There is a reason why the phrase "Nintendo hard" has entered the lexicon of gamers over the company's history. The Japanese company became known primarily in the NES and SNES days for making difficult games, sometimes because of their challenging nature and sometimes because of their impossible, broken gameplay.
Although modern Nintendo games don't always fit neatly into this category, they often still manage to fit in some high-difficulty elements that lead to them being relatively easy to beat but difficult to 100% finish. Fully completing Nintendo games, both old and new, takes plenty of patience from completists, making for a whole new kind of "Nintendo hard" to frustrate players.
10 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In addition to having a massive roster of characters to unlock, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also boasts an enormous story mode called the World of Light that players can sink plenty of time into. The trophies of past series entries aren't present here, but World of Light does see players unlocking spirits.
These spirits are based on characters from dozens of gaming franchises both well-known and obscure, and there are over 1000 to collect total, with more being added as updates are released. With so much content and the many unique and difficult challenges of the World of Light, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate takes some effort to fully finish.
9 Super Mario World
The Super Mario series has consistently held up the bar of "Nintendo hard" from its early days to even its most recent entries, and its post-game content is famous for difficulty spikes. With the use of secret star roads in the highly acclaimed Super Mario World, players can access some of the toughest levels that game has to offer.
Total completion of this game requires players to take on the Star World, levels with hidden exits that players must search for, and the Special Zone, the game's ultimate challenge. With levels like the notorious "Tubular," the Special Zone has some of the hardest platforming in any Mario game.
8 Donkey Kong Country Returns
Much like the original Donkey Kong Country, the Wii title Donkey Kong Country Returns has become known for its difficulty, bringing back the "Nintendo hard" spirit of the classic game. With over sixty levels featuring platforming, minecart riding, and boss battling, the game's main story presents a challenge in itself.
After completing that story, though, players will unlock the Golden Temple level, which requires some precise platforming and itself unlocks the game's Mirror Mode, which has Donkey Kong running mirrored levels with only one health. The game also features puzzle pieces and "KONG" letters to collect in every level, making 100% completion a daunting task.
7 Punch-Out!! (2009)
Nearly every entry in the long-running Punch-Out!! franchise is renowned for its challenging gameplay and increasingly difficult series of bosses. Much like the other games in the series, this Wii title sees players taking on the role of Little Mac as he fights his way through the ranks of boxing.
Once becoming champion, though, Little Mac must defend his title in the significantly more difficult Title Defense mode, where every boxer he has faced returns with more complicated moves and patterns. The game's Mac's Last Stand mode is even harder, requiring players who have already completed the game twice to face an endless supply of boxers and risk losing access to career mode entirely.
6 Pokémon Platinum
As the Pokémon franchise grows, completing the Pokédex becomes more and more of a challenge in the games where it is possible to do so. With hundreds of creatures to collect, completists have their work cut out for them from Gen 3 onward, arguably, but Gen 4 may offer the most difficult tests.
In addition to having nearly 500 creatures to collect, Pokémon Platinum has a large amount of post-game content, including some very difficult challenges for players after the credits roll. From a Battle Frontier to conquer to an advanced version of the Elite Four culminating with a battle against the notoriously strong Cynthia and her team, this game offers plenty of challenges for fans.
5 Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
One of the biggest and most acclaimed games on the Nintendo Switch is also one of the hardest to 100% complete. Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild changes the Zelda formula by granting players an enormous open world to explore, and with that vast expanse comes many tasks to do and collectibles to find.
Due to the sheer size of Hyrule, players have a long list of tasks to complete if they want to see everything in the game, from conquering every puzzling shrine to collecting every hidden Korok seed. Players who want to complete the game's DLC, too, will have even more challenges ahead, as they add difficult challenge trials and new game modes.
4 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Famously one of the hardest platforming games ever, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was originally released as the sequel to the original Super Mario Bros. in Japan. With a huge difficulty spike from the first game, The Lost Levels has gone down in history as a poster child for "Nintendo hard" games.
The game is not as long as more modern platformers of the same kind, but it brings enough difficulty that completing it is challenging even for masters of the genre. Plus, completists will want to complete the game as both Mario and the more difficult-to-control Luigi, adding an extra challenge to the game's many trials.
3 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Despite its cute appearance, the Animal Crossing franchise has always presented quite a challenge for completists looking to fully complete the games. With so much to see, do, and collect, most games in the series require hundreds of hours of gameplay to get everything done, and that's not even mentioning the customization options.
As the newest game in the franchise, New Horizons is also one of the biggest, with new exploration and crafting options adding tons of content to the series. New Horizons is also periodically updated with new features to explore and items to collect, making it a game that may take years to play to 100% completion.
2 F-Zero GX
The F-Zero franchise may not be as well-known today, but in previous console generations, this racing series consistently contained the most difficult Nintendo games on the market. F-Zero GX for the GameCube continues this trend with its high-speed thrills and collection of tricky tracks.
In addition to a challenging story mode and the grueling process of memorizing the tracks to be able to tackle them at full speed, the game also has plenty to unlock. From new tracks and vehicles to time trials and staff ghosts, there is plenty to unlock and always another challenge around the corner.
1 Super Mario Galaxy 2
Across the Mario franchise, completists have always found challenges when it comes to completing the game's later levels, especially post-game content that throws countless obstacles at the Italian plumber. The modern epitome of this is arguably in Super Mario Galaxy 2, which challenges players with intense late-game levels.
After completing the game's main story, dozens of new power stars become available to collect, adding new tasks and levels to the game. Some of these levels have very steep requirements, such as completing them without getting hit once, and the Grandmaster Galaxy is often considered one of the hardest levels in the franchise.
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June 21, 2021 at 12:00AM
