Dark Souls Vs. Battletoads

For a long time, Battletoads was regarded as the most difficult (with about being cheap) game ever made.  I have written before on my experiences trying to best that game. But some time ago, Dark Souls was released. And it started kicking gamer's butts immediately. It was made to kick your butt, with real penalties to dying that incentivize learning how not to get killed. I haven't played far into it, but I got a real good idea of how much Dark Souls relishes killing me. So which is harder?

Well, thats a very difficult question. Based on the forum responses, most people like to angrily assert that Dark Souls is simple once you understand it and Battletoads is SOOOOO much harder. But I'm gonna take a more tempered approach. I am currently pretty effectively stymied by the Taurus monster, who is essentially a first level MINI BOSS. Its not that I don't know HOW to beat him, its just tricky to actually do it right without getting crushed. And that is where Battletoads age works against it. Battletoads is a very creative game but there is a very definite path to victory. With the exception of maybe 3 levels, each level had a "Path to Victory" because the obstacles are static. I uploaded a video of me getting through the infamous speeder bike level in one try without losing any lives. Its not that the level isn't hard, it is; its just that I have gone through it enough times that I remember exactly how to get through it. 

Yep

Dark Souls is a modern game, with modern programming resources. Yes, every area has a "Path to Victory" and every boss has a pattern. But the path to victory is lined with enemies that can cut your health in half if your timing is just a little off. Battletoads had that too, but what it didn't have was giant, multi-pattern boss fights. Using the Taurus monster again, he has 3-4 swing patterns. I have to correctly recognize them and dodge them all while keeping track of my position and stamina meter. Its a much more complex fight and it takes a lot of planning and strategy. So no doubt, Dark Souls is a more COMPLEX game, and takes more work. 

Despite their very different genres (action RPG and Beat-em-up platformer), these games have to very important points of commonality: Precision and Purpose. Both games require very careful control. In Dark Souls, you must parry, block or dodge at precisely the right moment in order to get an opportunity to attack while battletoads insists that you jump and move EXACTLY where they want you to. But the most important element is that they are purposefully difficult. When you face off against a skeleton monster in Dark Souls, you know that the developers gave you a way to beat him. When you have to jump through the spike traps onto the giant snake's back in Battletoads, you know the makers intended for you to make that jump. This in contrast to other games such as Ghosts and Goblins and the original Mega Man. These games are very difficult, but there is a sense of sloppiness to them. It doesn't feel like the developers intended them to be so hard, they just stuck in obstacles with little thought for the interaction between them. 

I'm getting side tracked. Lets do some numbers. It took me 2 weeks to beat Battletoads, with 2 hours of play each day, so Battletoads clocks in at about 30 hours of gameplay investment. Dark Souls can easily last twice as long. So Dark Souls is at least a more taxing experience. But I would also argue that there was a much greater feeling of accomplishment in Battletoads than what I have experienced in Dark Souls. For now, I will say that Battletoads is still HARDER than Dark Souls. But I would like to remind readers that "harder" is a comparative term. Dark Souls is an extremely challenging game that deserves to be in the discussion of most difficult game ever. I will definitely be revisiting this topic as I get farther into Dark Souls. 

COG: Animal Crossing

My town is starting to really grow. I have new construction of shops in the town, the market shop is expanding and soon I will have a night club. Redd FINALLY came to visit, opening up the option to expand the museum eventually. Im also considering my role with the other towns people. Maybe I don't want all of them living where they are. It may be time to start harassing people. 

Only one of these artworks is not fake.

Just an interesting aside here. The design of the modern house is modeled after the real world Villa De Savoy. I took an architecture course in college and that house was held up as one of the most interesting examples of modernistic design. It was actually rather fascinating.