Most pointlessly frustrating gaming moments

[DomsBeard]

Shao Kahn in MK9 a ridiculously cheap as chips boss that nearly made me smash a pad in pieces. Brianiac is on a similar line in Injustice 2.

[Stanshall]

Even Breath of the Wild managed to crowbar both in, too. Bloody awful. I would say that the follow mission is the absolute nadir of gaming. There was one early in FFXV where you had to track some boss creature for about ten minutes, maybe more, and then I fucking died instantly in the fight, blew myself and all the lads up with some explosive barrel. I had to do the entire follow section again. I just ejected the disc, put it back in the box, back in the carrier bag I got it in, receipt and all and shoved it down a grid.

[Craig]

The quest to get the couples mask in Majoras Mask. It takes an age to do everything right, even when you're following a guide. I get to the last part with the conveyor belts and..

Well I bottled it. It's a completely new kind of play style and you're not given time to practice so if you don't adapt to it quickly, failure. Which means having to redo a whole lot of quest.

This was made much worse on the N64 version which didn't allow you to save and restart at any moment indefinitely, nor could you skip ahead in time so precisely.

The kicker? The mask you get is cack. It allows you to get a heart piece and... well you need it to get the fierce dirty mask. I did not get this mask.

[ThirdDrawing]

That fucking asteroid section in the first Dead Space.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I was trying really hard to think of something that wasn't just the Lazarević battle in Uncharted 2, because I know I'm not alone in that feeling... but I've been struggling to think of something, so for the moment, that moment.

I'm sure I have better example than that, but I must have exorcised those horrible memories...

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

I echo everyone mentioning any kind of follow mission. They are the work of the devil.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

The Myahm Agana Shrine in Breath Of The Wild can also go f@%k itself.

[James]

That fucking asteroid section in the first Dead Space.

Ugh, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks!

[Craig]

Jet Force Gemini with those horrid Ewoks you had to save and the awkward first person flying robot sections. When I realised I had to do the latter to get to the last boss I just gave up.

[countstex]

Trying to play Dark Souls.

*Runs and hides from almost everyone else, especially Josh.

[KSubzero1000]

Frustrating, I'll give you that.

But pointless? Pointless? ...You and I can settle this like gentlemen, or we can get into some gangster feud!

[countstex]

Frustrating, I'll give you that.

But pointless? Pointless? ...You and I can settle this like gentlemen, or we can get into some gangster feud!

I've spent hours playing DS. Right up to the first boss. Never been past him. I've heard how much enjoyement can be had from exploring the world, but I was prevented by pointlessly hard bosses. I could have played far more enjoyable experiences for my tastes.

I choose loaded banana's at dawn. 20 paces.

[KSubzero1000]

You've got yourself a date, sunshine!

(All in good fun. I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. More power to you!)

[Stanshall]

I spent about eight hours before I beat the first boss in Dark Souls (Taurus Demon, rather than the Asylum Demon) and only persisted because I'd played a bit of Demon's Souls and enjoyed that and had a taste of the exponential gains. Dark Souls is really really not about the difficulty at all, and once you build some momentum, get into the rhythm, level up and upgrade your gear, it starts to get a lot easier. The levelling up basically lets you dictate the game's difficulty.

You can then begin to appreciate the world, the atmosphere, the designs and the richest lore and environmental storytelling in all gaming, for my money. I've almost never been as moved by any game as with the major NPC quests in Dark Souls. For all the chat about TLOU and The Witcher and any number of walking sims (all of which I love), both from a narrative depth and character point of view, I would take Solaire, Artorias/Sif and Onion Bro every time. They also do something which can only be achieved in gaming, directly involving you in their fates, especially with the Artorias/Sif story. Layers upon layers of beauty and melancholy and triumph and failure, and the game doesn't even begin to piece it together for you.

To be totally honest though, I didn't fall in love with it until after I'd played it through once and started reading up on everything I'd missed and not understood and then I played it again and was just knocked out. Essentially, I only started listening to podcasts because of Bonfireside Chat, and then Twin Humanities, which led me to Midnight Resistance and then to Cane and Rinse. I have an awful lot to thank the game for.

If towards the end of my life I could visit Lordran, as horrific and decrepit as it is, I'd go and sit at Firelink Shrine for a long while. Then I'd make the trip to Anor Londo and happily die there in the Sunlight Chamber.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

While many fighting games could be added to this list (most famously from SNK), I'm going to single out Galaxy Fight from 1995, Sunsoft's first attempt at a 2D fighter.

I own the AES version of this game, and despite the game presenting different difficulty settings prior to a fight, it really makes no difference what you select - the odds are not in your favour.

Imagine the cheap boss fights from other fighters; now imagine that every opponent you face was like that. The AI reads all your inputs, covering every possible variation of whatever strategy that you put forward, and that's the joy you can expect from Galaxy Fight.

If there is an upside, Sunsoft's second attempt, Waku Waku 7, is a much better game, and is much more balanced.

Also, thanks for bringing up the asteroid section from Dead Space... I put that out of my memory and now it's back!

[Flabyo]

SNK are the absolute master of the 'cheating final boss' trope in fighting games. Hell, it's still named after them over on tv tropes...

[Joshihatsumitsu]

SNK are the absolute master of the 'cheating final boss' trope in fighting games. Hell, it's still named after them over on tv tropes...

Very true... though ironically enough after the bankruptcy/slow rebirth of SNK the difficulty of their fighters has improved significantly. Not perfect, but noticeably better.

And for sake of stirring the pot (Dark Souls already got a mention), but I would add the escort mission aspect of Resident Evil 4. And it bothers me more in this game because up until that point it is a really good game, and because of that escort section I don't have the same deep love for Resident Evil 4 for that everyone else has.

I can objectively appreciate Resi 4, and recognise the influence it had, but subjectively I have no pedestal to place it upon. and pot stirred!

[Flabyo]

All of Ninety Nine Nights.

I have no idea how it's possible to get copying Dynasty Warriors so utterly wrong, but they did.

Overly long levels, sudden lurches in the difficulty curve, complete lack of restart points, no mid mission save options...

[ThirdDrawing]

That fucking asteroid section in the first Dead Space.

Ugh, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks!

My pleasure!

[Bluebird55]

Yes, I was actually going to mention the Asteroid section of DS1, don't get me wrong it's a fantastic series, like Uncharted, would love to play it again, it's just that part as well as on Deadspace 2 where you have to re enter the horrible, horrible ship that you literally ran for your in game life out of, but it's a good idea nonetheless.

I think another really frustrating part is on Uncharted 3, riiight at the end you are tripping out and are essentially on a rampage, there's a *urgh* courtyard with two fountains and you have to kill these enemies who, not only fire projectiles at you which kill you instantly, but also have to be "killed twice" (first time they explode into demon things). I learnt, after almost quitting the game, that you have to kite, which let me tell you now, is NOT easy, especially when you have to reload, which takes about half an hour.

But for pointlessness? I would look say that the sumo wrestling part of Twilight Princess, now I have to say, I have never got so frustrated over this part, or of any part, of a game before, it's stupid because you only do the sumo wrestling for one incy tiney part of the game which is just the dungeon and nothing else. Stupid. Pointless. Bloody gorons.