10 Video Games With The Tightest Timed Sections

9. The Dam - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Superman 64
Konami

Water levels are generally some of the most despised by players, given that they often remove your gadgets and abilities while also slowing your movement to a crawl.

But 1989's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES game transformed the water level into a literal torture instrument by imposing an outrageous 140-second time limit upon players in a level that's already colossally patience-testing.

In the dam mission, players need to find and disarm eight bombs in less than two-and-a-half minutes, and if that isn't enough, you also have to avoid electrified fences and dangerous marine life.

It is a completely indecent difficulty spike and one which wouldn't be nearly as aggravating without such an egregiously tight time constraint. No wonder so many kids bailed from the game without ever getting past this level.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.