Some of the most beloved video games, games that are considered classics, are also some of the most difficult. In fact many classic games are famous for their extreme level of difficulty – or perhaps a more proper phrasing would be that these games are considered classic despite being infuriatingly difficult. Games such as the ones on this list walk a fine line between being famous, and being infamous.
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Games likeKing’s Field, while known for being insanely difficult, are not widely regarded as a “classic game”. Some games, likeJak 2, are classics and somewhat difficult, but not really famous for being difficult. For a game to make this list it must be considered aclassic, it must be difficult, and it must also be famous for being difficult.
10The Mega Man Games
TheMega Mangames have a reputation for being more than a little difficult. The biggest culprits are the originalMega Man,Mega Man 9, andZero. These games are not difficult because of poor controls or level design. They are also not difficult because of other typical culprits like one-hit deaths either.
Mega Mangames are difficult because of the relentless barrage of enemies that can fill the screen with projectiles, and for certain elements of levels like disappearing platforms and traps that give players almost no time to react. Also, if the bosses aren’t fought in the correct order some of them can be quite hard to defeat.
9Cuphead
IsCupheada classic game yet? It’s only about two years old, but it has sold over four million copies and has a Metacritic rating of 88, with a User Score of 8.2 (averaged out of over 1000 user reviews). Many considered it an instant classic; so, for the purposes of this listCupheadis a classic game. It is also well known for its difficulty. The vast majority of the negative reviews on Metacritic are because of the game’s high level of difficulty – other than that most players and critics have nothing but praise for this game.
8Battletoads
This entry is for the NES game, but the SNES version is nearly as difficult.Battletoadswas a beat ‘em up from Rare, who are better known for their later games likeGoldenEye 007andDonkey Kong Country.Battletoadsdoesn’t seem that difficult when a player first starts; the first couple of levels are challenging, but not overly difficult. At level three, titled “Turbo Tunnel”, the difficulty goes from medium to brutal. To defeat this level requires the player to have played the level enough to memorize the placement of barriers, or have the reflexes of a Jedi.
7Ninja Gaiden Black
The first threeNinja Gaidengames for the NES are also classic games known for their difficulty, but for this entry we will focus on the Xbox gameNinja Gaiden Black. This was a remake of theNinja Gaidenfor the Xbox, which had been criticized for its difficulty.Blackhad two difficulty settings – Ninja Dog and Master Ninja. Ninja Dog is a nerfed version of the original; while Ninja Master is even more difficult than the original – which, again, players complained was too difficult.Ninja Gaiden Blackgame even pokes a little fun at players who select Ninja Dog.
6Ghosts ‘N Goblins
Much like theMega Manfranchise, theGhost ‘n Goblinsfranchise (particularly the first two games) are classic games that are famous for being painfully difficult. The player controls the knight Arthur as he tries to rescue his beloved Guinevere from the devil Astaroth.
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Arthur can only be hit twice before he dies and the player loses a life. The difficulty ofGhosts ‘n Goblinsderives from the persistence of the enemies and the length of the levels. To add insult to injury, the player must complete the game twice in one sitting to see the true ending.
5Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boywas released in 2010 for a variety of home consoles and computers. In the nearly ten years since then,Super Meat Boyhas earned a reputation for being one of the most difficult games ever made. This game’s difficulty factor is often compared toGhost‘n’Goblins, which generally means try not to break the controller out of frustration while playing. In this game, the player controls a small cube of meat named Meat Boy as he tries to rescue Meat Girl. The player does this by navigating Meat Boy through levels full of perils – like spinning sawblades. The controls are nearly perfect inSuper Meat Boy; so players don’t even have the luxury of blaming them when Meat Boy dies over and over and over.
4Contra
Again we see an NES title on this list, but truthfully the PlayStationContragame,Shattered Soldier, is probably slightly more difficult. TheContratitle for theSegaGenesis,Hard Corps, is also known for being insanely difficult. The extreme difficulty of the Contra games doesn’t stop people from enjoying these games, and certainly hasn’t stopped them from being regarded as classic games either. MostContragames are run-and-gun side scrollers. For the most part, these games are difficult due to the one-hit deaths of the player-characters combined with the swarm of enemies players must deal with.
3Myst
Mystwas originally released for the Mac in 1993 and the PC in 1994, but was later released on the newer disc-based consoles of the time like the PlayStation and 3DO.Mystwas a point-and-click adventure/puzzle game that at times could get devilishly difficult.
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The player is not given much back-story or objectives when starting a game, and it was made even more difficult due to the inability of players to go online and find walk-throughs since the internet was not really a thing yet. The game used still images that were impressive for their time, but are very low-res by today’s standards.
2Devil May Cry 3
Capcom’s third game on this list,Devil May Cry 3was a shock to many fans of the series when it was released. The first two games in the series were not too difficult – they generally aren’t known for their difficulty anyway. ThenDevil May Cry 3was released. The enemies in this game react to the player’s tactics; if the player uses Dante’s guns too much they will start fighting in a manner that limits the opportunity for their use. The enemies are also a little faster and a little more responsive to the player’s actions. Take away the more generous save-game features and Devil May Cry 3was theDemon’s Soulsof its day.
1Demon’s Souls And Dark Souls I & II
In the modern era of gaming, no game series is as collectively known, and loved, for its brutal difficulty likeDemon’s Soulsand its sequelsDark Soul I,II, andIII. It is difficult to stay alive in these games, and the games go the extra step of punishing players for dying. If a player dies a second time before reaching the spot of their previous death that character loses all of the souls they have been collecting. The game mechanic of stamina loss during battle is another major reason these games are sodifficult. The boss-fights in theSoulsseries are some of the most frustrating experiences in gaming.
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