/vr/ - Retro Games

La-Mulana.
It's not quite actually retro, but it has a retro feel and was designed to be similar to a MSX game.
There's a freeware version and a remake.
I hear the freeware is a little harder.

Arcade titles are pretty good at the whole hard but fair approach.

Probably because arcade operators wouldn't buy easy cabs and players would just walk away if the game is full of douchebaggery.

MegaMan on NES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9t5uPrRyig

Contra's got a nice kick to it, especially Hard Corps. And most Shoot 'em Ups are absolutely brutal.

Battletoads for the NES

>>994014
I never found that series to be terribly difficult, even the first one. I beat it during an afternoon rental. Step it up.

>>994019
> topkek

also, oddworld

I thought Umihara Kawase was hard to get the hang of. It's a lot of fun. There's also a PS1 sequel, but I haven't played as much of that as I should have.

>>994019
It's bait, don't respond.

Gradius III ARC

>>994031
its fucking mega-man
its not that hard
You are given infinite continues, enemies drop health all the fucking time, bosses became easy mode just from swithcing weapon, you get weapons that let you skip the hard paltforming sections.

None of the games are very difficult even if you are doing a no-boss weapon run

>>994147
I think he means the yellow devil post was bait. There are a thousand games harder than the Mega Man series.

>>994030

it's got a fantastic difficulty curve and replay value; the gameplay is instantly appealing and once you get the hang of the controls you start challenging yourself all over the place to complete levels in interesting ways, and do novel stunts; and if that weren't enough, the game takes into account that you would try all kinds of crazy shit and puts all the branching paths in. one of the best "easy to learn, hard to master" games i've ever played

>>994030
>Think about Needs of Notice for Human Being

What?

>>994306
It's just what TNN stands for. I guess it is kinda odd.

Try Mother (Earthbound Zero), a lot of people complain about its difficulty.
Honestly, I don't think it's any more difficult than your average NES RPG like Dragon Quest, etc, but I guess the last part of the game does get hard even if you have good level and stats, so if you want some RPG challenge, check it out.

Barney's Hide and Seek for the Sega Genesis is one very sadistic beast.

>>994030

>Umihara Kawase

Nigger of mine, come to my arms I don't know why but I've been noticing that this particular game appears in a lot of threads here in /vr/, curious thing

Also, Fire 'n' Ice start easy and confy, but the more tou advance, the most fucked your brain would be because of thinking

>>994362
I'm pretty sure it's the same guy posting it.

>>994367

it's features on a GCCX episode, a lot of people here have played UK by now.
It's a pretty good game.

Going for the obvious, but definitely worth a look

As already mentioned, just pick a schmup. Any will work, though Gradius 3 Arcade has the most notorious reputation.

The best-designed roguelikes aren't /vr/, but any classic rogue will suffice if you're just looking for raw challenge.

You can always add a self-imposed challenge to a game you're already particularly fond of, too. I would also add ROMhacks to this category.

Supposedly Wizardry IV is an infernal devil spawn that claims its victims one by one. I haven't played it yet.

There's also:

Contra series
Ninja Gaiden series
Metal Slug series
Ecco the Dolphin
Solomon's Key
Spelunker
Punch-Out!

Actraiser 2

>>994000
Castlevania 3. The first one is not hard.

>>994327
>RPG challenge
OP, if you want this you might as well go all the way.

>>994000
Try Kenseiden for Master System. Pretty good game and hard. Probably not as hard as NES ghouls and ghosts though

Q-Bert for nes. And yes, I am serious.

There was a NES game, maybe a dungeon crawler, maybe an RPG.

I remember reading it was so hard only a few people have gone on record to beat it without using a guide. The dungeons were large mazes, some even wrapping around to the opposite side. Before going in, the castle looked orange with black windows.

I keep trying to remember what it's called but "faxanadu" is all I can come up with, and I know it's not that

>>996141
this. it will make you a man.

>>996240
Sounds like Legacy of the Wizard, maybe?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw49GWtonLk

>>996240
Deadly Towers.

Silver Surfer for the NES!

Look for it in you tube.

bio metal

>>994316
That's engrish for ya.

>>996294
theres way more difficult shmups than silver surfer
gradius, r-type, dondonpachi, raiden,
most of them actually

>>996395
Most of the other shmups aren't quite as intensive when it comes to bullet hell

>>996287
This is it. Thanks anon

>>996397
What?
Silver Surfer is not even a bullet hell, nor is it particularly hard for a shmup.

This is especially true if you look at arcade shmups, which are usually a good chunk harder than their console versions, see Gradius 3.

Castlequest for NES. You start with 99 lives, but don't let that trick you. You're going to need them.

The game is fuck huge labyrinthian platformer and you can quite easily fuck your entire run just by going through the wrong door at the wrong time. This game has dozens of ways to cock block you from finishing the game if you do even one miniscule thing out of order.

You will also need insanely precise jumping skills because you better bet your ass that you will get killed by a spike or crushed by a box if even 1 pixel of your sprite is touching the very edge of the tile the offending object is on.

Good fucking luck.
Hard mode = don't use this map.

OP here, thanks for all the recommendations everyone. I really appreciate it.

>>996506
That's pretty small compared to alot of NES games.

>>996510
It looks like it, until you realize that you spend about 20 of those lives in the first room just trying to get the keys to the second room and head into the basement and realize that you weren't supposed to be there yet and there's no way to get back up and you basically just have to press reset.

Castlequest will take you a long, long time to beat if you play blind. The combat is... well, I guess I'm just going to flat out say it's basically broken, your only attack is a dagger stab that juts forward about half the length of your character sprite, and if you don't time it properly the enemies (which more or less just run back and forth like chickens with their heads cut off) will simply run into you and kill you.

That's not even touching on the fact that you can only jump 1 tile up and your jump is slow as shit and incredibly imprecise (but needs to be precise to do anything) and if you fall too far you also die.

It's basically the Dark Souls of the NES. I don't say that in jest either, Castlequest is honestly the hardest game I've played in my life and I still haven't beaten it. It's just insane.

>>996521
I'll second that. I beat the much maligned Legacy of the Wizard as a kid without any guides or help, but Castlequest... I just gave up on that one and honestly don't feel motivated to try it again. At least LotW had some nice music and scenery.

>>996521
>you spend about 20 of those lives in the first room just trying to get the keys to the second room and head into the basement and realize that you weren't supposed to be there yet and there's no way to get back up and you basically just have to press reset.
That is horrible game design.

>>996534
I doubt anyone would claim otherwise.

>>996534
Oh, I'm not going to defend the game design. It's an ATROCIOUSLY designed game. Like, if I was asked to point at a badly designed game, Castlequest would be my go-to game.

I'm just saying it sounds like it fits OP's description of being ludicrously difficult. If you want a masochistic challenge that will slap you in the face with a fistful of razorblades, Castlequest is your game.

Also in the same category of "huge-ass samey-looking mazes with a bajillion fetch quests and no fun to be found":

Back to the Future 2&3 (Yes, that's one game)
Super Pitfall
Deadly Towers

Just in case you're the type who likes pouring briny beach sand into his eyes.

>>996574
I'll stick to Metroid thank you very much

>>994362
Fire 'n' Ice is basically an easy version of Solomon's Key