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

[Bloodreign]

In Reply To #5

I've had my Salamander, Twinbee, and Parodius Portable games for over a year now, the Parodius games are supposed to be the arcade versions, yet the rank in all 4 games in the collection (Parodius from the MSX matches the old MSX version's difficulty) none seem to have quite as high a rank as the original arcade versions did (no port could seem to match the rank, or difficulty, of the original arcade version), though Sexy Parodius near the end can lead to many a deaths, good luck.
The other two games match the arcade in difficulty, Salamander Portable even throws in the Japanese version of Xexex, it's like having a bonus shooter, and it too is pretty difficult, you'll love it (I know I do). These old games didn't hold your hand throughout, you were pretty much on your own.

[The Last Belmont]

How could anyone LIKE a difficult game? I don't want it to be a cakewalk, but I don't want it to be difficult? Haven't you heard the story of how I broke my GBA SP because a difficult game?

I like being challenged, I don't like spending uber cash on a game then beat it and do everything in like 1 day. I prefer games that don't have a lives system or allow you infinite continues and you get to start on the level you left off. Hard is good, making you play what you've already mastered over again is not.

[Kale]

The reason games aren't as hard anymore, atleast one of the reasons, is that the characer you play have more ability now. Back then you were really limited, like Ryu can only slash and use a subweapon. The dodging was limited to jumping too. Now you're in 3d, you have more places to evade to and more equipment to help you.

The thing is... AI didn't improve as dramatically as character moility.

[shelverton.]

In Reply To #17

I was sort of talking about DMC3.
People just don't think it's easy.
But if you do - congratulations! You're not human.

Though somehow I doubt you're telling the truth.
Or maybe you mean it gets easier after you've played it for hours. But that is you getting better at it, not the game being a cakewalk.

[Slayer]

Lol, yeah that's true. But the game that broke my GBA SP was the classic NES series CV.  :

...touch

[The Last Belmont]

In Reply To #17

I was sort of talking about DMC3.
People just don't think it's easy.
But if you do - congratulations! You're not human.

Oh 3, yeah 3 was pretty tough and took some time to finish, but it doesn't take more than probably a few weeks at most if you keep at it. The difficulty's just not balanced well, which makes some levels easy and some levels tough. If it had been balanced throughout it wouldn't have been that bad.

[Rugal]

I can beat Dante Must Die mode with Vergil pretty easily (EXCEPT FOR THAT DAMN CHESS BATTLE).

Anyway, the hardest game I've ever played has to be Gradius III (Arcade). That crap just gets too insane at times. I can one life Gradius III SNES.

[elbryan42]

Yeah, I'm trying to beat Gradius 3 currently. The end of Gradius 2 with the umpteen bosses in a row with one life was impossible enough. Gotta love that series.

[Mr Sven]

Someone set us up the bomb
All your difficulty are belong to us!

Make your time.

[Raphael Belmont]

In Reply To #10

Difficult is fine, frustrating is not.

totally....just look at all snk bosses

[The Last Belmont]

i remember when the challenge of games weren't 'getting x item' or 'getting level 99', it was all about making that one jump, destroying the core, hunting the duck...

games these days just don't seem as rewarding when all is said and done.

Yeah I miss the good old days, it's hard for me to get into alot of new games especially the new rpg's they just aren't as addicting and enthralling as the older ones.

[Wonko]

I think today's gamers are not really interested in "getting better" at the game. They're more about the story or playing online.

I love to get better at games, especially ones like Contra 4. Topping their high scores, beating them with one credit/life, but in the end, only other gamers like yourself won't see you as a nerd. ("Playing against a soulless computer? what a waste!")


I don't care what they think, though. Lately I've been playing a lot of Contra 4, Reaxxion, Arkanoid DS, Puzzle Quest, Every Extend Extra Extreme, and Geometry Wars Galaxies. I'm so addicted to them I have left games like Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty 4 collecting dust.

[The Last Belmont]

always been a fan of higher difficulty levels.

[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.