21. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts

(SNES/Various Home, Capcom, 1991)
Videogames are too easy. It's a hoary old cliche that is rolled out time and again by anyone who has played games for over fifteen years and it is tiring to hear.
Do you know why these things become cliche? It's because they are usually the truth.
When videogames mainly consisted of arcades, the key for developers was to kick the player off the machine as quickly as possible so the next person standing in line could have their change pockets emptied in a matter of minutes, then the next and so on.

In the 90's, arcades were slowly on the way out and home gaming was assuredly the future of the business. There were no queues of eager players with handfuls of quarters, just one player, who had already shelled out their hard earned cash for the product. Thus, the tradition changed, as games got easier and easier in an attempt to get that game finished and on the shelf so that (it was assumed) the player would rush straight out and buy another. It's worse than ever now than it was in the late 90's, with many games story modes lasting sparse hours and some Wii games having the option to PLAY THEMSELVES if you find them to difficult.
The majority (but not all) of gaming today is just about perseverance, you WILL complete the game you attempt if you just bear with it, in our overly-wanting society, we DEMAND the right to finish a game we payed for.

What does all this have to do with this entry? Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts was a game that FUCKED. YOU. UP. It wasn't a case of "Ah, you'll get there" or "Keep trying son" It was a case of "Are you good enough? if not, get lost" You complete Super GnG because you are a good gamer, not because you are just a persistent one.
Essentially a remake of the arcade classic, Super GnG saw the player attempt to control our hero Arthur on a classic quest to save a princess, the gameplay was anything but fairytale though. A huge myriad of creatures and monsters swarmed Arthur at every step and attacked him from all angles. Arthur would lose his armour at the first hit and be killed on the second. Not only that, but a deadly landscape of pits, fires, spikes and other obstacles had to be overcome, often while under a consistent onslaught of enemies. A variety of weapons and power-ups were offered as aid, but even these treasure chests could contain a wizard who would temporarily turn Arthur into a seal, peasant girl or harmless baby. Super Ghouls 'n Babies.

Super GnG required expert timing, pixel perfect jumping, fast reflexes and an iron will, as much death and frustration awaited the less zen (or just crapper) players. It should be pointed out that Super GnG wasn't "unfair" it was just very difficult. On the visual/audio side, Super GnG also has fantastic, colourful graphics and an absolutely awesome music score which really showcased the stereo sound power of Nintendo's new console. Super GnG was the game that sold the console to me.

So the next time you see a gamer whining over the difficulty of the latest third-person adventure game. Give them a helpful face punch, because gamers have never had it so easy, a whole slew of games from the 80's and 90's can attest to that. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is one of the absolute leaders of that charge.

And should you defeat Super GnG's "last level", then prepare yourself for a joyful surprise, the battle has only just begun.