This topic branches off of my other topic in which I discussed my experience with Metroid. I try to play games as the artist intended. Meaning I use the tools initially available to me; in-game tips as well as meticulously reading through the manual to see if there is mention of any tips (often times there is.) HOWEVER- once Nintendo Power came out in 1988 I feel something else happened... the advertisements for Nintendo Power that came packaged with the cart often talked about how to beat the game. I almost feel that from this point forward, game developers had this in mind while designing the game. Anybody who has read a fair amount of Nintendo Power knows how closely Nintendo of America worked hand in hand with their magazine. The woman who voiced Princess Peach in Super Mario 64 was also one of the review editors. I dont remember her name off the top of my head but it may have been Leslie Swan. Im sure a quick Google search could confirm that.

Anyways back on track... is it fair to say that reading NP was intended as being part of the whole experience or did developers say "hey, not everyone has a subscription to this magazine so let's make it so that a 10-year-old could play this game without ever reading the mag."?

Of course Game Genie was never accounted for during game design (at least I would think so considering how Ninty sued them in the early 90s.) I doubt any developer thought "well some kids may be using GG so lets make it so the game is still fun/challenging to play even if the kid has infinite lives and ammo". Well that is all speculation of course but if I were a betting man, Id bet that the designers started from a position of assuming the gamer didnt have a Game Genie.

Ultimately my question for readers of this post is this: at what point do you break down and look up Youtube walkthroughs or go on GameFAQs? For me the answer is this... if I am going for 100% and Ive beaten the main storyline and just searched and searched but couldnt find that last hidden package or secret area, yeah Im gonna go on GameFAQs. But more often than not I will put the game aside and play something else before I resort to looking at a map or reading a walkthrough. There is a sense of pride in beating a game without any help but at some point one has to either give up or look for help.

At this point for me, Game Genie is a non starter. I cant imagine enjoying a game like Contra if I had infinite health. Some cheats are fun though like the moon jump in Super Mario Bros. but usually I would rather just play the game as intended and try to get the most out of it hefore boredom sets in.