There are countless games with peaks in difficulty. Basically every game has one, but we're focusing on the most frustrating. These are the moments that made us want to pull our hair out and set it on fire. Only the most outlier curves make this list - they're not speed bumps, they're you'll hit at 100 miles per hour.
And ridiculous difficulty peaks are still common. We have more than a few very recent examples in today's lineup.
Courthouse [[]
hits you in the butt and laughs at you. It's kind of like, except you're a barely moving lump of coal, constantly absorbing bullets like a magnetic sponge. Before you gain your upgraded body, you're stuck with BJ's current crippled state for about half the game, he can't survive much damage. A stiff wind will knock this guy down. And the Nazis will pelt you with bullets as if you were tissue paper. Staying hidden and moving cautiously are the best ways to survive - or just kill them before they see you.
This all works fine for a while. In other words, until you reach the level of the courthouse. There is nowhere to hide here. Enemies pour into the giant arena from all angles. There isn't enough health to keep you alive in more difficult times, and ending up behind the benches won't save you. The turret is just a cruel joke in the center of the area. Instead of helping, this thing is a guaranteed death trap. I'm not sure exactly why is so much harder than the original, but this part is surely the most difficult section of an otherwise pretty difficult game.
The Wiegraf glove [[]
The Riovannes Castle Raid is by far the hardest streak of battles and this section can very easily ruin your entire game. This infamous series of battles isn't just boring to force us to earn XP for hours on end. Oh no, there is something much more insidious going on here.
There are four battles in a row. The first battle is normal, but you will quickly meet the real deal - Knight Wiegraf in the second fight. It's not enough for this enemy boss to be able to 1-Hit KO'd most of your party, you'll also have to fight a Reinforced Monster right after you take this guy down. Then you will have to defend another NPC from the assassins who are trying to kill him. It's a gauntlet of painfully difficult fights that you won't be prepared for on your first attempt - period. The rooftop battle is particularly annoying, as if your party isn't cut out for speed, you will be absolutely overtaken by assassins and your VIP will die in two rounds. Each. Single. Time.
And the worst? If you save your file between one of the battles, there is no way to go back to the world map and level up. You are perpetually trapped in an endless loop of death. My skin crawls when I think about these levels.
