While we like to think that success in video games comes down to skill, sometimes that is simply not the case. You might need luck with overcomplicated game mechanics and difficulty that's so high that you can only press buttons and pray. There can also be randomly generated levels that end a play through before it even begins. A 'luck' aspect in a game can be employed masterfully by a dev to the point where its welcomed, or it can be bungled to the point where people will curse the feature forever.
While individual parts of a game can seem like luck is required, we came up with a list where luck can definitely effect your playthrough. There are no gambling mini-games like the between-level distractions of Mario Bros. 2 on this list, rather, games that have you looking for the rabbit's foot before you boot them up.
10 🅷 Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link
Zelda 2 was before its time with regard to the number of features the devs crammed into this NES🦩 classic. The issue, however, is they also put random attacks by enemies into the game. The top-down view when traversing the world in Zelda 2 is familiar, but when “attack🍰ed” by enemies you’re moved to the unique side scrolling approach and have to either fight or walk away.
It’s time-consuming and, if you’re not prepared, can wear down your character and prevent further progress throughout the game. At the very least,🌼 it is just anno🦹ying.
9 NFL Blitz
NFL Blitz is responsible for countless Nintendo 64 and PlayStation controllers being put through a wall. You can🃏 make the perfect play calls and have impeccable timing, but Blitz keeps the game close, much like NBA Jam did back in the day.
If🃏 you found yourself up a couple touchdowns on your little brother, sure-handed receivers would start to drop balls, hall-of-famers would begin fumbling, and your defense suddenly had the consistency of wet cardboard. The game conspired against you, so it would simply come down to a few dramatic plays before time ran out. Who would win was really just a coin toss.
8 XCOM
Turned-based strategy games aren't really known for being based on luck. But the XCOM series? You’re rolling the dice on a lot of tactical decisions which can turn out really well for you, or prove to be Earth’s downfall. XCOM isn’t so much a game that rewards the lucky, but forces the player to just prepare to be unlucky.
Sure, you can have that 95 percent shot that's a shoo-in to hit the enemy. But every so often, the five percent wins out.
7 ✃ Mario Party 🅰
Mario Party is responsible for a lot of fond memories with family and friends, ⛄but this series is a thorn in the side of those trying to win via skill and strategy.
You could have never played Mario Party before, but the deluge of bonus stars and coins thrown out ensures you’re always in the running to win, no matter how far behind you are. This “fun for everyone” nature of Mario Party is its most enduring feature, but it can also feel like it doesn't really matter who wins the game.
6 Oregon Trai🐽l 𒁃
This game scarred a generation of school children for life when taking the ferry across a waterway. While seen as an educational game where players take over a pioneer family trying to head out west, all you’♈re learning about is pain.
You can approach Oregon Trail with a score of strategies, but that doesn’t stop random events like prairie fires, theft, or a broken wagon axle. While slot machines 🍨occasionally ring in excitement after winning some money, Oregon Trail just lets you know another family member died from dysentery.
5 Mario Kart ꦫ
In a well-📖balanced game with people of equal skill, it really does come down to who gets the right power-up at the right time. Throughout the Mario Kart series, it has become less of a big deal i🍎f you get behind. From a bullet power-up that can rocket you back into competitive placing, to a blue shell that hangs up the racer in first place, there is a lot of mayhem going on during any given Mario Kart race.
This is both a blessing and a hindrance, but anyone who loves the Mario Kart series knows that luck is just th⛦e price for loving speed.
4 Mortal Kombat 🍃2 ཧ
Fighting games durin𝐆g the 1990s really weren’t trying to hold your hand, and fights against the computer opponents could be very difficult. Mortal Kombat 2 however? It took difficulty to the next level as the A.I. would compute a response in the split second of you pressing a button.
Instead of being able to feel out fighting styles and employ a strategy, you simply have to be lucky enough to figure out an A.I. flaw to exploit to beat this game in its higher dﷺifficulties.
3 ꦏ Battletoads
So, this might actually be a game that just requires a very, very high level of skill - but we’re going to make ourselves feel better and say you have to be super lucky to beat Ba💦ttletoads. The game can be played in one-player mode, but it’s almost impossible to beat that way.
When🦩 playing in two-player mode, each toad can do damage to each other, further r💃amping up the difficulty. With the speed this game throws things at you, you either need luck, or you the ability to slow down time.
2 ൩ 🎀 No Man’s Sky
Procedu💃rally generated levels in video games can create different experiences. That was part of the allure of No Ma꧂n’s Sky, where the number and types of planets you could end up on were limitless. An issue, however, was when the game started you were on a random planet that could very well be trying to kill you from the get-go.
You might end up on a planet with too much radiation, or not enough oxygen. It becomes a race against time to get your resource gatherin🅷g going, and sometimes an unlucky planet🎐 has you restarting the game altogether.
1 𓆏 𝓀 Dragon’s Lair
If you’re doing well in Dragon's Lair, you either played the game before or you’re just pretty darn lucky. This game is about as forgiving as the IRS when your taxes are late. The LaserDisc arcade classic showed amazing hand-drawn animation, but the gameplay was really nothing more than a really fast Simon Says.
You had to memorize movements after failing plenty and pumping more quarters into the machine. At least the game rewarded you with some awesome death anꦯimations of Dirk th🎶e Daring.