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Fun Club The roadblocks of your childhood.

Mer.Saloon

Mer.Saloon

Tingle
Pronouns
He/Him
Silly title aside, this is about your gaming roadblocks.

Basically the parts of games that just presented a giant wall between you and completing a game. And it doesn't matter how weird the roadblock was.

I got 3 stories.

1. Zelda: Oracle of Seasons- This is my most infamous. I know the first 3 dungeons of Seasons like the back of my hand, because I constantly restarted the game after the 3rd dungeon, because I never could get to the 4th. And the reason I couldn't was because of the damn key and the damn bear.

To get the key you need to use Moosh's power to fly over pits. The problem is, that Moosh requires that you mash like mad otherwise you will be pretty much vortexed into the path of pits.

No matter what I did, I just couldn't mash fast enough. So I was kinda eternally stuck at that puzzle.

But, on the other hand, because of this roadblock I was able to experiment with a lot of the freedom you get in Seasons after the flippers. I almost figured out how to get to the 5th dungeon (I couldn't figure out to just use my shovel on the bomb flower) and I was able to discover how to get the 3 animal buddy flutes. So it wasn't a total roadblock, just a major one.

2. Star Fox Adventures- The Lightfoot tribe mashing puzzle. Mashing and me aren't friends.

3. Sonic 2- Oil Ocean. Thats as far as I could ever get in Sonic 2 as a little kid, and this was long after the hype died down so I didn't have many resources available to me to gain extra lives or maintain them. I just kinda moved forward, dying regularly until my endurance was exhausted and my life counter gone.

I never even got to metropolis zone.

What were your roadblocks?
 
Duck Hunt, because I couldn't aim and that stupid dog kept laughing at me. I overcame this obstacle by walking directly up to the TV and pressing my friend's Zapper right against it. That showed that awful hound who was boss!
 
Water Temple in Ocarina... although I wasn't really a kid when the game came out, I never got past it.

As a kid I never completed Sonic 1 or Link to the Past (couldn't beat the final boss)
 
We live in a society of children being focused on playing "Roblox", when they should instead be learning how to overcome the "road blocks" (of life)
 
Early early childhood (pre middle/high school):

The english language.

Explanation: During the time where i was in school, pupils wouldn't learn english (1st foreign language for most) until the 5th grade. Basically after elementary school. Normally, you were around 11 years old when you would start english lessons.

So for any game that didn't have german translations (which were a lot back then) i simply had no idea what the fuck i had to do in most games because i couldn't read any text from the game.

Aurc said:
We live in a society of children being focused on playing "Roblox", when they should instead be learning how to overcome the "road blocks" (of life)
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Well it's not that Roblox doesn't throw some more roadblocks into kids lifes with all these gambling accusations around that service.
 
As a little kid I could not beat the magic carpet cave of wonders escape level, but my mom could. Whenever I replayed Aladdin for years I'd have to get her to beat it for me.
 
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A Link to the Past for an insane reason. In the Dark World, to get into the Village of Outcasts, you had to Hookshot over a river. As a kid I never got it to work so I gave up and never played it since. But I finally beat ALTTP this year when on vacation, and I finally figured out why: it's because the game bugs out if you try to do it in this gap in the wall. You have to be OUT of it for it to work. And I guess I didn't try that as a kid? I dunno, but that was something.

Other than that, I beat nearly every game I got or played as a kid.
 
Rygar on the NES, the PAL version.

Infamous for being basically unbeatable. The Pal version was limited due to lack of memory or whatever, in the NTSC version you had more like 50% more HP and 400% more maximum damage or there about, and when the game in itself was pretty hard.. the Pal version was probably one of the hardest if not the hardest NES games around.
 
As a kid in Spain, we didn't get Nintendo games in spanish I think until Donkey Kong 64 or Pokemon Red and Blue. So, while playing Ocarina of Time with my cousin we got stuck at the part where you have to get Ruto's letter from the bottom of Lake Hylia because he was utterly convinced that it was a gossip stone, even if I insisted that it was something else. We couldn't progress for weeks or months until we bought a strategy guide together lol

Also, although I rented DK64 tons of times, I never got past the factory world because the boss was too hard and I was scared of him. I was a fearful kid
 
I could never beat Super Mario Land on the Gameboy as a kid. Always died at the first boss. Suffice to say, I managed to avenge my kid-self while tackling the current Super Mario Event on here, though :D
 
Mbolibombo said:
Rygar on the NES, the PAL version.

Infamous for being basically unbeatable. The Pal version was limited due to lack of memory or whatever, in the NTSC version you had more like 50% more HP and 400% more maximum damage or there about, and when the game in itself was pretty hard.. the Pal version was probably one of the hardest if not the hardest NES games around.
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Interesting. Had no idea about the PAL version. I beat the NTSC version once when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty challenging. Can't imagine playing PAL.
 
B. Spaceman said:
As a kid in Spain, we didn't get Nintendo games in spanish I think until Donkey Kong 64 or Pokemon Red and Blue. So, while playing Ocarina of Time with my cousin we got stuck at the part where you have to get Ruto's letter from the bottom of Lake Hylia because he was utterly convinced that it was a gossip stone, even if I insisted that it was something else. We couldn't progress for weeks or months until we bought a strategy guide together lol

Also, although I rented DK64 tons of times, I never got past the factory world because the boss was too hard and I was scared of him. I was a fearful kid
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Wasn't Ocarina the game whose translation was incomplete and had to be packaged in a giant booklet in Spain?

Or am I thinking of another region? Cause I swear I heard this story from somewhere.
 
The Elite 4 in Pokemon FireRed/Leafgreen

I was that kid who only trained my starter (Squirtle) so it was impossible for me to get past Lorelei. The few times I made it past her I would get wiped by the time I made it to Agatha and Lance. Eventually I powered through during a Charmander playthrough, and the stars alined to finally get to and beat Blue.

The day I finally beat the Elite 4 is a high I am chasing to this day.

Once I registered the concept of training multiple Pokemon and using different types, it was EZ-PZ, but the wall felt insurmountable for kid me, and the thrill of overcoming it was a victory beyond measure.

And then I lost my cartidge that same week.....right as I unlocked the Sevii Islands. Whoopsie!
 
In Link’s Awakening, I never considered jumping over Dethl’s Final Form’s arms. I was stuck for eight months before I finally beat that mofo with half a heart left (including using a potion). About a year later, a classmate mentioned using Roc’s Feather, and I was so embarrassed, I wanted to die.

In Ocarina of Time, I couldn’t get past the twisted hallway in the Forest Temple for a literal month because I straight up ignored the big gold eye switch right above the door of the twisted hallway. 🤦‍♀️

Since then, I give it the ol’ college try then look up the solution. I don’t have the time or patience to futz around a game for weeks and months.
 
Biggest roadblock I can remember is Eagle's Tower in Link's Awakening. Played the heck out of that game as a kid but never actually beat it until the remake came out because my kid brain just could not figure that one out.
 
Donkey Kong 64.

The time limited minigame gauntlet in Hideout Helm. I'll be honest, this bit sucks. I believe I came back to it after some months and beat it, then got to the final boss, then came back to that some years later and finally beat it.

But that minigame gauntlet was really the bit that destroyed me as a kid.
 
In Paper Mario TTYD, in Glitzville specifically, during the promotion match against the rocky bros, you must use a specific move from the Yoshi you obtain in order to damage them at all. The little guy basically swallows one of them and throws him against the other.

However, it took me eons to figure this out. In the meantime, I exhausted every possible corner in the level available trying to find some clue, and I also got walled by the critters over and over.

I'm not really sure how long it took me anymore but it severely stressed me out.
 
Mer.Saloon said:
Wasn't Ocarina the game whose translation was incomplete and had to be packaged in a giant booklet in Spain?

Or am I thinking of another region? Cause I swear I heard this story from somewhere.
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You're mostly correct. The translation came in a giant book with the game, which was... Honestly a mess to use.

However, it was in fact complete. From what I've gathered there just wasn't time/cartridge space to implement it on the game itself, so they just went the booklet route.
 
There was this desert level in James Bond 007 for Game Boy. You had to fight through a lot of soldiers and IIRC there was this mirage puzzle where you had to find an oasis. Absolute nonsense.

Me and a few fellow school kids were like, super into that game for a while.
 
Child me whips Adult me’s ass at video games. I swear I’d make it through any platformer, Zelda, heck I remember even beating especially hard things like the Hillary recruitment mission in Vice City or finishing the campaigns without cheating of Dune 2 and Warcraft 2. I had the time to figure things out then, these days I get bored super fast and leave a ton of things unfinished.
 
LOLDSFAN said:
Funny you mention this game, because it's the only Zelda game I played that I could never finish due to a boss.

Dragon_Onox.png


I always lost the battle of attrition. 😭
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It was the most insufferable thing for me that I could never see the front of his face. :LOL::LOL:
 
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Aurc said:
We live in a society of children being focused on playing "Roblox", when they should instead be learning how to overcome the "road blocks" (of life)
Click to expand...
He's right you know.
Mine... hmm. I got stuck on the final boss of Dragon Warrior. I suppose Double Dragon/Ninja Gaiden got me bad for a while but I eventually beat the former. I usually was able to clear my modern releases but most of what I think of are ones I just never ended up fully finishing, and not necessarily getting stuck at any point.
Except Anor Londo, dark souls.
I'm still stuck.
 
hologram said:
Donkey Kong 64.

The time limited minigame gauntlet in Hideout Helm. I'll be honest, this bit sucks. I believe I came back to it after some months and beat it, then got to the final boss, then came back to that some years later and finally beat it.

But that minigame gauntlet was really the bit that destroyed me as a kid.
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DK64 is my infamous one too, but earlier when you have to beat the original arcade Donkey Kong to progress. Just couldn't do it. Finally had a friend come over who was better at games and he got it done for me, then he did that timed section as well when I was having trouble. I did beat the final boss on my own, at least.

Some really baffling design decision in that game overall. Still love it though.
 
This is probably gonna sound ridiculous because it’s so close to the beginning of the game and I’ve never seen anyone else call it a roadblock but….

The two (three?) mechon you fight at the end of Tephra Cave in Xenoblade 1. They’re not even a boss or anything. I just could not get past them, teen me couldn’t comprehend that combat at all. I had never played a game like it.

I didn’t beat the game for like another decade, in fact I had a second road block like 5 years after that one when I finally pushed through - the Telethia in Makna Forest. Pretty sure I only ended up beating that one by switching to easy for that fight in DE 5 years later when I jumped back in.

Then after that I just breezed through 2. And then 3 when it came out. XC1 was way harder than either of its sequels to me, for some reason. It’s not an opinion I see a lot so I really think it’s just that I never fully grasped or dug into it’s combat compared to the sequels, which had much more fun combat to me
 
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touchfuzzy said:
DK64 is my infamous one too, but earlier when you have to beat the original arcade Donkey Kong to progress. Just couldn't do it. Finally had a friend come over who was better at games and he got it done for me, then he did that timed section as well when I was having trouble. I did beat the final boss on my own, at least.

Some really baffling design decision in that game overall. Still love it though.
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Yeah, I love the game dearly but the amount of content which feels like a fun little bonus that is actually required to beat the game is wild, lol

Remind me - do you need to beat the DK arcade game to successfully progress through Frantic Factory? I remember the first time you beat it you get a Golden Banana and the second time it gives you the coin, but I have a feeling that the first success also unlocks most of the factory too. Is it possible to unlock all the Kongs and get enough bananas without doing this?

Obviously you need to beat it anyway since you need that godforsaken coin, but I'm wondering of those roadblocks technically comes first since the coin requirement comes after the minigame gauntlet :p
 
I couldn’t, and still cannot mash, so many games that required it to progress were just not playable for me as kid, including the original god of war. Some how I got through the mgs 4 microwave though
 
The Elite 4 in Pokemon Ruby and the final boss of Paper Mario TTYD. Could not get past either of them no matter how many times I tried.

Funnily enough, in both cases, I ended up taking like a month long break from both games, only to come back to them and beat them on my first try. Sometimes taking a break is all you need.
 
Wait I remembered another one! I couldn't get through resonance of fate as a young teen because that control scheme was...Not my style.
 
hologram said:
Yeah, I love the game dearly but the amount of content which feels like a fun little bonus that is actually required to beat the game is wild, lol

Remind me - do you need to beat the DK arcade game to successfully progress through Frantic Factory? I remember the first time you beat it you get a Golden Banana and the second time it gives you the coin, but I have a feeling that the first success also unlocks most of the factory too. Is it possible to unlock all the Kongs and get enough bananas without doing this?

Obviously you need to beat it anyway since you need that godforsaken coin, but I'm wondering of those roadblocks technically comes first since the coin requirement comes after the minigame gauntlet :p
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You can get through Frantic Factory without even playing the arcade game I think. But also, when you need to do it for the coin I seem to remember it gets harder or you have to beat an additional level or something.
 
touchfuzzy said:
You can get through Frantic Factory without even playing the arcade game I think. But also, when you need to do it for the coin I seem to remember it gets harder or you have to beat an additional level or something.
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Yes, it gets harder for sure
 
Beanstar40 said:
I couldn’t, and still cannot mash, so many games that required it to progress were just not playable for me as kid, including the original god of war. Some how I got through the mgs 4 microwave though
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Here's to inability to mash.

I wish I had known what a turbo button was for. :ROFLMAO:
 
Barrel of Doom in Sonic 3. Yeah, I know it's cliché, but it genuinely stumped me.

Aside from that kid me was better at games than adult me tbh. I somehow beat Sonic 2 8 bit* with the good ending as a kid and I have no idea how I managed it.

* The Master System version, which is easier than the Game Gear version, but still pretty evil
 
I'm struggling with specifics, but a few general roadblocks come to mind:
  • Reading - I was an impatient child; I skipped or glossed over a lot of text back in the day. It's amazing how many games got easier when I calmed down and read a little.
  • Grinding - I refused to grind in many RPGs, which works better now than it did then! I would usually have a great time for a handful of hours only to reach a boss that exceeded my meager experience threshold. Then it was on to the next fleeting RPG experience.
In short, I had a really hard time with RPGs.
 
Roadblocks in childhood, roadblock still into adulthood with Wario's Castle in Mario Land 2.

I couldn't beat it in easy mode then, could possibly beat it now, but I got disheartened after losing all the coins after a game over.
 
In Donkey Kong 64, it has the original Donkey Kong game in it. I can't remember if you had to beat it but in my child mind, I felt I had to. It took me forever because I have always been bad at video games. I went around asking family members to help me but none of them even tried. I did end up beating it and I guess it instilled in me that it's best not to ask for help with games. Being bull-headed and finally overcoming the obstacle by myself felt very nice. I also had trouble with the Water Temple in OoT but only because of one switch that I missed seeing in the middle room. I enjoy the Water Temple otherwise.
 
I remember Super Mario RPG was my first ever RPG, and I had no idea what to make of it for a while. To the point that I was stuck on the first boss (Croco) for ages because I didn't understand what leveling up was, how to fight things, or barely even how the combat system worked
 
Oh the cape mechanic in Super Mario World, I really had trouble to try and fly/float with it as a kid. Now with the mario challenge I was cruising entire levels with that
 
My brother and I never beat Corona Mountain as kids in Mario Sunshine, but tbh it never really bothered us since we keep getting Shines or replaying our favourite levels. It took me a decade to come back to it and win!
 
Mer.Saloon said:
Wasn't Ocarina the game whose translation was incomplete and had to be packaged in a giant booklet in Spain?

Or am I thinking of another region? Cause I swear I heard this story from somewhere.
Click to expand...
Yes, I had it but we didn't use it, it was too bothersome to find the dialogue in the book

But... I learnt a lot of english thanks to that little book, at least
 
Bonejack said:
Early early childhood (pre middle/high school):

The english language.
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I've got a similar story here.

I'm Brazilian, so I didn't learn English until I was in my teens. Because of that when Ocarina of Time came out, and I was about 8, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I had to do. I ended up dropping it completely for that reason and I'd only come back to it half a decade or so later after I was able to beat Wind Waker on my GameCube.

As for non-language-related roadblocks, I have quite a few, especially from the N64 and early GameCube era. General Guy in the original Paper Mario was one of them and so was the final boss from The Thousand-Year Door.
 
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When young, adventures using text parsers fascinated me with their illusion of freedom, but I was never very good at them. Anyway, I probably got about 10% into The Dallas Quest before running into and getting killed by a giant rat. I never watched the TV show, but I'm pretty sure the game took liberties. Of my attempted solutions that didn't work, my favorite was probably trying to put sunglasses on the rat to blind it.
coco_dallas_quest_rat.jpg
 
The Donkey Kong arcade really was ridiculously hard. I did a 100% playthrough when DK64 came out on the Wii U Virtual Console, and this was somehow worse than the beetle, worse than the rabbit, worse than beaver bother, worse than the slot machines, worse than the mechanical fish... It felt like it took me hours to finally get past that second loop with the coin. The game left me with a resentment for DK Arcade and a surprising amount of appreciation for Jetpac.

As a kid I never made it through most games, and I don't think it was because I got stuck, I just sort of lost motivation or interest somehow. There is one big instance where I got stuck right at the beginning of the game and asked my older cousin to do it for me though. This one in hindsight wasn't really my fault. It was Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2, and it has this whole elaborate opening level full of setpieces. Unfortunately, one of these setpieces was a section where you shoot down dropships with a mortar in a first person view. This crops up maybe once more in the whole game from what I recall, and has nothing to do with the main 3D platformer gameplay. As a result it was obviously very low priority. It's pretty unclear how it works and what exactly you need to do, with very poor UI and feedback. I would shoot at the ships and always fail somehow. I think it was a combination of it being utterly unclear when and how you were being hit and what your health even was, as well as requiring an understanding of the trajectory of your projectiles and having things coming at you from all sides with a vague radar full of symbols surrounding the screen as your only help with that. Everything is exploding, and the ships can crash directly into you and blow up, completely obscuring your vision, but I don't think that actually does damage. It's a mess.
 
I was playing Medarot 3 (japanese game). Got to the next town then hit by a roadblock where I couldn't progress anymore. I love battling though and collecting parts for my medabots. I don't know when it happened but I manage to accidentally pushed a door bell (which is not visually visible) and that let me proceed with the story. Weird but knowing this mechanic helped me finished the game to completion. I played that game for a year.

There was also Tengai Makyou Zero (I played in Japanese and I have the original Japan cart back in the 2000s) where I got roadblocked by not knowing what to do on the blocked ice path (very early in the game). It took me at least a year to know that you'll have to use something like a bomb in order to break it.

Pokemon Silver, can't get past Violet City. Later I found out that you had to get the egg first in order to get past the town. I think I managed to catch every possible pokemon available in that area including the unowns lol.

Then there's Chrono Trigger (Japanese). Took me a while to know that you'll have to go around Spekkio 3 times in order to proceed with the story.
 
GPKs3 said:
Interesting. Had no idea about the PAL version. I beat the NTSC version once when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty challenging. Can't imagine playing PAL.
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Oof didn't know this. I might try the PAL version just for the sake of difficulty. I finished Rygar on the NSO and even before then.
 
Ninja turtles
No, not the dam level
After that
Where the freak do you go?

Plus beating the dam level felt like beating the game anyway
 
pretty much any and all games that required any level of logic, thought or reading were raw dead-ends for me. walkthroughs were the only reason i got through games on any level
 
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