00:10Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're counting down our picks for the 10 hardest classic
00:15platforming games, specifically here focusing on 2D platformers to keep things extra classic.
00:29Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:33and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos. Rayman.
00:46Now, don't let the sugar-coated, colorful graphics and whimsical art style fool you
00:51here. Rayman is a downright brutal 2D platformer. Precision is of the utmost importance as you
00:57navigate perilous platforming gauntlets, contending with wacky baddies, and just hoovering up oodles
01:03of collectibles along the journey. As if the platforming itself wasn't justifiable enough
01:08for a list like this one, toss in plenty of instant death traps and hazards, limited hits Rayman can
01:14actually take, helpful abilities not actually readily available at first, hectic enemy placement,
01:20and some labyrinthian later levels, and it's pretty darn clear that Rayman is here to both
01:25entertain and challenge you in equal measure.
01:34The Lion King.
01:40Yes, yes we know, there are plenty of gamers out there that have mastered this game by now,
01:45claiming it's not actually all that hard. But I mean, come on, for the majority of us mere mortals
01:50out there, The Lion King is a nightmare to beat. With levels like Can't Wait to be King, Be Prepared,
01:56The Stampede, and more ready to bring you to your knees. 90s gamers know very well that this game
02:01was crafted to be brutal, so that it couldn't actually easily be wrapped up during the short
02:07rental game period. The game is definitely fun, don't get us wrong at all, but it's a battle of
02:12attrition as each level shreds your nerves and your patience. Hakuna Matata, am I right? No.
02:24Castlevania III Dracula's Curse.
02:33Now, we thought about tossing the OG Castlevania on this list instead of Dracula's Curse, but for our money,
02:40this third gothic outing just wins out by a little bit in terms of sheer difficulty overall.
02:45Now, two main facets make this game stand out here. The rigid control slash movement and the knockback.
02:52That gosh darn knockback, it's brutal. Trevor's slow movement speeds and lack of helpful jump trajectory
02:58make navigating each spooky envirin a real challenge. Again, made worse when you unfortunately get hit by a
03:05baddie and get sent backwards to your grave. The multiple paths are certainly great for overall
03:10replayability and the fun exploration, but it can often be confusing as to what the optimal path is,
03:17especially when you are getting pummeled over and over again by the tricky enemy placement. Yes,
03:23yes, we are very much looking at you flea men and medusa heads. Oh yeah, and those bosses. Well,
03:28yeah, good luck with them. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
03:42We've talked about the NES's TMNT game loads of times here on Mojo Plays, and for good reason.
03:48Spoiler alert, if you don't already know, it's super duper hard. And no, not just the damn level and
03:54the technodrome level. Like, I mean, we're kind of talking about the whole freaking game is just out
03:59to get you. The turtles' movements are not easy to grasp. Attacking groups of baddies takes pure
04:05precision, and the limited lives and continues don't really help. TMNT is basically a coin-munching
04:11arcade game that only values the truly skilled gamers out there. Oh, and you know that knockback
04:16that we mentioned in the last Castlevania entry? Yeah, it's in full force here. Good times.
04:21Now, we do enjoy this NES classic, but it's littered with ways to fail around every single corner.
04:33Prince of Persia.
04:39Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia is a stone-cold classic in gaming, altering the way we played and
04:45enjoyed platformers back in the very late 80s and early 90s. It's a revolutionary title that remains
04:51fun to this day, but my goodness, did it really have to go that hard in terms of sheer difficulty?
04:57On top of a super strict 60-minute time limit, which immediately makes everything more pressure-filled
05:02and hectic, The Prince has to deal with oodles upon oodles of deadly traps and obstacles, hyper-precise
05:08jumping and movement through a sort of grid-based design, all with little to no guidance. Trial and
05:15error is everything in this game, and it will take loads of patience and skill to get through this
05:19well-crafted but brutal gauntlet. Mega Man and Bass.
05:36Now, I'll be honest, when researching for this very list, I would have thought that one of the
05:41earlier Mega Man games would pop up as being one of the hardest in terms of being a classic platformer.
05:47However, it turns out that 1998's Mega Man and Bass, known as Rockman and Forte in Japan, is actually the
05:54toughest of the bunch, mostly because it requires you to fully understand all of the ins and outs of
06:00past Mega Man titles. This steep barrier to entry might already put off some players, especially those
06:05that didn't dabble in the beloved franchise. The platforming is intense and tight, enemies just spam
06:11you constantly it seems, character balance is kinda all over the place, bosses are obviously notoriously
06:17punishing here, and the game has loads of late game difficulty spikes. Mega Man and Bass is truly
06:23one for those who consider themselves that are masters of this very franchise.
06:37Battletoads.
06:46Much like TMNT in a previous entry, we have also rightly discussed Battletoads plenty of times when it comes
06:52to super tough games out there. This game is just infamously difficult, made especially so via the
06:58Turbo Tunnels level. But even despite that insanely hard level alone, all in all Battletoads is just a
07:04relentless gauntlet of beat em up gameplay, uber tight platforming, and little to no room for error.
07:10Each level throws some completely new mechanics your way that you need to master, and master quickly if you
07:16hope to inch forward little by little. Each stage is an intricate labyrinth of death, only overcome by
07:22those who fully grasp the movement principle, the attack patterns, the level specific gimmicks,
07:27and the trial and error nature of each new section. If you happen to be one of those gamers out
07:31there
07:32that has completed this game, well we tip our hat to you. Ninja Gaiden.
07:50Ninja Gaiden might not be the first game you think of when your mind conjures up classic platformers.
07:56However, make no mistake about it, this is a platformer through and through. I mean, does it
08:01feature plenty of action combat and beat em up gameplay? Yeah, absolutely. But it also doles out
08:07platforming tests of skill just as often. Many 80s and 90s gamers out there know that Ninja Gaiden is
08:13synonymous with unforgiving design philosophy, something that is still often retained in
08:17newer entries in this long running series. This 1988 catalyst of pain requires pinpoint precision
08:23for both combat and movement if you hope to step out as the ninja victor.
08:34Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels The Lost Levels? More like the lost my mind levels due to how
08:46frustrating this game can be, constantly forcing you to engage with pixel perfect platforming in order to
08:52just get to the end of each stage. Essentially, this game was put together to test only the most
08:58seasoned veteran Mario players out there, and just all around platforming pros. Seriously though,
09:03some of these levels rival even the most dastardly gauntlets created by players' twisted imaginations
09:09in something like the Mario Maker series. Platforms to land on are smaller, enemies are more resilient,
09:15and more omnipresent. It's less obvious how to proceed through some of the levels,
09:19and it all just requires muscle memory and innate platforming skill.
09:29Ghosts and Goblins
09:35The progenitor to many uber challenging 2D platformers out there, and even the likes of the
09:40PS2's often overlooked brutal 3D action-adventure platformer, Maximo Ghost to Glory. Ghosts and
09:47Goblins is straight up pure arcade coin munching brutality. It's kinda like this game was designed
09:53specifically to just trip you up with every step you take. Death is imminent as you attempt to
09:58navigate the highly complex levels, each one littered with quick kill traps, relentless baddies,
10:04and enough projectiles that this game could also be considered a bullet hell for some players out there.
10:09It's all just so unforgiving and unnerving. I mean, do we love the cartoony spooky moody vibes? Heck yes.
10:16But there's no denying that it's a game that will pummel you over and over again until you earn your
10:21reward.
10:28So, do you agree with our picks for this list? There are so many challenging classic platforming games out
10:34there. Which ones do you find the most punishing? Let us know in the comments.
10:43Thank you for watching this video from MojoPlays. Be sure to subscribe for more gaming videos every single day.
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