History Main / EarlyGameHell

* The original ''[[VideoGame/{{Medabots}} Medarot]]'' starts rough. You only have one Medabots at this stage and since the game ends if you don't have any spare Medabots in reserve after a loss, every loss after the tutorial battle will result in a GameOver. Despite this, the game has no qualms about subjecting the player to 2 v 1 fights (including a trap triggered by talking to a random NPC) and some battles may as well be a LuckBasedMission. This is felt as early as the opening battle with Cyandog, who can sometimes knock out the player in two turns without there being a way to prevent it. This is more pronounced in the Kuwagata/Rokusho version because while Kabuto/Metabee has a powerful missile attack for his head part, the Kuwagata head only has a useless (at this stage) sensor function and it derives its striking power from frail arm parts, Since there is no secondary Medabot to draw away fire or provide support boosts, it's very difficult to get through the first town and acquire your second Tinpet (at this point which the difficulty evens out) without swapping parts.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'': The first levels are probably the hardest (which makes sense; you actually ''are'' in Hell, after all). Pit starts out with a tiny health bar and a [[WithThisHerring weak bow]] with poor range. The first levels also scroll upward, and due to RatchetScrolling you die if you fall past the bottom of the screen. Once you've completed those levels though, most likely gaining some health and weapon upgrades along the way, it gets much easier. [[LampshadeHanging Pit and Palutena even reference it]] in ''[[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Uprising]]''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has the infamous Whitney battle which is the third gym the player faces along with being a noticeable DifficultySpike and ThatOneBoss. Unlike the previous remake [=FireRed and LeafGreen=] which added mechanics and moveset changes to make battles easier[[note]]an example being Charmander learning Metal Claw to have an easier time defeating the Pewter City Gym[[/note]], [=HeartGold and SoulSilver=] made the battle harder where using a Ghost-type Pokémon will not provide an immunity to Miltank's Stomp due to her Ability Scrappy which allows Normal and Fighting-type attacks to hit Ghost-types. Whitney's Miltank still uses the Attract strategy in her rematch in the Fighting Dojo in [=HeartGold and SoulSilver=] but this optional battle takes place post-Hall of Fame where the player will have access to a lot more Pokemon.

* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'': You essentially have to stealth your way through the entire early game until you get your prosthetics and Gourd Seeds, as you have such little health that getting hit once by anything can instakill you and you have basically no healing at the start. In addition, dodging attacks is not the be-all-end-all like in the ''Soulsborne'' games, and you will likely find yourself screaming "DamnYouMuscleMemory" after you reflexively try to dodge through an attack that must be deflected or jumped over, only to get flattened due to your severe lack of i-frames. And the worst part is that the only way to increase your health or attack power is by beating the bosses and minibosses, so you can't just spend a few hours LevelGrinding in order to bulldoze your way through with an overleveled character if you're having trouble, you really do have to "[[MemeticMutation git gud]]".

** ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'' similarly starts you out with a few levels as a BadassNormal, made challenging by the fact that in this game blasters really are clumsy and random, and the Stormtroopers have apparently learned to shoot straight. Few descriptions of it do it justice: the game is ''very'' stingy with ammo and health; expect to be a OneHitPointWonder with OneBulletLeft being ''constantly'' shredded to pieces by stormtroopers with better aim than [[Creator/MarvelComics Hawkeye]] and [[Creator/DCComics Deadshot]] combined. ''You will cry like a baby. Repeatedly.'' Getting hold of your lightsaber, even with the weak starting skills, is a palpable relief.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': You only start with three hearts at the start of the game, and after the easy-by-comparison Hyrule Castle and Eastern Palace, you'll commonly run into enemies that can do at least two hearts of damage. Combined with the prolonged threat of Collision Damage due to the regular sword's short range, the early game can be quite stressful. This doesn't end after you obtain the Master Sword either, as you're thrown into the Dark World not long after, which is where the game really stops pulling punches. You will quickly learn to value every heart you have, and it's up to you to have a Fairy or Red Medicine prepared when the damage adds up.

* The hardest boss in the first ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' is the Butcher, encountered at level 2 and quite capable of surviving all your mana potions and staff charges and killing you in two hits.

*** The game can be grueling when you start off on the Great Plateau, as you only have three hearts of health, flimsy old clothes for armor, and are reliant on anything you can pick up off the ground for weapons and shields (likely a lowly tree branch, to start). Enemies are smart and will swarm you if they spot you, forcing you to be cautious and clever if you hope to best your foes, at least until you can get better equipment and upgrade your life bar. You may also face a Blue Bokoblin and a Decayed Guardian; in regular mode, as long as you keep your health at max, you can [[LastChanceHitPoint survive a one-hit kill]], although taking too long to heal immediately would result in a Game Over. It is even crazier in [=BotW=]'s Master Mode, with making the enemies stronger (enough to OneHitKO you on top of losing the LastChanceHitPoint clause in this mode), more capable of seeing past your stealth efforts, and even adding Sky Octoroks and a Silver Lynel.

** ''VideoGame/JediKnightII'' similarly starts you out with a few levels as a BadassNormal, made challenging by the fact that in this game blasters really are clumsy and random, and the Stormtroopers have apparently learned to shoot straight. Few descriptions of it do it justice: the game is ''very'' stingy with ammo and health; expect to be a OneHitPointWonder with OneBulletLeft being ''constantly'' shredded to pieces by stormtroopers with better aim than [[Creator/MarvelComics Hawkeye]] and [[Creator/DCComics Deadshot]] combined. ''You will cry like a baby. Repeatedly.'' Getting hold of your lightsaber, even with the weak starting skills, is a palpable relief.

* ''VideoGame/BattlePrincessOfArcadias'' has three different types of levels: Combat for taking on enemies, Sieges for boss fights, and Skirmishes for army vs army battles. The first few levels consists of one Combat zone, one Siege, and two Skirmishes in a row with the second Skirmish being much more difficult than the first and none of the levels are very good for grinding to be able to strengthen the characters and brigades very quickly. After that Skirmish, the level variety and experience curve balance out and most of the rest of the game becomes much easier.

** While ''[[TabletopGame/BaldursGateDescentIntoAvernus Descent into Avernus]]'' isn't quite as bad as others, the first real combat encounter is a fight involving a bandit crew, consisting seven bandits, and a Bandit Leader, who is able to make three attacks and can easily kill any player character without trouble. Unless the players recruit help from inside the tavern, its very likely to be a TotalPartyKill.

** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' hits you with this as well. While there exist certain Personas and abilities that make the early bosses cake ([[GuideDangIt Good luck with that]]), the low power and small party options will turn against you very quickly. After about the second dungeon, it gets easier.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is a good example of this trope. In just the first five chapters of the game, it is possible to get a GameOver if the player is careless with their planning. The boss of the third chapter is one of the first to use a throne for an evade boost, and he can take advantage of it quite well. Roy, the game's Lord, can be frustrating to level early on due to his speed issues. Weapon accuracy also adds to the game's difficulty early on. Chapter 4 is often considered one of the hardest, due to its large size, multiple objectives, and enemies that (on Hard) are juuuust fast enough that CrutchCharacter Marcus can't double them.

* ''VideoGame/OneWorld'' starts the player off with only four hearts and walking around actually depletes energy in this game, so there's not much exploration that can be done. It improves a little bit after completing the events in Calisson and the player receives a fifth heart, but a good portion of the game's difficulty in the beginning is growing enough crops to ship and unlock their seeds in various stores, as well as having a supply to use for cooking, so the player can keep their health up for longer over the course of the day.

* ''[[WebAnimation/MadnessCombat Madness: Project Nexus]]'': intentionally invokes this in it's Arena Mode. You start out as a bog-standard {{Mook}} with near-identical combat capabilities to any other generic mook in the game, that is to say, basically none. Once you've leveled up a decent amount, you'll be able to make mincemeat of most enemies with increasing style and ease.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis''. The reason? The RecurringBoss the title alludes to. The first encounter Jill has with this ten-foot-tall brick shithouse is '''by far''' the hardest, since you only have a pistol (and, if you know the game, a shotgun, a few herbs and a health spray) but Nemesis' total health is constant in all encounters - which is to say, very high. It's a fight that's guaranteed to give trouble even to veterans of the series. By the time the second encounter rolls by, you've already got far more healing items and one of the two high-powered guns the game has to offer, and Nemesis will often favor standing back and rocketing you instead of breathing down your neck[[note]]at least until he runs out of ammo[[/note]], and you can disrupt his aim by shooting him. Even the mandatory boss fight with him mid-to-late game, where you're permanently poisoned, is several degrees of magnitude easier.

** ''Might and Magic I'' starts you off in the town of Sorpigal, where your party with its low attack accuracy and weak starting equipment will struggle against even the weak monsters on the town's streets. Especially bad are the sprites, who can completely decimate even a fully healed-up party with their high speed, magic defense, and curse ability, which weakens the entire party's defense against attacks.

* A lot of the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' games can leave you with frustration. You start off with one or two recipes, you often find low quality ingredients, and equipment is hard to come by, if at all. And you can be on a strict time limit even early on. Once you get more recipes, figured out where the best ingredients are, and know the right combinations, you can start kicking some serious butt.

*** The biggest and most notable example in the whole game is easily Tomb Kings, particularly Settra the Imperishable's campaign. While Tomb King units are virtually free and have no upkeep, their buildings and research are ''ludicrously'' expensive and take a long time to reach, and their basic units are crappy skeletons that can't really do much other than blob enemies. However, once they getting their upper-tier constructs like Ushabti, they quickly steamroll the other factions in short order.

** ''Might and Magic I'' started you off in the town of Sorpigal, where your party with its low attack accuracy and weak starting equipment would struggle against even the weak monsters on the town's streets. Especially bad were the sprites, who could completely decimate even a fully healed-up party with their high speed, magic defense, and curse ability, which weakened the entire party's defense against attacks.

* ''VideoGame/MarioGolf'' on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube are difficult to play for the first time due to 80% of the characters being locked and forcing you to use weaker characters who cannot hit the ball very far. To unlock better characters, you have to beat them in a head to head competition and the rivals will ''always'' have hit the ball farther than you.