get ready for some of the toughest
gaming that the early 90s had to offer
[Music]
welcome to watchmojo.com and today I’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
10 hardest SNES games for this list
we’re not interested in games that are
hard due to bad programming horrible
level design or buggy controls we’re
looking at titles that are intentionally
challenging and totally worth playing
till the end if you can
[Music]
number ten Zombies Ate My Neighbors
[Music]
this game didn’t get the attention it
deserved upon its release but it has
since gone on to become a cult classic
it’s like a beam horror film translated
into a run-and-gun video game complete
with it’s wacky over-the-top stages like
warehouse of evil dolls and vo so punny
fish and crypts it also succeeds in
preserving the heart of any good horror
flick in that it’s really tough to
survive
it’s hard enough saving your own skin
but attempting to rescue your many
helpless neighbors seriously ups the
difficulty level 48 levels of gore plus
bonus stages will keep you plenty busy
number nine Prince of Persia
newbies to this game struggle to clear
the first three obstacles let alone the
many more spike build pit standing
between them and the princess this was
the start of a long-running successful
franchise and it began with a steep
learning curve
[Music]
first released on the Apple 2 computer
Prince of Persia won multiple awards for
its impressive design and animation work
but it’s been called equal parts
brilliant and infuriating level specific
time limits are one thing but when
you’re given just two hours to complete
an entire game you really never have
time to think nothing is simple in this
platformer as you navigate staggeringly
complex levels riddled with traps switch
control doors and nearly impossible
jumps number 8 Battletoads in battle
maniacs what this franchise lacked in
original character design you say Ninja
Turtles it more than made up for an
exceedingly tough yet wildly fun
gameplay thankfully the difficulty level
in battle maniacs was substantially
lower than that of its original NES
predecessor but that game was nearly
impossible to beat anyway so it’s not
really saying much each level in battle
maniacs presents a unique style of
gameplay ranging from your standard
side-scrolling beat-em-up – punishingly
top high speed racing levels or snake
riding yeah you heard that correctly in
the car Nats revenge stage you have to
balance and hold on for dear life as a
massive snake lines up the level it’s as
tough as it sounds number 7 Donkey Kong
Country 2 did his conquest
[Music]
when this game first came out it meant
reassembling the team of neighborhood
friends who helped to beat the first
Donkey Kong Country hopefully some new
kids have moved in on the block with
some serious skills because Diddy’s
quest make DK’s original adventure
looked easy
what made it so tough well there’s the
likeliness of accidentally bouncing off
an enemy into one of the very many pits
lots of chances of getting barrel
blasted into enemies and a lot of late
game levels that are brutally brutally
challenging those level designers at
rare sure didn’t pull any punches in
this consistently challenging sequel
number six earthworm jim to web a
earthworms lead hard lives hiding from
hungry birds avoiding death by hot
concrete after a rainstorm or you know
fighting the forces of evil in their
battle suits to save princess
what’s-her-name
both the original earthworm jim and this
sequel nailed the balance between
challenging platforming and unique
entertaining level design but earthworm
jim – introduced other gameplay elements
into the mix this constant switch-up of
gameplay while very difficult kept the
experience fresh and exciting
for example the Billy people stage takes
away Jim’s weapons forcing players to
navigate him through a series of
explosive obstacles and that final
obstacle course with psycrow brutal
[Music]
number 5 actraiser
[Music]
this was a unique game in that it
bounced players back and forth between
side-scrolling platform action and city
building simulator
oddly enough the combination works
thanks to the fact that the developer
seemingly put equal effort into both
modes not only are both well designed
but challenging each area of the game
contains two side-scrolling levels which
although not punishingly difficult are
far from easy especially the bosses or
lieutenants the simulation is
satisfyingly nuanced and we guarantee
you that you’re growing civilizations
will flounder a few times before you get
the hang of the various mechanics
ultimately the challenge of actraiser
lies in the fact that it forces players
to master multiple gameplay modes an
uncommon and complex challenge on the
SNES number four castlevania dracula x
[Music]
this franchise clearly prides itself on
producing consistently difficult games
and this particular entry is one of the
toughest arguably second only to
Castlevania 3 on the NES as with all
Castlevania games it’s extremely hard
but fair yeah actually the jury’s still
out on that fair part but whatever
[Music]
enemies seem faster than your character
Richter Belmont so you have to perfect
your timing with the limited movement at
your disposal
mastering the evasive backflip maneuver
is crucial to your survival as is the
timing of your attacks with the whip and
sub-weapons dracula x levels are all
about excess too many enemies too many
traps and too many spiked platforms
hitting you in quick succession ensuring
that if and when you reach the final
boss you’re going to be seriously
drained of your health number three
super ghouls and ghosts you know what’s
tougher than fighting your way through
hordes of demon spawn doing it twice as
the knight Arthur you’re charged with
rescuing the princess from emperor
sardius but after facing staggering
obstacles to reach his castle you
discover that the only weapon capable of
beating him the goddess bracelet was
hidden at the beginning of the game so
back to square one
[Music]
our hero is also a bit of a frail one
despite the upgradeable armor and shield
a single body hit from an enemy will
leave you fighting in your boxer shorts
and with the second hit you’re dead
offering some of the most well designed
platforming ever to grace the SNES this
game is as respected as it is tough
[Music]
number 2 contra 3 the alien wars it’s a
simple fact of gaming on any console
that if you’ve got a contra title
available it’s gonna be more hectic
overwhelming run-and-gun fun that you
can probably handle also it’s gonna be
insanely tough speedruns for this game
should come with seizure warnings for
the uninitiated we recommend playing
easy setting it will more than challenge
you don’t worry and if you survive
normal and hard introduced new boss
attacks alternate attack patterns and
even upgraded forms yeesh before we
unveil our top pick here a few honorable
mentions
you
[Music]
number one super Star Wars The Empire
Strikes Back just like it was probably
the toughest time for the rebellion the
events of the Empire Strikes Back
make for a harrowing experience for
gamers as well when super Star Wars came
out in 1992 it was met with critical
acclaim although some fans criticized it
for being too hard
well the sequel only got tougher jaqen
controlled Luke Chewbacca and Han Solo
has never been more fun or frustrating
honestly it’s hard not to feel like the
characters had an easier time in the
movie and one of those characters got
tortured and frozen plus considering
that the game drops you straight in the
middle of a hostile setting the learning
curve isn’t just steep it’s basically a
vertical line but then again mode 7
graphics made for a pretty slick-looking
Battle of Hoth
[Music]
do you agree with our list what’s the
most challenging Super Nintendo game
you’ve ever played for more memorable
top 10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com
[Music]
gaming that the early 90s had to offer
[Music]
welcome to watchmojo.com and today I’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
10 hardest SNES games for this list
we’re not interested in games that are
hard due to bad programming horrible
level design or buggy controls we’re
looking at titles that are intentionally
challenging and totally worth playing
till the end if you can
[Music]
number ten Zombies Ate My Neighbors
[Music]
this game didn’t get the attention it
deserved upon its release but it has
since gone on to become a cult classic
it’s like a beam horror film translated
into a run-and-gun video game complete
with it’s wacky over-the-top stages like
warehouse of evil dolls and vo so punny
fish and crypts it also succeeds in
preserving the heart of any good horror
flick in that it’s really tough to
survive
it’s hard enough saving your own skin
but attempting to rescue your many
helpless neighbors seriously ups the
difficulty level 48 levels of gore plus
bonus stages will keep you plenty busy
number nine Prince of Persia
newbies to this game struggle to clear
the first three obstacles let alone the
many more spike build pit standing
between them and the princess this was
the start of a long-running successful
franchise and it began with a steep
learning curve
[Music]
first released on the Apple 2 computer
Prince of Persia won multiple awards for
its impressive design and animation work
but it’s been called equal parts
brilliant and infuriating level specific
time limits are one thing but when
you’re given just two hours to complete
an entire game you really never have
time to think nothing is simple in this
platformer as you navigate staggeringly
complex levels riddled with traps switch
control doors and nearly impossible
jumps number 8 Battletoads in battle
maniacs what this franchise lacked in
original character design you say Ninja
Turtles it more than made up for an
exceedingly tough yet wildly fun
gameplay thankfully the difficulty level
in battle maniacs was substantially
lower than that of its original NES
predecessor but that game was nearly
impossible to beat anyway so it’s not
really saying much each level in battle
maniacs presents a unique style of
gameplay ranging from your standard
side-scrolling beat-em-up – punishingly
top high speed racing levels or snake
riding yeah you heard that correctly in
the car Nats revenge stage you have to
balance and hold on for dear life as a
massive snake lines up the level it’s as
tough as it sounds number 7 Donkey Kong
Country 2 did his conquest
[Music]
when this game first came out it meant
reassembling the team of neighborhood
friends who helped to beat the first
Donkey Kong Country hopefully some new
kids have moved in on the block with
some serious skills because Diddy’s
quest make DK’s original adventure
looked easy
what made it so tough well there’s the
likeliness of accidentally bouncing off
an enemy into one of the very many pits
lots of chances of getting barrel
blasted into enemies and a lot of late
game levels that are brutally brutally
challenging those level designers at
rare sure didn’t pull any punches in
this consistently challenging sequel
number six earthworm jim to web a
earthworms lead hard lives hiding from
hungry birds avoiding death by hot
concrete after a rainstorm or you know
fighting the forces of evil in their
battle suits to save princess
what’s-her-name
both the original earthworm jim and this
sequel nailed the balance between
challenging platforming and unique
entertaining level design but earthworm
jim – introduced other gameplay elements
into the mix this constant switch-up of
gameplay while very difficult kept the
experience fresh and exciting
for example the Billy people stage takes
away Jim’s weapons forcing players to
navigate him through a series of
explosive obstacles and that final
obstacle course with psycrow brutal
[Music]
number 5 actraiser
[Music]
this was a unique game in that it
bounced players back and forth between
side-scrolling platform action and city
building simulator
oddly enough the combination works
thanks to the fact that the developer
seemingly put equal effort into both
modes not only are both well designed
but challenging each area of the game
contains two side-scrolling levels which
although not punishingly difficult are
far from easy especially the bosses or
lieutenants the simulation is
satisfyingly nuanced and we guarantee
you that you’re growing civilizations
will flounder a few times before you get
the hang of the various mechanics
ultimately the challenge of actraiser
lies in the fact that it forces players
to master multiple gameplay modes an
uncommon and complex challenge on the
SNES number four castlevania dracula x
[Music]
this franchise clearly prides itself on
producing consistently difficult games
and this particular entry is one of the
toughest arguably second only to
Castlevania 3 on the NES as with all
Castlevania games it’s extremely hard
but fair yeah actually the jury’s still
out on that fair part but whatever
[Music]
enemies seem faster than your character
Richter Belmont so you have to perfect
your timing with the limited movement at
your disposal
mastering the evasive backflip maneuver
is crucial to your survival as is the
timing of your attacks with the whip and
sub-weapons dracula x levels are all
about excess too many enemies too many
traps and too many spiked platforms
hitting you in quick succession ensuring
that if and when you reach the final
boss you’re going to be seriously
drained of your health number three
super ghouls and ghosts you know what’s
tougher than fighting your way through
hordes of demon spawn doing it twice as
the knight Arthur you’re charged with
rescuing the princess from emperor
sardius but after facing staggering
obstacles to reach his castle you
discover that the only weapon capable of
beating him the goddess bracelet was
hidden at the beginning of the game so
back to square one
[Music]
our hero is also a bit of a frail one
despite the upgradeable armor and shield
a single body hit from an enemy will
leave you fighting in your boxer shorts
and with the second hit you’re dead
offering some of the most well designed
platforming ever to grace the SNES this
game is as respected as it is tough
[Music]
number 2 contra 3 the alien wars it’s a
simple fact of gaming on any console
that if you’ve got a contra title
available it’s gonna be more hectic
overwhelming run-and-gun fun that you
can probably handle also it’s gonna be
insanely tough speedruns for this game
should come with seizure warnings for
the uninitiated we recommend playing
easy setting it will more than challenge
you don’t worry and if you survive
normal and hard introduced new boss
attacks alternate attack patterns and
even upgraded forms yeesh before we
unveil our top pick here a few honorable
mentions
you
[Music]
number one super Star Wars The Empire
Strikes Back just like it was probably
the toughest time for the rebellion the
events of the Empire Strikes Back
make for a harrowing experience for
gamers as well when super Star Wars came
out in 1992 it was met with critical
acclaim although some fans criticized it
for being too hard
well the sequel only got tougher jaqen
controlled Luke Chewbacca and Han Solo
has never been more fun or frustrating
honestly it’s hard not to feel like the
characters had an easier time in the
movie and one of those characters got
tortured and frozen plus considering
that the game drops you straight in the
middle of a hostile setting the learning
curve isn’t just steep it’s basically a
vertical line but then again mode 7
graphics made for a pretty slick-looking
Battle of Hoth
[Music]
do you agree with our list what’s the
most challenging Super Nintendo game
you’ve ever played for more memorable
top 10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com
[Music]
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