When Video Games Go Bad... (Let's Talk Glitches in Retro Games!)

[kokonami]

Glitching. It can get you fun items and secrets, rewarding the player for being both clever and skillful for pulling it off. OR terrible terrible things can happen, rendering a game practically unplayable at times when done incorrectly.

I've always been a fan of people that find and demonstrate useless glitches, but also glitch a game beyond its intended limits to discover coding errors/hidden areas/beta areas or items in the code -- or just for the sheer fun of seeing how much it takes to break the game.

I was watching this video, dying of laughter, and it gave me an interesting idea:

I want to hear stories from the VGCollect community about your experiences with glitches -- intentional or not, your own or something you found elsewhere -- or things you find fascinating about them!

(Full article where I originally saw the video: http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/how-to-turn-ocarina-of-time-into-utter-horror?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zeldainformer+%28Zelda+Informer+News+Feed%29&utm_content=FaceBook#When:21:03:00Z)

[redblaze57]

playing Super Mario World on the SNES in first castle I beat the koopa kid however died at the second later (fell into the lava) and not only did it not count as me beating him but when I went to go replay the level again the controls were all fucked up. none of the buttons did what they were supposed to and the direction pad made you jump... wish I had took out my phone to record it.

[jobocan]

I'm not much for let's plays (why watch someone play a game when I could play it myself?), but this is one I think is really cool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LscZrRhH6B4

He basically plays through Donkey Kong 64 while constantly showing off all the different glitches you can use to get all of the bananas. Very fun to watch.

[kokonami]

playing Super Mario World on the SNES in first castle I beat the koopa kid however died at the second later (fell into the lava) and not only did it not count as me beating him but when I went to go replay the level again the controls were all fucked up. none of the buttons did what they were supposed to and the direction pad made you jump... wish I had took out my phone to record it.

Dude, that would've been awesome if you did record it! I can maybe come up with an idea of why it did that, but that's still really weird that it would lock your controls for that level. It also seems like something that could be replicated (with enough work), so maybe you can test it out and see if it does that again!

[kokonami]

I'm not much for let's plays (why watch someone play a game when I could play it myself?), but this is one I think is really cool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LscZrRhH6B4

He basically plays through Donkey Kong 64 while constantly showing off all the different glitches you can use to get all of the bananas. Very fun to watch.

I love Let's Plays. Sometimes I enjoy it for the commentary (people like DeceasedCrab and BeholdMyStrength have that kind of commentary style where I like to just listen) or I watch them because I can't play the game myself/they're doing a difficult or exclusive run of something. But I'm definitely gonna watch this one just for the sheer interest.

[scott]

When playing Castlevania there are 2 tricks I almost always use. And I've been looking for others like them.

The 1st is the Holy Water. It's completely fucking broken. If you pick it up in level 2 and can hold on to it for the rest of the game, every boss is a cake walk. Cause it pauses their sprite where they stand. Since they can't move, you just spam the piss out of it and = WIN! Of course it's not 100% guaranteed to win you the game. Because you still need to know enemy patterns, level layout and killing Frankenstein and Death with it takes some really good timing.

The second is a minor glitch. When you are in level 2 of the game. You can skip a bit of platforming and Medusa heads if you jump where I have circled. If you jump and let a Medusa hit you, you'll get knocked back. But rather than falling in the pit, you'll actually fly up and land on the upper ledge. Allowing you to pretty much skip the whole room. Just make sure you are facing right, so it knocks you left and you're golden.

[kokonami]

When playing Castlevania there are 2 tricks I almost always use. And I've been looking for others like them.

The 1st is the Holy Water. It's completely fucking broken. If you pick it up in level 2 and can hold on to it for the rest of the game, every boss is a cake walk. Cause it pauses their sprite where they stand. Since they can't move, you just spam the piss out of it and = WIN! Of course it's not 100% guaranteed to win you the game. Because you still need to know enemy patterns, level layout and killing Frankenstein and Death with it takes some really good timing.

The second is a minor glitch. When you are in level 2 of the game. You can skip a bit of platforming and Medusa heads if you jump where I have circled. If you jump and let a Medusa hit you, you'll get knocked back. But rather than falling in the pit, you'll actually fly up and land on the upper ledge. Allowing you to pretty much skip the whole room. Just make sure you are facing right, so it knocks you left and you're golden.

Hah, I'm pretty sure the Holy Water is broken for most of the earlier Castlevania's. I remember using it like crazy in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest [HUSH. People says it's awful but I enjoyed the heck out of it. >__>] and in Symphony of the Night, it's easily one of, if not THE best, sub-weapon to have. Not sure about later ones though; sub-weapons got switched out for other things in newer Castlevanias.

However, that jump glitch, I would've never thought to try that! And seeing how the original Castlevania was a challenge, shortcuts like that are probably godsends if you're bad at the game -- or adversely, if you're going for a speed run.

[scott]

Ya I found that jump on accident years ago. I think I actually found it playing the GBA port and ended up loading up my NES to see if it was doable in there too. I remember when I was a younger and completely sucking at this game. Now a days I can usually get to Frankenstien w/o dying.

At one point, I thought maybe it wasn't as hard as I remembered it being. So I handed my controller to the GF, who has little more than newer Mario games experience. She lasted to that jump point and then Medusa tossed her in the pit.

I don't remember what Alt weapon I ran in SotN. But it was prolly the Holy Water. I did like the Rebound Stone too in tight hallways, ha.

[kokonami]

'Tis a shame I don't own a copy of the original NES Castlevania or I'd give this a shot myself. Now that I actually own a working NES again...

[scott]

Come on Foxhack! Toss out those Portal videos!

[doctorlaudanum]

Holy crap. Slap some reversed music on that and it can be the next Ben Drowned. But seriously, two seconds in and I was already laughing. That swimming animation at Lake Hylia just about killed me.

As for glitches I've found, the only major ones were in 360 and PS2 games, which I know don't really count as "retro."

[foxhack]

Come on Foxhack! Toss out those Portal videos!

NO

[scott]

Come on Foxhack! Toss out those Portal videos!

NO

Aww.

[kokonami]

Come on Foxhack! Toss out those Portal videos!

NO

Aww.

...Portal videos? Now I'm interested.

[scott]

I'm going to just deposit this mystery link... here