History Main / NintendoHard

* Stiff, clunky, and perhaps somewhat unresponsive controls (but ''only'' when applied to the original 8-bit, 16-bit, and (to a small extent) 32-bit generations; in more modern games, it ceases to be expected and veers right into FakeDifficulty.)

'''When you add examples, please be sure to read the following sentence:''' If you feel inclined to add the words "for this troper" or "could be considered" and cannot make a strong statement on the universal difficulty of the game in question, '''[[Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope then it is not an example]].'''

* Little to no hand-holding. [[GuideDangIt Objectives are vague]], and [[TalkToEveryone you are expected to figure them out on your own]]. If the game teaches you any of the mechanics at all, it's through a WakeUpCallBoss or a [[DifficultySpike particularly nasty]] NoobBridge.

** Even worse, [[PointOfNoContinues no more continues once you get to the homestretch]].[[note]]On [[UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame Arcade Games]] (where mostly seen) that was meant to prevent excessive credit-feeding, a practice deemed very unprofessional.[[/note]]

* [[FinalDeath Death being final]] for your teammates or character and [[DeletionAsPunishment having all your saves deleted]] if you die.

Since games costed a fair amount of money at the time, and could usually be beaten in 15 minutes if you knew what you were doing, a game that was easy had little value. It was simply not possible to make very long games in the modern style that take hours to beat even if you are good. So games had to be difficult so players would feel they got their money's worth.

** Even worse, [[PointOfNoContinues no more continues once you begin to get close to the end]].[[note]]On [[UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame Arcade Games]] (where mostly seen) that was meant to prevent excessive credit-feeding, a practice deemed very unprofessional.[[/note]]

Also, remember that by "hard", [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant we're only talking about the difficulty in playing the game]]. While Nintendo products themselves are ''physically'' hard (to break, which is [[TantrumThrowing fortunate when playing games like this]]), that's not this trope but TonkaTough. And the fact that several classic Nintendo games are [[http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.1895 NP-]][[http://www.i-programmer.info/news/112-theory/3896-classic-nintendo-games-are-np-hard.html hard]] is not relevant either.

The [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/rankings?platform=0&genre=0&list_type=diff&view_type=0&dlc=0&min_votes=1 difficulty rankings]] section of [=GameFAQs=] is a good measure of a game's difficulty as long as it has a sufficiently large number (50+) of difficulty votes. The minimum threshold for Nintendo Hard is approximately 3.50, and those that average over 4.00 are among the hardest games in existence. (Note: it is effectively a [[FourPointScale 2.5-4.0 scale]])

* [[CheckPointStarvation Few--if any--Check Points or Save Points]].

The UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was known for two things: [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 reviving home console gaming]] and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick having ridiculously difficult games]].

** Or if the difficulty levels actually are fair, there may be an unlockable difficulty level that [[HarderThanHard makes Easy, Normal, and even Hard look like child's play]].

* [[FinalDeath Death being final]] for your teammates or character and having your all your saves deleted if you die.

** Even worse, [[PointOfNoContinues no more continues once you begin to get close to the end or are playing any of the "Harder than Hard" extra loops]].

'''When you add examples, please be sure to read the following sentence:''' If you feel inclined to add the words "for ThisTroper" or "could be considered" and cannot make a strong statement on the universal difficulty of the game in question, '''[[Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope then it is not an example]].'''

Also, remember that by "hard", [JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant we're only talking about the difficulty in playing the game]]. While Nintendo products themselves are ''physically'' hard (to break, which is [[TantrumThrowing fortunate when playing games like this]]), that's not this trope but TonkaTough. And the fact that several classic Nintendo games are [[http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.1895 NP-]][[http://www.i-programmer.info/news/112-theory/3896-classic-nintendo-games-are-np-hard.html hard]] is not relevant either.

Contrary to the claims of some derisors, modern Nintendo games can still be Nintendo Hard, though it's rather rare.

Nintendo products themselves are physically ''very hard'' (to break, which is [[TantrumThrowing fortunate when playing games like this]]), but that's TonkaTough, not Nintendo Hard.

Apparently several classic Nintendo games are, in general, [[http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.1895 NP-]][[http://www.i-programmer.info/news/112-theory/3896-classic-nintendo-games-are-np-hard.html hard]], which is also not the same, but interesting.

The contrapositive corollary is SequelDifficultyDrop.

->'''Cranky Kong:''' You call these games hard? Bah! I was beating games with ''twice'' the difficulty these had before any of you were born!

* Little to no hand-holding. Where the game will not teach you any of the mechanics or have any arrows pointing to the objectives.

'''When you add examples, please be sure to read the following sentence:''' If you feel inclined to add the words "for ThisTroper" or "could be considered" and cannot make a strong statement on the universal difficulty of the game in question, '''[[SquarePegRoundTrope then it is not an example]].'''

The first UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was known for two things: [[UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 reviving home console gaming]] and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick having ridiculously difficult games]].

* A hero who can survive very few hits -- often dying from even the [[OneHitPointWonder slightest scratch]].

** [[DenialOfDiagonalAttack The inability to attack anywhere but left or right]] while GoddamnedBats swarmed you from up and down of your position. Most games with this setup even denied you crouching to take out the enemies that crawled under your shots.

Back in the '80s, video games didn't have today's sophisticated storylines. {{Excuse Plot}}s were the norm. Therefore, much of the feeling of accomplishment one could get from playing them was from overcoming the insane difficulty that they provided, if only so that one could {{brag|gingRightsReward}} about it to their friends. [[GoddamnedBats A plethora of enemies]] and difficult jumps were not just the name of the game, they ''were'' the game. And these games weren't just hard; they were ''[[TitleDrop Nintendo Hard!]]''

Back in the '80s, video games didn't have today's sophisticated storylines; {{Excuse Plot}}s were the norm. Therefore, much of the feeling of accomplishment one could get from playing them was from overcoming the insane difficulty that they provided, if only so that one could {{brag|gingRightsReward}} about it to their friends. [[GoddamnedBats A plethora of enemies]] and difficult jumps were not just the name of the game, they ''were'' the game. And these games weren't just hard; they were ''[[TitleDrop Nintendo Hard!]]''

Back in the '80s, video games didn't have today's advanced storylines; {{Excuse Plot}}s were the norm. So much of the feeling of accomplishment one could derive was from overcoming the insane difficulty that the games provided, if only so one could {{brag|gingRightsReward}} to one's friends. [[GoddamnedBats A plethora of enemies]] and difficult jumps were not just the name of the game, they ''were'' the game. These games weren't just hard; they were ''[[TitleDrop Nintendo Hard!]]''

* [[CheckPointStarvation Lack of, or very few Check Points or Save Points]].
* A limited number of [[VideoGameLives lives]] and/or continues -- or no continues at all.