Post by Bytor on Jun 2, 2011 22:01:37 GMT -5
WHY?
It's such a fine line...or maybe it's really not. Why must I feel a need, no, let me rephrase, why must I feel it's pretty much necessary to grind in order to make the boss battle fair? Now don't get me wrong. I mean, c'mon, obviously I don't want to be level 50 and fight the last battle against a level 5 boss. Now before I go any further let me state that I freely admit I somewhat like scripted final battles that I simply cannot lose. I don't mind fighting multiple "boss" battles one after another to prove my worth, but I also somewhat like a scripted final battle I cannot lose to show that I have done what was necessary to reach that battle and complete the game. Why in the world should I be punished for completing a game as designed and why in the world should I be punished for NOT doing much, much more than really necessary (although obviously in many games it IS necessary) in order to complete the game. I really am simply unsure as to why in the world I should not be leveled up where necessary but should be ridiculously over leveled in order to make the final boss battle somewhat fair.. Two conflicting examples come directly to mind. Xenosag had some of the seriously most intense boss battles I have ever played, and while they were unreal challenging they were also, IMO, very fair and while winnable certainly required some thought and strategy. Shadow Hearts: From the New World and Eternal Sonata came across as the exact opposite. I found each game to have a serious difficulty curve as battles progressed. Like I said, I don't mind leveling, in fact if the battle system is fun I actually enjoying grinding, as it not only levels my characters up but also prolongs a game I am obviously enjoying, but having said that should I really have to extend a game by 10 hours in order to simply have a chance to complete the game?
Oh by the way...Xggragdia is immune to fire (which I spent 42 hours leveling up) he is also immune to ice (which my lead ally spent 40 hours leveling up) and just to make matters more fun he is immune to EVERY elemental attack thus negating my strongest spells. However, do not despair! For he does have a weakness! Alas, after 1382 defeats I have discovered that yes! Indeed! Xggragdia has a weak spot right underneath the sixth limb on his left side which he exposes when he does his "Ultimate Fury Death to All" attack! Wow, you mean it's really that easy! Why in the world did I die 1382 times! Seriously. Why are things like this necessary. I certainly want a challenge but things like this are not a challenge. They are a ridiculous failure in producing a well balanced game. A well balanced game is challenging but has a nice ebb and flow to it. It doesn't suddenly have a difficulty spike which renders the boss battles into such a chore that it (almost) forces me decide to stop playing the game. And yet...sometimes it does happen.
Too many games fall into the above mentioned categories. My thought process tells me that if I have 500 hit points and the boss has 50,000 then it on the surface appears to be a problem. Now, typically it seems the developers balance this out by having my attacks take off 5000 while the boss attacks take off 50, except of course for the dreaded "Ultimate Fury death To All" attack which instantly kills two of my party, renders the other one mute, blind, poisoned, deaf, paralyzed, petrified, and on the verge of spontaneous combustion, and leaves me with 1 hit point. But, it's really my own fault. I should have noticed that two of the twelve planets in the sky were aligned and that the Zeroth hour was nigh approaching and then I could have pressed X, O, X, X, up, right, right, right, down, O and successfully (or at least I would have been given a 17% chance to) blocked the attack. Seriously.
Now, by now you probably are wondering, geez, what does this guy want. It's really quite simple. I want fairness. I want a battle that is challenging and yet, while I may die, at no point did I feel the death was cheap (Odin Sphere comes to mind instantly). I want a battle where luck pretty much does not play into the equation. I understand the boss is stronger than the regular enemies so I expect my attacks to do less damage, but I still expect them to do some damage. likewise, I'll take on more damage, but I shouldn't die instantly or be forced to play for 26 more hours simply to make the battle fair. that's it in a nutshell, I want fairness. is this too much to ask? Apparently sometimes it is.
It's such a fine line...or maybe it's really not. Why must I feel a need, no, let me rephrase, why must I feel it's pretty much necessary to grind in order to make the boss battle fair? Now don't get me wrong. I mean, c'mon, obviously I don't want to be level 50 and fight the last battle against a level 5 boss. Now before I go any further let me state that I freely admit I somewhat like scripted final battles that I simply cannot lose. I don't mind fighting multiple "boss" battles one after another to prove my worth, but I also somewhat like a scripted final battle I cannot lose to show that I have done what was necessary to reach that battle and complete the game. Why in the world should I be punished for completing a game as designed and why in the world should I be punished for NOT doing much, much more than really necessary (although obviously in many games it IS necessary) in order to complete the game. I really am simply unsure as to why in the world I should not be leveled up where necessary but should be ridiculously over leveled in order to make the final boss battle somewhat fair.. Two conflicting examples come directly to mind. Xenosag had some of the seriously most intense boss battles I have ever played, and while they were unreal challenging they were also, IMO, very fair and while winnable certainly required some thought and strategy. Shadow Hearts: From the New World and Eternal Sonata came across as the exact opposite. I found each game to have a serious difficulty curve as battles progressed. Like I said, I don't mind leveling, in fact if the battle system is fun I actually enjoying grinding, as it not only levels my characters up but also prolongs a game I am obviously enjoying, but having said that should I really have to extend a game by 10 hours in order to simply have a chance to complete the game?
Oh by the way...Xggragdia is immune to fire (which I spent 42 hours leveling up) he is also immune to ice (which my lead ally spent 40 hours leveling up) and just to make matters more fun he is immune to EVERY elemental attack thus negating my strongest spells. However, do not despair! For he does have a weakness! Alas, after 1382 defeats I have discovered that yes! Indeed! Xggragdia has a weak spot right underneath the sixth limb on his left side which he exposes when he does his "Ultimate Fury Death to All" attack! Wow, you mean it's really that easy! Why in the world did I die 1382 times! Seriously. Why are things like this necessary. I certainly want a challenge but things like this are not a challenge. They are a ridiculous failure in producing a well balanced game. A well balanced game is challenging but has a nice ebb and flow to it. It doesn't suddenly have a difficulty spike which renders the boss battles into such a chore that it (almost) forces me decide to stop playing the game. And yet...sometimes it does happen.
Too many games fall into the above mentioned categories. My thought process tells me that if I have 500 hit points and the boss has 50,000 then it on the surface appears to be a problem. Now, typically it seems the developers balance this out by having my attacks take off 5000 while the boss attacks take off 50, except of course for the dreaded "Ultimate Fury death To All" attack which instantly kills two of my party, renders the other one mute, blind, poisoned, deaf, paralyzed, petrified, and on the verge of spontaneous combustion, and leaves me with 1 hit point. But, it's really my own fault. I should have noticed that two of the twelve planets in the sky were aligned and that the Zeroth hour was nigh approaching and then I could have pressed X, O, X, X, up, right, right, right, down, O and successfully (or at least I would have been given a 17% chance to) blocked the attack. Seriously.
Now, by now you probably are wondering, geez, what does this guy want. It's really quite simple. I want fairness. I want a battle that is challenging and yet, while I may die, at no point did I feel the death was cheap (Odin Sphere comes to mind instantly). I want a battle where luck pretty much does not play into the equation. I understand the boss is stronger than the regular enemies so I expect my attacks to do less damage, but I still expect them to do some damage. likewise, I'll take on more damage, but I shouldn't die instantly or be forced to play for 26 more hours simply to make the battle fair. that's it in a nutshell, I want fairness. is this too much to ask? Apparently sometimes it is.
