10 Most Insanely Difficult Video Games Ever Made

3. Contra (NES)

Like most retro entries on this list, Contra doesn't respect you from the very beginning, which makes for a highly turbulent and frustrating relationship from day one, regardless of what you really know about each other. Picture it like mistakenly bunking up with Hitler. You don't like him 'cause, c'mon, he's Hitler. And he doesn't like you, 'cause you won't stop talking about how freakin' hard Contra is.

Poised as a Rambo-like maverick, your mission was to save Planet Earth from alien scum. Despite being considered a genuine classic, Contra was unbelievably tough. And though many have completed it thanks to the infamous "Konami code" (it gave you 30 lives), attempting to conquer this thing on just 3 lives is like storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day solo.