10 Hardest '90s Games Ranked

Published Aug 9, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted. There's no shortage of hard video games on the market today, thanks in part to the popularity of Dark Souls, but the proliferation of brutal challenges is nothing new in the industry. If anything, tough games were the norm on classic consoles, with the quarter-munching difficulty of arcade challenges bleeding over into their at-home counterparts. In some ways, the 90s were a bit calmer than the 80s, with challenging franchises like Castlevania gradually reducing their difficulty over the years. At the same time, other games doubled down, serving up ordeals that only phenoms or masochists could overcome and making bank off of repeated rentals. The hardest games of the 90s are as relentless as they come, but some might still be worth playing for the thrill of finally reaching the end. The Lion King The real menace of The Lion King lies in its seemingly approachable nature. While one might assume that a tie-in for a children's animated movie wouldn't be terribly tough, they'd be sorely mistaken. It isn't one of the very hardest games of the '90s, but it's probably the one that frustrated the most children. Notably, Disney actually pushed for the developers to make the game hard, expecting more profitability after players were unable to get too far in a single rental period. Anyone should be able to handle the first level, but reality kicks in with the second, preventing many players from ever seeing Simba actually grow up. Other Disney games of the era still provide plenty of challenge, like the Genesis version of Aladdin, but they all whimper compared to The Lion King's roar. Driver Driver isn't necessarily one of the hardest 90s games overall, but it might have induced the earliest rage-quits of any. In most games, the tutorial serves as a way to ease players into mechanics, offering a simple challenge that preps them for harder trials later on. In Driver, however, the tutorial represents the game at its toughest. Tasking players with completing a series of complex maneuvers in a parking garage, this introductory level ended up being all that many players ever saw. If you google how to do each step in sequence, it's no longer particularly insurmountable. Without any help on hand in the '90s, though, it was often impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Jet Force Gemini By and large, the Nintendo 64 wasn't much of a destination for truly hard games, but Jet Force Gemini deserves a mention for a few specific reasons. On a basic level, the challenges of this third-person shooter are nothing exceptional, and it shouldn't necessarily be much harder than other N64 shooters like GoldenEye. The first problem, however, lies in the control scheme, which will likely feel bizarre to the average player today. The second and largest issue is the completion requirement, as players will have to collect Tribals from across the world without any of them dying. Unlike other collect-a-thons of the era, you basically have to 100% the game to reach the ending at all, and a challenging boss fight still awaits after all the other tasks. Rayman Today, Rayman games can be a nice way to kick back and relax, but that certainly wasn't the case when the series debuted. While this looked like just another mascot platformer full of cartoon characters and colorful levels, Rayman turns into something much more sadistic as it progresses. Unlike some challenging platformers of the time, Rayman controls well, but the challenges set before the player ramp far beyond most of its rivals. From slippery platforms to long levels with few extra lives, it doesn't take long to realize that attempting to overcome its challenges will result in a long haul. Riven Riven doesn't contain brutal fights or tough platforming challenges, but actually making it to the end can still pose an intense challenge. While all the puzzle-oriented Myst games can be tough to figure out, the minimally guided adventure experience of Riven might take the cake. There are certainly '90s adventure games with tougher puzzles than anything in Riven, and even among the Myst titles, the hardest moments of Myst 4 might have it beat. Unlike most of the toughies, though, Riven feels genuinely well-designed and fair, giving it a pedestal as a truly hard game that isn't being assisted by poor design. Super Empire Strikes Back The Super Star Wars games hit the ground running, with the first franchise entry turning A New Hope's grand adventure into a punishing ordeal. Apparently, however, that wasn't enough for the developers at Sculptured Software and LucasArts. Super Empire Strikes Back picks up where the original left off, upping the difficulty as Luke comes face to face with greater challenges than before. Dying in Super Empire Strikes Back can sometimes feel unfair, as the game doesn't shy away from cheap hits and blind jumps. At the same time, it does refine the mechanics and gameplay of Super Star Wars, resulting in a more polished experience overall. With a beautiful sense of presentation, this one might still be worth it for hardcore Star Wars fans. Shadow Tower Dark Souls developer FromSoftware was making difficult games long before its flagship series, and Shadow Tower might be the most alienating of them all. Like the preceding King's Field series, understanding how to explore and progress is largely left to the player, resulting in a more consistently cryptic experience than Dark Souls. Shadow Tower also notoriously introduced a weapon durability system, making the process of surviving to the end even more challenging. The game frustrated many critics and players upon release, but if you can put up with clunky controls and a total lack of background music, it can be an interesting way to explore FromSoft's history. Battletoads If you listen to people talk about retro games for long enough, you'll inevitably hear the title Battletoads come up, uttered with either hushed reverence or off-handed spite. Either response is understandable, as the game has a long history of leaving scars. Battletoads had a lot going for it across the board, with a humorous approach, memorable art and music, and significantly more variety in gameplay and level design than the average beat-'em-up of the time. The difficulty was also a selling point, though, with the idea of the game as a massive challenge to overcome setting it apart from most competitors. The most infamous part of Battletoads may be its high-speed challenges, shifting from brawling action to blisteringly fast bike-racing. It's possible to master, but lightning-fast reflexes are necessary to avoid repeating its challenges ad nauseum. Contra: Hard Corps The original Contra was always a challenge, but with enough patience, most fans could learn its ways and find their way to the finish line. As the series moved into the 90s, however, things got tougher. Contra 3 can be brutal, but Contra: Hard Corps on the Sega Genesis took it to another level. Like Castlevania 3, Konami ratcheted up the difficulty of the US version compared to the Japanese original. Not only did it throw away the most powerful cheat codes, but it swapped out the health bar for one-hit kills, turning every level into a total nightmare. If you just want a fun Contra adventure, play the Japanese version. If you want a lot of pain, play the American one. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts The Ghosts 'n Goblins series has always been known for its difficulty, and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts certainly upholds that legacy. Here, there's no easing in, as the game displays a penchant for cruelty from the first level and never lets off the brakes. Not only is every stage of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts thoroughly populated with enemies, but they're also full of cheap tricks and wicked traps that make the original Dark Souls look like a peaceful stroll. While there's a grim pleasure in memorizing its array of deadly surprises, seeing it all the way to the end will require the patience of a saint. Released November 28, 1991 ESRB E For Everyone Due To Mild Violence Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom, Nintendo Franchise Ghosts 'n Goblins