History ScrappyMechanic / PlatformGame

** Mach Speed sections in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', in which Sonic runs uncontrollably fast and has to veer around hundreds of obstacles, can't stop, and can easily get caught on scenery and die instantly because the controls are so loose and it's so difficult to see anything coming. To expand, a mere tapping of the stick will veer him way too far in the intended direction, he can't correct himself in midair after he jumps, and if he trips on something, he'll lose all his rings and be unable to react, and in the process will likely careen head-on into another obstacle and die. It makes Sonic's levels the most annoying of the lot.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan''. [[TemporaryPlatform The disappearing and reappearing blocks]] are not only a ScrappyMechanic, but also a series staple. That's why they're the cover picture to the main article. Further coverage is on their [[TemporaryPlatform own trope page.]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and the ''[[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros New]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii Super]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2 Mario]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU Bros.]]'' series.
** Those God forsaken block platforms/Trains/Snakes. You know, from Roy's Castle, Larry's Castle (Super Mario World), The Seventh Castle, The Second Tower of World 8 (''New Super Mario Bros''), Lemmy's Castle (NSMB Wii), and various stages in [=NSMB2=], 5-Tower, and 7-6 (NSMBU). They go pretty fast, speeding through lots of dangerous obstacles, above bottomless pits and lava, and take the most convoluted paths imaginable, as if the game designers felt extra malicious and wanted to punish the player. [[TheBusCameBack They're back]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''.
** Coin trails in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. You know, the ones directed by the D Pad and where you have to hit a P-Switch to turn into temporary blocks.
** The one in the Ghost House just prior to Bowser's Castle is unbearably difficult. You need to direct the coin trail up to a ledge with a key to access the secret exit. Unfortunately, the ledge is ''far'' above the top of the screen, you need to direct the coin path to create steps leading up to it, and the hole at the ledge is only big enough for Small Mario, so if you're Big Mario, you better hope you have enough room to try to slide through, or you'll have to take the long, winding path back to the room and start all over again.
** The P-Balloon from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', which turns Mario or Luigi into a barely-controllable balloon, as its name would suggest. The fact that [[ThatOneLevel Tubular]] uses it for the entire level doesn't help things.
** Mario/Luigi on the overworld map moves at a tortoise's pace in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. It's not really noticeable if you're merely moving from one level to the next, but if you want the Top Secret Area and you're somewhere like Chocolate Island or Valley of Bowser where lives are easily lost, and you're not using the Star World, then you have to waste a fair number of minutes plodding all the way to the Top Secret Area, and then you have to plod all the way back; it's a vexingly slow and tedious process. In the GBA release, you can warp straight to whichever level you want... once you've reached all 96 goals, that is!
*** Contrast to ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', where Mario/Luigi move at a fairly quick speed on the overworld map. When an [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game outclasses a [[SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] game in terms of overworld map walking speed, that's just embarrassing.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' all share a mechanic that causes you to lose a life when you ''fail a minigame''. Losing a race against [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine Il Piantissimo]]? It's ''lethal!''
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''.
** [[NotQuiteFlight Fluzzard]]. Full stop. First of all, {{Waggle}} is in full effect - the bird is very annoying to control. Secondly, it is also something of a ReplacementScrappy, of both the Red Star and Manta (which, though sometimes just as irritating, was generally fun to use). Finally, [[UnexpectedGameplayChange one must wonder why exactly something that involves no platforming whatsoever is even included in a platformer]].
** Then there's the Comet Medals and Green Stars in the Fluzzard levels. You know those rings you went past? You have to go through them all, then catch the medal in mid air at high speed. One of said rings requires about a 90-degree sharp turn into a tunnel from the other side of the level. And Green Stars? They're extremely easy to miss even when Fluzzard is directed straight at them.
** The worst part is that the Fluzzard levels are almost identical to the [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/Fruit_Pop_Flight_Challenge Fruit Pop Flight Challenge]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess.'' However, the Fluzzard levels are outclassed by far by the minigame from a game that came out four years earlier. In the Zelda minigame, the game involves actual flight, more mobility, and works off of the Wii's pointer function instead of inaccurate waggle controls. Why they couldn't have simply copied the mechanics whole cloth and come out with a much less frustrating mechanic is anybody's guess.
** The Spring Mushroom. In what just might be the worst Mario powerup ever, movement is very wobbly, you can't stand still while you're wearing it, and you have to have pinpoint precise timing in order to execute a high jump.
** Also, when you get a game over in the original Galaxy, you're [[ButThouMust pretty much forced]] to go back to the start menu ("Would you like to save and quit the game?") and find your save file again when you die (possibly a form of AntiPoopSocking?). Every time. This gets pretty annoying and tedious after a while, and was luckily fixed in the sequel: here you just go back to the HubLevel, like it should be.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine''.
** F.L.U.D.D., while useful in battle, is not particularly liked since he replaced Mario's long jump. There's also the fact that any information he gives the player is [[StopHelpingMe not particularly useful as the player can figure things out themselves]].
** The red coin missions and blue coin locations drove just about everyone nuts simply due to the sheer number of them in the game.
** The F.L.U.D.D.-less levels can be seen as this. Special mentions goes to the ones in Sirena Beach's casino and Pianta Village's "Secret of the Village Underside"; in the former, the only way into the level is to get triple 7's on both of the casino's slot machines and solve an irritating panel flipping puzzle, while the latter revolves around talking to Piantas to throw you. This must be done with perfect timing and positioning, otherwise the Piantas will chuck Mario straight into the abyss.
*** The F.L.U.D.D.-less levels also draw attention to how downgraded Mario's moveset is in comparison to SuperMario64. He can't long jump, back flip, or change his momentum in mid-air by kicking, and just about the only real attack he has is the ability to jump on things.
* The poisonous mushrooms in LuigisMansion shrink Luigi, disable his vacuum, and make him lose some coins. They don't make the game harder, just more annoying.
** In the basement, one room has dirt piles which take a while to clean up and they return every time you come back into the room.
** The Boo Ball is, without a doubt, the most useless item in the game. It doesn't help you or hurt you. It's just there.
** The further in the game you get, the Boos become more annoying to capture since their health is now in the triple digits and they can potentially escape into a room you can't enter yet.
*** At any time in the game, it's possible for a Boo to escape through a wall into a place where Luigi must go through an incredibly convoluted path to enter and chase after it, including escaping from Area 3 to Area 1, which can only be gotten to by going back to the foyer on the first floor, and worst of all, escaping into the Sealed Room, which can only be entered by ''climbing onto the roof and jumping down the chimney.''

*** Holding down the run button on ice makes Sonic skate similar to Super Mario Galaxy. Unfortunately, jumping while skating gives you a fixed momentum that you can't change, making you jump into obstacles or enemies a lot of the time. Like the automatic parkour with the run button, being forced to go at a snail's pace just to have better jump control can be aggravating.

* ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'' has the fruit bazooka, which sucks most of the challenge out of the game. Too many enemies up ahead? No problem, [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim just shoot them]] from a distance. In its defense, you don't get the launcher until you're 4/5ths through the standard game, and the gems may have been too tedious without it. The fruit bazooka in ''Videogame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'' is '''worse''' than ''Warped'''s; it's just as overpowered, but it has some sort of lock-on thing which doesn't even work half the time, and the aiming is absolutely dreadful.

** Thanks to the incompetence of the dev team, we have the "stop on a dime every time" no inertia physics engine of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Sonic The Hedgeog 4: Episode I]]''. Among other things (like being able to continuously "walk" up slopes without slipping), the moment you let go of the D-Pad while in motion, you immediately come to a stop. While this could be a good thing, when trying to avoid flying into a pit, the problem is that ''it works even while you're in the air'', meaning if you don't manually keep Sonic moving in the direction a spring or a jump takes him, he'll suddenly stop in midair and drop like a stone as if he just slammed into an InvisibleWall. Considering that almost all Sonic games in the past never had this issue, this can make the game nigh-unplayable for a multitude of Sonic fans, and is in fact one of the most complained-about parts of the game. ''Episode II'' addressed this somewhat by adding inertia, so Sonic longer stopped on a dime once the player released the D-Pad.

** The Boo Ball is, without a doubt, the most useless item in the game. It doesn't help you or hurt you.

** The P-Balloon from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', which turns Mario or Luigi into a barely-controllable balloon, as its name would suggest. Fact that [[ThatOneLevel Tubular]] uses it doesn't help things.

** Those God forsaken block platforms/Trains/Snakes. You know, from Roy's Castle, Larry's Castle (Super Mario World), The Seventh Castle, The Second Tower of World 8 (''New Super Mario Bros''), Lemmy's Castle (NSMB Wii), and various stages in [=NSMB2=], 5-Tower, and 7-6 (NSMBU). They go pretty fast, speeding through lots of dangerous obstacles, above bottomless pits and lava, and take the most convoluted paths imaginable, as if the game designers felt extra malicious and wanted to punish the player. [[HesBack They're back]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''.

*** ''Sonic Adventure 2's'' Final Hazard, a boss fight with completely unexplained controls. Getting hit by anything blows you all the way to where you started, and you can switch between Sonic and Shadow, but only by flying past the boss, making it only marginally less difficult than actually hitting it in the first place. And if you do switch manually, you'll be missing however many rings you had before you switched, so unless you're suicidal you'll only switch when you're almost out of rings. And if you get hit before you switch out...well, hopefully you have an extra life.
*** Extra notes, the controls are not only unexplained, they're completely unwieldy. Unlike the rest of the game, you are floating in a 3D plane but some reason SEGA thought moving back and forth was more important than up and down making approaching the target often impossible.

** The P-Balloon from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', which turns Mario or Luigi into a barely-controllable balloon, as its name would suggest. Fact that [[ScrappyLevel Tubular]] uses it doesn't help things.

** They also appear in Circus Park in VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog but they are completely automatic, which could screw you up even further.

*** The game was originally released with players being unable to get an extra live when 100 rings were collected. This was incredibly jarring as ''no other Sonic game prior'' had ever programmed the rings to act like this, and thus players saw themselves frequently getting game overs compared to older Sonic games. Like the Wisp example, loud complaints about this change prompted Sega to release a later update that allowed players to earn lives through collecting 100 rings again.

*** Sonic was given a new "kick attack" that defeats enemies by kicking them, as opposed to using the Homing Attack or jumping on them. Not bad by itself, but the game features badniks that can /only/ be defeated by using this move-[[GuideDangIt which the game doesn't do a good job by explaining]]. You could end up destroying one badnik with ease using a Homing Attack or a simple jump, but then find yourself getting hurt when you attempt to do it onto another badnik. Not helping matters are segments when the player has to defeat a certain amount of these enemies in order to progress through the level.

** The co-op system in ''Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II'' sparked a lot of complaints, as the game is set up so that levels are designed in a way so that it is impossible to play through levels without using the co-op mechanics (i.e. Sonic has to use Tails to fly up to higher ground or over bottomless pits, use the Rolling Combo to destroy otherwise unbreakable walls, etc.), and also consequently meant that both Sonic and Tails could not be playable by themselves. Many saw this as a step back from older Sonic games, which not only did not design co-op mechanics to be compulsory to progress through levels, but also allowed players to play the game with or without a co-op partner.

** Extra notes, the controls are not only unexplained, they're completely unwieldy. Unlike the rest of the game, you are floating in a 3D plane but some reason SEGA thought moving back and forth was more important than up and down making approaching the target often impossible.

** Thanks to the incompetence of the dev team, we have the "stop on a dime every time" no inertia physics engine of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 Sonic The Hedgeog 4: Episode I]]''. Among other things (like being able to continuously "walk" up slopes without slipping), the moment you let go of the D-Pad while in motion, you immediately come to a stop. While this could be a good thing, when trying to avoid flying into a pit, the problem is that ''it works even while you're in the air'', meaning if you don't manually keep Sonic moving in the direction a spring or a jump takes him, he'll suddenly stop in midair and drop like a stone as if he just slammed into an InvisibleWall. Considering that almost all Sonic games in the past never had this issue, this can make the game nigh-unplayable for a multitude of Sonic fans, and is in fact one of the most complained-about parts of the game. Episode II addressed this somewhat by adding inertia, so Sonic longer stopped on a dime once the player released the d-pad.

*** The co-op system in ''Episode II'' sparked a lot of complaints, as the game is set up so that levels are designed in a way so that it is necessary to play the game without using the co-op mechanics (i.e. Sonic has to use Tails to fly up to higher ground or over bottomless pits, use the Rolling Combo to destroy otherwise unbreakable walls, etc.), and also consequently meant that both Sonic and Tails could not be playable by themselves. Many saw this as a step back from older onic games, which not only lacked co-op mechanics that were compulsory to progress through levels, but also allowed players to play characters with or without a co-op partner.

*** The game was originally reeleased out with players being unable to get an extra live when 100 rings were collected. This was incredibly jarring as ''no other Sonic game prior'' had ever programmed the rings to act like this, and thus players saw themselves frequently getting game overs compared to older Sonic games. Like the Wisp example, loud complaints about this change prompted Sega to release a later update that allowed players to earn lives through collecting 100 rings again.

** Thanks to the incompetence of the dev team, we have the "stop on a dime every time" no inertia physics engine of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4''. Among other things (like being able to continuously "walk" up slopes without slipping), the moment you let go of the D-Pad while in motion, you immediately come to a stop. While this could be a good thing, when trying to avoid flying into a pit, the problem is that ''it works even while you're in the air'', meaning if you don't manually keep Sonic moving in the direction a spring or a jump takes him, he'll suddenly stop in midair and drop like a stone as if he just slammed into an InvisibleWall. Considering that almost all Sonic games in the past never had this issue, this can make the game nigh-unplayable for a multitude of Sonic fans, and is in fact one of the most complained-about parts of the game.

** The co-op system in ''Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II'' sparked a lot of complaints as it was made mandatory to progress through the game, compared to the Genesis games.

** Also, you have the safes. Some can be opened by default but for many, you have to make them available via switches way up at the very top of the stage. And each switch opens up a different block of safes. And the hints don't always make it clear which safes you need, so good luck if an emerald is in a closed safe. And the first mission is timed for 8 minutes. You get an A rank or you don't complete the level.
** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2's'' Final Hazard, a boss fight with completely unexplained controls. Getting hit by anything blows you all the way to where you started, and you can switch between Sonic and Shadow, but only by flying past the boss, making it only marginally less difficult than actually hitting it in the first place. And if you do switch manually, you'll be missing however many rings you had before you switched, so unless you're suicidal you'll only switch when you're almost out of rings. And if you get hit before you switch out...well, hopefully you have an extra life.

** Also from ''Heroes'', life meters for {{mook}}s. Although this added to the power characters' usefulness (they could one-shot regular Egg Pawns at level zero), and you could of course level up your speed and fly characters to deal out more damage, a portion of fans felt having to hit normal enemies multiple times to destroy them slowed things down too much (it's a Sonic game after all).

** What really makes this bad is it robs you of the ability to curl into a ball and safely coast through levels, in addition to making it impossible to build up momentum on slopes to let the game treat you to a high speed section. You can hold down the D-pad while rolling to maintain some momentum, but having to do this all the time taxes the thumbs and can make the game ''physically painful'' to play.
** The "toll" system in VideoGame/SonicUnleashed was the bane of many players, forcing gamers to run up and down the hub worlds and other missions to retrieve coins till they had enough to progress to the next level and complete the story. Obviously a tactic to prolong the game's playtime, it was never used again after the negative feedback from fans.

*** Many of the Wisps are controlled by motion, instead of the more intuitive, simple scheme used in Sonic Colors. Complaints got so great that eventually Sega fixed this by allowing you to control with the analog stick and buttons just like in Colors.
*** Holding down the run button on ice makes Sonic skate similar to Super Mario Galaxy. Unfortunately, jumping while skating gives you a fixed momentum that you can't change, making you jump into obstacles or enemies a lot of the time. Like the automatic parkour with the run button, being forced to go at a snail's pace just to have better jump control can be aggravating.

** On the plus side, however, Sonic's death animations from when he runs into practically anything appears to be a hilarious, gravity defying break dance.
*** He even dies when he runs into the wooden crates you broke effortlessly earlier in the game, because logic and consistency are for other games.

** Also, you have the safes. Some can be opened by default but for many, you have to make them available via switches way up at the very top of the stage. And each switch opens up a different block of safes. And the hints don't always make it clear which safes you need, so good luck if an emerald is in a closed safe.
*** The best part? The first mission is timed for 8 minutes. You pretty much either get an A rank or you don't complete the level.

** The spring. In what just might be the worst Mario powerup ever, movement is very wobbly, you can't stand still while you're wearing it, and you have to have pinpoint precise timing in order to execute a high jump.

* For VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}, the MerchandiseDriven aspect is both this and the DancingBear. Because Skylanders are released in waves, not all Skylanders are available at launch, meaning collectors will have to make ''several'' return trips across the span of months to the store and keep track on the internet. (The fact that Activision never actually gives specifics on when they'll be released doesn't help things either.) Certain figures also are simply more rare than others, resulting in some figures that the stores ''never'' seem to run out of, as well as figures the stores ''never'' seem to have, and collectors frequently buy up all the stock and sell them online for inflated prices. (Ninjini in particular was, at one point, so rare retailers reported that for every Ninjini figure they got, they'd have ''forty'' other figures.)
* Videogame/{{Megaman}}. [[TemporaryPlatform The disappearing and reappearing blocks]] are not only a ScrappyMechanic, but also a series staple. That's why they're the cover picture to the main article. Further coverage is on their [[TemporaryPlatform own trope page.]]

** The rocket barrels return in the sequel, ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'', though they're much more bearable there because you can now take two hits (though [[ThatOneLevel 6-4]] is still a pain). Of course, this game has its own Scrappy Mechanics, most notably the underwater levels. If you're used to [[SomeDexterityRequired the swimming controls]] (which, mind you, are ''nothing'' like the ones in the SNES games) and can deal with the OxygenMeter, the levels can be [[BestLevelEver fun]], [[SceneryPorn beautiful]], and a welcome new addition. If, on the other hand, you ''hate'' the [[FakeDifficulty oxygen meter]] and find the controls to be [[DamnYouMuscleMemory obnoxious]], these levels will become a ''huge'' [[ThatOneLevel exercise in frustration]]. Did we mention that, just like with the rocket barrel levels in the previous game, there is [[UnderTheSea one world]] that contains little else but underwater levels? (Even [[FourIsDeath the same world number]] to boot...)

** Mario/Luigi on the overworld map moves at a tortoise's pace in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. It's not really noticeable if you're merely moving from one level to the next, but if you want the Top Secret Area and you're somewhere like Chocolate Island or Valley of Bowser where lives are easily lost, and you're not using the Star World, then you have to waste a fair number of minutes plodding all the way to the Top Secret Area, and then you have to plod all the way back; it's a vexingly slow and tedious process.

* The [[NotQuiteFlight bubble gum]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters Giana Sisters DS]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GianaSistersTwistedDreams Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams]]''. You get to use bubble gum to make a bubble so big that Giana can fit inside it and use it to fly around the level... this could be fun, right? [[LittleNo Nope.]] The bubble is ''infuriatingly'' difficult to control, popping it will drop you into whatever hazards may be below and, like the P-Balloon, pretty much guarantees death, and it is mandatory in nearly every level that has it. Cue "No, Giana, not that way...*pop*...oops. ... No, go faster, faster...not that fast! Dang it! *pop* ... Okay, now we need to slow down here so we don't run into...*pop*...no, I said slow down! CRAP! Let's try that again...tap the button and ''I didn't press the button that much!'' WHY THE [[SymbolSwearing #&$@]] did it run right into the spikes?! [[{{Angrish}} GAAAAARGHRHGRHGR]][[RageQuit GLRGHLGRGGGH]]!".

* Videogame/{{Megaman}}. Need I say it? [[TemporaryPlatform The disappearing and reappearing blocks]] are not only a ScrappyMechanic, but also a series staple. That's why they're the cover picture to the main article. Further coverage is on their [[TemporaryPlatform own trope page.]]

* Videogame/{{Megaman}}. Need I say it? [[TemporaryPlatform The disappearing and reappearing blocks]] are not only a ScrappyMechanic, but also a series staple. That's why they're the cover picture to the main article. Further coverage is on their [[Temporary Platform own trope page.]]

* Videogame/{{Megaman}}. Need I say it? [[TemporaryPlatform The disappearing and reappearing blocks]] are not only a ScrappyMechanic, but also a series staple. That's why they're the cover picture to the main article.

* For VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}, the MerchandiseDriven aspect is both this and the DancingBear. Because Skylanders are released in waves, not all Skylanders are available at launch, meaning collectors will have to make ''several'' return trips across the span of months to the store and keep track on the internet. (The fact that Activision never actually gives specifics on when they'll be released doesn't help things either.) Certain figures also are simply more rare than others, resulting in some figures that the stores ''never'' seem to run out of, as well as figures the stores ''never'' seem to have, and collectors frequently buy up all the stock and sell them online for inflated prices. (Ninjini in particular was, at one point, so rare retailers reported that for every Ninjini figure they got, they'd have ''forty'' other figures.)

* The [[NotQuiteFlight bubble gum]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters Giana Sisters DS]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GianaSistersTwistedDreams Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams]]''. You get to use bubble gum to make a bubble so big that Giana can fit inside it and use it to fly around the level... this could be fun, right? [[LittleNo Nope.]] The bubble is ''infuriatingly'' difficult to control, popping it will drop you into whatever hazards may be below and, like the P-Balloon, pretty much guarantees death, and it is mandatory in nearly every level that has it. Cue "No, Giana, not that way...*pop*...oops. ... No, go faster, faster...not that fast! Dang it! *pop* ... Okay, now we need to slow down here so we don't run into...*pop*...no, I said slow down! CRAP! Let's try that again...tap the button and ''I didn't press the button that much!'' WHY THE [[SymbolSwearing #&$@]] did it run right into the spikes?! [[{{Angrish}} GAAAAARGHRHGRHGR]][[RageQuit GLRGHLGRGGGH]]!".

** While opinions of her character may vary, Coco's playable appearances in the games tend to act as a weaker (i.e. less fun) variant of Crash. In ''Warped'' she is limited to a few vehicle levels (the majority of which Crash himself can utilize in this or previous titles), with her actual on foot 'platforming' segments being limited to a slow walk all of five steps towards Pura and the level's exit. In ''Wrath Of Cortex'', she can play through whole levels; however, she has much less abilities and attacks compared to Crash, making her respective levels somewhat more tedious. It doesn't help that, unlike the fruit bazooka, you ''have'' to use her. Either way, she sadly isn't giving [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Tails]] or [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]] a run for their money.

** Those God forsaken block platforms/Trains/Snakes. You know, from Roy's Castle, Larry's Castle (Super Mario World), The Seventh Castle, The Second Tower of World 8 (''New Super Mario Bros''), Lemmy's Castle (NSMB Wii), various stages in [=NSMB2=], 5-Tower, and 7-6 (NSMBU). They go pretty fast, through lots of dangerous obstacles, above bottomless pits and lava, and take the most convoluted paths imaginable as if the game designers felt extra malicious and wanted to punish the player. [[HesBack They're back]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''.

** F.L.U.D.D. while useful in battle is not particularly liked since he replaced Mario's long jump. There's also the fact that any information he gives the player is [[StopHelpingMe not particularly useful as the player can figure things out themselves]].

** The F.L.U.D.D.-less levels can be seen as this, special mentions goes to the ones in Sirena Beach's casino and Pianta Village's "Secret of the Village Underside" in the former, the only way into the level is to get triple 7's on both of the casino's slot machines and solve an irritating flip puzzle while the latter revolves around talking to Piantas to throw you and you must do this with perfect timing and positioning, otherwise the Piantas' aim will be off and throw Mario into the abysss.
*** The F.L.U.D.D.-less levels also draw attention to how downgraded Mario's moveset is in comparison to SuperMario64. He can't long jump. He can't back flip. He can't change his momentum in mid-air by kicking and the only real attack he has is the ability to jump on things.

** The Boo Ball is without a doubt the most useless item in the game. It doesn't help you or hurt you.

** Mach Speed sections in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', in which Sonic runs uncontrollably fast and has to veer around hundreds of obstacles, can't stop, and can easily get caught on scenery and die instantly because the controls are so loose and it's so difficult to see anything coming. To expand, a mere tapping of the stick will veer him way too far in the intended direction, he can't correct himself in midair after he jumps, and if he trips on something he'll lose all his rings and be unable to react, and in the process will likely careen head-on into another obstacle and die. It makes Sonic's levels the most annoying of the lot.

** Hunting and fishing in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' (''especially'' fishing), though the quality of these games is subjective to begin with.

** Also, you have the safes. Some can be opened by default but for many, you have to make them available via switches way up at the very top of the stage. And each switch opens up a different block of safes. And the hints don't always make it clear which safes you need. So good luck if an emerald is in a closed safe.

** The "toll" system in VideoGame/SonicUnleashed was the bane of many players, forcing gamers to run up and down the hub worlds and other missions to retrieve coins till they had enough to progress to the next level and complete the story. Obviously a tactic to prolonge the game's playtime, it was never used again after the negative feedback from fans.

** Control scheme with which you tilt the Wiimote to tilt the game world is a LoveItOrHateIt affair, with some feeling it lacks the precision of an analog stick.
** The design is a big part of the problem. They make it so if you hold the remote "flat" (so it's parallel to the ground), the ground is neutral. Tilt up, the ground tilts up. Tilt down, the ground tilts down. It's intuitive, but it's not natural. A moderate upward tilt should have been the neutral point. Or better yet, holding it like a NES controller, which Mercury Meltdown Revolution pulled off successfully. The lack of traditional option hurt as well.

** Winky the Frog. The animal was intended to be a cool mount that could move in an interesting way through levels - in practice, he had the misfortune of being too difficult to control. Due to the way the animal was coded, Winky was incredibly twitchy and could miss a platform or landing, sending either of the player characters sailing into a pit (especially in temple levels). Not only that, but it was downright impossible just to "walk" the mount, as the animal performed mini-hops that were jittery and time-consuming. His bonus level was also at odds with the way the character functioned (lots of platforms set up around a cave level). Winky was never used proper in a ''DKC'' game again - for comparison, Expresso the Ostrich (which was notoriously twitchy and sometimes moved so fast the screen couldn't catch up with her) was reworked and toned down for the sequel.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'': The Rocketbarrel. In the SNES ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' games, this is the sort of thing that would appear in one, ''maybe'' two levels. But, no, the designers of this game were in love with the thing and it's in more levels than [[PowerupMount Rambi]]! It's also got very awkward controls: you can't stop, turn around, or even slow down; all you can do is move up with the jump button (or stop pressing the jump button to descend). Also, touching just about anything kills you, as you are rendered a OneHitPointWonder when in it. There exists a vertically-oriented version of the Rocketbarrel levels with much more freedom. You can freely steer left and right, and accelerate faster with the jump button. However, ''this'' variant only exists in two short levels, one of which is just the approach to the FinalBoss.
* ''DashGalaxyInTheAlienAsylum'' is full of these. First, your only weapon is a bomb, which you can only use on the world map because using it in a level causes "oxygen depleted"; [[DoubleUnlock you also need to find a detonator separate from the bomb in order to use it]] or..."oxygen depleted". Your control, what control? Most video game characters turn on a dime; not Dash. Meaning you run into enemies, knocking off your HP[=/=]time bar or fall into a chasm and...[[RuleOfThree "oxygen depleted"]].

** Coco, while opinions of the character itself vary, her playable appearances in the games tend to act as a weaker (ie. less fun) variant of Crash. In ''Warped'' she is limited to a few vehicle levels (the majority of which Crash himself can utilize in this or previous titles) her actual on foot 'platforming' being limited to walking (slowly) all of five steps to Pura and the level's exit. In ''Wrath Of Cortex'' she can play through whole levels, however she has a far more limited number of abilities and attacks compared to Crash, making her respective levels somewhat more tedious. It doesn't help that, unlike the fruit bazooka, you ''have'' to use her. Either way she sadly isn't giving [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Tails]] or [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]] a run for their money.
* The [[NotQuiteFlight bubble gum]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters Giana Sisters DS]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GianaSistersTwistedDreams Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams]]''. You get to use bubble gum to make a bubble so big that Giana can fit inside it and use it to fly around the level...this could be fun, right? [[LittleNo Nope.]] The bubble is ''infuriatingly'' difficult to control, popping it will drop you into whatever hazards may be below and, like the P-Balloon, pretty much guarantees death, and it is mandatory in nearly every level that has it. Cue "No, Giana, not that way...*pop*...oops. ... No, go faster, faster...not that fast! Dang it! *pop* ... Okay, now we need to slow down here so we don't run into...*pop*...no, I said slow down! CRAP! Let's try that again...tap the button and ''I didn't press the button that much!'' WHY THE [[SymbolSwearing #&$@]] did it run right into the spikes?! [[{{Angrish}} GAAAAARGHRHGRHGR]][[RageQuit GLRGHLGRGGGH]]!".