Is it just me...

[+atari2600land]

...or are platforming games too hard nowadays? I quit playing Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D because I got mad at the fact that I couldn't pass the first stage of level 2. And I doubt I can get past level 3 of Super Mario 3D World. I bet if some company made a Winnie the Pooh game I couldn't beat even that because the assholes would make it too hard. Why can't they make a platforming game that is fun like they used to. Super Mario World is a prime example. Everyone loves it, yet I CAN BEAT IT. Now they make 2D platforming games too hard. Why is this? Do they figure kids have faster reflexes or what? Is it just me being 31 too old to play video games any more? I don't understand what the big f&*^%ing deal is.

[iswitt]

[Rex Dart]

Are you SURE you can beat Super Mario World?

 

You just need to improve. Not every game can be a cakewalk; sometimes they want you to put in some effort to see the ending.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Rex Dart

[adamchevy]

Its just you...some platformer games are just hard. Like the the adventures of batman and robin on the Sega genesis...its just hard.

 

[cimerians]

Some are hard and some are not as bad. You just need to be patient and learn the levels and practice.

 

I'll play most of them and even DK Returns but I won't play Megaman games anymore. I used to beat them with practice but these days I just don't have the time or patience.

 

If your sick of Mario and Nintendo try all the other billion platformers out there on PC/Playstation/Sega games etc.

[Atariboy]

I like hard platformers as long as it's kept within reason.

 

One way I like it to be handled though is make the difficulty reasonable just to progress in the game but utilize collectibles or secret unlockable levels as a way to make it optionally much more difficult. The New Super Mario Brothers games with their gold coins is one such example of what I'm taking about. Usually pretty easy just to reach the end point, but sometimes they can get pretty mean if you want to make it to the end with all three gold coins.

 

That way pleases both camps.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Atariboy

[Metal Ghost]

I don't know....I think with the way that continues, saves, etc., work now days, games tend to be a lot more playable then they ever were for me in the 'old days'.

[Jinks]

Guided playthru smb.. need I say more.. you didnt have saves and so on back in the day.. we are getting slower(needed fast controlled twitch reactions) and having less time for games = we suck at them compared to our 13 year old selves.

[Bill Loguidice]

I think a lot of it depends upon how much a game engages you on whether or not you'll end up beating it. I have very little time these days, but I just happened to be terrifically engaged by Max: Curse of Brotherhood for Xbox One and had a little extra time over the holiday to beat it. It also helped that it wasn't terribly long. I generally suck at most games (especially these days), and to be sure there were frustrating parts in Max, but I still felt compelled to keep at it to get to the end.

[Reaperman]

Are you SURE you can beat Super Mario World?

 

I've never beaten super mario world, but it was actually a pretty easy game that I'm sure I could finish. About 30 min in was the first of the "here, just have unlimited lives and power ups forever" rooms, and IIRC it was even impossible to really 'lose' without those since progress was saved. People complained about that kirby game with unlimited lives (whichever one that was), but SMW wasn't all that far off of it.

 

I've actually never beaten any mario game. I take that back, I think I did finish the first gameboy one which ended really suddenly.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Reaperman

[copper20]

Atari2600land, you have not played Rayman 1 or Johnny Bazookatone on the Saturn/PS1, have you? Those are much harder than DKC Returns. I completely gave up on Rayman after beating the 5th boss - the level design is ridiculous.

 

Most of the newer Mario games give you zillions of lives now - it's not like in the days of Super Mario World or Super Mario 64 where you started off with 5 lives and had to re-collect all of them after turning the game off.

 

Same with Zelda games - but I haven't really played through many of the recent releases such as Wind Waker and Twilight Princess that much, I beat Wind Waker a long time ago and don't remember much of that game. But I do remember it being MUCH easier than Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, which are the two Zelda games I've played through the most.

 

Also I should mention that New Super Mario Bros Wii and U have a super guide feature which shows you how to finish the level. Also used in Ocarina of Time 3D but I never played that one and never will - Ocarina of Time is always better on the Nintendo 64.

Edited January 2, 2014 by copper20

[Rex Dart]

People complained about that kirby game with unlimited lives (whichever one that was), but SMW wasn't all that far off of it.

 

Hehe... it wasn't that Epic Yarn gave infinite lives, but that there was literally nothing in the game that could actually take a life from you.

[cimerians]

 

Hehe... it wasn't that Epic Yarn gave infinite lives, but that there was literally nothing in the game that could actually take a life from you.

 

I finished that game, it actually got pretty hard at the end which kind of tricked kids like my family to play it only to struggle in the end and never go back to it. (I finished it for them)

[DoctorTom]

I guess everyone is different, but in my opinion Super Mario 3D World is the easiest of the Mario games I have played, easier than Super Mario World and considerably easier than Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 3, as well as New Super Mario Bros. Wii/U. (I don't really like the full 3D Mario games like Mario 64 or Sunshine/Galaxy, so I won't count those -- 3D World is 3D but often plays like a 2D game.)

Edited January 2, 2014 by DoctorTom

[Algus]

Mario hasn't been shy about coughing up lives. Where it gets you is that the levels become so aggravating, you don't want to play any more.

[AtariLeaf]

I don't know....I think with the way that continues, saves, etc., work now days, games tend to be a lot more playable then they ever were for me in the 'old days'.

Exactly. One of the reasons I was frustrated with SMB back in the day was the knowledge that I always had to start over from the beginning when the game ended. I sucked at the game so rarely got more than a level or 2 before I died. If SMB had saves or hell, even passwords I probably would have given it more of a go.

 

And yes, I know there are cheats but there was no modern day internet and I didn't read nintendo magazines. If it wasn't in the manual I didn't know about it.

Edited January 3, 2014 by AtariLeaf

[xg4bx]

Donkey Kong Country Returns IS hard as balls, especially on the Wii. However I think what makes it so hard is the shoehorning of motion controls to do things like steer a rocket when a regular button press would have worked better.

[Classic Pac]

Hey even I know there are some gamers who just fly through a game, me I am a average gamer at best. I struggle to beat some games. But I know what atari2600land is saying, I see those vids on You Tube reviewing the latest platformer. To me some of those levels look impossible, because I know I haven't the skill. There are some PSP games I own I have frankly never beat.

[Bill Loguidice]

Hey even I know there are some gamers who just fly through a game, me I am a average gamer at best. I struggle to beat some games. But I know what atari2600land is saying, I see those vids on You Tube reviewing the latest platformer. To me some of those levels look impossible, because I know I haven't the skill. There are some PSP games I own I have frankly never beat.

 

I think also it's a psychological thing with some of us that somehow we feel obligated to beat games. I know I gave up that compulsion many years ago. If I beat a game, it's because I really, really want to, not because I feel I should.

[+Gemintronic]

3D platform games never fully resolved the issues presented in Super Mario Brothers 64. It's just a matter of what combination of camera angle, control or level design problems finally break you.

[Bill Loguidice]

3D platform games never fully solved the issues presented in Super Mario Brothers 64. It's just a matter of what combination of camera angle, control or level design issues finally break you.

 

My big problem with many 3D platfomers is that I get easily lost. It's one reason why - despite acknowledging the inherent craftmanship - I personally dislike Super Mario 64 and games like it. My preference is for "on-rails" platformers like Crash Bandicoot, Knack, or the aforementioned Max: Curse of Brotherhood. Some people HATE being "restricted" like that, but for me, that allows me to focus on playing the game rather than figuring out where to go.

[+Gemintronic]

On-rails doesn't mean oversimplified. I used to assume it was a giant crutch.

 

I think atari2600land is just agreeing with Miyamoto:

“Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good.” - Shigeru Miyamoto

 

The production quality is so good you blame yourself for game design issues. With all the time, money and manpower Nintendo invested it must be *me* at fault for not catching that platform.

[Rex Dart]

With all the time, money and manpower Nintendo invested it must be *me* at fault for not catching that platform.

 

Oh yeah, every body dumping on DKC:R here is correct... the controls are lousy, with no in-game option for non-lousy controls.

I've found patch codes to re-map actions to actual buttons, but I'll be damned if I can get 'em to work...

[Austin]

Exactly. One of the reasons I was frustrated with SMB back in the day was the knowledge that I always had to start over from the beginning when the game ended. I sucked at the game so rarely got more than a level or 2 before I died. If SMB had saves or hell, even passwords I probably would have given it more of a go.

 

And yes, I know there are cheats but there was no modern day internet and I didn't read nintendo magazines. If it wasn't in the manual I didn't know about it.

 

Aw, c'mon! Everyone I knew personally knew of the cheats (not really a "cheat", per-se, but a simple continue code). And then of course there are the warp zones that you can use to skip around the game (or to get back to where you left off quickly. or just skip through the entire game like most of us did back in the day).

 

Perhaps it's time to revisit the game? It's never too late to try again.

[Jess Ragan]

On-rails doesn't mean oversimplified. I used to assume it was a giant crutch.

 

I think atari2600land is just agreeing with Miyamoto:

“Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good.” - Shigeru Miyamoto

 

The production quality is so good you blame yourself for game design issues. With all the time, money and manpower Nintendo invested it must be *me* at fault for not catching that platform.

 

Oh man, I really really hope that quote is accurate. I know Miyamoto wasn't a fan of the series (I'm not either) but having him say that specifically about one of Nintendo's own games is almost too good to be real.

 

Also, I think it's worth pointing out that the platforming of Super Mario World is a world apart from what you'll find in Donkey Kong Country. The latter game is more straightforward, to the point of being rigid. I prefer the more open levels and laid back pace of the later Mario games. DKC boils down to "finish this punishing platforming challenge, and oh yeah, grab the fifty million widgets we've scattered through the level while you're at it." Bleech.