/vr/ - Retro Games

King's Field, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gargoyle's Quest, ActRaiser 2 and Castlevania come to mind.

If you're also looking for games with a similar playstyle as Faxanadu, then Zelda II and Battle of Olympus, although they follow a Greco-Roman theme. Castlevania II is another consideration. I'd weakly suggest 8 Eye's and Trojan as well.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the most solid experience to me. Great atmosphere, varied environments, nice effects like storms, ocean currents and rotating stages. I don't think the first Ghouls 'n Ghosts had the technological capabilities at the time to produce a lot of those effects, so the environments weren't as robust.

So /vr/, what would you say is the most difficult game in the history of retro games? (Not including fan games, indie games or ROM hacks)

Possible contenders might include:

>Ghosts 'n Goblins
>Gradius III (arcade version)
>ActRaiser 2
>Battletoads
>Contra: Hard Corps
>Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
>Silver Surfer
>Ninja Gaiden (not sure which of the original trilogy was the hardest)
>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I was reluctant to mention Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Silver Surfer, as these are possibly difficult only a result of shitty design.


Arguably hard games I'm not sure about:

>Zelda II
It's just a matter of "gitting gud" and going out of your way to max your levels and collect all heart and magic upgrades. I can speed-run this game, even though I've yet to beat Ghosts 'n Goblins.
>Contra (the first NES game)
Simple rote memorization. I can do no-miss clears of Contra and Super C after enough practice.
>Shinobi
Rote memorization.
>Wizards & Warriors
You have unlimited continues in the first game, and you appear exactly where you died. IronSword removes unlimited continues, but the password system is generous enough to let you pick up where you left off. W&W3 is more of an adventure game than action.
>Mega Man series
Rote memorization.