Vigilante is Hard???

_Paul · 02/19/2007, 01:26 PM

According to Gamespot's review of VC Vigilante it is 'impossibly difficult', ' ridiculously hard' and 'you'll need to invest hours of practice and experience quite a bit of luck before three continues and eight total lives are enough to carry you through to the final boss. '

Am I missing something? Was the difficulty on the US release pumped up because the Japanese version is piss easy.

I'd add that they also said it has 'unimpressive audio even for an 8-bit game' which is crap. Sure, Irem sound wasn't the best but Vigilante sounds decent enough. They also complained about the poor speech sampling saying 'and the mangled voice clips aren't side effects caused by the emulation. Irem simply didn't put much care into the audio'. This was 1989 for God's sake, there weren't that many console games with speech, let alone good speech.

NecroPhile · 02/19/2007, 01:40 PM

Assuming that nothing was changed from the TG-16 (I haven't played Vigilante on V.C.), they're a bunch of whining pussies. I never had any problems with the difficulty, and I'm certainly not some gaming god. Bitching about the voice is funny - just what in the hell are they comparing it to that is so much better and from the same time period?

GUTS · 02/19/2007, 03:16 PM

I beat it the first time I ever played it, in under an hour. I remember because I called the little mom n pop rental place and asked if I could exchange the game since I had already beaten it, and the lady was like "In an hour?" and was all skeptical. My mom had to vouch for me that she had seen the ending, haha and they finally were cool and let me get something else.

Keranu · 02/19/2007, 03:44 PM

That sounds like a pretty bullshit review. Vigilante is for the most part really easy, the only hard part is the last boss who can be a real bastard. The game only takes like 20 minutes to beat too.

_Paul · 02/19/2007, 04:39 PM

Amazingly, heres a few things Gamespot said about Super Star Soldier:
'gruelingly difficult', 'Difficulty will make you want to curl up into a fetal position, shivering and sobbing', 'Some options to adjust or tone down the difficulty would have been nice', 'Super Star Soldier's best and worst trait alike is its extreme level of difficulty'.

What are these people on? I have to admit I'm a bit rubbish at games, but SSS is not as hard as they'e making it out to be.

Also: 'Your power-ups can protect you from an instantaneous death, but for the most part, one brush with an enemy or a bullet and you explode. This is typical, but what's unusually strange and sadistic about Super Star Soldier is how, unless you find this one rare power-up, you'll have to start over from the beginning of the stage after you die.'

Rare? RARE? What game are they playing here?

And also, they said:
'Unfortunately, Super Star Soldier does not support two-player simultaneous play like many other, similar games'

So how many shoot 'em ups of the era were 2 player sim? Not bloody many.

EDIT: Aah I just noticed further down the review: 'The audio is nothing special either.'.

Ehhhh? EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?

WHAAAAAAT???

termis · 02/19/2007, 05:36 PM

Viglilante? Hard? It was running as a demo on a small appliance store, I stopped by, took the controller, and beat it. Granted I played the game in the arcade a couple times before that, but it was still way too easy.

OldRover · 03/01/2007, 08:35 PM

Pfft, these morons know NOTHING about gaming. They couldn't review an answering machine message. Games were GAMES back in those days, when you needed SKILLZ to play games rather than the latest uberhardcore graphics card or a six-pound book of cheat codes.

Vigilante was ridiculously EASY. And hell, the copy I bought was slightly broken (only gave you 2 lives rather than 3, so you only ever saw 1 lil guy icon where there was supposed to be 2). I still beat it in a couple of days.

The PCE conversion doesn't quite live up to the arcade (some animation frames missing, and there's no nice drums like in the arcade version) but it's pretty close.

ParanoiaDragon · 04/27/2007, 04:34 AM

I wouldn't say Vigilante is easy, but, because it's short, it makes it seem easy. The last boss, as Keranu stated, can be a real bastard. He's annoying, but beatable. And I love the music in Vigilante & SSS, Gamespot is on crack!

guyjin · 04/29/2007, 10:02 AM

I have already come to the conclusion that videogame reviewers are almost universally stupid. This is just more evidence.

CrackTiger · 04/29/2007, 04:00 PM

Quote from: guyjin on 04/29/2007, 10:02 AMI have already come to the conclusion that videogame reviewers are almost universally stupid. This is just more evidence.

Then this should seal the deal for you-

http://superpcenginegrafx.com/blueshadows1.html

Ultra Luigi · 07/16/2007, 07:23 PM

Heh, I just got the game about an hour ago and I got to the final boss on my first try but he beat me down pretty bad. I tried it again and he took me out again. Any pointers on how to beat this annoying punk? He really likes to counter you with his grab and kick every time you approach him.

Turbo D · 07/16/2007, 07:51 PM

i just under kick his ass

Ultra Luigi · 07/16/2007, 08:13 PM

Lol, it worked pretty damn well. Thanks a lot Turbo D.

Those reviewers were way off. I can see it being considered hard but ridiculously hard or impossibly difficult, no way. The game overall was easy for me except the final battle against the boss.

PCEngineHell · 07/17/2007, 08:50 PM

There are patterns to the enemies,the only character hard to kill is the last boss. the Pcengine/Tg16 port is very close to the arcade. The only real major thing I notice is the lack of smoking at the first boss. I own the arcade board of this game now,its so old,but still nice for its time. I would spend hours playing it on the Tg-16 back in the early 90ies when I first got a copy of it,thinking how amazing close it was to the arcade in look and feel,same way with Raiden,Aero Blasters and Bloody Wolf. Those were def some good times for me back in 92-96. Most of the arcade ports are of quality on the system.

These people reviewing these games,they are from a whiny 3d only generation.They don't respect the stuff. They don't care about any of it,because of lack of 3d and 5.1 surround,and act like they were forced to play the stuff.
And yea,it is hard for people like this to play old games like what we play. Older games tend to require faster reaction time,and are less forgiving. 1-3 hits equal death in some cases. They require real skill,and for you to spend real time playing and enjoying them.This is unheard of today in games. People these days are pampered with easy games that can take you forever to die even if you have never played the game in your life.

Imagine if you made these reviewers play Ninja Gaiden on Nes,they would die of strokes.

SNKNostalgia · 07/19/2007, 07:29 AM

HAHAHAH!!! OH SHIT!!!! Man, you got it right down to the soul. It is sooo damn sad how people are spoiled these days with games. I still see reviews of Ninja Gaiden for the X-box being "OMFG it is really hard". Lazy unskilled bastards. It is sad how bad people are in the new gaming generation. I remember recently seeing a game tournament on Gaming TV with Starz/Encore channels and I just laughed at how arrogant these guys were and how much they suck at skill.... and life as well since they felt like huge ballers that won the Thunder Dome or something.

offsidewing · 07/19/2007, 03:32 PM

Quote from: SNKNostalgia on 07/19/2007, 07:29 AMHAHAHAH!!! OH SHIT!!!! Man, you got it right down to the soul. It is sooo damn sad how people are spoiled these days with games. I still see reviews of Ninja Gaiden for the X-box being "OMFG it is really hard". Lazy unskilled bastards. It is sad how bad people are in the new gaming generation. I remember recently seeing a game tournament on Gaming TV with Starz/Encore channels and I just laughed at how arrogant these guys were and how much they suck at skill.... and life as well since they felt like huge ballers that won the Thunder Dome or something.

Yeah, I don't understand what people complain about. I am not what you would call a hard core gamer, but Vigilanti and SSS HARD?!?!?!

I'd like to see the pantie-waste that called Vigilanti hard fire up Exile:WP.

I may be way off base here, since I don't watch Gaming TV, but I would think (myself included) that anyone that considers themselves are "hard core" games be someone the than thusly kick most people's ass at Nintendogs, Hot Shots Golf 3, Wolfstein 3D, and Interstate 76 and hold some time record in FFviii.

Keranu · 07/19/2007, 04:41 PM

I don't know why people think Ninja Gaiden is so hard. Infinite continues gives you plenty of time to master levels ;) .

nat · 07/19/2007, 05:36 PM

Quote from: Keranu on 07/19/2007, 04:41 PMI don't know why people think Ninja Gaiden is so hard. Infinite continues gives you plenty of time to master levels ;) .

Sinistron has infinite continues.

I'd still say it's pretty fucking hard.

Turbo D · 07/19/2007, 09:15 PM

they through in infinite continues to rub it in your face that you can't win. Its like they're saying; " hahaha, you can never beat our game, we'll even give you infinite continues to make you feel stupid, mwahahaha."

OldRover · 07/19/2007, 10:21 PM

Quote from: nat on 07/19/2007, 05:36 PMSinistron has infinite continues.

I'd still say it's pretty fucking hard.

...yet a walk in the park compared to its Japanese counterpart.

nat · 07/19/2007, 10:43 PM

Quote from: Nödtveidt on 07/19/2007, 10:21 PM
Quote from: nat on 07/19/2007, 05:36 PMSinistron has infinite continues.

I'd still say it's pretty fucking hard.
...yet a walk in the park compared to its Japanese counterpart.

I've always wondered about that, having never played the Japanese version.

What could the Japanese version possibly have that makes it so much harder? More asteroids in the asteroid level? More obstacles in the maze level that follows? No powerups?

Turbo D · 07/19/2007, 10:55 PM

it has kamikazes that go straight at you, ahhhh

nat · 07/19/2007, 10:57 PM

Quote from: turbo D on 07/19/2007, 10:55 PMit has kamikazes that go straight at you, ahhhh

The US version has that!

Turbo D · 07/19/2007, 10:59 PM

perhaps the japanese version being harder is just a myth or fear

Keranu · 07/20/2007, 02:11 AM

Quote from: nat on 07/19/2007, 05:36 PM
Quote from: Keranu on 07/19/2007, 04:41 PMI don't know why people think Ninja Gaiden is so hard. Infinite continues gives you plenty of time to master levels ;) .
Sinistron has infinite continues.

I'd still say it's pretty fucking hard.

Sinistron also doesn't have a life bar and relies on check points ;) .

nat · 07/20/2007, 10:32 AM

I'm still curious to know what makes the Japanese version harder. I know someone here has to have played it. Speak up!

OldRover · 07/20/2007, 02:16 PM

Quote from: nat on 07/20/2007, 10:32 AMI'm still curious to know what makes the Japanese version harder. I know someone here has to have played it. Speak up!

I have played it and beaten it, so I am somewhat familiar with all six levels. It was a long time ago though.

Level 1 doesn't introduce much more difficulty, the boss and sub-bosses are slightly harder with more complex attack patterns.

Level 2 again doesn't change much, only the boss seems to be more active in wanting to kick your ass.

Level 3 I don't really remember too much. I think there might have been more of those annoying purple swimming things., Also, I remember the armored things that shoot homing missiles being a bit tougher to kill.

Level 4 really starts the beatdown. If I remember correctly, it's got two checkpoints and is a bit longer. The attack patterns of the purple rocks gets a lot more clever (at one point, they attack from all directions at once, and quite a few of them too).

Level 5 isn't much different than the US version. The boss is trickier to beat though, he moves around a bit more.

Level 6 is a fucking NIGHTMARE. There are TWICE as many enemies, and the final bosses are FAR harder to beat...with the exception of the final final boss, who is the same as in the US version (there's no way to make him either easier or harder). It's the first half that's the worst though...the layout is similar to the US version except now you've got these annoying green sperm-things that swim in from the top and the bottom that are far tougher than they look.

And there's no half-level skip trick in Violent Soldier either, so there's no skipping the first half of level 6. You've gotta fight every level honestly.

nat · 07/20/2007, 03:19 PM

Thanks. I'll have to try it sometime.

RuninRuder · 07/20/2007, 03:30 PM

QuoteIt's the first half that's the worst though...the layout is similar to the US version except now you've got these annoying green sperm-things that swim in from the top and the bottom that are far tougher than they look.

The US version has those. I just replayed Sinistron a few weeks ago, and I definitely had to deal with sperm-things swimming in from the top and bottom in level 6. Maybe Violent Soldier has them for a longer stretch, but they're present in Sinistron.

But thanks for the comparison notes. I've loved Sinistron for ages, and I'm really looking forward to Violent Soldier's higher level of difficulty.

PCEngineHell · 07/20/2007, 07:36 PM

This kinda counter balances the shitty reviews.
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/arcade_culture/

OldRover · 07/21/2007, 09:16 AM

Great article, Mike. Really puts everything in perspective, lots of truth there.

esteban · 07/21/2007, 10:42 AM

Quote from: PCEngineHell on 07/20/2007, 07:36 PMThis kinda counter balances the shitty reviews.
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/arcade_culture/

That was fun to read through. Plus, it was longer than 200 words! Amazing, considering how many things pass off as "articles" these days. Great article.

I don't fully agree with all of the points the author made, but that doesn't matter, because I am having fun thinking about everything. Really, my biggest complaint is the way he glorifies the arcade business model (pay-per-play), because he conveniently ignores lots of stuff. The great arcade games are *well-designed games*, period. There are many arcade games that have very cheap / artificial / ill-conceived challenges in them... points at which we can debate on how much "skill" is actually required (at these points in a game, one has to ask: was this designed as a "checkpoint" where 1CC'ers hit a wall? Or is it a hallmark of excellent game design?).

Then there are countless games where you literally quarter-feed for TIME (to extend the clock). These games are the antithesis of what the author is talking about, but he fails to acknowledge that his beloved arcade business model handily lends itself to a "pay for 30 additional seconds" formula as readily as it promotes a "skill-based" formula. Indeed, it is only in the arcades that an "insert X coins for X additional minutes of game time" business model makes any sense at all.

Furthermore, the arcade business model is only good for promoting specific genres and specific types of games. I will point out the obvious: game developers were constrained by the arcade business model. Sure, the business model probably raised the minimum standards for skill-based games (this is the author's strongest point, I think), but he fails to acknowledge the shortcomings: developer's were even less likely to take chances / experiment / be creative with arcade titles than the chances they took / take with console titles.

Anyway, I actually like this article, I just think it fails to acknowledge that consoles, too, have been wonderful for "hardcore" gamers... though he does seem to be focusing his critique on the later-era consoles (indeed, he seems to say that the 16-bit console era marked the end of widespread skill-based home games, which I agree with).

Ha! I could babble on but I'll stop there.