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[Flopfan]

I'd have to say Ikaruga.

 

[retroman]

There are countless impossibly hard Commodore 64 games.

 

[Hot Coldman]

does Stepmania count

 

[Teknopathetic]

Beatmania IIDX or Keyboardmania.

 

[Reverend Funk]

Probably one of the metal slug games if you aren't playing with unlimited continues.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

I think it's safe to say something old. Games used to be much harsher than they are now, so anything made in the last 20 years is pretty much out.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I think it's safe to say something old. Games used to be much harsher than they are now, so anything made in the last 20 years is pretty much out.

I wouldn't say that. Here's something from 2012.

 

[Spieler Eins]

F-Zero GX might be the only 3D game I couldn't finish because it was simply too hard (outside of the basic modes on easy/normal). One or two story chapters I might have finished on hard mode.

 

[BTails]

Honestly, Battletoads isn't even the hardest NES game by Rare. I think it always comes up in these threads because it's HARD, but actually fun, so people remember it.

Something like Cobra Command or Snake Rattle and Roll by Rare on the NES are MUCH harder.

 

[GurgleBot20]

No mention of that Winnie the Pooh baseball game yet?

For me it's kind of hard to answer since so many games have different kinds of difficulty (e.g. Contra is hard for different reasons than why Demon's Souls is hard), and there are plenty of games that don't even try to paint themselves as fair.

 

[cr0w]

The original TMNT game on the NES is up there for me with Rygar. Fucking Rygar, man...

To this day one of my proudest accomplishments is beating the first Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox.

 

[Gilby]

Takeshi's Challenge

Probably this.

 

[Darth Smurf X]

I had a hard time getting past the first enemy. Let alone the first level.

 

[Sub_Level]

Probably some bullet hell or rhythm game.

Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, and Souls games are not even remotely contenders.

 

[Tagyhag]

I Wanna Be The Boshy, Dwarf Fortress, or DCS Simulator.

All for different reasons.

 

[WickedLaharl]

 

[SOME-MIST]

pink sweets
thunder dragon 2

 

[SmiteOfHand]

If you are serious about getting to the bottom of this question, which I doubt there is a definitive answer to, you can probably safely disregard any game mentioned that was bought at a traditional retail store.

 

[cyress8]

Really never had too much of a problem with Billy. I know I died a bunch but was always able to beat it. The music is ingrained into my soul though from how much I replayed it.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

What sucks is that a lot of this game's difficulty only stems from the US release being fucked up. The Japanese version is pretty manageable.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Depends on the criteria I suppose.

Dwarf Fortress, Aurora4x, Distant Worlds: Universe, EVE Online, X series, and Paradox grand strategies have a lot of mechanics and depth to them that takes a while to grasp and to apply the mechanics in an intelligent way to succeed, where as games like Stepmania and Solgryn's games such as I Wanna Be the Boshy are harder in a different criteria with physical coordination requirements.

 

[Joe Spangle]

Dont know about hardest ever but i always thought the Trials games were hard. Trying to 0 fault in a platinum time on extreme tracks was a tough challenge. I love how the gameplay was simplistic to learn - gas, brake, lean forward, lean back - but to master it took real skill. I loved Evolution. prob one of my top 5 games ever.

 

[kpeezy]

If you are serious about getting to the bottom of this question, which I doubt there is a definitive answer to, you can probably safely disregard any game mentioned that was bought at a traditional retail store.

Probably can't. The most difficult game would definitely be a multiplayer game.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

I wouldn't say that. Here's something from 2012.

There are plenty of recent hard games, but I don't think they really compare to the games of old. The games of today are not all easy, just not the same level of "your-dead-now-feed-me-coins" games of old. That design mentality survived long into home hardware that didn't take coins.

 

[Rival]

The Adventures of Bayou Billy

This. This piece of shit game.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Probably can't. The most difficult game would definitely be a multiplayer game.

Maybe. Maybe not.

 

[adj_noun]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure.

Good luck getting the babel fish.

 

[Nere]

The hardest game I played in Ninja gaiden on master ninja with all the fiend challenges complete, yes even the 120 hell knights or whatever the hell those idiots were.

 

[lingpanda]

I must be getting old if Ghost and Goblins hasn't been mentioned.

 

[pantsattack]

Transformers: Mystery of Convoy.

Keep in mind you only have one hit point.

Even Hideki Kamiya said this was one of the hardest games he'd ever played. If the creator of Devil May Cry and Wonderful 101 thinks your game is too hard, your game is too hard.

This is what I immediately thought of. I didn't know it had a reputation but it was so frustrating I thought for sure it was broken. It's insane.

 

[BTails]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure.

Good luck getting the babel fish.

That's an amazing puzzle. Gotta put the junk mail on the satchel, and cover the drain, right? I regularly point to that puzzle as a pinnacle of earlier adventure game design: when you look at it, the game gives you ample clues and hints as to all the pieces needed to get through it.

 

[The_Almighty_Swan]

I'd have to say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES and Ninja Gaiden's 1, 2 and 3 on the NES

 

[BlindJesus]

Getting all Platinum medals in Project Gotham Racing 2. Most racing games give you plenty of margin of error in career modes, PGR2 required perfection through a lot of different challenges. Cone challenges were the bane of my existence.Jack Black went up a few notches when i saw this a while back.
Edit: Evidently I can't post pictures...
http://imgur.com/iWcmY8s

 

[LordofPwn]

this.

 

[Lothar]

I'd have to say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES and Ninja Gaiden's 1, 2 and 3 on the NES

Just the fact that you have infinite continues means Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 can't be close to the hardest. If you keep playing them, it's inevitable that you'll beat them. Even if you just get lucky after playing a stage 50 times.

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Vanquish on God Hard. Shit was bananas.

 

[leroidys]

Mario maker.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

Mario maker.

 

[RowdyReverb]

this.

OP asked for hard, not fucking impossible

 

[derExperte]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry_IV:_The_Return_of_Werdna probably belongs in the top 10.

 

[To Far Away Times]

Maybe something like a Mushihimesama Futari 1.0 Ultra 1 credit clear, a DoDonPachi DaiOuJou 2-ALL or a Ketsui 2-ALL ?

 

[graybot]

Does anyone remember Ikari Warriors on the NES?

Can't remeber if I was just to young/not good. But I don't think I ever last more than 5 mins in that game

 

[Rellik]

For me it's game like Beatmania IIDX because I'm terrible at them, and then you see some dude on YouTube moving his fingers at 1000mph.

 

[kamineko]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure.

Good luck getting the babel fish.

I think Spellbreaker is harder, but you're right about that damned fish. Drove me nuts.

I guess I'll say ADOM. Spellbreaker is tough, but you can try until you get it right. In ADOM, it often doesn't make a difference whether you get it right or not.

 

[didevol]

Adventure Island.

To this day, never beat that god damn game.

 

[raven777]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dxb-r0eKsY

 

[DavionStriker]

Landing in Top Gun was impossible as a kid and made me hate the game.

LOL Me too. My dad bought this when he bought me my NES. I could not land for the life of me (I was like 7). Dad would always have to come in for me.

Super Hexagon / Super Meat Boy

Both very fun, couple - second games.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

I think Spellbreaker is harder, but you're right about that damned fish. Drove me nuts.

I guess I'll say ADOM. Spellbreaker is tough, but you can try until you get it right. In ADOM, it often doesn't make a difference whether you get it right or not.

ADOM! Game does not get enough love. Reminds me that Steam release is out. Any idea if it is any good? Reviews look positive. hmm. HMM.

 

[Neff]

Transformers: Mystery of Convoy.

I used to think it was Magician Lord until I saw Magician Lord blown wide open without damage, and then played Mystery of fucking Convoy.

It's just obscene punishment, and you never get good at it, ever.

 

[Tavernacle12]

Star Wars SNES.

Those games are brutal, though there actually is an easy mode which makes them enjoyable instead of totally brutal. I know it's in Empire, it might be in the original too (it took over a decade for me to realize it existed and I got so pumped I jumped back into the game to actually beat it for once).

I Wanna Be The Guy would be my pick, especially on that 'beat the game without ever dying' difficulty. If the sort of sequel is harder (I haven't played it) then my money's on that.