History NintendoHard / ShootEmUps

* ''SubTerrania'', for Platform/SegaGenesis, is an unusual shoot 'em up that has the player pilot a small sub/fighter craft around sandbox caves and gun down aliens and robots while trying to rescue survivors and retrieve sub modules (in the first half of the game) and simply clear obstacles (in the second half). The difficulty stems from several factors: 1) your fuel runs dry pretty quickly and there are only a handful of fuel stations (which can each only be used once) throughout the levels, usually far away when you need it; 2) your shields also drop quickly, and shield recharge stations (also one use) are very rare -- some levels don't have any; 3) the controls, while not clunky or unwieldy, are ''extremely'' touchy, requiring very delicate applications of thrusters and turns, or you'll smash into a wall and explode. Also, you can't float in place if you need to shoot sideways, so you constantly have to adjust your orientation and give a light thruster boost before turning again and continuing to shoot (giving enemies plenty of time to smack you around).

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Rayxanber}} Rayxanber II]]'' for the UsefulNotes/PCEngine not only forces ''R-Type''-like memorization, but has weapons that are underpowered for defeating the fast-moving enemies, some of which ''will'' completely encircle the ship.

* ''SubTerrania'', for UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, is an unusual shoot 'em up that has the player pilot a small sub/fighter craft around sandbox caves and gun down aliens and robots while trying to rescue survivors and retrieve sub modules (in the first half of the game) and simply clear obstacles (in the second half). The difficulty stems from several factors: 1) your fuel runs dry pretty quickly and there are only a handful of fuel stations (which can each only be used once) throughout the levels, usually far away when you need it; 2) your shields also drop quickly, and shield recharge stations (also one use) are very rare -- some levels don't have any; 3) the controls, while not clunky or unwieldy, are ''extremely'' touchy, requiring very delicate applications of thrusters and turns, or you'll smash into a wall and explode. Also, you can't float in place if you need to shoot sideways, so you constantly have to adjust your orientation and give a light thruster boost before turning again and continuing to shoot (giving enemies plenty of time to smack you around).

* For all it manages to avoid TheProblemWithLicensedGames, ''VideoGame/AstroBoyOmegaFactor'' is a bastard in later levels. The first playthrough is all right, but once you enter the second one, every enemy doubles the amount of damage they can do. By the time you reach the last level, forget your health bar -- you can take maybe three hits. Did I mention some enemies randomly don't go into hit-stun, meaning they can freely attack you while you hit them? And that many of the flying stages are BulletHell? (This ''is'' a Creator/{{Treasure}} game.) Oh, and the entire second half of the game is a massive GuideDangIt. Still surprisingly fun.

* ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga''. If you can handle the [[RealIsBrown realistically-colored bullets]], prepare for a different dimension of hurt: the DynamicDifficulty ("rank") system. To elaborate, the game increases the rank over time and when you perform certain actions like firing especially with higher shot power and collecting items, meaning you can't just hold down the fire button all day and you have to pace your collection of shot powerup items. The only way to reduce rank is to [[MercyMode die]], i.e. [[ViolationOfCommonSense you have to strategically use up lives so you don't burn them all up in a high-rank situation later]]; this means that to keep earning lives to sacrifice for rank control, you need to get very good at scoring points ([[EveryTenThousandPoints the main method of earning extra lives]]) in this game, which involves collecting medals without letting them escape in order to maximize their point values, a task that is ''far'' easier said than done. Mistakes in rank management won't be readily apparent until you reach the later parts of the game and see enemies popping off unusually dense attacks, potentially rendering the game UnwinnableByDesign.

*** The "Black Label" limited edition version has God mode, which features a BonusBoss with extremely difficult requirements to encounter her. To get Spiritual Larsa you have to beat God Mode without dying at all. Spiritual Larsa herself actually is relatively easy though, especially compared to Ultra's TLB form, not counting all the resources you'd have left over if you're good enough get to her. Only her last attack is actually dangerous, and it's the only attack that has a bomb-shield, and even then, there are safespots that can be used to never get hit.

* The ''VideoGame/SilverSurfer'' video game might very well be one of the hardest games ever. The Silver Surfer himself has a very large hitbox that includes the surfboard itself and he is a OneHitPointWonder that not only dies by touching enemies and their projectiles, but by also touching his surroundings. That includes the walls, the ceiling, the floors, and even parts of the scenery. The levels that have a top-down perspective are even harder as the graphics can make it very easy to confuse the projectiles with the scenery and the bullet hell that sometimes comes up doesn't even have a distinct pattern. And to top it off is the fact that holding down the A button doesn't shoot a constant stream of bullets.

** Plenty of TrialAndErrorGameplay - the underground level is completely dark unless you have a (time-limited) candle. (Mercifully the enemies are still visible), this means when your light source runs out, you can't see the exit, so finding it relies on being lucky enough to walk to the right location. Finding hidden pickups is a must to be able to progress but relies on you bombing the right trees, not to mention the chalices and keys which you need, without which the level just keeps looping - you'll find yourself laying waste to the entire forest searching. During the second level you reach a seemingly unbreakable wall which halts your progress. It needs to occur to you - with no hints at all - that one section of the wall can be blasted through by exploding several bombs beside it. (To sucker you in to calling the Nintendo tip line?)

* ''VideoGame/RoboWarrior'' is playable but has elements of this. You only one life, and the course is a forest which the only way through is to place bombs and blast your way through. There are plenty of opportunities to get caught by your own bombs if you don't get away fast enough or you accidentally misplace it, which drains half your energy, which, by the way, continues to drain by itself anyway as a sort of timer. If you should run out of bombs, you can't progress until a baddie wanders your way so you can shoot him and he'll drop another for you, but with the constant energy drain, this provides little reprieve.
** Plenty of TrialAndErrorGameplay - the underground level is completely dark unless you have a (time-limited) candle. (Mercifully the enemies are still visible), this means when your light source runs out, you can't see the exit, so finding it relies on being lucky enough to walk to the right location. Finding hidden pickups is a must to be able to progress but relies on you bombing the right trees, not to mention the keys which you need. When you reach the end of the first level, you meet a wall of what looks like unbreakable blocks standing in your way with no way through. It will leave you wandering around bewildered until your energy runs out unless it occurs to you that one block in the wall is breakable with several bomb blasts (despite looking exactly like the rest of the unbreakable walls), but realising this is pure luck as there are no clues to this fact.

** Plenty of TrialAndErrorGameplay - the underground level is completely dark unless you have a (time-limited) candle. (Mercifully the enemies are still visible), this means when your light source runs out, you can't see the exit, so finding it relies on being lucky enough to walk to the right location. Finding hidden pickups is a must to be able to progress but relies on you bombing the right trees, not to mention the keys which you need. When you reach the end of the first level, you meet a wall of what looks like unbreakable blocks standing in your way with no way through. It will leave you wandering around bewildered until your energy runs out unless it occurs to you that one block in the wall is breakable with several bomb blasts, but realising this is pure luck as there are no clues to this fact.

* ''VideoGame/RoboWarrior'' is playable but has elements of this. You only one life, and the course is a forest which the only way through is to place bombs and blast your way through. There are plenty of opportunities to get hit by your own bombs if you're not careful which drains half your energy, which, by the way, continues to drain by itself anyway as a sort of timer. If you should run out of bombs, you can't progress until a baddie wanders your way so you can shoot him and he'll drop another for you, but with the constant energy drain, this provides little reprieve.

** Plenty of TrialAndErrorGameplay - the underground level is completely dark unless you have a candle. (Mercifully the enemies are still visible). Finding hidden pickups is a must to be able to progress but relies on you bombing the right trees, not to mention the keys which you need. When you reach the end of the first level, you meet a wall of what looks like unbreakable blocks standing in your way with no way through. It will leave you wandering around bewildered until your energy runs out unless it occurs to you that one block in the wall is breakable with several bomb blasts, but realising this is pure luck as there are no clues to this fact.

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'' goes like this. Missions 1-4 (Frigistan, Blastyna, Petrovakia, and Dictastroika) start off easy, as they are just warm-up levels. Then starting from Mission 5 Zamblamia and onward, you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit, and bosses with OneHitKill moves. In later levels (specifically Missions 12-19), you have enemy formations that are out to screw you ''badly'', especially when they combine [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:
** [[DeathRay Death Ray]]-firing [[KillSat satellite]] that you want to aim up at? Let's put them with annoying durable ground-based tanks!

** You want to focus on only one [[InstakillMook instakill mook]]? Let's throw both of them at you for fun or for your miserey! (i.e Atomic Bombers/Satellites and Satellites/Bulldozers).[[note]] On the bright side, you're very glad the game doesn't do this: Let's put all three instakill mooks in one wave! [[/note]]
** There's also Boss Blitz Mode. You have only ''one'' life to defeat all 19 bosses, several of which can one-shot you for an instant loss. Even Twinblade becomes an [[EarlyBirdBoss Early-Bird Boss]] that can end you easily if you're not careful!

** A [[AdvancingBossofDoom bulldozer]] is coming at you that you want to shoot at? Let's add those tanks again and the ICBM's! If that wasn't enough for you, let's do it again but this time bulldozer with those pesky [[GoddamnedBats cruise missiles]]!

** A [[AdvancingBossofDoom bulldozer]] is coming at you that you want to shoot at? Let's add those tanks again and the ICBMS! If that wasn't enough for you, let's do it again but this time bulldozer with those pesky cruise missiles!

** There's also Boss Blitz Mode. You have one life to face all 19 bosses, several of which can one-shot you for an instant loss. Even Twinblade becomes an [[EarlyBirdBoss Early-Bird Boss]] that can end you easily if you're not careful!

** You want to focus on only one [[InstakillMook instakill mook]]? Let's throw both of them at you for fun or for your miserey! (i.e Atomic Bombers/Satellites and Satellites/Bulldozers).[[note]] On the bright side, you're very glad the game doesn't do this: Let's put all three instakill mooks at once! [[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'' goes like this. Missions 1-4 (Frigistan, Blastyna, Petrovakia, and Dictastroika) start off easy, as they are just warm-up levels. Then starting from Mission 5 Zamblamia and onward, you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit, and bosses with OneHitKill moves. In later levels, you have enemy formations that are out to screw you ''badly'', especially when they combine [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:

** You want to focus on only one [[InstakillMook instakill mook]]? Let's throw both of them at you for fun or for your miserey! (i.e Atomic Bombers/Satellites and Satellites/Bulldozers).[[note]] On the bright side, you're very lucky the game doesn't do this: Let's put all three instakill mooks at once! [[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'' goes like this. Missions 1-4 (Frigistan, Blastyna, Petrovakia, and Dictastroika) start off easy, as they are just warm-up levels. Then starting from Mission 5 Zamblamia and onward, you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit, and bosses with OneHitKill moves. In later levels, you have enemy formations that are out to screw you ''badly'', especially when they pair [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'': The first four levels start off easy, since they are just warm-up levels. Then you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit, and bosses with one-hit kill moves. Later levels have enemy formations that are out to screw you ''badly'', especially when they pair [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:

** You want to focus on only one [[InstakillMook instakill mook]]? Let's throw both of them at you for fun or for your miserey! (i.e Atomic Bombers/Satellies and Satellites/Bulldozers).[[note]] On the bright side, you're very lucky the game doesn't do this: Let's put all three instakill mooks at once! [[/note]]

** You want to focus on only one [[InstakillMook instakill mook]]? Let's throw both of them at you for fun or for your miserey! (i.e Atomic Bombers/Satellies and Satellites/Bulldozers).[[note]] On the bright side, you're very lucky the game doesn't do this. Let's put all three instakill mooks at once! [[/note]]

** Death Ray-firing satellite that you want to aim up at? Let's put them with annoying durable ground-based tanks!
** A bulldozer is coming at you that you want to shoot at? Let's add those tanks again and the ICBMS! If that wasn't enough for you, let's do it again but this time bulldozer with those pesky cruise missiles!
** Wanna shoot down that extremely dangerous atomic bomber? Let's put them with those [[GiantMook annoying big tough-armored plasma-exploding blimps]]!

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'': The first four levels start off easy, since they are just warm-up levels. Then you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit, and bosses with one-hit kill moves. Later levels have enemy formations that are out to screw you badly, especially when they pair [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:

** Wanna shoot down that atomic bomber? Let's put them with those [[GiantMook annoying big tough-armored-plasma-exploding blimps]]!
** There's also Boss Blitz Mode. You have one life to face all 19 bosses, several of which can one-shot you for an instant loss. Even Twinblade becomes an Early-Bird Boss that can end you easily if you're not careful!

* ''VideoGame/{{Heavy Weapon}}'': The first four levels are just a warm-up. Then you start to face regular mooks that annoy you or kill you in one hit. Later levels have enemy formations that are out to screw you badly, especially when they pair [[DemonicSpiders Demonic Spiders]] and [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Bats]] together. Here are some examples:

** A bulldozer is coming at you that you want to shoot at? Let's add those tanks again and the ICBMS! Then do it again but this time with those pesky cruise missiles!
** Wanna shoot down that atomic bomber? Let's put them with those [[GiantMook annoying big tough-armored plasma exploding blimps]]!