|
Post by dunpeal2064 on May 30, 2018 10:44:59 GMT -5
I'm trying to, uh, diversify my recs, since my inital list was just a ton of shmups for Hard/Nightmare I see talk of sports game, but have't seen Windjammers mentioned yet! Ultimate Frisbee has never been better. Also, Nocturne is fantastic, and its difficulty, for the most part, is very fair. Its a tough game, no doubt, but its not absurd, it always feels doable. I'd be excited to watch others experience that one, as I'm sure Ex would.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on May 30, 2018 10:50:18 GMT -5
I agree SMT: Nocturne is fair. I beat it without reading the manual, or using a walkthrough/strategy guide at all. Although I went for the Demon ending. To get the True Demon ending, one might need to read a guide just to know how to damage Lucifer. Other than that, no artificial aid is needed. Unless you're a wuss. But nobody around here's a wuss right? Nocturne truly is an amazing experience. Loved it to bits.
|
|
|
Post by dunpeal2064 on May 30, 2018 11:35:37 GMT -5
Admission time: I never beat Nocturne, specifically because of Lucifer
|
|
|
Post by Ex on May 30, 2018 13:58:29 GMT -5
Admission time: I never beat Nocturne, specifically because of Lucifer Well, you only have to beat him if you want the True Demon ending. Was that you're goal? It's the most difficult ending to get, but it's still just one of six very different endings. I was quite happy with the Demon ending... "You purged the world of those who sympathized with other philosophies of creation. Your body is brimming with strength, yet your soul is empty. I see before me the incarnation of bane itself. You are responsible for the death of this world. Begone, demon! False seeker of power, you are evil incarnate!" -Kagutsuchi Nocturne had such an amazing plot and writing. Easily in the top 3 JRPG plots I've played. I will one day go back and beat it again to get the True Demon ending. If for no other reason than Lucifer was a sarcastic twit a little too often.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2018 14:37:13 GMT -5
Well, here goes nothing.
Dunpeal:
I thought I'd focus on non-linear PC games.
Hard: The Colonel's Bequest, Rome: Total War, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Planescape: Torment Nightmare: Gothic, Pathologic
Sarge:
Since you mentioned them, I'm going to focus on SRPGs, FPSs and shmups.
Hard: Quake, Warsong, Half-Life, R-Type, Saiyuki: Journey West Nightmare: Einhänder
Toei:
I'm going to avoid FPSs since these don't seem to be your thing.
Normal: Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, Metroid, Super Metroid
As for me, I could either do a solo run for SMT: Nocturne - or even SMT II, which I'm not sure it'd really be that difficult though - people said the original SMT was tough as nails, but the only challenge in that game was not getting lost. Combat was such a joke.
Is there any post-SoTN Castlevania game which may be challenging enough for Nightmare? Or any ARPG you guys can think of for that matter. Also, is Shadow Tower hard enough for Nightmare?
|
|
|
Post by Ex on May 30, 2018 15:02:21 GMT -5
Any post-SotN actually hard? Yes... Some of the bosses in Ecclesia kept many players from finishing it. Demon's Souls is the first thing that came to mind, but it's not quite ten years old yet (play it next summer!). The USA version of Alundra is stupid hard. The SNES version of Brandish or Brandish II: The Planet Buster. I'll try to think of some more. Edit: Exile: Wicked Phenomenon USA version on TGCD.
If you play it without a walkthrough or strategy guide, bet on it. So is King's Field III.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on May 30, 2018 17:15:50 GMT -5
I feel like I need to start with recommending tough games that are actually good. Apologies if I repeat someone else on these.
Starting with NES, I'd throw out there:
Shatterhand - Great Natsume game that starts fairly simple, but gets really tough at the end. Not as brutal as Battletoads or Holy Diver, but still a challenge. Contra - An absolute classic of the genre. It's not hard for me anymore, but for others, it will be as long as you don't do the 30-lives code. Super C - Ditto the above. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - If you haven't played this seminal classic, you should. Just... don't play on a laggy LCD screen. Tyson represents an exponential leap in difficulty from Super Macho Man, who is no slouch himself. Double Dragon - Still bests me most of the time. Great game, but very hard. Double Dragon II: The Revenge - Sure, it's not as brutal as DDIII, but dang, if it ain't tough on Supreme Master and the default complement of lives. Double Dragon III - I've seen this one mentioned already, and it indeed is really, really tough. Ninja Gaiden - Any of them. NGIII is the hardest because of limited continues. Castlevania I/III - I'd say the third game is tougher, but the first game is better. Mega Man - I hesitate to put any others on there; I find them challenging, but not brutal. The first game, however, can be very difficult, especially when not abusing the 'Select trick'. Blaster Master - Gets really hard deep into the game. You also have to beat it in one sitting without save states. (Use save states to save progress, seriously. This game screams for a password system or something.) Zelda II - I love this game, but it gets crazy tough. Especially the Great Palace. I have some fairly optimized techniques to get through unscathed, but a blind run? Oof. Batman - Joker sucks. The end. Bucky O'Hare - If it weren't for short sections and infinite continues, this would have folks screaming in rage. Well, more than usual. Gargoyle's Quest II - Really great followup to the superb Game Boy game. I recommend anything in the series, honestly.
SNES, just off the top of my head:
Contra III Dracula X Demon's Crest - Only if going for the true ending. Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts - Fantastic game, but man. Practice, practice, practice. ActRaiser 2 - Loses the sim elements, gains some highly technical gameplay and punishing difficulty. The 7th Saga - Infamous for its difficulty. Elnard, the Japanese version, isn't nearly as tough.
Genesis:
Contra: Hard Corps Castlevania: Bloodlines - There's actually not much difference between the difficulty modes, in my opinion. Alien Soldier Ghouls 'N Ghosts - I know folks might think it's easy, but I found it anything but. I'm sure more practice would help. Just... don't hit the Stage 4 (I think) boss with a crappy weapon, or bad times occur. Comix Zone - I still haven't beaten this without save states. Rough stuff, but I love the game and the aesthetic. Dynamite Headdy - The US version is tough.
Oh, for anyone that wants to try some sports games, I'd recommend:
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition - Doesn't matter the platform, although the PC/PSX/Saturn versions might be best. Or the arcade original. Tecmo Super Bowl - My go-to football title. I suck at all the others. Splits the balance between stats and arcade-style gameplay, and is vastly superior to the original. Super Dodge Ball - We threw this out earlier, but the game is absolutely worth playing. Super Spike V'Ball - I put a lot of time into this, and it's one of the better volleyball games I've played.
Also, for a great racing game, try out Burnout 3. That's one of my absolute favorites.
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on May 30, 2018 21:40:44 GMT -5
More stuff! Apologies for splitting into a separate post.
Game Boy stuff might be a little off the beaten path, but there are some tough but fair games on there (and some not so fair). I figure Gargoyle's Quest is the best of the bunch, but Final Fantasy Legend I/II are also worth playing and can get quite difficult. I would say the Batman game on there is tough... but I somehow accidentally cleared it a while back with no deaths. Pretty sure I could never duplicate that run again! Operation C is on there as well, and it can get pretty hard as well.
Moving to PlayStation, I can't think of much off the top of my head (except for King's Field!). Castlevania Chronicles was really hard, and unlike other entries, it also felt in some ways the most unfair. It's a little easier in the arranged mode, but try the original mode and prepare to get your butt kicked. Another one I played and died a lot in was Heart of Darkness, a cinematic platfomer in the vein of Out of this World or Flashback. Fun, but very trial-and-error.
While I'm thinking about them, the Devil May Cry games are tough. Well, the first and third are. The second is just boring, and the fourth I don't remember having as much trouble with. All of them are worth a play. By the same token, the remade Ninja Gaiden games are very tough. The third is too new, but I don't really care a lot for it anyway. For my money, the original is the best.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 31, 2018 8:22:30 GMT -5
I have been meaning to try the Brandish series out for awhile now. The rotating camera is gonna take some getting used to, but that's alright. I'm still gonna do my solo runs for SMT and play the Castlevania games at a later point in time.
June = Viewtiful Joe (GC) July = Shinobi (PS2) August = Brandish (SNES)
It is done.
Also, I couldn't help noticing how the Ys, Brandish and Dragon Slayer franchises are all from Nihon Falcom. How do you think these series compare? Hope I'm not asking too much, but I'm pretty curious as these are all games I'm definitely going to play.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on May 31, 2018 8:36:59 GMT -5
I couldn't help noticing how the Ys, Brandish and Dragon Slayer franchises are all from Nihon Falcom. BoneSnapDeez would be the perfect person to answer those questions for you, if he's paying any attention to this thread. I don't have a lot of experience with Dragon Slayer (save one entry I'll mention in a moment), but I'll say that Brandish is much more difficult than Ys. Brandish (the first two anyway) is basically a first person dungeon crawler done in an overhead style. Ys is pure aught action-RPG, albeit with more focus on action than RPG. I would have recommended the PSP remake of Brandish entitled Brandish: The Dark Revenant over the SNES version. However it's not quite ten years old yet. (The Japanese version came out in 2009.) I'll wager the SNES version is harder anyway, if for no other reason than the way the camera works in the SNES version. Another Falcom action-RPG-dungeon-crawler I strongly recommend is Xanadu Next (first released in Japan in 2005). It's not quite "Nightmare" worthy, its difficulty falls between the breezy fun of Ys and the ball crushing of Brandish. However Xanadu Next is very high quality stuff, quite fun and engaging. I beat it myself not too long ago. Far too many gamers ignorantly pass over Xanadu Next (and the Zwei games as well) because it's not Ys or The Legend of Heroes, and that's all they care about from Falcom.
|
|