I didn't think Ninja Gaiden (NES) was hard either. There are a lot of NES games people say are hard and I had no problem with them, unlike today where developers do cheap shit, like make enemies crazy strong in everyway and make the hero a pussy. 
I would also add Iimitations. Developers were limited quite a bit for what the could do. Back then, arcade games were superior to consoles in many ways. One of the issues that made games hard on consoles was the respawning of enemies, like you mention with Ninja Gaiden, it was also in the Mega Man games and many others. Developers worked with what they had. I seriously doubt they coded respawning of enemies on purpose. With the resources they had back then, they had no choice. An enemy was programmed to show up when the screen got to a certain area. It's the reason why respawns happen in the exact same place. To stop that from happening, developers would have to use memory they couldn't afford to use or didn't have to time to use. I bet finishing a functional game has priority over enemies that respawn in inconveinent times. Many NES games weren't that hard once you remembered the respawning patterns. 
The GC is the last Nintendo concole I really enjoyed. Almost every Wii game I've played has been lacking. I'm not even interested in the Wii U games, except for Bayonetta 2. Good thing for Nintendo they can do right on handhelds. Let's hope they don't ever screw that up.
That sucks. I hate putting hours into a game and then coming across a glitch that keeps me from finishing it.
You have a nice list of games. I wouldn't advise Grandia II on the PS2 though. If you have the means, get it on the DC. It's been years since I played it, but it's balls compared to the DC version, IMO. It's not so bad that's it's unplayable though. It's a good game, but prepare for glitches and slowdown.
I hated Odin Sphere. If you can, get the digital version on the PS3. I heard it's better than the PS2 version.
I played Heavenly Sword for the first time this year. I was disappointed with that game. I thought I would like it.
I plan to get Lego Marvel someday.
I bought Bastion a while back. I played it a bit, but I couldn't get into it. I put it on hold and one of these days I go back.
Many of my Christian friends (myself included) still listens to the "devil's" music from our youth. Kept in context, most songs are nowhere as evil as many people thought they were.
I usually take my time with rpgs. I'll finish them in about 70 - 80 hours. I like to explore around and I read slow. I never put in over 100 hrs in any game with the 1st playthrough before this.
I think I'll start up Bioshock Infinite after I finish Lollipop Chainsaw. I just want to play something silly before going at a serious story for now.
I'm still avoiding more playthroughs of Mass Effect. I can't believe I hadn't played a ME game in months. Hopefully, I can finish out the year without playing any of them.
I was already in the 80s level by the time I got to Lucifer. I was able to beat him by the 4th try. My hardest battle was with that big white head, use to be human, dude (don't remember his name). He killed me almost a dozen times. I barely beat him. It was more luck than anything. After him, I took out the Whites pretty quick.
Play through the pain. 
