While Konami hasn't been putting out quite as many games as they once did back in the 90s and early 2000s, there's no denying that they are still one of the biggest developers and publishers within the industry, having a plethora of iconic games in their vast catalog. While a lot of their games are easy to jump into and enjoy, considering just how long Konami has been around, it's more or less inevitable that at least a few of their games would end up being extremely challenging, and sometimes, downright brutal in their overall difficulty.
The majority of the time, this unforgiving challenge is an intentional aspect of the game which has been implemented by the developers to appeal to a more "hardcore" audience, but sometimes, a few strange gimmicks and uneven mechanics can also inevitably tip the scales a little too far. It's time to take a closer look at the hardest Konami games ever released, and what fans feel makes them so difficult in the first place.
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7 Saw 2: Flesh And Blood
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.38
- Release Date: October 2010
- Developer: Zombie Studios
- Publishers: Konami
Set between the first and second films, Saw 2 puts players in the shoes of Michael, who is trying to uncover the mystery behind his father's death which occurred during the events of the first film. The combat is quite unique as it encourages the player to use traps in the environment to stop any pursuers from reaching them, but there's also a very basic melee system which is very tricky to get the hang of considering how perfect the button inputs need to be when attacking the extremely durable enemies.
The game is also packed full of quick time events, to the point where it feels as though one is literally placed around every corner, and while it does add an extra layer of tension to the gameplay, the time to actually execute the correct input is so short that it's almost impossible to avoid them on a first try. The game itself also feels very unresponsive and clunky in its controls which makes controlling Michael, and actually being able to attack enemies, much harder than it needs to be.
6 Azure Dreams
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.62
Azure Dreams is an RPG that was actually very innovative for its time, primarily because of how it used randomly generated maps to freshen up the dungeon crawling experience which had started becoming a little played out. However, what this also means is there's always a chance that a group of absurdly powerful monsters can attack the player and their party at any moment, making it incredibly unpredictable and a real challenge if the player gets unlucky with the map given to them.
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Even progressing through a few floors of the tower can be a brutal experience, with many people going as far as to liken it to Dark Souls in the sense that the player can expect to die less and less the more time they put into the game. Still, this level of grinding and perseverance definitely isn't for everyone, but any seasoned RPG fans who are looking for a new challenge to sink their teeth into should definitely try it out.
5 7 Blades
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.67
- Release Date: September 2001
- Developer: Konami
- Publishers: Konami
Based on the Japanese film Zipang which was released in 1990, 7 Blades is a fast-paced action adventure game where players take control of a clumsy but good-hearted mercenary known as Gokurakumaru, who's accompanied by the gun-wielding Oyuri who helps him out during combat encounters. The game essentially plays like a retro hack n' slash title, but because of just how many enemies are thrown the player's way, it makes each and every encounter extremely difficult to overcome, even if Gokurakumaru's swords rival Cloud's Buster Sword when it comes to size.
The small arenas where these fights take place are so closed off that it also makes it hard to maneuver around the enemies, and while Oyuri can keep a few of them at bay with her pistol, she ultimately isn't strong enough to deal much of any damage. The idea of making every battle, no matter how unimportant it might be to the story, as arduous and difficult as possible definitely makes the gameplay engaging and very rewarding, but it can also easily turn off any newcomers to the genre.
4 Ring Of Red
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.82
Konami decided to steer a little outside their comfort zone when they developed and published Ring of Red, an RTS game which contains quite a few very complex and in-depth mechanics that help it stand out from its peers. However, these immersive systems can also make battles a lot harder, such as how every unit's accuracy will be much worse at night, or random pieces of terrain like trees and hills being able to randomly cancel out an attack on an enemy.
There's also just a lot of risk and reward based mechanics which can be especially difficult to use effectively, especially the Maximum Attacks which are incredibly powerful, but can only be used a certain number of times in each mission. Pair this with some extremely difficult mission objectives, and AI enemies who are always one step ahead of the player, and it results in undoubtedly one of the hardest RTS titles ever released for the PlayStation 2.
3 Contra
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.89
Contra is often considered to be one of the most influential games of all time, but while it eventually grew to become immensely popular, its core gameplay is actually extremely difficult. Each level has its own power ups which can help the player with taking down some of the tougher enemies, and the reason these become absolutely essential for making it out alive is because one hit in this game will kill the player outright, so there really is no room for mistakes.
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Considering that brutally hard games were all the rage during the lifespan of the NES, it makes sense that Konami would want to hop on the trend, but Contra is so difficult that it essentially forces the player to die multiple times over to learn the layout of its levels before trying again. As mentioned before, the Power Up Capsules definitely make the game a lot easier, but actually reaching these is a challenge in and of itself.
2 Castlevania
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 4.09
Castlevania
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance , Nintendo Entertainment System , PC , Switch , PS4
- Released
- May 1, 1987
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Genre(s)
- Action , Platformer
Arguably the game that really put Konami on the map, the first Castlevania blew players away with its gothic art style and aesthetic, but what also stood out to a lot of people was just how challenging it was to actually play. While the game is fairly short in length, each of the 18 areas will truly test the player's skill and perseverance, not only due to the tricky platforming sections, but also the enemies, which can sometimes feel outright unfair in how they act.
Simon does at least have a whip that he can use to break items and attack any enemies that try to get close to him, but because it has a fairly slow start up to its animation, it makes it very difficult to use it effectively without a lot of practice beforehand. Some enemies are also ridiculously fast which can make it almost impossible to react to them in time, with a prime example of this being the bats who will swarm Simon the moment they appear on screen. There are a few collectibles and special items that can be acquired, but these are very often hidden away in the most obscure of places, despite how ueseful they can be in combat.
1 Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 4.15
Considered by many to be the hardest game ever released for the NES, the difficulty of Castlevania 3 was tinkered around for the North American release, which ended up making that version far too challenging. The amount of damage that the enemies deal to Trevor feels pretty ridiculous, and this especially applies to the bosses who are virtually impossible to beat without first dying multiple times to figure out their attack patterns and special gimmicks.
Because the levels are also extremely long and full of unfair platforming sections, it almost feels like the game was designed in a way to make the player give up, but this is ultimately what has made it so enticing to a lot of fans who want to overcome the ultimate challenge. Stages 7 and 9 are infamous for being the hardest of the bunch, with a lot of people dropping the game upon reaching them due to the hordes of tanky enemies and brutal platforming sections. Castlevania 3 is still a fan-favorite game that features an amazing art style and iconic music tracks, but the difficulty shouldn't have ever been as hard as it ended up becoming.
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