DEBUNKED: Nintendo's Iwata on games getting easier

Disgustipater wrote: It is funny to read some of the compilations of comments from Miiverse posts. People playing Super Mario World, or Super Metroid, and getting completely stuck.

y cant metroid crawl?

Wow, this is dumb; are these real people?

Miiverse was one of the best parts of the wii for this reason. Unfortunately it became a dumb meme and now people are making those metroid crawl type posts for everything.

Mario is still as challenging as ever. The Wii U NSMB has some really hard levels, and the Luigi DLC is up there with Lost Levels at times. On the 3DS, 3DLand is fairly challenging during the second half.

Edit: Even Mario had a ridiculously long dry spell. Every 3D Mario until the 3DS has been really easy on the platforming. Mario 64 and Galaxy 1&2 were fun but easy. The New Super Mari Bros. series seemed to be a kiddy gloves version of Mario 3 until very recently. I was almost ready to abandon Mario as the king of platformers and throw him in with Sackboy as fun but insultingly easy until this turn around.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is also hard as hell. Same with Super Meat Boy.

Yeah, NSMBU is pretty freakin' hard...definitely some challenging levels, and some of the big coins are ridiculously hard to get.

Good god, DKCR is TOUGH.

I just got DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS for my birthday. I heard it's easier on the 3DS because you don't have to waggle. But playing it would mean not playing ANIMAL CROSSING and that's not going to happen while my museum is so fossil poor!

I think platformers should have a nice ramp. They should be beatable, for the sense of accomplishment, and be challenging for folks that want to go for it. SUPER MARIO GALAXY (1 and 2) handles this well. Yeah, my kids can "beat" the game, but get 120 stars? No fucking way. THAT was hard. SUPER MEAT BOY has beatable levels all over the place, but that last one is a son of a bitch. SUPER MARIO 3D LAND is the same thing. My kids got through it to see the credits, but I am killing myself trying to get through the S-Worlds (on S8-6 now? Fuck me.)

I recently got a Gametel gamepad for my phone so I can play NES and SNES games on it an holy balls am I bad at Mega Man. I used to be pretty damn adept at that game, now I'm just adept at dying a lot and feeling old.

What I like best about Mario's difficulty level is that in general, you kind of set it yourself. If you want to complete every level and see the end, that's kind of the "easy" setting. Maybe you want to try to get all of the coins or stars, that's normal. 100% completion, all secrets, all coins or stars means you're effectively playing on a hard mode. But you don't have to select it, and the core game stays the same.

Michael Barnes wrote: What I like best about Mario's difficulty level is that in general, you kind of set it yourself. If you want to complete every level and see the end, that's kind of the "easy" setting. Maybe you want to try to get all of the coins or stars, that's normal. 100% completion, all secrets, all coins or stars means you're effectively playing on a hard mode. But you don't have to select it, and the core game stays the same.

Mario in hard mode is one of video gaming's true delights too, because it depends on you pulling off some insane moves that take impeccable timing. The best part is that the game actively encourages you to play in a reckless fashion. I mean, who doesn't run full tilt through all the levels?

I remember the original New Super Mario Bros. on DS. It's really not hard to get through all the levels. But finding all of the coins? That took me literally another 3 years of just picking it up and continuing to try now and then.

That you only have to pull off the insane moves with impeccable timing once per challenge is also part of the magic. You don't have to become a master. You just need to try enough times for it to all fall into place one time. When it happens it is euphoric - partially because you did it and partially because you'll never have to do it again.

Octavian wrote: That you only have to pull off the insane moves with impeccable timing once per challenge is also part of the magic. You don't have to become a master. You just need to try enough times for it to all fall into place one time. When it happens it is euphoric - partially because you did it and partially because you'll never have to do it again.

I didn't get the same high from this in SUPER MARIO games as I did from 'SPLOSION MAN and SUPER MEAT BOY. Those both have a couple of levels that are just so tough that I practically ran around the block when I pulled them off. That salt tower in the negative land of SMB? I still feel like a fucking hero for nailing that one.

I feel like a pro gamer when I nail a SUPER MARIO game though. I think I could actually do it again if asked. But no way on the MEAT BOY ones. No fucking way.

Heh, yeah, you can't beat those "miracle moments".