Levels or areas that you hate, in games that you love?

[rdrunner | 422]

So many choices I could go with, but I'll just pick some of my very first NES experiences.  I love these games to death, but if I had to nitpick...

Legend of Zelda, Level 7: "There's a secret in the tip of the nose".  Sorry, but it's actually more like the top of the mouth.  PS: Go through the eye first (not mapped).  PPS: We were too lazy to invent a new boss monster for every level, so enjoy the repeat Level 1 boss with your overpowered gear.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Don Flamenco 2: Every fight in this game is so wonderfully fast-paced and then this guy wrecks it with his empty taunts and tight guard.

Bubble Bobble, Stage 57: So I have to bounce on bubbles up the middle of the screen?  Without help from a wall??  And the bubbles don't rise on their own???  And the programmers deliberately ADDED this to the original set of arcade levels????

Double Dragon, Mission 4: That. Brick. Wall.

Mega Man (1), Foot Holders: Ice Man and Wily 1 have these glitched floating platforms that don't always catch you.  Bring your Magnet Beam.  Thankfully not brought back.

Love the topic!

[AstralSoul | 502]

3 hours ago, Gloves said:

The level design. I'm ok with some slowdown (Bloodborne is amazing despite heavy frame drops throughout), I am just not big on poison if I'm being honest lol. There's an enemy that shoots you from a mile away with silent ass darts that poison the shit outta you. 

Poison is any game is annoying AF. So I understand that. The first time through Blighttown those poison dart pricks killed me so many times but eventually I learned where they are and in subsequent replays I take them out asap and became less of an issue.

[rdrunner | 422]

CV3's falling blocks is a good one.  Yes, Alucard can help, just don't screw it up or you're stuck with 5 hearts on your next life and have to either reset or do it the slow way.

[AstralSoul | 502]

5 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Don Flamenco 2: Every fight in this game is so wonderfully fast-paced and then this guy wrecks it with his empty taunts and tight guard

I feel like everyone who's played Punch Out has that one fighter The hate fighting and gives them trouble every single time. I never had much trouble from Flamenco but I know the first time I fought him the second time it was jarring because he's an absolute joke the first time so you think it's going to be a cakewalk and it's really not. For me the fighter that gets me every time is Sandman. Or Bald Bull 2. 

[Sumez | 2,994]

8 hours ago, Shmup said:

I’m actually stuck at that part right now for my backlog challenge. It’s frustrating and so stupid. I definitely hate it right now.

Just don't pick the lower route on the second branch and you're golden. No one ever has to play that stage, and no one ever should.

[Sumez | 2,994]

7 hours ago, phart010 said:

Wily stage 4 - use the bubble weapon to see the pit locations. Use wood man weapon as a shield on the platform. For the boss, rapidly pause the game just before the bosses bullets hit you to avoid getting hit. 

Lol I know how to beat Mega Man 2  I also know where all the pits are by heart, and don't need to "feel for them", but it doesn't make the stage any less shitty.
The issue with the boss isn't not getting hit (that's easy, just jump after the cannons flash), it's the way you need to conserve crash bombs in a super unintuitive way to even have a chance of beating it, and if you miss a shot, or just don't have enough, you'll have no choice but to suicide and farm for more weapon powers in an area that isn't very good for it either. It's just really really bad design.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

6 hours ago, rdrunner said:

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Don Flamenco 2: Every fight in this game is so wonderfully fast-paced and then this guy wrecks it with his empty taunts and tight guard.

 

Another great choice. I actually took time to learn how to get stars and beat this guy relatively fast because I hate that fight so much (usually get him in the first round now). Really puts a kink in the game with a casual play through.

[Inzoreno | 102]

The area right before the final boss in Okami. It's just a boss rush and at that point, you have already defeated one of the bosses on two separate occasions. There is really no need for them at this point in the game and having to go through the big bads again adds nothing but tedium to the game. You are so hyped to finally reach the final area and boss, only to find you have to slog through a boss gauntlet before you have a chance to face down the final boss. It's annoying and one of the very few criticisms I have of Okami, which I otherwise consider my favorite game of all time. 

[phart010 | 1,708]

3 hours ago, Sumez said:

Lol I know how to beat Mega Man 2  I also know where all the pits are by heart, and don't need to "feel for them", but it doesn't make the stage any less shitty.
The issue with the boss isn't not getting hit (that's easy, just jump after the cannons flash), it's the way you need to conserve crash bombs in a super unintuitive way to even have a chance of beating it, and if you miss a shot, or just don't have enough, you'll have no choice but to suicide and farm for more weapon powers in an area that isn't very good for it either. It's just really really bad design.

What’s really really bad design is in Megaman 3. If you get to this point and you have no more Rush coil, then you basically have to reset the game. There’s no way to get out, no way to farm weapon energy, and no way to die:

[fcgamer | 4,753]

25 minutes ago, phart010 said:

What’s really really bad design is in Megaman 3. If you get to this point and you have no more Rush coil, then you basically have to reset the game. There’s no way to get out, no way to farm weapon energy, and no way to die:

Is the space too narrow to spawn the rush jet? 

I've fortunately never had this situation occur, has it happened to you before?

[phart010 | 1,708]

22 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Is the space too narrow to spawn the rush jet? 

I've fortunately never had this situation occur, has it happened to you before?

Has not happened to me. But it’s still a game breaker. 
 

Good idea, I haven’t thought about Rush Jet. 

[JamesRobot | 5,828]

54 minutes ago, phart010 said:

What’s really really bad design is in Megaman 3. If you get to this point and you have no more Rush coil, then you basically have to reset the game. There’s no way to get out, no way to farm weapon energy, and no way to die:

That is the screen right after the first boss in the Gemini revisited level.  Immediately before the boss battle there are two rooms with walls of egg/tadpole enemies that literally force you to farm.  There's no excuse going into the battle without maxed weapon energy. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by JamesRobot

[MegaMan52 | 2,461]

1 hour ago, phart010 said:

What’s really really bad design is in Megaman 3. If you get to this point and you have no more Rush coil, then you basically have to reset the game. There’s no way to get out, no way to farm weapon energy, and no way to die:

Same goes for the beginning of the 3rd Wily stage, unless you use Controller 2 to super jump (doesn't work in Mega Man: The Wily Wars, Rockman Complete Works, and Mega Man Anniversary Collection).

By the way, that part was modified in the Mega Man 3 Improvement hack so Rush Coil isn't needed there:

[Foochie776 | 1,061]

This has been a great topic, there’s a few note worthy ones for me. 
 

Donkey Kong 64, the scarab beetle race in the ice castle. Man this banana just pisses me off to no end, it is just very difficult and requires damn near absolute precision.
 

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City “The driver”....

seriously screw this race, it’s so stupid. I hate it I hate it I hate it. 
 

GTA San Andreas, any of those Zero missions. So clunky and broke  

 

[Wasbi | 6]

In Fire Emblem Gaiden if you don't clear Celica's route before Alm's during chapter 4, Alm's group has to fight an onslaught of really powerful dragons for several turns. It goes from having to fight about 3 to having to fight about 25 dragons per map per action. If you're not prepared, it can kill a run.

[JamesRobot | 5,828]

2 hours ago, MegaMan52 said:

By the way, that part was modified in the Mega Man 3 Improvement hack so Rush Coil isn't needed there:

He's still wearing the rush suit though.  Lol!

[MegaMan52 | 2,461]

54 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

He's still wearing the rush suit though.  Lol!

Actually, that's Needle Man's weapon.

[Sumez | 2,994]

I've never been at that spot without rush coil, and I'm not sure why that would even happen. Did it ever happen to anyone?

It's definitely not worthy hating that area for, for sure.

[phart010 | 1,708]

13 hours ago, MegaMan52 said:

Same goes for the beginning of the 3rd Wily stage, unless you use Controller 2 to super jump (doesn't work in Mega Man: The Wily Wars, Rockman Complete Works, and Mega Man Anniversary Collection).

By the way, that part was modified in the Mega Man 3 Improvement hack so Rush Coil isn't needed there:

Im not going to try the improvement hack until after the vrc6 sound version is made available to the public.

[cj_robot | 546]

Flashback - Great game, but the second level is so damn tedious. You are running around a town basically on a fetch quest which turns into doing a bunch of odd jobs and going back and forth all over the place. I like the concept as it helps make the game feel more like an adventure rather than a straight up action game, but this level needed to be trimmed down some.

The Last of Us - The first segment of the game right after the intro sequence. It's mostly just walking around listening to dialogue, and it lasts for what seems to be forever. The worst part is, it's not just a long cutscene, it's part of the actual game so you can't just skip it. It literally almost made me quit the game right there, but I'm glad I didn't because the rest of the game is awesome. Definitely one of my favorite games on the PS3 and the only game I've ever really enjoyed playing online multiplayer for any length of time. But that first part really drags.

[T-Pac | 7,588]

Generally speaking, I hate how a lot of classic games approach the "final level".

Some games decide to change the core gameplay on the last level for some reason. For example, I don't appreciate an action game requiring you to master its platforming and attack mechanics throughout the entire game only to throw it out the window and turn into a shoot-em-up or something at the end (sorry Kid Icarus). The final stage should be a culmination of the elements you encountered and the skills you built along the way, not something out of left-field.

Some games just spike the difficulty through the roof when you get to the end, to the point where it's sometimes insurmountable. It's torture when you've had so much fun progressing to that point, only to hit a brick wall and sometimes leave an excellent game unfinished forever.

Also - recycled boss-rushes before the final boss. I'd rather not...

-CasualCart

[mbd39 | 2,029]

2 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Generally speaking, I hate how a lot of classic games approach the "final level".

Some games decide to change the core gameplay on the last level for some reason. For example, I don't appreciate an action game requiring you to master its platforming and attack mechanics throughout the entire game only to throw it out the window and turn into a shoot-em-up or something at the end (sorry Kid Icarus). The final stage should be a culmination of the elements you encountered and the skills you built along the way, not something out of left-field.

Solar Jetman is the only other game that comes to mind that does this. Although I'm sure there are other examples.

 

[T-Pac | 7,588]

8 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

Solar Jetman is the only other game that comes to mind that does this. Although I'm sure there are other examples.

 

Yeah - I've only encountered a few myself, but it always throws me. Bucky O' Hare and Kid Icarus turning into shoot-em-ups is fairly inoffensive, but Little Nemo suddenly introducing boss fights and Puss N' Boots turning into a maze were frustrating to say the least. 

I didn't know this was the case for Solar Jetman, too. I haven't made it to the end of many games, so I'm curious to know how many more fall into this category.

[mbd39 | 2,029]

12 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Yeah - I've only encountered a few myself, but it always throws me. Bucky O' Hare and Kid Icarus turning into shoot-em-ups is fairly inoffensive, but Little Nemo suddenly introducing boss fights and Puss N' Boots turning into a maze were frustrating to say the least. 

I didn't know this was the case for Solar Jetman, too. I haven't made it to the end of many games, so I'm curious to know how many more fall into this category.

 

I only knew this about Solar Jetman because I watched a Twitch streamer beat it.

Most of Solar Jetman is slow paced, gravity based gameplay where you're a pod scouring planet surfaces for parts to assemble your spaceship. And once it's assembled there's one last autoscrolling shoot em up level. You get a couple chances with the shoot em up, and if you fail you have to do the entire last planet over again. Typical RARE difficulty.

 

 

[Tanooki | 4,952]

UGH... boss rush at the end/near end of games.

There has been more than one Namco released TALES OF... games I just put down and stopped over that despite enjoying the titles up to then.  The last one was the 3DS Abyss game that was an enhanced version of that PS2 release years earlier.  Fantastic game, turned to life sucking crap because not only was it a boss rush, the rush had you rushing around the world to attack another, not even the courtesy to do it in one spot before spitting in your face. >:\