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DS Daily: Kickin' ass, takin' names

by Chris Greenhough on Jan 1st 2009 10:30AM

Today's DS Daily discussion is reserved for only the hardest of games. In all the time you've owned a DS, what's the one game for the system that has repeatedly kicked your ass with its unpunishing difficulty?

Would your choice be a title already renowned for being tricky, such as Contra 4, or did you struggle with a game with a less fearsome reputation? Did you eventually vanquish your foe, or does it still sit in your collection, uncompleted and sneering at you? And if you did emerge victorious, how long did it take you to beat it?

Tags: dsd

Reader Comments (30)

Contra 4 is the hardest I've ever played.
Shiren the wanderer should be very hard, but I'm not brave enough to play it. I had enough pain with Izuna 2.

Konami Classics Arcade (featuring Contra) always manages to kick my ass in a variety of ways.

I think gamers today are too soft. They don't know what it was like before their precious fancy 3D graphics and fancy chips. They don't know about standing around in a dark, hot room with a pocket full of quarters weighing you down, trying desperately to make it just a little bit farther, having to pay for your failure - literally - and coming back for more.

I've gotten soft. These old arcade games shouldn't be doing this to me. Best 10$ I ever spent.

I have to call out Commando: Steel Disaster on this one. The opening stage was brutal. I don't think I even beat that first boss.

Bangai O Spirits.

It's incredibly fun, but some stages just rape you completely until you figure out what you're supposed to do.

:D

Bangai-O Spirits.
Got through a good chunk of it, but many of the levels repeatedly get the best of me.

Megaman 9 is kicking my ass, my platforming skills have rotten since I was a kid. The first one was the other game I had troube too (can't beat it).

Other than those 2, I don't have trouble completing games, these days companies are trying more to release some difficult games though, like etrian odyssey, wich was really hard, and I like that, because most rpg's and all games in general are fairly easy these days, I like difficult games because of the feeling of acomplishment when you beat them.

Same here, my friend. Contra 4 is FREAKIN' HARD. Other than that, the only game so far that was actually really really difficult for me was Etrian Odyssey. I haven't played Etrian Odyssey 2 yet, but I know that I will pull out the hair left over from Etrian Odyssey one on that one!

Nanostray 2
:(

CONTRA 4 - I eventually got good at it but dang that game IS brutal (yet epic).

Yeah, I suppose Conta 4 fits the bill. But then, I've only played with a buddy a couple times.

I don't play hard games - games that rely on tremendous dexterity - anymore, just don't have the heart for it anymore. The days of completing Shinobi levels blindfolded are over. Dying over and over again in Bangai has reinforced this point.

Tetris Grand Master: Terror Instinct

The first game that bit me was Izuna*; now, the list grows...

*It was my crash course on dungeon crawlers/roguelikes.

Try Powder. Between the deadly kiwi's and armour that will randomly kill you if equipped, it's a tough little roguelike that makes Izuna look like a walk through a flower filled park.

And it's free. The PC version is a blast. Google it.

I love Shiren, even if I only really passed the original quest.

Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Some of those GUILT operations were damn near impossible.

Amen brother! I can't get past 2nd Sin with those damn Deftera!

Exactly. That one is still sitting in a drawer mocking me.

Izuna, because it's hard, and Contra 4 because it's the only Contra that has a big ugly screen-blocking bar right across the middle of the screen.

Izuna 2, certainly. Once you got used to the fact that getting your ass kicked was part of the adventure, it wasn't frustrating, except for the final dungeon, which was only frustrating because of those damn enemies which could confuse, blind, and poison you in one shot.

Nethack. Enough said.

I beat Contra 4 on Hard...once. I just don't have the energy to attempt it again, lol. After rotting my skills with years of games where you can get hit by boses 10 to 15 times and fumble your way to victory on the FIRST try, its satisfying to know the hardcore gamer within me is still kickin.

I don't know if this counts since it doesn't stop you from beating the game, but trying to get gold medals in all of the Chocobo Tales mini games is frickin insane. As hardcore as I consider myself, I couldn't do it.

Ouendan 2.

Eventually, you will encounter songs at the higher difficulties that are difficult beyond comprehension.

Just watch some of the videos on Youtube, those people can S rank the hardest songs on Insane mode. But for mere mortals without an infinite amount of time ... needless to say, it's a tough game to master if you want to S rank everything with a "perfect" rating (no missed markers, 100% completion of phase markers and spinners).

Plus, Ouendan 2 has a difficulty that eliminates the timer circles completely (Also the markers disappear)!

Admittedly, I'm nowhere near as good as some people posting on Youtube.

Peace.

I agree there. I only managed to finish the final song on Insane after trying it 50 kajilion times.
Oddly enough though, my 11 year old sister has S ranked at least 4 insane songs already.

cheesecakes,

You're a better player than I am.

:)

Going with Rawrzilla and others, Bangai O spirits was to brutal for me to enjoy. T_T

Contra 4, I could do , but Bangai o....no thanks. X_x

The game itself wasn't that bad, but the final boss in Rocket Slime was brutal. Simply brutal. It was a bizarre turn from a fun, simple kids game to IMPOSSIBLE DEATH TANK BATTLE.

The Yoshi's Island game for DS I could not beat. I eventually sold it and now i am nothing but an empty shell of a man because i couldn't beat it. Oh and mega man 9

i found n+ to be really really brutal. but then again it's not a ds exclusive.

I found the Advance Wars games to be pretty hard, especially on harder difficulty settings. AI is brutal!

I will also concur with the nominations for Contra 4 and Mega Man 9. They are both difficult in a very refreshing way.

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DS Daily: Kickin' ass, takin' names

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