The most difficult RPGs according to GameFAQs users

[KeighnMcDeath]

ULTIMA 3 on there? Really and 2?

I do t get where those were hard at all. 2 was time consuming as hell and the clues a bit dorky due to the npc system and “conversation.” 3 not even.

 

[Tweed]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...ge-how-the-hell-was-this-ever-popular.106556/

Right, not to be brought up in polite company.

 

[ColonelTeacup]

Over at gamefaqs, users can rank a game's difficulty with a 1-5 scale and they've also set it up that you can list 'em by rank as so https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/rankings?platform=19&genre=48&list_type=diff&dlc=1&min_votes=2. I've cherry picked a bunch of notable titles so youse don't have to sift through all the shovelware. The first number is the quality ranking (out of 5), the second is the difficulty score, 5 being the highest quality/difficulty.

Wizardry: The Return of Werdna - The Fourth Scenario 3.64 4.55
Might and Magic: Book One 3.38 4.39
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday 3.97 4.33
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom 4.00 4.17
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge 4.10 4.13
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord 4.13 4.13
Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed 4.25 4.13
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant 3.95 4.10
An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire 3.04 4.06

Serpent in the Staglands 3.89 3.93
Gateway to the Savage Frontier 3.68 3.92
Ultima III: Exodus 3.26 3.90
Darklands 4.17 3.89
Geneforge 5: Overthrow 3.82 3.89
Dungeon Master 3.92 3.88
Wasteland 4.09 3.88
The Bard's Tale: Tales of the Unknown, Volume I 4.09 3.86
Realms of Arkania: Star Trail 3.82 3.86
Might and Magic II 3.56 3.83
The Age of Decadence 3.62 3.83
Underrail 4.12 3.82
Wizardry 8 4.26 3.82
The Dark Queen of Krynn 3.35 3.80
Death Knights of Krynn 3.90 3.80
Gothic II: Night of the Raven 4.34 3.79
Elex 3.29 3.77
Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep 3.74 3.75
Champions of Krynn 3.63 3.73
The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight 3.80 3.73
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny 4.05 3.72
Pathfinder: Kingmaker 4.23 3.71
Pools of Darkness 3.72 3.70
Avernum 5 3.40 3.70
Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition 4.23 3.69
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny 3.60 3.69
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress 2.68 3.68
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 3.89 3.67
Realms of Arkania III: Shadows Over Riva 3.98 3.67
Divinity: Original Sin II 4.31 3.64
Avernum: Escape From the Pit 3.75 3.64
Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon 3.85 3.63
Icewind Dale II 3.95 3.60
Baldur's Gate 4.24 3.58
Avernum 6 3.52 3.58
Pool of Radiance 3.95 3.56
Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor 3.19 3.56
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 4.12 3.52
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal 4.38 3.51
Curse of the Azure Bonds 3.84 3.50
The Bard's Tale 3: The Thief of Fate 3.42 3.50
Geneforge 4: Rebellion 4.14 3.50
Eye of the Beholder 3.74 3.48
Avernum 4 3.45 3.46
Geneforge 3 3.65 3.44
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra 4.09 3.44
Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money 3.59 3.44
Secret of the Silver Blades 3.90 3.43
Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part 1 3.83 3.43
Gothic II 4.20 3.42
Fallout 2 4.34 3.42
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast 4.11 3.41
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn 4.46 3.40
Fallout 4.14 3.40
Divinity: Original Sin II - Definitive Edition 4.00 3.40
Ultima VII: The Black Gate 4.36 3.38
The Temple of Elemental Evil 3.55 3.37
Divinity: Original Sin 4.14 3.37
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen 4.16 3.34
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut 3.73 3.34
Avernum 2: Crystal Souls 3.76 3.33
Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part 2 3.62 3.33
Ultima VI: The False Prophet 4.02 3.33
Mount & Blade: Warband 4.20 3.32
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year Edition 4.34 3.31
The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon 4.08 3.31
Icewind Dale 3.93 3.30
Mount & Blade 3.87 3.30
Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter 3.89 3.30
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle - The Silver Seed 4.12 3.29
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of The Betrayer 4.14 3.29
Arx Fatalis 3.73 3.29
Pillars of Eternity 4.05 3.29
Risen 3.69 3.29
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven 4.25 3.28
Dragon Age: Origins 4.30 3.26
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle 4.30 3.26
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind 4.29 3.25
The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal 4.01 3.24
Shadowrun: Dragonfall 4.08 3.23
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura 4.23 3.21
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss 4.08 3.20
Torment: Tides of Numenera 3.65 3.18
Planescape: Torment 4.47 3.18
Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road 3.89 3.17
Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker 3.68 3.17
Treasures of the Savage Frontier 3.73 3.17
Wasteland 2 3.94 3.17
Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor 4.31 3.15
Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut 4.13 3.14
The Witcher 3.91 3.14
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone 4.38 3.13
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine 4.41 3.12
Avadon: The Black Fortress 3.49 3.12
Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues 4.07 3.12
Avadon 2: The Corruption 3.78 3.12
Ultima I 3.06 3.12
Neverwinter Nights 2 3.86 3.11
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark 4.13 3.10
Neverwinter Nights 4.00 3.10
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir 3.58 3.10
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth Of Worlds 4.25 3.10
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 4.54 3.09
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 4.24 3.09
Risen 3: Titan Lords 3.34 3.07
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate 3.61 3.06
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening 3.94 3.05
Risen 2: Dark Waters 3.50 3.05
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands 4.03 3.04
Fallout: New Vegas 4.24 3.04
Gothic 3 3.49 3.03
Fallout: New Vegas - Ultimate Edition 4.38 3.03
Tyranny 3.89 3.03
Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide 3.84 3.02
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 4.37 3.02

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles 4.22 2.99
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition 4.29 2.99
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords 4.16 2.97
Dungeon Siege II 3.75 2.97
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 4.20 2.96
Dungeon Siege 3.63 2.96
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition 4.17 2.95
Mass Effect 4.14 2.95
Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear 3.21 2.93
Alpha Protocol 3.62 2.93
Fallout 3 4.07 2.92
Shadowrun Returns 3.66 2.91
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn 4.11 2.91
Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition 3.90 2.90
Dragon Age: Inquisition 3.88 2.89
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 4.32 2.88
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard 4.13 2.88
Dragon Age II: Legacy 3.55 2.88
The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine 3.86 2.84
Dragon Age II: Mark of the Assassin 3.64 2.81
Shadowrun: Hong Kong 3.97 2.80
Fallout 4 3.71 2.78
Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts 3.72 2.76
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire 3.91 2.74
Dragon Age II 3.37 2.71
Arcania: Gothic 4 2.74 2.36
Fallout 76 1.88 1.96

While I don't agree with all the individual placements, I do believe they got them all in the right ballpark. Congratulations to Sawyer for delivering a Dungeon Siege-tier screen saver with Deadfire, truly a pathetic job.

Dead money is not hard, at all. Neither is Fallout 2, you just need to savescum, a lot.

 

[mondblut]

Buck Rogers at number 3?

Someone tell these newbs you can stock up on infinite amount of "rocket launchers" (local slang for wands of fireballs) w/10 charges per item for every character right at the very first shop.

 

[Freddie]

Are those Buck Rogers games really that hard? Never played them but none of the gold-box games were ever really difficult.

Countdown to Doomsday is must play, IMO. I actually wrote about difficulty earlier in this thread but IMO, no if you don't crank up the difficulty.

Word of warning though, Buck Rogers: The Matrix Cubed has the most annoying trash mob mechanic of all of the Gold Box games. So even if I recommend trying BR: Countdown to Doomsday, I can't say the same for sequel.

 

[Cael]

ULTIMA 3 on there? Really and 2?

I do t get where those were hard at all. 2 was time consuming as hell and the clues a bit dorky due to the npc system and “conversation.” 3 not even.

Try playing them without Internet guides and the clue book.

 

[Cael]

Why is Gateway to the Savage Frontier even up there? You hit level cap for mages in that game by the 2nd or 3rd dungeon, after which you just mow down enemies like they were made of paper. The hardest fight in the whole game (other than the continuous multi-fight finale) was when you were chasing the Big Bad to Ascore and wanted to take on the big group in the middle of town head on (which you were warned not to do, by the way). Even then a barrage of Fireballs made it into a clean-up rather than a fight of any kind...

 

[Vorark]

Fallout 4.14 3.40
Fallout 2 4.34 3.42
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition 4.17 2.95
Fallout: New Vegas - Ultimate Edition 4.38 3.03
Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition 3.90 2.90
Fallout 76 1.88 1.96

 

[octavius]

Why is Gateway to the Savage Frontier even up there? You hit level cap for mages in that game by the 2nd or 3rd dungeon, after which you just mow down enemies like they were made of paper. The hardest fight in the whole game (other than the continuous multi-fight finale) was when you were chasing the Big Bad to Ascore and wanted to take on the big group in the middle of town head on (which you were warned not to do, by the way). Even then a barrage of Fireballs made it into a clean-up rather than a fight of any kind...

Yeah, that game was obviously designed with the nebiew in mind.
The potentitally best fight in the game was against an army of goblinoids, but then it turns out it's just an illusion.
But it did have a very memorable last battle, even if you were not supposed to kill the Zhentil boss.

 

[Cael]

Why is Gateway to the Savage Frontier even up there? You hit level cap for mages in that game by the 2nd or 3rd dungeon, after which you just mow down enemies like they were made of paper. The hardest fight in the whole game (other than the continuous multi-fight finale) was when you were chasing the Big Bad to Ascore and wanted to take on the big group in the middle of town head on (which you were warned not to do, by the way). Even then a barrage of Fireballs made it into a clean-up rather than a fight of any kind...

Yeah, that game was obviously designed with the nebiew in mind.
The potentitally best fight in the game was against an army of goblinoids, but then it turns out it's just an illusion.
But it did have a very memorable last battle, even if you were not supposed to kill the Zhentil boss.

The last battle was a joke for me. The swamp things were vulnerable to Stinking Cloud. I just spammed the shit out of it and one-shot kill just about everything :D

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Fallout 4.14 3.40

Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition 3.90 2.90

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

ULTIMA 3 on there? Really and 2?

I do t get where those were hard at all. 2 was time consuming as hell and the clues a bit dorky due to the npc system and “conversation.” 3 not even.

Try playing them without Internet guides and the clue book.

I played ULTIMA 3 on the c64 when I came out and u2 at the same time. Only games I played before was Questron, temple of Apshai, upper reaches of Apshai, rescue on Rigel, and blue max. I sure as hell didn’t have a c64 internet connection. Didn’t have any mag subscriptions either. Was just starting out.

 

[sser]

Dungeon Siege's difficulty is ranked far too high. The game was known as a glorified screensaver even at release, and still is today. Very pretty game for its era, but not exactly difficult.

 

[buffalo bill]

Roguey left out the roguelikes.

5 Caves of Qud 3.86 4.71
9 NetHack 4.38 4.65
19 Vulture for NetHack 3.07 4.57
24 Rogue 3.66 4.53
34 Brogue 4.05 4.43
39 Ancient Domains of Mystery 4.10 4.41

There are probably more, I just scanned the first two pages.

I don't see Infra Arcana, but it is harder than any of these.

 

[Micormic]

No one talks about it/played it because it was ssi's last rpg and it sucked but I'd bet good money Thunderscape is the hardest rpg of all time.


You can find plenty of dorks who beat wiz 4 on youtube, none of the LP's of Thundersacpe even reached the last 3 levels.

 

[Micormic]

Are we supposed to hate Dungeon Siege around here? I liked the first one.

Who cares if you liked it, I hated it but be a shark not a sheep.

Sharks don't have necks and don't look back.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Are we supposed to hate Dungeon Siege around here? I liked the first one.

Who cares if you liked it, I hated it but be a shark not a sheep.

Sharks don't have necks and don't look back.

 

[TemplarGR]

Dead money is not hard, at all. Neither is Fallout 2, you just need to savescum, a lot.

Savescum is a given for all games dude. How do you think codexers beat games?

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

How do you think codexers beat games?

Cheats:TheGreatGonzo();

 

[AwesomeButton]

I still have to get to Serpent in the Staglands soon. Too many games.

I've been thinking the same actually. I need to check up on SitS to see what it looks like with the latest patch. I played a little of it at release but it was still too buggy.

 

[Morkar Left]

This list looks more like "Please list some random game you may had some trouble in the past. No matter how long you played or tried."

 

[Reinhardt]

Prestigious.

2 good games in top 10 list. They are better than most videogames sites.

 

[bussinrounds]

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...ge-how-the-hell-was-this-ever-popular.106556/

Right, not to be brought up in polite company.

If you must, please refer to it as Dung Siege..thanks.

 

[Apostle Hand]

gamefag is interesting site I learned alot about rpgs reading it.

 

[fantadomat]

It is fascinating how life time of rpg playing changes ones perspective on difficulty.