Top 5 Most Terrifying Rare Timed Trials

by Lerako on Jul 26th, 2011

Not to be confused with our previous list of the Top 5 Most Infuriating Rare Races, we offer instead a compilation of the Top 5 Most Terrifying Rare Timed Trials. While it may appear to be an extension at first, a Race and a Timed Trial are two very different things. Play a racing classic classic like Diddy Kong Racing or even Slalom on the NES and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of some high speed fun with some close competition. A Timed Trial on the other hand doesn’t provide any forewarning whatsoever, appearing randomly and seemingly out of place with its game, forcing you complete a varying challenge – in a strict time limit no less. When these trials come out of the blue they can be considerably daunting, but what makes them downright terrifying are the unseen consequences that these challenges bring along for the ride. For the purposes of this list we’re only including Rare titles that slap a ticking clock on your HUD – Sorry Goldeneye – ticking away slowly and diligently through time as well as your sanity. These are the Top 5 Most Terrifying of the lot!

#5. KING SANDYBUTTS MAZE – BANJO-KAZOOIE

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Venture into King SandyButt’s Tomb during the course of Banjo-Kazooie and you’ll soon discover that this ancient pharaoh hasn’t quite said farewell, warning you not to continue and instead leave his sacred shine. So you do anyway, and that’s when things start to get heavy! From here you’ll have precisely 60 seconds to escape the maze or you’ll find yourself between a rock and a hard place! That wasn’t just a clever pun, should you let the timer finish, Banjo’s view will snap upward revealing a ceiling filled with stalactite-like spikes which impale Banjo as they drop down into the maze. Prior to Gobi’s Valley, the most violent death was when Banjo bumped into a Ticker, this Trial just throws it all away and says “No, falling death spikes, try coming up with a oddball ‘oopsy-daisies’ jingle for that one, Mr. Kirkhope.”

#4. T-DAY TIMER – CONKER’S BAD FUR DAY

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War is hell, and so is a hangover, so what happens when you combine the two together? Tediz Island from Conker’s Bad Fur Day that’s what! After you’ve managed to conquer the first initial sweep of the Island, you’ll be forced to find your way back to your dingy before the entire Island turns into Stuffing Central. If you’ve played through the first half of Tediz Island you’ll be all-to-familiar with the ambush style from the Tediz that will have you running with your tail between your legs – quite literally. This ante is upped as you attempt to outrun mortar fire as well as the time limit, which reminds you assuringly that while you may die at any given moment, there is still certainty if you look in the right places, ie. the top right hand corner of the screen.

#3. THE RACE – GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES

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Once you manage to thwart the Baron in Grabbed by the Ghoulies you’ll be tasked with rescuing all 10 prisoners hidden in the Hall, all in seperate rooms with their own challenges, and all in an alloted 13 minutes. As with all Timed Trials, there is added stress with the time limit, but it also comes with an unseen consequence: should you let the timer run out, you’ll find yourself back outside, leaving any prisoner left behind, behind. Take a minute to soak that in, Fiddlesworth never pipes up with an assuring “Please my Prisoners! Yer seem’ta fergot a few lad; I’ll go ‘n get ’em fer ya.” No, nobody has any plans on going back, Babs, Fiddlesworth and Soupswill are on the outside of the gate, while some hogtied kid screams into the darkness for help that will never come.

#2. TIME TRIAL: ON – DIDDY KONG RACING

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And now a sobering segue to animals riding in cars. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I thought you were avoiding races to focus on Timed Trials, you lied to me!” Well, this entry does have a clock face on the HUD, and while it may gasp and raise its eyebrows in surreal fashion as you boost over zippers, it’s still relevant to this list, especially one so terrifying. What’s so unsettling about T.T aside from general appearance? In order to unlock the ability to race as him you have to beat all 25 racetracks with their specific vehicle in an unbelievably short time. This begs the question when you do unlock him, why bother? You’re clearly good enough with your current racer to have done so in the first place. And that’s when your eyes cross…

#1. HIDEOUT HELM – DONKEY KONG 64

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In the apes Expansion Pak-backed and Expansive packed Adventure, Donkey Kong 64 you’ll be tasked with freeing Diddy, Tiny, Lanky and Chunky to ascend to Hideout Helm, once inside you’ll have a set time to beat the level in, which varies depending on how many Blueprints you’ve managed to collect. You’ll start off with 10 minutes, with an additional minute for each Blueprint you’ve managed to recover. That’s all good if you’ve been collecting the Blueprints compulsively but what if you haven’t been? What do you do now? Go back on a collecting spree, or stick it out and try beating the time limit? If you choose the latter be prepared to engage in a white-knuckle race against time as you attempt to clear Hideout Helm in 14 minutes. Imagine King Sandybutts Maze, but the ceiling crashes down on all of DK Isles.

Categories: Top 5 Lists