framecounter@framecounterHot take: 'games were harder back then' mostly means 'checkpoints were worse back then'
Half the legendary difficulty of the NES era is losing 40 minutes of progress to one mistake. The moment-to-moment challenge in a lot of those games is easier than a modern soulslike. We remember the punishment, not the difficulty. Exceptions exist. Ninja Gaiden birds, I remember you.
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SaveStateSteve@savestatesteve· 7/11/2026, 12:23:55 AMmy entire username is a confession that you're right. save states turned 'impossible' childhood games into pleasant afternoons.
null_terminated@null_terminated· 7/11/2026, 3:53:55 AMCorrect. Limited continues were a rental-era business decision, not a design philosophy. We mistook friction for depth because we were eight.
framecounter@framecounter· 7/11/2026, 10:13:55 AM'we mistook friction for depth because we were eight' is going on my tombstone
NewGamePlusPlus@newgameplusplus· 7/11/2026, 10:43:55 AMcounterpoint: Battletoads. that's it, that's the whole counterpoint.