Nightmare fuel, but in a good way.
The memories of playing this game still haunt me to this day. Jumping from platform stalwarts like Super Mario, Super Adventure Island was, for me, a big spike in difficulty.
It's a standard side scrolling platformer, but the physics are fairly strict. When on foot, your boomerang or axe is needed to clear the stage (no head stomping here). From spiky hermit crabs, to giant mosquitoes, you will encounter a whole range of tropical enemies to defeat. Caution is key, as just one hit from any of these and you lose a life. I don't recall there being a save feature either and getting binned back to the start screen when you were close to finishing the whole game was infuriating.
Throw in the skateboard, however, and you are looking a whole new level of frustration. Jumps seem to be just a little too shallow, leading to you stumbling over rocks and enemies alike. The increased speed, means that your reflexes will be tested. No other on rails vehicle rides has annoyed me as much (aside from the minecarts in Donkey Kong Country), but the sense of achievement when you complete a perfect run is amazing.
Like many of the games from this era, the game itself is only half the fun. The sense of frustration, anger and finally elation when everything goes your way is really what was enjoyable about them.
Oh, and that music. I can still hear it now, looping for eternity in my brain.