Human Strategy Guide

[undertakerprime]

I already mentioned this in the introduction thread, but...

Contra - I used to be good enough at Contra that I never needed the Konami code. My greatest gaming accomplishment is beating it twice in a row, including the harder second time through, without dying. I haven't tried it in years, though, so I'd bet that game would destroy me if I tried now 

TMNT (arcade) - I would play this game incessantly at the bowling alley where my parents had their league night, and I had every inch of it memorized. To this day I can usually beat it on one credit, but I still have not accomplished my ultimate goal, which is to beat it without dying. When you're playing 1-player, the longer you go without dying, the game throws more enemies at you and the bosses take more hits, until you finally die and the enemy count is reduced back to normal. Around the time you get to the middle of stage 3, the number of enemies becomes almost overwhelming if you haven't died, making it extremely difficult for me to get through it without losing one life. One time I got to Krang on one life, but he was taking an INSANE amount of hits to beat and I got careless and he killed me.

I'm pretty good at games similar to TMNT, like Simpsons and X-men, but those games have some cheap bosses that make it very difficult to beat them without multiple deaths (for example, Blob at the end of X-Men stage 2, who sometimes does an unavoidable throw that takes off a chunk of life).

Q*bert - I'm good enough at Q*Bert (my #1 favorite game ever) that I can be out of practice and still do well. Last October I went to a retro arcade in Austin, Texas during a business trip and proceeded to spend the majority of my time on one game of Q*Bert. I think I got to the point where level 9 was repeating for the 5th or 6th time when I just wanted to play something else, as my time and money were limited. If I had the time, money, and patience to practice for multiple hours a day, I honestly feel like I could possibly challenge for some kind of record.

[pacpix]

I'm proficient in DKC2, but I never really got into this one, I don't even think I've beaten this one 102% yet, it's my least favorite DKC game.

Holy shit I thought I was alone on this.  So many people list it as their favorite DKC game, but along with DKCR it is the only one I have never done a completionist run on.  It's a good game, but I have just never enjoyed it as much as the other games in the series.

For me Super Mario World would be the game I know the best.  I can do a 96 exit run no problem without checking any guides.  Same goes for Donkey Kong Country 3.  Ocarina of Time would be close, but I can never remember all of the gold skulltula locations.  The original Wizardry would be close too.  I know the game very well, but not every single square of the dungeon or every possible item one could get in a random chest. 

[maximo310]

I already mentioned this in the introduction thread, but...

Contra - I used to be good enough at Contra that I never needed the Konami code. My greatest gaming accomplishment is beating it twice in a row, including the harder second time through, without dying. I haven't tried it in years, though, so I'd bet that game would destroy me if I tried now 

TMNT (arcade) - I would play this game incessantly at the bowling alley where my parents had their league night, and I had every inch of it memorized. To this day I can usually beat it on one credit, but I still have not accomplished my ultimate goal, which is to beat it without dying. When you're playing 1-player, the longer you go without dying, the game throws more enemies at you and the bosses take more hits, until you finally die and the enemy count is reduced back to normal. Around the time you get to the middle of stage 3, the number of enemies becomes almost overwhelming if you haven't died, making it extremely difficult for me to get through it without losing one life. One time I got to Krang on one life, but he was taking an INSANE amount of hits to beat and I got careless and he killed me.

I'm pretty good at games similar to TMNT, like Simpsons and X-men, but those games have some cheap bosses that make it very difficult to beat them without multiple deaths (for example, Blob at the end of X-Men stage 2, who sometimes does an unavoidable throw that takes off a chunk of life).

Q*bert - I'm good enough at Q*Bert (my #1 favorite game ever) that I can be out of practice and still do well. Last October I went to a retro arcade in Austin, Texas during a business trip and proceeded to spend the majority of my time on one game of Q*Bert. I think I got to the point where level 9 was repeating for the 5th or 6th time when I just wanted to play something else, as my time and money were limited. If I had the time, money, and patience to practice for multiple hours a day, I honestly feel like I could possibly challenge for some kind of record.

From what I know, most of Konami's beat-em-ups got difficulty buffs for the American arcade releases compared to their easier Japanese versions probably just to make more money. X-men is probably the worst example out of the bunch you mentioned with its difficulty, since the bosses require very specific patterns to avoid taking any hits and are way more aggressive.

[aliensstudios]

I'm proficient in DKC2, but I never really got into this one, I don't even think I've beaten this one 102% yet, it's my least favorite DKC game.

Holy shit I thought I was alone on this.  So many people list it as their favorite DKC game, but along with DKCR it is the only one I have never done a completionist run on.  It's a good game, but I have just never enjoyed it as much as the other games in the series.

For me Super Mario World would be the game I know the best.  I can do a 96 exit run no problem without checking any guides.  Same goes for Donkey Kong Country 3.  Ocarina of Time would be close, but I can never remember all of the gold skulltula locations.  The original Wizardry would be close too.  I know the game very well, but not every single square of the dungeon or every possible item one could get in a random chest.

I've been called many a bad name for not saying DKC2 is the best in the series. I think it's good, but it lacks something the first and third have. Personally I don't like the Squawks levels, the barrel bramble levels and especially the level where the wind blows you up the shaft. While it does have some good levels and there is fun to be had, I'm glad to think it's not the be all end all in the series like so many claim it is.
Interesting fact about Ocarina of Time for myself, my older brother used to play the game so much when I was little so I was always watching him. When I finally got around to playing the game myself, I was able to beat it just based off of the things he had shown me and I had watched, so I guess you could say my brother is a human strategy guide for the game.

[undertakerprime]

I already mentioned this in the introduction thread, but...

Contra - I used to be good enough at Contra that I never needed the Konami code. My greatest gaming accomplishment is beating it twice in a row, including the harder second time through, without dying. I haven't tried it in years, though, so I'd bet that game would destroy me if I tried now 

TMNT (arcade) - I would play this game incessantly at the bowling alley where my parents had their league night, and I had every inch of it memorized. To this day I can usually beat it on one credit, but I still have not accomplished my ultimate goal, which is to beat it without dying. When you're playing 1-player, the longer you go without dying, the game throws more enemies at you and the bosses take more hits, until you finally die and the enemy count is reduced back to normal. Around the time you get to the middle of stage 3, the number of enemies becomes almost overwhelming if you haven't died, making it extremely difficult for me to get through it without losing one life. One time I got to Krang on one life, but he was taking an INSANE amount of hits to beat and I got careless and he killed me.

I'm pretty good at games similar to TMNT, like Simpsons and X-men, but those games have some cheap bosses that make it very difficult to beat them without multiple deaths (for example, Blob at the end of X-Men stage 2, who sometimes does an unavoidable throw that takes off a chunk of life).

Q*bert - I'm good enough at Q*Bert (my #1 favorite game ever) that I can be out of practice and still do well. Last October I went to a retro arcade in Austin, Texas during a business trip and proceeded to spend the majority of my time on one game of Q*Bert. I think I got to the point where level 9 was repeating for the 5th or 6th time when I just wanted to play something else, as my time and money were limited. If I had the time, money, and patience to practice for multiple hours a day, I honestly feel like I could possibly challenge for some kind of record.

From what I know, most of Konami's beat-em-ups got difficulty buffs for the American arcade releases compared to their easier Japanese versions probably just to make more money. X-men is probably the worst example out of the bunch you mentioned with its difficulty, since the bosses require very specific patterns to avoid taking any hits and are way more aggressive.

I didn't know the Japanese versions were easier, I'm so used to the US ones they'd probably be too easy for me
Most of the bosses in X-Men are fine, and can be beaten with a combination of timing, dexterity, and patience. There's only 2 or 3 that cheap you to death, but then you have to beat them all again in the final stage's "boss rush." If you scroll the screen too far and get a couple on screen at the same time, you might as well get your whole roll of quarters ready... 
If I remember correctly, the only boss in Simpsons that is a pain is final boss (Mr. Burns). Most are pretty beatable, and Smithers isn't too bad as long as you're on your toes, but it's very difficult to avoid trading hits with Mr. Burns.

[maximo310]

I already mentioned this in the introduction thread, but...

Contra - I used to be good enough at Contra that I never needed the Konami code. My greatest gaming accomplishment is beating it twice in a row, including the harder second time through, without dying. I haven't tried it in years, though, so I'd bet that game would destroy me if I tried now 

TMNT (arcade) - I would play this game incessantly at the bowling alley where my parents had their league night, and I had every inch of it memorized. To this day I can usually beat it on one credit, but I still have not accomplished my ultimate goal, which is to beat it without dying. When you're playing 1-player, the longer you go without dying, the game throws more enemies at you and the bosses take more hits, until you finally die and the enemy count is reduced back to normal. Around the time you get to the middle of stage 3, the number of enemies becomes almost overwhelming if you haven't died, making it extremely difficult for me to get through it without losing one life. One time I got to Krang on one life, but he was taking an INSANE amount of hits to beat and I got careless and he killed me.

I'm pretty good at games similar to TMNT, like Simpsons and X-men, but those games have some cheap bosses that make it very difficult to beat them without multiple deaths (for example, Blob at the end of X-Men stage 2, who sometimes does an unavoidable throw that takes off a chunk of life).

Q*bert - I'm good enough at Q*Bert (my #1 favorite game ever) that I can be out of practice and still do well. Last October I went to a retro arcade in Austin, Texas during a business trip and proceeded to spend the majority of my time on one game of Q*Bert. I think I got to the point where level 9 was repeating for the 5th or 6th time when I just wanted to play something else, as my time and money were limited. If I had the time, money, and patience to practice for multiple hours a day, I honestly feel like I could possibly challenge for some kind of record.

From what I know, most of Konami's beat-em-ups got difficulty buffs for the American arcade releases compared to their easier Japanese versions probably just to make more money. X-men is probably the worst example out of the bunch you mentioned with its difficulty, since the bosses require very specific patterns to avoid taking any hits and are way more aggressive.

I didn't know the Japanese versions were easier, I'm so used to the US ones they'd probably be too easy for me
Most of the bosses in X-Men are fine, and can be beaten with a combination of timing, dexterity, and patience. There's only 2 or 3 that cheap you to death, but then you have to beat them all again in the final stage's "boss rush." If you scroll the screen too far and get a couple on screen at the same time, you might as well get your whole roll of quarters ready... 
If I remember correctly, the only boss in Simpsons that is a pain is final boss (Mr. Burns). Most are pretty beatable, and Smithers isn't too bad as long as you're on your toes, but it's very difficult to avoid trading hits with Mr. Burns.

Yeah I remember how long that Mr. Burns battle could go on for and it could be cheap at times. It's the only reason why I can't seem to get a clear on the game.  There's another Konami beat-em-up, Metamorphic Force which was a very fun and tight game, but they ruined the US release by adding a boss rush where you're forced to fight two bosses at a time with no health pickups, more enemies and much harder attack patterns, and a numeric health bar that constantly decreases over time.

There's also Violent Storm, Gaiapolis, and Monster Maulers, but those are much fairer games than the others ( well, maybe not the middle one).

[tpugmire]

Without a doubt, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I know every square inch of this game. Every item, every piece of heart. EVERYTHING.  I've beaten it without dying more times than I can count. Close second might be Super Metroid.