Refusing to use overpowered attacks/power-ups?

[cartman | 195]

Is it just me like this but i feel a lot of games offer things that overpower the player and basically render him more or less invincible. Like the Magic in Golden Axe games but also the mounts. I was playing revenge of Death Adder" and was strolling through the game like a breeze after mounting the preying mantis and felt no this doesn't feel right i have to stop doing it like this.

[Mega Tank | 956]

13 minutes ago, cartman said:

Is it just me like this but i feel a lot of games offer things that overpower the player and basically render him more or less invincible. Like the Magic in Golden Axe games but also the mounts. I was playing revenge of Death Adder" and was strolling through the game like a breeze after mounting the preying mantis and felt no this doesn't feel right i have to stop doing it like this.

https://youtu.be/Kf04zlExM8c

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

The first things I thought of were the holy water in Castlevania and the spin slash in Ninja Gaiden. Both of those items make each game much easier than if you don't use them.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Honestly, I'm the type of person that will take any advantage a game gives me, especially if it's a particularly brutal game. I totally understand why people would have that outlook though, because there are some cases in which those little tricks just completely drain any difficulty out of the game.

[zeppelin03 | 314]

I'm open to most things unless it's game breaking.  Holy watern is my favorite item in SOTN. I don't seek out some of the OP weapons though. Might be because I don't know them.

In BOTW I do not use the revive power or that damage shield.  I will take the game over if something happens. 

The big issue for me is breaking the immersion not becoming to powerful. If it feels like part of the games progression I am all for it.

[RH | 4,895]

Interesting. I finally broke down and bought Sky Force Anniversary for Switch. I want to open the levels for him, but I won't progress past a level until I earn every badge in Insane difficulty.

Anyway, if you are unfamiliar with the game, you collect stars which you use to upgrade your ship and these upgrades are permanant. I have nothing against upgrading my ship but there are three special weapons you can also unlock and then pay to upgrade. Mega-bomb, a laser beam that melts enemies and short term invincibility. I hold off on unlocking and upgrading those. Also, before you start each stage you can pay stars to buy all three of those special items and you can get a max of five shields and lasers and three mega bombs. I try to not buy any. I guess my conservative approach to buying powerful upgrades is kind of similar. I am on stage 4 of 9, though, so towards the end I may change my mind.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

To each their own.  However, in the examples provided in this thread, while such power ups can make the game easier, it doesn't necessarily make the game less tough as nails overall, as you might be able to use a mount in Golden Axe to get through a particularly crowded area unscathed, but it doesn't mean that you're not necessarily going to lose it sometime in the near future nor have an easy time once you do.  If you find a game to be too easy with certain power ups, just don't use them--that's an option in most games.  Not everybody is an absolute beast when playing games, and developers generally understand that if they want people to keep buying their game(s) they need players to be able to have some sense of completion, hence various powerups, cheats, etc. being available.  To me, the Dark Souls games (and those of similar build) are really the only ones that seem to fly in the face of that idea, as they're tough as nails and generally totally unforgiving; definitely not for me, as none of the stories are interesting enough for me to put in enough time and effort to "git gud," but those who want that type of thing should feel free to enjoy.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Sometimes you want to challenge yourself by playing more minimalist... sometimes you want to engage in the power fantasy of epic destruction.

 

[rdrunner | 422]

As EA used to say, "if it's in the game, it's in the game".

[Tabonga | 2,314]

I don't promote Ash to a Vandalier in Vandal Hearts (I do play through the trials though.) He is so powerful as a Vandalier (and yes it is a dumb name IMHO - plus his armor and helmet look pretty goofy) that all you have to do is cast plasma wave after plasma wave to clear the battlefield.

While not overpowering per se, I always defeat all of the chess army in Shining Force II before defeating the king.  Since you can't buy any more healing items you have go with what you have and plan accordingly.  Makes that one of the two most challenging battles in the whole series.

 

[dvertov | 205]

On a first playthrough, discovering an overpowered item can be thrilling, especially if the game has been a real challenge up to that point. I'll never forget finding crissaegrim during a random item drop in SOTN and had no idea what it was. I felt like an absolute beast shredding through the rest of the game. On subsequent playthroughs I've usually skipped it to give myself more of a challenge.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

3 minutes ago, dvertov said:

On a first playthrough, discovering an overpowered item can be thrilling, especially if the game has been a real challenge up to that point. I'll never forget finding crissaegrim during a random item drop in SOTN and had no idea what it was. I felt like an absolute beast shredding through the rest of the game. On subsequent playthroughs I've usually skipped it to give myself more of a challenge.

I remember randomly picking that up too. It was like playing through the rest of the game with a turbo button.

[cj_robot | 540]

Hell nah, I take whatever they give me. I power up to the max, because I want to demolish the final boss and every one of their little minions too. Hold nothing back.

[JamesRobot | 5,786]

Make a beeline straight for Metal Man and don't look back. Let them metal blades fly, man!

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

52 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

I don't promote Ash to a Vandalier in Vandal Hearts (I do play through the trials though.) He is so powerful as a Vandalier (and yes it is a dumb name IMHO - plus his armor and helmet look pretty goofy) that all you have to do is cast plasma wave after plasma wave to clear the battlefield.

While not overpowering per se, I always defeat all of the chess army in Shining Force II before defeating the king.  Since you can't buy any more healing items you have go with what you have and plan accordingly.  Makes that one of the two most challenging battles in the whole series.

 

You beat me to it.  

Funny thing is that I played through this game more times than I could count over many years, but I never learned about the trials until a few years ago.  In all of the years playing it, I never once looked at a guide until recently.  I was blown away to learn about the hidden levels and secret class for Ash.  I'm actually playing through the game again right now, but this will be my first attempt to promote Ash to the Vandalier class (I currently have 4 of 6 keys).  I fully understand how over powered he will be, but I want to do it one time just for fun.  

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by TDIRunner

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

Another example is Super Mario Bros. 3.  I'm completely fine using the powerups that you save in between levels.  However, the one rule that I have is that I don't use the P-wings.  I don't thin it's cheating if you do use them since they are included in the game for that reason.  However, I just choose not to use them myself.  

[Tabonga | 2,314]

2 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

You beat me to it.  

Funny thing is that I played through this game more times than I could count over many years, but I never learned about the trials until a few years ago.  In all of the years playing it, I never once looked at a guide until recently.  I was blown away to learn about the hidden levels and secret class for Ash.  I'm actually playing through the game again right now, but this will be my first attempt to promote Ash to the Vandalier class (I currently have 4 of 6 keys).  I fully understand how over powered he will be, but I want to do it one time just for fun.  

 

You could just not use him much in combat (he can lollygag in his starting position) once you promote him. That will give your other team members a share of the spoils and might give you a bit more of a challenge.  Maybe cast plasma wave once if the others have difficulty on their own.

[DarkTone | 984]

For my first time beating the game, no guilt. After that, IF I Replay a game I'll challenge/handicap myself. 

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

45 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

You could just not use him much in combat (he can lollygag in his starting position) once you promote him. That will give your other team members a share of the spoils and might give you a bit more of a challenge.  Maybe cast plasma wave once if the others have difficulty on their own.

I'm just going to have fun with it.  I'm not too worried about other characters missing out since I've seen it all so many times.  If I were to make a list of games I've played through from start to finish the most, Vandal Hearts would easily fall into the top 10.  

I"ll probably make a few game saves, so I can always go back to the point where he advances to the top class.

[Tabonga | 2,314]

1 hour ago, TDIRunner said:

I'm just going to have fun with it.  I'm not too worried about other characters missing out since I've seen it all so many times.  If I were to make a list of games I've played through from start to finish the most, Vandal Hearts would easily fall into the top 10.  

I"ll probably make a few game saves, so I can always go back to the point where he advances to the top class.

Heh - my top 5 for playthroughs would be thus:

Dark Wizard  
Brigandine
Nectaris
Shining Force II
Either Advance Wars I or II

Edited April 29, 2020 by Tabonga

[T-Pac | 7,514]

I always use the most overpowered power-ups. 

[more lasers] + [more explosions] = [better video games]

-CasualCart

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I used to always save powerful items, thinking I'd need them later in the game, then end up finishing the entire game without using them. Now, I'm all about the power. Give me the most powerful ability as early as possible and I will spam it until my fingers bleed!

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,011]

Basically me every time I play Pokemon. I won't evolve any Pokemon in my party unless I have to, like if I lose a gym battle o something. Otherwise, I keep them all basic.

Here's my team I beat let's go Pikachu with. 

[RH | 4,895]

14 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I used to always save powerful items, thinking I'd need them later in the game, then end up finishing the entire game without using them. Now, I'm all about the power. Give me the most powerful ability as early as possible and I will spam it until my fingers bleed!

This is often true for me.  Early when I talked about Sky Force, one of my biggest personal issues is I'll buy a Mega Bomb or Laser or two, and try to hold it until the boss battle.  But, if I'm trying to cut my teeth through an insanely difficult level, it ends up getting wasted, so I never buy the stuff.  But, then I DO get to the boss and I'm without it.  I usually do well enough that I feel like what's the point buying the upgrades, anyway.

Also, RPGs are another one.  I rarely use "ethers" or "tents".  Specifically, I won't use the items that refill your magic points, or the tents.  This isn't because I want a challenge, though.  Those items are often rather rare, or expensive, so I treat them like gold, until I get to the point that I either don't need them or forget about them entirely.  Instead, I just grind near the nearest inn of where I'm at... grind some more until I'm almost OP, and then I move forward.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

If it's in the game and intended for use as design I have no issue.

 

If it's an oversight in the game that people figure out common sense developers/testers missed to exploit to the harm of others, then I do have a problem, and I know quite a few do.  A good example to think back to on that would be when Mario kart DS went online and some trolls figured out how to turn the power slide into snaking where you do it endlessly around every course ending the runs in no time leaving others laps behind in the dust playing it as intended.