Difficulty Spikes

What are some examples of difficulty spikes in retro videogames?

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  1. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Battletoads is pretty manageable until the damn Turbo Tunnel

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Even when you're in the easy parts you can tell that sooner or later the game's jankiness is gonna bite you in the ass

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >jankiness
        code word for "I'm bad at the game"
        no one called battletoads jank until zoomers got filtered by it

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Battletoads sucks brah

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          >no one called battletoads jank
          Yeah they called it shit. I'm being kind

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >he thinks the turbo tunnel is the difficult spike

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Nta but, well, it's safe to say it's one of the difficulty spikes in the game in the documented fact that many players got stuck there for a while or even quit altogether. The irony though is that it's an infamous level but actually fair on its own terms (and even fun when you "get" it), while some of the other spikes in the game are just poorly designed bullshit that are mostly just boring even when mastered.

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        I get that Battletoads is OOPS ALL DIFFICULTY SPIKES but yeah the Turbo Tunnel is the first one.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      It's funny because the second scrolling section with the surfboards is a whole lot easier

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >Battletoads
      kek even the first level is a jaunty beat em off. like just easy, but fun. then the tunnel is like frick you. then the speed bikes is like something I only ever beat once or twice as a kid. with no lives left I didn't make it much further 🙁 ... especially since I usually played with my kid brother who was younger and suckier. still is.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >he thinks the turbo tunnel is the difficult spike

      Nta but, well, it's safe to say it's one of the difficulty spikes in the game in the documented fact that many players got stuck there for a while or even quit altogether. The irony though is that it's an infamous level but actually fair on its own terms (and even fun when you "get" it), while some of the other spikes in the game are just poorly designed bullshit that are mostly just boring even when mastered.

      I get that Battletoads is OOPS ALL DIFFICULTY SPIKES but yeah the Turbo Tunnel is the first one.

      >Battletoads
      kek even the first level is a jaunty beat em off. like just easy, but fun. then the tunnel is like frick you. then the speed bikes is like something I only ever beat once or twice as a kid. with no lives left I didn't make it much further 🙁 ... especially since I usually played with my kid brother who was younger and suckier. still is.

      wasn't the tunnel playtested by an actual child?

  2. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      This is the boss designed to kick you off the cabinet unless you keep credit-feeding your way to victory. All the later bosses are tough but don't have the total bullshit of Sodom's unstoppable hitboxes.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Sodom is actually way harder on the SNES version.
      In the arcade version he's a total pushover.
      You can easily throw him into the corner. Then you time your jump to beat either the dash attack or his delayed wakeup, if he does either you can throw him back to the corner again.

      In the SNES version, however, this doesnt work because Sodom has more invicibility. This is easy to notice when you walk through him when trying a grab. The best strategy on the SNES, that also works on the Arcade version, is to throw him to the middle of the ring and knock him down with Superjoy, this makes him drop the sword and gives enough space to react.

      Now, due to how item pickups work, you're completely invincible during this action, so you can do the same with his Katana. As soon as he dashes towards you, pickup the dropped sword (you'll be invicinble) and you'll grab him out of the dash.
      Sodom is noticeably weaker to throws/holds, so do 2 hold attack and throw him to any side. This also makes Sodom drop his other sword. Time the sword pickup correctly, again, and repeat the process until he's done for.

      This is the ONLY reliable way to defeat him on the SNES version without taking risks.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      his name is sodom for a reason.

      he's a gay.

  3. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Memorization isn't difficult it's just tedious and lazy

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      If it's "tedious" for you, that just means you aren't good enough to avoid excessive repetition, so it IS difficulty my man.

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Show me someone beating this level on their first ever attempt. Do that and then you can argue that it's a skill issue.

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Why would that scenario act as a baseline to determine a game is well designed for anybody except zoomers raised on casual mobile games?

          • 4 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            Because it's impossible you moron. Nobody could ever in a million years complete this level on their first attempt because you have to know the level layout. It's not skill based.

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              Yeah, thanks for making clear exactly what skill issue is in operation here lmao

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                >Memorization is skill
                Oh you're a speedrun autist. Carry on then buddy.

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Because it's impossible you moron. Nobody could ever in a million years complete this level on their first attempt because you have to know the level layout. It's not skill based.

          Not who you're arguing with but I did. I can't show it because I don't record my gameplay and there's no second first times.
          >Try to stay centered within the gap between the top and bottom surface. Don't ride the walls.
          >Oh, the lava moves forward. I move faster than it does so I can push forward when I have to.
          >Don't hug the right edge of the screen so I can still react to upcoming walls.
          >SHIT SUDDEN BOULDERS DODGE DODGE
          >The end? Already? No gems?
          That's what I was thinking when I did it.

          • 4 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            Why are you lying to me on an anonymous forum?

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              Why are you being a homosexual in a “no homosexuals” area, homosexual?

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Lying about a Disney game is perhaps the single gaygiest thing I can imagine one doing.

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              I'm not the one claiming something possible is impossible.
              Memorization helps but is not a requisite. Good reaction speed and a sense of positioning are enough.

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              Dude stfu, he's right, it's not that hard. SNES Aladdin is the game that people beat in an hour tops and go like "wait, that's it?". It's not The Lion King.

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Yeah guess what dicklick I said that it's not hard in my very first post. I'm not saying the level itself is hard, I'm saying that anyone saying they beat it first try with skill is a gay liar. It's like someone saying they beat picrelated first try.

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                That's not the same thing at all.
                Memorization only helps in action games in that it gives you effective extra reaction time. if your reflexes are quick enough you don't need that help.

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                I don't know why you're even replying when your dumbass obviously has never played the game that the thread is about.

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                What part of the cave level requires memorization?

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Play it and find out zoomy zoom zoom

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Wait, you mean to tell me those were just one of eight set patterns? They weren't random?

              • 4 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                NES couldn't process true RNG

              • 3 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                It was actually supposed to be many, many, many more patterns, but typical story in Japanese retro games, it’s broken due to a simple programming snafu.

              • 3 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Yes, and as I kid I quickly realized that and drew every possible card on paper. Thanks to this I would often clear an entire table on first try (it was either clear on first try, or second try; you can only guarantee to know which table you're on when turning over the 3rd or 4th card so it takes a bit of luck to clear on first try).

                I also knew how to align stars perfectly every time in this mini game
                and I also *thought* I knew how to get leaves every time in the mushroom houses, by going at them a certain way, but I don't know if I really knew or if I was just lucky

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              >No that doesn't count!

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >my man
        Zoomergay

  4. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Meanwhile the Genesis version devs be like
    >Oh I guess the Magic Carpet level turned out too tough, let's just make it a bonus level or whatever

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I remember it being a required level that you could die in.

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Nope. The level gives you three tries iirc, and just skips if you die thrice. To be fair it's not really a "bonus level" either because you lose the lives for real.

  5. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >difficulty spikes
      Thanks for the laugh. Ever play the first GB Mega Man? Death by spikes is a common thing in that since you can't fricking see them coming. The devs really didn't take the screensize into consideration until the 3rd one.

  6. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Wario's castle

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      The difficult level is actually appropriate, it's just that the game chooses to make every other level before then easy instead of ever ramping up. The game seems to be in this weird mid point of design where it might have been created as a traditional, linear Mario, but it was made into the format of an open ended non-linear game with saving where you can repeat levels to get unlimited lives.

  7. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
  8. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    I played this game for the first time last year and I don't remember having trouble with this part. Maybe I died once or twice? It's really simple, you just need to stay in the middle of the screen and then avoid the rocks by going up, going down, going up, going down. The level doesn't even try to trick you, it's always up, followed by down, and repeat, it's not like at some point it shifts and demands you to abruptly go down twice in a row; besidies the sloped terrain is really progressive so you have time to realize the direction you're supposed to take.

    You see the thing is, those games went made with the mentality that players either already got good, or are willing to get good without crying about it. If you want to play old games you need to understand and have this mentality because you'll never enjoy old action games otherwise. I suggest playing a few NES games like Adventure Island, 1943, Ghost'n Goblins or Castlevania, and a puzzle game like Adventure of Lolo 2 or Moia Kun.
    A puzzle game may seem unrelated but on the contrary it is very important because getting good isn't just a matter of being able to execute something, it's also being able to realize when you're doing something wrong, to question yourself, to assess all the possibilities the game has to offer, and to be able to try those other possibilities rather than being obstinate into trying something in a way that doesn't work. So many players will die on something, perhaps even multiple times, and yet keep attempting the challenge the exact same way that got them dead. Someone who got good won'tneed to die more than once before realizing "this doesn't work" and finding another tactic, and someone who really got good won't need to die at all. Puzzle games teach this mentality.

  9. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >when the whole game is a difficulty spike

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      frick who ever play tested that abortion

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I can't believe I actually sold that game to a classmate lmao
      I was stuck at the gorilla for a long time but the only game I remember never beating on that console was the first ecco game
      I guess that what also because the game was in english and I couldn't really tell what they wanted from me at the time as a ground schooler

      ?t=1463

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I played that game so much as a kid that I had no issue getting by that level. The monkey part was tedious, but once you knew how to do it, it was just a matter of memorizing which monkeys to roar at. The ostritch bit was definitely harder because your timing had to be perfect, but I still managed it.

      I never made it to adult Simba, tho. I made it to Hakuna Matata a handful of times, but never finished the level. The fricking log jumping on the waterfall was the bane of my existence; most of them fall so fast that making upward progress is painful.

      That said, I don't think it's an unfair of a game as people make it out to be; the controls are tight and the game never really pressures you or overwhelms you with cheap bullshit; It's just really hard platforming.

  10. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Battletoads opinions then
    >fun addictive challenging gameplay!

    Battletoads opinion now
    >artificial difficulty! how were you supposed to know! muh rentals!

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Critics loved Battletoads but I do think there's a disconnect between their opinions and the opinions of the kids who actually played it. I certainly LIKED Battletoads but I did not love it like I did Mario, Mega Man, TMNT etc. It's not entirely surprising to me the series fizzled out so quickly and was only revived because it became a meme.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Critics are biased.

  11. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    bomberman fantasy race reverse races

  12. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      And...

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Should have just posted Dark Wizards

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          It's not just them though. There are enemies that petrify, enemies with breath attacks, damage tiles, and a boss that's all but guaranteed to insta-kill at least one party member. It's pretty much the last major spike in the game, unless you count Warmech.

          • 4 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            Warmech was so god damn hard on the US version because of bad coding. He's noticeably easier on the original Japanese cart.

            • 4 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              How is WarMech different in the JP version?

            • 3 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              What was wrong with the coding?

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Ice cave is easy.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Good choice, this is a major wake up call. If you don't max out your potions you're pretty much fricked here. FF actually gets quite a bit easier later on once you pick equipment that let you cast spells at no cost.

  13. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    the randomness of the burrowing popup enemy is very demoralizing that late in the game.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      That hallway is hectic as frick, but the problem section is the mouths before this because I don't think there is a reliable way to not get hit if you get an unlucky mouth spawn.

  14. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    This cheeky MOTHERfricker wakes up if you're LV.25 in Magicant, and has the privilege of guarding the sixth melody. I didn't know that at the time and somehow grinded long enough to be able to beat him in the very first visit. Most people save his melody for last and treat him as the real final boss.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >This cheeky MOTHERfricker wakes up if you're LV.25 in Magicant
      Or you could just PK Freeze Gamma which you learn with level 21 and practically instant-kills the dragon. I swear everyone who complains about grinding in JRPGs never does anything more than mashing the attack button instead of using the many spells and consumables that trivialize otherwise hard combats.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Truth

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        That's nice, but I said "first visit," aka I soloed with Ninten.

  15. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Yeah yeah it's been smooth sailing til now but you frickin better have been grinding and fusing, buddy. Oh you weren't? Well I'll see you again in a while when you're actually ready to fight, b***h.

  16. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
  17. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous
  18. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    The first boss that it's actually HARD to beat. Magus can be cheesed, but this fricker is impossible if you don't know the game inside and out.

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      isn't that the point though? it's not meant to be beaten, for story purposes

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Yeah, but you have to fight two of them later and they are brutal if you're not ready for them.

      • 4 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        You can beat him, though, and get a gigaton of EXP. plus bragging rights. my autism didn't like letting him win.

        • 4 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          But

          isn't that the point though? it's not meant to be beaten, for story purposes

          is still right

          He's not meant nor expected to be beaten. It's still possible to do so but that's more of a super-hard Easter Egg. If you do the guy basically just goes "WTF? You beat him? Fine, then I will just twiddle my magic fingers and trap you in a laser triangle" and then the game progresses like normal. It's a fight where you are expected to lose.

          Just like the stronger version you fight even after the twins where you literally can't lose that one, but it's also an Easter Egg if you beat him before the fight auto-ends in your victory and get "a gigaton of EXP/AP" from that as well.

  19. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Not sure if it counts but DK64 has some really bullshit minigames. People always say Beaver Bother, for me it was this one

  20. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Metal Sonic in Sonic CD
    Gorilla Glacier and Kremroc Industries in DKC
    Sigma and Velguarder in Mega Man X
    And the second level of The Lion King for some horrible reason (I know why but it's still a horrible reason)

    • 4 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I almost forgot. The infamous Quick Man lasers and Heat Man's vanishing blocks in Mega Man 2 (can technically be bypassed with Item 2 and Flash Man's weapon but are significantly harder without them)

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I think the spider boss in MMX is considered the game's first real spike.

  21. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Yeah, it's the final boss of the game but everything else is obscenely easy, then this guy kicks the shit out of you. Couldnt beat him as an 8 year old and was many years later i did.

  22. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Slums of Xenobia.
    >About twice the size of the maps up to this point
    >Enemy units are better organized, most of which have flying movement
    >A new obstacle (walls)
    >A formidable boss with no glaring weaknesses
    A major step up from the previous stages.

  23. 4 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Descent 1 Level 6

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      That mother fricker. The only way I beat him was by cheating in plasma missiles (which he shoots at you). I beat the rest of the game, and used to have a ton of fun in multiplayer, but never legitimately beat him in single player.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        I think you are thinking of the Boarshead from Descent II

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Intel

  24. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Really the entire Witch’s Castle level, but I think many Secret of Mana rentals ended at this boss.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah, this. SoM peaks early in difficulty because once you figure out you can spam magic, the boss fights become pretty easy provided you level up your spells a bit. That spiky tiger is a real bastard without any magic on hand.

  25. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Replayed snes Alladin the other day and I literally beat that stage first try
    Easy as frick but comfy game to finish in 30 minutes

  26. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Ryu firing 10000001 hadokens.

  27. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Rayman gets balls deep hard after Blue Mountains

  28. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous
  29. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    When the games goes into pure memorizor mode.

  30. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Jurassic Park on Genesis, it's so blatant they ruined the game because "muh game rentals"
    >first two levels are challenging but fun
    >third level is a nightmare mode unholy kaizo clusterfrick with instant death everywhere that requires trial and error and perfect execution, and the level is also like 10x longer than the previous two

  31. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    I love that level in Aladdin. Minecart DK levels, too.

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