The Hardest Games

[Kamako]

Did you know that Shadow of the Beast got 2 sequels and a 2016 remake on the PS4?

I did!
I've never played the sequels, but I've played the remake, and it's marvellous!

The remake is a rhythm game disguised as an action game, where carefully timed button presses can kill enemies in a single strike.
When you get really proficient at it, you can seamlessly chain dodges, stuns, attacks and specials all in one never-ending massacre. It owns.

The game's environments are also very faithful to the feel of the original game. I only wish there was slightly more enemy variety. It's not a terribly long game, but as a reward for beating it you also unlock

Spoiler: Bonus

The original Amiga version of Shadow of the Beast,

among many other things, which was unnecessary, but very cool.
I also got the platinum trophy for the game on PS4 (woohoo! Bragging rights!)
Solid recommendation from me.
7.5/10

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

So, as an update to this thread, I beat Chakan: The Forever Man
View attachment 80178
Thanks to @King Koopa & @Nidoking for the recommendation!

Not only was the game tough as hell, but stunningly gorgeous as well! Everything from the backgrounds, enemy sprites, and Chakan himself were all clearly made with such attention to detail. The time limit for each stage was a concern going in, but I found them to be quite reasonable in all but a few rare cases. The combat was fluid and varied and all in all I had a great time playing this game. I even managed to get all the achievements on RA! Pleased with that one.

I also (finally) finished another game that has plagued me for most of my life. Shadow of the Beast for Genesis/MD! Specifically, the ridiculously sped up US port.

View attachment 80179

(this is the only GIF I could find of the game)
​

Now, I can't in good conscience say that this port is a "good" game. The collision detection is atrocious, and the music is high-pitched and disorientating. You are given very little instruction on what to do or how to progress, and most modern gamers would (justifiably) put it down within 5 minutes of picking it up. But I stuck with it damnit, and I'm actually really pleased that I did.

I've always loved Shadow of the Beast for its incredible atmosphere and enemy designs. This is a very short game, taking no more than ~45 mins to beat from start to finish. But I estimate it has around 100 unique enemy designs. Both the visuals and the music are mesmerising. So entrenched is my stockholm syndrome for this game, that the original score now sounds unnaturally slow and mopey to me.

Unlike Chakan, which gives you unlimited lives, Shadow of the Beast gives you 12HP and a vague sense that it might possibly be beatable. Thanks to some re-spawning health potions, victory can indeed be achieved, but boy oh boy, you are going to have to work for it.

And work for it I did. And now, it is done. When the credits rolled I felt a slow wave of accomplishment. I'm likely one of less than 1000 people who have ever beaten this version of the game, and it brings me some measure of sincere joy to be able to say that I finally did it.

I still recommend anyone who reads this plays it. You'll hate it and put it down if you've got a lick of sense, but if you persevere, You too may find a game you recall fondly, whilst wincing.

You absolute mad lad!
Chakan is hard enough, but Shadow of the Beast?! The game BUILT for 50hz that breaks at 60?? Nah, I think you’re a game lord. I crown you that.

 

[BigTony]

Hotlinemiami 2 for sure i recently read an interview where both the devs admitted that the haven't beaten the game on hard mode. Redeeming thing about hotline Miami is that when you die you can get right back into the action thats what makes the difference between a hard game and an annoying game.
An example of an annoying game is kings field 4 i was playing it the other day its cool but the combat sucks and every time you die you just loose an hour of progress as i get older i realize how precious time really is and it makes me really hate games that have to respect for my time.

 

[Kamako]

You absolute mad lad!
Chakan is hard enough, but Shadow of the Beast?! The game BUILT for 50hz that breaks at 60?? Nah, I think you’re a game lord. I crown you that.

Oh man, game lord is a new one on me Sounds like gay lord.

Butcha know what? I'll take it!

Hotline Miami 2 for sure

The Hotline Miami games look like an Acid Trip directed by Tarantino, and I'm all for it!

A friend of mine recently got the platinum for the first game, but said it got pretty tough near to the end. Games that let you get right back into the fray after losing definitely keep me motivated to win.

....
An example of an annoying game is Kings Field 4 i was playing it the other day its cool but the combat sucks and every time you die you just loose an hour of progress as i get older i realize how precious time really is and it makes me really hate games that have to respect for my time.

If I had been shown gameplay of Kings Field when I was younger I'd have wrote it off immediately. I do like how mysterious alot of From Software games are, but I agree, that sense of wonder can quickly turn to frustration and boredom if things don't start to make themselves clear eventually. And if the core combat mechanics of the game aren't the greatest, then that doesn't help matters.

I used to feel the same way about long games. It was kind of deflating coming to the realisation that I can never beat all these great games, because so many of 'em take so. damn. long to beat. But I've recently come back around to appreciating games with longer runtimes that can keep me engaging for weeks or even months with consistently fun gameplay.

I just surpassed 350 hours on Red Dead Redemption II, and I'm only halfway through getting all the trophies! I didn't know quite what I was signing up for going in.

Thankfully, it's one of the most technically impressive and 'emergent' (?) games I've ever played, so I'm enjoying the journey. Beating tough games will have to resume at some point in the near future!
Watch this space.

 

[BigTony]

If I had been shown gameplay of Kings Field when I was younger I'd have wrote it off immediately. I do like how mysterious alot of From Software games are, but I agree, that sense of wonder can quickly turn to frustration and boredom if things don't start to make themselves clear eventually. And if the core combat mechanics of the game aren't the greatest, then that doesn't help matters.

I used to feel the same way about long games. It was kind of deflating coming to the realisation that I can never beat all these great games, because so many of 'em take so. damn. long to beat. But I've recently come back around to appreciating games with longer runtimes that can keep me engaging for weeks or even months with consistently fun gameplay.

I just surpassed 350 hours on Red Dead Redemption II, and I'm only halfway through getting all the trophies! I didn't know quite what I was signing up for going in.

Thankfully, it's one of the most technically impressive and 'emergent' (?) games I've ever played, so I'm enjoying the journey. Beating tough games will have to resume at some point in the near future!
Watch this space.

Im about 10 or 15 hours into the game now and its definitely grown on me but that might just be the sunk cost fallacy. the annoying and unfun aspects of the game still exist and suck but im better at dealing with them i guess

 

[Kamako]

Im about 10 or 15 hours into the game now and its definitely grown on me but that might just be the sunk cost fallacy. the annoying and unfun aspects of the game still exist and suck but im better at dealing with them i guess

Kudos for sticking with it. I hope the fun aspects of the game stay consistent or ramp up as it goes along

 

[Isegrim]

Well, I 1 cced Ghosts and Goblins on the NES and my version isn't the NES one, it's the Famicom version with no native continue feature. I had to win it legit on my actual Famicom. I only discovered it did have a continue code but only after I did my legit run.

There's also Ghouls and Ghosts and Super Ghouls and Ghosts on the Genesis and Super NES but I found those easier to 1 cc compared to the original GNG.

I also did my Shadow of the Beast run on an actual Amiga and I had to wait for 5 minutes between games. I don't know if it was my Amiga or copy or if it really runs that way but it was a pain playing it over and over again.

Crazy Climber on the Famicom was another insanely difficult game. It plays differently from the arcade game but you still need two d-pads to climb just like the arcade one uses two joysticks. The normal levels aren't the hard ones, it's when you unlock the special buildings that the difficulty goes ballistic. It's one of those games where some dependence on luck is needed due to the randomly super fast windows that close. Normally, you could out climb those windows but there are portions where you need to climb backwards which is slow and you have to shuffle your hands one at a time, then do a simulataneous stick shift that can get wonky to shift down. All the while praying a window won't close on your hands while doing this. I did my 1 cc run on this game as well on my Famicom and I think it was one of the most difficult games I played.

Yes, all of the harder games I mastered were mostly old games. My reflexes were faster then.

The only "difficult" game I play nowadays is the Monster Hunter series with Monster Hunter Wilds as my current regular. Difficult is in quotation marks since too much of it is beginner friendly for most of the vets but Capcom has been adding some challenging content lately with more to come.

 

[JustLooking123]

I had Taz-Mania on real console and had beaten it there when i was a kid!
Yeah... took years to do so!

About hardest games i have played... i think the most unfair and broken game would be Dragon Lair (nes)...
I couldn't beat it even with save states!

Another is Touhou 1 - Highly Responsive to Prayers (PC98)
I still haven't beaten it...

Another is Pitfall - The Mayan Adventure (md)
I have beaten it with the help of save states... but it was brutal!

Also, you might want to test The Addams Family (md) too!