Topic: Is insane difficulty becoming a thing of the past?

[Nina]

Is it just me who thinks that games should me FUN instaed of hard ? Ofcourse the challenge is a part of it , but it doesnt has to be insanely hard right ? When I talk to my friends almost all of them say that games should be really hard, but I dont agree with them. I used to feel like i had to play on the hardest diffficulty modes cause otherwise Id feel so useless.

HAVE FUN WHEN YOU PLAY THATS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING !!

[Sonic_Reaper]

Depends on your perspective.  For some people, hard = fun.  I wouldn't necessarily agree.

And someone mentioned PoR lv1 mode as equal to the challenge of old school games.  Uhm, no.  Bad example.  Even at lv1, the game still lets you use Ancient Armor (guaranteed 10 hits), healing items (abundant, and with Ancient Armor basically means = no challenge) as well as the Miser Ring (which means that if you exploited Wind's quest glitch and sold a buncha Thief Rings, you'll get an instant 99 ATK boost).  So in the end, lv1 mode is just a big failure.

[Slayer]

Here's how I roll: if normal is too easy, crank up the difficulty.  Exactly what I just did for DMC4.

[Friedenshund]

Well, I dislike such things like "Uhh.... I died more then twice now.... what a sh*t game!"

Since they started this CasualPlayer crap (which, in my opinion, is Nintendos fault, nevertheless, I like some of their games), most of the gamers today seem to get softy oO At least those I know...

[Donvermicelli]

I completly agree that games nowdays are too easy, the only modern game that I can think of that was at least a bit challengeing is Ninja gaiden, took me 5 days to get 100% unlike to standard 12 hours or so all the other games take.
This is also why I made my homebrew so hard, basicly the hero is on equal grounds with the other enemies so you could kinda compare standard enemies to CV bosses

[Karaba13]

In Reply To #13

So what? You need to be a man to play Contra? You need to be a kid to play Pokemon? I think not.

Anyways, Battletoads(SNES) was pretty damn hard. Battle Toads+Double Dragon was far easier than the first SNES Battletoads, but I think it was also way more fun.

[DraimanBelieve]

Games have gotten much easier over the years and its because back in the NES days there were many limitations.  For example, in Castlevania 1 you had a few frames of animation or so on Simon, if you got hit you flung backwards like a yard and usually into a bottomless pit, jumping was stiff, your character moved stiff, the controls were solid but nothing was smooth or fluid like it is in Symphony of the Night or something similar.  Not to mention that they had to make CV1 a hard game to begin with but those limitations made it unbearable at points.  On that note CV1 was one of those games I wanted to break my NES controller over.  Idk how many times I tried beating that game it took me over a hundred tries or more to get past death alone and by luck.  Thankfully now I do know the secrets on how to dispose of him but then I didn't.  Actually Castlevania III is no cakewalk either but it was better balanced.  Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 are hard as hell and I have never beaten either of them.  I have gotten as close as you can get to winning them only to die and then shut my game off in frustration.

Insane difficulty is not what I would categorize as what makes a game "fun" especially when its forced on you.  A game's default difficulty level in a series like Castlevania should be challenging but not too challenging.  I mean the bosses should give you a run for your money unlike in Harmony of Dissonance where you would just get started on the boss and it would die and you would be like "what, why did it die so quickly?".  I am gonna say Portrait of Ruin sort of got it right with the boss fights where if you don't figure out the bosses pattern right away your screwed.

[Rugal]

Most gamers these days are little insects that don't know how to overcome any type of challenge. Lately, they've been making all game sequals easier. Devil May Cry 4 is guilty of this what with putting mass green orbs around all the levels, and a big green orb right before a boss fight.

GTAIV is also guilty of this with the new GPS thing on your radar, holding your hand throughout the entire game. Half the fun of the previous GTA games was figuring out how to get to the little blip on the map on your own. Now it's just "Ooh! Don't worry my little baby! We'll hold your hand through this game too!"

Pathetic.

The only game series that comes to mind that still has a great difficulty is the Gradius series.

[CVfan13]

In Reply To #31

Yes, they should be fun, so if you like hard difficulty, good for you! I personally hate it, but thats just me.

[A-Yty]

In Reply To #10

Difficult is fine, frustrating is not.

..and the line between these is a fine one.

PoR's hardest difficulty, for example, was pretty frustrating.

[The Last Belmont]

Is it just me who thinks that games should me FUN instaed of hard ? Ofcourse the challenge is a part of it , but it doesnt has to be insanely hard right ? When I talk to my friends almost all of them say that games should be really hard, but I dont agree with them. I used to feel like i had to play on the hardest diffficulty modes cause otherwise Id feel so useless.

For me it's not a matter of feeling useless, I like that feeling of accomplishment and the thrill of going through it on the hardest mode. God of War for example
to me is at it's best on God Mode. (though I've never finished the 300 on 1 clone fight on that mode)

[Rugal]

Ooh! You want a great game on it's hardest setting? Play Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition on Dante Must Die Mode as Vergil.

Most fun I've ever had with a challenge!

[CVfan13]

In Reply To #42

I don't find those conditions very challenging. Dpends on the costume though. I always play as Super Currupt Vergil, and I always remain in Devil state. An instant Nelo Angelo Mode!

[Rugal]

In Reply To #42

I don't find those conditions very challenging. Dpends on the costume though. I always play as Super Currupt Vergil, and I always remain in Devil state. An instant Nelo Angelo Mode!

Well.. That's why you don't find those conditions challenging. Try doing it with regular 'ol blue coat Vergil.

[CVfan13]

In Reply To #44

Well, I can't control his Yamato, so thats no good.