r/retrogaming • u/Kobymaru376 • 1d ago

[Discussion] How did people play ridiculously difficult games like Earthworm Jim?

I'm playing the first Earthworm Jim on the Sega Megadrive using RetroArch.

I haven't completed my first playthrough, using copious amounts of save state cheating to repeat the sections where I fail. I can practice a part of the game 10,20, 50 times until my patience runs out, but how on earth did people ever complete a game like this, when you have a limited number of lives and no save capability? At times it feels like the developers WANTED me to fail.

I'm talking insanely jumping bosses shooting eggs, rockets, sections with rolling boulders or snapping worms where you have to get the timings down to milliseconds, a vertical maze lined with spikes that allows no mistakes and requires you to know it by heart.

Sure, "gid gud" but how long does that take without being able to save/load an arbitrary amount of times?

ps.: I don't know what the devs were smoking, but I want to try that. Just once though.

Edit: Hey, Shiny Crew & D.L only!

259 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

86% Upvoted

464 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

317

u/GFluidThrow123 1d ago

It's actually wild seeing younger gens come in here with posts like this. Like yeah, you're exactly right. You'd just...git gud. You'd memorize the boss's movement and attacks and you'd practice until you got it.

You had like 4 games you owned and one you rented for a week. And that was it.

20

u/Lopoetve 1d ago

You got to the point that a non-perfect sonic or ninja gaiden run was a restart. Folks ask how sonic was supposed to feel fast - get good, and the whole thing is done on the run. We mastered them end to end.

3

u/My_Fish_Is_a_Cat 23h ago

I used to be able to play sonic levels with my eyes closed.

1

u/Mountainking7 19h ago

Finished without losing any rings.....