Infinite Continues: Yaay Or Nay

[RegSNES]

Back in the day we either had infinite continues or a limited amount on the consoles. In arcades our continues were only limited to how many quaters we had. So if you were playing Ghosts & Goblins and you only had 14 quaters, you were screwed.

Depending on the game, I say it's really nice to have unlimited continues. With certain SHMUPs, I think it really helps to have unlimited contines. For a game like Zanac, where the levels are long and there are 12 levels total, those infinite continues will really come in handy.

And as I already mentioned with the Ghost & Goblins games, if you didn't have infinite contines, you may as well pack your crap and go home.

[soundwave]

Yeah I remember the old arcade days. five bucks was a lot of money back then. I can remember pumping quarters into games like Cadash and Ninja Warriors. For me the beat em ups were the most quarter consuming games. I can remember going to the arcade with my cousin with ten dollars each just so we could beat Knights of the round.

With the new "collection" titles on consoles I kinda like the freeplay option. It may not be the most gratifying way to beat a game, but it is still cool to see the endings of those games you could never beat with less than five dollars at an arcade. There's no way I would be able to beat 1942 without freeplay. I still haven't beaten Metal Slug 3 for Xbox.

Then again I guess it does make the game boring in some instances as well. Final Fight just doesn't have the same rush knowing you can continue forever and not have to watch your life bar.

So I guess the point of my post is that It can make the impossible games more fun and at the same time take away the excitement from the moderate difficulty games.

[RegSNES]

You make some excellent points, soundwave. When compilation packs of arcade games get released, it does please me to see the free play option. It showed up in Capcom Classics Copllection but it wasn't there in Taito Legends.

The SNES version of Gradius III had it's tough spots but it was never impossible, so a free play option wasn't needed for the game and it did not have one.

Why Battletoads did not have unlimited continues is just plain wrong. Either Satan himself was working with Rare at the time they made the game or some sick freak just wanted to screw with us all. God only know show many friendships that dumb bike level ruined.

[smokehouse]

The “freeplay” option is why I landed up getting the Midway Treasures disks. The fact of the matter is that arcade game s are designed to be quarter munchers. The games are supposed to be difficult and you are supposed to continue often. Take smash TV for example, this game is close to impossible on the SNES and Genesis due to their limited # of continues. Some games are different but arcade translation should always have the option for unlimited continues.

[Steven]

YAY.

"But it takes away the pure challenge of the game!"

Psst, I don't mind that so much. In fact I dunno if I believe in it, quite frankly. I know what I do believe in, and that's fun. That's a game that I can play and not get grey hair over.

I don't want it to be a cakewalk, but it shouldn't have you wanting to rip the game out and slam it against the wall.

[chrisbid]

freeplay is fine, so long as the score shows that you used continues (you get 1 point, in a game that only scores in multiples of 50 or 100)

[Pantechnicon]

Arcade games should always have infinite continues. An arcade game should keep running as long as someone willing to pump quarters into it is standing there. No, this isn't always the case. Shinobi, for example, has unlimited replays until you get to the final stage. As it was always a long-term goal of mine to beat this game, I was horrified when I eventually attained this final stage, had my three lives sucked up right away, only to be rewarded with a "Game Over" screen . Suddenly this game I spent so many quarters on was suddenly demanding real skill in place of deep pockets. It didn't seem fair.

As for home conversions, I generally think it's right to set a limit to continues, but it would be best if the quantity can be changed by the player to some number short of infinite which reflects a player's proportional skill level.

[ShinobiMan]

I remember speading 12 dollars of my allowance when I was 7 years old on TMNT Turtles In Time at the arcade in order to beat the game.

On the console, the continues were limited if I remember correctly, which made things harder. I still loved the hell out of it, and it made me work that much harder to beat it.

Limited continues to me are what makes a game challenging. Without them, some games just wouldn't be as fun.

[Moo Cow]

Personally, I don't believe in unlimited continues (except in extreem cases, such as Battletoads, Zanac, Contra series, certain fighting games, etc.)
It takes away the experience of beating it!
Now, Contra and Battletoads are fun, but they're waaaay to hard with limited continues.
With Contra, I'd make it unlimited, with Battletoads, I'd make a few of the levels much easier.

[Xexyz]

I'm all for limited continues. Heck, ever since I became a SHMUP whore, I've kept myself to a 1CC policy for a majority of the games I play.

[Slimedog]

I really like the SHUMP trend of increasing the continure limit with additional playtime. The victory isn't handed to me like with unlimited continues, but I don't feel that the lost playtime is wasted since it "earned" me an extra continue for next time. At any rate, I think its slick.

[chrisbid]

I really like the SHUMP trend of increasing the continure limit with additional playtime. The victory isn't handed to me like with unlimited continues, but I don't feel that the lost playtime is wasted since it "earned" me an extra continue for next time. At any rate, I think its slick.

i like that method too

[RegSNES]

I really like the SHUMP trend of increasing the continure limit with additional playtime. The victory isn't handed to me like with unlimited continues, but I don't feel that the lost playtime is wasted since it "earned" me an extra continue for next time. At any rate, I think its slick.

i like that method too

I gotta say, I also like that method. It was used in 3 excellent SHMUPs in recent memory. R-Type Final, Ikaruga, and Gradius V.

I'm glad R-Types let you jack up the continues so you virtually had unlimited. Just tapping the select button gave you all the credits you needed. I still say the original R-Type is the hardest R-Type of all.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I don't see any problem with a game offering infinite credits. You just have to exercise some self control, which is always a good skill to learn. And sometimes when you want to just kick back and play (especially multiplayer when friends are over) infinite continues is nice to have.


...word is bondage...

[christhegamer]

Thyne infynite continues? Why, I doust sayeth yaay!!! :P

[RegSNES]

Smash TV and Total Carnage were im-freaking-possible without unlimted credits on Midway Arcade Treasures 1-2.

Anyone ever play a game called Darius Twin on the SNES? I could avoid most deaths but the last stage was filled with bosses, nothing but bosses. Lose all your ships and that's it, game over. NO CONTINUES AT ALL. Game was so cruel.

[lordnikon]

Quarter/Credit Feeding all comes down to personal control.

Here is how it works:

The gold standard for being able to post a high score is 1 Credit. Meaning 3 lives, zero continues.

If you want to use a code to switch on infinite continues, and credit feed through the entire game for fun, then by all means do this. However your high score in the end will mean nothing in games that compound the score without any identifying characteristic to show how many continues you used. As previously mentioned some titles limit the maximum point score you can receive from an enemy to 100 pts. Then they use the last 2 digits to total how many continues you used.

If you want to challenge yourself, strive towards eventually completying the entire game on 3 lives, and achieving a max high-score.

If you want to just kick back and play through the game from start to finish for fun, then feel free to credit feed.

It only becomes a moral issue when players who credit feed masquerade as being "masters".

[Ed Oscuro]

I like the Atomic Runner approach. Options for 5 to 15 continues, but no more. Infinite continues certainly don't hurt in games like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (GBA anyway), that's for sure. I'd say it depends on what the game is. Something short and score-based like a Contra or Adventure Island game shouldn't need infinite continues, but something like Metroid? Infinite continues via password, plz.