Games you should be able to beat, but can't?

[ZBomber | 54]

What are some games that everyone else thinks are easy but you've never been able to beat?

Mine is pretty embarrassing... Super Mario Bros. I know everyone else thinks the NES Mario games are super easy. I had SMB as a kid and it was likely the first game I played, so there is no excuse really. I sat down one day last year with the intention of finally beating it without using warp pipes and I got maybe half way before giving up out of frustration. It's on my list of games to beat but I've accepted I'm just not that great at 2D Mario games.

[MeganJoanne | 365]

Super Mario Bros is not easy. It is only easy to those who say it is because they got good at it. Super Mario Bros was the first NES game I played, really played, not just tried for a few moments, and also the first one I ever beat, and beat it before owning an NES, a friend had it, I would play over her apartment and it took two weeks going over there for me to beat it the first time, with warps I remember. This friend never beat it, maybe later in life she did, I dunno, but at the time it was hard for her and she owned the game unlike me. But just because I beat it for what the time I would call quickly, given it was my first real NES experience, doesn't make it easy, it was tough. Once my brother and I got an NES I played it all the time to the point of in being easy without warps, practice, lots and lots of practice. It's not really really hard, but still offers a pretty good challenge in some places and comparing to other NES games I would place it at medium difficulty, give or take depending on the person playing it, but easy, hell no. Thing about Mario games, if you don't have a power up, it's one hit and you're dead, and gotta be really good with the jumping and it involves physics that take getting a bit used to to make accurate landings.

Everyone is good or poor at something and some actually are going to find a game easy even on their first try, that perhaps they are just good at that kind of game, or could be something else. I never found the first Metroid hard, but many people talk of getting lost in it or having trouble keeping their health up. Castlevania is a game that I excel at, but just because I am pretty good at it doesn't mean it is easy, because like Mario, I've had lots of years of practice. Mario I would need a massive refresher on to get good at it again since over the years I haven't really favorited those style of platformers, thus I do better with ones like Castlevania, Shatterhand or Batman, because I can take more than one hit and can hit stuff, plus cartoony don't do it for me anymore so Mario style games have become harder (just means I'm going to die more often) over the years than those ones that I've played more often later in life. I used to be pretty decent with shmups, but never on the level of some of the more intense ones, eye-hand coordination has to be much better than most other types of games and most shooters involving spaceships or a man with a gun tend to be one hitters and scrolling, but I can do them and have, but none are what I'd ever call easy, just some easier than others, and my right hand sucks for rapid fire. You know what I suck at, puzzle games, I don't mind simple puzzles but if they take too long for me to figure out, it hurts my head and I start getting agitated - guess I am more of a fighter than a thinker, oh sure I do a lot of thinking, ponderings, but rarely they involve heavy puzzle solving.

So with Super Mario Bros, what seems to make it most difficult for you, the controls, the one hit, the timer, all of the above and then some? Sometimes one doesn't have to luxury of taking their time in a game and strategizing or finding the right way to go about getting through a tough area, sometimes there are pressures, be it really aggressive foes and/or a timer forcing you to rush, or a scrolling screen (always hated these in platformers) like most shmups have, but if you do have at least some time, don't rush. Get used to the controls, always play around with those first before moving forward (if you are able), then move forward at a decent pace, and if possible one enemy at a time, watch them, learn how they move and think of what you can do to kill it or get past it, and then it's all in the reflexes and timing. NES, many of them are hard because a lot of them will have a timer, though usually in the earlier levels give you enough to work with to learn to play, though even after you've gotten good at those, it's those later levels that kill you over and over because they throw a lot more at you and sometimes also make you have to rush more to finish the stage. But one has to know their flaws, the things they are doing wrong also, what keeps killing you and why, and are you repeating the same mistakes, try a different approach, but think about it, go through the options in head.

If that first Goomba kills you it's because you didn't jump on or over it, think about what to do, there's a button right there, yeah that one, that one will allow you to jump and you press this way to move forward, and this button allows you to run when going forward. Okay, got it? No, no, no don't run into it! "Plunk". What happened? Uh, you died. Don't worry you get to try again. Jump, jump button, what, what are you doing, don't just stand there, no you have to press the button, don't wave the controller! "Plunk". Sorry, I was amusing myself with memories of watching someone who wasn't a gamer give Super Mario Bros a try, they never got into gaming.

As for what game that most think is easy that I find difficult, um, nah, all the ones I haven't beaten are either really hard and most would agree or I just haven't put enough effort into them be it lack of interest or whatever.

[guitarzombie | 924]

Ghost n Goblins for NES.  It just doesn't click for me.  But I love Super Ghouls n' Ghosts for SNES and i've beaten it.  I think it might be by favorite SNES game so far.  

[ZBomber | 54]

30 minutes ago, MeganJoanne said:

So with Super Mario Bros, what seems to make it most difficult for you, the controls, the one hit, the timer, all of the above and then some? Sometimes one doesn't have to luxury of taking their time in a game and strategizing or finding the right way to go about getting through a tough area, sometimes there are pressures, be it really aggressive foes and/or a timer forcing you to rush, or a scrolling screen (always hated these in platformers) like most shmups have, but if you do have at least some time, don't rush. Get used to the controls, always play around with those first before moving forward (if you are able), then move forward at a decent pace, and if possible one enemy at a time, watch them, learn how they move and think of what you can do to kill it or get past it, and then it's all in the reflexes and timing. NES, many of them are hard because a lot of them will have a timer, though usually in the earlier levels give you enough to work with to learn to play, though even after you've gotten good at those, it's those later levels that kill you over and over because they throw a lot more at you and sometimes also make you have to rush more to finish the stage. But one has to know their flaws, the things they are doing wrong also, what keeps killing you and why, and are you repeating the same mistakes, try a different approach, but think about it, go through the options in head.

Good post! I'm not sure what makes Mario that difficult for me. I've beaten games most people would consider harder, but something about Mario was always tough for me. I find the timer never really factors in (for how far I get at least), but it could be a psychological thing that makes me want to keep moving and thus more reckless. I'm not that great at 2D platformers in general, so it might just be timing jumps. I'll have to really pay more attention to what I'm doing next time I tackle it and see why I struggle with it so much.

Like I said I grew up playing it on the NES and it was one of my first games. That honestly might be more of a hindrance to me than anything, if it's some kind of mental block in the way I approach the game. Like being too comfortable with it since I played it hundreds of times, where a lot of NES games I didn't play back then I tackle in a more "serious" way.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,073]

I don't think I've ever beaten SMB legitimately. The last world usually gets me and I was never keen on trying it over and over again to get good. Back in the day I just had Super Mario Allstars on the SNES and eventually beat SMB 2, 3 and eventually even The Lost Levels, but never the first game in the series!

[guitarzombie | 924]

Im really surprised a lot of people are saying Mario.  TBH I couldn't beat it until I was in the 6th grade.  Yet I know two people that beat TMNT and Battletoads respectively as kids and that just BLEW my mind.  I don't find those classic "NES" games hard as an adult personally, but as a kid who they aimed those games toward... hell yeah they were hard.

[RH | 4,902]

SMB 1 & 3.  Never beat them.  Ever.  Well, I did after the Game Genie came out.

Our house was a classic case of the one kid that loved a specific activity (me and video games) and another sibling that barely had a passing interest who was awesome at it.  My older brother (by one year) and I would play games but he quickly grew out of them but would still take the controller from me when I made it to world 8 (with whistles, of course), had 2 lives left and three levels to go to get to the end.  Boom, then he'd beat it.

It was like the original Twitch.

[MeganJoanne | 365]

Impatienceness, recklessness, wrong approach, repeated mistakes, could all be factors for failure at a game, or the game is just relentlessly really super hard. Shitty controls, yeah, blame it on that, which is why some of the more difficult NES games is why I haven't beaten them yet. Cheap enemy placement, another issue for some of the worst of them. But mostly, all it takes is practice, learning to overcome the flaws of either yourself or the game.

[guitarzombie | 924]

Just now, MeganJoanne said:

But mostly, all it takes is practice, learning to overcome the flaws of either yourself or the game.

I agree with this.  I've beaten plenty of NES games and either I thought it was 'fair' or a really difficult learning curve.  Sometimes the game is really easy up until the end and you basically have to be perfect in X Y and Z in order to have an easy time at the end.  There ARE a few games that IMO take waaaayyy too much time that I feel its not worth it to invest that much time memorizing these games.  As a kid I figured out everything in Manaic Mansion because I only had a handful of games, so with some of those difficult games if you got it as a kid, thats all you had and all you had to do.  But IMO thats the ONLY way you can do it.  Ikari Warriors, Adventure Island, Battletoads all come to mind as games that take an EXTREME amount of memorization in order to beat and when you can beat it, you look like a god.  Games like Contra, Ninja Gaiden 1 2 3 etc ALL have these elements but they're usually very few.  "Wait a second here cuz a bat flies over a pit", "At the beginning of this stage jump immediately to the left".  That kind of stuff.

[MeganJoanne | 365]

29 minutes ago, guitarzombie said:

Ghost n Goblins for NES.  It just doesn't click for me.  But I love Super Ghouls n' Ghosts for SNES and i've beaten it.  I think it might be by favorite SNES game so far.  

This one is not even close to easy, so not being able to beat it, shit, do you really want to put yourself through that much hell anyway... that game was divised by Satan! I've beaten a lot of really hard games, that one is among them.

[guitarzombie | 924]

Im impressed!  As I said I beat some really tough games because they usually 'click' and I just chip away at it.  Like Silver Surfer, Ninja Gaiden 3, and im sure a few others I can't remember.  That game just NEVER clicked with me.  Usually a game doesn't give me a ton of challenge and I can put it away within a week.  So I chose that one as I SHOULD be able to beat, as its not as hard as others that I haven't beaten but for whatever reason it just doesn't click with me.  Heck Mega Man 1 I beat a few months ago on a Playchoice-10!

[kapitank00 | 8]

I also have never gotten far in SMB. I get it's significance but the next games make it kind of obsolete imo.

Another one for me though is Super Metroid, I enjoyed what I played but I put it down after a while and feel obligated to restart whenever I do get back to it. I love metroidvanias, SotN is one of my favorites but I've never given it the time it probably deserves

[mbd39 | 2,020]

I've said this before but I've no deathed Contra and I can barely even make it past stage 4 in Super C and I've really tried. This is why I can't believe when people say that Super C is easier than Contra.

 

 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

6 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

I've said this before but I've no deathed Contra and I can barely even make it past stage 4 in Super C and I've really tried. This is why I can't believe when people say that Super C is easier than Contra.

 

 

I always thought Super C was the easier of the two. For me, Contra III was by far the toughest, but that might be because you have to beat it on hard mode to get the ending and I haven't played it nearly as much as the two NES games.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Bearcat-Doug

[MeganJoanne | 365]

I think Super C is harder than Contra. Funny thing about that one, I struggled at first with it, couldn't beat it, then one day my brother says, let me try, he beats it. Then, right after he did, I guess seeing him play, I beat it. That was back in 2004, and I did it without using continues on that first victory. I guess I just needed the motivation, couldn't let my brother better me at my own game. He tried after that and didn't play as well as I did. I didn't enjoy it as much as Contra, so wasn't into it at first until there was someone to challenge me at it, and even though slow to start in beating it, ultimately I did better in the end. But I still think it is the harder of the two games. Years later, I think it was during a contest, NA pretty sure (actually, yes it was, still got the picture) I go through it 5 times consecutively then called it quits, still had lives left, plenty, just got tired I guess, but still Contra I had done 11 games before getting a continue and then quit. I suppose I could have done the same with Super C but I always liked the first game more, everything, the stages, including the sorta 3D levels which for me were better than the overhead ones, and the music.

For me a lot of times how well I do at a game depends on my interest in it as well as my current mood, though sometimes some other source of motivation could be helpful too, otherwise even a game that I am really good at I could totally suck at given my mental state is just not into it. And that does factor into how challenging a game can be for someone as well because it will affect your performance.

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by MeganJoanne

[cj_robot | 540]

Sonic 2 for me

I have no problem getting to the end of the game, but getting through that mecha-Sonic and then the giant Robotnik robot without any rings is always too much for me. I just never figured out the right strategy to get through without getting hit.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

32 minutes ago, MeganJoanne said:

I think Super C is harder than Contra. Funny thing about that one, I struggled at first with it, couldn't beat it, then one day my brother says, let me try, he beats it. Then, right after he did, I guess seeing him play, I beat it. That was back in 2004, and I did it without using continues on that first victory. I guess I just needed the motivation, couldn't let my brother better me at my own game. He tried after that and didn't play as well as I did. I didn't enjoy it as much as Contra, so wasn't into it at first until there was someone to challenge me at it, and even though slow to start in beating it, ultimately I did better in the end. But I still think it is the harder of the two games. Years later, I think it was during a contest, NA pretty sure (actually, yes it was, still got the picture) I go through it 5 times consecutively then called it quits, still had lives left, plenty, just got tired I guess, but still Contra I had done 11 games before getting a continue and then quit. I suppose I could have done the same with Super C but I always liked the first game more, everything, the stages, including the sorta 3D levels which for me were better than the overhead ones, and the music.

For me a lot of times how well I do at a game depends on my interest in it as well as my current mood, though sometimes some other source of motivation could be helpful too, otherwise even a game that I am really good at I could totally suck at given my mental state is just not into it. And that does factor into how challenging a game can be for someone as well because it will affect your performance.

 

Yeah. I don't enjoy Super C as much as Contra so I don't feel as motivated to master it.

BTW, I recommend ditching the Logitech for a Sony Dual Shock 4. I made the switch and I'll never go back to Logitech. The buttons on those things always fail on me after a few months.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by mbd39

[MeganJoanne | 365]

17 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

 

Yeah. I don't enjoy Super C as much as Contra so I don't feel as motivated to master it.

BTW, I recommend ditching the Logitech for a Sony Dual Shock 4. I made the switch and I'll never go back to Logitech. The buttons on those things always fail on me after a few months.

 

 

That was a very good controller, if I remember right, I don't recall having any problems with it. I don't have that anymore though, long gone like most things, that's all old stuff from 2011. I got a generic 360 controller currently, it works okay, except that both analog sticks hardly function, thank goodness I don't need those for these old games.

[mbd39 | 2,020]

2 minutes ago, MeganJoanne said:

That was a very good controller, if I remember right, I don't recall having any problems with it. I don't have that anymore though, long gone like most things, that's all old stuff from 2011. I got a generic 360 controller currently, it works okay, except that both analog sticks hardly function, thank goodness I don't need those for these old games.

I'm glad you didn't have issues, but I've always had buttons on Logitech controllers wear out after a certain amount of time. I bought so many replacements over the years that I finally had enough.

The DS4 is more expensive but it's so much more durable. The only issue is that you need to run special software in order to trick some games into thinking that it's an XBOX 360 controller, but it works fine with all the emulators right off the bat.

 

 

[ookii_risu | 206]

Yeah, I guess SMB is the game that I should be able to beat legitimately, but I don't think I ever did. Nor do I care to. When my brother and I first got the NES, I know we got pretty far in the game. Then, we found out about warps. I just asked my brother. He doesn't recall playing World 3 ever again since knowing the warp.

Now, SMB3 I did beat legitimately with a friend years ago. I had never beaten it as a kid, and even though I hated the game, I figured I'd scratch it off the list. We took turns, passing the controller to each other when we died. SEVEN. HOURS. LATER. it was done. Why that game doesn't have a save or password function is beyond me.

[T-Pac | 7,534]

I've never beaten a Pokemon game... but that's just the tip of the iceberg for 'easy' games that I can't beat. No shame here, though - I've never had a knack for playing video games no matter how much I like them.

-CasualCart

[Ghost Soldier | 24]

I've never beaten SMB 2 but have tried numerous times to complete it. My buddies have beaten it and claim its not that hard, but I have difficulty. I might need to go back and play through this one again and hopefully complete it. 

[DestructoDisk | 30]

On 11/7/2019 at 10:08 AM, ZBomber said:

What are some games that everyone else thinks are easy but you've never been able to beat?

Mine is pretty embarrassing... Super Mario Bros. I know everyone else thinks the NES Mario games are super easy. I had SMB as a kid and it was likely the first game I played, so there is no excuse really. I sat down one day last year with the intention of finally beating it without using warp pipes and I got maybe half way before giving up out of frustration. It's on my list of games to beat but I've accepted I'm just not that great at 2D Mario games.

I just beat it for the first time last year. Though I hadn't put any real effort into beating it as an adult until then, as a kid, I couldn't beat it, but my older sister and father could.

 

For me, it's Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3. Ninja Gaiden 1 I can fly through the whole game effortlessly until the last boss, which I can beat, but it isn't easy. And it's not even a game I am that familiar with, its just really easy for me for some reason, but part 2 and 3, I get frustrated and stop playing after the first couple stages.

Edited November 13, 2019 by DestructoDisk
Autocorrect

[MuNKeY | 241]

9 hours ago, DestructoDisk said:

I just beat it for the first time last year. Though I hadn't put any real effort into beating it as an adult until then, as a kid, I couldn't beat it, but my older sister and father could.

 

For me, it's Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3. Ninja Gaiden 1 I can fly through though whole game effortlessly until the last boss, which I can beat, but it isn't easy. And it's not even a game I am that familiar with, its just really easy for me for some reason, but part 2 and 3, I get frustrated and stop playing after the first couple stages.

Ugh Ninja Gaiden 3 really pissed me off back in the day 1 and 2 I had no trouble with and 2 is probably my favorite of the 3. I ended up buying the trilogy for famicom as if I am not mistaken the 3rd one is supposed to be easier but I have yet to sit down and try them out beyond testing to see if the carts work. 

[MachineCode | 159]

Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi. I have literally gotten to 1 hit left on the final boss but have never completed it.