10 Of The Most Challenging Video Games Of All Time

[@throwbackswiththetechnodrome]

Contra is one of those games that seems insurmountable, but once you know where the more surprising enemies are it’s really not bad. Easily one of my top 5 favorite games of all time, I can beat it without the 30 life code in my sleep at this point. Great work on the vid. -Cast

[@chrisnelson2948]

I beat the NES version of Ninja Gaiden once and never touched it again thanks to Act 6.

[@timothylewis2527]

Just thinking about some of these NES games gives me PTSD.

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

Can relate but my stage hell was the 4th one😐

[@mattcote7687]

For sure

[@erakfishfishfish]

Punch Out is my beat-it-once-and-never-played-again game.

[@ElValuador]

JonTron took years to finish Takeshi's Challenge so I’ll go with that.

[@annoschreier1860]

As puzzle games go, Baba Is You is also insanely hard.

[@CarletonTorpin]

8:21 - The phrase "deadly gorges", said with an English accent, is akin to "bloody marvelous".

[@erakfishfishfish]

The original Kid Icarus. As a kid, I could never get past the second stage. I’ve beaten it since, but that game’s pretty unforgiving (except for the final stage which is surprisingly easy).

[@chrislaustin]

Finishing Ghost 'N Goblins on the NES is one of my greatest gaming achievements hands down, as it took me a day and a half to finish it. Not straight through mind you, as I reached the end, only to be told I had to do it all again(WTF!?), so I left my NES on over night and went back to it the next day. It was brutal to say the least, but back then it was a matter of principle to not give up. LOL

[@Anotherperson81]

I had it on game gear. Not sure how close they were though

[@chrislaustin]

@@Anotherperson81 Can't speak to the Game Gear version, but the NES game was spot on, all the enemies, locations, etc. If anything it might have been harder than the arcade, as everything was so small, it was hard to see projectiles and some of the smaller enemies. Great conversion, one of the better NES arcade conversions, at least for the time.

[@Anotherperson81]

@@chrislaustin I’ve watched a KZbin review to jog my memory and the game gear version was much easier (I don’t think I beat the final boss though). All very different games. I had the same problem with the first 360 game, difficulty beat me 😊

[@lilBugger35]

Did you beat it twice?

[@Darkreaper1982]

"The Immortal" and "Myst" are some of the hardest games i've played.

[@sarabevan11]

I've never ever finished it 🙈😅

[@lilBugger35]

Myst is so great.

[@mattalan6618]

@@lilBugger35 it it up until the end

[@Wercik997]

Me and my pal finished Contra when we were 8 or 9 years old. I tried playing it last year and couldn't get past stage 1...

[@SvenElven]

With the Konami code, surely?

[@Wercik997]

@@SvenElven nope, took us whole summer holidays though :))

[@SvenElven]

@@Wercik997 Kudos! Me an my brother (aged about 11 and 9 respectively), were pretty proud of ourselves when we did it WITH the code 😅

[@Wercik997]

@@SvenElven it was the nineties in Poland, we didn't know that something like the Konami code existed back then... Still, that was a whole summer of struggle that taught me to work smart, not hard ;)

[@SvenElven]

@@Wercik997 At that time you could buy the «Nintendo Magazine» from News kiosks in Norway where I live. That's where I learned the code 😅

[@swordbladez]

I have finished Witness (Consulted a guide but took 100 hours), Contra (without the code after enough practice (just don’t die and keep spread gun), SMB the lost levels on the SNES (how we in the US got it), Celeste (it isn’t that bad / switch version did not do C side), (I have yet to beat battletoads and I can do the turbo tunnel!), Ninja Gaiden 1 on the NES took me 34 years to beat thanks to that glitch you mentioned, and ghost n goblins was easier by comparison to Ninja Gaiden! Games to add to this list: Blasphemous 1, Ikaruga, and Milon’s Secret Castle NES. Those are some games I’m willing to bet everyone has played, but few have seen the end of.

[@fluoriteheals]

Battletoads! FUN AND JUST AS HARD! UGH!

[@Justforvisit]

The thing about those "Hard" games like "Elden Ring", "Dark Souls", "Sekiro" and "Nioh", the magic of those games doesn't come from them just being difficult (a circumstance so many copycats of the industry get so utterly wrong, thinking to create a soulslike it has just to be hard as hell), but from them finding the PERFECT trimline between "Challenge" and "Fairness" as in no cheapshot offscreen tricks, dead aim precise controls and always the offer to "do it your way", like "Can't beat that boss this way? You can still try another way" in terms of weapons, grinding, spells or different strategies. So many still compare them to the old Amiga days where many games indeed just were difficult because they were cheap as hell. From Software hast changed and revolutionized the way we see "fair" difficult games nowadays and that's where the magic of Soulsborne games stem from. Some competitors, like "Nioh" got that right and understood that concept. Some others, notably too many others, didn't get the memo.

[@chrisjfinlay]

There are countless videos online showing how often the SoulsBorne series throws cheap tricks at you though. Stuff you can't avoid without being clairvoyant.

[@PokyBallinBabo]

For me, FromSoft's games ARE cheap AF. End of story. 😢

[@lz7ification]

If only their stupid and elitist fanbase wasn't so annoying.

[@erakfishfishfish]

It’s why I like Cuphead. It’s difficult, yes, but never cheap.

[@chrisjfinlay]

@@erakfishfishfish yeah it’s still too difficult for me but I respect its approach for that reason

[@agroed]

Contra 1 isn't even close to the hardest Contra game. It's one of the easiest.

[@jwill7998]

Contra: Hard Corps is insane. Also, I was only able to beat Contra 4 using a glitch that gave me 99 lives.

[@used39]

I can’t believe the fate of the world hinged on the shoulders of a guy named LANCE BEAN.

[@shade20x64]

Pretty good list. I would add Castlevania 3, as well. I've beaten Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania 3 and the latter was more difficult, IMO. I think you could also argue that Ninja Gaiden 3 is the most difficult of the NES trilogy.

[@Djordje_Jovanovic]

& here are 10 more difficulty games for all the legends out there: Blade of Darkness Crash Bandicoot Crypt of the NecroDancer Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones Dyad Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero Nightmare Creatures OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

[@jimmya486]

Dick move bro

[@Gemmasis]

Erm… how about Driver and the insane training tutorial? As a child at the time of playing it, it drove me crazy!!!! (pun intended) I actually managed to complete it, and I beat the entire game, but I was very reluctant to play it again. Even as an adult I eventually gave it a try on my PS3 many years ago, and it was still as hard as nails!!!

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

Driver is just badly designed game with lots of bad decisions by the game devs. Its difficulty is artificial.

[@Xoulrath_]

​@@DontKnowDontCare6.9ALL game difficulty is artifical. 😂

[@ericsimonson8002]

You got me with the thumbnail. Ahhh nostalgia!

[@makismakis5354]

I think that platformers should have their own top10. Contra Celeste Meatboy etc are always in these lists. Anyway. Thank you guys and girl we love you. Love from Greece

[@bewd4310]

Did anyone else call Ghosts & Goblins before it got to no.1? Also I gather Super Ghouls & Ghosts is just a more aesthetically pleasing version? And more or less the same game.

[@drgonzo123]

I actually beat Celeste and felt very proud of myself for doing so. I’m content with rolling credits and will never go back for a 100% strawberry run or do the b and c side levels.

[@BEASTMALONE450]

I got so mad once I did snap a game in half it was midnight club LA because cars kept getting in the way😅😅😅

[@BlackyBlackerson]

Ninja Gaiden is super hard? Ah, good. I thought I was just horrible at video games. It was soul crushing to get deep into it only to get cheap shotted by a ridiculously hard boss and have to start over. 😭

[@timothylewis2527]

Played and beat: -Contra -SMB Lost Levels -Ninja Gaiden Played but couldn't beat: -Cuphead -Battletoads -Super Meat Boy -Ghosts N Goblins

[@StageRight123]

I've beaten Ninja Gaiden and Cuphead. Also, in the intro they show clips of Dragon's Lair. I beat that game on the SegaCD flawlessly, without dying at all. The game takes 11 minutes to beat from beginning to end, if you don't die at all.

[@fluoriteheals]

Seriously though, I love playing Ghosts & Goblins, but screw playing it for too long! It's just so frustrating!

[@Justpain247]

Battletoads anyone?

[@worldoffood123]

Battletoads is only hard cuz of the limited lives. Certainly challenging, but compared to some others on the NES it's not bad. Castlevania 3 has infinite lives and still almost impossible lol.

[@Justpain247]

@@worldoffood123 not saying you’re wrong but I know I beat Castlevania 3 when I was 10. I finally beat Battletoads when I was 21.

[@tylerc2346]

Battle toads on the original Gameboy was so hard I don't think I ever got passed the 3rd level.. the impossible game.

[@tylerc2346]

​@@worldoffood123play it on the Gameboy then and let me know how you went. And don't slow down the emulator 😂

[@worldoffood123]

@@tylerc2346 emulator?? No need. I've got it right here.

[@davedoerffer9896]

YAY Ben!

[@MrQ12elve]

i only sort of beat "turbo tunnel" once, used a old cheat book, i found out theres a wall you run into to skip the level, surprised to see it in this video !!! you mentioned what 'contra' is called in PAL region, did you forget what "ninja gaiden" was called ? hahaha

[@VideoGameQuizChannel]

Contra wasn't that bad ! Still difficult but probably easier than most of the other games on this list.

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

Even Super C and Hard Corps were beatable with no cheats in single player, Normal levels. Contra III and 4 are different stories however.

[@GarrettCRW]

You incorrectly described the issue with the first Ninja Gaiden (which, it should be noted, is nothing compared to the difficulty of the western version of Ninja Gaiden III): the checkpoints are fine until you happen to die to one of the Act VI bosses, at which point you get sent back to 6-1. Additionally, the knockback and tetchy respawn behaviors make 6-2 a nearly unbearable pain to go through, especially if you must do it multiple times. On top of that, the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy port for Super NES has a poor button layout AND the controls are much less precise, plus the hitboxes have been altered as well.

[@ryanpierce5460]

I beat them all but Sekiro. Currently trying it again after quitting after dying so much. Currently 3/4 done. Hardest game i ever played to date. I hope to beat it someday

[@fluoriteheals]

Ninja Gaiden is super fun and three times as difficult! The knockbacks UGH INFINITY!

[@marioyungblood]

Splatterhouse 1 TurboGrafx=16 Version. Bubble Bobble 1 NES beating it twice and Star Wars Chess that game trains you to become patience.

[@TairyHesticles]

If I don't see Gradius 3 I will riot. I spent a year of weekends in the prime of my life getting drunk and trying to beat that game. I never did.

[@matteste]

Battle Garegga is another one that is downright devilish given how hard it can be to see the projectiles and how you basically have to die in order to keep the rank system from going haywire.

[@ericsimonson8002]

Up down up down left right left right b a select start. Bring it on Contra!

[@nicoleburns9652]

If your playing two player mode.

[@mikececconi2677]

I like how the alliteration of D-words ended in "Beat" instead of "Defeat".

[@goodfella1401]

Someone apparently mixed up Contra with Contra III: Alien Wars

[@angrypuppett33]

I still can’t believe we beat Ninja Gaiden back in the day , now I can’t even beat the first boss !! And screw Sekero I have no idea how to even play it !! Do t forget about Demon souls also !

[@brentcanfield8883]

I suck at most 3D games. But I am proud to say one time I beat Contra for the NES, on original hardware.........on one life.And I can still beat Ghosts n Goblins in under two hours on original hardware as well. OLD MAN STREET CRED UNIIIIIIIIIIIIITE! * pumps fist *

[@eliadefilho]

I beat Ninja Gaiden back when there were no save states, it was only tears, sweat and blood 😅

[@jounihatinen8967]

Nethack, ADOM and other old-school roguelikes. It can easily take a decade to finish them.

[@matteste]

What about Shinobi PS2, F-Zero GX, Void Stranger and shooters like Battle Garegga?

[@fourwingsweepa1705]

Shinobi is the only game I lost my shit with breaking a controller and snapping the disc

[@The_Farwall]

Oh no, Celeste? Emdesu, thinking of you :P

[@frankbrodie5168]

Ah.. You said it at one point "difficult for difficult's sake..' I point blank refuse to play any game that is hard just for the sake of it. I like my games easy for easy's sake personally. (and I've 100% achieved Lightning Returns on Steam.. So I'm no slouch when it comes to actually playing games.)

[@metalhedp8ntbll]

Beat ninja gaiden back in the 80s when I was like 5. It was hard yes but they all were hard. I could never beat contra with 3 lives but my brother could. He also beat SMB3 without using any flutes

[@Deonteosayande]

Can you please play auto destruct for the Playstation or primal rage for the Sega genesis?

[@PokyBallinBabo]

I wouldn't call someone who has THREE LIVES 😮 "extremely brittle". 😂

[@jsmith3946]

Ninja Gaiden first game was a beat em up arcade game not the nes game

[@droooooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

I never was able to beat Battletoads, womp womp.

[@sonkien3]

I was assuming or hoping to see Ecco the Dolphin for Sega Genesis on the list. I recall people not being able to get past the first couple levels. I got a little further but in order to beat the game I used passwords to skip to the last boss

[@jekw23]

As a kid I never got off the first level and assumed that was the complete game. I just swan around a bit and thought “yeah that was good but it’s a bit short” Many years until I realised there was more than one level and I was just rubbish at it. Good looking game though

[@sonkien3]

@@jekw23 dude that’s priceless. Definitely for at the time, game design, sound and graphics were on point when this came out.

[@keness4768]

An ok list, except for the indie titles that no one's even heard of before and even fewer have played.

[@panterarosa4325]

Project gotham racing 3 and 4 was extremely harder and caused me to piss off the controller out❤❤❤❤❤

[@ShowdeQuetzal]

The witness broke me mentally

[@JerichotheSplendid]

Quite a few ninja based games without mentioning shinobi and it's one hit end game.

[@DarrenEggleston]

Ghosts and Goblins is the only game on this list I ever finished.

[@topfranluis1]

Turbotunnel this, Turbotunnel that, the Clinger Winger Level was a million times harder, change my mind. Then again, I doubt that anyone who complained about the Turbo Tunnel even got that far…

[@childofthe80s1981]

Battletoads umm Turbo Tunnels is as far as I ever got thanks to save states I finally beat Ninja Gaiden

[@L-kun]

Baba is You

[@KellyWing-yc8zj]

Why would the makers of Super Meat Boy create a cutsceen where cute little squirrels die! What the hell!!

[@BobGenghisKahn]

Contra seems really out of place on this list. I wouldn't call it easy, but there are a couple dozen harder games just on the NES. What about Mega Man 1 with the yellow devil?

[@bewd4310]

Congratulation 😌

[@IAMaldonadoB]

Too difficult for America... The biggest flex ever

[@BrockMace-y3c]

I’m surprised that Mario game was not released here because they claimed it was too hard. Yet they make all the American versions of the games harder than the Japanese versions.

[@guillepankeke2844]

Sadistic games that over exploit masochism dont count for challenging...

[@grahamkelly5341]

That background music is getting a bit old now. Think the 1 bar loop needs changing.

[@1996jordanbell]

I thought Rayman might have sneaked onto this list

[@timwalker6470]

'WipeOut'\Series, 'Crash\Team\Racing'/for\'PS'/and/'Nitrous\Fueled', 'Donkey\Kong\Country\3'\ONLY, License\Tests/in/EVERY\'Gran\Turismo'\game.

[@mschmalfeldt]

Needs more Castlevania III

[@Txupport]

While technically "made of meat" as all humans are, Super Meat Boy is a skinned person, not just a blob of meat.

[@carmawarlock8455]

These guys haven't played the pantheon of hollownest in hollow knight

[@kingbaard5395]

Goddammit it's Ninja Gaiden 3, not one. One is mario in comparison. I've still never beaten 3.I've beaten the first two.

[@Luke-lv4ql]

6:40 You have to face The Rock???

[@jerrodrutley256]

"Let's look at some"

[@oddnoble-y3g]

ninjagaiden totally rules!!

[@jasonhubbard6775]

7:54 Ugh, please don't remind me of that shitty TV pilot!

[@AllSquirrel]

Great list

[@Redrumjrb76]

GAAAAAAAAAAAIDEN

[@mjdf122]

Another day another game

[@ezioauditoredafirenze5453]

Hmm... Contra is not hard game at all if you know what you're doing. I played it through multiple times when I was younger. And why there weren't any bullet hell games on this list? Heh. You could just put 10 most difficult bullet hell games on this list and call it a day, though it wouldn't be very interesting then.

[@EuSouRCS]

Holy Diver (Famicom) >>>>>>>>> put your less hard game here

[@wildcatterry17]

Don’t let MarquisMark on Twitch watch this video. Saying Conglaturation is racist, apparently.

[@justin9181]

They won’t answer your comments guys

[@cousinmerl]

Wait? no spelunky?

[@kvonjaco]

No TMNT?

[@poppichicken]

Jet Set Willy would like a word with you.

[@TheGaara802]

Thumbs up for not putting dark souls that game is not even that hard

[@stijnvonck1431]

Valfaris?

[@jamesmcgeachy5433]

🎉

[@danbauer3669]

Contra not that hard. My top score is over 3 million points.

[@aliensweathands]

👽

[@mattalan6618]

I Wanna Be The Guy

[@BrockMace-y3c]

With all the ninja games, how do you not mention The Ninja on SMS. That is easily the hardest game ever.

[@BasketCase-rr7tx]

Why does this guy sound like hes someones grandad reading from a script and has never played a video game in his life? Can't he just talk normally?

[@havanaradio]

Celeste was easy...

[@DeviantDork]

You guys still don't know how to pronounce Super Mario Bros.?

[@BlueCollaredGrit]

I know right, how hard is it to say Supa Merry-O Bros. Gee’z

[@tomhammond3495]

They do though. They pronounce it exactly right. Soo-per Ma-reeo Brows. How would you pronounce it?

[@joedent3323]

Tw@t.

[@ramrodbldm9876]

That's what you get when you listen to weird accented weirdos

[@bobdylan1015]

You ever heard of accents?

[@dauntae24]

Wait! Contra on three lives is considered difficult?

[@lucasgartley9603]

git gud

[@grendel824]

It's not pronounced "Super Mario Bros" -- the period after Bros. means it is pronounced "Super Mario Brothers." Same for Super Smash Brothers.

[@Redrumjrb76]

Next list best and worst star wars games lol no ok

[@banzaisdead]

Pretty sure they already did Star Wars worst to best

[@wakinyanredwolf6949]

I love the one how Nintendo didn't release a Mario game in the West because they are racist.

[@banzaisdead]

🙄

[@Cub__]

W Japan fr