Should the Final Level be the Hardest Level?

[GPX | 1,369]

This topic question has never really crossed my mind, and I feel it really doesn’t matter in the whole scheme of things. Because..

When I play games, the challenge is one contributing factor to the entertainment. The “fun factor” is ultimately what I want, and has several ingredients in each stage/segments:

- atmosphere created by the graphics and sounds

- level of creativeness

- the balance of difficulty in the environments/bosses (too little/too much = bad)

- other?

So as long as the overall content in a stage is great, I don’t really mind if the final stage is hardest or easier than the prior stages. Taking Zelda Wind Waker and Mario Galaxy as my examples in games I’ve completed fully. I honestly can’t remember which dungeons/castles were the hardest, but I will give both a 10 for their overall entertainment value. 

[Link | 2,710]

23 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Yeah, but wouldn't you want to hire henchmen who are stronger (or nearly as strong as) yourself?

No, you don't want a mutiny. 

 

23 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

It always bugged me that the final bosses of video games have such God-like strength compared to their body guards; like, why did you even bother to hire these guys in the first place?

Hey, you gotta have somebody to stop the other guy, while you just chill in the one, very last, empty room in your castle, hanging out with nothing to do except wait for somebody to waste all your minions on their way through your elaborate maze of effectively several hundred little moats. 

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

I personally enjoy final bosses that have victory lap visual spectacle final forms. Or ways I can "skip" a final dungeon in RPGs because they tend to be more of a pain in the ass than fun. Moogle Charms in FF6 or Holy Bottles in Tales of... for example.

[Estil | 1,264]

If you mean "final level" as in the main story mode (whatever the right term is) then of course not.  You gotta have super secret bonus levels/dungeons and/or superbosses and whatnot!  How else are you supposed to know if you're truly a Royal Crown [insert name of game] Master?  (that is, if the game is not on PS3/PS4 and you can't platinum it)

@Sumez -- Why do you think this is sad?

Edited December 9, 2023 by Estil