History NintendoHard / HackNSlashGames

[[caption-width-right:342:Shit damn ''Videogame/NinjaGaiden'' [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2004/03/08/a-brief-index-of-difficulty is hard, it’s so hard that your friends will die.]]]]

* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' tend to not be too difficult, [[ThatOneBoss some bosses]] and the [[ThatOneLevel occasional stage]] aside. Then you're introduced to Samurai Warriors 3 and its bonus mode known as Murasame Castle. Let's note here that the Murasame Castle challenge is, in fact, based on an early Famicom game of the same name, which was not exactly known for playing fair either. [[OhCrap They literally brought back every single obstacle in the Famicom game to Samurai Warriors 3.]] Beating the first form of the castle, with its death traps, damage floors, and other unpleasant surprises, is tricky enough. [[UpToEleven Good luck with the castle's second form]], which you have to beat to receive the TrueEnding.

* The original American release of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' is stupidly hard for all but dedicated fans to pick up, since in the US version "Normal" was actually the Japanese version's "Hard" difficulty. ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', ''3'' and ''4'' on the aptly named "[[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]]" mode are also noteworthy.
** Unlike most Nintendo Hard games, however, the ''Devil May Cry'' games are not examples of FakeDifficulty or TrialAndErrorGameplay but rather are simply very difficult to complete without great skill at the game. When playing through the game, you yourself notice how much better you get; in the original game, there is a shadow dog which is an early bossish creature which gives many players fits and takes several attempts to beat. Later in the game they're normal enemies you fight in groups, and while you are indeed slightly more powerful, the real difference is simply your greater skill at the game.

** ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' takes the NintendoHard of Hell and Hell mode to a zen level with the boss of the [[DownloadableContent Vergil's Downfall]], Hollow Vergil. Attacks which masquerade as other attacks during their telegraphing phase? Check. Attacks which have split-second evade windows? Check. Attacks which have split-second evade windows that change pattern for the last third of the fight? Check.

* The 8-bit era ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' games are notoriously difficult. Gamers who could clear ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' in their sleep would curse about trying to clear any of them (the first was by far the hardest, but all of them were steep challenges).

* ''X2: Wolverine's Revenge''. Despite Wolverine's healing factor (slowly) regenerating his heath (if his claws are retracted), many gamers will refer to this as one of the hardest games of the [=PS2=]/Gamecube/Xbox generation that is still POSSIBLE for non-hardcore gamers to beat. The [[CheckPointStarvation utter lack of mid-level checkpoints]] becomes an exercise in psychosis the longer the game goes on, occasionally featuring long stealth segments where being spotted once is an immediate game over. The Juggernaut boss fight has one of these leading up to it, so every time you lose to him you have to spend five to ten minutes sneaking your way there again just to be allowed another shot, and he's ''not'' a two-tries boss.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage'' (NES). You're a {{One Hit Point Wonder}} unless you get a crystal ball...and taking a hit at that point will cost you the extra power-ups the crystal grants. Ninjas fly from EVERYWHERE and you practically need to turbo the sword button to block the incoming shurikens. Of course, the sword can't block the bombs that some ninjas throw...or the fire from the monks.

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}''.

* ''X2: Wolverine's Revenge''. Despite Wolverine's healing factor (slowly) regenerating his heath (if his claws are retracted), many gamers will refer to this as one of the hardest games of the [=PS2=]/Gamecube/Xbox generation that is still POSSIBLE for non-hardcore gamers to beat. The [[CheckPointStarvation utter lack of mid-level checkpoints]] becomes an exercise in psychosis the longer the game goes on, occasionally featuring long stealth segments where being spotted once is an immediate game over. The Juggernaut boss fight has one of these leading up to it, so every time you lose to him you have to spend five to ten minutes sneaking your way there again just to be allowed another shot, and he's ''not'' a two-tries boss.
** A level where you use a giant mounted laser cannon to pick off enemy troops from a hundred yards away seems like it's going to be a BreatherLevel. The player quickly learns it's a five minute long gauntlet of pain where you can either memorize the exact timing and locations of each incoming wave of troops, or lose every time.
*** Ditto for an earlier one where you remotely control a "Void Droid", an advanced prison-guarding robot with a minigun and plasma cannon. It's slow, difficult to maneuver and anything but indestructible, which is bad news for non-fans of going all the way back to the beginning of the long, arduous level if the Void Droid gets scrapped before it can cross the level and open an otherwise impassable door. Ironically, when you have to face identical Void Droids as Wolverine later on, they're terrifying obstacles.
*** Magneto. Mother-bleeping Magneto. To beat him, [[GuideDangIt you have to use one particular attack from one particular spot]] (while dodging the wide and painful arrangement of things he'll send flying your way) to knock him down and beat the crap out of him. If that wasn't bad enough, you're on a clock -- beat him before he gets his power-dampening collar off and instantly murders you. And to make it worse, he's not even the final boss. If there was ever a time and place to use the built-in [[CheatCode Invincibility code]], now would be it.

* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' tend to not be too difficult, [[ThatOneBoss some bosses]] and the [[ThatOneLevel occasional stage]] aside. Then you're introduced to Samurai Warriors 3 and its bonus mode known as Murasame Castle. Let's note here that the Murasame Castle challenge is, in fact, based on an early Famicom game of the same name, which was not exactly known for playing fair either. [[OhCrap They literally brought back every single obstacle in the Famicom game to Samurai Warriors 3.]] Beating the first form of the castle, with its death traps, damage floors, and other unpleasant surprises, is tricky enough. [[UpToEleven Good luck with the castle's second form]], which you have to beat to receive the TrueEnding.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' is already pretty difficult on Normal mode, but the jump from Normal to Hard is outright staggering. Regular enemies have more health, attack a ''lot'' faster and do way more damage than they did previously. Sometimes its easy to forget you even have a [[LifeMeter life bar]]. For extra pain, why not equip the Gaze of Despair, which makes the enemies ''even stronger and faster''? [[BulletTime Witch Time]] is a huge saviour when it comes to this mode. Oh wait! [[HarderThanHard Nonstop Infinity Climax]] mode disables that! Enjoy!
* ''VideoGame/{{Deadpool}}'' warns you that the Ultra-Violence level should be played alone, or you might beat the crap out of anyone nearby in frustration. This is especially true if you're doing a fresh run (i.e. not NewGamePlus). Enemies have acres of health, do insane amounts of damage (a basic assault rifle goon, while a minor annoyance in normal difficulty, will outright kill you with just a few bullets), and there's no wiggle room: if you screw up just once, you're severely punished. Screw up again, and you're dead. This difficulty level also makes bosses an exercise in frustration, as most suddenly get a one-hit-kill attack that can, and frequently does, come out of nowhere. On top of that, giant mooks will mow you down, as the Tubbies and Ice Men rip you a new butthole over and over and over again.

*** [[Webcomic/PennyArcade Shit damn Ninja Gaiden is hard,]] [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/08 it’s so hard that your friends will die.]]

* The original American release of ''Franchise/DevilMayCry 3'' is stupidly hard for all but dedicated fans to pick up, since in the US version "Normal" was actually the Japanese version's "Hard" difficulty. ''Franchise/DevilMayCry 1'', ''3'' and ''4'' on the aptly named "[[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]]" mode are also noteworthy.

* ''X2: Wolverine's Revenge''. Despite Wolverine's healing factor(slowly) regenerating his heath(if his claws are retracted), many gamers will refer to this as one of the hardest games of the [=PS2=]/Gamecube/Xbox generation that is still POSSIBLE for non-hardcore gamers to beat. The [[CheckPointStarvation utter lack of mid-level checkpoints]] becomes an exercise in psychosis the longer the game goes on, occasionally featuring long stealth segments where being spotted once is an immediate game over. The Juggernaut boss fight has one of these leading up to it, so every time you lose to him you have to spend five to ten minutes sneaking your way there again just to be allowed another shot, and he's ''not'' a two-tries boss.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' usually isn't too bad in terms of its difficulty (the unforgiving [[PressXToNotDie Quick-Time Events]] not withstanding) on Normal and below. However, the jump from Normal to Hard is outright staggering. Regular enemies have more health, attack a ''lot'' faster and do way more damage than they did previously. Sometimes its easy to forget you even have a [[LifeMeter life bar]]. For extra pain, why not equip the Gaze of Despair, which makes the enemies ''even stronger and faster''? [[BulletTime Witch Time]] is a huge saviour when it comes to this mode. Oh wait! [[HarderThanHard Nonstop Infinity Climax]] mode disables that! Enjoy!

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' usually isn't too bad in terms of its difficulty (the unforgiving [[PressXToNotDie Quick-Time Events]] not withstanding) on Normal and below. However, the jump from Normal to Hard is outright staggering. Regular enemies have more health, attack a ''lot'' faster and do way more damage than they did previously. Sometimes its easy to forget you even have a [[LifeMeter life bar]]. For extra pain, why not equip the Gaze of Despair, which makes the enemies ''even stronger and faster''? [[BulletTime Witch Time]] is a huge saviour when it comes to this mode. Oh wait! [[HarderThanHard Nonstop Infinity]] [[FreudWasRight Climax]] mode disables that! Enjoy!

** And to get the [[GameBreaker incredibly useful]] agumentation items,you better be [[LuckBasedMission really lucky!]] And pray you can make it to a save point before the monsters kill you, or that item will be LostForever.