Hardest Games No One Ever Talks About
I just got through watching a "Top 10 Hardest Games of All Time" video, and I must say, while every game listed was a hard game, I usually disagree with the order of difficulty and some very hard games are often omitted for typical "hard game" staples. For example, you will see Ninja Gaiden or a game from the series (retro or modern series) on every list, but I never see Holy Diver on the list, and Holy Diver is significantly harder than Ninja Gaiden. (I think the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden is over-rated anyway).
Another thing I always find is that Castlevania is always on the list; not Castlevania III. I find Castlevania III more difficult just because of the final level. You have to kill all three of Dracula's forms, all of which are harder than the entire original Dracula fight. I find Castlevania III slightly more difficult. Or, you could consider Castlevania II harder because it's so cryptic.
With that said, what are some really hard games that never make it on "top 10 hardest games" lists that you think belong there?
Just for you masochists out there, I decided to make a list of games with a (sometimes dramatically) under-rated difficulty. Have fun!
Note: I don't necessarily agree with all these, it's just what's been mentioned! Remember: Difficulty is subjective!
Another thing I always find is that Castlevania is always on the list; not Castlevania III. I find Castlevania III more difficult just because of the final level. You have to kill all three of Dracula's forms, all of which are harder than the entire original Dracula fight. I find Castlevania III slightly more difficult. Or, you could consider Castlevania II harder because it's so cryptic.
With that said, what are some really hard games that never make it on "top 10 hardest games" lists that you think belong there?
Just for you masochists out there, I decided to make a list of games with a (sometimes dramatically) under-rated difficulty. Have fun!
Note: I don't necessarily agree with all these, it's just what's been mentioned! Remember: Difficulty is subjective!
Magician
Castlequest (Castle Excellent for the Famicom if you wanna play with four lives instead of fifty!)
Burai Fighter
Arkanoid
Holy Diver
The Immortal
Castelian
Fester's Quest
Legacy of the Wizard
Dr. Chaos
Tower of Drauga
Overlord
The Krion Conquest
Air Fortress
Ikari Warriors
B.O.B.
Cybernoid
Freedom Force
Comments
Its more like "Top 10 Hardest Games I've Played, And I've Only Played the Same 30 NES Games That Everyone Else Grew Up With Too!"
I'm really looking forward to seeing more titles like wiz mentioned. I want to give some actual hard games a try. Not Silver Surfer and Battletoads.
@wrk: Psh, the quiet game was always easy...
@Crabmaster: You basically nailed it on the head there. It's the same ol' same. If you haven't played it yet, try Holy Diver for the Famicom. I love that game. The first three levels aren't too bad, but afterward, it starts getting hellish. The fourth stage's boss is one of the cheapest I've ever seen. I won't spoil it for you, though.
Seeing "Magician" somehow reminded me of The Immortal for the NES. That's another game I've never played, but I've heard it's pretty hard with a steep learning curve.
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Magician. Haven't played a ton of it, but it's just plain mean! Castlequest is another...the game came packed in with a map showing the route to take through the castle and gave you 50 lives to do it with, but it's STILL insanely tough. If you don't pick up the right key in the right spot, or open the wrong door, or forget to open the right door, you're just plain fucked.
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
Castelian that game is a challenge
Festers Quest (Yes I acctually like that game)
Legacy of the Wizard (before there was internet there was graph paper and pencils)
Dr Chaos (ugh so many secrets rooms you had to spend hours searching for!)
Originally posted by: Shinju
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Magician. Haven't played a ton of it, but it's just plain mean! Castlequest is another...the game came packed in with a map showing the route to take through the castle and gave you 50 lives to do it with, but it's STILL insanely tough. If you don't pick up the right key in the right spot, or open the wrong door, or forget to open the right door, you're just plain fucked.
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
Castelian that game is a challenge
Festers Quest (Yes I acctually like that game)
Legacy of the Wizard (before there was internet there was graph paper and pencils)
Dr Chaos (ugh so many secrets rooms you had to spend hours searching for!)
I haven't played the Famicom version, but the NES one does indeed give 50 lives to start.
Also, Dr. Chaos wasn't too tough, you just had to go through the Warp Zones in the correct order - some needed items you'd get in earlier ones, and others were just bloody hard if you didn't have enough life, which you'd gain by beating other bosses. I actually wrote a review on it about a year ago, maybe I should submit it to the ezine...
Originally posted by: Shinju
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
4 lives is more then enough to complete the game. The reason why you get so many lives to start off in the US version is because the Famicom version had a save feature, there is no save/password in the US version. Its play till you game over or get stuck, then reset. And you are way more likely to get stuck then run out of lives
Originally posted by: Mog
Originally posted by: Shinju
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
4 lives is more then enough to complete the game. The reason why you get so many lives to start off in the US version is because the Famicom version had a save feature, there is no save/password in the US version. Its play till you game over or get stuck, then reset. And you are way more likely to get stuck then run out of lives
Yup. The reset button will be heavily abused. I haven't beaten the game, like I said earlier, but I've given it a lot of time (never used the map; probably should) and ... ugh, getting stuck is a crappy feeling.
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Originally posted by: Shinju
Originally posted by: the_wizard_666
Magician. Haven't played a ton of it, but it's just plain mean! Castlequest is another...the game came packed in with a map showing the route to take through the castle and gave you 50 lives to do it with, but it's STILL insanely tough. If you don't pick up the right key in the right spot, or open the wrong door, or forget to open the right door, you're just plain fucked.
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
Castelian that game is a challenge
Festers Quest (Yes I acctually like that game)
Legacy of the Wizard (before there was internet there was graph paper and pencils)
Dr Chaos (ugh so many secrets rooms you had to spend hours searching for!)
I haven't played the Famicom version, but the NES one does indeed give 50 lives to start.
Also, Dr. Chaos wasn't too tough, you just had to go through the Warp Zones in the correct order - some needed items you'd get in earlier ones, and others were just bloody hard if you didn't have enough life, which you'd gain by beating other bosses. I actually wrote a review on it about a year ago, maybe I should submit it to the ezine...
Fully aware of the nes version giving 50 lives I was just stating that the famicom version was 4 lives.
Also I am not sure when you played Dr Chaos but when it was new back in 88-89, There was no internet, There was no stratguides or hints or walkthoughs. And trying to find those warpzones was a pain and even more so doing them in order. It was a huge trial and error game the only reason why it made sense to me in the first person mode was the many hours playing Goonies II smacking the walls and trying to "go" though holes.
Originally posted by: Nightowljrm
(never used the map; probably should)
You should use a map, the game originally came with one, so you shouldn't feel like you are cheating or anything for looking at one.
Try this one: (dont forget to zoom in)
http://www.nintendoplayer.com/misc/castlequest.gif
This one is even more basic then the one they give you. The map that came with the game had pathways marked so you knew where to go.
Originally posted by: Mog
Originally posted by: Shinju
Castle Excellent (Castlequest) you only got 4 lives!
4 lives is more then enough to complete the game. The reason why you get so many lives to start off in the US version is because the Famicom version had a save feature, there is no save/password in the US version. Its play till you game over or get stuck, then reset. And you are way more likely to get stuck then run out of lives
4 lives if you are pro, yes you can save but with the famicom and MSX version you could not attact enemies as easly in the US version.
The Famicom you had limited attack range and had to use perfect timing in order to dispatch an enemy.
MSX version you could not attact at all, you had to use game mechanics to kills monsters, boxes, elevators ect ect.
Also the US version had a fairy that would help you and you can attack any enemy with your weapon.
So all 3 versions had trade off's for being hard.
Castle Shadowgate's first screen music was my ring tone for 2 years!
There's also Dark Souls, but I think it's difficulty is slightly over rated as well.
Demons Souls I think was harder to get started on because of a couple of reasons, it was a new type of game mechanics that we havent not seen yet with a pretty high learning curve and the game punished you for every mistake you made.
Also the progressive saving feature made you think about what you did as once you made that choice there was no going back period untill you beat the game and start on NG+.
I haven't played Demons Souls but I REALLY want to. I just don't own a PS3. Whenever I get one in the years to come, that will be the first game I get, no doubt.
I am not sure if they fixed those issues with online but trying to get into a muliplayer game was almost impossible and when you finally did get in it would either dissconect you or the host would die sending you back to your game.
Originally posted by: Nightowljrm
@Wiz: I haven't played Magician, but I have played Castlequest. You're right, that game is brutal. The first time I played it, I found it engaging - I was hooked for a couple of hours. I kept getting completely lost. I wondered why because nothing made much sense, but I didn't want to cheat, so I opted to see what others were saying about it. That's when I found out it originally came with a map. By that point, I looked like your avatar. I still haven't beaten it yet...
@wrk: Psh, the quiet game was always easy...
@Crabmaster: You basically nailed it on the head there. It's the same ol' same. If you haven't played it yet, try Holy Diver for the Famicom. I love that game. The first three levels aren't too bad, but afterward, it starts getting hellish. The fourth stage's boss is one of the cheapest I've ever seen. I won't spoil it for you, though.
Seeing "Magician" somehow reminded me of The Immortal for the NES. That's another game I've never played, but I've heard it's pretty hard with a steep learning curve.
I've got a couple friends bugging me to get into Famicom stuff. I will eventually, I just want to focus on my licensed set first. When I do finally break down though Holy Diver is # 1 on my list of games to get. I'm a HUGE Ronnie James Dio fan and that game has been on my radar for quite a while. I'll be looking for a minty CIB copy when I'm finally ready.
Originally posted by: Nightowljrm
^ Sweet! Glad to hear it! I'm a Dio fan as well. Probably not as big as you, but maybe moreso than others. \,,/
Its stupid to debate who's the bigger fan. Its only important that you know he rocks and listen to Stargazer by Rainbow every waking minute
/THREAD
Originally posted by: Dr. Morbis
Anyone here ever beat Overlord???
/THREAD
Yes, I have. Awesome game.
Burai Fighter is awesome but at the same time rage inducing at higher difficulties which you MUST play to see the end. (I can't quite beat the game on normal though)