10 Video Games That Kill You In The First Level

Don Bluth, who's best-known for directing An American Tail and The Land Before Time, created a video game in 1983 called Dragon's Lair. The game was iconic since the gameplay relied on onscreen button prompts to progress, which was a precursor to quicktime events. The animation flowed so smoothly, you would swear you were playing a cartoon.

Because of the precision the player needed, Dragon's Lair quickly became legendary for its difficulty. But being the devil's advocate, getting through the levels is doable through pure trial-and-error.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the NES port. Unable to accommodate the graphics of the original game, this version used basic side-scrolling gameplay.

However, the developers must have thought the already difficult game wasn't brutal enough since they made this version's even harder. As soon as our hero tries to walk into the castle, his path is blocked by a fire-breathing serpent, bats, a descending portcullis, and a collapsing bridge. If you fall off or get hit once, you're finished. Because of the janky controls, dodging any of the obstacles is an absolute miracle. Not only have many players never completed the first level, most people never got past the first screen!