Capcom is one ofthe biggest developers in video game historyfor many years by this point, and the company has created some beloved series that are still going strong to this day. Because they have such a massive fanbase, Capcom usually doesn’t go out of their way to make their games too difficult in order to make them as accessible as possible, but this hasn’t always been the case.
Whether it’s trying tokeep players on the edge of their seats in a horror game, or pushing them to perform complex combos in an action title, the developers did decide to raise the difficulty considerably in a handful of their games, which has arguably made them a lot more memorable. These are the hardest games that Capcom has ever made, and a little description of what exactly makes them so unforgiving.
Monster Hunter Worldis officiallyCapcom’s best-selling game ever, but this isn’t to imply that the game is easy to jump into as it’s actually pretty unforgiving, especially in those first few hours when the game does a pretty lackluster job of explaining the mechanics and core gameplay loop. Once players get to grips with their weapon attacks though, and they learn more about the monsters they’re hunting and their attack patterns, the game does become much more manageable.
It’s still a very hard game to master though, especially when hunting downsome of the most powerful monsterswho can provide some valuable resources and items upon being defeated. The terrifying ice-dragon Xeno’jiiva and menacing Extreme Behemoth are just a few examples of the kinds of brutal encounters players can expect to face if they want to be the best hunter around. The Iceborne expansion also ramps up the challenge considerably by delivering some ofMonster Hunter’s hardest-ever endgame bosses.
Outside ofRise, mostMonster Huntergames pack a considerable punch; consequently,Worldis being used as a representative for the entire franchise since it likely brought in a lot of new players. That said,4 Ultimate,Freedom Unite, and the first two games are all very, very difficult.Frontier Zwas also a punishing MMORPG.
WhileDino Crisis 2and 3 leaned much more into the action-genre, which made them a lot easier to play through, the first game was survival-horror through and through, and it really didn’t pull any punches in its difficulty. The severe lack of resources and puzzles, which could sometimes be downright ridiculous in how hard they were designed, both contributed to making the game a truly difficult, even more so than theclassicResident Evilgamesin the eyes of many people.
By far the biggest reason the first game is considered so hard though isthe dinosaurs themselves, especially the blue raptors who would leap towards Regina at lightning speed whenever they got close, making them much more threatening than any zombie. There’s even a mechanic where Regina will leave a trail of blood after being damaged which the raptors can actually follow and will allow them to move between rooms to hunt down their prey. The tranquilizer darts do admittedly make the game a lot easier, but for most people who only use it sparingly, it creates an incredibly difficult survival horror experience that fans of the genre can only hope Capcom will remake in the future.
With the massive success of theResident Evilremakes, it only seems right that Capcom should pull the trigger onCode Veronicatoo, but if they did, one thing they would need to adjust is the difficulty which can get pretty absurd at times. Even for the most hardened survival horror veterans,Code Veronicastill presents quite the challenge for multiple reasons, one of which being the bosses which have become somewhat infamous in the community for how hard they are.
The biggest example, and the boss that literally made a lot of people drop the game entirely, isthe Tyrantwhose massive lunge attacks are incredibly hard to avoid. Additionally, if the player doesn’t have enough ammo when reaching this encounter, they can actually soft-lock themselves and will be forced to restart. Then there’s the ridiculous amount of backtracking, lackluster weapons, and the sudden switch between characters which can leave the player with nothing if they didn’t drop everything in an item box.
TheMega Manseries is pretty notorious for its difficulty, but Capcom at least started to realize this was the case and so would provide the player with new abilities and weapons to help alleviate the challenge in the games. The very first game though is a whole different story, since while it’s obviously stripped back in terms of mechanics, the enemies are just as aggressive as they are in future games which results in an extremely challenging experience that can feel pretty unfair at times.
Mega Man feels a lot more floaty and unresponsive in this game which can make him pretty annoying to control, and while he’ll lose a ton of health from a single attack, most enemies will simply drop points rather than healing items. The level design almost feels like it’s trying to test the player’s patience, with enemies being placed in the most obscure areas that make them a nightmare to reach without getting hit. The game does admittedly get much easier on subsequent playthroughs when the player knows what to expect, but there’s no doubt that a first run-through is going to be very unforgiving, especially for anyone coming from some of the more modernMega Mangames.
Ace Attorneyis undoubtedly one of the best legal-drama video game series ever made, with each of the games somehow managing to mix the gritty reality of the legal system with a vibrant world full of extremely memorable characters. There’s a plethora of games that have been released in the series, and while they will all require the player to think on the spot and provide evidence to prove their case which can be quite challenging,Justice for Alltakes the cake for being the hardest of the bunch.
The biggest reason for this is the evidence itself which needs to be extremely specific, to the point where even ifPhoenix Wrightpresents something which is very reasonable and relevant to the case, the judge will easily shoot it down for little to no reason. If the player chooses the wrong piece of evidence when first asked for it, they can also just head into a dead end where they face continuous penalties with no way of escaping. The game remains this hard throughout, but the final case really is one of the most intense and punishing sections in any Capcom game, so saving as much as possible is absolutely essential.
1Devil May Cry 3
Steep Difficulty Curve & Hard-As-Nails Bosses That Culminate In An Unforgiving Final Fight
Mostaction hack-and-slash gamesstart off with one or two enemies that can easily be taken down by mashing a few buttons, butDevil May Cry 3doesn’t exactly play by these rules. The very first level pits Dante against a swarm of enemies who will require precise timing of attacks and combos to defeat, and they won’t hesitate to capitalize on every mistake the devil hunter makes. The game also does a pretty poor job at actually teaching the player how to use Dante’s moves and abilities which makes those first few hours some of the most challenging experiences of any video game.
Even as Dante acquires more weapons further on in the story, the game never lets up on the difficulty and throws some extremely tricky bosses at the player such as Cerberus and Arkham, withVergil often being regarded as one of the toughest boss fights in video game history. The game essentially forces the player to practice as much as possible if they want to be even decent at the gameplay, and while it’s much more enjoyable when overcoming this steep learning curve, it’s by far the hardest game Capcom has ever put out.
MORE:Final Fantasy: The Franchise’s Hardest Games, Ranked By Difficulty (& How Long They Take To Beat)
