# Most freakishly difficult video game **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077 "2003-04-21T17:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/61 "2003-04-22T20:51:21Z")
Anyone remember Beer Run for the Apple II? There were two buldings, the first one you had to get to the top of, then you went to the top of the 2nd building and had to get to the bottom of that. If you died you went to the bottom/top of the building you were in. I (and many others) got to the top of the 1st building, but I never saw anyone get to the bottom of the 2nd. I remeber playing raiders, but don’t honestly rememeber if i won or not. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/62 "2003-04-22T23:05:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*I’ve never met anyone who has reached the end of any of the classic Gauntlet games(not the more recent ones). \*\* ::Raises hand:: I’ve beat every iteration of Gauntlet except the newest one. I quit playing Dark Legacy when I realized you didn’t even have to press any buttons. Just point your guy in the right direction and start walking. Playing that game is like watching a cartoon with bad animation and sound that makes your fingers tired. ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/63 "2003-04-22T23:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by badmana \* > \*\* > > One game I remember was “Blaster Master”? for NES. Never finished it but I really liked it for some reason and remember it was hard. \*\* Yeah. I couldn’t get past before level one! ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/64 "2003-04-22T23:43:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by N9IWP \* > \*\*Anyone remember Beer Run for the Apple II? There were two buldings, the first one you had to get to the top of, then you went to the top of the 2nd building and had to get to the bottom of that. If you died you went to the bottom/top of the building you were in. I (and many others) got to the top of the 1st building, but I never saw anyone get to the bottom of the 2nd. > > Brian \*\* My LORD! There was a second BUILDING?!?! ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/65 "2003-04-23T00:30:59Z")
I remember finishing _Raiders_ on the Atari 2600. I think at one point you had to jump off the cliff and then switch items while falling, so it did help to have two people. Or maybe it was just difficult. The game I’d consider ‘freakishly difficult’ in a nonsensical way is _The Last Ninja_ (I had it on the C64). Supposedly it had five levels, but I could never make it out of the first one. It was an isometric fighting game, but it felt as if the controls were for some other game. Once you got used to that your ninja could be an excellent fighter, but unfortunately he had a severe allergy to water. If any part of him touched it while jumping, he would die a hideous death (Either that, or Japan has some extremely deep rivers with irresistibly strong currents). Given that it wasn’t entirely clear if all my failed jumps were even on the correct path, I gave up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/66 "2003-04-23T01:34:15Z")
_A Boy And His Blob_ for NES. Too much falling into pits. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/67 "2003-04-23T02:06:19Z")
A PC game came out last year called **Sub Command**. I thought, “I’ve read a few Tom Clancy novels. How hard could this be?” After working on it for three days I could only navigate the boat in rough circles. Firing a torpedo at a practice target was like calculus class. I suspect it would have been easier to command a real sub… ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/68 "2003-04-23T03:58:31Z")
I’ve been cursing at [monkeys in little plastic balls](http://www.nintendo.com/games/gamepage/gamepage_main.jsp?gameId=617) lately. ---
**Author:** ![kgriffey79](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@kgriffey79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kgriffey79)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/69 "2003-04-23T05:38:01Z")
Another vote for METAL GEAR. God that game is hard. You have absolutely no idea where to go, there are a million enemies(and you can’t hide like in it’s PS brother) and one shot kills you!! And another vote for DOOM on Nightmare. Doom is weird, barely anybody played the actual game. EVERYBODY just put it on Ultra-Violence, and then promptly hit IDDQD and IDKFA. I actually played through it, but only on Hurt my plenty. Anyway, games seemed to be a lot harder back in the old 8-bit days. Maybe they just require more practice, or maybe it’s just me. MANIAC MANSION can be a hard game without any help because unlike it’s Lucasarts older brothers, you can actually lose the game and not know it. You can waste an item, or do something wrong(not feed the green tentacle in the right order is one example), but that is a great game. [www.ismokecrack.com](http://www.ismokecrack.com) try curveball, it’s a hard game! Try getting to level 10 or above! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/70 "2003-04-23T05:44:46Z")
“The Hunt for Red October,” for the NES. The final (?) level was booby-trapped: Without even being mentioned in the manual, it switched from a submarine side-scroller into a 3rd person shooter, with no onscreen instructions, and a one minute timer. Reaching this level also disabled the “Infinite Lives” cheat. And there was no “save game” feature. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/71 "2003-04-23T05:49:45Z")
**Ghosts and Goblins** for the NES. It may not have been the hardest game ever, but it was the only one I _ever_ failed to beat. Surprised no one has mentioned it already. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/72 "2003-04-23T06:01:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hebesphenomegacorona \* > \*\*Yeah. I couldn’t get past before level one! \*\* Aw, come on. Everybody could beat the first level of Blaster Master! You only had to hit the boss once, then pause the game while he was flashing from damage, and his life meter would drain down to nothing! I used to love Blaster Master. I think I beat it, but I don’t remember for sure. Frankly, I don’t see how everyone here can pick out a game from 15-20 years ago and remember if they beat it, how good the ending was, etc, etc. You’re all either elephants or emulator fanatics. 🙂 I’ve played a lot of tough games over the years, and don’t know if I could pick a single hardest game, but here are a few: The Mega Man series. Every single game. Ugh. I really did like them, because back in the NES days, the Mega Man games always had the best graphics, but damn were they hard! All of the stupid little robots that would fly up and down while they were coming at you drove me nuts. So did the small things that were lower than the range of your gun. And, of course, it was Mega Man, so you couldn’t duck (though you could do that stupid slide thing). You had to charge up your gun and use one of those power shots (or whatever the hell they were called). And don’t get me started on the enemies that would turn into several smaller enemies when you shot them. A newer game that’s made me throw up my hands in frustration is Line of Sight - Vietnam. It’s a FPS, sort of similar to the Medal of Honor games. It really does look nice, but you don’t get to see it for long, because it’s so easy to get killed. My average game of LOS - Vietnam goes something like this: I begin walking forward. I realize that the trail is too obvious and I won’t last long there, so I duck into the trees. I keep on moving until I hear some shots and see my damage meter flash. Oh my! Those sure are loud! This guy must be nearby! I feverishly spin around in a circle, rying to pick the gunner out through the fog. I see nothing. I hear more shots. I spin around again. Again, I see nothing but fog and leaves. Then a few more shots and I’m dead. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/73 "2003-04-23T06:07:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Incubus \* > \*\* > Legacy of the Wizard- This game took a huge investment in time. Plus, the password was around 45 characters long (similar to Guardian Legend) which made it very easy to botch it when you copied it down. \*\* Actually, Falcom – the same company behind the much easier but still fun Y’S series and Faxanadu – made this game. I have to agree though, some of those moving block puzzles in some of the rooms felt IMPOSSIBLE. I beat it once after a couple of years (and a lot of walkthrough consulting) and decided to never touch it again. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/74 "2003-04-23T06:24:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > \*\*Going from memory here… > > Gran Turismo 3 (my god, have you SEEN some of the things you gotta do to get 100% completion??). Sega Sports Tennis. Every snowboarding game ever created. \*\* Agree with GT3. Whoever came up with the idea of “license tests” should be bundled into a Toyota Vitz and driven off a cliff. Agree with Sega Sports Tennis. Some of the skill games were freaking impossible, and forget about trying to win any of the higher-level tournaments. Disagree with snowboarding games. I kicked SSX’s ass (except on pipe dream), and was equally adept at SSX Tricky. But for whatever reason, I totally suck at the Tony Hawk games. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/75 "2003-04-23T06:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kgriffey79 \* > **And another vote for DOOM on Nightmare. Doom is weird, barely anybody played the actual game. EVERYBODY just put it on Ultra-Violence, and then promptly hit IDDQD and IDKFA. I actually played through it, but only on Hurt my plenty.** Bullshit. IDDQD and IDKFA are used when you feel like blowing off some steam by blowing up some monsters. Most people, when actually playing the game, didn’t use them. I beat both Doom and Doom II on both Hurt Me Plenty and Ultra-Violence, except for the last level of Doom II (as far as I know, no-one has ever been able to kill that last demon without cheat codes) and one other level of Doom II, where, despite using a WAD editor, I just could not find the door I needed. So I IDCLIPed. And felt dirty. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/76 "2003-04-23T06:28:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > \*\*Going from memory here… > > Rambo \*\* I finally replayed this with a game genie and an emulator a couple months back. I should have saved myself the trouble and just watched the film. It was a lot more fun to waste two hours that way(the movie is more of a video game anyway). ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/77 "2003-04-23T06:36:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by VarlosZ \* > \*\*I’ll say _Days of Thunder_ for NES. Aside from the fact that going around in endless circles was f-ing **boring** (much like real NASCAR, IMO), you had to race flawlessly to have a shot at winning a single race. You’d race so intently for 10 minutes that the muscles in your hand ache, you finally work your way up to #2 . . . then you take one turn poorly, or you make an error in the pit, and you’re screwed. Useless game cartridge. \*\* Want to hear the sad thing? I rented it once when I was a little kid. I had more fun playing with the pit crew then actually racing around(I said I was a little kid),so I’d run around the track once, smack the tires a little on the, then go back to the pit to play with the crew some more. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/78 "2003-04-23T07:24:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Priceguy \* > \*\*Bullshit. IDDQD and IDKFA are used when you feel like blowing off some steam by blowing up some monsters. Most people, when actually playing the game, didn’t use them. I beat both Doom and Doom II on both Hurt Me Plenty and Ultra-Violence, except for the last level of Doom II (as far as I know, no-one has ever been able to kill that last demon without cheat codes) and one other level of Doom II, where, despite using a WAD editor, I just could not find the door I needed. So I IDCLIPed. > > And felt dirty. \*\* I never beat Doom 2 on Ultra-Violence, but I did on Hurt Me Plenty. The final boss was not that hard, you just had to get on that elevator platform and fire a rocket at the right time as it moved up. I think you fired when your rocket launcher barrel was level with the chin of the demon head. I beat both ET and Indiana Jones. ET was not hard at all, it just worked in a very strange way - as mentioned, you had to be standing in certain places to invoke different powers. There were also a bunch of other weird things to that game, especially on the later levels. ET got a bad rap because people bought it for young children and I think most young children couldn’t figure it out. Indiana Jones took FOREVER to beat, and I think I got the solution in a games magazine, but once I figured it out it was easy. That was a really neat game for it’s time, it had some varied and interesting gameplay, and it had some tricky puzzles to figure out. Some parts of it really creeped me out, I was scared to enter some areas of the game, and when I finally got to that last screen before you go up to the Ark, with those SS guys in robes running back and forth and you have to move to the bottom of the screen…eek, I get chills thinking about it now. ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/79 "2003-04-23T07:37:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Atreyu \* > \*\*I hope remembered the title correctly: > > _Ghosts & Goblins_. > > Even the home Nintendo version was infuriating. \*\* I found this in a stinking, decrepit arcade down in Mrytle Beach last year and experienced instant nostalgia. 1.50 later, I was experiencing instant rage. I’d forgotten that this is literally one of the worst games ever designed. Some parts of it are simply impossible to navigate. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077/80 "2003-04-23T07:39:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > **I never beat Doom 2 on Ultra-Violence, but I did on Hurt Me Plenty. The final boss was not that hard, you just had to get on that elevator platform and fire a rocket at the right time as it moved up. I think you fired when your rocket launcher barrel was level with the chin of the demon head.** I know how to do it _in theory_. If you managed to hit that target, twice, without cheat codes, with all those monsters popping up behind your back shooting fireballs at you and having to run through the poison every time you missed… well, kudos to you. Oh, and if there’s anyone who hasn’t done it yet, hit IDCLIP and run through the demon’s face. It’s fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-freakishly-difficult-video-game/170077.md?page=5)