The one.
The O.G. Black Sheep of the family.
Rolfe's Bane.Egoraptor's Lament.The one called... SIMON'S QUEST.
For some reason (probably something to do with me plugging my Switch Dock into the TV for the first time since April -- long story), I'm revisiting this game for the first time in over a decade, and with a
walkthrough this time. Thanks to the guide, I'm... actually having fun this time. Like, yes I'm being told what to do and where to go. Yes, I'm totally using a special password to give myself a BIT of a head start, but... I'm actually HAVING FUN.
Strategy guides and walkthroughs have something of a bum rap in video games in general, and I think undeservedly so. Like cheating in a single player game, if it enables you to have fun that you weren't having before, I say go all-in on what makes you happy. Strat Guides and cheats only become a problem when they infringe on OTHER people's fun, and Simon's Quest is one of those games where other people's experience doesn't mean diddly squat to mine, nor vice versa.
So, I'm being told what to do and where to go. Normally this is something that at least stands a risk of diminishing my experience with a game. You do, after all, lose out on that sense of exploration and wonder that typically comes through hacking through that jungle of pixels on your own, which is why I advise people to give games an honest try on their own merits and only resort to guides or cheats when you're truly stuck, but... anyone who has played Simon's Quest
without a guide knows...
Simon's Quest is so in/famously convoluted that it's just... not fun. It's vexing and aggravating,
especially compared to modern games (though it was also vexing and aggravating in 1987/88, just ask the Nintendo Power Help Line workers!). So, that's a trade I was willing to make. And you know what? Giving up the "wonder" and "exploration" of Simon's Quest is...
liberating. I find myself enjoying the art more. I can focus my mind of traversing the world and combat. I can navigate mansions without being a nervous wreck, spamming holy water every few steps to look for fake floors. It's finally a GAME for me and I can focus more on the stuff it does right. Combat feels better than in Castlevania 1 (to me at least), and navigating the environments QUICKLY (because for once I actually know where I'm going) makes me feel like a badass.
But I still die plenty because
fuck that jump.