Some Nintendo 64 games are difficult all the way through, some slowly ramp up the difficulty as the player progresses, and then some just have that one level that lives eternally in the nightmares of fans everywhere.
There is no shame in falling to these seemingly-impossible levels over and over again, nor is there any shame in never getting past them, really. However, those who find a way beyond their brutal and unforgiving confines should wear it as a badge of honor, because beating any one of them is no joke.
8 Aztec – Goldeneye
Goldeneye is generally remembered for the way its multiplayer mode laid the groundwork for the ascent of the FPS genre, but it also had a story mode that was both a ton of fun and at times agonizingly difficult.
Aztec is easily the most challenging of all the levels in story mode, and that challenge can hardly even be tempered by manually turning down the difficulty setting. Between the dizzying labyrinthine corridors, the flurries of deadeye Moonraker-wielding guards, and the looming fight with the absolutely OP Jaws, it makes for a truly brutal final stage.
7 Rainbow Ride – Super Mario 64
Tick Tock Clock could easily have made its way onto a list of the most difficult Nintendo 64 levels ever crafted, but Rainbow Ride edges it out by just a hair. While both levels often result in players frustratingly falling down to the beginning of the stage over and over, Rainbow Ride is a lot less forgiving. Simply put, it's one of the hardest Mario levels ever.
Patience is key in Rainbow Ride, and yet something about that slow-paced magic carpet ride up to the top of the level makes any kind of patience seem impossible. And if a player is patient enough to make their way to their destination only to discover that the star they seek is elsewhere? Nothing but pain.
6 The Water Temple – The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
It’s the most notorious temple in the storied history of The Legend of Zelda and that’s the case for very good reason. This thing isn’t just tricky and trying, it can be downright tedious.
There are undoubtedly certain masters of Miyamoto's masterpiece out there who can run through this temple with their eyes closed, but for everyone else, it seems like no matter how much experience they have in this forsaken puddle, it still has a way of twisting a player’s brain into knots, leaving them endlessly altering the water levels (not one of Zelda's best mechanics, to say the least) in a fruitless attempt to stave off total madness.
5 Chapter 8: It’s War – Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Conker’s Bad Fur Dayis deceptive in many ways. It’s a colorful cartoon platformer starring a familiar face from Diddy Kong Racing, yet it’s got a Mature rating and it's full of sex, violence, and toilet humor. It also comes off as silly and unserious, yet packs a serious punch as far as the level of difficulty goes.
Rare must have figured that their mature audience was going to need a more serious challenge to appreciate this unusual yet awesome title. "Chapter 8: It’s War" is probably the best example of their efforts. In a parody of Saving Private Ryan, players are sent out to reenact D-Day, only while controlling an irreverent cartoon squirrel rather than a human soldier. Let’s just say the odds of survival are hyperrealistic.
4 Ord Mantell Junkyard – Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire
There are more than a few other levels in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire that can qualify as one of the hardest in Nintendo 64’s history. "Sewers of the Imperial City" and "Gall Spaceport" come to mind. However, there’s something about the inability to stop and take a single breath throughout the majority of "Ord Mantell Junkyard" that makes it perhaps the most stressful and difficult of them all.
On top of being forced to traverse a series of ever-moving train platforms with enemies and deadly obstacles at every turn, players also need to face the dreaded IG-88 when all is said and done. In that single boss fight, the game becomes a survivor horror title.
3 Greenwood Village (Silver Coin Challenge) – Diddy Kong Racing
The most notoriously difficult part of Diddy Kong Racing is the dreaded race against Wizpig, but there are plenty of other moments that border on inhumane. While the second race against Bubbler the Octopus is a clear candidate, most of the other super tricky parts come from the Silver Coin Challenges rather than any boss battles.
Of all the hardest silver coin-collecting moments, Greenwood Village stands tall among the rest. It’s not really feasible to collect every coin in a single lap, so players have to take their time, pick their spots, and be sure to stay within striking distance of first place so that they’re not left in the dust when all the coins are in tow and its go time. It sounds simple, but it isn’t.
2 Out Of This World 3 – Glover
Glover is a strange concept for a platformer, and although it’s not lauded as an N64 classic, it does have its faithful following. Tumbling around on a ball as an anthropomorphic glove is not for everyone, and it’s for even fewer people when doing so is wonky and difficult.
It isn’t just the controls that make this game tough, either. It has a collecting element that can drive players nuts as they attempt to navigate increasingly trickier levels. And once they hit the final realm in Out of This World, things can get downright infuriating. Completing the final act of this world requires an iron constitution, and at least a dozen lives.
1 Alien Comet 2016 – Body Harvest
Many fans of Body Harvest are the type who appreciates a grueling challenge in their gaming experience. From the very beginning, players are tasked with downing an onslaught of alien insects with very few save points to offer them a reprieve. Simply getting to the final level is a brutal exercise, but beating it is something even more harrowing than that.
The lack of save points is always a problem in this game, but the true challenge in Alien Comet 2016 is the merciless number of enemies that must be downed to move forward. Learning where they are and where they’re not is the first step, but it only gets harder after that.