Right, Ghosts ‘N Goblins. Where to start!? An arcade, and the NES, game that first appeared in 1985, compared to the modern industry everything was all rather primitive back then.

Oh, yes, and it’s also one of the most difficult games in history. Okay. Let’s take a look at what did make it so.

Ghosts ‘N Goblins

Technology didn’t allow games to be particularly long. The original Super Mario Bros., for instance, can be completed in 40 minutes.

Whilst the latest, Super Mario 3D World, lasts for over 20 hours. So to make up for this shortcoming developers upped difficulty levels.

This artificially made games seem longer by employing tactics such as: borderline impossible boss battles, cryptic puzzles, maddening jumps, or a maniacally complex array of enemies.

The NES era was notorious for it, simply as the games were so short—it was the “ideal” solution to justify their sale tag.

And Ghost ‘N Goblins was one of the most remarkably difficult of the lot.

It’s a perfect example of how some developers lost it entirely and produced titles so hard they couldn’t be completed.

This meant many games were simply abandoned by exasperated kids. To put this into perspective, the first level of Ghosts ‘n Goblins (given a clear run with no enemies) could be completed in 40 seconds.

When played normally, though, it’s a totally different kettle of jam. Some of the more modest gamers have admitted they can’t get past the first stage.

Anyone really determined could spend an hour on their first go and they wouldn’t get far. Sounds odd? Indeed.

Putting it mildly, Capcom’s Ghosts ‘N Goblins is one of the most difficult video games in history. Behind its innocuous 8 bit era looks lies a game almost incomprehensible in its challenge.

Our esteemed editor, Mr. Wapojif, played this in the late ’80s and gave up in dismay. All these years on he was able to download it from the Wii U‘s eShop for £2 to see if things really were as insanely difficult as he remembered.

After consistent efforts he’s made it to the fourth stage, but the barrage of enemies is beyond belief.

Considering gaming in the ’80s was primarily a niche pursuit for young boys such as Mr. Wapojif (contemporary gaming is now mainstream and most titles are much easier), with hindsight it appears bizarre developers could make things so ridiculous.

This isn’t to say Ghosts ‘n Goblins is bad—it’s pretty good! It’s simply idiotically frustrating.

Many swearwords have been fired in Ghost ‘n Goblins’ direction, and with good reason… but if you’re up to the challenge, it’s right there on the Wii U eShop.

We dare you! You’ll also be able to play it once the Nintendo Classic Mini NES is released in November 2016. Yikes.

Angry Video Game Nerd

Anyone familiar with the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) on YouTube may well have seen his epic 17 minute rant about the preposterous nature of Ghosts ‘N Goblins.

But we thought we’d introduce him to you (along with the game) so you can get a better understanding of the horrors of Ghosts’N Goblins.