13 Hardest Super Nintendo Levels - SNESdrunk

[@aaronhibiki]

When DKC2 came out when I was a kid, Animal Antics actually made me squeeze my controller so hard that it never worked right after that & screamed bloody murder into a pillow. Then my Mom saw me with tears afterwards & took my SNES away for a month because “Games aren’t supposed to make you cry.” 😂

[@richterbelmont5506]

Years ago my mom had to listen to me learn super ghouls. She didn't understand why I was cursing so much lol

[@gameman250]

Well, she might have been onto something. XD

[@SaikyoKoutei]

Time to recommend some visual novels to your mother :v

[@YTOW85]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Peeps7468]

Honestly, it feels like 1/4 or 1/5 of the levels in Donkey Kong Country 2 are harder than anything in DKC 1. I never finished DKC 3 but it seems to have even harder levels!!

[@DGFTardin]

One thing I want to add about Snow Barrel Blast: In DKC you cannot leave a world until you find Funky, and you cannot save in that world until you find Candy. Snow Barrel Blast is the first of FIVE difficult levels you have to beat in that world before you can save, and if you run out of lives, it's game over! No wonder we became masters at it, we had to play it a thousand times. And I have to say, Animal Antics is difficult, but it might be my favorite stage in any DKC game... I don't even think it is the hardest stage, maybe I just got used to the parrot.

[@richterbelmont5506]

The final bramble blast level is brutal

[@CannotFindServerSA]

Yep. Snow Barrel Blast is definitely the hardest of those levels, but even once I did finally beat it, I still had to beat it several more times before i finally beat all those other levels so I could save. It's brutal. Also for a very long time, I could only beat Snow Barrel Blast by using the shortcut, which I found completely by accident after screwing up and just happening to end up there.

[@DGFTardin]

@@CannotFindServerSA on the plus side, it's actually good that it is the first, rather than the last one of those levels. Could you imagine having to beat 4 levels just to practice on it?

[@AL_Talks]

Agreed

[@PhazonOmega]

Yes! That's why that level is so infamous. It wasn't actually the first level, either, but I think the third? You had to do other levels before it, THEN face those barrels, THEN get through the water level and flashlight level. All without saving! And that's assuming you didn't have to fight the boss of the previous world over again to move onto this level because you didn't figure out how to save after the boss.

[@goatlll]

The "how did I beat this as a kid" statement is one of the most interesting phenomenons in gaming. I feel safe in saying I am much better at games now that I was as a kid, but there are times when I revisit a game I beat as a kid and all I can think is how on Earth did I do that? I think it's a combination of practice and having nothing else to play. I would only get a handful of games a year, and if I was stuck with a hard one it was either play it or play nothing. I would record game footage through my VCR, so I have evidence that I finished the aforementioned Spiderman/X men game but if you put it in front of me now 28 years later I wouldn't have a clue how to do it. I can still finish Super Castlevania, but I certainly don't have the patience to do a no damage run of the entire last level.

[@-dfh-866]

I'm better now too. Imo toy story should be on this list, especially if lion king was, bc I think people can pass the lava stage on lion king quicker than get past almost any stage in toy story. Especially the crane game in pizza planet and sids room. I never beat that as a kid, but only beat it a few yrs ago as a 25 year old. A game I couldn't believe I beat easily as a kid and not so easily as an adult, is legend of dragoon for playstation. That's a 4 disk game and an awesome game, but damn. I even beat the hidden boss, Faust, after collecting all the stardust. I was a dedicated kid. It took about a year to beat as a kid and longer as an adult.

[@BoojieD]

I think we're at our best with reaction time when we're kids. As you get older, you get better at precision platforming, strategy, and timing. I played DKC2 a couple of months ago for the first time in 20 years. The game was not too difficult, but I died repeatedly on the roller coaster race level because of the screen crunch, as you're speeding along the track but can only see half a second's worth of space in front of you.

[@janX9]

All very true. I totally identify. It took me 2 years to best the legend of Zelda the first time. Ghostbusters was pretty ridiculous too.

[@nmnmnmp4503]

Back than noone give a fuck about tutorials XD u were entering a game and u would have to figure out everything. From movement to interaction with enviroment. No YT tutorials. Today we have in game tutorials, YT walkthrought, Reddit, forums etc.

[@LucianDevine]

So I actually have an explanation for that. I called it my "oh shit reflexes". It's that one in a thousand run when the adrenaline is pumping strong and aided by just the right amount of luck and/or RNG, enabling success even when you are effectively sight-reading the level and have little to no idea what's coming.

[@cgsweat]

Glaring omissions: Spiderman & Xmen - Arcade's Revenge: everything after level 1 Earthworm Jim: most levels

[@OmegaSoypreme]

It can't be overstated just how fantastic the names for the levels were in the DKC games. Trick Track Treck, Barrel Canon Canyon. Great stuff.

[@Squalla1]

Big Rare-ism, they did it all the way to their N64 games (e.g. Treasure Trove Cove in Banjo-Kazooie).

[@CK-iv1lq]

My favorite one is Vulture Culture (first level of vine valley)

[@markvandyke2106]

And "Mine Cart Carnage," which could have been included on this list

[@OmegaSoypreme]

@@markvandyke2106 Yes! Great one!

[@nescapeplan9494]

Thanks for the shoutout! Happy to be part of the awesome community you helped bring about. And you know I'm a sucker for challenging retro games! :)

[@sheldoman]

I personally found the minecart levels harder on Donkey Kong Country but the snow effect in that level is the first time I was ever like "wowed" by a video game. I was obsessed with that game as a kid.

[@Icemann265]

Yea I thought it was gonna be minecarts too but that game has a few infuriating levels

[@Icemann265]

Yea I thought it was gonna be minecarts too but that game has a few infuriating levels

[@Icemann265]

Yea I thought it was gonna be minecarts too but that game has a few infuriating levels

[@Icemann265]

Yea I thought it was gonna be minecarts too but that game has a few infuriating levels

[@Rob_Cary]

It's so good. Tropical freeze was rad too and had some pretty tough stuff in it. Even though it didn't have a huge amount of levels, when I finally beat it, it felt like a complete journey for sure.

[@alejandrozamoraesqueda7470]

It felt nice to see somebody acknowledging how freakin hard Donut Plains 3 can be. The only good thing about it, is that it is the first race of the Special Cup, which means that you get to practice the track as soon as you die.

[@VivaMidnight]

I agree! I never got gold on 150cc Special Cup and I blame that track! The trouble is, if you do restart and get a decent position on it, there's so much pressure on everything going right for the other tracks 😅

[@pstew5309]

The trick to snow barrel blast and any barrel level is to not hesitate. The longer you wait, the harder it is to do. If you do it first flip of the barrel you will breeze through. It taught me to have the balls to go for it. And I say this as someone who hasn't played it in over 20 years before the new Nintendo switch emulators. But I remember it fondly.

[@masterzombie161]

I’ll never forget 100% super Mario world for the first time. Getting home from school and beating tubular was a feeling unlike any other.

[@Ash_Rein]

So I actually beat tubular by bypassing the balloons and exclusively focusing on using the cape and the glide feature. It’s been something like 28 to 30 years so I don’t remember exactly how I pulled it off but I remember really saying screw it to the balloons and focusing on the cape and somehow pulling it through.

[@richardmartin-tv3sk]

96starring the game on your own before the internet was cool as hell. no internet, no game genie and no nintendo power tips. just exploring everything and then finding all the crazy levels/exits. 10/10 game.

[@RealGateGuardian]

Tubular was the worst level ever until I played Super Return of the Jedi.

[@kreutzere]

@@richardmartin-tv3sk I look back and this is one of my proudest gaming achievement ever no guides or internet or anything to help but somehow I managed to find all exits!

[@brb4207]

You know, this is the kind of stuff I love. It's not like, an accurate list of difficulty by any means, it's more of a window to the hosts soul, and that's the main reason I've followed the channel for years now. You're so earnest, genuine and cool. Feels more like a friend telling you which levels he hates, and I'm here for that.

[@samuelallen2831]

Before the countdown even began I was having flashbacks when I saw Snow Barrel Blast

[@mattb6522]

Yes, it is a nasty spike in difficulty. I think the other levels after it in the world are all easier than it, but you still have to survive before you reach the save point.

[@xxxxxbriansanchezyyy]

That Battletoad bike stage is the hardest shit ever

[@samuelallen2831]

@@xxxxxbriansanchezyyy lol Battletoads would go on a list of hardest NES levels… and apparently Turbo Tunnel isn’t even the worst of it, just the one that scares the majority off. Having watched playthroughs, the rocket ship level and the race give me even more anxiety lol

[@affsteak3530]

I screamed internally as soon as I read Animal Antics in the comments. 🤣

[@Proutt]

There were 2 or 3 levels in the first Earthworm Jim that were near impossible as a kid. I was sure one of them would feature in this list. Great video!

[@eadghe]

About Mario Kart, I'd say Rainbow Road. Every other stage was able to beat with practise, but Rainbow Road...I absolutely hated it on the hardest mode.

[@richardjenkins128]

Absolutely love this channel and I attribute it to me rekindling my nostalgic love for retro games! God bless this and all retro gaming channels and the retro mini’s - Love from Australia!

[@Maxbeedo2]

For the longest time the only way I could beat Tubular was to go get a Blue Yoshi to fly over the level, but usually he'd swallow the shell before getting to the end so would have to ditch him for the last second jump. Thanks for your brave sacrifice Blue Yoshi. The nice thing about Donut Plains 3 is that the next 3 races are MUCH easier so even if you could only manage 4th from there it wasn't too difficult to get three 1sts to take the points lead. Also you could use the bridges to your advantage as the AI always followed the same path, so a well-placed shell or banana peel would knock them far into the water.

[@jesseback3536]

#savetheyoshis

[@zmanzeta7776]

I used to love the blue yoshi. After i had most of the game beat i knew which level to immediately go and get a feather, start-select out of the level, and go get a blue yoshi. I would then fly back brought the levels with relative ease. It was great.

[@junglelifelurefishingadven8918]

Yep, placing a banana peel on the narrow part of the bridge in doughnut Plains was a pro move.

[@applefoodie]

I used to love flying with the blue Yoshi, but then doing the down + spit to gently place the shell down, in order to eat it again. But you couldn't do that in Tubular just because there were hardly any platforms to stand on. The other fun thing to do is to use the cape and fly through entire levels; that's the only way I cleared Outrageous. Again, that trick doesn't work in Tubular just because there's not enough runway for you to take off.

[@ccricers]

I found Outrageous harder than Tubular. It just seemed to go on FOREVER and a lot of deviously placed Bullet Bill cannons that were hard to dodge.

[@bigduke5902]

Animal Antics is a masterstroke, a treasure from a time long past when finding everything a game had to offer rewarded you with the ultimate challenge because the game knew you could handle it

[@godislove102887]

That's kind of an interesting way of looking at it. Back then, though, all you could think was "OH I HATE THIS LEVEL!!!! WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME SO!?!!??!?" lol.

[@bigduke5902]

@@godislove102887 Not really, not for me. Many games in the 8 and 16 bit era rewarded doing well with extra, hidden challenges and it was something I first noticed in the original Zelda with it's second quest. Sure, high difficulty could be frustrating especially if you aren't learning from your mistakes, but even as a kid I was much, much more interested in challenging games than easy ones.

[@godislove102887]

@@bigduke5902 Right, right. Back then, I don't think I was so big on "hard" levels, but nowadays, given I punish myself with stuff like Dark Souls and Elden Ring and whatnot and actively look for challenges, I think I've finally found appreciation for those kinds of levels and challenges I took for granted as a kid. So it took me a while to get to that point like you where stuff like that gave me a great feeling of accomplishment, like I had really done something great cause I beat the hardest challenge.

[@SilverFang2789]

I never thought Animal Antics was hard. A little annoying at first, but not hard once you memorize the wind patterns.

[@g_rammstein]

Animal Antics can be easily finished especially on the first 2 areas. you just super charge with the rhino from the beginning and jump at the first gap. you'll pass all the 1st area in seconds. you do the same when you enter the ice. charge and jump at the first edge to kill the fat cannon dude and become swordfish. then you super charge after you kill the fish below. you can finish it in seconds too, the most difficult part is with the parrot and the winds. you never move holding the fire button. you 'll hit the brambles and die. you must move by hitting left, right against the wind in order to descent smoothly.

[@segaszivos]

Mine cart madness is pretty tough too. There are times I'll lose all of my lives several times, but other times I'll beat it on the first try. Somewhat forgivable.

[@javiervillarino8314]

I was searching for this comment, thats tiny jumps with the minecart give me nightmares today

[@benwarped7272]

BUT ITS SO FUN TOO.

[@DougNeville17]

Shoutout for the Juggernaut level on Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge. Absolutely freakin’ impossible.

[@MasterTJ007]

Oh hell ya!! Remember beating it, but it took 4eva.

[@DougNeville17]

@@MasterTJ007 Fair play to you. I never got past it!

[@Vistico93]

My strategy for getting around the Tubular level of SMW was to go back to the Star World and rescue a blue Yoshi so I could just fly with relative ease above the fray. I'm honestly not sure I've ever beaten the level the way it was intended to be beaten

[@FoxMcCloudV2]

I actually did beat the level using the balloons, but once I figured out the Blue Yoshi trick, that's how I played the level every time since.

[@キラキラくりくり頭]

I guess that's how I did it? Because I don't remember it being difficult. It was followed by Pilot Wings... And I never made it to that stage.

[@monsoon1234567890]

Super Castlevania 4. The part of Dracula's castle with the spike hazard that chases you as you climb the falling steps.

[@AwakenedPhoenix309]

Honestly, with Animal Antics - I've always let the wind do most of the work in Squawk's sections and that takes 70% of the difficulty out of it. Take your time and only move forward when the wind favors you and it's not that hard.

[@lightbrand_]

Yeah, once you realize that the wind switching sides is based on a consistent timer it’s not that bad, just make sure to take advantage of it in tight sections, wait it out if you have to and always be ready to go against it when it’s about to come up

[@BoojieD]

Animal Antics always seemed impossible to me. Then I got the DKC2 player's guide and I read one sentence about how you should "tap the control pad repeatedly against the direction of the wind" and the level became quite manageable.

[@affsteak3530]

My memory may be failing me but I remember Rattley's section being harder than Squawk's.

[@theungreatkahli]

Yeah. I played through that level again a few years ago for the first time since I was an 11 year old kid. It was difficult, but I got the hang of it again. You’re right. I let the wind carry me when I’m playing that.

[@mwatkins0590]

it helps but the swarms of dragonflies and the sections of bees near the end of it are a massive pain.

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

The final stage of Super Castlevania 4 with the ascending spike floor is insanely nerve wracking

[@thebowtiechaplain3399]

Yes!!! There is a stair case jump in that level that if it gliches...you character jumps through and falls. Since the stairs fall away after you climb them...there is not way back up and your doomed to be sliced up!!....then immediately following is the moving stone platforms that you have to jump very quickly or else get a spike in the head.

[@gregd9887]

Such a great and innovative game. The most aggravating part is how fair the difficulty is. It's designed extremely well, just very challenging.

[@tookmyjob]

I just finished it for the first time ever recently and I was almost thinking I might not get past the spike level, but after two days, I finally got it.

[@JRJigsawyer]

Omg I beat it recently for the first time (couldn't do it when I was a kid) and that level damn near made me give up the whole thing. SO hard!

[@underwaterlevelz1947]

That section takes a lot of practice, but it is mercifully short

[@Nintendo_Gamer1889]

Simply being able to beat ANY of the Super Star Wars games is a badge of honor for a gamer.

[@Laneous14]

I could beat the first one as a kid, on normal, but couldn't even get past the 2nd stage in Empire Strikes Back!

[@darinstaley1993]

I had all three as a kid and could beat them

[@DarkForce315]

I was only able to be return of the jedi. That sand level was mad insane. I hated it so much I have only pass it like 5time my entire life 😭 but return of the jedi. I beat that one. And I actually didn’t left the last level to be hard. It was long but it wasn’t hard

[@UNLebanon]

And that's on easy mode. Try the first one on Brave mode, the cantina boss is almost impossible. Try the first one on Jedi mode, the cantina boss actually is impossible. Shout out to those of you commenting that you have beat these games on Jedi mode. The force is clearly strong with you.

[@ripwinkler1595]

Empire Strikes Back on Jedi is my finest video game accomplishment, bar none. I had to go through a couple of copies though, the first one didn't survive.

[@AaronProctor.]

My mother taught me how to beat level 7 and pretty much every other level of Gradius 3. An amazing game

[@ElasticGiraffe]

I felt bad as a kid because I could never beat the Super Star Wars games. Glad to see that other SNES veterans found them brutally difficult, too.

[@mauriciocalderonmora]

My case exactly, brother

[@RatedRMario21]

Don't feel too bad. I got a Game Genie specifically for the Super Star Wars Trilogy and I *still* can't beat them

[@stolensentience]

@@RatedRMario21 lmao ok you can feel bad then😂jkjk❤

[@joseignaciocastrovonrodrig5613]

Underrated comment.

[@lukepersall9901]

As a kid I loved star wars so much. My SNES is still my favorite Christmas present of all time. I remember getting Super Star Wars at the mall and looking at the logo on the way home so excited to play it. I NEVER got past inside the sand crawler. After minutes and minutes of jumping platforms and dodging debris on the exterior the inside just crushed me. I didn't understand as a kid why the game was so beeping hard!

[@Kodan882]

Shout out to Toxic Tower and Screech's Sprint of DKC2 too. Poisonous Pipeline and Lightning Lookout in DKC3 as well... Those 4 levels were the bane of my Childhood.

[@acidfruitloops]

Toxic tower is the hardest level in all of dkc and it ain't even close. I can mow these others down fairly easily, but that fkn snake charge jump while running up away from that green lava shit is sooooo terrible.

[@runechileanhunters951]

Wow toxic tower....that was so hidden in my mind

[@acidfruitloops]

@@runechileanhunters951 Fuckinggggg hate this level. Just destroyed dkc1 & 3 on the snes mini fairly easily but this god dammed level in 2 is awful.

[@runechileanhunters951]

@@acidfruitloops yeah difficulty skyrocketed for that 1 hahaha

[@lordalexander74]

With Screech's Sprint, you can damage boost past the starting line and take your time with the rest of the level. The race never starts with that damage boost.

[@lhfirex]

Some seriously classic levels and games in here. Now I actually want to replay DKC.

[@mathprodigy]

Actually worthy games of replay

[@kevincoates5066]

@@mathprodigy I just recently beat dkc1 2 and 3 on switch lite, I feel accomplished lol

[@chieflaliberte]

I'm running it back, and I forgot how tough snow barrel blast was but still loving it

[@ObservationofLimits]

Super Nintendo has the most replayable games in SMW and the DKC franchise. Change my mind. Also the torpedo level, if you don't know about below the map, is FAR harder to beat properly.

[@ObservationofLimits]

@@kevincoates5066 but did you 103% DKC3

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

Another pick is the autoscrolling lava cave secret level in Yoshi's Island. It's insane, even with save states.

[@bigfenix8272]

Yes!! That's probably the only level I never 100%ed, I was just satisfied with beating it

[@awetistic5295]

The ski and helicopter bonus level was also ridiculously hard to 100%.

[@CreepyBlackDude]

Absolutely thought Yoshi's Island would get a mention in this video, especially the secret levels

[@IDidntWantAHandleYouTube]

Actually I thought most of all of the Yoshi’s Island secret levels were pretty intense. I actually really like them for that reason - it’s pretty rare for a Mario game to push you that hard in terms of challenge.

[@soulreaper1461]

I remember reaching this Lion King level as a kid and being so mad I started saying blasphemies like "fuck you Jesus for making this game". For a really religious kid as I was this was unthinkable

[@youremakingprogress144]

When I first got Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, it took my brother and me (adults at the time) well over an hour just to get through level 1-1. I know exactly what you're talking about.

[@thebowtiechaplain3399]

Absolutely. Let me count the ways this is probably the most overall difficult SNES game.

[@DusBeforeDawn2008]

It took me a week to beat the first level of R-type

[@howard2031]

The controls are bad. That double jump and he's already slow as molasses.😂

[@theholymackerel072]

There is not a game in that series that didn’t make me want to peel my own skin off. It was designed to have you committed to an asylum trying to beat any of them.

[@theholymackerel072]

@@howard2031Castlevania is the same, because their agility is closer to a real person. Do, every jump is difficult.

[@mariolover9229]

Tubular from Super Mario World is definitely a tough one... when I first played it, I had one heck of a time trying to finish it, and the only way I could beat it was by using the blue Yoshi. I can finish the level with just the P-Balloons now, but yep, it's a challenging level for sure. I'll also mention Fire Field from F-Zero, and Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart. My goodness, those courses don't hold back whatsoever!

[@mickeyd8966]

I did the exact same thing, each death, going to get blue yoshi and try again.

[@DarkForce315]

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that did that 😂 I didn’t felt any level in Mario kart to be difficult. I liked the level he mentioned and rainbow Rd. I also played it so much I mastered it. I tried to play it again and I felt like my skill was not there no more

[@geraq0]

The Tubular level in Super Mario World is truly unforgettable. Maybe the levels that we remember the most so many years later are the most difficult ones.

[@Dracoboss98]

You gotta respect that the super Star Wars Death Star run is accurate to the chance they had of pulling it off in the movie. You’ll die a thousand times before you get it even once, and they just happened to get it on the first try.

[@ct6852]

Thanks for reigniting the PTSD of Snow Barrel Blast and Animal Antics. I almost forgot. Thanks.

[@alik1942]

I don’t know if other people have done it, but generally when I get through Tubular, I use a blue Yoshi and I make sure Mario has the cape on. I know it’s a cheap way to get through the stage, but it always works!

[@ALmyPaLFPV]

Lol yup

[@naturreisflockchen7364]

I remember "Awesome" as the most difficult stage. Don't know how many times I died. But one thing I knew at this point: It would be the first and the last time I go through the Special World.

[@CSXIV]

That's how I finally beat that Tubular. Yeah, it's cheap, but after spending far too many hours dealing with the power balloon physics, I was going to take what I was getting. And if Nintendo left that cheese in, then we should be allowed to eat it. Besides, most of my friends beat every other special world level with the infinite cape.

[@matthewturcotte5079]

Agree on DKC2 Animal Antics being tough…but DKC3 had some insanely hard levels. Especially Poisonous Pipeline and Rocket Rush, where left goes right and right goes left.

[@Justforvisit]

That's pretty much the only difficulty spike I can remember there

[@benwarped7272]

Just turn controller upside down 🥴

[@sihTdaeRtnaCuoY]

DKC3 was quite a bit worse quality than the first 2 games, so most people probably don't remember it all that well.

[@howard2031]

Lightning Lookout was a bastard

[@michaelsodomora5439]

As soon as I saw this DKC3 Swoopy's Salvo and Rocket Barrel Rush came back to my mind immediately. They were the only 2 levels where I ever died as a teenager after playing the game for 5+ years.

[@WanderingMindSR]

My personal hard level is Stage 8 from Super Castlevania IV, between all the instant death traps and the bridge right before the boss

[@mattb6522]

Yes! Good pick! That level is devious! It is just a gauntlet of traps that drains your lives very quickly! You have to be like pixel-perfect to survive!

[@howard2031]

If that game didn't have unlimited continues it would be up there with the hardest games of all time. But luckily you could just continue and not have to start way back at the beginning.

[@CritteRino]

jumping that gap on the Mario Kart track into a perfect slide around this narrow corner with full speed and with 10+ coins felt so good, dont think it was the hardest track in general but was one of the hardest to get a perfect run on. Cant remember how much I played this game but it was so much fun getting better and better and all these tracks never felt boring.

[@kbh95207]

I came here to see if “I can’t wait to be king” level from the “Lion King” appeared in the list. Instead it’s another level.

[@danielmeza7146]

😅

[@gregorys9629]

Super EDF was a pleasant surprise when I played it on Switch online recently - it's a competent shooter and worth playing for fans of the genre. Great list!

[@QactisX]

lots of fantastic space shooters on SNES. I really enjoy Biometal, Phalanx, R-Type 3, Super R-Type, Darius Twin, UN Squadron, Space Megaforce, Thunder Spirits

[@robinsonnox9980]

I struggled to beat Tubular when I was a kid and it stuck with me. For years Tubular was stuck in my mind: its frustation, it's lack of traditional platforms, it's lack of mercy.

[@Kodan882]

I never beat it until I was an adult. My cousin beat the level for me, but then another cousin deleted that save file.

[@dannyt9744]

Took me forever as a kid to realize that I had to keep opening boxes to get more P balloons and even longer to realize it was easier as small Mario as you were a smaller target and any hit was pretty much instant death

[@osurpless]

I think it’s among the easiest if you use Blue Yoshi. But I guess that can be said of most stages…

[@alejandrotristan1448]

I only managed to beat it using saving states 15 years later lol

[@costby1105]

@@osurpless I don't think I have ever beat Tubular the intended way. I've always cheesed it.

[@mooglemessiah1731]

It feels so good to have the pain that is that sand crawler level recognized

[@Entropic_Alloy]

I always hated that near the end there is the platform that you get on that would drop into the lava super fast. I couldn't get past that level as a kid, until years later when I got back to the game. Then I couldn't beat the Death Star space combat section.

[@Peeps7468]

That whole trilogy of games was just strangely difficult in a way that just sucked the fun out of it. Super Ghouls and Ghosts was difficult but fun. Star Wars trilogy of games? I hated the first two so much, I never even rented the third one.

[@dannyt9744]

@@Entropic_Alloy I’m pretty sure we all died the first time we dropped to the final section of the Sandcrawler with that fast, blind drop into the lava. Even when you knew it was coming you then had to make several jumps on small platforms and hope those snakes or final boss didn’t knock you off. Hell I’ve had a few times where I killed the boss and still died trying to get to R2

[@MarMaxGaming]

That was a really tough game overall… and the damn instant kill lava too! It’s shocking that like 9 of the 14 levels in Super Star Wars are in the damn desert, then you have that horrendous boss fight using Chewie with a prayer.

[@osurpless]

@@Entropic_Alloy It’s a frustrating level thanks to that, and much like adding the spin dash in most future versions of Sonic 1, they really should’ve retroactively put the double jump from the sequels in the first one as a mitigation technique.

[@nebedward]

DKC2 was one of the greatest gaming experiences of my young life, the soundtrack was amazing too, loved the last levels, once I’d completed it I felt soooooo gooood 😂

[@Delekhan]

Excellent list! Thanks for the trip down (horrific) memory lane! Played all these as a kid/teenager. Those were the days? ;)

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

I remember doing that snow barrel blast section as fast as possible years later, shooting the barrels as soon as it’s first possible to get to the next, and you get a 3up balloon if you manage to do it. So cool!

[@DegennyfromtheBlockchain]

Also many Starfox levels are super difficult. Great list. Thanks!

[@t.p.3456]

3:10 I can feel my body tense up & brain saying "NOW!" ever time the barrels line up.

[@georgwinter5902]

Can‘t take it seriously if Battletoads is considered a honorable mention only. But thanks for the entertainment and the effort :-)

[@NeoLotex]

Man I always love your videos. They're so relaxed and straight to the point, but most importantly they bring back a ton of good memories even though I also remember how frustrated I was with a few of the games you show in your videos. One level that I still vividly remember and that I've never, not even once, finished was the ship level in Enter the Matrix. For some reason I never really knew what I supposed to do. With Niobe I'm supposed to steer the ship, but take damage everywhere and with Ghost I'm supposed to shoot enemies, but I never hit them well enough to not take damage.

[@rocko7711]

OMG, what a nostalgia trip I remembered playing all these games

[@Bolsty7]

I love your videos man. I'm just getting into MAME and been going through all your arcade suggestions. Thanks a lot mate.

[@MichaelKolesarKoleslaw]

This story is going to sound made up, but I swear it's real. My dad had a niece who lived in Florida, so we didn't see her or her husband very often. However, they occasionally would send me a Christmas present. It was usually something small, like a pair of socks or a sweater. Whatever, I never complained. One year, they sent me a SNES game! It was "The Lion King." I played it for a bit and was like "wow, this game is hard, and not in a fun way" so I never finished it. The next year, she sent me another SNES game! It was... "The Lion King" AGAIN. WTF. I stuck it on my bookcase with the rest of my games. The next year for Christmas, her and her family came into town to visit for the holidays. She handed me a present and told me not to open it until Christmas morning. I could tell by the size/weight of the gift, it was an SNES game. Christmas morning arrived and I opened the gift. Sure enough, it was a 3rd copy of "The Lion King." This was the last time I ever saw her or received a present from her; she had a huge fallout with her mother (my dad's sister) and stopped talking to all of our family in my area, so I never got to ask her why she gave me the same SNES game as a present 3 years in a row. Now, as an adult, I've tried to find her to try to catch up and she's a ghost, it's like no record of her living where she said she lived exists. I'm sure anyone who read this random long youtube content has questions, and believe me, I have the same questions.

[@brianmasondmvbiz]

Did you find her? What’s her name.

[@danielwolf6477]

You can try to find her but honestly, i can answer that question easily, she gave you 3 copies of the same game because she just forgot what game she bought you the year before and trust me, people who dont know anything about the gaming world could easily do that and back then if she went to the seller asking, "what games do kids like", i can imagine them giving her that game or they wanted to get rid of the lion king games since it did not sell that well due to how hard it was or it was just cheaper then other games.. but all scenarios lead to that one thing, she just forgot wich game she gave you the year before.

[@WatchParty1]

I remember that Death Star run being kinda easy so much that I thought it was a let down for the whole series. Been a while though.

[@mattl1758]

I knew tubular would be on here. Lol. It’s immediately the one I thought of when I saw the title of the video. Lmao. Even now I need some practice to get it,but if you want 100% you gotta do it. Awesome video

[@McPhisto]

I'm not prone to motion sickness, but that Death Star level gives me vertigo.

[@tazdingo1515]

I was just thinking that. I'm not prone to any of it but just watching that was a bit unsettling. I couldn't stop thinking that some people probably got wrecked by that graphical attack on their vision

[@markportuondo2483]

I get motion sickness sometimes, and I can't imagine having to play that level for 10 min 🤢

[@dreamlandnightmare]

@@markportuondo2483 The stage never bothered me. The only problem I had was I initially thought you had to keep pushing the booster button. This resulted in the fire always catching. Once I realized you could just hold in the booster button and stay boosted, the level never again gave me any trouble whatsoever.

[@smurfquake]

The rest of this game is so so so easy compared to that final level.

[@TheInkPitOx]

I'm photosensitive and it didn't bother me

[@zacharyhunt9594]

I'm surprised Donut Plains 3 got in over Rainbow Road, but I'd argue at least two separate F-Zero courses were harder than any Mario kart course (Fire Field and the 2nd Ice Course come to mind. Maybe Death Valley 2 as well) Also, level 4 of Contra 3, when you start on the motorcycle. That level is just ridiculous. The multiple mini bosses, the final fight where you're jumping from missile to missile. The amount of time I've accidentally held down when jumping off the missile, just to fall to my death. Really surprised it wasn't on this list.

[@Mr.Sojiro]

Agreed with Animal Antics being so high on the list. That part with sqwack is hard as hell. I just 102% completed that game for the first time ever this year and holy hell will that level forever send shivers down my spine. It really is just the sqwack part that makes it rough, all the other animal segments (while tough) are no where near as brutal.

[@mistertagomago7974]

I'm not saying it isnt hard as hell but I feel like the fact I beat it means it shouldn't be on the list lol.

[@vtorious9102]

It was kind of unbalanced that way, Sqwaks was hard and then you get to the Rattly stage and it was easier (and least played) by comparison. Should have saved the best for imho but hindsight is 20/20, still an amazingly hard level

[@Starlesslight]

I remember playing through the game when it came out, and I was bound and determined to fully complete it without using a game magazine to show me the secrets, and I did it. Having played and beat all of the games in the series though, it was just the most fun to me. I never went back to 3, sometimes revisited the first one, but I would regularly go back and play part 2.

[@matthewnewberry9843]

Without watching if Lion King isn't on here I don't think it deserves to be a list. Well done I think the best part about all of these is being able to relate to all but two or three of the missions and beating them all as a child

[@aleckermit]

Totally agree with G&G 1-1. It took me the longest to beat that level haha. #1 rule: DO NOT USE YOUR DOUBLE JUMP UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.

[@infin1ty850]

That DK snow level caused some major repressed childhood nightmares to come back.

[@RogueVinyl]

This list is so good, lots of unexpected choices. Lion King and Gradius 3 are brutal indeed.

[@VicHD]

Contra 3 Levels 4 and 5 were insane to get through. The cave stage in UN Squadron (Area 88) is rough too. Especially the boss on the ceiling that requires 3 specific secondary weapons to destroy it

[@zacharyhunt9594]

In contra 3, is it level 4 that starts on the motorcycle? Cuz that level is insane, and probably deserved to be on this list

[@curiositykills913]

man i hate that boss by the way, U.N. Squadron could receive some very cool rom hacks

[@dannyt9744]

@@zacharyhunt9594 that level 4 boss might be the coolest boss fight ever. You have to shoot down the enemy ship while jumping from missile to missile, thousands of feet in the air. So badass

[@juggalofred1533]

I agree whoop whoop MCL

[@OnixDDixon]

this was the exact video i needed to find right at this moment! thank you for making it last year!

[@warisfun7]

Mario, Mario Kart,and Donkey Kong were my child hood. You picked some hard level for sure. Great video

[@TectonicImprov]

Dunno where it would land on a list but Super Castlevania IV's penultimate level definitely qualifies for hardest SNES level. The game gets a reputation for being easier compared to other Castlevanias but this level in particular measures up to the NES games in difficulty. The flying blocks near the end especially are so evil.

[@gwgux]

Snow Barrel Blast...I remember that level giving me some trouble, but it was the hard, but fun kind of hard. Felt more like a puzzle/timing level than a regular platformer game level.

[@greensun1334]

Indeed, level 8 in Super G&G is super hard to beat, and it's absolute brutal with the bracelet. The Red Demon is so difficult too, it seems like he has no attack pattern! It's an overall very hard game - and the necessary second run makes it even harder...

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

Oh damn, I remember having the code for the final Death Star part of Return of the Jedi, and I bet I played it like 50 times before I finally beat it! Crazy how precise you had to be, and also I was getting severe motion sickness towards the end. Got to love those old school brutally difficult games!

[@artificialaceattorney6822]

I'm glad you chose the last level of Super Return of the Jedi for the top spot. I remember playing Super Return of the Jedi when I was younger and got up to the end of the game on Jedi but wasn't able to finish that level.

[@Pedr4m]

I'm surprised Contra III isn't on this list. It was brutal. I beat it with a game genie and as I went through it I was wondering how they expected kids to have any chance at beating it.

[@brandonclevert3173]

That is the one I was thinking of too. A really hard game to play on normal difficulty.

[@ObservationofLimits]

Honestly Contra III I feel got EASIER the further you got.

[@upover]

I think this is “hard levels”, and not hard games.

[@lennynero635]

When we were kids, my brother and I beat the game in 2 Player mode without any cheat codes. BUT...nobody was allowed to die in the first three levels or I reset the game. No excuses. That was brutal :-)

[@5dollarshake263]

@freespeechordie2252 That's nothing, I beat it at age 3 while using the super scope instead of a pad.

[@MisticStyles]

Looking forward to the next SNESDrunk Hardest/Easiest/Weirdest/Adjective SNES/NES/GENESIS/Console Levels/Games/Bosses/Genres/Noun Video!

[@treymon3135]

I love discussion on hard video game levels. I hope you can make a sequel to this video in the future!

[@matthew-epurnell1610]

5:22 Yes! THANK YOU for including this level from Pilot Wings, it took me forever to reach this final part of the game when I was a kid & I only beat it once -- every time I tried to get through it a 2nd time I always was shot down.

[@AjL727]

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your channel been going through a really rough time lately and your videos always bring me joy and are always awesome. You are the man snes drunk.

[@Leftisinsane]

Very good video. I would like to mention 2 stages in Super Castlevania iv. The dungeon (I believe...vii?). The disappearing platforms right before the boss. There is no pattern. You have to get lucky. Also, the last stage. Climbing up the staircases that fall when you touch them while this massive spike ring is chasing you vertically. There is one section close to the end of that stage that you jave to blindly jump and catch a rising platform (that you literally can't see until you land on it). I manage to do this stage well now, but geez. It still sucks.

[@opaljk4835]

Idk, these aren’t that bad if you ask me…which you didn’t.

[@theanarchangel9163]

The Dungeon was the 8th level and it is full of spikes everywhere with no pattern to speak of. I was waiting to see it appear on the list. Yeah, that was an absolute nightmare. And yes, the spinning wheel in the tower is a nightmare as well. That whole game amps up the difficulty pretty crazy at the end.

[@opaljk4835]

@@theanarchangel9163 if you keep up the pace you’ll never die from that thing at the end. I’d say level 8 is the only real pain, barring those quick floating platforms at the end. But the disappearing ones right before Frankenstein stay long enough to where if you keep a consistent pace you’ll never die from one disappearing.

[@zeroreyortsed3624]

I haven't played DKC in years, but IMMEDIATELY remembered that God damn level. 😂

[@bakuiel1901]

Great list of games, glad to see Ghosts and Goblins there twice, never could beat that first level

[@HeathenDance]

To be honest, I never understood why the Ghosts and Goblins series is so revered. The gameplay is broken, to me. I have finished pretty tough games, including 90's FPS in the hardest difficulties, like Final Doom and Quake. And the classic Contras and what not. Even NES Metroid, without using guides from other people. But the gameplay of G and Goblins is not fun, or responsive.

[@anthonybird546]

@@HeathenDance Agreed, it looks great, and *looks* fun, but is pure trash.

[@Ubersnuber]

Super Mario Kart Donut Plains 3 is very much about skipping in the turns, to equalise the skidding. One jump too many is better than one too few, to straighten your direction. One downside is that you get busy straightening the kart, so a lot more button presses than when not jumping because the track is basically one continuous turn. I think I learned that one all by myself. It’s neat.

[@unc_matteth]

you beat these levels back in the day because you pretty much only had one game to play, maybe two, at any one time. that was the way it worked then. so you grinded those. you got to think of the years every weekend, after school, and night, and then sneaking games when the parents weren't watching, or we thought they weren't. they knew. thanks mom and dad! anyway. you put in a damn assload of time on these levels over and over and over.

[@subliminallime4321]

The helicopter levels on Pilotwings definitely got me mad a few times back in the day. So did the lava escape level from Aladdin. It's weird because the rest of the game is fairly easy...

[@moonrazk]

I liked to play the first helicopter level for fun, but the second one I think I beat once to finish the game and then never even tried again.

[@bjwaters]

Oh, yeah! That level of Aladdin was rough for me as well. I could never figure that out. Of course, I only rented the game, so maybe if I owned it, I would have gotten past it eventually.

[@bobosmith101]

That one jump in the lava room is near pixel perfect in Alladdin. Actually, I think it might literally be pixel perfect.

[@Aristaios]

yeah it took me a few goes trying to do that one

[@cerebraxis607]

I'm genuinely surprised you didn't mention a level from actraiser 2. I'm not sure which, one of the later levels though. Incredibly difficult game but really beautifully done and one of my favorites.

[@Laneous14]

Actraiser 2 was brutal in general with that very weird control feel, but I can proudly say I beat it. One of my greatest gamer achievements from my childhood.

[@acidfruitloops]

The boss rush at the end of actraiser is enough to just say fuck it & not finish it. So laughably bad. Great game to, shame the bosses are so terrible that the gauntlet is damn impossible.

[@neogohanamv]

I'd nominate Death Field. Yeesh, what a bitch of a level.

[@mattb6522]

Great choices! I have PTSD just thinking about some of these levels! Some of these levels make me think twice about replaying them due to some of these levels! 😅 Snow Barrel Blast is even more frustrating due to the fact that you have to beat a marathon of levels before you even have a chance to reach Candy's Save Point in the world (at least in the original DKC). I choose the cheesy way out whenever I attempt Tubular in Mario World. I usually just grab a Blue Yoshi from Star World and fly over the entire level! 😄

[@leecroft1983]

A good trick for most of these types of levels (and games)... don't get hit. It's that simple, glad i was here to help.

[@cyberfist6568]

More power to you. I wouldn't try playing half this list. I have more than enough scars from MegaMan X3 to play any of this today 😂

[@japanesehercules]

The missiles stage in Contra III deserves to be here

[@SNESdrunk]

That boss is one of the hardest for sure

[@conorneligan7694]

Nah man the last level. First the hordes of enemies at the start then the boss rush at the end. It's especially ridiculous if you're going with 3-man settings.

[@13amproduction]

Damn, I definitely remember completing Super ROTJ but seeing that final run at the Death Star made me motion sick! We take our gaming youth for granted, I'm telling you.

[@theedwardian]

DKC1 and 2 are permanently ingrained in my mind. My friends are always impressed, but the timings are all muscle memory for me.

[@DannyTumia]

damn, that pilot wings music! INSTANT MEMOR, great video!

[@jammiebooker6489]

Love the Pilotwings music playing in the background 😂 i didnt even know there were more levels after the first rescue attempt till way later in life when i saw the codes to get to them on the internet

[@NourArt02]

I never finished Out Of This World and i played it for like 4 months, that game was brutal but also a masterpiece.

[@Laneous14]

My friend and I managed to beat it. It's all pure trial and error. No idea how many hours it took, though.

[@NourArt02]

@@Laneous14 GG man, for me it was so confusing, i think i spent like 3 weeks in that water level lol ... Still one of my childhood favorites tho

[@BryanX64]

I'm actually very surprised Donut Plains 3 is on here, I never gave it much thought as far as difficulty. I would've expected the original Rainbow Road with no guard rails at all to be the Super Mario Kart representative here!

[@TrevorAWilliams]

I agree. After a couple times, I was able to master Donut Plains 3 but am lucky to place third on Rainbow Road.

[@pigmilkmusicfarm]

Fuck Rainbow Road

[@GeneralBolas]

I was getting 1st place on Rainbow Road *long* before I managed to consistently do it in DP3. That level is just so brutal. The guardrail thing is a problem, and learning to take those corners at speed is difficult. But there's one major disadvantage to DP3: It's the first course in its cup. That's important because in the first cup, you *always* start dead last. One reason I can stay effective in Rainbow Road is that I can start at a high place and just stay there. But with DP3 you *have to* fight through everybody. Oh sure, a well timed start can help, but since the first turn is right in front of the starting line, it's really difficult to maintain that position initially. I think driver choice also plays into this. Or more specifically, which drivers are your primary enemy. If you play as Bowser, Mario and Luigi will be 1st and 2nd, so they'll be the ones you're mostly fighting against. And their invincible powerup just makes passing them nearly impossible.

[@BryanX64]

@@GeneralBolas My main in Super Mario Kart is Koopa and Luigi is of your main rivals so yeah the invincibility does get annoying lol at least with him it's only Luigi.

[@simspawn]

I never really thought any MKart levels were overly hard. It was just a fun game that I've never stopped loving.

[@sonicmario64]

I never actually found the Animal Antics stage in DKC2 to be that difficult, since the secret to beating Squawks' section is to just move slowly in time with the wind gusts in the narrow areas, and you should have no trouble afterwards. If anything, the real hardest level in the game would have to be either Slime Climb or Toxic Tower, since you have to climb all the way to the top in order to avoid touching the liquid that is quickly rising from the bottom the entire time.

[@raphaelfp]

Toxic Tower is a nightmare. My own personal worst Squawks stage is Screech Sprint

[@dannyt9744]

Yes! Hated Toxic Tower as a kid but that level is a true balance of challenge and fun. This is dumb but I always hated Rickety Race. At least as far as getting the DK coin. Too many split second jumps at the end and that was if one of the dudes didn’t get in the way of your jump

[@sonicmario64]

@@raphaelfp I actually used to think that stage was difficult when I played the version of it from "Donkey Kong Land 2" on the Game Boy.

[@Miilien]

Agreed, Toxic Towers is the worst. It's the level that made me give up on beating the game as a kid and I had to give back the borrowed cartridge to my cousin with an unfinished savegame of only 92%. The burning shame.....

[@sonicmario64]

@@Miilien I was actually the same way when playing Slime Climb, which was actually a harder stage to play in 'Donkey Kong Land 2" compared to its SNES counterpart.

[@Ali-gv1yw]

Thank you for the Nostalgia❤. I never passed the Lion King stage to this day. Its 20 years or so

[@VodkaVodoka]

Everybody keeps bringing up the monkey puzzle in Lion King, saying that it was designed as some kind of super annoying measure to stop kids from beating the game with rentals. But I seriously don't see that. From what I recall, you can't actually die from flipping the monkeys the wrong way, even as a kid I'd just flip them so that they'd take me farther on each puzzle section. And it's not like there's time limit, or even enemies in those sections, and the game is fairly generous at giving extra lives shortly after checkpoints (at that stage at least). No, the hard shit comes after that. Especially in adult stages the enemies and obstacles start being relentless, you're constantly starved for health and can just forget about those generous extra lives.

[@swissoccer]

What a great video! I was suprised by the Mario Kart choice, because no one would identify tracks as levels. But it was a perfect choice! I hate this track too and makes the Special Cup even harder.

[@mattb6522]

I totally agree Donut Plains 3 sucks in the original game! It is a huge increase in difficulty and you're easily passed if you get knocked into the water! I believe there is a way take a massive shortcut using a Mushroom at the bridge, but the CPU still rubberbands like crazy!

[@shannonnezul4903]

I must be a maniac because I loved the death star run. It just felt so cool

[@doguritos]

same way here haha

[@CarlonchoArt]

same :D

[@ViciousOS]

it's really cool, but it is pretty brutal, I got very good at it, but I don't know how I'd do nowadays, haha

[@algunoscuenticos]

Same here!

[@alexbiehn978]

+1

[@williamcarlson9379]

The hardest challenge is actually finding a copy of Hagane.

[@dannyt9744]

I want to play this game after seeing that minute long clip of it 😂

[@Fr0zenNightmare]

Why? Just pay around 400+ $/€ and you have one

[@williamcarlson9379]

@@Fr0zenNightmare I haven't even been able to find a copy for less than $1000

[@APerson10003]

While I agree with you most times this time I can’t. Be Prepared isn’t hard. You can just sit and spam attack, jump on them, or run away. Hakuna Matata will always be the hardest. The log climbing makes or breaks if you beat the game and that’s before becoming an adult, imo.

[@mistahkrazy805]

What made Mario Kart hard was the fact that the CPU would straight up cheat constantly