Early Game Hell: tutorias from hell

[Bakuma1997]

Which game you feel are an absolute bitch when you begin, but once you reach a certain threshold the difficulty curbve becomes easy or at leas fairer?

It doesn't have to be an EASY game per se, just a game where the beggining is harder than most of the game (Excluding the endgame)

This thread's idea came from me replaying Earthbound, the game is still a blast but by *record scratch* the beggining is a drag:

1. Ness is slow and can miss often
2. you barely can grind, meaning otherwise useful PSI is rare, and PP *chuckes* is scarce, so you basically are playing an Survival Horror, specially since your item count is also limited
3. FIVE BOSS BATTLES IN A ROW TO LEAVE ONETT, even the bestr equipment can take you so far
4. even when you reach Twoson and get better equipment and some levels, you are still in though crabs due to mushrooms and Mana stealing sprouts
5. GRATEFUL DEAD VALLEY, hello exploding enemies, poisoning in all but name enemies and confusing layout

Fortunately once you reach Happy Happy Village you get a hotspot of sorts to recover and save and saving Paula is easier, giving you some extra manpower and extra space, making stuff fairer... assuming you grind her to an acceptable level

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Battlezone 98.

Most people can't get pass the first mission, which is meant to get you used to 1v1 dogfighting, and to use orders smartly, it just does it throwing you into the pool to learn to swim style.

The first few missions expect you to get through them on your own, with barely any backup, but once you get the full unit roster in mid to late levels, options expand, and although it is still difficult, options and stategies are plenty.

I went over it in my review of the game, but it did take me a bit to get used to, but once it clicks its both great, and not as difficult as I originally thought.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Maybe dragon quest 2, Zelda games, Pokémon (when you choose the wrong starter), and maybe mega man games

 

[jon2]

Monster Hunter Dos

I have carted 6 times due to hermitaurs before I switched to longsword (which basically has an evade+attack called the fade slash)

Even now, hermitaurs are still a b*tch if they get the drop on me, and they're just mobs not bosses!

 

[Swagmata]

The first Megaman zero. The game really opens up when you unlock all off the saber techniques but you have to level up to get them, and if you were to do it organically it takes a fat ass minute. Whenever I run through it again I just take like ten minutes in one of the early stages and grind my Sabre up so I can actually enjoy the game

 

[Clippy]

I hear that the Cuphead tutorial is a tough nut to crack for some people.

On a more serious note - Castlevania Symphony of the Night. It can be pretty tough early on but as you get more levels, gear and powers the game becomes a breeze. Same can be said for quite a few metroidvanias, actually.

 

[Yuki Senoue]

Shin Megami Tensei IV. Naraku (first dungeon) is the hardest dungeon in the game. After you get out, the game opens and you get much more options to tackle battles.

 

[NotReallyHere]

The beginning of the original NES Metroid is a real challenge for new players - especially those who are used to some of the refinements in later entries in the series.

In the OG, you start off with 30 health. Your power beam also cannot shoot the length of the screen or all the way to the ceiling. You cannot aim / shoot down. You have no missiles, no bombs, no power-ups of any kind. And unless you know that you're supposed to run to the left at the start (an unusual choice at the time) you'd likely miss the very first power-up - the Morphing Ball.

Add onto that the fact that there's no in-game map, and it can make for an overwhelming experience for the first time player. But once you learn the planet layout and figure out where the first few power-ups are located, it's really not all that difficult. By NES standards, at least.

In saying that, I believe it still is one of the most challenging entries in the series - if not the most challenging Metroid title of them all.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Most never made it past the tutorial

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Fortunately once you reach Happy Happy Village you get a hotspot of sorts to recover and save and saving Paula is easier, giving you some extra manpower and extra space, making stuff fairer... assuming you grind her to an acceptable level

From experience, grinding isn't necessary. I've played Earthbound 5 or 6 separate times, and only 1 of those runs had me grind a bit there. In actuality, the normal Twoson enemies are way better for that than anything there. Hell, Threed's graveyard is even better at the job since it's so close to the hotel, making grinding easier for Paula. Or you could do what I did in 4 of those runs and continue as normal because you get Jeff there as well, and at that point, you'd have to try to lose.

 

[MrBird]

Kid Icarus. You start in the Underworld with 1 square of health, a bow that shoots arrows with pathetic range, and nothing else. Just beating 1-1 is an accomplishment.

 

[Fray Guillermo]

Shin Megami Tensei IV. Naraku (first dungeon) is the hardest dungeon in the game

Yes, basically. Also if it's your first SMT you're still learning the press turn system and the importance of exploiting weaknesses and fusing demons (which was my case).

Also obvious one but if you never played a game like that before, Dark Souls 1 seems too punishing at first but once you get the hang of it it's kinda easy

 

[jiyuuboyetsvi]

Shin Megami Tensei IV. Naraku (first dungeon) is the hardest dungeon in the game. After you get out, the game opens and you get much more options to tackle battles.

holy fuck this is so freaking real and true

Naraku is BRUTAL AS HELL. at least you can save anywhere which makes it... not the worst thing..?

 

[Bakuma1997]

Shin Megami Tensei IV. Naraku (first dungeon) is the hardest dungeon in the game. After you get out, the game opens and you get much more options to tackle battles.

I heard reviewrs stuck to that and that is why they declared it the Dark Souls of Persona

(Actual quote)

(Thinking size: big)

 

[Yuki Senoue]

I heard reviewrs stuck to that and that is why they declared it the Dark Souls of Persona

(Actual quote)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH *weird dying noises* IT IS NOT EVEN THE SAME SERIES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCKING NOOBS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Sorry.

holy fuck this is so freaking real and true

Naraku is BRUTAL AS HELL. at least you can save anywhere which makes it... not the worst thing..?

Yeah, saving after every battle is a must lol.

 

[Cardboardtubeknight]

The main gimmick behind Glover is pretty jarring, but you get used to it.

 

[ciro64]

Kid Icarus. You start in the Underworld with 1 square of health, a bow that shoots arrows with pathetic range, and nothing else. Just beating 1-1 is an accomplishment.

OH, so THIS was the game that was in my head but I couldn't point out. I wonder if there's another game that made me feel like that too.

Honestly, I like this feeling. It makes experiencing the rest of the game feels more rewarding.

 

[diapered]

View attachment 69570
Most never made it past the tutorial

OMG, the perfect example for this thread. I replayed it recently for the first time since I originally played it, and couldn't do it