I think I gravitate towards easier games, but I did play an awful lot of Ninja Gaiden when I was a kid. Man, the rotten curses that exploded from my mouth at that game!

I think the Mega Man series has always had particularly well-balanced difficulty curves, provided you know the right moves to beat at least one boss, and which other boss to use that boss' weapon on.

RPGs are not hard in the same way. Twitch action is all about reflexes...an RPG is supposed to test your mental preparation. Planning is emphasized over obstacle course-style gameplay.

For that reason, in theory, an RPG shouldn't be hard unless you have not planned properly...