What was the "hardest" 2D platformer?

[Paratech]

Having just purchased Mega Man Anniversery for my Gamecube, and never played the 'original NES' versions, I was kind of shocked at how nasty it is, don't get me wrong, I still enjoy playing it, but boy I wasn't prepared for the difficulty...

Maybe I'ts because I'm older, I can't play as well on the Super Mario Bros series as I used to not am I as good with Sonic, but man the Mega Man series seems very difficult.

[cooliscool]

That's the Megaman series' trademark: crazy difficulty leaving a sense of accomplishment when you actually beat the damn game. I absolutely adore the whole franchise (except for that awful 1st grade Battle Network ****.. ugh.. just ugh ).

Kinda hard to pick one platformer out of the many many hard ones.. let me get back to you on that one.

[Valcrist]

Especially the Gamecube version cuz the controller setup was crappy. The ps2 version was better in that respect at least. The Megaman X serise was, to me at least, a little harder than the original. Give that a try.

[Paratech]

Yeah, I wish the controls could be changed on the Gamecube version. I want to 'swap' the jump and shoot buttons...

[ArchIBaLD]

i kinda posted the same question.. about the megaman spesificly. the hardest boss. i still say megaman 2 is the hardest (thou all bosses are easy except quickman). and you are so damn right. they are ****ing nasty and hard.

[hellmasterx]

mega man zero for the gba, if you can beat that 'il give you prize

[ArchIBaLD]

i did. and i also beat 2 and 3.

[Toshiro]

Besides the Megaman series, I can think of two older NES games that would be very difficult. I would say the first Adventure Island for the NES and or Star Wars from Namco. For those of you who were still in their diapers, these were old Famicon games from Japan and even now I find these games rather difficult.

[KanedA]

Originally Posted by hellmasterx

mega man zero for the gba, if you can beat that 'il give you prize

I remamber when I borrowed mega man game for my good ol' game boy (special edition: black jack ) difficulty level also was so huge that I almost had thrown my console on the wall

[Katsuya]

Chakan (the forever man) on Sega MegaDrive/Genesis in 1992 (Also Game Gear)

Was and likely still is one of the most difficult games ever to beat. (Without cheating as most people likely had to because they lacked skill)

It is also regrettable that the Sega Dreamcast sequel was never finished.

(More info on the Sega Dreamcast sequel)
http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/132/132726p1.html

Below is some information a friend of mine came up from an E-mail correspondence with the creator of Chakan. (At one time it was also suggested (by me) he be in a Namco soul edge game)

What's his story: Chakan, made a bet with Death that he could best him (death) in a duel. If Chakan prevailed, he would become immortal; if death won, he would get Chakan's soul. Chakan won the fight (Barely) and death gave him his prize... but it was truly a curse. Now, Chakan's mind is bombarded with images of unspeakable horrors when he closes his eyes not even dying can alleviate Chakan. (He can die but can never rest) Chakan begs Death to release him from his torment. Death tells him he must vanquish all supernatural evil throughout time. (Wow, I remembered this pretty well!)


Why he's cool: Chakan is a tough undead warrior who uses two long swords to battle all who would stand in his path. The only way he may end the torture of a life he now experiences is to destroy all evil, and only then will he rest in peace.

What he does: When he's not using his sword, he uses an awesome scythe. He also knows alchemy.

What game he's from: Chakan The Forever Man by SEGA 1992

Why he would hunt for the Soul edge: It's his fate to hunt down all evil and destroy it.

Victory quote: Chakan: My swords will taste your evil blood!

[PrTv]

Umm.. Mega Man 1 , Contra on NES WITHOUT ANY CODE .
And how about Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 on NES ?

It's pretty hard cause there is no passsword or save function.

P.s. Ninja gaiden on Xbox is hard too, especially with Hurricane Pack addition :cuss2: . (Opps sry... off topic)

[psicomaniaco]

Originally Posted by PrTv

And how about Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 on NES ?

Meh, and what about the US version of Ninja Gaiden 3? Its one of the hardest games ever... And the US version don't have the password function (the Jap one have it).

[MaZa]

Originally Posted by psicomaniaco

Meh, and what about the US version of Ninja Gaiden 3? Its one of the hardest games ever... And the US version don't have the password function (the Jap one have it).

Well... atleast they have infinite continues.
I have Shadow Warrior (EU name of Ninja Gaiden 1. word Ninja was greatly shunned back then...) on my real Nes and i love it, even though i have never finished it. (only once with cheats and that was with emulator and savestates. )

I managed to finish Probotector/Contra1 ONCE without 30 lives code YEARS ago, (and no, cannot do it again) and i continously used Spread/Shotgun/whateveryouwanttocallit weapon. Laser is my fav. but Spread is a must since it is such a cheapass weapon overall.


Wierd, i never considered old Megamans (except megaman 1, still not finished it) too difficult, except sometimes Final Bosses were truly pain in the ass because they just were so illogical. You could hit to them only from time to time and once in christmas, and that is a fault that truly infests later megamans IMO, but i managed to make old megamans thru without problems.

[Rhombus]

Yeah, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 3 were exceptionally hard (I thought 1 had a limited number of continues too). Ninja Gaiden 2 was actually the easiest of the original 3 and if you were used to playing tough NES platformers, wasn't THAT hard.

One I thought was really hard was Blaster Master. The tank "upgrades" that you get on the later levels make the last two stages (especially stage eight, the last one) really damn hard.

People have already listed the MegaMan and MegaManX games, which are all really hard. So are the new Zero games on the GBA. I also thought the original SMB1 game was hard (even though all the sequels are much easier).

One of the hardest series of all time is the Ghosts 'n' Goblins series. Probably since they were originally arcade games, designed to be impossible and eat all your quarters. But yeah, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts on the SNES is damn hard (especially having to get and use that crappy Goddess Bracelet on the second time through the game) and the original NES Ghosts 'n' Goblins is even harder - those gargoyles are harder than most games' boss characters!

The Castlevania franchise was also pretty punishing in its 2d platforming days (not the new Metroid-style ones). 1 and 3 on the NES were really hard (2 was much easier, but it also had RPG and adventure elements so doesn't really "count"). It stayed tough in the 16-bit era as well - 4 and DracX on the SNES were quite hard, as was Bloodlines on the Genesis. The "real" DracX on PC Engine is also really tough (especially with Richter - Maria's speed, jumping and strong animal subweapons make her much easier to use
late in the game).

Some insanely difficult more recent 2d platformers are the 2d Oddworld games, Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus

[cloudvii]

As I've said before. Contra is just about learning. I can finish it without losing one life twice in the same row using the same combination of keys.

Level 1 : Go forward till you see the first soldier shoot twice, killing him and the one behind him, another bullet after 5 steps to kill the third soldier. Let the weapon capsule get just past you and then jump shoot diagonally down forward. Getting it start jumping repeatedly while crossing the bridge. When you reach the other side keep shooting fast like a maniac , and when the weapon capsule reaches you shoot twice, the first makes you get the S-weapon the other kills another soldier .
Keep going forward while on the top level till you face an automatic gun, jump and shoot diagonally down forward. Keep moving till another two weapon capsules appear just go and jump to the next side while shooting the upper one (The other one contained Laser which isn't as important as S weapon) . Still in air you can shoot that guy trying to kill you. jump till you reach the last island, killing another soldier when you are doing that last jump. Go down after the first cannon, just ignore it but shoot fast the second one. The level boss is so easy now as you have strengthen your weapon, just shoot his weak point for 2/4 seconds maximum .

All the levels have another key combinations :sarcastic: . If you really want a hard Platformer choose :
*NEOGEO
Metal slug 3
Shock troopers 2

*NES
Mega man 1
Super Mario the lost levels

*SNES
Contra 3 : the alien wars
Castlevania V (not as hard as the others though)

[ChaosMaster]

I would have to agree with Katsuya. Chakan was a real hard game, and still i havn't finished it yet.
Megaman was somehow, castlevania was hell.

[fivefeet8]

Contra Hard Corp on the Sega Genesis was hard. To say the least.

[Samor]

get the jap version, fivefeet8 > 3 x 3 lives ...kinda easier ^^;

[Talbain]

At this point, I can beat almost every Mega Man (including the Mega Man Zero series) platformer without ever getting hit (I say almost every Mega Man because there are 1 or 2 where you have to get hit). It took me a long time, but eventually you learn everything. They're all just patterns after all. It's pretty much like learning how to dodge bullets in shoot em ups.

[Cid Highwind]

@ Rhombus: SMB1 hard? The only hard parts about it was world 7-4, which is the only one I have NEVER succeeded, and I tried it a lot of times. I never cracked the combination. (and haven't looked it up at gamefaqs as well) but I might try it again. After not having played the game for several years, I've been playing SMB1 this weekend a lot with a girlfriend of mine since she never finished the game. I did have some problems with 8-4 since I rushed too much. But when I started a new game with the alternative game I walked from the first level to the FINAL Bowser in a few minutes, by using warps though. Without dying a single time. So once you have the feeling of the game, it's very easy IMHO. (also if you remember when which enemies will pop up)

I haven't played many platformers, but I did find Contra 2 (Probotector 2) quite difficult. Even after playing it hundreds of times, it was still a difficult game. But I enjoyed it a lot cause it was always a challenge. The biggest challenge was not to get hit since you only had 3 lives, and one hit cost you one life.

I also played some Adventure Island games, I think it was AI 2 for NES, and I found them difficult as well, but back then I was still 8 when playing it

Edit: Oh and what a waste Chakan was never released on the DC, the whole story gave me the feeling it would be a very special game, somewhat like Soul Reaver, but then maybe even better.