10 Video Games Nobody Has Beaten (Because It's Impossible)

You didn't stand a chance.
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[@Sunprism]

Old games are like life. You never win, everything just gets faster and more difficult until it kills you

[@Hiroprotagonist253]

Facts

[@AntoekneeDetaecho]

Grim but precise

[@GenericRae]

Are you ok? ❤️

[@ThePman007]

Tetris

[@mindlessdude2216]

Ironically, thats why I love COD Zombies, The levels get more and more difficult until the entire party falls and the game ends. You never win, you just do a little better each time

[@LateToTheBeardParty]

When I started watching this there was one game that came to mind, Road Rash 2 for the Mega Drive - while you can beat Stage 5 and become the champion, it then put you in a weird game state where the next race will be against all the cops and no matter how the race ends the game crashes when it tries to run the race-end cutscene. What's worse is if you did note down the code for that end-game state and try to enter it to get back, the game will report it as an invalid code.

[@TheZoenGaming]

Yeah, that ruined Road Rash for me. I refused to play the series ever again because of that.

[@phantomblack678]

A bit of a fact check on the Doors of Doom example: While it is true that the game can't be "beaten", it isn't just a 30-door limit. The minigame is actually completely rigged and determines how many doors you get through the minute you start. Every door the game says you can go through, both doors let you move on. When the game says you're done, both doors are Bowser. Even save states can't get you through this.

[@MasterZebulin]

Ohhh... Now that's _bullshit._ 😡

[@Ramsey276one]

WONDERFUL -_-

[@jennyf-eg5gl]

I actually got to 28 level on dr. Mario. I remember being so confused. When I show my dad, he said that he went on break. 😂

[@Ramsey276one]

O M G XD

[@MABfan11]

AVGN's deep dive into Action 52 and Cheetahmen is still one of his greatest videos

[@Fangoram1]

Duck Hunt has been proven to not be beatable. It does similar to pac man and after lvl 255 the ducks are unshootable and you instantly loose

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

You know, I have wondered how many levels the game has 😂. I wonder why just putting a cap on a game with an ending was such a foreign idea back then...

[@thecunninlynguist]

first thing I thought up was the TMNT port for computers, glad to see it on here. RE: Action 52, I think most of the games just repeat anyway if they even had an end

[@eddavitt6359]

This one must have taken a lot of research! Incredible what we used to put up with in gaming standards, and how much we take modern standards for granted

[@Babbleplay]

Fun fact about Smash TV 1.1 - It wasn;t just any hardcore gamer who first discovered the lack of an ending; it was an arcade owner who wasn' having to pay for his continues.

[@GabePuratekuta]

Fun fact: What you called "Tales of Destiny II" is actually called Tales of Eternia but they had to change the title because of Hasbro and the He-Man franchise. The real Tales of Destiny 2 is a PS2 game that never left Japan.

[@micahnewby7964]

Fun fact: you're repeating a discussion he already made; the entry is even literally titled "Tales of Eternia"

[@GabePuratekuta]

@@micahnewby7964 He said the PSP port used the original name, not the original PSX version, which he called Tales of Destiny II.

[@theusedsk8monkey]

THANK YOU for the SSSV entry, idk what happened to my cartridge, but I played that game to DEATH as a kid, and it was ridiculously hard, especially before the days of convenient YT vids. Been revisiting several games as a more experienced adult and end up dominating more than a few, but haven't had the op to try the Valley again. :( Here's to hoping it ends up on the Switch N64(though there are several titles i'd rather have added before that one lol)!!

[@jamesianhutchison1165]

I had RoboCop on the Spectrum and was always a little jealous of the C64's colour palette. The "Spectrum", ironically was monochromatic, but at least you could complete the game. 😅

[@echoesofthevoice9570]

Takeshi's Challenge immediately came to mind, but it is technically beatable. It's just extremely difficult and requires enormous attempts at trial and error if you don't want to look up a guide. If you fail at even one part of the game, you have to start over from the very beginning.

[@samusx2175]

Or just press the A button enough times on the title screen to also beat it.

[@dylanogg347]

Criminy. I recall playing the first few levels of #10 back in the day, and it stands out as a fever dream amongst the games I played in my young years.

[@Alexagogo]

I had that Robocop game on the C64 and tried to get through that level so many times. I had no idea it was just straight up broken. Someone get me Ocean's number.

[@ryanbauer3680]

You forgot the best/worst part of Action 52. In it there is a game called Ooze where they placed a pit that was literally impossible to jump over, essentially making the game unbeatable. Now this doesn't sound so bad...except for the fact they also advertised a $104K prize for anyone who could prove they were the first to beat the game.

[@weertangel7231]

I remember playing that old Ninja turtles game on the C64 with cheats. What a time, when games were actually difficult or near inpossible to complete.

[@neodav00001]

The US version of Ar Tonelico 2 has a bug similar to the Tales of Eternia one, but even worse: It's the second-to-last boss of the game. There's an attack that, when the boss uses it, will lock up the game. Okay, annoyingly luck-based, but manageable as long as it doesn't use that attack, right? Well, it's programmed to use it on its third turn every time. Technically, the boss IS beatable if you can do it before it gets three turns, but as you'd imagine for an endgame boss, that's a very tall order. The wild part is that it's JUST the US version, not the original Japanese version or later EU versions. I guess the attack name was programmed to show up on screen and the programmers who put in the translation accidentally deleted a bracket or something.

[@mightymanatee5342]

There is an earlier problem in AR Tonelico 2. When the crafting mechanic is introduced you are tasked with making an item and you are given the materials. However one of them is a healing item and you only get one... which means if you use it to heal your characters you can't continue the game.

[@CelticVictory]

I remember that low hanging ceiling in Ninja Turtles. It was impossible to jump past it and you might as well just jumped into the sewer water.

[@DarkQueenHelba]

One of my “favorite” unbeatable games is Lady Sia for the GBA. In some copies of the game (but not all! Even in the same region some copies will work) there is a bug that causes a character not to spawn during a race. So the race just doesn’t go anywhere. Your character is on screen and can move around, the background is still working as well as the sound but nothing else will happen. Thus soft-locking the game. I actually had to call the company to get them to confirm this for me. I’ve even tried buying other copies. 3 in a row NA copies all had the bug. I finally got the European version and then my GBA bit the big one. 😢

[@Ramsey276one]

OUCH

[@zooropa04]

Imagine getting Action 52 as a kid at that price. You wouldn't get another game for at least a year -- "I spent almost $200 on that 52-game cart way back when; that should be enough for you." The horror, the horror....

[@manikenwarrior]

yugioh forbidden memories true 100%. Getting all cards in requires the pocket station which was never released outside of Japan. As a result there is a number of cards that are 'unobtainable'. two of which are only available through cheat codes, the others are purchasable for 999,999 start chips. Technically speaking this is achievable, however if you played 8 hours a day since the game released it would take you about 30 years.

[@stevenbarten1755]

Forgot about this game. Always though the star chip deal was crazy. 9999 for 1 card and you can only win 5 per duel, if I remember correctly.

[@BlairsVaultOfStarsAndDreams]

I remember a lot of the old DOS games being really buggy at times. Commander Keen, the original Duke Nukem games, the Star Trek point and click game...All of them had either mechanics bugs that would prevent progress or had some kind of death loop going on.

[@DrCorndog1]

Huh. I played a lot of Commander Keen back in the day (played it again just a few months ago), and I don't remember anything like that.

[@aretnap3653]

I Always Had Problems Getting TheSound to Work, after Installing Mid 1990's "ComputerGames" to My PC. (IBM Aptiva) I Wanted "Carmaggeddon" to Run Correctly...So Bad, I Could Taste It! But The Full Version of That Game was "Broken". TheShareWare Ran Like Water...But When I Purchased TheFullGame, It Didn't Work at All!

[@aretnap3653]

Did "MechWarrior" Ever Work For Ya?

[@WolfyFancyLads]

Three things: 1) Love the mask pun, the slowness of putting it on made it funnier. 2) Mario Party could technically reach 30 doors if you play with Save States. Might be an idea for anyone who wants to try it. 3) To be fair, Cheetah Men's reputation suffered a fate befit of a terrible, broken game: The game is remembered by about 2% of the world. The other 98% know them from furry smut. The game studio, the game, and the characters, are now lost to the realm of shadows that is the hornyjail side of the internet. There they will stay, never to spawn another game, never to have a good reputation, always doomed to be remembered as jazz mag material. They didn't put in the effort, now they get the worst ending.

[@wolftickets1969]

Honorable mentions: Rastan (C64, like the DOS/Amiga TMNT, it has an impossible jump in one level), Impossible Mission (US Atari 7800, due to some of the puzzle pieces being hidden behind the unsearchable computer terminals), True Crime: New York City (Xbox, a later boss is supposed to be pushed off a hanging shipping container, but the prompt to do so never triggers due to a bug), Marble Madness(Game Boy, the final level apparently wasn't programmed in, so levels 2 through 5 loop until you run out of time)

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

2:44 Imagine facing this for years till you discover it was never beatable in the 1st place, i dont know how i would feel.

[@jamalvargas6146]

Dick Tracy On Sega Genesis Enjoyed The 1990 Movie but that game was challenging

[@Wrestlingwithghosts]

Lmao. Sye, when you was putting the mask on and talking about Doctor Mario, it looked like it was the hardest thing you’ve had to do concentration wise lol

[@dolanvskaney]

The PC version of "The Immortal" by Will Harvey has a game-crashing bug during the final battle against the dragon.

[@Sunprism]

People complain about modern games. They didn't live through the earlier years, where programmers were just artists that were good at numbers. And I'm not saying artist as in someone who makes a work of art; this is as in someone who set their socks on fire while looking for a green pencil

[@Kylioken94]

Space station silicon valley had one of the best level select music😮

[@RazorBladezX]

Man Space Station Silicon Valley was so fun when I was little BUT SO FRUSTRATING

[@GageisME333]

If there’s one thing to be learned about any of this, it would be do not underestimate of gamers, especially the level dedication that they can create

[@JackOfAllRAIDs]

What about Nintendo's Kung Fu game? You keep rescuing the woman, but then you continue to stage 1 and everything and everybody is a little bit faster.

[@glenndallas7171]

I'm pretty sure RC Pro Am on the NES was unbeatable. I remember playing until 5 AM and hitting some absurd level (80 something?) and feeling like there was no end.

[@samusx2175]

Indeed. It's one of the many old NES games with no ending. Like Tiger-Heli, Spyhunter 1, and others.

[@michaeldewitt7302]

An Action 52 reference in 2023 was not expected. I remember that horrible ass package lol there were 2 fairly decent games on it and one was pong 😂

[@michaelt.lancaster9776]

I couldn't finish Gran Turismo 2, because at a certain point, your entire garage disappears and you can't buy a new one, and you're stuck with the car you're driving.

[@nightwalker83]

I remember playing TMNT on Amiga I was younger. Not sure which version I had though since I am in Australia?

[@SorcererLance]

Hoo boy... I remember playing the arcade version of Gradius 3 on the Gradius Collection for the PSP... EVEN WITH using the Konami Code AND using save-states, I could never beat that game. Supposedly the obscene difficulty forced Konami to remove the arcades in Japan as the SNES port was far more playable... And for some ungodly reason, I saw the arcade version of Gradius 3 was rereleased on the Switch.

[@iamdb1990]

never heard anyone call mortar "more-tar" before lol

[@pokemorris]

Should have included 'LotR: War in the North' on that list as a bonus. There was a game halting bug where if you didn't speak to an eagle at one point then a lot further down the line you couldn't progress at all. The only remedy was to restart and make sure you do talk to the eagle. This bug was never patched as the developer was merged into Monolith Prod. and no further work was done on this game. Awesome! I wasted about 30 hours to it. 😂😭😭

[@masatotanaka999]

The original Oddworld had a bug that made it impossible to beat.

[@Thrythlind]

Kikoskia has played through Action 52 a couple of times.

[@aretnap3653]

'Tiger·Heli' for 8-Bit Nintendo... *NEVER ENDS!*

[@aretnap3653]

I Found That Out... TheHardWay.

[@UNGGodYT]

ar tonelico 2 melody of metafalica, on the boss before the final , there is a point in its HP that cause it to change form, however, in english version that code is broken and the game freezes, making difficult to finish the game, you can do 3 things, level up to max and do so well you dont give the boss the chance to transform, use a glitch to have unlimited attack turns or insert a giant game shark code to fix the broken code and finish normally.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

I've heard of the RoboCop one, but for the game to break after just 3 levels is beyond bad.

[@death5talker45]

I remember Cool Spot...never had it...but did think about getting it....the 7up Cool Spot game... Sega Genesis version

[@nightwalker83]

At least the Amiga version of Robo cop was able to be finished

[@zegagenesis778]

How did you not put the literally impossible "Impossible Mission" on here?

[@maggotmusic757]

I don't know a single person who was ever able to "Catch Em All" past the first 3 generations lol

[@sss931]

M Alien Paranoia - last level, last nut for the spaceship repair, placed on lower platform, from which you can't go back if I recall correctly. Developer made it too low to jump back, which renders the game dead at the last moments of playthrough. Good old game, miss it sometimes...

[@RahzZalinto]

When i was a kid (80s-90s) beating a game was rare lol. I didnt even know anyone who beat games on SNES or Genesis lol. I think i beat sonic 1-3 and mortal kombat. Thats probably all

[@thecunninlynguist]

really? friends and i beat plenty of NES/SNES/Genesis games

[@zengram]

Seriously? SNES games are easiest than nes and genesis

[@drgonzo123]

I think the only game I legit beat was Mega Man X3. Beating a game back in the 16 bit era wasn’t even something my little kid brain ever considered. I was born in 86 just for reference

[@thecunninlynguist]

@@drgonzo123 didn't legit beat SMW? Lttp? Super Metroid?

[@drgonzo123]

@@thecunninlynguist nope. I would rent most games like I think we all did back then and I owned very few. So I would only have them for a day or so. Also I mostly played wrestling and fighting games when I was a kid, so they weren’t really made to be beat.

[@paulbray2538]

I don't know how to explain this, but I feel like Sy (sorry, don't remember how to spell it, pls correct me) is how I thought Jules looked before I finally saw him on screen 😂

[@GhastlyGhostrider]

I loved Smash TV! Dont remember if I ever came to the finish though xD But LOVED the game! The music was kickass!

[@shadowqueen6395]

I had a version of Pirates of the Caribbean : Curse of the Black Pearl for game boy advance that had no way to exit the first level, you’re just stuck on a beach because they forgot to code the cave entrance.

[@Deejay_quest]

Weeeell, technically, you're supposed to stop before the stop sign. So if the stop sign is one inch from a brick wall, you should still be okay, also it's a brick wall, it might be entirely deserved if they hit it.😂

[@ItzSkettimas]

Replace "beaten" with "fully completed" and this would be a accurate list, instead of feeling like clickbait

[@FishOfPain]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but I skimmed through the comments and didn't see it. The first European version of Harvest Moon - Back to Nature on PS1 just goes to a black screen when you get married. While realistic, that's not supposed to happen. I got my game replaced like three times as a kid before getting the working reprint.

[@ramensoup43]

*looks at title screen art "So you're saying there's a chance!"

[@VictorStave]

From what I understand, the SNES version of the Dennis the Menace movie tie in had an unfinished final boss, coupled with pressure to release in stores alongside the film release date…so the devs just put an impossible platform jump just before the end, so players can never reach a boss that nobody had the time to finish making

[@phantomblack678]

Actually that was a myth. It was the Commodore Amiga port that had the unjumpable platform, and even then it apparently never actually made it into the released game, as there's at least one Amiga longplay that properly finishes the game. The unjumpable pit apparently only existed for demo purposes to secure a deal.

[@Ramsey276one]

Cruel But clever

[@opal-blue8939]

I'd love to see a Space station silicon valley remake in my lifetime.

[@Sistik123]

I could never get passed that damn sewer jump.

[@SilverSpectre266]

The Flock A multiplayer horror game with the concept that when everyone died, it would shut down. As rare and odd as it seems, this multiplayer game had an "ending" as part of its gimmick. The game itself had a set amount of "lives" in it, and all players, and I mean literally everyone around the world who bought this game shared those lives, so if a single person died 100x, than that was 100 lives lost from the total. However, the game was so unpopular and had so little success that it shut down WAY before that number of lives even came close to 0. It also didnt help that as well as not gaining a lot of media attention, a lot of people were a lot of people were apprehensive about buying a game knowing it would automatically shut down one day due to its own gimmick, especially for a multiplayer. So nobody ever really got to experience the "end" of this game.

[@were1974]

Yay.I am in the video.😊

[@aretnap3653]

Every Copy of "MechWarrior" for PC in TheMid 1990's I Acquired...Never Worked At All!

[@popatsot1]

There was a Capcom card game on the ds that had a nasty little surprise. You needed a certain card to advance the story but there was a possibility to go to the wrong side, making it impossible to get.

[@GabePuratekuta]

Capcom and SNK should collab like that again.

[@popatsot1]

@GabePuratekuta I'd like that or at least for all of the Capcom collab games to come to pc. Cross edge, that ds game, the Namco×Capcom series. Man there is a lot lost to time now

[@XxXK1770rD13XxX]

What's that game on the PlayStation that no one has ever beaten, let alone get past level 1? It even has a sequel, but no one has ever beaten it.

[@kirby163]

It is impossible to get the good ending in the German copies of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream due to a whole character and level getting deleted from the game

[@TheSentinel86]

Critical depth. Show me anyone who legitimately got every faction & secret faction endings. Ill wait.

[@antfrancis9941]

It was a very long time ago but i swear i beat the tmnt game on the nes. I'm pretty sure it was krang in the terrordome (could be wrong) but yeah, i'm sure i beat it.

[@glenndallas7171]

NES version was beatable. DOS and Amiga versions were not.

[@JimiGosu]

And I thought Doors of Doom was tough before. 😳

[@MasterMewtwo239]

Mor-Tar? Psy, you made a He-Man villain.

[@andrewmaughan1205]

Defender II on the Nintendo

[@Dervraka]

Really for the first 10 years or so of gaming (think Atari 2600 era) the vast majority of games were technically unbeatable because they simply had no win condition at all, the game just went on forever until you lost or got bored and turned it off. It really wasn't until the NES era that games starting to move toward having a set win condition (finish the final stage and rescue Peach in Mario, get the triforce and defeat Gannon in Legend of Zelda, etc).

[@Awkward_platypus]

6:33 you do mean STEPHEN KING'S BOOK don't you ? DONT YOU !?

[@swordbladez]

Another fun thing about Smash TV: the Xbox 360 release has an unwinnable achievement as it was not programmed correctly 🤣

[@fraupoppy]

I jad a rereleased copy of Prince of Persia 2. At one point the game should load a boss fight for wich you have to dive into a magical well or something (I only have very vague memory)to be teleportet to a boss stage. This never happened in my copy of the game...sad times

[@Canadamus_Prime]

I think you need to clarify the difference between "beaten" and "100% completion" because in my mind if I see the end credits I've beaten the game.

[@Seventh27Seal]

For me it was prince of persia 2. I guess if u save at the wrong place at the end, it doesnt spawn the final boss or something 🤦‍♂️

[@penance8717]

First one is called 😱EVOS SPACE ADVENTURE😱 I had it before 20 years😊

[@ericnieves5793]

Capcom snk card battle for the ds is another good one that the first copies released are unbeatable

[@maxevans9906]

I quit devil may cry 4 cuz I got stuck in the castle

[@MaxWeb2599]

This is typically. I'm a big Tales of fan, have a psp and live in Europe. Why have I a coin toss before buying a game?

[@David-fz2pu]

It makes no difference to the quality, of course (which is always high), but there's something nice about a piece-to-camera. Cool t-shirt and bracelets, man.

[@RaveQuicksilverStudios]

Was that 7 zeros after that point? that’s ludicrous.

[@Ad-jl7si]

Im sure R-Type on the megadrive was glitched so thatbtje last level was the first all over again.

[@jaredmichael7659]

i was expecting Morrowind and that damn book that prevented you from being the leader of the thievs' and fighters' guilds

[@DarthPhillius]

Great list. I remember quite a few ZX Spectrum games being outed as unfinishable (without cheats) years later. Although to be fair 8bit systems had very strict constraints and so many of the classics of that era were coded by some kids in their bedroom. I miss those DIY days. On another note; this is a great list with enjoyable commentary. Why does anyone feel the need to comment on Psy's apperance? Feminine men, adrodginy and gender fluidity is nothing new. If you have a issue with it then that's very much a 'you' problem and maybe something you need to work on. Keep up the great work Psy 👍🏻

[@flowerboy_9]

A fellow CM PUNK fan I love it

[@geoserenity]

space station silicon valley is also a playstation game, so the trophy may be collectable there

[@davidrothman5258]

Joust, I played to level 100 and the game just froze showing the Characters passing by on the game.

[@sassysarah39]

Seaworld game on the game cube I don’t know if it was a game that my aunt got me was just glitched or that things unbeatable, and for some reason it just looks like it should be laughably easy it’s not

[@civilwildman]

I’m waiting for someone to say that they beat this or that game on this list.

[@scottpilgrim2]

Cool life. Keep it up.

[@scottpilgrim2]

@erikrousu Honestly i got stuck in it. But at the time i was like 5 so I don't think i should feel bad about that. My parents were already impressed at me understanding dos and getting into their work files floppy disks :')

[@scottpilgrim2]

@erikrousu I was born in 85 myself :p I don't know where i got stuck anymore, i don't remember much of the game except for that first zone. Must have been around where i got stuck and stopped playing it.

[@RainWalking]

Then how come there are videos on youtube of them being done to 100%?

[@Jhappell224]

Ever heard of hyperbole bro?

[@cppblank]

Just because a game can't be completed 100% doesn't mean it isn't beaten.

[@ThePman007]

They need to release a patch for robocop on the commodore 64.

[@jasongodwin1319]

Well ill be damned I never noticed that about Dr Mario on gameboy. I played that game so much and even have it on my android right now I play with a gameboy emulator. I can always get past level 20 but I guess I never got to level 28.

[@foxboy1985]

AVGN would love this video

[@16ktsgamma]

I would say Ooze is worse than Chetahmen just cause of a contest that says if you can get to a level you earn money. Notice that nobody got the money because the game stops earlier. Hell the Sega Genesis verision of the game stops earlier too.

[@matthewstone5310]

The "X-Men" game on the NES can be beaten, (so I've heard) but you have to collect clues for a special code just to access the final level. WHY WOULD ANY PROGRAMMER DO THAT?! WHAT KIND-OF BULLSHIT IS THAT?! A secret final level?!