The downside to playing obscure games on retro systems...

[Mozgus]

Very little help online. I'm so tired of getting stuck in these old overlooked games, only to come online and go to GameFAQs and find no help at all. This is happening to me a LOT lately. I'll be pinned at a puzzle forever, or beaten by a boss dozens of times. Then if I am lucky, I can find an unfinished FAQ that explains the controls, and not much else. The forums are always totally empty for these games too. I've got about 30 games on Saturn and DC that I may never beat because in all probability, no one else has ever beaten them who also happens to speak English.

On the other hand, I wonder how I ever beat any games as a kid, before the internet was around....

[Jakanden]

I have noticed that as well heh.

As far as the old NES days, that is what Nintendo Power and friends were for =)

[Mega-Dan]

Sometimes you have the same problem with new games though quite often...we were playing the new ghost recon and nobody had a walkthrough for the coop maps, and they are impossible to play with only two players, since they are designed for at least four people. We didnt realize you could change the options so you could respawn when you died instead of starting the hour long board over (oops, that was the secret).
I am kinda shocked by how many japanese only RPG and adventure games have complete english walkthroughs, its kinda amazing. However, when it comes to arcade or more action orientated titles, your out of luck. I know if Radiant Silvergun didnt have a walkthrough I would have had to give up on it, because one boss was just too hard unless you used the proper gun of your SEVEN guns.

[Mozgus]

Well right now I am stuck at the end of HeadHunter for Dreamcast. The FAQs only tell me what the game already told me. They practically just say "Shoot it until it dies".

Oh and FYI, this game TOTALLY ripped off Resident Evil 1. A big naked ass tyrant monster breaking free in a lab, kills his creator and comes at you, but you find a way to take him down. Then later you fight one last time, and you gatta pick up the huge gun that gets dropped and kill him with it, just like the rocket launcher. Problem is my guy wont pick the damn thing up faster then 10 seconds cause it's so heavy. Then he kills me.

[lordofduct]

I remember how we beat games before the internet... and how I try to still beat games.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Where is the fun in a damn walkthrough!?

[arion]

yeah i remember playing sonic so much that i mastered the annoyingly hard Labrinth zone..but today i´d problaby save state my way through

[lordofduct]

ah shit... i pumped so many hours into Sonic 1 and 3 I know the two from beginning to end by heart!

2 not so much as I actually didn't like it as much... that and as soon as I located the Debug Code it was the only way I'd play the game. I better get ready for a beating by the masses for not liking 2...

My favourite game that I spent days and months to master was Kid Chameleon. I remember I'd play and pause the game and turn off the TV so I could come back the next day. My console was on for like 2 weeks trying to beat that game! I FINALLY got to the end guy and I was furious with how hard he was and my mother heard me yelling at the TV. She came into the room and said...

"I hate it when you get like this... I think it's time for you to spend some time outside." She reaches out at the console... I dive up from the floor towards her as she places her hand on the power switch. A small click and I fell on my face in tears...

"NOOOOOOOOO!!! YOU WHORE! YOU BITCH ASS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU... THATS... THATS KID CHAMELEON!" She didn't get what I meant by 'that's Kid Chameleon'... I was assuming she understood she knew there was no save feature. neigh; she had no idea what a save feature even was. I didn't play the game for years after that.

Recently I got the game again (about 3 or 4 years ago) and I played it and was really disapointed with how short the game actually is. It took me a mere 6 hours to defeat without a guide. I felt really dumb at that moment.

[Mega-Dan]

I should use walkthroughs more, I didnt know how to play final fantasy tactics advance until 25% through the game because I got it used without instructions. I didnt know that weapons controlled what abilities your person learned, I assumed it was similar to the first game where you just purchased abilities with job points. Whoops, thankfully the game is very easy. I think its okay to use a walkthrough as a replacement instruction manual, but often they mix spoilers and hints with the basic instructions.
However, some games you need walkthroughs for, like fire emblem. You really dont want to level up a character in fire emblem for 10 boards at the expense of your other characters only to find out they suck, and will always suck no matter how lucky or unlucky you are with how that charater levels up. And as in SUper metroid, I got stuck for over a year before I looked in a FAQ, I just didnt want to cheat in that game, but I finally gave up.

[Mozgus]

I remember how we beat games before the internet... and how I try to still beat games.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Where is the fun in a damn walkthrough!?

Practice only makes perfect when it's a matter of skill. When you've tried everything already, practice will never help you.

[ravenmgs]

I am personally more into developing and working with old game engines to make games for me and my friends then I am into playing them.