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Modern Video Games / Have games gotten too easy? (Nintendo is allergic to difficulty options)
« on: January 05, 2019, 10:35:15 pm »
Hello everyone 
This might come off a little like a rant and I don't mean to come off mad or overly critical but Today I picked up a game I have been longing to play since it came out and was very excited about. A game that in every single way borders on perfection in reimagining a childhood staple for me. A reinvision of a childhood game I have loved and played since I was a kid. So I hold it near and dear to my heart.
And that game is Pokemon Let's go Pikachu which is a reimagining of a top 10 favorite game of all time for me, Pokemon Yellow version.
The game's visuals are so incredible, the game is borderline orchestral with it's music and presentation. I smiled so wide when I seen pikachu I almost cried. it has the ambiance only a Pokemon game can have. The pikachu is so customizable and adorable. It has all the right ideas, in the all the right places like Pokemon that are just out in the open so you don't have to battle pokemon you already have unless you want to. It's a true blast. I ever like the new catch system. Except for one major game breaking flaw....
A 2 year old blind electric eel could beat it.
Nintendo's difficulty issues (Have games gone soft?)
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Now I know what you may be thinking. "Pokemon games have always been easy". And their is truth to that I know. Sure most people who are fairly decent at RPG games would just breeze through one. But while easy for a veteran they weren't flat out challengeless and to the point where they just gave you the win. The old pokemon especially around the elite four stages could humble you if you weren't good and certainly would require some grinding and planning for your party. Even as recent as sun and moon I felt like I did something when I beat it. some trainers were genuinely hard for me..
To put in prespective how sadly easy Pokemon Let's go is. I did a challenge for myself just to see if it was all over ridiculed as many on reddit were saying it was too easy to be enjoyed.
I heard all the rumors so I decided for myself. I'm going to step into Pewter City Gym and beat Brock (Rock types) with a freaking lvl 9 pikachu (Weak to rock) and nothing else.
So I stroll on through just to find out the game FORCES you to go catch Brock's weakness and it won't even let you fight him without a grass or water type present. Bascially saying "Hey Brock..... You're screwed" lol.
. So I go there with a level 3 oddish in my backup.
No potions, no going back to heal. I beat both trainers before him and Brock with a lvl 9 pikachu using double kick. One shottted a LVL 12 onix with a leach seed from a lvl 3 Odish after almost killing it with a potionless half dead pikachu and completely obliterated him. It was truly a sad display and I felt no joy from doing it. I didn't feel that pulse in your neck you get when you are neck and neck on life bars with a boss about to die and triumphently win. I just felt like I threw out the trash or put a fork in the sink. Their was no resistance. And that is simply where it has gone too far. And it hit me that games are just way too easy and I doubt I can enjoy many of them the way they should be enjoyed unless I was 5.
This isn't the only game for Switch of recent especially from Nintendo who appears to be allergic to a challenge slider or a difficulty setting in their games that is just a tad too easy imo. Mario Odyssey was also too easy for me. As great as it was. It was in desperate need of a Challenge slider or a hard mode imo. Anyone skilled at platformers could beat Mario Odyssey without dying. All bosses were a breeze. Some stars were literally given and even the darker side of the moon levels were about the hard we needed pre boss. Another game franchise deemed to be easy but never on such a level of easiness imo. Mario 64 was fairly hard, Sunshine's floaty block thingy levels were a nightmare and super mario world had it's moments especially when it was our first try
The old days
Many of us won't ever forget being the little kid with the gameboy in hand and the uphoria of moving up the ranks with their pikachu. The bond you got with your pokemon from experiences trials with them was awesome and watching them grow. It's the very feeling that we earned through learning the ropes. And the fun it was to actually win and not get the gift of winning free. Having to build the perfect party to beat a tougher opponet. You couldn't just wander up to brock and whoop him with a Pikachu of any lvl even up to 20 he'd probably still win. Because Rock Types were imprevious to Electric attacks and quick attack or tackle hardly hurt him. You had to grind out a pidgey or a rattata to become strong as him and even then it was a good little altercation. Especially for a first boss. It was only easy with a squirtle. And back then it made beating brock something a kid could be proud of. And share. and remember for the rest of his life. Being resourceful and winning instead of just getting it handed to him.
I really do miss the days when your hands would sweat and you'd feel your pulse rising as you intricatly dodged obstacles with your friends watching in awe as you did something that took SKILL and not just something a 4 year old gorilla could do. You died many times, you lost, you failed and you learned to overcome. And that was the best feeling of all. Even the easiest of games (Kirby's Adventure) would require some skill.
Difficutly Settings
I know I may be the minority on this idea and it's not always easy to impliment in some games. But almost all good games of today aside from the likes of Nintendo seem to have the universal fix to this problem. The tried and true difficulty setting.
With the difficulty setting you can have an option for everyone of every skill set. A challenge for even the toughest of gamers and a casual experience for children. It's so essential imo to have one. I think it makes games a little worst if they don't at this point in gaming evolution. It's 2019. We need a difficulty setting.
Nintendo Underestimating Children?
My reasoning is that Nintendo knows these are kids games and want's to baby proof the player base by making it so easy. But I think they understimate just how good at games kids are. I have been whooped in smash by enough kids to know lol. They don't need hand me outs, they need challenge to grow and learn to love games as we all have.
I want to petition Nintendo to make their games harder or include a difficulty setting from now on
Games they got right were the new donkey kong and Mario Bros. U. they had the right amount of challenge and were fun.
Does anyone feel like the games have gotten too easy too?
This might come off a little like a rant and I don't mean to come off mad or overly critical but Today I picked up a game I have been longing to play since it came out and was very excited about. A game that in every single way borders on perfection in reimagining a childhood staple for me. A reinvision of a childhood game I have loved and played since I was a kid. So I hold it near and dear to my heart.
And that game is Pokemon Let's go Pikachu which is a reimagining of a top 10 favorite game of all time for me, Pokemon Yellow version.
The game's visuals are so incredible, the game is borderline orchestral with it's music and presentation. I smiled so wide when I seen pikachu I almost cried
. it has the ambiance only a Pokemon game can have. The pikachu is so customizable and adorable. It has all the right ideas, in the all the right places like Pokemon that are just out in the open so you don't have to battle pokemon you already have unless you want to. It's a true blast. I ever like the new catch system. Except for one major game breaking flaw....A 2 year old blind electric eel could beat it.
Nintendo's difficulty issues (Have games gone soft?)
Now I know what you may be thinking. "Pokemon games have always been easy". And their is truth to that I know. Sure most people who are fairly decent at RPG games would just breeze through one. But while easy for a veteran they weren't flat out challengeless and to the point where they just gave you the win. The old pokemon especially around the elite four stages could humble you if you weren't good and certainly would require some grinding and planning for your party. Even as recent as sun and moon I felt like I did something when I beat it. some trainers were genuinely hard for me.
.To put in prespective how sadly easy Pokemon Let's go is. I did a challenge for myself just to see if it was all over ridiculed as many on reddit were saying it was too easy to be enjoyed.
I heard all the rumors so I decided for myself. I'm going to step into Pewter City Gym and beat Brock (Rock types) with a freaking lvl 9 pikachu (Weak to rock) and nothing else.
So I stroll on through just to find out the game FORCES you to go catch Brock's weakness and it won't even let you fight him without a grass or water type present. Bascially saying "Hey Brock..... You're screwed" lol.
. So I go there with a level 3 oddish in my backup. No potions, no going back to heal. I beat both trainers before him and Brock with a lvl 9 pikachu using double kick. One shottted a LVL 12 onix with a leach seed from a lvl 3 Odish after almost killing it with a potionless half dead pikachu and completely obliterated him. It was truly a sad display and I felt no joy from doing it. I didn't feel that pulse in your neck you get when you are neck and neck on life bars with a boss about to die and triumphently win. I just felt like I threw out the trash or put a fork in the sink. Their was no resistance. And that is simply where it has gone too far. And it hit me that games are just way too easy and I doubt I can enjoy many of them the way they should be enjoyed unless I was 5.
This isn't the only game for Switch of recent especially from Nintendo who appears to be allergic to a challenge slider or a difficulty setting in their games that is just a tad too easy imo. Mario Odyssey was also too easy for me. As great as it was. It was in desperate need of a Challenge slider or a hard mode imo. Anyone skilled at platformers could beat Mario Odyssey without dying. All bosses were a breeze. Some stars were literally given and even the darker side of the moon levels were about the hard we needed pre boss. Another game franchise deemed to be easy but never on such a level of easiness imo. Mario 64 was fairly hard, Sunshine's floaty block thingy levels were a nightmare and super mario world had it's moments especially when it was our first try
The old days
Many of us won't ever forget being the little kid with the gameboy in hand and the uphoria of moving up the ranks with their pikachu. The bond you got with your pokemon from experiences trials with them was awesome and watching them grow. It's the very feeling that we earned through learning the ropes. And the fun it was to actually win and not get the gift of winning free. Having to build the perfect party to beat a tougher opponet. You couldn't just wander up to brock and whoop him with a Pikachu of any lvl even up to 20 he'd probably still win. Because Rock Types were imprevious to Electric attacks and quick attack or tackle hardly hurt him. You had to grind out a pidgey or a rattata to become strong as him and even then it was a good little altercation. Especially for a first boss. It was only easy with a squirtle. And back then it made beating brock something a kid could be proud of. And share. and remember for the rest of his life. Being resourceful and winning instead of just getting it handed to him.
I really do miss the days when your hands would sweat and you'd feel your pulse rising as you intricatly dodged obstacles with your friends watching in awe as you did something that took SKILL and not just something a 4 year old gorilla could do. You died many times, you lost, you failed and you learned to overcome. And that was the best feeling of all. Even the easiest of games (Kirby's Adventure) would require some skill.
Difficutly Settings
I know I may be the minority on this idea and it's not always easy to impliment in some games. But almost all good games of today aside from the likes of Nintendo seem to have the universal fix to this problem. The tried and true difficulty setting.
With the difficulty setting you can have an option for everyone of every skill set. A challenge for even the toughest of gamers and a casual experience for children. It's so essential imo to have one. I think it makes games a little worst if they don't at this point in gaming evolution. It's 2019. We need a difficulty setting.
Nintendo Underestimating Children?
My reasoning is that Nintendo knows these are kids games and want's to baby proof the player base by making it so easy. But I think they understimate just how good at games kids are. I have been whooped in smash by enough kids to know lol. They don't need hand me outs, they need challenge to grow and learn to love games as we all have.
I want to petition Nintendo to make their games harder or include a difficulty setting from now on
Games they got right were the new donkey kong and Mario Bros. U. they had the right amount of challenge and were fun
.Does anyone feel like the games have gotten too easy too?
. These following companies and devs while might be acclaimed and respected, this year spawned a lot of bad decisions, bad marketings and poor products from ideas that we long awaited and were extremely let down after the release. Here are your nominees for biggest failure of 2018. 
. So it's almost better to make sure they learn from their parent vs their friend. Same with drugs and sexual education. And especially the Nokia N Gage. 
