Topic: Miyamoto Comments on Super Mario Galaxy 2's Difficulty

[NWR_DrewMG]

The Mario guru speaks on the level of challenge in the upcoming sequel, and its potential usage of the Super Guide.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20332

 In an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine UK, Shigeru Miyamoto has said, "Well, as far as the challenge of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is concerned, I think it's going to be a really challenging game."      

In an effort to make their games accessible without sacrificing challenge, Nintendo has introduced a feature called the Super Guide. The Super Guide shows players how to complete a level in the event that they can't do it themselves. The first game to use this feature is the recently-released New Super Mario Bros. Wii.    

When asked if this feature would find its way into Super Mario Galaxy 2, Miyamoto replied, "Whether or not we are going to incorporate the Super Guide, I just cannot tell. In general, wherever and whenever appropriate, I think we will want to incorporate that kind of thing, but I cannot commit to anything specific right now."    

The interview with Miyamoto will be published in the Friday, November 20 issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK.  Super Mario Galaxy 2 is set to release in 2010.

[kraken613]

It's looking like difficulty is a new trend Nintendo is retaking! I am happy about it!

[Mop it up]

Even without the Super Guide feature, I think they could still make the game more difficult without much fear. A lot of the people who are going to buy this game are the same ones who have the first, so they are already familiar with how the game works. Besides, like the first one, you'll probably need only half of the stars to complete the game, so people can pick and choose whether or not they want to collect the difficult ones.

[MegaByte]

Yeah, I'm really glad they came up with the Super Guide so that gamers with a range of abilities can enjoy the games.

[EasyCure]

Yeah, I'm really glad they came up with the Super Guide so that gamers with a range of abilities can enjoy the games.

Does anyone else thinks its odd that its not listed as a feature on the back of the NSMBW box?

Assuming the "casual/non-gamers" whom the Super Guide was made for don't read manuals like most "core/hardcore-gamers"*, how would they know about the Super Guide? What if some really impatient people gave up after dying just one failure short of activating the super guide? They'd be discouraged from th game for no reason.

*if they don't read manuals then this just proves that they're more like "us" than we think...

[D_Average]

8 deaths dose seem like a high number to activate a feature teh casuals know nothing about.

[Mop it up]

Does anyone else thinks its odd that its not listed as a feature on the back of the NSMBW box?

I didn't check the back of the case other than to see if it had a Nunchuk icon, so I didn't know it wasn't mentioned. That does seem odd. If Nintendo wants this feature to be a new standard for their games then I would think it would be something they'd want to advertise. I could see it being a selling point for certain people.

[EasyCure]

was i the only one to check the back of the box? I was so curious to see how they advertised it, but.. nothing!

also, i haven't even played the game yet I'm a horrible gamer.

[Mop it up]

Well, have you been too busy? Because if you've never had more than 30 minutes free to play then I would say keep waiting until you can have a nice lengthy session.

[EasyCure]

i meant to play it saturday night with my girlfriend after the nintendo event, but we got sidetracked watching movies.

sunday i was out with family all day, and although i did have some time to play it while i was home I promised my girl i'd wait for her since she really wants to play it. Besides, i definately wanna play with at least one other player on my first go, otherwise it'd be like playing another "boring ol' mario game"

[Spinnzilla]

This reminds me I need to get Galaxy 1...

[BeautifulShy]

This reminds me I need to get Galaxy 1...

Speaking of which I received my prize for stumping Zach back at the Metroid Marathon. A Super Mario Galaxy players guide.

I felt that Galaxy's difficulty was balanced.Early on it was pretty easy but later on it was challenging without being frustrating.

[King of Twitch]

I'm not so sure they'll add in the Self-Play feature. The 3d Marios have 4 times the number of missions (levels) as NSMBW, and that much more work might interfere with Miyamoto's afternoon nap. Imagine all the extra time spent in the office working past 3pm when he could be home gardening.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm not so sure they'll add in the Self-Play feature. The 3d Marios have 4 times the number of missions (levels) as NSMBW, and that much more work might interfere with Miyamoto's afternoon nap. Imagine all the extra time spent in the office working past 3pm when he could be home gardening.

He got a cat now too.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

He could've planted the cat in ground.

All you see is the cat's smiling head with a flower sprouting out the top.

[King of Twitch]

Ninkittree

[NWR_pap64]

This reminds me I need to get Galaxy 1...

Speaking of which I received my prize for stumping Zach back at the Metroid Marathon. A Super Mario Galaxy players guide.

I felt that Galaxy's difficulty was balanced.Early on it was pretty easy but later on it was challenging without being frustrating.

I agree. When I first played Galaxy I thought the game was easy, going as far as to give away lives as if they were running out of style. But as I progress the challenges became harder and more insane. I had to eat my own words, and its why Galaxy is so amazing.

[Jonnyboy117]

Even without the Super Guide feature, I think they could still make the game more difficult without much fear. A lot of the people who are going to buy this game are the same ones who have the first, so they are already familiar with how the game works. Besides, like the first one, you'll probably need only half of the stars to complete the game, so people can pick and choose whether or not they want to collect the difficult ones.

Exactly. Although, I thought the first Galaxy was already fairly challenging, striking a nice balance and smoothing over the frustrations of Sunshine. I hope any increase in difficulty is design-based, like having enemies that actually attack instead of just saunter around the level.

[Ian Sane]

In Super Mario Galaxy the fear of failure exists and that, to me, is what is needed regarding videogame difficulty.  A game is too easy if I never fear that I can't succeed.  A game like Wind Waker for example is too easy because I beat it without dying even once.  After spending enough time with the game it became apparent that dying in the game was not likely to occur and thus there was no feeling of accomplishment.  But with Galaxy I died enough that the fear exists.  I didn't feel industructible and that's really all you need.  Really good games actually give you that feeling without being so hard that you do actually fail a lot.  They just make you think you'll lose but you don't very often.  It's all "I didn't think I was going to make it but I JUST barely squeaked by" so you feel like you could lose at any time but you're so awesome you don't.

So on that note I have some concern with upping the difficulty here because I don't think it's that necessary.  I don't want another Lost Levels.

The Super Guide is a great feature though because it keeps Nintendo from nerfing games for non-gamers.  It's the ultimate compromise.  Though I agree that Nintendo hasn't really marketed it at all.  Maybe they don't feel it's so important for the North American market.  How are they promoting it in Japan?  That's where core gaming is seriously threatened.

[vudu]

A game is too easy if I never fear that I can't succeed.  A game like Wind Waker for example is too easy because I beat it without dying even once.  After spending enough time with the game it became apparent that dying in the game was not likely to occur and thus there was no feeling of accomplishment.

You could always avoid picking up the heart containers that the bosses leave behind.    It would make the game much more challenging but you wouldn't miss out on anything (like you would if you avoided the heart container pieces scattered throughout the world).

[BwrJim!]

but how long does it take for the super guide to win the game without player input?

[Ian Sane]

You could always avoid picking up the heart containers that the bosses leave behind.

If I have to intentionally avoid power-ups and TRY to make the game harder for me, then, sorry, the developers failed.  You should be free to just play the game in a normal fashion and not feel like there's no challenge.

[vudu]

Games are meant for more people than just you.

[Mop it up]

You could always avoid picking up the heart containers that the bosses leave behind.

If I have to intentionally avoid power-ups and TRY to make the game harder for me, then, sorry, the developers failed.  You should be free to just play the game in a normal fashion and not feel like there's no challenge.

I'm pretty sure the developers intended for people to skip heart containers if they felt the game was too easy. If they were mandatory then you might have a point, but the heart containers are like selecting your difficulty without making you feel like a wimp for choosing the "casual" setting.

[MegaByte]

Even without the Super Guide feature, I think they could still make the game more difficult without much fear.

Either way, at least they don't have the expanding the blue ocean excuse any more.