Hardest games you've completed

[jobocan]

If there's one thing that I really like about retro gaming, it's the fact that games back then were actually a challenge. Modern games generally hold your hand so much you might as well be watching a movie, while retro games rarely hesitate to kick your ass and laugh at your failure.

So yeah, let's brag a bit on here and say which hard games we completed ourselves And let's not include anything done on emulators.
(my response coming soon)

[scott]

Prolly the hardest game I beat as a kid was Mega Man 2. Loved the hell out of that game and eventually was able to finish it. Years later I got the retro bug and polished off Metroid, Castlevania 1,2 & 3.  Always loved the original Castlevanias and it felt good to finally finish them off.

Mega Man X would have to be the hardest SNES game I've beaten, the end boss is a pain in the ass. As well as Mega Man Zero, that end boss took forever for me. Hardest and most rewarding end boss, I'd have to say goes to The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. That whole game was both fun and challenging thanks to the Camo system.

Currently, I'm working on finishing Deathsmiles Mega Black Label and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

[matt]

I think i'm one of the few who actually beat Toe Jam & Earl.

[scott]

Also, Beating Sonic 2, 3 and & Knuckles with all the Chaos Emeralds is a gaming milestone for me.

[jobocan]

I'm currently trying to beat all the "super hard" games on the NES, going in more or less random order.

I beat Ninja Gaiden, which was super annoying because of how hard that final area is, but the infinite continues got me through it (and I WAS playing the final level nearly flawlessly by the end).
Pretty much the same with Ghosts n' Goblins, it's really hard to go through due to that final level (since, if you die, you have to wait for a ghost to drop a knife since the "unicorn" enemy is immune to the shield/cross and the dragon is immune to the lance, and you NEED the shield/cross to fight the final boss), and having to play through the game twice is just madness... but I got through it due to the infinite continues. Lame ending FTW!
I also beat the first Castlevania, which was actually a lot easier than I was expecting, other than the fight against Death and the second form of Dracula (which ended up being really easy when I realized I had to hit his head... DUH). Infinite continues once again got me through this one.

Those are probably the hardest I've beaten as of now (I've completed Mega Man 2 and 3 as well, though I don't consider them THAT hard). Currently working on finishing Battletoads, which is INSANE (my last run got me to the final room of level 6 before I lost my last continue)... It's really fun, but damn is it kicking my ass. Since it's so hard, I'm thinking of going for some slightly easier hard games like Castlevania 3 and the Contra series for the moment, and giving Battletoads another try once I'm done with those.

[scott]

@jobocan I only considered Mega Man 2 hard due to my age. Mega Man 1 on the other hand, I still can't beat the Yellow Devil on the up and up... But from trying to beat Castlevania I got to the point where I can get through it on 2 lives. Lol (holy water ftw)

Downloaded Ninja Gaiden on my Wii and have been trying to work on that as well. Some how I always considered it the "easy one" of the 3 NES games...

[jobocan]

Yeah... during my playthrough of Castlevania my weapon of choice was the cross for some reason... after getting to Death I realized how overpowered the holy water was... so on my next playthrough I'll use that exclusively (other than using the axe on the first boss).

As for Ninja Gaiden... I can't say since I never got far in NG2 (due to just not wanting to beat it before beating the first), and I don't have NG3... but NG3 is apparently the hardest due to it not having infinite continues. The first one is no slouch though, that final level has quite a few crazy moments.

[scott]

Ya you can blow through Castlevania if you keep the holy water, it's ridiculous.

[strickler80]

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs for the SNES. Very tough game at first, even had major problems in the Turbo Tunnel. But after plenty of practice, I finally beat it... only to get a lame ending.

[jobocan]

Finished Ninja Gaiden 2... I actually found it to be a lot easier than the first.

[strickler80]

@jobocan Any Ninja Gaiden will seem easier than the first, which I'm pretty sure you're alluding to level 6-2.

[godnightshade]

Toe Jam & Earl (GEN), Fester's Quest (NES)

These are games that it's difficult to sit with until you beat them. Toe Jam and Earl, because it takes a long time to get through the number of levels to collect all the ship pieces, Fester's Quest because the game fucking blows.

[darko]

I've beat Contra, Super Contra, Contra III, Contra: Shattered Soldier, Contra 4, Mega Man 4, Super Punch-Out!! (the last 2 fights are ridiculous), Devil May Cry 3 (black label US version on the most difficult setting), U.N. Squadron and Ninja Gaiden III without any cheating, codes, etc. Which one was the most difficult? I don't know...probably either Contra: Shattered Soldier or Contra III.

I actually beat Shattered Soldier the first night that I had it. I played with a friend for a few hours and, after he got too frustrated, beat it by myself while he watched only dying once. The last thing I remember him saying that night was "How the FUCK did you just do that?"

I think the key is memorization on all of these games (other than DMC3). If you can memorize each level then you're good to go. I managed to beat Ninja Gaiden III last week after playing it for about 4 hours or so. I can fly through the first 5 levels without dying now (usually) and it's all because I know exactly what's coming at me. Basically, when I play a really hard game I just turn into a robot until I get to a new area. Once you have it down you can beat any of them without a problem. I can still sit down and beat Super Contra in one play through if I go into robot mode because I spent so much time playing it as a kid. Probably the same reason I can sing the theme songs from Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, Ninja Turtles, etc after years and years of not hearing them

[htimreimer]

for me its western outlaw wanted dead or alive because its so broken

[empovyle]

Tbh, I can't beat the very first Rayman without passwords. Not exactly sure why its so difficult, but it is.