Tatsu no Ko Fighter

Tatsu no Ko Fighter (竜の子ファイター) is side-scrolling platformer developed by Advance Communication Company for the PC Engine, and published only in Japan by Tonkin House in 1989.

Story
The player is a farmer with a staff weapon who makes his way across a land filled with odd creatures and goofy-looking warriors. He is encouraged by a facsimile of the game's artistic lead, manga artist Akira Miyashita, and can learn new spells as the game continues. These spells can greatly help in defeating tougher enemies and preserving the player character's health.

When the player reaches the boss, the character switches from a farmer boy in a straw hat to a burly shirtless dude, and the game at this point becomes closer to a brawler. All boss fights are fought in this form, after which the player moves onto the next world as the straw hat boy again.

The game is considered unfair and unforgivingly difficult. Cheap deaths and overwhelming enemies are only offset by infinite continues.