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What are your greatest videogame achievements?

Kishi

Little Waves
(They/Them)
Staff member
Moderator
This makes me wonder (and I'll pose the question to the entire thread): what is the hardest game you've beaten without dying?

Given that shmups tend to be an order of magnitude harder than other games, it might be Thunder Force IV. There are a few shield items throughout the game, but the enemy will chew through those in no time unless you know what you're doing (and you'll want to use up some of those free hits to plow through certain walls hiding point items). It's easy to die in the blink of an eye.

Contra III on Hard is up there, too. Everything is sped up drastically, with enemies charging in from the edges of the screen and snipers who shoot so fast you need to kill them the instant they're scrolled on-screen. Even the sand that spins you around in the second overhead stage is faster, forcing you to double-tap the shoulder button to counter-spin fast enough to hold your aim (a mechanic you might not even know about because it's not needed on Easy or Normal).

My no-miss in Metal Slug was a lucky fluke. As became tradition for the series, the end of the game turns into pure chaos, with so many different enemies flooding the screen it's extremely easy to die to something you didn't even notice because your attention was occupied by five other things. There's one section in particular (the bridge in the final mission) where I had accepted I would die at least once, and I was only aiming for a no-continue clear. But things just happened to line up that one time, and I managed to stick out the rest of the run.

Hard Corps: Uprising took a lot of practice. "Never stop moving" is good advice in any run-and-gun, but in this game it's even more important to maintain your flow lest you get overwhelmed. You also have many more verbs than unusual, so flow means knowing when to dash, tackle, air-dash, double-jump, and so on—and it's very long for this kind of game. Using Sayuri's blade, you can kill everything much faster than other characters, but it bears the risk of getting close to all your targets.

Castlevania may not be on the same level as the above games (it's plenty short, and not much can answer triple holy water), but you can still lose it all if your concentration isn't cranked to the max at all times.


Some games like Super Castlevania 4 or Super Mario World are considered "easy", but the possibility of instant death makes a no-death playthrough unlikely to happen accidently (and somewhat annoying as a challenge, I bet).

I have yet to complete a no-miss clear of Super Castlevania IV for this reason. The last few stages in particular are rife with pits and instant-death spikes, and the game is so long (and so easy at the beginning) that I only feel up to attempting it once in a while. The furthest I've reached is getting bonked into a pit by this skeleton knight in the penultimate stage. My most recent attempt ended at the disappearing bridge at the end of the fourth-to-last stage—which speed runners tell me is in fact one hundred percent random in how it disappears.
 

Klatrymadon

Rei BENSER PLUS
(he/him)
This makes me wonder (and I'll pose the question to the entire thread): what is the hardest game you've beaten without dying?

Darius II, hands down. It's one of the few shmups for which the tired cliché that "if you lose a life you might as well quit" is 100% true. It's vicious and 'unforgiving' in a way that is completely beyond the expected nastiness of other shmups of the period. The rank flies off the handle at the slightest provocation, bosses are erratic and capricious (some of them randomly selecting their attacks so that you can never rest on your knowledge), enemies love to use cross-ups of fixed attacks and aimed/tracking shots, and if you die beyond the first couple of stages there just won't be enough resources along your path for you to power back up sufficiently. The best you can hope for is that you die only once to Grand Octopus and manage to limp your way through the final stage, but that's extremely unlikely, since the final stretch your first time around is probably going to be the hail of haphazard shots coming at you against a searing orange background in Zone V, followed by a boss that will seem invincible. Darius II is a game you should only beat without dying.

(Runners-up might be RayStorm and Super Cyborg on Hard.)
 
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Gaer

chat.exe a cessé de fonctionner
Staff member
Moderator
I have a few of these but the most recent one is in FFXIV.

People have unofficial leaderboards at fflogs (made by the same dude who made warcraftlogs) which keeps tracks of rankings for dps done or speed of boss clear. In ffxiv all jobs are dps, including healers and tanks, so people like to compare and improve.

In the latest extreme fight (harder version of a story boss which I won’t name cos spoilers) I ranked 99the percentile out of all Gunbreakers. Specifically, 55th best damage out of all GNB in the world and 75th of all tanks worldwide.

The best part is that I don’t even have the raid weapon yet, so I was at a significant gear disadvantage. Felt pretty good.
 

Red Silvers

Pokemon Red w/ 1 Nidoran
On the MMO topic, one of my favorite WoW memories was running Heroic Utgarde Keep with my Enhancement Shaman with three folks from the Captain SNES forum, and one PUG DPS. My Shaman was melee DPS spec at the time.

We got to one of the boss fights, and the healer took an unfortunate hit that took him out almost immediately, but I popped my cooldowns and immediately went from DPS to emergency healing. After the fight, the tank posted a DPS chart, and I'd topped DPS even though I was healing (and the PUG was bottom of the pack, with the exception of the healer)
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
Mega Man 2 is a good one. I feel like a lot of people here have a Mega Man or Mega Man X game that they've probably done deathless.

I've done a 1cc of Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X, but never deathless. (Eff you, Boobeam Trap!)

Contra III on Hard is up there, too. Everything is sped up drastically, with enemies charging in from the edges of the screen and snipers who shoot so fast you need to kill them the instant they're scrolled on-screen. Even the sand that spins you around in the second overhead stage is faster, forcing you to double-tap the shoulder button to counter-spin fast enough to hold your aim (a mechanic you might not even know about because it's not needed on Easy or Normal).

I didn't put it in my list, because it feels less-impressive than some of the other stuff there, but just beating Contra III on Hard without any cheats felt like an achievement for me.
 

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
I'm sure I've beaten Castlevania without dying but it's not always consistent. Even with triple holy water.

One game I wish I could do this with is Super Metroid. But in particular I don't know Phantoon and Ridley well enough to beat them without loads of energy tanks.
 

Syless

<internal screaming>
(she/her)
Oh, I'd also like to add a 3-heart run of OoT (3D) to my list. My only low-% run of anything.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
I'm sure I've beaten Castlevania without dying but it's not always consistent. Even with triple holy water.

The Famicom cart version of 'Vania adds an Easy Mode that only tweaks a couple things, but made it a super easy 1cc for me. (No knockback, keep your triple shot when changing weapons and/or dying.)
 

clarice

bebadosamba
I've reached Dracula without the need of a continue, but, as i've said before, i've never beaten him. I think it is because i find him frustrating in a non fun way. So i've never bothered to learn how to fight him. In my canon, Simon lost this battle.

Edit: reading this thread gave me an idea; a run of Dragon Quarter without using the Sol System and the Dragon powers. I don't think i can do it, but i'm curious how far i can go. (Probably close to the end. I think.)
 
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Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
I've done a 1cc of Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X, but never deathless. (Eff you, Boobeam Trap!)

I didn't put it in my list, because it feels less-impressive than some of the other stuff there, but just beating Contra III on Hard without any cheats felt like an achievement for me.
Probably the easiest way to pull off the Boobeam Trap is to use the pause trick to avoid the shots. Super difficult to do otherwise, though, I'd think.

And I agree, beating Contra III on Hard is quite the accomplishment. It's why I included it in mine! I had an easier time with Hard Corps, because so much of that is bosses and extremely pattern-based. Sure, you have to be on your game, but so much of CIII feels like it's much more random, so taking several deaths in weird spots is pretty easy to do.

(Hard Corps was still really tough.)

One time I blind fired a grenade into an air duct in Splinter Cell and got the spy I hoped was in there
I love that feeling when you hit a one-in-a-million shot. I had one where I blind-fired a rocket across a stage in Halo 2, and just managed to get my buddy who was flying my way in a vehicle. It was ridiculous, and we all died laughing at how ridiculous it was.

(For the record, I am not good at Halo 2, nor many first-person shooters. Just not my jam in most cases. Love Doom, Dark Forces, and Descent, though.)
 
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Exposition Owl

more posts about buildings and food
(he/him/his)
The hardest thing I've ever done in a video game was winning the re-balanced final battle of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal with David Gaider's Ascension mod installed. I think it took me something like two years of trying on and off before I managed to beat Melissan, and even then I only limped across the finish line with most of my party dead.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
Reserving this space for 120 stars in Mario 64.

I did this with all four save files on my original cart back in the day. Ah, the days before being able to buy my own videogames and having nothing better to do.
 

Suburban Renewal

Blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip
(he/him)
For me the most memorable one was the ONE time as a kid when I finished the OG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on NES. I'd tried for about 2 years since launch and when it happened I almost didn't believe it. It will also definitely not happen again.

Also, a few others:
  • Being able to regularly finish Ninja Gaiden (NES) as a kid
  • FFX, dodging 200 lightning bolts in a row on the first try
  • *Edit to include: Finishing Double Dragon & Double Dragon III on NES. Also finished II but don't remember that one being quite as brutal.
  • Finishing Super Mario Galaxy to 100% including Luigi and his goddamned purple coins
  • Also, SMG 2 including The Perfect Run
  • Super Mario 3D World 100% including doing everything on the ingame checklist with all characters
  • SM Odyssey to 100% including all postgame content (and the damn jump rope)
Come to think of it, as popular as Mario is with all age groups, it can throw some pretty nasty stuff at you when it wants to.
 
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Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
For me the most memorable one was the ONE time as a kid when I finished the OG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on NES. I'd tried for about 2 years since launch and when it happened I almost didn't believe it. It will also definitely not happen again.

  • *Edit to include: Finishing Double Dragon & Double Dragon III on NES. Also finished II but don't remember that one being quite as brutal.

These are two white whales for me. On TMNT, I've made it as far as the Technodrome, and got totally destroyed and humiliated in that meat-grinding final corridor with all of the flying laser guys. Since then I've seen some good videos and techniques on how to get through there unscathed, or lightly scathed, and I've done some Game Genie-assisted practice, but I haven't done a real run. It's a long and daunting game.

Double Dragon, on the other hand, takes only about 20 minutes to do a full runthrough of the game. I've made it as far as the final stage, but I always get smashed and bashed by those wall traps. Someday I'm gonna get this one, and get it good. (I've beaten II, and still never played III)
 

ThricebornPhoenix

target for faraway laughter
(he/him)
One time I blind fired a grenade into an air duct in Splinter Cell and got the spy I hoped was in there
I love that feeling when you hit a one-in-a-million shot. I had one where I blind-fired a rocket across a stage in Halo 2, and just managed to get my buddy who was flying my way in a vehicle. It was ridiculous, and we all died laughing at how ridiculous it was.
Was playing Halo (CE or 2) with a few friends, decided to chuck a plasma grenade across the map and actually stuck one of them. Had no idea he was there and don't normally do that sort of thing.

This may, in fact, be my only Video Game Accomplishment of note.
 

Aeonus

Still not amused
(he/him)
I had quite a few feats of soloing in Final Fantasy XI back in the day. I was taking on some of the prime avatars by myself as RDM/WHM, before even hitting level 70 (let alone 75). On the more social side, my static and I managed to complete all 100 floors of Nyzul Isle Investigation and all but a handful of Assault missions. Also managed to solo Wings of the Goddess at 99 cap.

Back in the realm of games people besides me actually played, I have:
  • Collected all the ultimate weapons in FFX before. At least once, maybe even twice!
  • Beat the Seraphic Gate in Valkyrie Profile, and also in VP: Silmeria
  • 100% item/bestiary completion of Castlevanias SotN, AoS, and DoS.
Probably there's other stuff, but having memories is for suckers.
 

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
Probably the easiest way to pull off the Boobeam Trap is to use the pause trick to avoid the shots. Super difficult to do otherwise, though, I'd think.

As with Yellow Devil, I did it ONCE without pausing. But even WITH pausing, you can still run out of Crash Bombs (as I did in this race with MCBanjoMike), which means you must take a death on purpose and farm weapon energy, which I absolutely hate.
 

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
Does it count for this thread if I don't even know how to do the pause tricks in NES Mega Man? I've only beaten MM1 once, but, yeah. And I've run out of Crash Bombs against the Boobeams and it's fucking awful. MM2's Wily stages I absolutely loath, for the most part.
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
Does it count for this thread if I don't even know how to do the pause tricks in NES Mega Man? I've only beaten MM1 once, but, yeah. And I've run out of Crash Bombs against the Boobeams and it's fucking awful. MM2's Wily stages I absolutely loath, for the most part.
Yep, especially for Mega Man. Game is no joke if you're playing legit.

If you don't know the pause trick for Mega Man 2, it actually manifests in two ways that I know of: against the Boobeam shots, if you rapidly pause the game, the shots will pass through you as you teleport in. I don't know if this works with other projectiles, or if this is just something due to the speed of the shots there. The other way to employ it is to stretch out your jumps. When you warp back in, it decreases your downward speed, so you can leap further. One place I sometimes use this is in Metal Man's stage, the big jump at the top of the screen with the E-Tank alcove underneath. It can also help if you misjudge your jump going for said E-Tank when leaving the alcove.
 

lincolnic

can stop, will stop
(he/him)
Yep, especially for Mega Man. Game is no joke if you're playing legit.

If you don't know the pause trick for Mega Man 2, it actually manifests in two ways that I know of: against the Boobeam shots, if you rapidly pause the game, the shots will pass through you as you teleport in. I don't know if this works with other projectiles, or if this is just something due to the speed of the shots there. The other way to employ it is to stretch out your jumps. When you warp back in, it decreases your downward speed, so you can leap further. One place I sometimes use this is in Metal Man's stage, the big jump at the top of the screen with the E-Tank alcove underneath. It can also help if you misjudge your jump going for said E-Tank when leaving the alcove.

Huh. I've beaten both of these games without any pause tricks (because I didn't know they were a thing). Now I kinda want to go back and try it!
 

4-So

Spicy
I've done the Yellow Devil in MM1 legit a few times but the pause trick makes it a faster fight. It's a slog when doing it legitimately.

I have never used the pause trick for Boobeam because I was today years old when I learned there even is a pause trick for Boobeam.
 
* SpaceChem - simply finishing it
* Etrian Odyssey - beating the bonus stratum
* Monster Hunter 3U - getting to G rank solo
* Dark Souls - beating O&S solo
 

Dracula

Plastic Vampire
(He/His)
Reserving this space for 120 stars in Mario 64.

ETA: I DONE IT

I DONE THE THING

It was hard, but I ran circles around baby Drac's weak skills. Also I fell off a clock a million times and I cursed the day the Wing Cap was invented. But it was all worth it!!!!
 

air_show

elementary my dear baxter
Probably beating Thumper. That game is one of the most fuckass hard games I've ever played in my life, without it ever feeling legitimately unfair. It genuinely doesn't want you to beat it.
 

Suburban Renewal

Blip blip blip blip blip blip blip blip
(he/him)
I DONE THE THING

It was hard, but I ran circles around baby Drac's weak skills. Also I fell off a clock a million times and I cursed the day the Wing Cap was invented. But it was all worth it!!!!

Congratulations! It's been a long time for me but I remember banging my head on the nearest object many times on the way to 120 stars. I'll be doing it again soon in 3D All-Stars, but I'm already shuddering at the thought of doing some of that late-game stuff again. (And I'm about ready to cry thinking about doing a 100% run on Galaxy again...)
 
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Probably beating Thumper. That game is one of the most fuckass hard games I've ever played in my life, without it ever feeling legitimately unfair. It genuinely doesn't want you to beat it.

Respect.

I reached the boss of Level 6 and decided it was a good place for me to stop.

At any rate, I think it's the embodiment of "play it loud" and being in the groove feels amazing.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
The problem I have with this thread is that when I accomplish something, I feel like "well if I can do it, it must not be that hard" lol
 
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