Toughest Tasks in Gaming History - Volume Five

Gaming can be a very rewarding hobby when you challenge yourself to tackle a truly tricky task and overcome it, becoming victorious. The Toughest Tasks in Gaming History series of articles on SuperPhillip Central was started because I wanted to check out some deviously difficult achievements, trophies, and just plain old challenges in gaming that many deem--including myself--to be some of the hardest to complete within our shared hobby. If you've completed any of these, you can claim to be a more superior gamer than most.

Check out past installments of the Toughest Tasks in Gaming History with these links:

Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four

Now, let's get to the five newest tasks added to this ever-growing list!

Earning the Unlimited Ammo Rocket Launcher and Minigun - Resident Evil 2 (PS4, XB1, PC)

With Resident Evil 3 releasing on April 3rd, and the immense hype behind that game, why not take the opportunity to look back at the remake that proceeds it with Resident Evil 2? That's exactly what we're going to do to kick off this edition of Toughest Tasks in Gaming History.

Now, to get this immediately out of the way, getting the Unlimited Ammo Rocket Launcher for Leon and Unlimited Ammo Minigun for Claire is simple enough by purchasing an unlock code. However, I'm talking purely about earning them through standard play without a code. In order to do so, you have to get an S+ rank in Hardcore Mode, the most difficult and intense mode in Resident Evil 2, in both Leon and Claire's campaigns. This means clearing the game within a couple of hours with a maximum of three saves, and doing so without using any other unlimited ammo weapon save for the Combat Knife.

In a mode where death is all too easy with deadlier enemies that can withstand more damage, a faster and more powerful Mr. X, and less storage space, trying to just beat the game on Hardcore is difficult enough--much less trying to do so with just being able to save three times at most, where any death can send you stumbling back to a previous save from a while back. The timid need not apply with attempting to unlock these powerful, ultimate unlimited ammo weapons legitimately.

Become "Worthy of Legend" - Devil May Cry 5 (PS4, XB1, PC)

As the old adage goes, "Patience is a virtue", and you'll definitely need all of the patience you can muster when attempting this particular challenge. The "Worthy of Legend" achievement requires players of Capcom's Devil May Cry 5 to achieve an S-Rank on all 21 missions in the game. Not just that, but this has to be done on all difficulties in the game, save for the ultra-hard Heaven or Hell mode.

What makes this achievement so challenging is that: 1) It's an extreme time-sink of a task, and 2) You have to get S-Ranks on all 21 missions of Hell and Hell mode, too, where enemies have tank-like durability, requiring masterful play to take down. This is in stark contrast to your character who dies by one hit. "Worthy of Legend" is more than just a moniker for this particular achievement--it's a testament to one's ability as the ultimate Devil May Cry 5 player. Learn enemy patterns, practice as much as you can, and then face your demons (both figurative and literal game-wise).

Acquire All Rainbow V's - Viewtiful Joe (PS2, GCN) 

Continuing and ending our streak of Capcom titles, we go back in the past for a more retro pick this time around with the fantastic--no, better yet--VIEWTIFUL, Viewtiful Joe for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2. Like Devil May Cry 5, with the task of acquiring all Rainbow V's, you're essentially trying to S-Rank each and every section of level in all seven chapters of Viewtiful Joe. However, to be rewarded with unlimited VFX powers--the abilities that allow our hero Joe to perform insane combos, enter mach speed, slow motion, and other awesomely viewtiful abilities--you simply have to get all Rainbow V's on one difficulty as opposed to several.

The most difficult part about this is that you only get checkpoints between whole chapters and at midpoints of chapters--meaning that you otherwise are required to have completely perfect runs. You need to keep your combo going, you need to earn enough points, and you can't take damage, as one hit or one less-than-perfect grade in a scoring category will ruin your Rainbow V run. Throw in bosses that must be defeated quickly and efficiently--also without damage--and you have one seriously tough task ahead of you!

Getting the "Golden Try" Tonic - Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

There are over 60 tonics in Playtonic Games' Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, and these unlock new abilities for Yooka and Laylee, as well as in-game bonuses such as screen effects. To earn the Platinum trophy in the PlayStation 4 version of the game, or all of the achievements in the Steam and Xbox One releases of the game, you have to collect all of the tonics in the game. Well, except for one, which is saved for purely the most dedicated of the dedicated of Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair players.

This "Golden Try" tonic is unlocked by playing through the eponymous Impossible Lair. This final level of Yooka-Laylee's sophomore adventure can be played at any time, but the more Bees you collect throughout the game, the more "hits" you get. Simply clearing the 20+ minute lair with every Bee in the game is already a bit of a herculean task, but try doing so without any Bees AT ALL. In order to earn the "Golden Try" tonic, which turns Yooka and Laylee golden, you must clear the Impossible Lair by doing just this. No Bees to help you whatsoever. As I stated, the Impossible Lair is tough enough as it is, but giving it the old college try for the "Golden Try" tonic? Save that for a player more patient than I!

Become "The People's Chimpion" - Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

We move on to our final game and challenge spotlighted on this fifth volume of Toughest Tasks in Gaming History. It's from a game that I skewered quite a bit in my review, but the challenge still remains. It's earning "The People's Chimpion" achievement/trophy in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD.

In order to accomplish this task, a player must successfully clear each and every world within the game without using a continue. While you can play from the very beginning of the game and rack up a comfortable amount of lives, once you start hitting the latter half of the game, stages go from pleasant and fun to a pain and an annoyance. The bosses at the end of each world get a special shout-out for being able to ruin otherwise perfect runs due to their poor cameras and dodgy hit detection. Still, if you can somewhat overcome this seemingly insurmountable challenge, then you aren't just a Monkey Ball Master, but you might just be a bit bananas for being up to doing so!