Every retro gamer has that one game that pushed them right to the edge. Some of these old titles were tough by design with limited lives, no save points, and brutal difficulty that made victory feel impossible.

For me the first game that truly made me rage quit was Battletoads on the NES. The speeder bike stage felt like pure punishment. I spent weeks trying to master it and when I crashed for what felt like the hundredth time I shut the console off in frustration. Even though I eventually grew to respect the game that level nearly broke me.

So I am curious what was the first retro game that made you walk away? Was it Ghosts ’n Goblins with its punishing restart? Was it Contra without the Konami code? Or maybe something tricky like Adventure of Link? Share your stories with the rest of us. Extra points if you actually broke a controller while playing.