30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Tracker_TD]

Day 7: Least Favourite Level

 

Hm. Tough cookie.

 

...kidding.

 

 

Mario Galaxy 2: The Perfect Run

 

Fffffuck this miserable excuse for a stage.

 

I've not reached the Champions Road of Mario 3D World yet - supposedly, it's even worse than this.

I'm immediately calling bullshit there, because there's one thing that 3D World doesn't have - awful motion controls.

Without the motion controls, I might consider this level challenging, but in a good way. But the motion controls required for parts such as Yoshi's tongue acrobatics and the Pull Stars make this incredibly frustrating to play, due to how erratic they are. I want to be tested on my running and jumping skills, as was the case in the glorious Mario 3D Land, not on bullshittingly inaccurate motion controls.

 

A disappointing end to an otherwise superb game.  

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

day 7: least favorite episode due to cheapness

 

Ok, this will be in a row, but I'll go with Sector Z from Starfox64, its the only one that's a pain and just there to be there, I mean defeating it normaly is a pain, keeping your ship from getting blown up, when you want to get expert on it, its even worse cause you want to make sure you have as little help as possible, and cut it as close as possible

 

7/30 days complete

[Tori Himemiya]

DAY 7 OF PRESIDENT CROW HATING ON LEVELS!

Eh. I can't think of a level that infuriated me recently so...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap1YrV9h0oQ

Stage 3 of Castle Shikigami 2!

So basically Castle Shikigami 2 is a shoot em up/bullet hell where you pick a bunch of characters and you have the option of changing your options and so forth. The difference between characters is what their special attack and bombs do. So anyways, this series had a very shoddy localization since the first game which was named as a completely different game, Mobile Light Force 2. It even had a misleading cover for it. They did a better localization that they kept the name but sadly the dub isn't very good to say the least.

But anyways, history aside these games are still solid bullet hells. Its definitely playable to the point that you can have fun with it. It can be challenging and there's a lot of ways of using characters abilities to full use. But unfortunately this stage comes up.

Stage 3-1 specifically has me at the balls. Alright so after a boss battle you go into this maze like stage which limits where you can go to dodge things. And this becomes a pain because you hardly have the room to dodge and shoot everything. I'm not sure but I think you even have to kill specific enemies or risk getting hit by the ceiling. And you have to go through this maze at the end until you run into the boss, which is nothing more than weird cubes. And you think its a cake walk but its not cause you need to either shoot it or hit it your special attack. Usually I pick the shrine maiden Sayo who has a wide range shot but her special is a sword rotating around her so I gotta get close to that shit.

Maybe its just that I either suck or that I exhaust all of my bombs and lives but I don't like going through this stage. But otherwise its pretty unique compared to the last couple of stages. So eh let's just got with it. UNTIL NEXT TIEM SSMB!

[NGw00d]

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

Turnabout Big Top (Ace Attorney: Justice For All)

 

Fuck this case. This is literally the worst case in the entirety of the Ace Attorney series. Not only that, it also spawned the worst character in the entirety of the Ace Attorney series, Moe. Look at him laughing up there, thinking he's funny. Fuck you, Moe. The fact that I had to stop playing Justice For All midway through this case should tell you just how bad it is. I came back months later only to be reminded that I still had to trudge through this piece of garbage they call a case just to see the rest of the game. The only good thing to come from this case is the ending. Its not even the breakdown of the guilty party on the witness stand, hell, it doesn't even happen in the courtroom.

It is, of course, when we see Edgeworth on the phone with Gumshoe in the airport readying for his return, which leads into one of, if not the best case in Ace Attorney history.

The only reason someone should play this case is if they're suffering through it to get to Farewell, My Turnabout, which makes all the suffering worthwhile.

[Endy]

Day 7: Least Favourite level

 

Living Dead Party - Rayman Legends

 

 

I know I'm cheating by picking an entire world, but this world is just so terrible you need to talk about it collectively.

 

I hate Rayman Legends. I really do, but its not because its a bad game or anything. It takes pretty much everything I liked about Origins and gets rid of it. The double delay didn't help either, so really the game was doomed to disappoint. However, one of the best parts of the game were the musical levels you got as a reward for beating each world. Black Betty, Eye of the Tiger, Antisocial and that song from Kill Bill were all great to listen to and a blast to play. But then if you manage to get 400 Teensies you are rewarded with the Bonus World! Each song is remixed in 8-bit! Sounds awesome, right?

 

....no.

 

Each level in the world uses the cheapest tactic they could possibly use to make it harder: distorting your vision. Castle Rock makes you play the entire level a fish eye's lens, kinda like an old retro TV. It even has bars. But then the entire thing PLUMMETS when you get to Orchestal Chaos.

 

 

THE SCREEN FLASHES WHITE EVERY 2 SECONDS AND IT HURTS MY EYES. They REALLLY mean it when they say you should take precautions if you get seizures. Mariachi Madness and Dragon Slayer use  same cheap idea of making the screen look pixelated, and it gets worse as you go on. Its borderline unplayable.

 

And then...Grannie's World Tour. It combines everything awful about all of the other stages and MAXIMIZES THEM. Fish eye lens, flashing, degraded quality, it has it all. But this time it has the screen flip upside down to disorient you. And I kid you not...this is an actual thing that appears on the screen...

 

 

You better have watched that announcement trailer a whole bunch. BUT WAIT! As a final "SCREW YOU" to the player, they add AN EXTRA NOTE/JUMP TO THE VERY END OF THE SONG/LEVEL THAT WILL ALWAYS CATCH ANY PLAYER ON THEIR FIRST TRY OFF GUARD AND RUIN EVERYTHING. This world doesn't even make any sense, Rayman was never 8-bit....EVER!

[kalion]

 

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

Final Level - Deadpool

 

I actually really, really, really like this game. It's just the final level is fucking bullshit. It's still funny and written to be like Deadpool, but seriously the gameplay in this part just really fucking sucks. It's the same gameplay as you always know and love, but the difficulty fucking skyrockets in a cheap way. Like seriously, it's easy, then the next level is fucking cheap-ass hard. It's bullshit, and the final boss is even more bullshit, but we're not talking about him. You have to jump on several different platforms and navigate your way to Mr. Sinister's mansion or some shit while also dealing with a bunch-of enemies, and landing the jumps sometimes is really fucking hard. That's about it, this is my least favorite level, but I still really like this game. 

 

Day 7: Least Favourite Level

 

Dangit, mine's been snagged. I'd add the penultimate boss is ALL the bosses together so they get a lot of cheap shots in so you have to get them in a certain order usually unless you're nifty or good.

I remember being frustrated with a lot of games but for the life of me can't recall when..I'm tired.

So surprise, I pulled out this. 

Letz Shake: No More Heroes

Basically an empty level devoid of everything except for Darth Vader clones shooting you loads of damage from afar and no run button You just keep trying to get through this long empty tunnel that seems to be going ahead forever. (With the occasional nasty fight with Vader) And you reach the end to find out that...what?! Your boss fight was just snagged from you by some lovable Irish douchebag. (May gush abt him later in the thread) So basically a whole waste of time..with a buildup to well, an awesome looking boss with a cool personality (one of the few game bosses I actually share the same nationality with) you never get to fight.

 

I know about the sequel but remember we were'nt supposed to get one. Suda wanted to wrap up there and then..and he's dead..his robot..is'nt.

[Pawn]

 

Assassin's Creed III - Modern Day

 

It's funny, because I didn't remember the game being all that bad until my dad recently had a go. It had many problems, one of which was a tutorial that essentially makes up a third of the game. The last thing it needed was disappointing modern day segments breaking up the pace. These segments are rarely exciting in any Assassin's Creed, but here they were both more involved and (most, if not all) mandatory. When you want to get back to the main event as soon as possible, it's frustrating to have to carefully move around undetected by patrolling guards. There was also a lot riding on the story, given all of the build-up in previous installments, yet it failed to deliver. It didn't help that the interior environments looked extremely drab either.

[super saiyan weegee]

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

 

Fire Bar Sprint - New Super Luigi U

 

 

As if Fire Bar Cliffs from New Super Mario Bros. U wasn't already a hassle enough, its remix in New Super Luigi U takes the cake. You have to time yourself almost perfectly with Luigi's physics just to get through this stage, dodging the enormous fire bars and navigating the tiny footholds all without a break, and I can only be thankful that the Star Coins aren't off the main path or I never would have gotten them. It's just not a fun level, and some may attest that Impossible Pendulums is worse than this, but unlike Fire Bar Sprint, that level gives you at least a bit of leeway, you have to go through trial and error again and again just to have a chance in this place. I don't usually get upset at a level for its design and whatnot, but this is one of those few exceptions, where it's just frustrating enough, that I can't help but dislike it. So there ya go, my least favorite level.

[Chaos Warp]

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

 

Sorry, I'm going to have to pull the Sonic card on this one.

 

 

FUCKING LAVA MOUNTAIN ZONE 2

 

This level I really, REALLY despise because of how fucking frustrating and hard it is. It takes a fun concept from an earlier world and makes it BRUTALLY HARD. Like there's so much trial and error and for some of these jumps you need the precision of a fucking god! I died so many times and to this day have not completed it in full (at the last segment on my last life I accidentally hit the teleport capsule and it took me to the end and I never looked back). It's only saving grace is it's utterly beautiful music track, Sea Bottom Segue, which probably kept me sane throughout my trials with this level:

 

 

And even then I can just go to the much less difficult (and actually fun) Tropical Coast level with this song and hear it there, so it's not really a point in it's favor. 

 

"Video games are what I use to relax" I utter to myself as I throw my Wii-U gamepad at the wall. 

 

Fuck this level and the frustration it brings. I even have less trouble with Eggmanland now. 

[Rusty Spy]

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

 

 

Kogor Refinery, Orxon (Ratchet & Clank)

 

There are plenty of reasons why I never liked the first Ratchet and Clank game as much as it's sequels and it's because of levels like this. When you initially visit this planet, you can't actively explore it as Ratchet due to the heavily polluted atmosphere, so you're forced to scout the area as Clank, who is fucking boring to play as. Once you get an O2 Mask from another planet you now get to explore the rest of the area as Ratchet, which doesn't make things any better. The level itself is just so tedious and boring, not helped at all by the enemies who are always placed in groups and can easily swarm you thanks to the cramped land masses you're forced to fight on, especially the large mutant lobsters who deal massive damage and are can be found in groups of up to 6 or 7. Even worse are gunships that'll spawn occasionally, often times on small platform stepping stones, who take a shit ton of damage to destroy and can easily knock you off you're little foothold and into the toxic pits. It's so annoying and there's very little reward for continuing to explore after the initial run through.

[kalion]

I Had waaaaaaaaay more trouble with 3...ugh Zavok.

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

 

Sorry, I'm going to have to pull the Sonic card on this one.

 

 

FUCKING LAVA MOUNTAIN ZONE 2

 

 

[Nepenthe]

Day 7: Least Favorite Level

 

 

The motherfucking Lakebed Temple from Twilight Princess. I'd known from meme culture that water temples in Zelda games happened to be notoriously difficult and a drag to get through, but no amount of Internet exaggeration ever prepares you for the real thing. The Lakebed Temple is a convoluted mess of water level puzzles and rotating staircase puzzles - you know, only the worst gaming puzzles in gaming existence. The amount of ways to get lost in this thing as a result of these two things alone cannot be minimized with mental process of elimination. And when you finally make your way to the end- inevitably with a walkthrough because fuck you Nintendo, I'm not wasting anymore of my time in this place of bullshit- you're met with a tedious underwater boss that further insults you by your ability to swim through it unharmed. The shrieking white hot ball of rage that is my mere feelings towards this stage made Skyward Sword's Ancient Cistern drop in quality by mere association of being a Zelda water temple. Fuck this stage.

[Indigo Rush]

Wow I just realize that I picked the Forsaken Forest over the Water Temple from OoT.

 

 

I guess I blocked it out of my memory much better than I thought I did.

[Komodin]

The shrieking white hot ball of rage that is my mere feelings towards this stage made Skyward Sword's Ancient Cistern drop in quality by mere association of being a Zelda water temple. Fuck this stage.

 

Hmm, something tells me that you'd have quite a lousy time in the tedium incarnate that is the original Water Temple. 

[Nepenthe]

Hmm, something tells me that you'd have quite a lousy time in the tedium incarnate that is the original Water Temple. 

 

I've heard awful, terrible, horrible things about that temple. It's the thing I use to justify myself for not having played OoT yet. xD

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Oddly enough, I enjoyed all the water temples, but I enjoy a challenge, even a slow one

[Your Vest Friend]

Least favourite level? I'm afraid I'm going to have to break my Sonic avoidance for today's option.

 

 

Marble Garden Zone

 

This zone in general is just so boring to me. The level theming is dull compared to equivalents from other games (Aquatic Ruin is so much better), the level gimmicks are uninteresting, the gameplay is sluggish (a better made level with this layout is Mystic Cave), the music is insipid and I just hate it. I hate playing this level so much, it can actually cause me to quit the game. What else can I say about it? I think it sucks!

[Conando]

Day 7-Least Favorite Level

 

 

Metropolis Zone (Sonic 2)

 

Screw this Zone, screw whoever thought this zone was a good idea. Well actually, it wouldn't have been a bad idea if not for the obnoxious constant of gear elevators littered with Asterons. The game would have been better if this zone was totally excluded to be honest, because it contributes nothing other than being an annoying stop gap between Oil Ocean and Sky Chase Zone.

[Chaos Incarnate]

Jesus christ, FUCK The Library from Halo:Combat Evolved.

 

 

This level consists of entirely fighting wave after wave of the Flood enemies, with dull as shit AI that's easy to get their attack patterns down quickly. The location is just entirely dull to look at, the layout leaves a lot to be desired, and there's no strategy to it aside from "run and gun while occasionally camping at the door waiting to be opened." There's a reason these bastards are some of the most unpopular baddies in FPS history, and The Library leaving such a shit impression of The Flood is exactly why so many got tired of fighting them in the series, even so early on.

[Wraith]

 

Murphy Levels - Rayman Legends

 

One thing I hate in games is when the main gameplay comes to a complete stop to add in some gimmicky gameplay that isn't nearly as fun or interesting. Murphy in Rayman Legends is one such gimmick. While he's not as bad when more than one person is playing, because then at least the player who's Murphy has many, MANY opportunities to screw other players over, if you're playing most of Rayman Legends by yourself like me, you'll have to guide an often slow moving AI controlled character through the level using touch controls. This wouldn't be a problem if these murphy levels weren't so common throughout the game and you didn't have to do at least some to progress through it. It really brings down a game that has a lot of things going for it otherwise..

[KHCast]

The Library from Halo Combat Evolved. Nothing wrong with it from a gameplay standpoint. But holy crap is it long, repetitive and boring! Just countless waves of Flood coming after you, and few checkpoints if I recall correctly, so dying was always a pain. ( and hearing 343 Guilty Sparks stupid humming as it just effortlessly and passively goes through the hordes...ugh!) Solo wise it's just no fun to me. Even on Co-op, it can test your patience.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

Day 7: LEAST Favorite Level

 

it's a tie between the three Monkey Ball levels, Treetops, Monkey Target, and Sandy Drifts, from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. I just. I hate them, they're SO friggin hard to do ANYTHING there. SO many sharp turns, uhg >.<

 

They're all just SO. SO AGGRAVATING. Monkey Target is the worst offender. I just CAN'T handle that level.

 

Special mention goes to Agrabah from Kingdom Heart Re:coded. Truth be told, I don't even why I hated it so much. There was SOMETHING there that I probably blocked from memory that I found "Agragabahvating". Maybe it was the cave? I don't remember. That and I don't think I cared much for the story there either.

[-blank-]

Okay, let me get one thing straight - I have trying to limit any Sonic-related answers as much as possible. If I didn't, my answer to yesterday's question would be long as hell. Seriously, Unleashed alone has multiple stages I'd consider as 'favorites'. But... with this question, I feel I have to bring up a certain stage. That is, ironically, from Unleashed. And I know what you people are thinking; 'You mean Eggmanland, right?'

 

 

No.

 

 

As frustrating as that level was - and believe me, it certainly is - I have a bit of a love-hate relationship for this stage. It was hard as hell, but I will say that I love the way the stage is designed. So, there's a huge plus for Eggmanland there. It's also the reason why it's not one of my 'least-favorites'. That honor goes to a level I can accurately describe in one word - 'Why?';

 

 

 

Arid Sands Night.

 

Now, the actual level design of this isn't terrible, I'll admit that. But my god, is it frustrating beyond all hell. And why is it frustrating beyond all hell? Well, I'll tell you.

 

First off, there's the issue with the combat. Now, I love the Werehog's gameplay but this stage was one instance where it was decidedly not fun. There are areas where you have to fight in order to progress, just like in the other levels. But where stages like Rooftop Run, Windmill Isle, and Empire City (for the most part) gave you ample room to fight... this place has areas where your range of movements are small and it's easy for enemies to gang up on you. What kinds of enemies you ask? I'll talk about one specifically, because it is not only the most annoying enemy in the level, but in the game as a whole as well;

 

The Red Killer Bee;

 

 

Okay, where do I start? Just where do I start? These things are really freaking difficult to hit without getting hit yourself. If anyone can take on a swarm of these guys and not suffer any damage, tell me your secret because I really want to know. They'll dodge nearly all your attacks and come back at you with their stingers in but split seconds. Red Killer Bees are frustrating beyond belief and I absolutely loathe encountering them in any level, but this one I especially despise them in, as they're pretty much everywhere  in it.

 

But wait! I'm not done yet! This stage has this one area that is particularly bullshit. Like, 'what in the hell where they smoking when they came up with this crap' bullshit. Like, 'why was this garbage even considered in the first place' bullshit.

 

The Staircase.

 

So, at one point in the level, you encounter a staircase. There is a single Sun Medal at the top. You know what else is at the top?

 

Waves.

 

Upon waves.

 

Upon waves.

 

Upon waves.

 

Upon waves of enemies.

 

Yes, you have to fight a shitload of enemies on that damn thing. Note that I said 'have to'. You will be trapped in that place, with no way to get out, until you defeat every single enemy on that staircase. And for what? I single Sun Medal? Really game, really? All this section is is blatant padding for the level and it's not even remotely fun. And if you missed the rest of my rant, neither was the level in it's entirety.

 

 

Now, before we begin another awful level, (so I'll have something that isn't Sonic-related for this question) I just want to say that; to anyone who mentioned The Glitz Pit from Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door... yanno, I had never really considered that an RPG area could be a 'level'. Weird, I know, but it never crossed my mind. ^^ If it had though, I probably would have mentioned it in yesterday's question because I freaking loved that part of the game.

 

But anyway....

 

For my non-Sonic contribution to this question;

 

 

 

More Monkey Madness  and Kamek's Revenge - Yoshi's Island

 

Yes. My favorite game of all time has not one, but two levels I positively loathe. Hey, I never said the thing was a paragon of perfection. But these stages... I can't decide which one I hate more out of the two. Now, it's not like Yoshi's Island couldn't be a challenging game at times, especially if you're going for a hundred percent. But in the majority of the levels the difficulty wasn't cheap, that's the thing. These two stages are the exceptions.

 

Alright, if you're not going for a hundred percent (getting 30 stars, twenty red coins, and five flowers for the uneducated), then I suppose neither of these wouldn't be too bad.

 

I was going for a hundred percent. In both levels. And in both levels, I experienced absolute hell.

 

They both have one thing in common - at points, you will find enemies that are throwing things at you. Or... spitting, in the case of MMM. Let me rephrase that - there were be a lot of enemies doing that. In one area. Just throwing/spitting things at you. Hitting you constantly. And because there are so many, you won't have much time to recover before they hit you again. Really makes keeping a hold on Baby Mario difficult. Putting a massive amount of enemies that can actually throw/spit stuff at you is not what I would call clever game design. Rather, I'd call it 'cheap difficulty'.

 

And did I mention much of MMM takes place over a bottomless pit. Think about that for a second. There's this one red coin that is being held by a Fly Guy. Here's the problem - said Fly Guy only stays on screen for a few seconds. If he flies away, you have lost your chance at that red coin. That's right, it will not respawn if you go to a different part of the map. So you have to do the entire level all over again - this stage has no Middle Ring, so you can't even abuse that by killing yourself. Plus, if you do manage to make it to the Fly Guy, 90% of the time the coin just ends up falling to the abyss. And sometimes you end up following it!! All that trouble for a single coin, can you believe it?

 

And then we have Kamek's Revenge. You might be wondering why it is even called that. Because Kamek, the Magikoopa who keeps making the bosses giant, is constantly flying across the screen and trying to hit you. Yes, it is very annoying.

 

Not only that, but towards the end, you transform into a helicopter. This wouldn't be too bad... except that you have a lot of Baseball Boys throwing eggs at you as you try to grab some of the remaining red coins. The transformations are on a time limit, and while there are multiple Morph Bubbles to make it last longer, getting hit by eggs wastes precious seconds of your time. And this area is also over a bottomless pit, oh goody.... And guess what? The block you need to turn back into a Yoshi is a bit of a flight away - with a flower en route. Even if you managed to hit a Morph Bubble right before you make your way to that block, you've still got little room for error, as remember, Kamek will still be coming at you. And if the time on the transformation runs out in that particular area you know what'll happen? You will be sent flying off the screen where you will die.

 

Let me say that again;

 

You will be sent flying off the screen and you will die. You. Will. Die. Without any chance of recovering yourself. You cannot avoid this if the transformation runs out in a certain area.

 

You want to know how many lives I lost in these stages?

 

Guess.

 

Go on, guess.

 

5? No.

 

10? No.

 

87? Pfft, I wish.

 

The answer?

 

Several hundred.

 

In each level.

 

Isn't this how you would like to spend a few afternoons, people? Constantly dying on a level because of bullshit difficulty and the like?

 

Both of these levels can gladly burn in the unholy fires of hell for all I care.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Going to keep this short since I just typed out a huge post... then lost the window... ain't life grand...

 

So this probably isn't my absolute least favourite levels ever... but it's up there.

 

Day 7: Least favourite Level 

 

Dead Nation - The Graveyard.

 

 

Oh the graveyard... ask anyone who has this game... they'll tell you the same thing... the graveyard is awful... why is it awful? Well... it's dark, so you can barely see anything and then you get to this one section of the stage.

 

You are trapped in a small enclosed area, you are then swarmed by a small armada of ememies who are relentless, they don't ever stop until you kill specific enemies within it.

 

It's just... awful.

 

Ghostbusters --- The Graveyard --- the Stone Angels.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6zRVoqBEg

 

I'm seeing a trend here... It's dark... cramped... twisting turns... very powerful enemies... and the angels... oh god, the angels.

 

In this level you encounter a new enemy called 'The Stone Angels,' they will bomb you and explode, all the while some crawler enemies will come after you too.

 

The angels can almost take you from 100% health down to 0 in a single hit. 

 

How do you kill them? 

 

You have to hit them with a slime tether, and then attach them to a gate which will slam them into it and give you an escape.

 

It sucks. 

[Jeffhog]

UNLUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

~ ♪ It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like "FUCK THIS"! ♪ ~

 

One tall glass of Nope, on the rocks please.

 

I was tempted to go with the infamous Water Temple dungeon of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time again this year, but this stings so much more in recent memory.

 

Yesterday, my favourite stage involved a gauntlet of enemies, and for my least favourite today, I'll be talking about another gauntlet of enemies (yay, contrast!). What did the former do right and the other do wrong, you may ask? Let's find out.

 

Kid Icarus: Uprising spoilers ahead.

 

 

Day 7/30: Least Favourite Level

 

Stage Selected: Chapter 17 -- The Aurum Brain

Appearance:

-Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)

 

"Thanks to you, Pyrrhon has levelled up! I am now a Level Infinity Epic Super God... Plus! Ultimate power is now Pyrrhon's!"

~Pyrrhon

 

Oooohohohoooh, this level. This level right here is the new bane of my existence. It starts out fine... then it gets so much worse.

 

The chapter begins with the Flight section: you start shooting down the Aurum troops, while the biggest egos in the universe rally together to support you and fend off these space invaders from nowhere, whom you've been fighting for the past couple of chapters. The Forces of Light, of Nature, and of the Underworld (and Pyrrhon!) vs. the Aurum.

 

Aliens vs. Gods.

 

Hella.

 

Things proceed as normal as you thought it would, you're mowing through the enemies with Pyrrhon by your side (now with added Pyro cannon action!), things are looking good.

 

Then you reach the Aurum Brain itself and start firing away, before the Sun God(?) delivers a OHKO by ramming himself into the Brain's core and blowing it up. Immediately, Pit flies out the way they came before he gets caught up in the explosion licking at his heels.

 

Pit escapes... and then Pyrrhon goes dark side.

 

The Aurum-obsessed pyromaniac, as quoted above, wanted to take control of the Aurum in order to gain higher power, and turns on everyone else. The Aurum become stronger, your power of flight is running out, and because of Pyrrhon having gotten his associate's degree in telepathic interference, Palutena can't pull you out. Either your wings burn up or you drop.

 

Wellllllllllll fuck.

 

Just like Pit falling, this is where things start to go downhill.

 

Viridi gathers some of her troops to create a platform for you, and the Nutskis now carrying the slab of rock you're standing on are bringing you back to the Aurum Brain. However, you've now become even more of a target for the aliens as they now begin to attack from all sides, a good chunk of them even fighting you on that platform as is.

 

Things are getting hectic since you're basically being swarmed on all sides, and having to flick the camera around to concentrate on enemies suddenly showing up is difficult enough as is. Nothing too bad as of yet, but it's only getting harder from here, especially if you're playing at higher difficulties (because rewards to gain and Treasure Hunt/checklist chart to fill up). There's no hiding spot either, so you have no time to rest at all. Shit be whack, yo.

 

Sooner of later, you make it up towards the floating fortress again, only for Aurum Pyrrhon to launch another pyro cannon, through the crack you were hoping to enter from, with extreme prejudice.

 

Pro: Platform is suddenly tilted and lopsided, shielding you from the blast.

Con: Nutskis get fried, platform then crumbles, Pit falls.

Con: What happens next.

 

You land on another platform, and pulling you back towards Pyrrhon are your allies from Palutena's army -- the Centurions! You're moving all the more faster, so it should be a breeze, right? This chapter dragged on long enough, we should be reaching the boss soon, right?

 

WELL YOU COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG, ASSFACE, BECAUSE GUESS WHAT.

 

IT'S A GAUNTLET PLUS A FUCKING ESCORT MISSION.

 

THAT'S RIGHT, YOU NOW HAVE TO DEAL WITH ONE OF THE BIGGEST FORMS OF BULLSHIT IN GAMING WHILE YOU'RE ALREADY GOD DAMN OCCUPIED.

 

ON TOP OF HAVING TO LOOK AFTER MYSELF, I HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON INCOMPETENT CENTURION STRONGARMS WHO ARE JUST SUDDENLY THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION. THE NUTSKIS EARLIER? FUCKING INVINCIBLE APPARENTLY. THESE GUYS? OH HELL NO. THEY GET ATTACKED, AND IF THEY DIE, IT'S GAME OVER FOR YOU. HAVE FUN WITH FIGHTING OFF EVEN MORE ENEMY SWARMS AND MAKING SURE YOUR ESCORTS DON'T GET FUCKING KILLED.

 

THIS IS NOT FUN. IT'S FRUSTRATING.

 

WHY DIDN'T THE FORCES OF NATURE GET TARGETED LIKE THIS EARLIER?

 

WHY DID THIS JUST HAPPEN TO ME NOW!?

 

WHY IS THIS EVEN HAPPENING ANYWAY!?

 

THE WATER TEMPLE WAS A CONFUSING MINDFUCK, SURE, BUT THIS!?

 

NO!

 

NO, I'M NOT HAVING THIS TODAY, NO!

 

FUCK NO!

 

FUCK THIS!

 

FUCK YOU, AURUM BRAIN!

 

FUCK ESCORT MISSIONS!

 

AND MOST OF ALL, FUCK. THIS. LEVEL.

 

I'M OUT!

 

Yeah, still pretty sour over this. Even though it's you being escorted, you now have to manage keeping an eye on your own health and on those of the Strongarms as well. The next chapter makes up for this notable bump in the road in droves, but what the actual hell, man!?

 

Chapter 13 - The Lunar Sanctum? Sudden spike in difficulty, but at least you can still pace yourself throughout the level.

 

Chapter 21 - The Chaos Vortex? Another enemy gauntlet, but not everyone is homing in on you, and you at least have places to run for cover and recuperate.

 

This? Well, you don't get any of those benefits. The only upsides are the dialogue, the music (The Aurum Brain, Aurum Brain's Fortress [First Half], Aurum Brain's Fortress [second Half], for your listening pleasure), the story, and the boss battle against a then Aurum-assimilated Pyrrhon, but the stage itself is an actual nightmare.

 

Good luck making it to the boss in one go.

 

For those avoiding the spoiler, case in point:

 

ESCORT MISSIONS ARE BULLSHIT, AND SUDDENLY HAVING TO DEAL WITH AN ESCORT MISSION ON TOP OF HANDLING A GAUNTLET OF ENEMIES IS PLAIN FUCKING DICKISH.

 

And that's Day 7 for me!

 

Yes, I'm fine, why do you ask? Owe

 

 

sakurai-sama why u do this to me ;;A;;