Topic: What defines 'Hard Mode'?

[AquaTeamV3]

Just curious, what does your ideal definition of a game's 'Hard Mode' contain?  You can use examples from video games if needed, be it MM or otherwise.

For me, a game's ideal hard mode makes factors like stages and bosses tougher without messing with the player.  I also like them to use some creativity with this as well; adding extra enemies is not enough, there should also be new attacks.  A good example of this would be Megaman X6, in which you notice some differences straight out of the intro stage.  There were also some key boss improvements, like Scaravich getting new purple and orange boulders, the latter of which causes boulders to fall from the sky, which is pretty interesting in it's own right.  Sonic Adventure 2 is another good example.  Even the basic City Escape is made a lot more difficult with changes that keep you on your toes.  The Kirby games are pretty nice at this as well.  KSSU's True Arena and Revenge of King are pretty much excellent challenges for a die-hard fan.

Bad examples IMO include the MM games worked on by Inti.  While they do make the stages and bosses tougher, they also insist on weakening the player, making you take double damage.  This pretty much has the ability to turn stages like Protectos' (ZX) into nightmares in their own right.  The Zero series took away your triple slash and charge shot, which pretty much dropped the fun factor down quite a few notches.  Megaman Legends 2's Very Hard Mode was actually fun, but the fact that zenny was worth less made it that more painstaking, as it very painstaking to upgrade weapons, making the use of a Gameshark zenny cheat very justified.

[Acid]

Balancing games is always the hardest (!!!) part.

I thought Resident Evil 5 did a good job.

[Harruhy]

hard
–adjective
8.    vigorous or violent in force; severe: a hard rain; a hard fall.

mode
–noun
2.    a particular type or form of something: Heat is a mode of motion.

Also, I'm expecting someone to post that image with the two girls laughing over easy mode.

[Police Girl]

I liked KSSU, but only the True Arena was really tough, and only the last 2 Bosses of it were any challenge.

I don't usually like Hard Mode, the way it is implemented in recent games makes Normal mode seem like Hard mode. (I have issues in Doom and Wolfenstein 3D when it comes to 3rd Difficulty Level). :l

[CephiYumi]

It is nice when hard modes have more then jus tweaked stats/more enemies, but I usually suck at harder difficulties anyway<a href="http://students.washington.edu/lzone/easymode233.jpg">.</a>

[HokutoNoBen]

To me, the ideal Hard Mode is one that more or less has a gamer says to his/her gamer: "Alrighty...hopefully that first time through (or more, if you went "Easy" before Normal) gave you a good change to get acquainted with my mechanics. NOW it's time to see if you really got what it takes!" *proceeds to kick your ass in a tough but fair manner*

Viewtiful Joe and God Hand are some of my favorite examples of this style.

On the higher difficulties, the game didn't change THAT much. Enemy/Boss Patterns didn't change that drastically, and neither did level lay-outs. What did change though, was the expectation that you should know how to handle yourself, because now everybody hits harder, everybody is slightly quicker and the CPU certainly knows more of how to work things to its advantage. Will you be able to do the same? 


This is perhaps another thing that I'm REALLY hoping Bayonetta will deliver on. DMC3 and 4's higher difficulties didn't really do as much for me as I would have liked.

[Night]

I haven't played that many games that were considered hard, but megaman zero comes to mind.

[Harruhy]

They're tough, but after a bunch of tries, you eventually beat it.
That probably goes for a lot of games.

[Nekomata]

Also, I'm expecting someone to post that image with the two girls laughing over easy mode.

stop getting me to do this [parasitic bomb].

[Harruhy]

Didn't have it saved on this computer. I would have posted it myself if I did.

[Keno]

Hard modes kind of like normal, except with less health for the player and more health for the enemies. Sometimes, if you're lucky, enemy placement changes.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Make it harder

but not impossible

That's all

[Protoman Blues]

My definition of "Hard Mode" are old school NES games based on Movies.

[Da Dood]

For me the coolest type of harder mode is when the game plays around with enemy hierarchy, like Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe. Enemies in these games are sort of ranked, and you fight tougher and tougher foes as difficulty modes rise up. Exception would be new-school Ninja Gaiden, because some enemy combinations they throw at you are just cheap.

I don't like the way Inti did hard mode in Zero and ZX games, as previously mentioned. I never play them on hard. Their EX Skills and the ranking system are a much more elegant display of skill than taking moves and items away from us.

I did love Inti's Superhero mode in MM9 though. Actually I wish there was an even tougher mode. Superhero is where I play the game normally these days.

[Archer]

Hard Mode is a mode that is harder then Normal Mode.

[Blackhook]

Well, I think Max Payne 2 had a good Hard mode, decreasing your amount of saving making you think twice before saving and also the enemies aren´t stupid...they hide when you try to shoot them and their aim get´s better...
Oh yeah, I always think it´s rewarding when you get a different ending of the game when you beat it on hard mode

[Tickle Buffalo]

Also, I'm expecting someone to post that image with the two girls laughing over easy mode.

They only say that because playing as either of them is hard mode. Because they suck. Seriously Tewi's ex attacks wtf so bad.

[Gaia]

If I remember correctly, Halo 1,2 and 3 along with the ODST sub-series, have a mode called Legendary that surpasses hard mode in a sense.

Enemies begin to swarm at you, Hunters are more common etc. However, it does provide an excellent challenge.

My definition of "Hard Mode" are old school NES games based on Movies.

What about those NES gamesbased on various TV series? the ones now are pathetically easy today. 

[Align]

Not sure. Most recent hard mode that I liked was Commando difficulty in Bionic Commando - the enemies missed less, reacted faster, spawned immediately instead of being delayed (without there actually being more of them total), and generally gave you almost no leeway.
It suited me very well after having played through the game and knowing how to fight every enemy, though I learned a few new tricks even so.

[TAoR]

I define Hard Mode as either the first difficulty in a game that can actually kill me, or the first difficulty in a game where I actually have to try to win

[Hypershell]

Like Aqua I tend to regard X6 as a good example and Zero/ZX as a bad one.  A challenging game to me is one that remains challenging even when fully equipped.  To me, ZX and ESPECIALLY Zero are not Hard, they're Handicapped.

I don't enjoy knowing that my opponent is pulling any punches either, which is perhaps the one imperfection that haunts me on ZX.  It is not physically possible for a fully powered player to fight a fully powered boss.  That there's a lousy design.

It should also always be realistically possible to not die.  Note that I said possible, not likely, there's a difference.  I'm no stranger to losing lives, but the ability to react should count for something before a life is lost.  MM9 is a bad offender in this category, near the beginning of Splash Woman's stage you're dropped directly into the middle of a 4-spike-wide divider that you cannot see until the screen finishes scrolling and you start falling.  The trap is too wide and thus you cannot realistically evade that if you don't know it's coming, while it's completely skill-less to evade once you do, so the obstacle is senseless.  The helicopter claws fall into this category as well; they drop almost instantly from off-screen with no warning, ever, and are always in the vicinity of spikes.  More often than not you are automatically dead in such a case.  The few areas that do have a chance for survival usually require hop-jumps that, once again, you have no warning of until it's too late.

The latter half of World Circuit S in Punch-Out!!'s Title Defense is another one (an otherwise kickass game, BTW).  It gets to the point where reflexes simply will not cut it and you have to memorize the order of the punches your opponent will throw.  If the only way you can win is to know what's going to happen before it does, then something's wrong.

[Keno]

That scrolling spike trap in Splash Woman's stage is totally classic Mega Man, though.

[Bag of Magic Food]

Right, I found these examples all in one game!

Better hit that Carry fast, Meggerman!

[Strider Xhaiden]

F-Zero GX, Story Chapter 7, Very Hard Mode.

TOPIC OVER.

[Dr. Wily II]

Right, I found these examples all in one game!

Better hit that Carry fast, Meggerman!

AH... Rockman World 1...