]

Why is MGS there? While it wasn't a walk in the park, it wasn't anywhere close to being hard.

[PshycoNinja]

Killzone 2 on Elite (That was sssooo frustratingly hard)

God of War 3 on Chaos Mode (Every 30 seconds I would say "seriously did that just happen. Come on this is bullS***)

Resistance: Fall of Man on SuperHuman Difficulty (at somepoint torwards the end "I'm defeated. You win Insomniac, you beat me" and thats where I gave up trying to beat the game.)

[blodulv]

I second that about Chaos mode and Elite... beat them both as well.

I don't know if I'd include the whole game because I breezed through a big portion of it, but the clone war on God Mode in GOW 1 was absolutely nerve wrecking.

That's easily one of the hardest battles I've ever had in any game.

[Koromaro]

If they want to put Metal Gear like that they haven't played Metal Gear Solid 2 on European Extreme. I couldn't beat OLGA -_-

[PiTCHBLaCK]

Why Isn't Demon Souls there?

[LtSkittles]

It is, it's number 4.

[TheMutator]

for me is a shame, but i play Nanobreaker and this game is hard as hell

[daghost1125]

demon souls extremely frustrating so can god of war 3

[Dacapn]

What made GOW3 so difficult on higher difficulties compared to other action games, is that the enemies had no attack patterns. They just find the openings your play style and relentlessly pick away at it.

[blodulv]

bingo

[Hot_tea]

Is it in the list (link won't work due to to much traffic ..as usual)

I have been playing games since the 2600 and I can honestly say Donkey Kong is the hardest game I ever played. Any youngsters on here who don't believe me install Mame and try it. BRUTAL

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I've never played it a lot, but I remember that it was quite an accomplishment for me to occasionally get to the third screen.

[darkequitus]

Most of all the old Speccy and C64 games were too hard. Especially with the inaccurate Quickshot II joystick that wore out after a week (no micro switches).

I could never finish impossible mission

[Jdoki]

I'm with you there!

There were very few Speccy games I ever completed... And don't even get me started on the Vic20!! :)

I guess what it shows is that games have changed over the years. In the past it was all about the high score; or getting past that one horrible little section of a game. Now it's all about the journey and the experience and the next giant boss or cut scene.

In some ways I miss those old days - but I only have to fire up an emulator or two and I'm quickly reminded to take off my rose tinted glasses and wipe away that nostalgic tear!!

[midgard227]

just beat demon souls again and its really not that hard once u know wat to do. i barley died, and i lvled up super fast, i also got alot more completed this time around. :) man i luv that game cant wait for part 2

[Jdoki]

To me, that's the genius of Demons Souls. The difficulty level is all in the players mind! Work out how to play the game properly and it become less of a challenge, and for some, it even becomes easy.

I think most of the fun of Demons Souls was seeing a new enemy for the first time and thinking 'uh oh what am I gonna have to do to beat this guy!' :)

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Most games are like Kindergarten teachers. They hold your hand and show you what to do and how to do it.

Demon's Souls is like a drill instructor. It lets you make your own mistakes, then it punishes you for them, but is never unfair.

Kindergarten prepares you for first grade.
Boot Camp prepares you for combat.

[jalen247]

Battletoads is the hardest game ever created.

If you beat Battletoads, you are one of a kind.

Metal Gear Solid is not hard.

[DigitalAnalog]

-End statement

[kraze07]

Definitely agree with Ikaruga and Ninja Gaiden Black. MGS wasn't really that hard though. Overall it's a pretty good list.

[Jdoki]

If a player never worked out that they needed to switch the controller in to port 2 to beat Mantis... then I guess MGS was nearly impossible to some! :)

But overall, the MGS series hasn't been that tough to beat.

[PS360PCROCKS]

DMC 3 was so damn hard. But Ninja Gaiden Black, sweet jesus that game is hard. I stole it from roommate in 2005 and when I read this story I just searched and realized I still have it. I haven't beaten it, I'm pretty sure I've beaten 1-2 levels in um 5 years. I hate that game :( But it's so awesomely fun and stylish I keep trying. I don't think I've tried playing it in 2 years now.

[K-Tuck]

I really dislike how sites like this pad their hits by spreading one article across ten pages.

[kraze07]

Yeah that sh*t pisses me off. I almost didn't bother reading the article because of it.

[Cyrus365]

Demon souls is fairly hard, I thought Ghouls and Ghost was hard too...

[user9422077]

Good list. MGS not hard

[Croaker]

The two games that I've played in that list are MGS and Demon's Souls. MGS wasn't hard. It was a game of patience. Demon's Souls is hard but not overly hard or frustrating, more like rewarding.

[Xeall]

MGS? Devil May Cry 3? NINJA GAIDEN BLACK?

now while I agree that the last title is hard, the hardest game ever? Not a bloody chance. Alma was the only boss that could not be defeated through pattern learning. From then on the game is pretty easy if you keep your head in the game.

MGS deserves no place in the list.

DMC3, while having tougher moments in it can be completed on normal very easily ,SSS rank bitches ;) The harder difficulties are easily overcome once you have the basic specials like double jump and stinger sorted, combined with Trickster, which while not the best looking style is easily the best for score and combo.

I dare the writer to pick up contra 4 on the DS and come back with the same answer. Oh and Another World.