Many games today are labeled as broken when they are first released since they frequently have a multitude of problems. This includes bugs and general function issues. However, during the medium's existence, a select few games took things to another level. Many players believe these games to be wholly broken, making it difficult even to play them. If you want to give yourself a terrible day, try to play any of these for a while. Here are ten of the most infamous games with game-breaking glitches.
10. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania is a legendary game series, but it's not without its share of game-breaking issues. In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, a bug causes the duel with Death to never actually end if you skip the following cutscene. As a result, the door never reopens when you leave the clock chamber.
As mentioned above, the door won't open again if you turn to the right to save, making the game impossible to complete. However, if you turn left, you can continue playing, but Vincent won't sell you the Rampage sub-weapon, making 100% completion impossible. Luckily, the error has been resolved for the game's European release.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
In Link's Awakening, you may purchase a shovel and then exchange it for a boomerang. You may then purchase a second shovel to have two, though. However, carrying a shovel and a boomerang prevents you from picking up the last item in the game. This one is necessary to win because the game's inventory can only hold the number of objects you intend to pick up. Oops.
Therefore, you have to find a solution by using up all of your Magic Powder to make room in your inventory for that extra item. Nonetheless, this does make the first variant of the Final Nightmare virtually unbeatable as a result. Another oops.
Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 for PC eventually leads you inside a cave, but interconnected stalactites and stalagmites prevent you from entering. You may put down a thermal detonator and wait for it to detonate for a few seconds before moving forward since there's a pile of unstable meteorites directly in front of it.
Regrettably, rather than being on the floor of this cave opening, this pile of unstable meteorites will occasionally be on the ceiling, effectively blocking the path. The only option to continue is to utilize the cheat codes helpfully available in the game's readme file. Alternatively, create a new save file and hope the meteors spawn on the floor this time.
7. Gran Turismo 2
Due to administrative interference and the game's sudden release for Christmas, Gran Turismo 2's Japanese and early US editions feature some issues. The most notable is that filling the Maximum Speed Attack leaderboards (maximum is 8) and finishing ninth will erase certain garage information.
Reloading the save game will cure the issue. However, North American users could contact SCEA for a replacement copy. The European version already fixed the issue because of a later publication date. The game also features a flaw causing some cars to be whitelisted for participation in a specific endurance event, which leads to a savagely unfair level of competition. Finally, some editions couldn't be completed 100%, even if you won every race.
6. Sonic the Hedgehog '06
Sonic The Hedgehog (aka Sonic' 06) is a game that is notorious for its horrible bugs and odd combination of realism and cartoonishness. Moreover, it is so challenging that even Sonic enthusiasts find it tough. Initially, the game claimed it would bring back more traditional Sonic gameplay for a new generation, but it ultimately disappointed the players.
Gamers must lead Sonic, Shadow, and Silver through various settings, including standard platforming and escort missions. Unfortunately, the game's ending is essentially unachievable due to the bugs and annoying camera controls, making even the more straightforward stages difficult.
5. Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition is a disorganized mess in every aspect, which helped it become a cult favorite. But, it includes a particularly nasty bug: There's a risk that specific essential things in your inventory may vanish and can't be found again if you repeat a previous chapter and finish it before you end the game. This is typical for gamers trying to complete Emily's sidequests.
When you need to talk to Olivia in the diner back in chapter 9, for instance, she offers you a key to go in, and if you repeat a previous chapter before seeing her, the key vanishes for good. Luckily, the Director's Cut solves this problem.
4. Dwarf Fortress
A seemingly harmless bug with cats made a lot of trouble. In the game, Dwarves don't have to do anything to be adopted by cats. However, the dwarf will throw a fit if cats that have adopted dwarves are killed. Consequently, you should stay away from dwarfs who are tantruming since they can do harm. However, it becomes impossible to control the cat population once it reaches a critical level. Unfortunately, that happens quite quickly because cats are promiscuous and have a lot of kittens.
Keeping track of so many moving creatures causes the game's framerate to decline until it becomes unplayable rapidly. A "catsplosion" is the term coined for this super annoying bug. It was eventually rectified by providing the player the ability to castrate animals. That means the population would be under control until another male cat entered the area.
3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas bug is known as Madd Dogg Glitch. A glitch appears in a mission where you must save your friend, the titular Mad Dogg. Therefore, you need to prevent his suicide attempt by parking a truck full of hay beneath him before he can leap from a building. He will, though, leap down before the cutscene is over. Nobody knows what causes this problem as it appears to be random. This glitch also renders the game unwinnable.
The most widely acknowledged "cause" is that cheating frequently or employing common cheats is to blame. Yet, this is incorrect because the problem affected many players who never used cheats, while some players who did never saw it.
2. Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is Nintendo's popular spinoff of the leading Mario Bros franchise. However, Nintendo's strategy to use Dr. Mario to go viral had one flaw: the Game Boy edition was broken. Players discovered their game would always enter an unending loop after reaching Level 28.
At that moment, the game would continue to run, and the fictional viruses would dance on the screen. However, Dr. Mario was never to be found. This circumstance is known as a soft lock. As was already established, the Game Boy rendition of the game was essentially identical to the home console version. However, on the NES, players could only go as far as Level 24.
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
One of the NES games that helped popularize the moniker "Nintendo Hard" is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Thus, only the most committed kids have ever progressed past the Technodrome level. For young players, the entire game consisted of three stages they would repeatedly play as they couldn't advance.
Yet, you can still beat the NES version, but not the one made for PC. The PC-DOS version of TMNT is practically unconquerable due to poor porting and an impossible jump. We don't call the leap "impossible" because it is incredibly challenging. In this situation, the jump is literally impossible. Even though TMNT was known for its challenging jumps, this is on another level!
As computer programs and video games have grown in size and intricacy over the decades, the quantity of bugs, defects, and design flaws has also increased. The effects of bugs can range from the innocuous to the catastrophic, including slowdowns and system crash, to the just amusing. However, some types of video game bugs and/or design flaws are more hated than others: those that make a game unwinnable. Thus, they force the player to restart from their last save, the beginning of the level, or even the beginning of the game.
What are some of the awful game bugs you've experienced? Which bugs would you add to the list?
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