Difficulty is a tough thing for developers to get right. A game that is even slightly too easy or slightly too hard can put some people off it completely, which can make balancing difficulty extremely tricky given that it’s subjective and varies from player to player.
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However, some studios have released games over the years that are brutally difficult for even experienced gamers to get through, despite beingpredominantly aimed at children. The following games on this list were all commercial successes, but many young gamers struggled to ever come close to seeing the final credits roll.
7The Legend Of Zelda
The originalLegend of Zeldawas released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in February 1986 and is considered to be one of the most important releases in gaming history.The Legend of Zeldakickstarted one of gaming’s most iconic franchises, was fundamental in helping the industry recover from the 1983 crash, andlaid the foundations for the open-world genremany years before it would be popularized.
One of the game’s most praised features today is how it gives virtually no clues as to where to go or what to do, an open-world style popular today in games likeThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandElden Ring.Although the style is enjoyable for many people, it made the originalLegend of Zeldaincredibly difficult to complete in the ’80s, as players couldn’t just pull out a smartphone and bring up a guide at the time.
6Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicootwas released in September 1996 with the intent of making the Playstation’s bandicoot mascot character compete with Nintendo’sMarioand Sega’sSonic. The game differentiated itself from its platforming counterparts by putting the camera behind its playable character and featuring corridor-like, linear levels; a style of platforming that is, surprisingly, still unique to theBandicootfranchise today, barring a small handful of forgotten titles.
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Crash Bandicootfeatures numerousinfamously difficultstages like Road To Nowhere and Slippery Climb, and the original PS1 release would only let players save their overall progress after completing a bonus stage, which didn’t appear in every level.
5The Lion King
The Lion Kingwas released in November 1994, just a few months after the release of the classic Disney film. The platforming game featured a side-scrolling perspective and followed Simba’s journey through the movie’s events.
The Lion King’s difficulty was no accident, as thedevelopers were told by higher-ups at Disney to make the game so hard that people couldn’t complete it during a rental period. Renting games were extremely popular in the mid-90s, as many games tookunder 7 hours to complete, so people would complete entire games while only having to pay a rental price.
4Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!was released in 1987 and was an instant hit both critically and commercially, as the gameplay was simple but wonderfully well-designed to create fluid fights that felt like arhythmic dancewhen perfected.
Punch-Out!!starts with pushover fights like the aptly-named Glass Joe before gradually building up to the infamously punishing Mike Tyson fight. While many kids were able to reach Mike Tyson, actually beating him was the stuff of playground legend.
3Ecco The Dolphin
For those who know nothing aboutEcco The Dolphin, it may come as a surprise from the front cover and early screenshots that the game is even an action-adventure, as it initially appears to be just a cutesy game about some dolphin friends. What’s even more surprising aboutEcco The Dolphin, however, is that the game delves into the sci-fi andeven the horror genrewith dangerous underwater creatures and disturbing aliens that wouldn’t feel out of place inSubnautica.
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Ecco The Dolphin’s difficulty doesn’t only stem from these dangerous creatures, as the game also refrains from giving players any advice on what to do. This isn’t in a “sense of freedom and adventure” type way as aforementioned games likeBreath of the WildorElden Ring, though, as players need to use gameplay mechanics that they aren’t even told about to progress through the first level, which led to many people never reaching the second stage.
2Rayman
When players first loaded upRaymanin 1995, and the game started off in the beautiful Dream Forest level, few expected it to descend into being one of the hardest platformers to release up until that point.
The game has a sharp spike in difficulty after the first couple of hours, which is jarring, to say the least. However, the reason for the difficultly spike becomes clear after learning that, believe it or not,the game’s developers rarely playtestedRayman, so weren’t aware of just how hard the game was becoming.
1Battletoads
Battletoadsis abeat ‘em upand platforming game first released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. The game was considered to be among the hardest of all time released up until that point across any genre. Unsurprisingly, this meant that very few kids ever got to see all of the game’s content.
Battletoads’ most infamous stage is Turbo Tunnel, which is only the third level of the game and tasks players with avoiding a plethora of obstacles on a fast-moving hoverbike.
