Video Game Challenges

[Dagger Dias]

Many video games come with a difficulty setting that you can decide. Often the ranges are along the lines of Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert/Legendary, etc. However there are ways that the gamer himself/herself can adjust the difficulty on their own without changing the game's settings. All it takes is creatively coming up with rules of your own to purposefully make the game more difficult for you. These are known as Video Game Challenges.

I'm working on one right now in Final Fantasy 5. If you are interested in reading about the details of that particular challenge, then open the spoiler tags.

Spoiler

This game has job classes that you can assign your characters to in order for them to learn more abilities that they can equip. There are 20 classes (disregarding Freelancer which is the "default" class if you are just the characters themselves and Mime which is hidden). There are 4 characters in the final party. In this challenge I made it to where each character class can only be used by one character. For example at the Wind Crystal you earn Knight, Monk, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, and Blue Mage. I made Bartz a Knight, Galuf a Blue Mage, Reina a White Mage, and Faris a Black Mage. No one else can use Knight abilities but Bartz, and so on.

Here are the rules of this challenge if you want to try it:

1. Everyone is allowed to learn the Monk ability "Barehanded" (Brawl in some versions) that allows you to fight as good as a Monk without a weapon. Make that everyone's first goal. Only your character that you assign the Monk class to can learn anything beyond Barehanded for Monk abilities.

2. Once everyone knows Barehanded you may assign a class from the Wind Crystal to each character. Remember, all have to be different. 2 will end up remaining.

3. At the Water Crystal you get to assign 4 of its 5 classes to characters. You can still have your White Mage fight as a White Mage at this point if you wish they can now also be a Mystic Knight, Time Mage, Summoner, or Red Mage if you want though. As long as it's one of the classes you assigned to that character for the challenge. 1 should remain from this crystal and 2 from the Wind Crystal.

4. At the Fire Crystal you can assign the 1 remaining job from the Water Crystal or one of the 2 from the Wind Crystal as well as the 3 new ones you get there. 2 more should remain.

5. At the Black Chocobo Forest you will get 2 more jobs from the Black Chocobo, so assign those and the remaining 2 as well.

6. At the Earth Crystal you will get the last 4 jobs.

7. Everyone should now have 5 jobs exclusive to them.

8. Krile inherits all of Galuf's abilities when she replaces him, so I build Galuf based on Krile's stats rather than his own. She's a better caster and a worse fighter. You'll be glad by the end of the game you did this regardless of if you're doing this challenge or a regular run through the game.

9. Once you obtain the Mime class anyone is allowed to use it. So it's 6 in the end counting Mime.


Try to assign them into a balanced party. Here is how mine are set up:

Bartz: Knight, Red Mage, Beastmaster, Bard, Dragoon
Reina: White Mage, Time Mage, Ninja, Berserker, Samurai
Faris: Black Mage, Mystic Knight, Ranger, Geomancer, Dancer
Galuf/Krile: Blue Mage, Summoner, Monk, Thief, Chemist

So what are some video game challenges you would like to share that you have either heard of or tried yourself? Any thoughts on video game challenges within the rules are welcome.

I have many more I can share but I would like to open the discussion up to the rest of you first.

Discuss!

 

[Slyfox696]

I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to post, so I'm going to hijack your thread on a related tangent.

For me, I've never understood those who play video games on the hardest setting. I have always thought of video games as being fun, not a challenge. I work all day, when I come home I'm mentally tired. The last thing I want to do is work at a video game, which provides me no physical improvement. I'll play at a setting which allows me to enjoy the game, without making a mockery of it.

Those of you who play at ridiculously hard settings, what could possibly be your reason, aside from simply having no other hobbies or responsibilities in life?

 

[Dagger Dias]

For me, I've never understood those who play video games on the hardest setting. I have always thought of video games as being fun, not a challenge. I work all day, when I come home I'm mentally tired. The last thing I want to do is work at a video game, which provides me no physical improvement. I'll play at a setting which allows me to enjoy the game, without making a mockery of it.

Look at it this way. Most games start out with the easier events first and then the tougher ones. Would Goldeneye have been as enjoyable if the Aztec Complex was the first level instead of the Dam? Not a chance. I like to play the easier settings first, then work my way up to Legendary/Expert/etc in similar fashion by escalating the difficulty. Then if I'm bored it can be fun to come up with challenges such my FF5 one. Does it make any sense to those who don't play RPG games? Probably not. My Super Mario Bros 3 "no power ups" challenge might be more of their cup of tea.

As for the argument of only those with no lives play hardest difficulty settings, I have no worries as I have plenty of lives.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

As far as difficulty settings go, I always start on the easiest level of difficultly until I learn the controls, and get the hang of the gameplay. Once I'm comfortable with everything, I'll bump the difficulty level up to the next level, and I'll keep going, if everything doesn't frustrate me too much. If the added layer of difficulty frustrates me too much, I'll downgrade to cruise control, or something that doesn't irritate me too much again. I used a gift card I got for Christmas to pick up WWE '13 a few days ago. Once I got the hang of the controls (Raw VS Smackdown 2010 was my last WWE game), I bumped the difficultly up one level so the matches could be more competitive.

I'm also of the belief games are supposed to be fun. I rarely buy anything outside of Madden, NB2k, or fighting games, because the last thing I want to do is give myself a headache with unnecessary stress. When I was younger, I would always force myself to change the difficultly settings for the ultimate challenge, but I don't do it anymore.

 

[Cereal Killer]

I think challenging yourself is fun. Playing on easy has no fun in it. I prefer something that's fun and difficult. For example when I played WWE2K14 the first time, I got bored once I got used to it because the game was easy, so I put the difficulty on Legend. Now when I have a match, I'm not squashing anybody, it's more of a challenge and the match lasts for longer.

How I start off is I play on easy until I'm comfortable with the game, for the heck of it I put it on the highest level right after. From there I can easily judge on what level I should play on. I may stay on the level, go to normal or even back to easy.

Sometimes for a relaxing session I put it back on to easy. For example when I'm in the Hell in a Cell match, I don't want a challenge, I want to have fun. I want to spear someone through the cell wall, push someone of it in to the table and put someone through the top. Doing that on legend difficulty would be frustrating and I would be the one in Mankind's position.

The way I see it, if you want complete fun and donination, you play on easy. If you want a challenge and don't want a quick and basic game, play on a harder level.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

I can pretty much sum up why I play games on harder difficulties in one word: Achievement.

It's more than fine to play games on lower difficulties, and I do sometimes when I want to play a more casual or laid-back game. However, by completing these games, or doing well in these games, it becomes too easy. Whilst the common human psyche would rather have things too easy than too hard, and that is true to myself too, there are times where I simply want go through the game on a harder setting in order to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Xbox, Playstation and Steam games use this to their advantage with built-in achievement systems. Many games offer achievements for beating them on the highest difficulty setting. By doing this, not only do you attain a sense of accomplishment, but also bragging rights too. This is expanded upon even further with co-op games, such as Left 4 Dead. There are achievements obtainable on Left 4 Dead for beating all 4 of the original campaigns on the Expert setting. By calling 3 other friends and setting to completing the objective, you build trust and team skills. I'm not saying that this is always the case, but co-op games are excellent for providing many benefits from playing at higher difficulties.

 

[Lee]

I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to post, so I'm going to hijack your thread on a related tangent.

For me, I've never understood those who play video games on the hardest setting. I have always thought of video games as being fun, not a challenge. I work all day, when I come home I'm mentally tired. The last thing I want to do is work at a video game, which provides me no physical improvement. I'll play at a setting which allows me to enjoy the game, without making a mockery of it.

Those of you who play at ridiculously hard settings, what could possibly be your reason, aside from simply having no other hobbies or responsibilities in life?

Pretty much this has been myu stance over the last 2 years. Since getting a stable job and working full time I much prefer easier games.

I do like a challenge and would do if I have holiday time but I'd rather relax than get wound up at it.

 

[Slyfox696]

Pretty much this has been myu stance over the last 2 years. Since getting a stable job and working full time I much prefer easier games.

I do like a challenge and would do if I have holiday time but I'd rather relax than get wound up at it.

Exactly. I don't have time to try hard at video games, nor do I have the energy. Video games are simply a chance to shut down, to relax, much like watching TV.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here is another challenge, from Final Fantasy 6.

Final Fantasy 6 - Celes, Edgar, Setzer Challenge

This is an extremely tough challenge that I did several years back. Out of the 14 main playable characters, only 3 of them are required to be recruited in the second half of the game. You start off with Celes by herself, then you get Edgar (Sabin along the way in a normal run but he cannot be recruited in this challenge), then Sezter, and once you get the second airship you can go straight to Kefka's Tower with only those 3.

Rules:

1. Play through the game's first half exactly as you would in a normal run.

2. Once the second world begins and Celes has left the Solitary Island, you normally would have the option to go to the town of Tzen where Sabin rejoins. Don't do that event. You may go to Mobliz though to visit Terra, as she does not rejoin unless you return there after getting the airship.

3. Complete the Figaro area where Edgar rejoins, followed by Daryl's Tomb once Setzer has rejoined. You'll now have the airship.

4. You can go immediately to Kefka's Tower, but that's not very wise. Completing the optional quests gets you much better items and more espers. You are allowed to complete the optional quests, as long as you do not recruit anyone. For example, you can go to Mt Zozo, as long as you do not enter the room where Cyan rejoins.

5. Once you're done levelling up and gathering equipment/espers, go to Kefka's Tower where each of the three characters (Celes/Edgar/Setzer) goes through a portion of the tower by themselves since you couldn't recruit anyone else. This will be tough even if you're maxed out.

6. See the spoiler tag for a note on the final battle and ending.

Spoiler

You'll have all 3 of them for the battle against Kefka. The ending with only those 3 and Terra in it (she still shows up in the ending regardless of recruitment) is very different than the "regular" ending sequence where everyone escapes the tower together.

More to come, but that's one of my personal favorites. Don't attempt it unless you are up to the challenge. Other than beating FF1 with 4 White Mages it might be the toughest challenge I've done.

 

[JGlass]

I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to post, so I'm going to hijack your thread on a related tangent.

For me, I've never understood those who play video games on the hardest setting. I have always thought of video games as being fun, not a challenge. I work all day, when I come home I'm mentally tired. The last thing I want to do is work at a video game, which provides me no physical improvement. I'll play at a setting which allows me to enjoy the game, without making a mockery of it.

Those of you who play at ridiculously hard settings, what could possibly be your reason, aside from simply having no other hobbies or responsibilities in life?

I play NBA 2k14 on the All-Star setting... I think. I believe the settings are Rookie/Starter/All-Star/Legend, and I play on the second to highest setting. After switching from starter to all-star I struggled to beat the best teams in my league, but I adjusted, learned a few new tricks, and now I'd say I win about 85% of the games I play.

I changed the setting to a harder setting because I wasn't having any fun steamrolling every single team I faced. There was very little drama in those games, and the only time I ever struggled to put up points is if I had my bench players in against the CPU's starters, and even then I usually had enough defensive prowess to hold them off.

As for other games... it varies. Very story-heavy games like Mass Effect, Bioshock Infinite, or Last of Us are games I'm probably going to play on the normal difficulty level because I want to keep progressing through the story without having to restart over and over again. Other games that are more about gameplay, like Left 4 Dead 2 or Mortal Kombat, can have more rewarding experiences when you turn up the difficulty (though I suck at L4D2 so I usually don't play above normal difficulty).

I think for most people it's about finding a level where they feel there's an appropriate challenge. I know you're a fan of the NCAA games, Sly. Do you play them on the lowest setting or one of the middle settings? I'm guessing the latter, because an 8-year-old wouldn't have any trouble winning on the lowest setting in most EA Sports games (and I should know, I got my first hockey video game when I was about 8 and I'm pretty sure I kicked ass). Nobody wants to be handed a victory for free, they want to feel like they earned it, and for some people that means ramping up the difficulties.

Of course, there are those insane levels of difficulty. Bioshock Infinite has something called 1999 mode that makes the game ridiculously hard to play. Far Cry 3 had a setting that took away the HUD, mini-map, and aiming reticle to give a more "realistic" vibe to the player. I'm not quite sure who plays with those settings, but I reckon those are your hardcore gamers that hang their hats on such things... not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

I'd like to speak about a video game challenge that I've personally done myself and found it both exhilarating and challenging, whilst still being rather rewarding and aimed at somewhat casual gamers too: The Nuzlocke challenge.

The Nuzlocke challenge can be played on any of the main Pokemon games; though the rules could be bent to allow it to be playable on most RPG's and I believe my friend tried a very strange variation on Half Life 2 once. Focusing on Pokemon though from where it originates, the idea of the Nuzlocke challenge is to make the Pokemon games harder and encourage people to be cautious and play to their team's advantages.

There are 2 primary rules and 1 secondary rule that nearly all Nuzlockes follow, although others may be added if the player desires. The first is that you may only capture the first Pokemon that you encounter in an area. This rule can be bent a little if you want, such as a Pokemon you have previously owned not being allowed to be caught again and therefore, you get another chance to catch something in that area, or not including the time you have no access to Pokeballs. This is to discourage constant captures of Pokemon and it challenges your ability to build a good Pokemon team. If you make a Pokemon faint, or run away, you don't get any more chances in that area. That was your only chance to catch a Pokemon in that area.

The second primary rule is that once your Pokemon faints, it is permanently dead. You can heal your Pokemon with potions and at the Pokemon center if they have not lost all of their health, but once they have lost all of their health and fainted, you cannot revive them. You must release these Pokemon or put them in a graveyard box in your PC. This obviously makes the game harder and makes you far more cautious with your Pokemon.

The secondary rule is that you must nickname all of your Pokemon in order to grow a bond with them, and feel more guilty/upset when they perish. This rule is more optional than the others, but it adds more emotion to the game I've personally found (not an amazing amount, but for Pokemon standards, it's pretty good) and it's a way of making the challenge a little more nonchalant at times.

In my personal experience, some Nuzlockes I have succeeded (Firered, Emerald Randomizer, Black and White) and others I have failed (Pokemon Ruby, normal Pokemon Emerald). Whilst it's a challenging experience and directed at hardcore gamers more than casual gamers, casual gamers can still enjoy the experience and still be on an even playing field with the hardcore gamers in this case. I'd strongly recommend this challenge to all Pokemon fans and anyone who wants a fair challenge.

 

[Slyfox696]

I play NBA 2k14 on the All-Star setting... I think. I believe the settings are Rookie/Starter/All-Star/Legend, and I play on the second to highest setting. After switching from starter to all-star I struggled to beat the best teams in my league, but I adjusted, learned a few new tricks, and now I'd say I win about 85% of the games I play.

I changed the setting to a harder setting because I wasn't having any fun steamrolling every single team I faced. There was very little drama in those games, and the only time I ever struggled to put up points is if I had my bench players in against the CPU's starters, and even then I usually had enough defensive prowess to hold them off.

Why worry about having drama? If I can win by 15 or so, I consider that a fun game. It's a game close enough to have me interested, but I win by enough without the stress.

One of the nice things about sports games these days are the sliders for different skills. It's a way to "even" things out better.

I think for most people it's about finding a level where they feel there's an appropriate challenge. I know you're a fan of the NCAA games, Sly. Do you play them on the lowest setting or one of the middle settings? I'm guessing the latter, because an 8-year-old wouldn't have any trouble winning on the lowest setting in most EA Sports games (and I should know, I got my first hockey video game when I was about 8 and I'm pretty sure I kicked ass). Nobody wants to be handed a victory for free, they want to feel like they earned it, and for some people that means ramping up the difficulties.

I play on Varsity, which is the second level (Rookie, Varsity, All-American, Hesiman is the settings, I believe). Sometimes I win 72-14. Other times I win on a last second FG. I prefer to win by 10-21 points. And yes, I prefer to win every game.

Of course, there are those insane levels of difficulty. Bioshock Infinite has something called 1999 mode that makes the game ridiculously hard to play. Far Cry 3 had a setting that took away the HUD, mini-map, and aiming reticle to give a more "realistic" vibe to the player. I'm not quite sure who plays with those settings, but I reckon those are your hardcore gamers that hang their hats on such things... not that there's anything wrong with that.

I reckon they are the "hardcore gamers" who really serve no other productive function in society.

 

[JGlass]

I just remembered that I HAVE done a video game challenge, though it's of the programmed into the game variety. A year or so ago I started playing Fallout New Vegas in hardcore mode. I probably played for a few weeks before I jut grew bored (I've already beaten the game twice) and stopped playing. Maybe I'll go back to it eventually, but I kind of doubt I will.

The challenge itself is pretty cool. It doesn't change to much about the gameplay, and it certainly doesn't change the challenge of the world around you. You'll still find just as much ammo and bottle caps (Fallout's currency) as you would in regular mode, the enemies aren't any stronger, and you aren't any weaker.

The challenge in the game comes from a few tweaks to your health. You now have three gauges you have to monitor for hunger, thirst, and sleep. All of them have to be maintained or you'll suffer negative effects to your stats. There are also a few tweaks to various items. For instance, stimpacks no longer heal you immediately and instead heal you gradually over time, similar to how food works in regular mode.

There are also a few smaller changes. Ammo normally doesn't count against your weight limit, but it does in hardcore mode. Companions normally only get "knocked out" in battle, but in hardcore mode they can die. Normally, resting or using stimpacks heal crippled limbs, but in hardcore mode you can only use doctor's bags, hydra, or sleeping in certain beds.

For me, hardcore mode served as a nice twist to a game I love but needed something fresh to keep me going.

Why worry about having drama? If I can win by 15 or so, I consider that a fun game. It's a game close enough to have me interested, but I win by enough without the stress.

One of the nice things about sports games these days are the sliders for different skills. It's a way to "even" things out better.

I play on Varsity, which is the second level (Rookie, Varsity, All-American, Hesiman is the settings, I believe). Sometimes I win 72-14. Other times I win on a last second FG. I prefer to win by 10-21 points. And yes, I prefer to win every game.

I suppose football and basketball video games are different. In football I prefer to win every game I play since you only play a few games each season, so I usually keep it at All-Pro, the third highest setting in Madden, which is where I'll generally win by a few TDs and have little risk of getting beaten. If I do lose, it's usually because I beat myself by getting careless and sloppy.

In 2k14 I also play on the second highest setting, and while it took me about 5 games to adjust (and I think I lost three of those games and only won the other 2 by slim margins), it's worth it because I find my gaming experience much more rewarding. I was blowing teams out by 20+ points on the second lowest setting, and I was getting bored of playing the game that way. Now I probably win nine out of every ten games I play, but they're almost always challenging (unless I'm playing against the worst teams in the league).

I suspect gamers are all looking for the same challenge, but we all have different levels of skill. Some people are just as adapt at beating the highest difficulty as you are at beating the second lowest level or I am at beating the second highest level.

I reckon they are the "hardcore gamers" who really serve no other productive function in society.

They keep Mountain Dew in business. That's productive.

 

[DarksideEric]

Few challenges I posed for myself as being both a gamer and a game designer:

I used to play a few fighting games competitively, so when fighting the computer or some friends who I knew weren't as good at the game I'd do things like restrict myself to only regular attacks in stuff like Street Fighter.

I've gone all the way through Disgaea: Hour of Darkness with only the characters the give you (not making any new ones) and only as the classes they started as.

In some games, usually Strategy RPGs, I'd do the whole "if they die in a fight they're gone for good," never using revive items or spells.

After becoming a game designer (fortunately and unfortunately) I *always* find myself limiting my gameplay so I don't break the game. Like in the Elder Scrolls stuff I wouldn't make the obviously game breaking Chameleon armor or abuse the crafting system in Skyrim.

 

[M]

I've done nuzlocke challenges on all the generations of pokemon, but that always just ends up being either really stressful or just not fun towards the end because the pokemon you end up with are usually terrible.

A challenge I really find fun in a self harming sort of way is the green demon challenge from Super Mario 64. The goal is to collect all the red coins on a level but with a twist - you have to trigger the 1-up that will follow you and not receive that 1-up until you've got the star that appears after getting the red coins. It sounds easier than it is, but unless you know the level inside and out it quickly turns Mario from a fun bright cheerful game straight into a survival horror torture device from beyond your wildest nightmares. The 1-up always follows you. ALWAYS. Think you're safe hiding around a corner? Think again, this mushroom from hell can phase through the geometry. Havent seen the mushroom in a while? Well you're gonna have loads of fun when it appears through the floor to steal your soul. It's a challenge for the crazy. Try it, it's fun

 

[Dagger Dias]

Super Mario World - No Switch Palaces Challenge

This is a fun one. Super Mario World has 4 different Switch Palaces that change dotted lines in the levels into "! block" boxes. Yellow ones contain Super Mushrooms, green ones contain Cape Feathers, while red and blue do not have items but all four function as platforms in many situations throughout the game.

Rules:

1. If you get the opportunity to enter one of the 4 switch palace levels, do not. That's the only rule for this challenge.

Some worlds become incredibly difficult due to this challenge. One of the locations that stands out for me is Room 1 of Bowser's Castle. You lose a good portion of the floor since it is supposed to be formed from the switch palace boxes. It's possible to beat the main portion of the game during this challenge, but you will NOT be able to find every exit to every stage. There are a few that are impossible to complete during this challenge. For that reason, once you defeat Bowser the challenge is over.

 

[Harthan]

This is interesting. Back in the day I used to be super into Fire Emblem, and my fandom peaked at Fire Emblem 7, specifically the GBA version released stateside. I must have run through it dozens of times ultimately. I frequented a few forums for the game and there was a big element of the culture that revolved around doing challenges. Some of the ones I remember doing were characters from Lyn's story only. For those who don't know the game, it was divided up into two parts, Lyn's story and then either Eliwood or Hector's story. Eliwood and Hector followed roughly the same path, and the mode you played just determined which one was the "main character" of the story. The challenge was that when the game switched over to the Eliwood or Hector story you only used characters from Lyn's. There was some argument that since Eliwood and Hector made appearances in Lyn's story, but not as playable characters, you could still use them. That made the challenge a lot easier so it was mostly personal preference.

Another popular challenge was using female characters only. It was harder in the beginning but not too bad by the end.

I'm sure many other challenges existed and I may have tried them, but this is what I remember now. I spent most of my time trying to max out support conversations, though, so I often used whatever roster facilitated that.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Another popular challenge was using female characters only.

I'm glad you brought these challenges up. Using only female playable characters in some games can be fun, depending on the game. Games like Dragon Quest/Warrior 4 offer an interesting play through if you only play as the girls. That limits you to a balanced party of The Hero (she must be the female version though), Alena, Mara/Maya, and Nara/Meena. The good news is that the party is incredibly balanced. Mara is your offensive caster, Nara is your healer, Alena is your fighter, while The Female Hero is skilled both at fighting or casting. The bad news is that in monster lairs where you normally could have reinforcements from the other half of the party, you are limited to just the 4 female characters. The men have to remain in the wagon during the entirety of the main chapter.

 

[Wally Dangerously]

Three video game challenges that I accomplished as a kid:


1.) Beating the original Super Mario Bros. playing only with my feet.

I used the warp tubes when I could, so I didn't play through every single level, but I remember this was a significant challenge nonetheless. I used the NES Advantage controller because the joystick was easier to control than the D-pad on the original controller. I remember the most difficult part was facing Bowser and trying to either jump over him or run under him. Also, the long jump in world 8-2 (I think) where you have to stand on a specific spot on a certain green tube and jump at precisely the right moment to clear the jump. That jump was difficult to complete regularly, let alone playing it with your feet.


2.) Completing Contra without losing a life.

Self-explanatory. Looking back at the game now, it doesn't look so difficult, but it was when I was a kid.


3.) Beating Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson's Punch Out without taking damage.

This was frustrating as hell, I lost count of the number of times I would make it to round 3 with only a few punches to go, only to have Iron Mike connect with a quick jab or uppercut. I threw my controller at the wall several times trying to accomplish this feat.



I enjoy challenging myself at video games. Playing games on the easiest game level just isn't any fun to me, unless I have no understanding of the controls. Once I understand the controls, I usually switch to the second-highest level of difficulty and go from there. I don't have nearly as much time to play video games now as when I was young, so I don't go overboard trying to accomplish extremely difficult goals, but I like to challenge myself when I can.

 

[DarksideEric]

Dagger, you ever do the tried and true Final Fantasy challenge of only using one type of Job/Class? Or doing "No Mages/Weapons/Etc"?

 

[Dagger Dias]

Dagger, you ever do the tried and true Final Fantasy challenge of only using one type of Job/Class? Or doing "No Mages/Weapons/Etc"?

The single most difficult challenge I have ever taken on from a video game was completing FF1 using this party:

Using 4 of the same class has its pros and cons no matter what the class is.

4 Fighters
At high enough levels you can defeat monsters very quickly and can withstand lots of damage. It gets rather expensive to keep their equipment updated after each new town, not to mention all the potions you'll have to buy. Earning basic White Magic after the upgrade to Knights helps some.

4 Monks
It's all about defeating your enemy as quickly as possible. They have attack stats that skyrocket and do not require any equipment after a dozen or so levels, but you will still struggle in boss fights even after the upgrade.

4 Thieves
This is actually rather tough. They cannot fight as well as the fighter and cannot cast anything until they get upgraded to Ninjas. After that they can cast basic Black Magic. Buy tons of potions!!!!

4 Red Mages
Broken as hell in the first half. The flaws become apparent in the second half though. Make one the offensive caster, one or two the healer(s), and the remaining one or two fighting oriented. The major drawback to this party is that you'll have to be rich in order to update their spells AND their equipment. This is the easiest of the 1 character class only challenges though.

4 Black Mages
This is hard. They can obliterate monsters if kept alive long enough, but their defense is awful and you have no healer. Levelling up is a must, although it can be done. Boss fights are extremely tough, especially the rematches against the elemental fiends in the final temple. Make sure one of them equips the Masamune before facing the last boss.

4 White Mages
Finally, the toughest of these 6 challenges. White Mages can heal each other, but they have the weakest melee attack other than the Black Mage and an extremely limited list of offensive spells. You'll have to level up constantly to even stand a chance. By the end when you can upgrade to White Wizards to learn Holy, you have a powerful attack. Luckily anyone can equip the Masamune, so be sure to give that to one of them before the last boss fight. I've done this once and will never put myself through it again. To make it even tougher and damn near impossible, try 4 White Mages WITHOUT upgrading to White Wizards. Even I won't attempt that.

 

[Rayne]

Super Mario World - No Switch Palaces Challenge

This is a fun one. Super Mario World has 4 different Switch Palaces that change dotted lines in the levels into "! block" boxes. Yellow ones contain Super Mushrooms, green ones contain Cape Feathers, while red and blue do not have items but all four function as platforms in many situations throughout the game.

Rules:

1. If you get the opportunity to enter one of the 4 switch palace levels, do not. That's the only rule for this challenge.

Some worlds become incredibly difficult due to this challenge. One of the locations that stands out for me is Room 1 of Bowser's Castle. You lose a good portion of the floor since it is supposed to be formed from the switch palace boxes. It's possible to beat the main portion of the game during this challenge, but you will NOT be able to find every exit to every stage. There are a few that are impossible to complete during this challenge. For that reason, once you defeat Bowser the challenge is over.

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This challenge is actually pretty easy if you learn how to glitch the cape. A glitchless run, that might be a bit more tricky.

Back when I had the time for these kind of things I sped run FFIX in 10:53 (using the FMV skip method, obviously.) I'd like to do more speed runs of the FF series (especially considering the FFVIII record is totally reachable), but the time commitment for that is just not there anymore.