The 15 Most Annoying Levels In Video Game History

Gamers love a good challenge. Unless it involves an underwater
level. Or a mine cart. Or pretty much anything from Mega Man 9. Come to
think of it, gamers are frustrated by a lot of things. Here’s a tribute
to the levels that made us collectively break our controllers.



1. Battle Toads: Turbo Tunnel





The most annoying level of the Citizen Kane of near-impossible video
games, the BattleToads speederbike level, is the reason why the Game
Genie and adderall were invented. Nothing short of John Nash-like
spatial recognition is enough, as even thousands of plays can still
leave the most talented gamers in the fetal position. What sets it apart
from other classic video games, and what is perhaps its most annoying
quality, is that years later it still retains the same level of
difficulty it had when you were 9.



2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Dam Water Level





Apparently the developers of the NES version
of the classic TMNT arcade game weren’t
satisfied with simply desecrating probably the greatest multi- player
arcade game ever conceived. They had to make the underwater level—always
a bane of any gamer’s existence—the single most difficult underwater
level in video game history. The obstacle list reads more like a grocery
list for someone shopping a medical marijuana facility (Electric
seaweed, Energy Draining Leaves, 8 Bombs) than a proper collection of
video game obstructions.



3. StarFox 64: MacBeth/Titania





Look, we appreciate the StarFox developers being courteous enough to
give the Landmaster as many Arwing-ian qualities as possible—smart
bombs, locking onto enemies with the laser, even doing a Barrel roll—we
get it, thank you. But you don’t go to a seafood restaurant and order a
cheese burger, and if we wanted to roll around in a tank, we’d play
Twisted Metal. Now get us back to the goddamn planes.



4. Mike Tyson’s Punchout!: Mike Tyson





The most annoying aspect of fighting the title character in Mike
Tyson’s Punchout! isn’t the uppercut that signals instant death for
anyone on the receiving end, or the grotesquely large physique of
someone who could destroy you even if he was half your size, or even the
fact that your character was given an embarrassingly limited repertoire
of moves. No, the most annoying aspect is the fact that in 1987, Mike
Tyson’s Punchout! was possibly the most realistic game ever invented.



5. MarioKart: Rainbow Road





There isn’t really anything super complicated to navigate on Rainbow
Road, but it’s the ultra minimalist and, let’s face it, ingenious act of
simply removing the railings that helps it make the list. Because the
mark of a truly annoying video game comes from your complete and total
confidence being crushed at a moment’s notice by the simplest of
mistakes.

6. GuitarHero 3: Through the Fire and the Flames





At nearly 7 and a half minutes with a note progression that feels
less like playing an instrument and more like navigating a heavily
loaded Vietnamese mine field, DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and the
Flames” is pretty much what you’d expect from a band that had the balls
to name itself DragonForce. Ultimately, the guitar-smashing annoyance of
the song will leave you channeling Pete Townsend more than any The Who
song on Guitar Hero.



7. Super Mario World: Tubular





For whatever reason, the people that bring you Mario games have
developed a relatively simple yet diabolically brilliant method for
increasing the difficulty of any level: take the most basic and
comforting element of the previous levels, and just get rid of it. For
Rainbow Road, this means no more railings, and in the case of “Tubular,”
this means no more ground. Instead, the primary method of getting to
the end of the level is jumping on any number of minions, and being even
the slightest degree off is a recipe for disaster.



8. Street Fighter IV: Seth





What’s not to hate about Seth? Physically, he’s an unapologetic
ripoff of Dr. Manhattan, and his Special Moves are just a collection of
Special Moves of classic characters, from Guile’s Sonic Boom to
Dhalsim’s long range punch/kicks to Zangief’s pile driver. But the
ultimate meta irony of Seth lies in the name, as it’s not hard to
imagine this being an assignment from some Jager-guzzling frat boy who
“totes spaced” on the assignment and threw it together a half hour
before it was due.



9. Contra: Waterfall





What makes playing the Waterfall level without the Konami Code
really annoying is the fact that you’re always a 10 button sequence away
from making the game remarkably easy. Imagine taking a take-home test
with a fully functioning cheat sheet at your side and refusing to make
even the slightest glance in its direction. If you’ve got the stomach
for it, hats off, but if you need me I’ll be the one who eventually came
to his senses and decided to dominate the crap out of this level.



10. Madden ’04: Atlanta Falcons





17 years had passed between Mike Tyson’s Punchout! and Madden ’04.
In that span sport video games, particularly the Madden franchise, were
lauded for their ever-increasing attention to realism. Then ’04 coverboy
Michael Vick broke the mold and led the Atlanta Falcons to the elite
group of “unplayable” Madden teams. And be honest, there’s nothing more
annoying than watching as your opponent revels in victory when literally
all he had to do for a first down was drop Vick back 15 or so yards,
pick a side, and press X.

11. Mega Man 9: Dr. Wily’s Castle





Just as Mega Man 9 is a return to the old school sensibilities of
early NES Mega Man games, so too does it mark a
swift return to the days of controller-smashingly annoying levels. It’s
one thing to look like the Mega Man games of old, but it’s an entirely
different thing to play like them. Really guys, no mid-level checkpoint
save options? Non-pressure sensitive jumping? Unreal. Plus, combine
these elements into Dr. Wily’s Castle with 8, count ‘em 8, non-saveable
checkpoints, and it’s easy to envision why this game is so maddening.



12. Gunstar Heroes: Mine Cart Level





Continuing the long held tradition of super difficult mine cart
levels in video games, the mine cart stage in Gunstar Heroes takes the
genre to a whole new level of “come on!”-inducing frustration. With a
relatively straightforward premise and gameplay design, the goal of the
level designers is clearly just to overwhelm you with numbers. And,
though they were nice enough to give you unlimited ammo, one gets the
feeling they only did it to make you that much more pissed off when you
can’t beat it.



13. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: All Ghillied Up





Quick, what’s the first thing that jumps into your head when you
think of the Modern Warfare franchise? Explosions, gunfire, and just
killing a crapload of bad guys, right? Now, what’s the last thing that
jumps in your head? An entire level devoted to quiet maneuvering and
minimal gunfire. It can be argued that the purpose of All Ghillied Up is
to advance the story while giving gamers an excuse to exercise some of
the skills exhibited by modern soldiers. It can also be argued, however,
that I bought this game to lay as many pussies out as possible, and if I
wanted to experience life as a soldier I’d nut up and enlist.



14. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time: Water Temple





Navigating through Ocarina Of Time’s Water Temple level is a journey
so epic, so legendary, so goddamn complicated, walkthroughs read more
like Tolkien novels than helpful guides. Probably the best way to sum up
the level is to enter “Water Temple” into urbandictionary.com. The
first definition that appears is, “Considered by many to be the
equivalent to a complete rectal examination.” Couldn’t have said it
better myself.



15. Top Gun: EVERY LEVEL





A flight simulation NES Game from the ’80s
is going to be nearly impossible. As gamers, we accept that going in,
and treat the combat in Top Gun for what it is: archaic and frustrating.
What sucks the fun out is the fact that the true test of your skills
and patience comes after you’ve killed everyone, because game developers
somehow got it in their heads that landing the friggin’ plane should be
the game’s most difficult mission. It’s the aeronautical version of
navigating through an intense and action-packed Bond game only to then
have to fill out mounds of paperwork in order to finish. And if you
misspell someone’s name or misplace a decimal point, you lose a life.

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