7. Dark Souls
Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls, was a critical hit despite its obtuseness. It was not a game for the impatient or those unwilling to experiment. Enemies and bosses could take out large swaths of health if players weren’t super careful, or consistently checking around corners for surprise threats. Dying meant losing Souls, which acts as currency and experience points, and could be regained if the player could reach the place of their death. Unfortunately, all the enemies respawn in the level as well.
The game did not have traditional multiplayer either. When playing online, a player could be invaded by another player to help or hurt. If it hasn’t been made clear yet, the game expects you to die, a lot. Most mistakes can be learned by memorizing enemy patterns and strategies, while sometimes an enemy pops up out of nowhere, knocks you off a cliff, and your controller is suddenly lodged into a wall.
6. Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy is the brainchild of Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, who have stated that the game is “a big throwback to a lot of super hardcore NES classics” including some on this very list. It stars a little mound of meat, named Meat Boy, who has to traverse platforms, spikes, lasers, saw blades, and more to save his girlfriend Bandage Girl from a fetus in a top hat.
Most levels can be beaten in under a minute, but that can be after 50 and upwards tries. The game shows a replay of every life lost in one run once completed, and it is cathartic to watch a half hour condensed into twenty seconds. The controls are absolutely tight too, so all you can do is blame yourself for every life lost.
5. The Binding of Issac
The Binding of Issac is another game designed by Edmund McMillen that commands full focus with randomized dungeons, power-ups, and tight rooms with multiple enemies spewing projectiles at you. The game is meant for repeated playthroughs, which is necessary when the game offers hundreds of items to use with no explanations. The player has to figure it out through trial and error, and effects can either be helpful or detrimental.
Bosses that cap off each dungeon can be a pain too. They range from giant bullet sponges to mobile, small enemies that can jump across the room, releasing multiple projectiles in various directions. It sometimes descends into the “bullet hell” genre, which dominates the next entry on this list.
4. Ikaruga
Ikaruga is a vertically scrolling shoot’em up arcade game with a neat, but devilish mechanic. Players can change the polarity of the ship between black and white to absorb damage from enemies of the same color, or deal extra damage to the opposite color.
Switching polarities becomes the tricky part when the screen is filled with enemies of both colors raining bullets down in relentless fury. Unlike other games of the genre, there are no power-ups or upgrades for your ship. There’s the standard weapon and a homing laser fueled by absorbing bullets. Each of the five stages can last around ten minutes if performed well, so beating the game becomes a matter of skill, timing, and focus.
3. Ninja Gaiden / Ninja Gaiden Black
The Ninja Gaiden games were no slouches in the difficulty department when it began as a 2D platformer on the NES, but the revival that released on the original Xbox transferred that challenge into a 3D environment. It’s a game that punishes players hard for making mistakes.
Ryu has a plethora of attacks and techniques to use against enemies, but it’s up to the player to understand which and when to use specific attacks because of the steep learning curve. This may sound wonderful for those looking for a “controller-through-the-television” type of challenge, but those looking to simply feel good from hacking and slashing will be absolutely disappointed.
2. Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Ghosts ‘n Goblins has earned a reputation for its blisteringly hard difficulty ever since it released on the NES. It can be as frustrating as it can be called unfair. The player’s character, Sir Arthur, can lose a life by either taking two hits or by not completing the level in under three minutes.
Each death also sets the player back to the beginning or halfway point if reached. All the while, enemies are constantly spawning or attacking in this 2D side-scroller. The game is also devious for making the player complete the game twice to see the true ending because the first ending was an illusion devised by Satan. That is absolutely true, considering the second playthrough is set on a higher difficulty. Oh, and there were no save files back then.
1. Battletoads
The NES game Battletoads became known for two things: its frustrating difficulty and trolling retail stores asking if there are any copies left in stock. The latter has stopped, while the former will always remain true.
The 2D platformer contains a variety of levels that focus on fighting enemies to platform sections, but has many tricks that can cause cheap deaths and make players start at the beginning of the level. Memorization becomes key when it comes to trial and error. The game can be played in co-op with another player, but friendly fire is on by default and cannot be turned off. That’s the frustrating ethos of Battletoads.
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