10 Video Games That Punish You For Playing Well
3. Hitting Level 99 Unleashes A Devastating Glitch - Phantasy Star IV
Phantasy Star IV is an especially curious case given that, unlike every other game on this list, its punishment is in no way intended by the developer.
Basically, the RPG shipped with a glitch which affected players who levelled any of their characters to level 99, resulting in party members randomly swapping stats or losing skills entirely, and even nerfing characters by dozens of levels while still displaying level 99.
Though the bug was fixed for some re-releases, anyone playing the original version effectively had their hard work thrown back in their face.
Given that you don't actually need to be level 99 or anywhere close to beat the game, it's been apocryphally suggested by some fans that the "glitch" may have been included on purpose to punish power-levellers.
But the simplest solution is usually the right one, so it's far more likely this was nothing more than an unfortunate accident.