7 Hardest Suda51 Games, Ranked

Highlights

• Suda51 is known for creating unique games with new gimmicks and mechanics, attracting a significant fanbase.
• Many of Suda’s games are difficult to complete, offering a challenge to players looking for something new.
• The difficulty in Suda’s games comes from tough bosses, unpredictable gameplay, and challenging enemy AI.

Goichi Suda, also commonly known as Suda51, is renowned for being the creator of some of the most unique games in the industry, especially when it comes to visuals and gameplay. Very often, he and his team take a template of a popular genre and insert some new gimmicks and mechanics to create something entirely new, which is why he has amassed such a significant fanbase over the many years that he’s been a developer.

Because of how much he likes to take risks though, it does mean that some of his games, either purposefully or unintentionally, end up becoming pretty difficult to complete as a result. While this can impact the overall accessibility of these titles, it also invites anyone who’s looking to jump into a new challenge to pick up and play them for themselves, with these games being the hardest out of Suda’s entire catalog.

Suda has taken a leading role in developing games as part of Grasshopper Manufacture, so games created by this development team will be taken into account, alongside titles that were co-developed by them where Suda had an important position in the development process.

7 No More Heroes

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.14

While No More Heroes‘ hack-and-slash combat is pretty easy to get accustomed to, simply requiring the player to move the Wii remote or analog stick in certain directions to perform attacks, it’s in the bosses where the game tests the players’ abilities. Because Travis is on a mission to become the number 1 assassin, it means that he will need to defeat multiple tough enemies first to prove his worth, but because they vary so much in difficulty, it can make the game incredibly unpredictable.

For example, while the first two members of the UAA are reasonably easy to deal with, then comes Shinobu, who is incredibly fast on her feet, and capable of dishing out a tremendous amount of damage in barely any time at all. Since the game doesn’t feature a classic upgrade tree, it means that it’s hard for players to go wrong in terms of progression, which is at least something, but it still requires a lot of skill and determination to complete.

6 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.17

Suda decided to dial up the challenge just a little bit more in the sequel of No More Heroes, not only through the combat, which has been made slightly more complex but also the enemies, who are more outlandish and aggressive with their attacks. The core gameplay loop is more or less the same as the first game, with Travis working his way through multiple high-caliber assassins, but the bosses themselves provide a much more consistent challenge this time around.

While there are enemies who will force the player to make full use of the parry and dodge mechanics to avoid taking damage, such as the lightning-fast Ryuji, there are others who will require a good amount of luck to defeat, especially the fiery axe-wielding maniac known as Matt Helms. While the first game contained several jarring difficulty spikes, No More Heroes 2 provides a tricky but satisfying challenge from beginning to end.

5 Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.29

Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked is a fairly niche action-adventure game on the PlayStation 2 which was released as a tie-in with the hit anime series of the same name. While players can run through the campaign as either Mugen or Jin, the endlessly charismatic samurai aren’t quite as powerful as they are depicted in the show, and it’s pretty easy for them to become overwhelmed by the legions of fast and hard-hitting enemies that come their way.

Players are encouraged to come up with big and flashy combos by alternating between light and heavy attacks, though because hordes of enemies will often appear on a stage at one time, it can prove to be quite a challenge to pull these off successfully without getting hit. There is luckily a Tate Meter which can be filled up to execute multiple enemies through a quick QTE segment, but relying on this is a very bad idea since it charges so slowly.

4 Killer 7

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.45

One of, if not the most unique games Suda has ever worked on, Killer 7 is an on-rails FPS game that also throws in a few puzzles and minigames to help break up the gory and addictive core gameplay. Because of how fast the camera shifts through each room, it can feel incredibly jarring and a little difficult to keep up with at times, especially when trying to aim for the enemy’s weak spots, which will take them down much faster.

There are also a few deeper mechanics that can make the experience a little more forgiving, but knowing when and how to use them effectively can prove to be a challenge in and of itself, especially the brutal counterattack, which becomes more or less essential by the end. While pretty much everyone experiences at least a few Game Over screens during their first time playing through Killer 7, it’s still a fantastic game for anyone who loves the thrill of fast-paced shooters that have a little extra depth to their gameplay.

3 Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.57

While Travis Strikes Again was quite controversial upon its release, primarily because it seemed to be a cop-out for a third game in the series, a lot of fans have warmed up to it over the years, which plays quite differently from the previous two entries. Travis Strikes Again is still a hectic and gory hack n’s slash game, but it also takes a top-down perspective as opposed to third-person, and the introduction of Skill Chips has also added an extra layer of strategy to battles that wasn’t there before.

The truth is, as the levels gradually become much more difficult, some Skill Chips will prove to be far more useful than others, especially those that can slow enemies or inflict some sort of debuff to hinder their powers. It’s all too easy to equip a chip thinking that it seems viable, only to be decimated by the relentless hordes of enemies that Travis comes up against in the missions. Pair this with a severely nerfed Beam Katana, and some downright brutal bosses, and it results in a fun, but ultimately very difficult top-down arcade experience.

2 No More Heroes 3

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.78

Travis may have been more than capable of slashing his way through entire groups of enemies in the previous games, but he feels far weaker and much more susceptible to damage in No More Heroes 3, which makes every encounter difficult, no matter how unimportant the enemy is. A big reason for this is due to a few alterations to Travis’ movement, and more specifically, how he now has no invincibility frames when he rolls, which allows enemies to interrupt him incredibly easily.

The enemy AI also received a massive upgrade during the development of No More Heroes 3, which resulted in them being a lot harder to deal with. In previous entries, they would mindlessly charge toward Travis in an attempt to take him down, but in this game, they strategize and try their best to catch him off guard, which forces the player to think a little more about their plan of attack rather than just charging in head first. Acquiring the extra dodge moves and powerful upgrades is essential for making it through to the end in one piece, and while this inevitably can cause the game to seem a little grind-heavy, it’s well worth the effort in the end.

1 Sine Mora

Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.93

Sine Mora is a side-scrolling 2D shoot em’ up that, while criticized for its confusing story, was well received upon its release for the engaging and immensely fun gameplay where players must aim to rack up combos to earn a high score for each level. However, while boosting the score meter is the main objective of the game, even trying to stay alive is already challenging enough, especially due to how many enemies can appear on-screen at once, all of whom love nothing more than bombarding the player with deadly projectiles.

Additionally, the player is only granted a certain number of continues depending on their chosen difficulty, but considering how long and arduous a lot of the stages are, it ends up making the game incredibly challenging as a result. The game also features an extremely unique time mechanic where, each time the player takes damage, the time they have to complete a level will drop lower and lower. This means that getting caught in a barrage of attacks can essentially end a level right there and then, so it’s important to stay fully focused to have any chance of making it out of an area alive, let alone reach a high score.