Am I the only one who hates Gradius?

[Tanooki]

Contra agreed, but Super C is on another level, it's worse than Gradius difficulty wise.  Contra inthe arcade was semi-evil, couldn't even continue more than like a dollars worth of credits as it would shove you back to the title.

 

It's not so much kicking while he's down, he keeps doing this over and over again to the point it's like a weird mix of making excuses and attention seeking so like I said I'm not going to look nice I'm being blunt, and just wrote that out.  I wasn't looking to be nice or mean, just truthful which is going to sting.

 

I no longer am comfortable or know Gradius it's like a semi-fresh game and I can push it half way through the stages at the least before I start having issues.  I haven't committed to any of those old games seriously in probably 15-20 years so it's faded memories at best so I was coming from an angle of someone who has tried a lot less than he has or probably most here who like konami/shooters so I know it's not that bad especially compared to the sequel.

[mbd39]

33 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Contra agreed, but Super C is on another level, it's worse than Gradius difficulty wise.  Contra inthe arcade was semi-evil, couldn't even continue more than like a dollars worth of credits as it would shove you back to the title.

 

 

Super C is hard me too. I'm not sure why. I'm pretty good at Contra but Super C has always given me trouble. I wouldn't say more difficult than Gradius though.

 

 

 

[Austin]

58 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

Super C is hard me too. I'm not sure why. I'm pretty good at Contra but Super C has always given me trouble. I wouldn't say more difficult than Gradius though.

Dude, you've murdered Battletoads and Bump 'n Jump. Super C should be a piece of cake for you. I'd say go back to it and work on it. It's breeeeeezy.

[Cebus Capucinis]

For a real answer, if this obsession is taking over your life and impacting your mental health (I say this because it seems somewhat clear to us as outsiders that it is....), I'd suggest turning those attentions elsewhere and focusing on what really matters.

 

I think if you go back and read your previous posts clearly and slowly, you already said what's missing in your life and what this obsession has replaced. That's a big part of why you're going through what you're going through, if you ask me. Which, of course, you didn't, but nonetheless.

[Frozone212]

You are right. I'm just going crazy not being able to go to a friends house or talk to people. 

 

I am not uploading garbage online but I see what you mean.

 

thanks for the comments. I will talk to my therapist

 

I get what Tanooki is trying to say. Sometimes I need people to be blunt. I will get past this, eventually. I am not seeking attention, just understanding.

 

I appreciate it guys

Edited May 8, 2022 by Frozone212

[Tanooki]

Good, was trying to be blunt, harsh, but blunt to see if it maybe hit something to make sense of along what Cebus just above said.

 

You got a serious problem, set of problems going on there.  If it's to where a game makes you basically stop all function other than basically eat-sleep-shit -- get pissed at game or recording work of such game, it's gone well beyond too far.

 

I have an idea, since you clearly have the equipment.  You have OCD, good, use it.  There are so many dumb play throughs, long plays, rambling attention seekers ranting over a game so you can't hear it, etc.  There are few historians, or analytical types hitting a game compared.  Maybe do that.  We have Alec here on the site who ever so often under the basement bros name does like a 20min tear down, discovery, history deep dive into one Neo Geo game after another as the library goes along.  NO one else has done this, maybe do that.  There are a shit load of NES and SNES videos on games in general, but someone who goes deep with any consistency is just Jeremy Parish with his WORKS line of stuff and he's going by product release.

 

Take for instance Gradius.  I'm not saying do the history of that, it's been done to death.  Maybe mine into who worked on this version, did they move onto Gradius 2 also on Famicom or Parodius.  Maybe discuss some useful strategies or screwball stuff to pull off, not the usual dry run anyone can memorize.  Maybe cover the audio, who did it, how accomplished they are and how they evolved if they did later games in the series.  Maybe the audio and designers moved onto something more complex for Konami like Crisis Force, then compare/contrast the two to show how ideas were applied and improved on, with a dash of the tech from using NROM bank switch of Gradius to the beefy VRC chipset Crisis Force or Parodius used.  That would make for a fun video and with your OCD issues, you could really get into the nuggets of that and lay it out well.

[Frozone212]

I will do that and Appreciate the advice.

[Tanooki]

Good call if you do it and stick to it.

 

NES your thing?  SNES?  Genesis?   Figure out what seems good, find a system, and then avoid the me-too hot property garbage.  Look into the B-team stuff.  You could find some really fascinating things, maybe things that pushed people into the A team in their career next.  The good games that get greater games after that just aren't cared about much or overlooked.

[Frozone212]

Can you clarify? I have no idea what you just said?

[Tanooki]

Which system do you prefer?

 

Find one.  Stick to it (or at least largely) and then dig into what I was talking about as a sense of direction.  But even if it's a well traveled system like the NES, don't do the popular stuff the overly covered A game stuff from Nintendo, Konami, Capcom, etc.  Get into the more interesting less covered interesting things.

[Frozone212]

gotcha

[+GoldLeader]

On 5/6/2022 at 12:19 AM, Frozone212 said:

Ok, I need to clear this up. I respect Konami for making Gradius, I do. I just don't like it. It's punishing and that's a choice I criticize the devs for. 

But there is another reason why I hate this game and the reason will become clear soon.

 

I record to youtube a lot (OBS) and hate having to do the video over. I fear that I will never be seen as a serious gamer if I can't even play Gradius perfectly. Couple that with my OCD preventing me from accepting a game over and you have a recipe for frustration. I never upload videos where I die 24/7. I want people to have a good time and enjoy my successes, not my failures. I want to draw people in, not have them question my ability.

 

It's the same reason why I flee from anything remotely difficult. I refuse to play by the rules. If that's illegal than I am on the wrong planet. I won't even play COD on anything harder than regular for this reason. Artificial difficulty is my biggest pet peeve.

 

The words "Just a game", "break" and "have fun" are words I have long forgotten. What used to be nostalgia and fun as a child has turned into a chore.

 

A burning desire to be seen as more than just the average joe has me gaming 24/7. I don't read my bible anymore; I don't read period. I want to excel, to surpass others and taste the fame that others bask in. I have a compulsive desire to win at all costs, damn the consequences. Any advantage, I take, any loophole, I will exploit. I refuse to accept failure, and yet, it happens. OCD does not let me stop this obsession. I am sitting on a backlog of digital hames that I will never complete because I refuse to accept failure, I refuse to play legit. I fear what people would think of me if they knew, knew I was a cheater.

 

I'm not hardcore or casual. I just am.

 

I used to love the NES but now I hate it. Hate the games, hate the difficulty. It used to be fun, it used to be something magical. My childhood has been ripped away, replaced by anger and regret. Regret that I wasted eight years of my life pursuing something i could never have. The only friends I have are on Discord. I have one persistent subscriber on YT who I am friends with but that's it. Everyone else is just a digit, A number. 

 

Recording to YT is...unpleasant.

 

In my mind, I can't fail, I am literally incapable of recording a flawed video or failing a game. My OCD will NOT LET ME DO THIS! It's the same reason why I never beat COD black ops Cold War because of the Operation Chaos and Red Circus. I have to do it, or it will never let me go and in the case of RC and OC, I will be stuck looking at the screen for hours on end because i suck at mathematics and the brilliant developers decided to put a math based puzzled into a GAME THAT IS NOT PUZZLE BASED! Sorry.

 

I Haven't played Jak and Daxter because of this either. 3 was so bad on my sanity that my mother actually had to get me out of the house to recover from the mental strain. I literally stopped functioning, fell out of the chair and lay still as if dead. Same with Ratchet and Clank Going commando. 

 

Hard games are fun for other people. For me, it is either cheat to win or don't play at all. Thus, Gradius earns my eternal scorn for being something I will never be able to beat, ever. I've conquered Contra, Super C, Journey to Silius (cheated) and even beat Nightfire for xbox (Hell is underwater levels)

 

So...

 

Record, play, scrap the video, record and play and repeat until I either get it perfect or I forget to eat or hydrate.

 

It's either be perfect or be seen as just another channel trying and failing to stay afloat.

 

I am terrified of being anything less than capable. Doomed to live in a shadow of the more successful people. 

Why Do i hate gradius? Because it reminds me of who I truly am: A failure

 

 

^ OK So I personally think this post right here is the heart of the matter.

 

Many games are hard which is why people say, "Hey, Relax it's just a game."

 

Personal opinion here.   This is based on an arcade game.  (Like others have said) Those were always designed to munch quarters,  so don't take the difficulty too personally...With a little practice you get a little better each time through.  Believe it or not,  Many of us find many games to be hard.  (We're long past dwelling on it,  though;  Life's too short).  So...My advice.  If you want to kick back and play a game;  Do it.  Don't judge yourself or your life on your performance.  If it wasn't fun for you,  decide whether you want to try again and get better, or consider a different game, or just try doing something else.  Archery is fun if there's no people around.  Or,  maybe just go on a bike ride...At least it's exercise!

 

IMO

 

If you're hung up on the game being hard, You're doing it wrong.   (Doesn't mean the game isn't hard by the way).

 

If the game isn't fun for you and you find yourself evaluating your life's worth based on your performance,   You're doing it wrong.

 

If you're trying to do it perfectly,  You're doing it wrong.

 

If you're trying to do great on a game, and you're recording your exploits for YouTube followers (something that didn't even exist when these games were made), and hoping for more likes and more subscribers (rather than playing for yourself and having fun because YOU enjoy it)...You're doing it wrong.

 

F#ck man,  it's supposed to be fun,  and if you're having a terrible time of it, and basing even a tiny bit of your self worth on this...You're doing it wrong.

 

 

PS  We've all made many mistakes in the past with more to come...As they say,  The only shots you miss are the ones you don't take...And NO, you're not a failure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

Just

 

practice

 

Today I met a dude named Uemura Tatsuya. He made two of the most important shooting games of the 80s: Hishouzame and Kyuukyoku Tiger. These 2 games changed shooting games forever with mechanics and game design elements that practically every shooter going forward straight up copied because they were so good. Kyuukyoku Tiger remains one of the most badass shooting games of all time even now, and today I played the game's rare Japanese 2P version with him.

 

We sucked. Miserably. We ended up credit feeding through the very first stage, which we both game overed on like 5 times each. I, who have been practicing the game since January and can effortlessly coast through the first half of the game on muscle memory alone, and he, who literally programmed the game 35 years ago and who likely knows it better than anyone since he literally made the thing, sucked horribly because we never practiced playing the game together and because playing with 2 people is very different from playing alone.

 

Those pro players that make insanely difficult games look easy do that because they practice for hundreds and thousands of hours. You can do it as well, but you must practice. Go read The Full Extent of the Jam and do everything you learn in that book and it will help you to improve.

[Rhomaios]

I'm with Austin on this. Gradius on the NES isn't hard, nor is Contra. They're both fair games, too. Super C I've played less frequently, but I wouldn't exactly call it punishing. Gradius II is harder.

 

However, I do come across the sentiment that Gradius is harder quite often. Usually, that person didn't spend an enormous amount of time playing it bitd. Growing up with games certainly makes them easier, so maybe this is one example?

 

Also, why is anyone playing Gradius on the NES when the PC Engine game exists? (Except, you know, nostalgia reasons.)

[RuySan]

While I do get that the whole power down thing on life lost is ubiquitous on shmups of this era, the gradius games are by far the most punishing. Even my favourite Gradius clone, Apydia, does the exact same thing.

[Joe C.]

Another game that I enjoy....

[Lord_of_Sipan]

I’m not a huge fan of gradius because I don’t really love the flow of the levels. It’s not a difficulty thing I don’t think, I love Abadox and Silver Surfer and think those games are pretty fine difficulty-wise honestly since they aren’t super long.

 

This might be a strange phrasing of the issue, but gradius feels “stop and go” to me. Not literally because it is an auto-scrolling game but in terms of interaction and difficulty from moment to moment. I think part of that stems from how early it is. I have the same issue with Xevious and some other early scrolling shooters.

[Frozone212]

please don't necro this thread. thanks

[Wayler]

Thanks to your effective use of the Streisand effect, I had to see what was up and read the thread from the beginning, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. And what a doozy it was, thoroughly entertaining.

 

Sorry to see that your not yet in a position to look at your past actions in a reflective and constructive way. Hopefully you'll get there someday. 

 

As for Gradius on the NES, we had it on a bootleg 123in1 etc. cart but it was a corrupt version of the game and the graphics were a mess. Maybe tried it a few times when emulators were the new thing, couldn't get into it if I recall. There's a thing with shooters for me, they might really hook me in or leave me completely empty, no middle ground. 

[Bloodreign]

Do I hate Gradius? Hell no, love the entire series myself, love it's parody series, Parodius as well. Got multiple games in each series in my collection as well.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Bloodreign

[Razzie.P]

How long does a thread need to be inactive before posting is considered to be "necro?"  A few months doesn't seem that long, but I have no idea of the etiquette there.

 

Oh yeah, Gradius - I think I'll spend part of my New Years Eve playing part 5 on PS 2.   It's been a while.

 

 

[Razzie.P]

13 hours ago, Bloodreign said:

Do I hate Gradius? Hell no, love the entire series myself, love it's parody series, Parodius as well. Got multiple games in each series in my collection as well.

I just checked out a wiki of some sorts and was surprised to see how many games were listed as part of it related to the series

[Bloodreign]

14 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

I just checked out a wiki of some sorts and was surprised to see how many games were listed as part of it related to the series

There's quite a few, hell I think they've even somehow connected the Contra games as part of the Gradius universe at some point.

[mbd39]

Now that I can beat Life Force maybe I'll make a serious attempt to beat Gradius.

 

[Cobra Kai]

1 hour ago, Razzie.P said:

How long does a thread need to be inactive before posting is considered to be "necro?"  A few months doesn't seem that long, but I have no idea of the etiquette there.

 

Oh yeah, Gradius - I think I'll spend part of my New Years Eve playing part 5 on PS 2.   It's been a while.

 

 

Doesn't matter, necro-bumping isn't forbidden here. The mods don't mind at all as long as the topic continues 'on-topic'. I like to revisit old threads from time to time, nothing wrong with it at all.