Topic: That feeling and how YOU get it

[WHAM]

I have just beaten Dark Souls for the first time in my life. It took me well over a year and my playtime clocked at over 120 hours, and I finally did it. I think I've just sat here for about an hour or so, trying to digest the information... I can't remember the last time a game felt this good to beat. The level of challenge, the frustration of being stuck and still finding the game world interesting enough to bring me back to make that one last push, and then breaking the back of a boss and uncovering an entire new area to explore, those made Dark Souls unforgettable and precious to me.

We all have had that feeling of accomplishment sometime, what games made you feel like going out to the streets to shout and scream in joy upon beating?

[KodiakBehr]

One of my colleagues happened to be playing Dark Souls at the same time I was.  As we progressed through the various bosses, we'd exchange approaches and tips on how we tackled them.  Ultimately, we had very different characters with different playstyles, but still we encouraged each other and kept pushing each other to raise the bar for bragging rights as we progressed through the game.  We both happened, coincidentally, to beat it the same day, and neither of us could contain our sense of pride.

Another title that made me feel just awesome for beating was The Binding of Issac.  Furthermore, I imagine that the day I take down the last boss in FTL, I'll probably get that rush again.

[Crimson Wizard]

what games made you feel like going out to the streets to shout and scream in joy upon beating?

Finding a long-living bug and finally getting my program to work

[JSH]

When I finished Resident Evil 2 way back in the day using only the combat knife as a weapon. Damn, that was hard

[Radiant]

Planescape Torment. Best videogame story ever.

[Eric]

I never actually beat the game, but the first and only time I finished this level in TMNT for NES:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DqfRus5ePmI" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/DqfRus5ePmI</a>

[Baron]

Beating a really challenging home-made Jetpack level -like this one

Finding a long-living bug and finally getting my program to work

Oh yeah!  That's the same feeling too!  Also coming up with that missing plot device/inventory item/game mechanic that will make a puzzle idea with potential into something truly inspired.

[Jaffles]

I never actually beat the game, but the first and only time I finished this level in TMNT for NES:

Hah, that made me think of this video
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8oNuGxz_ykc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/8oNuGxz_ykc</a>

As for me, strangely enough I go really hardcore in Sonic games. My biggest achievement was getting all 180 emblems in SA2B, man it literally took me like a year. You had to MASTER that game, from the rage inducing randomness of Mad Space to the cruel glitchiness of Final Chase to the mind numbing tedium of the Chao garden. But at least you unlock a really cool 3D remake of Green hill zone (NOTE: This was far before generations existed).

I was also #4 in the world on the Xbox leaderboards for Seaside Hill Act 2 in Sonic Generations though that was last year and it could've changed by now (wish I still had a pic, but my cell phone was stolen in Italy ).

Something about those games just makes me want to replay them to mastery...

[Ryan Timothy]

I never actually beat the game, but the first and only time I finished this level in TMNT for NES

That level was so unforgiving. Man, I played that too many times as a child. Hated it! Argh.

Why were old games so challenging. They relied more on memory than instinct or skill (I'm glad that's not the way today's game are - albeit some are pretty basic and unrewarding, but seeing April just say Good after completing that is a definite kick in the balls).

[Frito Master]

I have just beaten Dark Souls for the first time in my life. It took me well over a year and my playtime clocked at over 120 hours, and I finally did it. I think I've just sat here for about an hour or so, trying to digest the information... I can't remember the last time a game felt this good to beat. The level of challenge, the frustration of being stuck and still finding the game world interesting enough to bring me back to make that one last push, and then breaking the back of a boss and uncovering an entire new area to explore, those made Dark Souls unforgettable and precious to me.

We all have had that feeling of accomplishment sometime, what games made you feel like going out to the streets to shout and scream in joy upon beating?

Yeah I'm rebeating it on pc.... I think it took 70 or 80 hours but I used iron flesh for the last bosses lol... Ornstien and smough were stuuuuuupid hard though.

[Grim]

When I finished Resident Evil 2 way back in the day using only the combat knife as a weapon. Damn, that was hard

Damn, I thought I WAS the only person who ever achieved that!!!:)

Did you also manage to complete it in under 2 hours?

[JSH]

When I finished Resident Evil 2 way back in the day using only the combat knife as a weapon. Damn, that was hard

Damn, I thought I WAS the only person who ever achieved that!!!:)

Did you also manage to complete it in under 2 hours?

With just the knife I actually don't remember how long it took, I was just happy I succeeded at all With no weapon restrictions I'm quite sure my record for Leon A is about 58 minutes with A rank.

Did you unlock and finish the hidden Tofu scenario too? Fun, silly and extremely hard

[Fitz]

Of things that I played this year, I'd say Gish. It's not that it's terribly difficult -- even though it came from the same guys that made Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac -- but given my two left hands, finishing ANY game on a difficulty level higher than Easy feels like that Even defeating the Captain in "Barely Floating" felt like an achievement. Still, I'll compulsively finish every game I've started and go to great lenghts to complete every achievement I can. Like completing 100% of the 250+ settlements in Just Cause 2... And then I hated myself and promised myself I would never let another game suck me in like that I will still play it once in a while, just driving around, pissing soldiers off and blowing up whatever's left. I don't really NEED the challenge and the oh so frequent frustration. I have that at work

[amateurhour]

I think the reason old games were inherently harder is because of a few reasons...

1) You were a lot younger and a lot less technically skilled

2) The Nintendo D-Pad was a cruel, cruel mistress, especially with 8-way controls.

3) Older games (generally) had a more poorly written hit detection compared to stuff we have today.

4) Older games WERE just plain harder because beating them was the accomplishment, there generally was no easy mode, and there were no achievements. Beating the game was the achievement, and if it had a battery your high score proved it. Beating the game on a self imposed time trial or 1/no hit challenge was a personal accomplishment.

Having said that, I'd say that finally getting to Wiley's castle in Mega Man 2, with no cheat codes, was probably the closest I came to beating a Mega Man game, and that made me proud.

Difficulty aside, I get a sense of accomplishment whenever I beat an RPG game that has more than 30 hours of playtime in it. (I.E. Skyrim, Fallout games, Mass Effect, etc)     

[Radiant]

I think the reason old games were inherently harder is because of a few reasons...

IWBTG wants a word with you

[Crimson Wizard]

Difficulty aside, I get a sense of accomplishment whenever I beat an RPG game that has more than 30 hours of playtime in it. (I.E. Skyrim, Fallout games, Mass Effect, etc)     

Regarding Skyrim, I've got feeling of accomplishment after I managed to kill 36-level Thalmor mage with a 10th level warrior; used magicka-draining poisons + lots of healing and jumping and strafing and reloading. When the last hack of my axe made him fall down, I felt the unspeakable satisfaction .

Months later when I killed Alduin with 56th level mage (I restarted game trying different character), I was like "Umm... so what?" 


E: Oh, hey, I remembered - killing Red Dragon in Baldur's Gate 2!

[Eric]

Having said that, I'd say that finally getting to Wiley's castle in Mega Man 2, with no cheat codes, was probably the closest I came to beating a Mega Man game, and that made me proud.

I didn't beat Mega Man 2 until I was an adult with an emulator that could save states. That damned dragon always got me. Love that game though.

[CaptainD]

Okay this may be a stupid one, but remember Snake2 back on the old Nokia phones?  The one with an insanely fast game mode?  I got pretty proficient on that and got high scores, but on just one solitary occasion I completely filled the screen with black - no space left, only snake.  I was so pumped up (not to mention surprised and thinking that I must have "completed" the game and that I'd get a congratulations screen!) that I barely noticed the screen then going black and starting from scratch again, getting myself killed almost straight away in the process.


Never actually completed it (or got anywhere near), but managing to successfully navigate those tunnels in Starglider 2 was something I seem to remember being extremely difficult.  Didn't manage that many times.

[selmiak]

Furthermore, I imagine that the day I take down the last boss in FTL, I'll probably get that rush again.

just did it... finally... yep, feels goooooooood

[Jared]

Maybe I'm the lamer new age gamer, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of beating games like Mass Effect, that aren't actually that hard but draw you into the story and give you a strong sense of accomplishment for beating it.

For straightforward examples....

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which had an IMPOSSIBLE (well nearly) final stage where you literally have to kill 60 guys in the space of 2 minutes running out of an exploding munitions factory

Iron Storm which was relentless in its difficulty as I recall (nobody else seems to remember this game as horribly difficult but I do)

Super Punch Out. Only this year. I'd never heard of Punch Out, (I'm a PC exclusive gamer and always have been) then saw clips of this game on YouTube and thought it looked really cool. It is but... man. It's the ultimate trial-and-error, pattern spotting, reaction time challenge. Eventually I was hitting the wall at every fighter and saying "Well, I'm NEVER going to beat this guy!" (because if you don't know what you're doing every fighter at later levels will knock you out in about fifteen seconds) but something made me keep coming back. Sending Nick Bruiser to the canvas for the first time was really something special.

Interestingly, I DIDN'T get that feeling with Fallout: New Vegas, because I had serious video card trouble when I nearly beat the game, and only had enough cash to get a new card about eight months later. Playing through the last three quests felt really empty because the continuity had been broken. Even though I'd beaten a tough game, it didn't feel like I'd done much at all. Really disheartening.