10 Absurdly Hard Games You Never Beat

Even though most gaming franchises from the 1980s were as tough as nails, the difficulty in recent instalments tends to be more reasonable.

However, Ninja Gaiden went in the opposite direction. Despite the fact the classic side-scroller was a nightmare in its day, Tech Ninja's Xbox reboot was less forgiving. 

Button mashing in combat gets you nowhere, since enemies can only be defeated with impeccably timed attacks, blocks, dodges, and combos. Bosses are another story altogether since they can kill you with one strike. Due to limited resources, you need to get good fast or you won't make it past the first level.

But that's not all. Soon after its release, Tech Ninja announced they were bringing out an enhanced version called Ninja Gaiden Black, which contained bug fixes and additional features. This was welcome news, since Tech Ninja had the opportunity to make Ninja Gaiden easier.

Instead, they made the incredibly hard game harder. In the Black version, enemies are more reactive and come in increased numbers. Certain weapons and tactics were nerfed, making it tricky to exploit enemy weaknesses. Just in case that wasn't enough, Black added a new mode called Master Ninja, which makes the classic mode feel like a breeze. 

Honestly, the only way Ninja Gaiden could be more challenging is if the enemies killed you in real life.