Difficulty of Games
For the most part, a lot of the games out now are visually stunning, with ALOMST ZERO depth or difficulty. Play a game like Silent Hill 2, and then go back to Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. There is a world of difference in the toughness.
The better the graphics get, it seems the easier the games will be. Thoughts?
I don't think it's really to do with the graphics. Games have simply been made easier, because the makers want you to get through it quickly, and then buy the even worse sequel.
To be fair, let's compare two games from the same genre: RPGs, just because I said so.
Ancient RPG: Final Fantasy. That game can own you so many times right from the start that it's not even funny. That, and you have pretty much nothing to begin with, and Phoenix Downs were overpriced.
More recent RPG: Golden Sun I & II. In both of these games, I never really felt in danger of losing. No matter your level, enemies would always go down in just a couple of hits from the right spell. If you did somehow happen to end a battle with one of your team members actually dead, a Water of Life was easy enough to find, or buy, considering the cash flow into your pocket was like Niagra Falls.
Originally posted by General Kaliero
I don't think it's really to do with the graphics. Games have simply been made easier, because the makers want you to get through it quickly, and then buy the even worse sequel.To be fair, let's compare two games from the same genre: RPGs, just because I said so.
Ancient RPG: Final Fantasy. That game can own you so many times right from the start that it's not even funny. That, and you have pretty much nothing to begin with, and Phoenix Downs were overpriced.
More recent RPG: Golden Sun I & II. In both of these games, I never really felt in danger of losing. No matter your level, enemies would always go down in just a couple of hits from the right spell. If you did somehow happen to end a battle with one of your team members actually dead, a Water of Life was easy enough to find, or buy, considering the cash flow into your pocket was like Niagra Falls.
The Original FF was tougher then anything in the world.
Lets contrast a little more.
Spider-Man & Venom in: Maximum Carnage
Impossible.
Spider-Man II
Beat it in about a week, playing an average of 3-4 hours a day. Granted doing the web-slinging and such was funner then anything else, and dropping people you save from high-rise buildings was funnier then all hell... but it was sooooo easy.
I think the companies that have been around longer (like tecmo, konami etc) know how to truely make the game hard, because they knew what it was like to work w/o fancy graphics... ninja gaiden is really fun, but boi let me tell ya.. I had to take a few time outs lol.. damn cheap rocket launchers! >_<
The hardest games ever are the original Nintendo games, no competition.
The hardest games I've played consist of: Devil May Cry-Dante Must Die! mode Ps2, Manhunt-Fetish or Hardcore, Metal Gear Solid on PSX-Extreme mode, Viewtiful Joe-any difficulty (Except Kids on Ps2), Resident Evil REmake on GCN-Hard mode, Resident Evil Zero for GCN-Hard Mode, also more I can't think of right now. Ninja Gaiden I've heard is hard to.
It seems with the Next-Generation consoles, they try to make the games compatable to new players and veteren players to a series, though it doesn't ALWAYS challenge the veterens, but that's why there's certain games out there that do.
Originally posted by Samurai Guy
Resident Evil: Directors Cut was more difficult then Nemisis. But, Nemisis was a joke.
No, Nemesis wasn't a joke. NOW It's a joke since everyone is used to it, but with Easy having alot of weapons, going straight to Hard without all those weapons was hell for many of us I'm sure. Director's Cut has nothing on the REmake, even though it's Hard mode was pretty grueling, Capcom sure didn't butcher that. I've also heard RE2 on DC/PC's Hard Mode is hell on wheels.
Originally posted by General Kaliero
It may also depend on the actual series, and of course, on the difficulty settings. Zelda games are still wonderfully challenging at times.The sad thing is, the Original Metroid is more difficult than Metroid Prime on Hard Mode. what is with that?
Zelda only challenges us the first time through, but that's why it's a great series regardless.
As I said, the original nintendo games are the hardest games ever made. Metroid Prime on Hard isn't even really a "Hard" mode, since the only difference is you do less damage, and enemies do double damage,t hat isn't really "Hard" mode. The original Metroid is a living legend, and a living nighmare for me that's for sure. Zelda 1&2 are legends as well, and 2 being ridiculously set-up is what makes it so hard, 1 is also hard to of course.
Originally posted by SaTsuJiN
and tell me.. which of nintendo's games have been hard?.... *yawn*not to mention that we're on the track of "extremely difficult" games.. the kind that you gotta go for 20 levels but you only get 1 continue and so on..
on NES: Castlevania series, Mega Man series, Zelda 1 & 2, Metal Gear 1 & 2, and that's only a few.
SNES: Star Wars, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi (one of the hardest games ever made, which I squeaked by on Hard. I can't really name more on SNES, so I owned mostly games I could beat when I was younger, but they are there.
Originally posted by JToTheP
It seems with the Next-Generation consoles, they try to make the games compatable to new players and veteren players to a series, though it doesn't ALWAYS challenge the veterens, but that's why there's certain games out there that do.
Very insightful, Pizzle my Nizzle. I never really thought of it that way. But, even so, that is why we have various difficulty settings. And some games Hard settings are still a walk in the park.
😕
I do agree that original Nintendo games are the most challenging. The original Contra was tough as nails.
Originally posted by Samurai Guy
Very insightful, Pizzle my Nizzle. I never really thought of it that way. But, even so, that is why we have various difficulty settings. And some games Hard settings are still a walk in the park.😕
I do agree that original Nintendo games are the most challenging. The original Contra was tough as nails.
Well yes, that is what happens, but that is why they port games to other consoles with new difficulties and the such. What challenges gamers from Nintendo, and the consoles now, are extremely different obviously. The company's seem to try to make difficulties that are easy for new players, and unlockable harder difficulties to try to please the Veteren of the series. Though they don't always accomplish this right, and thus the Silent Hill & Resident Evil series come in. Horrific scares, and monsters, with JUST enough ammunition to take them down, and not afford killing sprees, you had to plan out what was fast enough to chase you and kill you, and kill it, and dodge the slow monsters. Resident Evil did this first, and Director's Cut elaborated on it even more. Trust me when I say that it isn't a far off estimate to say on Hard mode, there was/is only 6/42 shotgun shells in the ENTIRE game, and for Jill there was only 1 set of each kind of grenades. I'll tell you this, dodging the amount of hunters I had to leave alive, 3-4 is STILL a helluva lot to have to dodge and not be decapitated, just to have enough ammunition for the laboratory, was a living hell.
Silent Hill 1-4 has always done this from what I've heard, although for the Veterens it isn't as hard as it is for the first time they play through one of the games. Resident Evil 2 failed to do this, and 3 was CLOSER to the original with Nemesis, but not right there. CODE:Veronica tried with the limited handgun/bow bolts for Claire, but it didn't work perfectly.
Then the next-generation consoles were born, and thus came REmake and Zero. With Easy already being a challenge for us, we didn't think it would get much harder then that, but we were wrong. Real Survival mode being only set on Hard, which didn't link the item chests, and Invisible Enemy mode which is obvious, but one-helluva-challenge regardless. Hard was just like the original's Director's Cut Hard difficulty, except just put onto the GCN obviously. Zero's Hard was even more of a nightmare, but a stronger feeling of accomplishment when you beat it. Although strangely I had 06:06:06 when I beat Hard, which scared the hell out of me, but ironically my best grade yet in the game since I stopped soon after that.
That's just a few examples, feel free to add more.
And I won't discuss Devil May Cry, Metal Gear series, and Ninja Gaiden, but I tell you DMC's Dante Must Die! mode, took me atleast 2 months to complete, and Metal Gear Solid for PSX's Extreme took a long time to also complete. I don't know anything about Metal Gear 1 & 2 for NES, other then the plot, and Ninja Gaiden I'm clueless about.
You just have to know where to look for a difficult game though, they are out there and amazing, so we have to just look hard! 😄
Originally posted by JToTheP
on NES: Castlevania series, Mega Man series, Zelda 1 & 2, Metal Gear 1 & 2, and that's only a few.SNES: Star Wars, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi (one of the hardest games ever made, which I squeaked by on Hard. I can't really name more on SNES, so I owned mostly games I could beat when I was younger, but they are there.
I was referring to this statement :
General Kaliero : Oh, right ,Nintendo's not been around long AT ALL... roll eyes (sarcastic)
that means.. produced and developed by nintendo.. not just games that are 'on' the NES system (like the ones I mentioned.. Ninja gaiden and metal gear, etc)