What is the hardest game ever made or played? We have all asked this question to ourselves at one time or the other. Well, there is no simple answer to this question. A game’s hardness level depends upon the person playing the game. Some say it is the Super Mario 2 (not the one you are used to playing but the super mario version that was released in Japan only as it was too hard for US gamers) while in other’s opinion, it is “I wanna be the guy”.
We are really surprised that none of the next generation console games are remotely as hard as these classics. Maybe it has to do with changing attitude of people towards games or maybe the game developers are just too scared to make some hard game. There isn’t a single answer to the question.
So, we are going to list 10 of the hardest games ever and you can share your opinions about which ones are harder than the others. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
You might also like our posts about Mac OSX games and Best Xbox 360 games.
10. Zelda II – The Adventure of Link
For: Nintendo NES | Hardness Quotient: 7/10 | More Info
Zelda II – The Adventure of Link
Zelda II is probably one of the hardest games a gamer could ever wish to play. That might not be necessarily a bad thing. People like challenges and that’s what this game is, a big challenge. If you grew up in 90’s you probably know how hard this game is. Others, you can checkout the YouTube videos about this game. It will give you a good idea of how hard it was and is.
9. Shinobi
For: PlayStation 2 | Hardness Quotient: 7.5/10 | More Info
Shinobi for PlayStation 2
The red caped (scarf?) title player of this game was the unluckiest of them all. Mainly because there is no way you could stop him from falling into bottomless pits and partly because there were no checkpoints in the game making it pretty repetitive if you aren’t the best of players. You had to be razor sharp and precise in landing your blows. The sword powered up with every enemy you killed and would drain the life of player when you couldn’t land a blow.
8. Ikaruga
For: Xbox Live Arcade and GameCube | Hardness Quotient: 7.5/10 | More Info
Ikaruga may not be the hardest game of all time but it is pretty close. This Japanese game is all about eating bullets, dodging them and moving forward while killing your shooters. This game requires dedication and quick reflexes.
7. Ninja Gaiden Series
For: NES and Original Xbox | Hardness Quotient: 8/10 | More Info
Ninja Gaiden Series for NES and PS2
Like various other kids, I grew up thinking that Ninja Gaiden was a way for Ninjas to recruit you if you beat the game. It was brutally hard but it upped the amps with Gaiden’s entry in to Xbox console. It was a very hard game to beat and one of the few hardest games ever made for Xbox.
6. Trials HD
For: Xbox Live Arcade | Hardness Quotient: 8/10 | More Info
Trials HD is a trial game and a very hard one at that. Perhaps that’s why it is named Trials and not just Trial HD. It is almost impossible to beat the game in one trial. The scenes and gameplay are excruciating and addictive-ly hard at best. Jump, flip over, fall into the fire – just try to finish the game in this lifetime.
5. MGS 4 – Guns of the Patriot
For: PlayStation 3 | Hardness Quotient: 8.5/10 | More Info
MGS 4 - Guns of the Patriot
You might be surprised to see this game here. It is the best looking game of this entire list and the only hardest game ever made for a PS3. Although it is not very hard per se, but it is very hard when you want to beat the game how it is supposed to. That is, in 100% stealth mode. The awesome graphics and gameplay is the best looking hard game of all time.
4. Super Monkey Ball
For: Gamecube and iPhone | Hardness Quotient: 8.5/10 | More Info
This was supposed to be a GameCube exclusive until the launch of original iPhone. Super Monkey ball was one of the first games to be released on an iPhone. If you owned an iPhone 2G or the 1st Generation iPod Touch, you have most probably played this game.
You also know that this was a game that would easily get you motion sick and make you throw up. Many people didn’t even get through the very first stage. This game has definitely earned its spot on this hardest game ever list.
3. Contra
For: NES | Hardness Quotient: 9/10 | More Info
Contra - One of the Hardest Games
Spread over 10 stages (or areas), this game was probably one of the few games that got on your nerves. Not only because you could die from one bullet or just by touching an enemy, but also because you had only 3 ‘Lives’ to complete the entire game. Thankfully, Konami released cheat codes that bumped the number to 30. Even then, it was a very hard game to beat. Definitely one of the Hardest Games ever, if not ‘the’ Hardest game ever.
2. Devil May Cry 3
For: PlayStation 2 | Hardness Quotient: 9.5/10 | More Info
Devil May Cry 3 - One of the Hardest Games Ever
Devil May Cry series may not be the easiest of the games but Devil May Cry 3 broke all records of hardness in gameplay. Apparently, the ‘Normal Mode’ of the game was actually Hard Mode of Japanese version of the same game. They just renamed the Hard Mode to Normal Mode.
It was awfully hard and unforgiving. It was then released in a ‘Special Edition’ just because it was too hard. It is also the only game, as far as we know, that was re-released just because it was too hard to beat.
1. I Wanna Be The Guy – The Hardest Game Ever
For: 8 Bit Freeware Download for PC | Hardness Quotient: 10/10 | More Info
I Wanna Be The Guy - The Hardest Game Ever
I wanna be the guy was released just to show the world what it is, a Hardest Game ever played, made, seen or watched. The sole purpose of this game is to make you rage. It requires you to remember every single detail and play it likewise. There is no chance anyone can beat it in one go.
You should perhaps go on and play it. It is a freeware game and will definitely make you eat your own hair. (or put a hole in the screen).
We agree that the list is not complete. We missed to list games you would consider harder than the ones we have. However, the answer to the question depends upon the person you ask it to. In our opinion, these games are the hardest and I wanna be the guy being the hardest game ever.
Michael says
Catherine is pretty dang hard too. I also found Viewtiful Joe for the Gamecube to be pretty unforgiving as well!
afaelr says
Super Meat Boy and Battletoads
Rakesh Narang says
Where is Dave for DOS?
anonymouse says
No. The #1 spot pissed me off. I Wanna Be The Guy is not hard, it’s easy, too easy to be number 1. Did you actually play it? Or did you just ask some people? If you really think the game is the hardest in the world, then you need to play it again. I should know, I beat IWBTG in 3 hours upon downloading it. I can get past two bosses on impossible before dying at some spike. Also, where is I wanna be the boshy? Where’s battle toads? Where’s Super Meat Boy? Those games are actually hard enough to be considered in this list. Have you ever made it past stage 3 on battle toads? Few people have, and guess what–There are 10 stages in that game, each infinitely more hellish than the last. The only reason people rage at IWBTG is because some parts are extremely repetitive; no one likes dieing at the same spike 100 times, because they know it’s easy. You don’t have to remember every detail, infact, I found 12 completely different ways to get through the spike elevator room. That’s not EVERY DETAIL, otherwise how could I possibly go through such a “HARD ROOM!!!1” via 12 different ways?Also, at the “no one can beat it in one go” part. Tijitdamijit, from youtube, beat the game on impossible and recorded it. That is, in fact, beaten in one go.
Kallis says
I’ve never completed battletoads without level warps…its some game…
namerequired says
to call i wanna be the guy easy, is crazy.
if your so talented at freaky games like this you should know, that this is not the case for the average guy.
you should know that this is something you are exceptionally good at and not be wierd about it like you beat it in 3 hours and everybody can ..
im a smart guy, and i got like 3000 deaths at easy mode with the pink hairclip, maybe halfway through the game ..
oh wait, im stupid. im playing boshy lol never played i wanna be the guy
.. nnnnnnnothing
starcrunch says
Come on. You start off talking about legitimately hard games, and then say that the #10 game is Zelda II (a game that even today is not hard to beat in a single sitting)? #5 is Metal Gear Solid 4? Only on The Boss Extreme, and only if you’re going for the Big Boss Emblem.
Where are games like Battletoads? Or TMNT (the first one on the NES)?
harsan81 says
Where is Demon Souls or Dark Souls?
Ed says
You obviously dont know the 80s game: Abu Simbel
klimtkiller says
i am the guy on very hard mode 😀
Mandala Fugazi says
Hi –
To say this list is in any way complete would be ridiculous. Firstly – as said before: battle toads. Incredibly tough game. Further, since you are going back to NES years, there’s loads from that era that were well-nigh insane to beat. For instance, blaster master was annoying as hell, section Z (a lesser known game) could only be defeated by accidentally shooting a certain spot of the screen at a certain time to thereby find a certain secret level, otherwise it could simply not be beaten. Indications the writer of this list should most likely pick a different subject are: 1 – Shinobi (Ps2) is included, but the original Shinobi (which is possibly THE hardest game ever, seeing as how you cannot continue after a certain point (the game is over), and the final boss is hard to the point of being bloody unfair) is not, as well as CONTRA being on the list – I mean, are you serious? This was one of the easiest games of all time. I could beat the bloody thing on one guy. The challenge of that game was to see how many times you could ‘flip’ the levels etc. And so on: it’s a tough list to fill, but the ones on here are not even close as a rule.
Quadraxis says
*cough* F-Zero GX *cough*