Right. The most fun thing about that game was finding agility orbs so you could make more and more ridiculous jumps.

The float trick proved to be doubly handy though, since the cave that leads to the Land of Monsters contains the Arachne monster who spams quake spells. I wouldn't be surprised if they added that specifically to teach players that float protects the party even while walking around.

Things going for it would be its relative brevity, the sheer weirdness of the Chaos Eater monsters, and the advancement of the Siegward and Solaire quest lines, but yeah I doubt that area is anyone's favorite.

This is a good one. I think I've actually stopped a run at this point, because I couldn't bear the impending boredom of that interminable flashback. Like, it's so long that even the characters ask for a break.

Regarding your last point:
Ultimecia's Castle should feel this way in Final Fantasy VIII. They take almost all of your abilities from you, and you have to win them back one-by-one through sometimes difficult boss fights. BUT, I also love the visual design of the castle, so that helps soften the annoyance.

Oh god yes, that turret sequence was the worst!

Sealed Cave in Final Fantasy IV. Just brutal and no fun from beginning to end.

Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts Two

Yep. The problem here is the boredom factor. They're not particularly hard, but they're just no damn fun. In a series of games that otherwise put fun above all else.

Assassin's Creed 1 is lousy with artificial difficulty, too. You know all those sweet counter moves you've been honing over the past many hours of gameplay? Yeah, nothing you face from this point on is going to fall for that shit. Have fun just attacking.

I've played the Steam version, Humble version and direct-from-Double Fine versions of the game on PC, and all three versions (which, admittedly, might be the same code, I don't know) my game wigs out as soon as you get the dowsing rod and return to the area with the cabins. All of the buttons stop working and the game…

Agreed that Pelagia is the least fun to play. By far. But he's so massive, so visually impressive, that I give him a pass and still really like him. Turtle dude with the geysers on the other hands…

Yeah, I hated that too. Knowing the solution doesn't make it any better, because it still takes forever just to slog through.

Oh yeah! The first time I played the game, the prologue took me around 5 hours. Ridiculous.

I actually like it. I found the berserker to be a scary design, and I appreciate the change of pace. I never found it very challenging, so I never got frustrated with it.

Wow, I can't agree at all on the lake monster from Resident Evil 4. It's not particularly difficult, so I suppose the gameplay isn't very special, but as a cinematic experience I really love it. They do a great job of building the tension, and I love how singular that encounter is. It's not like anything else in the…

As someone who very recently completed the game for the first time, I can say unequivocally that The Bed of Chaos is the most bullshit thing in any game. Ever.

I only played it the once around release, so memory has faded, but I do remember dying at least once late in that encounter and being so pissed off to have to play it again.

Yes! This level commits the great gameplay sin of all: it's boring. I can stomach challenge, even an unfair design I can shrug off from time to time, but nothing is worse than boring, and that Water Temple is such a slog.

That show is so goddamned watchable. I like Adam, and it was a smart choice to play up how insufferable he is within the show's own narrative. Just the fact that the show has a narrative, with recurring characters and even a romantic subplot is kind of hilarious.