Top Five Most Frustrating Levels
- Thread starter kumanoki
- Start date
bobbyconover
Member
I don't know if I can come up with 5 off the top of my head, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread was the infamous "Speeder Bikes" level in Battletoads.
Mr. Lemming
Member
bobbyconover said:
First thing that came to my mind too.
bobbyconover
Member
GhaleonEB said:
Oh GOD, those later levels of Toejam & Earl were some of the most frustrating in any game I've played, particularly when you'd get knocked off the edge and fall 5 floors down. I'm practically getting frustrated just remembering how brutal that was. Even moreso when I was playing with a friend and HE kept getting knocked down, making me wait 20 minutes for his slow ass to come back up. Ugh!
I would like to propose that the last stage of the USA Exile:Wicked Phenomenon for the Turbografx-CD is one of the hardest ever. It was so hard that some monsters could kill you dead with one or two hits, and the stage was LONG.
We didn't intend for it to be that way, but in those days our programming was done by the Japanese publisher we licensed the game from, and getting them to even do basic stuff like put in proportional fonts was really hard. We were given three shots at balancing monster difficulties, with about 7 days in between each tweak. When it came time for the last tweak, we made what we thought were minor changes to the monster table for the last level only, but it turned out that those particular values were multiplied rather than taken straight, so we ended up getting a disc delivered to us that was so hard, we initially thought we made the game impossible to finish. The Japanese pub (Telenet...I still miss them, Exile/Valis/all theother great games they did to becoming a pachinko sim maker must be hell) refused to modify again, pointing to the fact that they were only contractually obligated to do three revs.
So, after playing and playing and...playing (I think it was about a week on that last level to first success), we devised strategies that took into account weaknesses in the game system or outright flaws in game logic, and were able to get to the final boss, who was a piece of cake by that point given that we had to become superhuman to get to him.
Big shame, too. The closing animation sequence/boss fight/credits in that game was something to behold for its time.
We didn't intend for it to be that way, but in those days our programming was done by the Japanese publisher we licensed the game from, and getting them to even do basic stuff like put in proportional fonts was really hard. We were given three shots at balancing monster difficulties, with about 7 days in between each tweak. When it came time for the last tweak, we made what we thought were minor changes to the monster table for the last level only, but it turned out that those particular values were multiplied rather than taken straight, so we ended up getting a disc delivered to us that was so hard, we initially thought we made the game impossible to finish. The Japanese pub (Telenet...I still miss them, Exile/Valis/all theother great games they did to becoming a pachinko sim maker must be hell) refused to modify again, pointing to the fact that they were only contractually obligated to do three revs.
So, after playing and playing and...playing (I think it was about a week on that last level to first success), we devised strategies that took into account weaknesses in the game system or outright flaws in game logic, and were able to get to the final boss, who was a piece of cake by that point given that we had to become superhuman to get to him.
Big shame, too. The closing animation sequence/boss fight/credits in that game was something to behold for its time.
Wario64 said:
Yeah, you have to beat it twice to beat it. It is all a lie by Capcom. This game was clearly made by some of the most evil human beings to ever infest this planet. I mean, me and a good friend of mine have tried to beat this game since we were 10. 16 years later and we still can't get past that last level. It is literaly impossible.
The platforming section of Breakdown where you jump up countless flights of black and orange stairs. The graphics sucked, the level was confusing, and it took me about three hours to figure out what to do.
I wish I could find screenshots of that part to share this nightmare with all of you.
-rp
I wish I could find screenshots of that part to share this nightmare with all of you.
-rp
Only two games have gotten me ENRAGED.
Actraiser 2 - Stormrook castle. After finally beating Death Field on hard (the only difficulty you get an ending on), I was already pissed. Add to that the fact that the first part of Stormrook probably took me over 50 zen-like efforts, the second took double that, only to have the boss defeat me at least a half dozen times, over a very focused period of two weeks. After this one try, I got soo close but still failed. I went into such a SEETHING rage that I wanted to bite my entire arm off. Instead, I whipped my controller out the window, then I picked it up and whipped it at a tree countless times. I'm not an angry person either. Really, I swear!! I guess I couldn't accept two straight weeks of failure, lol. True story.
Honorable mention: F-Zero GX - Story Mode & Master Difficulty
Actraiser 2 - Stormrook castle. After finally beating Death Field on hard (the only difficulty you get an ending on), I was already pissed. Add to that the fact that the first part of Stormrook probably took me over 50 zen-like efforts, the second took double that, only to have the boss defeat me at least a half dozen times, over a very focused period of two weeks. After this one try, I got soo close but still failed. I went into such a SEETHING rage that I wanted to bite my entire arm off. Instead, I whipped my controller out the window, then I picked it up and whipped it at a tree countless times. I'm not an angry person either. Really, I swear!! I guess I couldn't accept two straight weeks of failure, lol. True story.
Honorable mention: F-Zero GX - Story Mode & Master Difficulty
I had it for Genesis. I don't think it matters though.
A lot of the bosses in Maximum Carnage had little tricks that would make them a lot easier. Like I remember the Goblin was like impossible unless you did one specific move, jump kicks I think.
Another thing was that there were certain paths you could take to make it easier. Like every other level or so you'd get to pick to be Spider-Man or Venom. Most of the time Spider-Man's path was quite a bit easier and shorter. I remember there's even a few instances where Spider-Man's path is simply a cut-scene or a boss fight while Venom would have to go through an entire level.
Also key was knowing where all the hidden powers ups were, especially the extra lives.
A lot of the bosses in Maximum Carnage had little tricks that would make them a lot easier. Like I remember the Goblin was like impossible unless you did one specific move, jump kicks I think.
Another thing was that there were certain paths you could take to make it easier. Like every other level or so you'd get to pick to be Spider-Man or Venom. Most of the time Spider-Man's path was quite a bit easier and shorter. I remember there's even a few instances where Spider-Man's path is simply a cut-scene or a boss fight while Venom would have to go through an entire level.
Also key was knowing where all the hidden powers ups were, especially the extra lives.
robojimbo said:
The entire game is hard as nails, but it is the last level that is all on ladders that killed me. I could beat the two bosses without getting hit. Beating those guys is no easy task either, but it is the long climb up with all the red devils that is impossible. It is possible to do if you cheat like a wanker on a emulator, but that is not really beating a game.
This level is so hard it makes Actraiser 2 looks easy!
kumanoki said:
You mean like the final level stage right? Not like the final "jump up a few fire platforms and fight the easiest boss in the game" last bit right?
If it's the former than I pretty much agree with you, although you could be really overpowered and fully stocked with items at that point lessening the pain. I'd probably choose the 2nd or 3rd level as the hardest in the game since you don't have the flying swallow move nor many other useful moves at that point.
fennec fox
ferrets ferrets ferrets ferrets FERRETS!!!
Ecco the Dolphin -- Welcome to the machine
TheGreenGiant
Banned
Viewtiful Joe - Fire Leo.
gta:sa - supply lines: just tried this for the first time today, i've already pretty much decided that it's impossible. closest i got was 4 of the couriers killed, and then i ran out of fuel before i could get to the 5th. that plane fucking sucks.
viewtiful joe - fire leo: fire leo kicked my ass about 10000 times in a row when i first played him, then i quit for a week and beat him on my first try.
ninja gaiden - alma: kicked my ass the first bunch of times, then i gave up, beat her in one try a few days later.
ninja gaiden - climbing out of that pit with the skeleton archers: i was so mad i punched myself in the face and gave myself a black eye.
contra hard corps - jungle level boss: my neighbor and i spent about 5 hours a day playing through hard corps without losing too many lives, then losing them all on this boss. even after we beat him we'd die really quickly because we didn't have any lives left. took us ages to be able to beat that game.
viewtiful joe - fire leo: fire leo kicked my ass about 10000 times in a row when i first played him, then i quit for a week and beat him on my first try.
ninja gaiden - alma: kicked my ass the first bunch of times, then i gave up, beat her in one try a few days later.
ninja gaiden - climbing out of that pit with the skeleton archers: i was so mad i punched myself in the face and gave myself a black eye.
contra hard corps - jungle level boss: my neighbor and i spent about 5 hours a day playing through hard corps without losing too many lives, then losing them all on this boss. even after we beat him we'd die really quickly because we didn't have any lives left. took us ages to be able to beat that game.
Do The Mario
Unconfirmed Member
yoshifumi said:
... WTF!
sasimirobot
Junior Member
any level in Spelunker
Test of Fear in Star Fox Adventures.
I fucking hated it. What pisses me off most is that it's not skill dependant, just totally random crap.
I haven't played past that point, can't be fucked.
I'm sure there is other frustrating moments, but that one sticks in my mind more than any other.
I fucking hated it. What pisses me off most is that it's not skill dependant, just totally random crap.
I haven't played past that point, can't be fucked.
I'm sure there is other frustrating moments, but that one sticks in my mind more than any other.
I loved that game, even when it beat my ass.Parallax Scroll
Banned
Battletoads gets way harder than that.bobbyconover said:
Agreed.Wario64 said:
Super Ghouls and Ghosts- mentioned
Bionic "Fuckin" Commando - all I remember was partnering up with a friend to beat this back in the day..game was SO brutal.
Exile - Vic mentioned it in his post, and I think I remember that lvl... in which case, I think I also chucked the gamem out of a window =P (sad to hear about that company btw, I really loved the Valis series)
Phantasy Star 2 - jebus...
Ninja Gaiden (NES) - Any goddamned lvl with like 8 Medusa's flying around when you need to jump from ledge to ledge. RTIHGRIEHEWWEFIHEWFIHE!
This may not count but...
KOF Series - Some of those bosses made you cry bloody, quarterless tears.
Bionic "Fuckin" Commando - all I remember was partnering up with a friend to beat this back in the day..game was SO brutal.
Exile - Vic mentioned it in his post, and I think I remember that lvl... in which case, I think I also chucked the gamem out of a window =P (sad to hear about that company btw, I really loved the Valis series)
Phantasy Star 2 - jebus...
Ninja Gaiden (NES) - Any goddamned lvl with like 8 Medusa's flying around when you need to jump from ledge to ledge. RTIHGRIEHEWWEFIHEWFIHE!
This may not count but...
KOF Series - Some of those bosses made you cry bloody, quarterless tears.
novery said:
I vote for Breakdown too, except my part is during the final 15 minutes of the game where you have to fight wave after wave of enemies, and with a shitty ass control scheme like Breakdown's, you're bound to come into trouble.
I simply gave up on the game after rounds and rounds of tries.