What's the level you hate in the game you love?

This is a current discussion on the avclub: What’s the level you hate in a game you love?

Everyone complains about the water temple in Ocarina of Time but I know that level like the back of my hand. Easy stuff.

What makes me crazy is the jumping ostriches level in The Lion King, or any part of that game really. Why is it so hard?! And the final temple in Link to the Past is so difficult. You have to go through a ton of rooms before getting to the boss and you barely have hearts left when you get there.

Thoughts?

 

This is going to be a great thread.

 

The worst part of the water temple was having to equip/un-equip those metal boots that allowed you to sink, one of the best things about the 3DS version was allowing them to be put in an item slot to be tapped on and off, made that temple a breeze.

edit: oh any of those button-tapping torture sequences from any metal gear game (metal gear solid and peace walker come to mind immediately)

 

Rom, the Vacuous Spider almost made me quit Bloodborne. The only boss I needed to summon help on

 

Any of the escape sequences in Ori and the Blind Forest

The unique save mechanic in that game made it so that while there were some challenging parts, it never got too frustrating because once you got past a hard part you could generally just make a save point and not have to do it again.

But then those escape sequences you lose that ability and have to do the same parts over and over, with the added time pressure... suddenly what was a fairly relaxing platformer has turned into a punishing one and I'm left getting eventually frustrated.

 

The speeder bike level in Battletoads. Is there even any game after that? I never found out. Similarly, the NES TMNT electric seaweed water level.

 

Call of Duty 4 on Veteran: No Fighting in the War Room. Incredibly frustrating to get through within the time limit.

 

Holy shit you just brought back hours of pain and frustration me and my best friend at the time had. We were so stoked when we beat that game together.

We were shattered when Gaz got shot during the ending.

 

Incredibly frustrating, but so rewarding once you finally got through it.

I literally screamed and ran around my house yelling when I finally got the Mile High Club achievement.

Never again lol

 

Gravemind in Halo 2. It's so repetitive and tedious, especially on the harder difficulties.

 

I would definitely not call this I game I love haha, but holy hell I can't count how many times I started up this game as a kid knowing that I would inevitably die at the electric seaweed. I vaguely remember getting past it once or twice, but I had very little health left and couldn't make it far.

Is your username an Under the Influence of Giants reference? I remember you from AP and I always meant to ask you that.

 

Oh yeah I forgot about the "...in a game you love" qualifier. Cause TMNT tried pretty hard to make me actively hate it haha

 

Yes! I heard one of their songs in 2004 on S1 of Veronica Mars and became a fan.

 

I love that album so much. I wish they would have stuck around for one or two more. I enjoy some AWOLNATION, but nowhere near as much as I loved UTIOG.

 

The areas in RE4 with the stupid invisible bugs

 

all the sea travel in wind waker
i was freaked out, especially when it was just a perpetual storm for like an entire segment of the game

 

Bunker 2 and Caverns in Goldeneye on 00.
Toxic Tower in Donkey Kong Country 2.

Those three haunt me.

 

Control in Goldeneye, guarding Natalia while she hacks that computer always stressed me out

 

Every water map in Mario.

 

This may hold the crown forever.

 

any of those 1 vs. 3 mario party games where you had to rapidly spin the N64 control stick with the palm of your hand.

 

My palm hurts thinking about this.

 

I had a recent experience like this when I was playing a game called Kholat. I had been stuck in an incredibly dark cave with no flashlight for about and hour and a half, irl I hadn't taken a break, and I finally find the end and I pick up a note and suddenly the screen turns starch white so I can read the note and my fucking eyes start burning like I'd put hot coals on them. I literally couldn't go back to the game, I had to turn the lights on and wait for my eyes to readjust.