#zettel #gaming sourced from: [[Cave Story]] # Cave Story's Hidden Final Dungeon is One of My Favorite Difficult Levels in Gaming for its Genuine Challenge The Sacred Grounds, final dungeon gauntlet, etc. is one of my favorite "gut-busting" hard levels since, aside from the falling blocks room, everything is very deterministic and skill-based. Only in the falling blocks room are there any truly stochastic events that can create unexpected health drops. Everything else can be done completely flawlessly so long as you're patient and know where to stand. In my most recent, streamed, playthrough, I took a new approach to the level using the Spur and the Nemesis in conjunction, a method I hadn't done before, and I found myself frustrated with the difficulty. However, the moment I switched to solely using the Spur, the muscle memory kicked back in and I was able to get through the level with ease. The only part of this hard level I dislike is the stretch with falling blocks after the first room. This room is almost entirely random and kills what might as well be a perfect final challenge level. ## Related Thoughts: - This is the "Oh you're GOOD at this game? Prove it" challenge that we see in other games like [[Super Mario Galaxy 2]] with Grandmaster Galaxy. Easy games with Hard Optional Levels -> The Final Exam Level - The magic of this is that aside from the Falling Blocks rooms, the entire run is almost entirely deterministic. If you develop the muscle memory, you can beat this dungeon. - man that falling block room sucks so much. - Felt a similar way with [[Castlevania Rondo of Blood]]'s Stages, where I just had to learn them. Develop the muscle memory.