Are Using Weapons/Items Cheating?

[fcgamer | 4,719]

My brother and I sometimes have an argument while gaming, playing games such as Super Mario Bros 3 or the Mega Man series. I generally will not use the special weapons or items, aside from in few situations (such as maybe a difficult boss or something like that), as otherwise I feel they can make the game too easy. My brother will generally use (not abuse) the weapons or items quite liberally though, and feels that it's part of the fun.

Do you guys feel that using the special weapons and items is basically a form of cheating or not? 

[PineappleLawnchair | 88]

You mean the game mechanics they clearly intended you to use? No.

 

[Mega Tank | 955]

If the item is in the game, it is fair play. 

[themisfit138 | 523]

If they put codes in games, it is all good also. 

[Gloves | 11,759]

Of course not lol. 

[MuNKeY | 241]

*wields Excalibur while chasing zombies*

Nope. 

"'mere ya sumbitches!"

[Rooster | 124]

Why would that be cheating? 

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

When I was younger I used to horde every special or powerful item because I was afraid of wasting it before the perfect moment. That made everything way harder than it needed to be.

Thankfully I got over that weird apprehension. Now I immediately switch to the BFG and destroy everything in site. So no, it's not cheating, just a choice of playstyle.

[Tulpa | 3,488]

While there are minimalist runs and whatnot, getting weapons and powerups when you encounter them in game is part of playing. The devs put them in there.

If you're playing competitively, even among siblings, I think you establish the rules up front, like Ninja Gaiden sword only runs.

Otherwise, play how you want to play.

[Br81zad | 628]

Nah, I like to use them. But in SMB3, I always had a hard time deciding when to use the cloud and the music boxes. I never have decided on when the best time to use them is...

The star, on the other hand, I use for all hammer bro battles. (Which usually yields another star)

[DefaultGen | 5,395]

It's part of the game. As is looking at opponents screens when you're playing a split screen game.

[mbd39 | 2,017]

Wait. Are you serious? I thought this was a joke thread at first.

 

[fox | 1,665]

next week's topic:

"Is playing a game with the sound turned on cheating?"

[Hammerfestus | 3,819]

3 minutes ago, fox said:

next week's topic:

"Is playing a game with the sound turned on cheating?"

Not cheating but discouraged.  Actually a much more interesting topic.  Games that don’t require the sound are the perfect time for some awesome tunes. To this day  in my mind the soundtrack to Duke Nukem Total Meltdown is ReLoad.

 

Of course in game items aren’t cheating.  Is using the sword in Zelda cheating? 

[Californication | 1,477]

I play better with the sound off. (Not as fun though)

[Jono1874 | 144]

I think in specific cases you could view it as kinda-sorta-maybe cheap. For instance, Mega Man 2 and the Metal Blade, Castlevania with the Holy Water, or even the Spread Gun in Contra.  I don' see it that way myself, since at least in Contra and Castlevania you need to be skilled enough to actually keep the weapon to begin with.

It's part of the game either way, so I do whatever I gotta do to get through and challenge myself not to use it later.  I play Mega Man games Buster only for the most part because in most of the series the weapons are crap.

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

I think what you're talking about is called "cheesing."

[fcgamer | 4,719]

I typed the initial post out early this morning, I'll try to elaborate a bit now.

A few people mentioned that if it's in the game, it's fair play. What about using passwords to avoid something? Or playing the game on the easy mode? 

I started a thread earlier about me trying to beat thirty games in thirty days. Although it's my personal thing (so my rules), if I were to use passwords to advance to the final stage, then completed the games, I don't think it would match what many people here would think I was doing (i.e. playing through the games, not skipping most of it).

That's why I was curious about the items / weapons thing. Yes, they sometimes can allow you to cheese it, but at what point would it slide into the cheating category? Exploiting glitches?

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

It is completely ridiculous to compare using level skip or progress passwords with starting from the beginning of a game and using in game items and weapons.

 

[Sumez | 2,929]

Of course it's not "cheating". That said, if you're using E-tanks in Mega Man, you should feel bad.

Kidding aside, of course E-tanks are there for a reason, and you're free to use them. But there's clearly a design philosophy around them that goes deeper than that. They are there to help out beginners, but anyone who feels like spending more time with the game and digging into them should aim to try for a completion without using them or continues.

It creates a nice natural dynamic difficulty to the games that is more inclusive without shunning people who like a challenge. Of course, the "E-tank" here is really a symbol of any similar mechanic in any action games. But the Mega Man titles especially are really great in this aspect. Obviously they are also designed with a "buster only" challenge in mind - but moreso than E-tanks that should never be the goal for any player starting out. The games are designed around the help you get from weapons that can be acquired, and it's a central mechanic you'd be robbing yourself of if you just ignored them from the get go.

  

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

Yes, they sometimes can allow you to cheese it, but at what point would it slide into the cheating category? Exploiting glitches?

When doing it makes the game "less fun", and/or simply cuts out content or central gameplay elements (like level skips, items that can trivialize a boss fight, removing the consequences of failing, etc.)
It's really subjective, but I'd say that's the gist.

Stunlocking bosses with the holy water in Castlevania isn't a glitch, but you could argue you're robbing yourself of the experience of fighting them and achieving a satisfying victory. Whether you want to do it or not is up to you - personally I cheese the Death boss every time.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Sumez

[RH | 4,894]

Put differently, is it cheating to use Bo Jackson? In multiplayer?

[fcgamer | 4,719]

What about the "pause" technique in Rad Racer?

[fcgamer | 4,719]

Also, I'm curious on others' take on playing games on easy mode

[Sumez | 2,929]

 

6 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

What about the "pause" technique in Rad Racer?

The answer will be the same as everything else, it's subjective. But I'd file this as cheating. Obviously the game isn't designed with this approach in mind.

6 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Also, I'm curious on others' take on playing games on easy mode

"Cheating" would be a heavy misnomer here, but it's kind of in the same category as stuff like credit feeding/using continues, P-wings, or save scumming.

It's a feature of the game, no one's saying you can't play on easy, and it's up to you whether you want to do it. It's a great way to make a game more beginner-friendly, it can help any players starting out, and it's a good way to practice if you want to move up to "the full experience". There are probably examples of games that are better on easy, but it's also likely those aren't very good games in the first place.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Sumez

[DarkTone | 984]

Nope. You can make it a challenge to handicap yourself, but thats part of the games design.

Now.... using glitches to speedrun a game? THAT'S a problem!