these games ain’t no hop skip and a jump
welcome to watchmojo.com and she’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
hardest 2d platformers for more gaming
videos check out our new spinoff channel
mojo plays for in-depth reviews
thoughtful video essays detailed
character origins and insightful
commentary mojo plays games smarter for
this list we looked at video games from
the platforming genre and ranked them
based on their high levels of challenge
[Music]
number 10 Castlevania 1987
whippin gamers of the NES age into shape
with its staggering levels comprised of
jumping across the perilous terrain and
battling terrifying if pixelated enemies
Castlevania was and still technically is
one of the hardest action side-scrollers
around there are new shortage of tools
and power-ups to aid the player along in
their quest but the game dishes out an
equal amount of punishment to constantly
keep that player on their toes enemies
and bosses can very easily deplete your
life bar but even more or how a
projectile can completely ruin an
otherwise well time jump Castlevania
will beat you down six ways from Sunday
but it’s worth it in the end stay strong
[Music]
number 9 ninja gaiden we imagined that
it would be tough to be as stealthy and
tactical as a master ninja and somehow
with the limited technology of the time
the original ninja gaiden managed to
simulate the action and acrobatics of a
martial artist pretty much effortlessly
however just cuz you can pull off
dazzling jumps and flips doesn’t mean
it’s gonna be an easy road to the finish
line as your timing needs to be
absolutely spot-on to safely land on
surfaces and avoid various threats
unscathed the heavy emphasis on combat
in the game also means that you need to
be able to gauge enemy attack patterns
requiring an offensive prowess to couple
with platforming skills honestly it
might be easier just to be a real ninja
number eight battle kid Fortress of
payroll
we have games like Castlevania and Ninja
Gaiden to thank for the inception of the
cruel harsh experience that is battle
kid to show a quote appreciation for the
unforgiving titles of days gone by this
indie game aimed to recapture the
intensity of old-school gaming but in a
way it actually kind of exceeds it
battle kid is infamous for its inclusion
of one-hit kills you see sure there are
infinite continues but when you’ve
replayed the same sequence only to die
dozens of times in a row right the
repetition may spark some outbursts of
unparalleled gamer rage
[Music]
number seven Mega Man 9
[Music]
remember how hard old NES Mega Man games
work Capcom remembers that’s why while
producing yet another entry in the
series the devs decided to stick with
tradition and make this ninth
installment mega friggin hard all of the
usual suspects are here hard to land
jumping sections unforgiving boss
battles and deadly enemies scattered
around every nook and cranny especially
considering that this was released in
the modern landscape of 2008 where we’ve
become accustomed to games holding your
hand Mega Man 9 was a wake-up call and a
serious challenge it’s satisfying if you
actually beat it but big emphasis on the
fifth part
[Music]
number six Super Mario Brothers the Lost
Levels the original Super Mario Brothers
was a juggernaut and single-handedly
revitalized interest in the medium of
video games while it was a pretty hefty
challenge but once Japanese exclusive
Lost Levels aka Super Mario Brothers –
the real version must have had people
tearing their hair out in aggravation by
comparison the difficulty level here
picks up right where the original game
left off and only escalates from there
alongside the more understandable
obstacles like tough areas to navigate
and tons of bad guys and Ando felt
compelled to throw in irritating roblox
such as poison mushrooms warp zones can
send you backwards instead of forwards
and gusts of wind that affect the
trajectory of your jumps Nintendo
you know it’s for kids number 5 Donkey
Kong Country Returns
when retro studios revealed that they
were bringing back the side-scrolling
style of the Donkey Kong Country Games
fans everywhere awaited eagerly with
fierce anticipation all of the DK
trademarks were their colorful visuals
fantastic music and of course that’s
strenuously Hard difficulty whether it’s
the boss battles environmental hazards
or one of those damn minecart stages
returns is a consistently relentless
throwback to a time when video games
were all at once simple but incredibly
demanding requiring the player to get
good in order to see an adventure
through number four cop had what do you
get when you match style with substance
well in this case a freakin insanely
difficult game cop head is the newest
entry on our list the brainchild of
developers Chad and Jared moldenhauer a
throwback to the 1980s and 90s in terms
of run and gun gameplay and a throwback
to the 1930s in terms of art style you’d
be forgiven if you thought that all the
fun to be had here was in the visuals
alone but alas you’ll need those
cheerful visuals to stop you from
falling into a pit of despair since
you’ll be dying over and over and over
again trying to memorize the attack
patterns of the various bosses or maybe
just trying to get past the tutorial not
naming any names here
number three I want to be the guy the
movie the game
maybe by an indie developer with a big
old love for the old days of platformers
I want to be the guy harkens back to the
old school gameplay designs and concepts
which if you’ve been paying attention
it’s just a fancy way of saying it’s
really really friggin hard inspired by
previously mentioned games such as
Megaman and Mario Brothers this game
actually decides to ramp up the
difficulty on purpose exaggerating the
challenge – what can occasionally feel
like a borderline impossible level there
are moments that are legitimately tough
to complete but then there are others
that are intentionally made to just mess
with your head well mission accomplished
I guess
number two super meatboy this game will
make mincemeat out of you quite
literally as you control a wad of meat
jumping across various hazardous
terrains to save your girlfriend you’ll
come to realize that just what anybody
bad move will result in instant death
considering that your character is made
up of meat and nearly every obstacle in
the environment is a sharp object it’s
almost as if the game is taunting you
with a looming possibility that your
doom could come at any moment it can of
course be done but Super Meat Boy is one
of those trial and error experiences so
you’re ready to die over and over until
you time that jump just right
before we reveal our top pick here a few
honorable mentions
[Music]
number one ghosts and goblins
[Music]
if there’s any game that causes
breakdowns and post-traumatic stress
it’s definitely ghosts and goblins as we
mentioned a few times already video
games on the NES were balls to the wall
hard but this one kicks it up a notch
even by that standard with a two hits
and you’re dead philosophy a ridiculous
abundance of enemies on screen and some
nearly impossible jumps to pull off
you’ll need the patience of a monk and
reflexes of a ninja to make it out alive
oh and you need to do it all twice to
see the real ending and truly beat the
game for additional masochistic fun
check out the sequel ghouls and ghosts
it’s just about as brutal though
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
[Music]
welcome to watchmojo.com and she’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
hardest 2d platformers for more gaming
videos check out our new spinoff channel
mojo plays for in-depth reviews
thoughtful video essays detailed
character origins and insightful
commentary mojo plays games smarter for
this list we looked at video games from
the platforming genre and ranked them
based on their high levels of challenge
[Music]
number 10 Castlevania 1987
whippin gamers of the NES age into shape
with its staggering levels comprised of
jumping across the perilous terrain and
battling terrifying if pixelated enemies
Castlevania was and still technically is
one of the hardest action side-scrollers
around there are new shortage of tools
and power-ups to aid the player along in
their quest but the game dishes out an
equal amount of punishment to constantly
keep that player on their toes enemies
and bosses can very easily deplete your
life bar but even more or how a
projectile can completely ruin an
otherwise well time jump Castlevania
will beat you down six ways from Sunday
but it’s worth it in the end stay strong
[Music]
number 9 ninja gaiden we imagined that
it would be tough to be as stealthy and
tactical as a master ninja and somehow
with the limited technology of the time
the original ninja gaiden managed to
simulate the action and acrobatics of a
martial artist pretty much effortlessly
however just cuz you can pull off
dazzling jumps and flips doesn’t mean
it’s gonna be an easy road to the finish
line as your timing needs to be
absolutely spot-on to safely land on
surfaces and avoid various threats
unscathed the heavy emphasis on combat
in the game also means that you need to
be able to gauge enemy attack patterns
requiring an offensive prowess to couple
with platforming skills honestly it
might be easier just to be a real ninja
number eight battle kid Fortress of
payroll
we have games like Castlevania and Ninja
Gaiden to thank for the inception of the
cruel harsh experience that is battle
kid to show a quote appreciation for the
unforgiving titles of days gone by this
indie game aimed to recapture the
intensity of old-school gaming but in a
way it actually kind of exceeds it
battle kid is infamous for its inclusion
of one-hit kills you see sure there are
infinite continues but when you’ve
replayed the same sequence only to die
dozens of times in a row right the
repetition may spark some outbursts of
unparalleled gamer rage
[Music]
number seven Mega Man 9
[Music]
remember how hard old NES Mega Man games
work Capcom remembers that’s why while
producing yet another entry in the
series the devs decided to stick with
tradition and make this ninth
installment mega friggin hard all of the
usual suspects are here hard to land
jumping sections unforgiving boss
battles and deadly enemies scattered
around every nook and cranny especially
considering that this was released in
the modern landscape of 2008 where we’ve
become accustomed to games holding your
hand Mega Man 9 was a wake-up call and a
serious challenge it’s satisfying if you
actually beat it but big emphasis on the
fifth part
[Music]
number six Super Mario Brothers the Lost
Levels the original Super Mario Brothers
was a juggernaut and single-handedly
revitalized interest in the medium of
video games while it was a pretty hefty
challenge but once Japanese exclusive
Lost Levels aka Super Mario Brothers –
the real version must have had people
tearing their hair out in aggravation by
comparison the difficulty level here
picks up right where the original game
left off and only escalates from there
alongside the more understandable
obstacles like tough areas to navigate
and tons of bad guys and Ando felt
compelled to throw in irritating roblox
such as poison mushrooms warp zones can
send you backwards instead of forwards
and gusts of wind that affect the
trajectory of your jumps Nintendo
you know it’s for kids number 5 Donkey
Kong Country Returns
when retro studios revealed that they
were bringing back the side-scrolling
style of the Donkey Kong Country Games
fans everywhere awaited eagerly with
fierce anticipation all of the DK
trademarks were their colorful visuals
fantastic music and of course that’s
strenuously Hard difficulty whether it’s
the boss battles environmental hazards
or one of those damn minecart stages
returns is a consistently relentless
throwback to a time when video games
were all at once simple but incredibly
demanding requiring the player to get
good in order to see an adventure
through number four cop had what do you
get when you match style with substance
well in this case a freakin insanely
difficult game cop head is the newest
entry on our list the brainchild of
developers Chad and Jared moldenhauer a
throwback to the 1980s and 90s in terms
of run and gun gameplay and a throwback
to the 1930s in terms of art style you’d
be forgiven if you thought that all the
fun to be had here was in the visuals
alone but alas you’ll need those
cheerful visuals to stop you from
falling into a pit of despair since
you’ll be dying over and over and over
again trying to memorize the attack
patterns of the various bosses or maybe
just trying to get past the tutorial not
naming any names here
number three I want to be the guy the
movie the game
maybe by an indie developer with a big
old love for the old days of platformers
I want to be the guy harkens back to the
old school gameplay designs and concepts
which if you’ve been paying attention
it’s just a fancy way of saying it’s
really really friggin hard inspired by
previously mentioned games such as
Megaman and Mario Brothers this game
actually decides to ramp up the
difficulty on purpose exaggerating the
challenge – what can occasionally feel
like a borderline impossible level there
are moments that are legitimately tough
to complete but then there are others
that are intentionally made to just mess
with your head well mission accomplished
I guess
number two super meatboy this game will
make mincemeat out of you quite
literally as you control a wad of meat
jumping across various hazardous
terrains to save your girlfriend you’ll
come to realize that just what anybody
bad move will result in instant death
considering that your character is made
up of meat and nearly every obstacle in
the environment is a sharp object it’s
almost as if the game is taunting you
with a looming possibility that your
doom could come at any moment it can of
course be done but Super Meat Boy is one
of those trial and error experiences so
you’re ready to die over and over until
you time that jump just right
before we reveal our top pick here a few
honorable mentions
[Music]
number one ghosts and goblins
[Music]
if there’s any game that causes
breakdowns and post-traumatic stress
it’s definitely ghosts and goblins as we
mentioned a few times already video
games on the NES were balls to the wall
hard but this one kicks it up a notch
even by that standard with a two hits
and you’re dead philosophy a ridiculous
abundance of enemies on screen and some
nearly impossible jumps to pull off
you’ll need the patience of a monk and
reflexes of a ninja to make it out alive
oh and you need to do it all twice to
see the real ending and truly beat the
game for additional masochistic fun
check out the sequel ghouls and ghosts
it’s just about as brutal though
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
[Music]
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