It’s become quite the trend lately to appeal to one’s nostalgia.  So instead of making photo-realistic games with massive worlds and cinematic cut scenes, many developers are taking the opposite approach and crafting games that remind us of what got us into gaming in the first place.  Kaze and the Wild Masks is one such example whose goal is to resemble an old SNES game from our youth, with obvious inspiration from one of the greatest retro platformers of all time, Donkey Kong Country.  Of course, they could have just stopped at pixel graphics, a nostalgic soundtrack, and a bunny whose abilities are quite similar to those of Dixie Kong.  But no, they also had to bring back another core feature from the good, ol’ days.  A high difficulty level.  And which levels are the worst culprits when it comes to reliving the frustrations of the past?  Well, dear readers, look no further than this list, which includes the top 5 stages that did the best job of making me grit my teeth and grumble incessantly under my breath!

5: Toxic Lake – Toxic Lake is clearly heavily inspired by Toxic Tower in Donkey Kong Country 2.  That fact alone places this level firmly in this list because I have enough stresses in life without being reminded of the trauma this stage caused me back in the day.  I mean, Toxic Lake is actually way easier than Toxic Tower…and you don’t have an unwieldy bouncing snake to control…and the rising toxic waste never even got terribly close to overtaking me.  Nevertheless, I still don’t appreciate anyone attempting to recreate one of the worst levels from my childhood.  That’s just not cool, you guys!

4: Bulletvator – Bulletvator is the last optional stage that can be unlocked by collecting all the green gems in Carrotland.  Instead of rewarding you for your hard work, you are punished with this stage, which has you riding an elevator while avoiding an insane amount of projectiles.  If Bugs Bunny had to deal with such heavy gunfire during “Wabbit Season”, I don’t think he would have lived long enough to make any sarcastic quips.  Good luck attempting to complete this level without taking damage!

3: Buck’s Brigade – Frankly, I’ve never been a fan of boss fights that consist mainly of avoiding obstacles until you get a brief period of time to attack.  And honestly, that’s really the case for every boss in this game.  But only Buck’s Brigade gave me enough frustration as to induce a curious combination of rage and utter boredom.  This battle requires you to use the eagle mask the entire time, which is already a bit aggravating to control, but the worst part is that you must dodge a barrage of flaming pumpkins for what felt like way too long before finally getting your chance to attack the main baddy.  Okay, so while looking back at the battle, I realize now that you are only required to dodge enemies for about a minute during each of the three phases of the fight, but lemme tell you, it felt like way longer!

2: Zipline Zipvine – The ziplines in this game are quite a pain.  When speeding down these slanting ropes, it’s very difficult to avoid any enemies that cross your path, leaving one frantically reviewing your options before inevitably crashing into your foes again and again.  It’s not always clear when you should jump over an enemy or resort to dropping down to a lower rope (if one is even available to you), and attempting to jump back the way you came in an effort to slow your descent is not always terribly effective, either.  Like streets, ziplines seriously need designated crosswalks so that these collisions can be prevented!

1: Ziplizard – The levels featuring the lizard mask were among some of the most frustrating in the game, largely because this particular mask compels you to run forward at all times.  Stopping and slowing down is not allowed, forcing you to have fast reaction time or risk falling to your doom.  The absolute worst one is, unexpectedly, the last, a nightmare known as Ziplizard.  The most difficult thing about this level is your need to bounce across enemies…that are also moving!  Yes, you’ll be forced to cross large gaps of nothingness by bouncing across the bananas that are already moving parallel to you.  The ending portion of the stage is the absolute worst, as you must stay airborne for quite some time while simultaneously avoiding spiky obstacles!  To truly appreciate how terrible this level is, however, you might just need to see it for yourself (the level starts at 6:52)…