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Alright, so let's talk about the games that are so hard that you want to tear your hair out, and yet you keep coming back for more. Recently I've been getting into old school action games and platformers, the harder the better. Jumper makes me want to tear my own face off, and I'm pretty sure that while playing I Wanna Be the Guy I suffered some sort of low-level aneurysm.
As far as console games go, God Hand is still pretty capably handing me my ass, but my collection needs more games that will punch me in the balls.
Games don't necessarily have to fall into the action/platformer genre either, as I've heard that games like Shiren the Wanderer are pretty damn punishing, but let's keep it restricted to more modern stuff. We all know that Battletoads is rape. I wanna know what's breaking your sanity NOW.
Ninja Gaiden Black on the XBox, especially on Very Hard and up, is a perfect example of ridiculously challenging gameplay with an amazing reward. It and God Hand share the same philosophy with a very different core. When your enemies are so skilled that the only way for you to survive is to become a button-mashing machine of death, resulting in a whirlwind ballet of perfectly timed flying steel, improvised combos and screamed obscenities.
NGB has maybe 9 hours of gameplay. My first playthrough took 26 hours.
Ninja Gaiden for Xbox. You will be fucked by ninjas.
Ninja Gaiden 2 for Xbox 360. Now the ninjas have rocket launchers.
Devil May Cry 3 and 4, especially beyond the normal difficulty settings. Not NG levels of hard, but still fucking hard.
Shinobi for PS2. You always have a time limit; you have to do very hard platforming sections involving wall running; you have to kill a bunch of enemies in a row to increase your damage potential for one hit, and if you don't do this right you won't do much damage to the boss at all. Most later levels involve all of the above. At one point you fight a blind samurai in a corridor full of water, and floating robots that shoot lasers at you. This may be the hardest 3d game I've ever played.
The only really hard game that I really enjoyed despite the fact that I'm still not that good at it.
This. I went through the entire game without understanding the combo system. Then i finally realized what it took to get an A after studying a bunch of youtube videos.... I was like o_O at first, then i was all like .
I did eventually get A on the first level. I saved the replay because it will never happen again.
you need to be thinking about old, especially Spanish, Spectrum games, pretty much anything by Dinamics, like Navy Moves or Army Moves. They were die in the first 10 seconds hard.
DMC3 is harder than 4, but only marginally. 4 gives you two characters, much better graphics, better character customization (you can re-spec, basically), and the difficulty levels you unlock are just as hard as DMC3.
DMC3 is harder than 4, but only marginally. 4 gives you two characters, much better graphics, better character customization (you can re-spec, basically), and the difficulty levels you unlock are just as hard as DMC3.
I've been having a harder with 4 than 3. It's not as fluid and dodging attacks seems harder.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
F-Zero GX is stupid hard, but through playing it a lot, I got really good at it. Managed to unlock the AX tracks, but Story mode on Very Hard can fuck off.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
EDIT: Also, DMC4 has swords that rev up via Motorcycle handles and then catch fire.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
Oh c'mon... NG not cheap? Ikaruga not cheap? Have you SEEN the last level?!
Never played God Hand before but I'm sure there are tons of cheap moments.
DMC4 felt easier than DMC3 to me, but if you want real "crazy hard" the first DMC wins hands-down anyway. On the harder difficulties the boss battles in that game will just utterly crush you unless you know exactly what you're doing, and you can't even abuse healing items like you can in the other DMC games.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
Oh c'mon... NG not cheap? Ikaruga not cheap? Have you SEEN the last level?!
Never played God Hand before but I'm sure there are tons of cheap moments.
Ninja Gaiden was not cheap at all and I went back to play through it up to Very Hard. If you die in a game because the enemies are on-par with you, it's not cheap. Suck it up, baby.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
Oh c'mon... NG not cheap? Ikaruga not cheap? Have you SEEN the last level?!
Never played God Hand before but I'm sure there are tons of cheap moments.
Ninja Gaiden was not cheap at all and I went back to play through it up to Very Hard. If you die in a game because the enemies are on-par with you, it's not cheap. Suck it up, baby.
I assume you're talking about the xbox version or whatever, and not the NES versions... Because the NES versions DEFINED cheap deaths for me. The xbox versions -- You're telling me not one boss in the game is cheap?
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
Oh c'mon... NG not cheap? Ikaruga not cheap? Have you SEEN the last level?!
Never played God Hand before but I'm sure there are tons of cheap moments.
Ninja Gaiden was not cheap at all and I went back to play through it up to Very Hard. If you die in a game because the enemies are on-par with you, it's not cheap. Suck it up, baby.
I assume you're talking about the xbox version or whatever, and not the NES versions... Because the NES versions DEFINED cheap deaths for me. The xbox versions -- You're telling me not one boss in the game is cheap?
Oh the old ones were cheap as fuck. As for the XBox one... no, not really. The only boss who ever frustrated me was the very last one and that was because I couldn't figure out how to fight him immediately. I never beat NG2 but what I played of it was too easy compared to the first.
The very first Murai fight was cheap, but not for how he fought. I think the reliable way to kill him is cheap... run up wall, slash, repeat.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
Ninja Gaiden vs Ninja Gaiden 2 is an excellent example of hard vs cheap.
NG2 is a fine game, and I enjoy it, but there are a lot of levels that have masses of ranged enemies - machineguns and rocketlaunchers, mostly - along with melee enemies that are swarming you. On top of that, all later enemies will throw you fairly often, and for the most part, there is no indication that a throw is about to take place (or the indication is almost unnoticeable). This just isn't fun.
On top of that, the camera (a major problem in all 3d action games) is much worse than in NG1 or similar games - in fact, it seems like it actively wants to look away from the enemies. I spend most of my time in a fight with no idea where the enemies are except "behind me."
The bosses throw you even more often, with very little indication of their intent. The game is extremely throw happy. This forces you to basically never attack with an actual combo, just stick and move, which is not nearly as fun as NG1's flowing combo-to-combo, rolling, wall-running deliciousness.
I'm curious to why people play a game that makes them want to commit suicide..? I hate playing games that are overly hard because it's not hard because it's HARD it's hard because it's cheap. Cheap deaths are the worst deaths.
Ninja Gaiden vs Ninja Gaiden 2 is an excellent example of hard vs cheap.
NG2 is a fine game, and I enjoy it, but there are a lot of levels that have masses of ranged enemies - machineguns and rocketlaunchers, mostly - along with melee enemies that are swarming you. On top of that, all later enemies will throw you fairly often, and for the most part, there is no indication that a throw is about to take place (or the indication is almost unnoticeable). This just isn't fun.
On top of that, the camera (a major problem in all 3d action games) is much worse than in NG1 or similar games - in fact, it seems like it actively wants to look away from the enemies. I spend most of my time in a fight with no idea where the enemies are except "behind me."
The bosses throw you even more often, with very little indication of their intent. The game is extremely throw happy. This forces you to basically never attack with an actual combo, just stick and move, which is not nearly as fun as NG1's flowing combo-to-combo, rolling, wall-running deliciousness.
I would also like to post actionbutton.net's summary of what, at its core, Ninja Gaiden is.
Ninja Gaiden II is a game about a Kevlar-coated bulletproof ninja flipping and cartwheeling, steel shinging against steel with tambourine rapidity, limbs filing restraining orders against sockets amidst an orchestra of circus strongmen tearing wet cabbages in half with their bare hands; Ninja Gaiden II is a terrifying latex lump of undulating bodies struggling to kill the avatar in the center of the screen; it is flipping, jumping, running up walls; it is shing-shing-shing and the stunted screams of sudden sequential serial decapitations; it is geysers of blood and and flipping crazy demon-men wielding tools of execution.
This is why hard games are awesome. The frantic, screaming hordes of death do not have the same threat, and you do not feel like the blood-spattered god of destruction that you are, if the game is not hard, if there is no challenge in wresting the heads of your enemies from their bodies in glorious battle.
I would also like to post actionbutton.net's summary of what, at its core, Ninja Gaiden is.
Ninja Gaiden II is a game about a Kevlar-coated bulletproof ninja flipping and cartwheeling, steel shinging against steel with tambourine rapidity, limbs filing restraining orders against sockets amidst an orchestra of circus strongmen tearing wet cabbages in half with their bare hands; Ninja Gaiden II is a terrifying latex lump of undulating bodies struggling to kill the avatar in the center of the screen; it is flipping, jumping, running up walls; it is shing-shing-shing and the stunted screams of sudden sequential serial decapitations; it is geysers of blood and and flipping crazy demon-men wielding tools of execution.
This is why hard games are awesome. The frantic, screaming hordes of death do not have the same threat, and you do not feel like the blood-spattered god of destruction that you are, if the game is not hard, if there is no challenge in wresting the heads of your enemies from their bodies in glorious battle.
That quote and your post are fantastic and perfectly lay out why hard games rock.
I'm playing Metal Slug 7 right now. It's pretty damn tough. But tough in that awesome way that makes you keep coming back for more as you get progressively better. The nice thing about Slug 7 is that once you get to a level at any point, when you come back to the game you can choose that level to start playing. It kind of lets you practice certain levels, or if you're not very good you can just pick up from your most recent level with more lives/continues. It also has a very long list of Training Missions to do, which is actually very fun and very challenging, and adds a lot of replay value to the game. (kind of like the Challenges in Contra 4)
I have to say that one of my favorite NDS games ever is Contra 4 though.
So beautiful, so perfectly well constructed, with such an excellent difficulty curve, and with all those challenges to train you for and add bonus content... plus it comes with the NES versions of Contra 1 and Super C!
Super Ghouls and Ghosts. Those damn imp/devil guys in the final dungeon make me wanna slam forks into my face.
Ghosts and Goblins was just as bad. You finally finish the game after level after level of horribly difficult enemies, just to find out that you have to finish the game all the way through a second time in order to get the real ending.
I threw my controller down in a fit of rage, and never touched the game again.
While not having the insane number of enemies on screen each of which will easily kill you like Ninja Gaiden. Mega Man instead focuses on making pixel perfect platforming and attacks. However it manages not to be cheap and when you die you know it's your own fault for sucking so much.
I remember the original Ecco the Dolphin was pretty hard, also has anyone tried the version on Dreamcast/PS2? That was crazy hard too imo (one seizure later, I managed to complete it....oh my that last boss was horrible!)
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Honestly, I think my oXbox laughed at me every time I died in Ninja Gaiden.
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The only really hard game that I really enjoyed despite the fact that I'm still not that good at it.
NGB has maybe 9 hours of gameplay. My first playthrough took 26 hours.
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Ninja Gaiden 2 for Xbox 360. Now the ninjas have rocket launchers.
Devil May Cry 3 and 4, especially beyond the normal difficulty settings. Not NG levels of hard, but still fucking hard.
Shinobi for PS2. You always have a time limit; you have to do very hard platforming sections involving wall running; you have to kill a bunch of enemies in a row to increase your damage potential for one hit, and if you don't do this right you won't do much damage to the boss at all. Most later levels involve all of the above. At one point you fight a blind samurai in a corridor full of water, and floating robots that shoot lasers at you. This may be the hardest 3d game I've ever played.
Worked fine when I tossed it on my friends 360 about 7 months ago.
all the contra games, really, but Contra 4 is so fucking good.
This. I went through the entire game without understanding the combo system. Then i finally realized what it took to get an A after studying a bunch of youtube videos.... I was like o_O at first, then i was all like .
I did eventually get A on the first level. I saved the replay because it will never happen again.
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
I'm leaning towards NGB and Contra.
Which is the harder of the two most recent DMC games?
Has anyone else played Jumper? This is one of the EARLY levels.
Each of the yellow arrows allows an extra jump, and the yellow lines kill instantly, while the red are harmless.
It takes about 20 perfectly-timed jumps to beat that level. I cried.
Isn't that available for download on the XBox Originals? Since the XBOs are just disc images, I would imagine that compatibility is pretty good.
I really like the Ninja-Turtles-Cowabunga style of DMC, but for my money NG is a more tightly woven game.. I can't speak for NG2, though.
I've been having a harder with 4 than 3. It's not as fluid and dodging attacks seems harder.
There are games that are hard as fuck without being cheap. Ninja Gaiden, God Hand, Ikaruga etc.
EDIT: Also, DMC4 has swords that rev up via Motorcycle handles and then catch fire.
Oh c'mon... NG not cheap? Ikaruga not cheap? Have you SEEN the last level?!
Never played God Hand before but I'm sure there are tons of cheap moments.
Ninja Gaiden was not cheap at all and I went back to play through it up to Very Hard. If you die in a game because the enemies are on-par with you, it's not cheap. Suck it up, baby.
I assume you're talking about the xbox version or whatever, and not the NES versions... Because the NES versions DEFINED cheap deaths for me. The xbox versions -- You're telling me not one boss in the game is cheap?
Oh the old ones were cheap as fuck. As for the XBox one... no, not really. The only boss who ever frustrated me was the very last one and that was because I couldn't figure out how to fight him immediately. I never beat NG2 but what I played of it was too easy compared to the first.
The very first Murai fight was cheap, but not for how he fought. I think the reliable way to kill him is cheap... run up wall, slash, repeat.
Ninja Gaiden vs Ninja Gaiden 2 is an excellent example of hard vs cheap.
NG2 is a fine game, and I enjoy it, but there are a lot of levels that have masses of ranged enemies - machineguns and rocketlaunchers, mostly - along with melee enemies that are swarming you. On top of that, all later enemies will throw you fairly often, and for the most part, there is no indication that a throw is about to take place (or the indication is almost unnoticeable). This just isn't fun.
On top of that, the camera (a major problem in all 3d action games) is much worse than in NG1 or similar games - in fact, it seems like it actively wants to look away from the enemies. I spend most of my time in a fight with no idea where the enemies are except "behind me."
The bosses throw you even more often, with very little indication of their intent. The game is extremely throw happy. This forces you to basically never attack with an actual combo, just stick and move, which is not nearly as fun as NG1's flowing combo-to-combo, rolling, wall-running deliciousness.
Ninja Gaiden (NES)
Mega Man 9
And the king of impossible games:
BATTLETOADS!!!!!!
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My kingdom for a NGB gore mod.
While most of the combat is easy things get difficult when shotgun weilding miltants spawn right behind you.
This is why hard games are awesome. The frantic, screaming hordes of death do not have the same threat, and you do not feel like the blood-spattered god of destruction that you are, if the game is not hard, if there is no challenge in wresting the heads of your enemies from their bodies in glorious battle.
That quote and your post are fantastic and perfectly lay out why hard games rock.
I have to say that one of my favorite NDS games ever is Contra 4 though.
So beautiful, so perfectly well constructed, with such an excellent difficulty curve, and with all those challenges to train you for and add bonus content... plus it comes with the NES versions of Contra 1 and Super C!
Can't go wrong with that, esepcially at $20.
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edit: And Ninja Gaiden for the oxbox is rad. It's not cheap, you'll usually know what you did wrong for the most part.
Ghosts and Goblins was just as bad. You finally finish the game after level after level of horribly difficult enemies, just to find out that you have to finish the game all the way through a second time in order to get the real ending.
I threw my controller down in a fit of rage, and never touched the game again.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
You've actually seen passed the first level? By the time I make it to the end of the first level I run out of lives. Fucking game.
While not having the insane number of enemies on screen each of which will easily kill you like Ninja Gaiden. Mega Man instead focuses on making pixel perfect platforming and attacks. However it manages not to be cheap and when you die you know it's your own fault for sucking so much.