It seems like they don't make video games as hard as they used to. There are difficulty levels on video games today that seem impossible to beat, but they're always optional. Back in the day of the NES, though, it was like they would make games and then never even play test them -- as if they never even thought the question "Can anyone realistically play this?" was worth asking. There were games so hard and that I couldn't even imagine beating them -- yet somehow they were popular and widely played. One was Ghost 'n Goblins where I only ever made it to the third level no matter how hard I tried. Two hits and you die, and the game is constantly throwing everything at you. And you're expected to beat the whole game twice to get the full ending. Did anyone do that without cheating? Maybe it was possible if you made playing that game your life's work, but I don't see a casual gamer getting anywhere in it.

Another one was Battletoads made near the end of the NES life cycle when they should have knew better. The first level was the perfect balance of fun and difficulty. The second level was quite a bit more difficult but still doable. But, by the middle of the third level, the difficulty is suddenly ramped up to eleven and never relents for the next nine or so levels (not that I got much farther without cheating).

How did these games get through testing? Who were they made for? Can any of you think of any video games nearly as hard as those (that didn't come with easier difficulty levels)?

BTW, while researching my Fred Thompson fact today (yes, sometimes I do research) to see if everyone considered Ghost 'n Goblins as difficult as I did, I ran into Mushihimesama. It's a Japan only game, but my understanding is that this is the final boss of the first game when played on Ultra (it's hardest difficulty):

And this is the final boss of the sequel:

I run into something like that, I'm not putting more quarters into the machine.

Oh, as long as I'm talking about video games for no reason, I have to give props to this Fred Thompson fact from a commenter who left himself anonymous:

Fred Thompson's Princess is NOT in another castle.

Hats off. That was better than mine today.

• Currently 4.50/5
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

Rating: 4.5/5 (2 votes cast)

Email This | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble It!