Climbing Out Of Hades [God Of War]
Kratos, the God of War, is the ultimate badass Spartan Warrior — until he touches a spike. Then he crumples like so much discarded printer paper.
The slow climb out of Hades is the worst part of a good game. A punishingly slow, agonizingly boring, and ridiculously punishing slog of a section. Kratos just has to pull himself out of Hades, dodging spikes to reach the top. Too bad the controls and the hitboxes are conspiring against you to make this into one of the most infuriatingly difficult sections of any video game.
It isn’t like this section takes that long. If you go slow, you can beat it in a few minutes. The problem is that this game is not built for ‘platforming’ while climbing. The hitboxes on the spinning spikes are just so messed up, and I remember dropping back down into the depths of Hell countless times. Kratos should be slashing monsters, not getting knocked off flimsy walls for forty minutes.
The Turbo Tunnel [Battletoads]
Battletoads is the all-time contender for biggest random difficulty increase in games. Really, this one doesn’t belong on our list, because everything after this moment is equally impossible — but I had to give Battletoads a spot here. This is a game that defines the term ‘Nintendo Hard’ — sure Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania were tough, but those games were beatable. Battletoads is just a death march once you reach the Turbo Tunnel. Before that, it’s a light-and-breezy beat-em-up that literally anyone can enjoy.
The Turbo Tunnel is right where the creators decided you’re having too much fun. The Turbo Tunnel requires perfect precision as you dodge incoming walls — jumping is too dangerous, so its better to dodge. But dodging requires literally memorizing the layout. On top of all that, if your P2 friend dies, you die too. Playing this game two-player is a sick joke. After the first stage, it’s basically impossible.
Relive the toughest parts of some classic games. Find them on the next page.
