10 Video Games That Kill You In The First Level

Shinobi was a hack-and-slash video game series that debuted back in 1987. Even though there were many great entries in the franchise, Revenge of the Shinobi was the top-dog. With its kick-ass music and solid gameplay, it was an absolute must for Genesis owners.

When it was announced that Sega was making a sequel, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, fans were hyped. Although the structure of the game is the same as the other entries, there was one huge difference - One hit = instant death. Shinobi is renowned for being toilsome but gamers felt like Shadow Dancer was taking the biscuit. If you had a standard energy bar, the game would still be a formidable challenge. But now that our hero drops dead the moment he's hit with any sword, dagger, or shruriken, most players couldn't get very far.

If you feel like you can progress through the game by simply memorising the patterns of the baddies, it's not that simple. The enemies have varied attacks and never telegraph what they're going to do, making the simplest encounters agonisingly arduous.