I beg your pardon? I've finished Strider several times and it is a single-round game.....

--------------------------
////////Here lies: \\\\\\\\
|---Batman - NES---|
|Truxton - Genesis-|
|-They enjoyed the-|
|-shrinkwrap days-|
|--now it's over. All-|
|---they do now is--|
|-push up clovers.-|
|---------R.I.P.--------|
They both are resting in a smoldering grave right now.

Although it isn't the most difficult game ever, Space Quest 1 has to be mentioned.
I played it when I was about 6, and until I replayed it some time later, all I remembered of the game was "you hear footsteps" and then being gunned down.
It didn't put me off sierra adventures though, I'd played KQ1+2 by that point, so I knew what I was getting myself into. Very unforgiving in many ways in a genre that's supposed to be a bit more relaxed!
I'd also mention Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. Trying to maintain all the virtues can be tricky, especially since running away from a battle (even if you would have died fighting) affects your Valour.
Not quite in the GnG category though, although I always assumed that was because I was usually really bad at arcade/console games.

I'm referring to this Strider, and yes, by "round" I mean completing all levels in the game till the final boss/stage. Ghosts'n Goblins and its likes used to be "multi-round" because you had to replay them from the start after the first run....
Oh, and guess what? After the first, tense missions American Revolt became a much more relaxed experience (I mean missions 4-6 I'm playing right now). What an oddness....

For me it's Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines - great game :)
Why nobody said Desert Bus? LOL

I've beaten alot of games that were regarded as hard such as GnG on NES, GnG on SNES, Metroid on NES, Kid Icarus on NES, Mega Man 1, Zelda II, Bayou Bill(y?), Festers Quest and what not. I still could not get halfway through bloody Ninja Gaiden on Xbox :P

You know what I don't get?
Remember Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, the GnG sequel for PS2? When it came out, everyone was all "ohhhh it's so hard I can't believe it I hate myself how could Capcom be so mean."
Wha? The game was actually kinda easy, I thought...
Did the reviewers say that just because of its GnG heritage? Did Capcom nudge them to say that just because of its GnG heritage?
Don't get me wrong, it was a pretty fun game, but difficult, not really.

LOL That gave me a good laugh. Thanks for posting that.

They weren't that hard at all. I completed them and I'm useless at platform games.

The first Commandos is punishing. What you've got to do is unashamedly repeatedly use The Ultimate Weapon and the Nazis don't stand a chance. I don't remember there being a level so tough, you weren't given The Ultimate Weapon.

Jet Set Willy. But I don't want to talk about it ;)

I just played the hardest game ever, seriously only try this game if you can beat Mario in 2 minutes blindfolded with bricks tied to your feet while drowning.
[url=]http://games.gamestreamer.net/games/xfart [/url]

"We're sorry but this game is currently not available in your location"
Wow, great site! Can't even have just informations/screenshots about a game not available...
But the name of the game in your link is explicit.

Honestly, there weren't really any decent 3d action/platform games until DMC (Capcom saving videogames once again), so you had a real lot of people who had never played or given up on platform games. '01,'02 were when the first really good 3d platform games (ICO, Rygar, DMC) came out.
3d platforming as an evolution of the 2d action/platformer (rather than an adventure/platform game like Soul Reaver or Tomb Raider, for instance or the mario style games) really only started then.

American Revolt, mission 7, another impossible-even-to-start-without-being-rocketgunned-up-through-your-agents-asses one. Man, this damn data disk has no knowledge at all of basic things like "difficulty curve" and "fun", I don't think that starting a mission 10 times just to see where you can hide to not to be exterminated in the first 10 seconds of play is that funny :-D

I remember reading years ago, that Bullfrog said they had complaints from some people saying that the original Syndicate missions were too easy so they made AR harder!!
I don't know who would have thought that, that final level in the middle of the Atlantic was a pain in the ass, 'til I figured out how to beat it. :D