I was recently playing a video game called “Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair” and, as they passed by, people would ask me why I was playing a kid’s game. I was so amused at this interpretation that I decided to show them the titular Impossible Lair. Brutal and unrelenting, they very quickly realized how difficult the game was and conceded. While I’ve spoken about difficulty in video games before, I thought it might be interesting to look at difficult video games that have a child-friendly art style.
When it comes to difficult video games with a child-friendly art style, my go-to example is typically the original Mega Man series. Originally released in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the original Mega Man games have seen 11 main entries with games 1-8 released from 1987 to 1996 and 9-11 released between 2008-2018 and have proven to be a major success with many spin-off sub-series, television adaptations and comics.
Despite the kid-friendly looking covers, having played Mega Man 1-10, I can testify that these games are unrelentingly brutal. Featuring run-and-gun platforming, the tide of enemies feel overwhelming as you traverse the levels and seek out the Robot Masters (most of the bosses in these games). If you lose enough lives within a level, you are kicked back to the level selection screen and forced to replay the entire level again. While I really enjoyed many of these games (although some Dr. Wily fights tested my patience), I’d suspect that most kids would grow too frustrated to keep playing long before they ever reach the credits.
Speaking of platformers, the release of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time has prompted an examination of the difficulty of the series. The consensus seems to be that, of the original trilogy, the first Crash Bandicoot game is the hardest with the third entry Crash Bandicoot: Warped being the easiest. I can certainly testify to this as I can vividly remember completing Crash Bandicoot: Warped multiple times as a kid but not once completing the original game (although that may partially be due to the save system in the first Crash Bandicoot).
The Crash Bandicoot series are unusual 3D platformers in that they eschew the world exploration of the Mario or Spyro series and, instead, feature side-scrolling levels like in traditional 2D platformers but also 3D levels where you are running either away from or toward the camera. Ignoring the completionist aspects of the game such as collecting gems or time trials, many levels require precise platforming in order to progress through them. Just like in the Mega Man series, if you lose enough lives, you will be kicked back to the beginning of the level (if you want a particularly brutal example, check out this YouTube video).
Finally, I would like to mention Cuphead, a brilliant run-and-gun game that features a delightful art-style in the same vein as cartoons from the 1930s. However, upon playing the game you very quickly realise how difficult the game is with the many bosses of the game providing the meat of the challenge. I have a very vivid memory of sitting down to a Christmas meal and all I could think about was the dragon boss from the second island who I had already spent an hour and a half fighting over and over.
I’m always entertained by how art style can paint your perception of a game and how quickly it can be broken upon playing the game. Many game series that look particularly kid-oriented are, in fact, some of the hardest games you can ever play. Let me know your thoughts on these types of games, any games where the art-style of the game deceived you into thinking that it was easier than it actually was and any other game series that you think fall into this category.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.