It has been a couple of weeks since I published my article about vNES giving all of us who remember the days a nostalgic kick in the junk. For those of you who missed it, NES had 5 of 10 of the most difficult games of all time.
After a certain point, some games quit being fun because they are just too hard, but strangely, we’re just dying to see how to beat the hardest part and to see what comes after.
Let’s Play Videogame Archive To The Rescue
Today, I ran across not one, but two articles on Digg recommending this site as a top 50 and top 100 side worth bookmarking.
The idea of Let’s Play is people play through various games and upload them. When I first heard this concept, I thought why would anyone want to watch this? Why is it on not just one, but two HUGE 4000+diggs lists?!
So I went to the site. I’m still on the site. There are of games played from start to finish on this site including some of the most challenging games of all time like Ghouls n’ Ghosts, Ninja Gaiden (Trilogy) and Battletoads (proof that it can be beaten without cheating).
While the videos are awesome for people trying to complete games they’ve never been able to beat, it is the commentary that makes this site worth coming to. Most of the video commentary is hilarious. Everything from making fun of the game design to cussing endlessly about the difficulty of certain parts of the game.
Another thing that makes these videos entertaining is the “challenges” they do. For example, in Mega Man, the challenge was to give play by play sports commentary the whole way through. It is kind of distracting to have to think and talk that way while playing live. They also put weird limitations like only being able to shoot 1 shot at a time or only being allowed to face left and jump to beat certain bosses. It’s hilarious to watch and demonstrates mastery beyond practicality.
I highly recommend watching the Final Level of Ghouls n’ Ghosts. That poor guy damn near loses his mind. (Note: Lots of profanity, beware). There are tons of other amazing games to watch and enjoy.
If you come across a video that you think I should check out, post it in the comments! Until next time, enjoy.
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October 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 PM
You might enjoy “The King of Kong,” a little documentary movie about the drama (!?) in the Donkey Kong world.
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:33 PM
The Ninja Gaiden series has always been so hard. I’m a lifelong gamer and I still struggle through those games.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Sounds amazing. I’ll have to Google it.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Yeah, they were so frustrating. Especially with how you have to start over at the beginning of the Act when you lost in the “3 boss gauntlet.”
I was able to eventually beat Ninja Gaiden after lots of playtime, but for some reason I was never able to make it though Battletoads. The commentary for that one is really funny too.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:14 AM
I respect your work and added blog to favorites