What's the hardest VIP game in your oppinion?

[Slit08]

Hey there,

even though I asked this question in raocow's VIP 3 thread I thought I would create a pll here sicne more people might read this and thus we might end up getting a rather representative number of votes. :)
As the question states: What's the hardest VIP game for you? If you want to you can write the reason for you vote in a message. It's always itneresting to hear why people struggled with a certain hack more than others.

For me my vote has to go to VIP 4.
For me this one has the hardest levels of them all. It starts getting challenging as early as world 1 with the third level that requires carrying a key through an autoscrolling part with net climbing and hitting switches with said key. The first castle isn't particularly easy as well.
World 2 might be on the easier side but the exit to the second star level is very random requiring you to press a combination of buttons.
World 3 has a ghost house that requires lots of luck and a very long and chalenging castle.
World 6 though is where it's at: It's got all time favourites like Hot Beach, Heaven and Hell, Temple of Homing and a very tedious castle elvel.
World 7 is a bit easier again but it has the Toxic Tower level.
Most of the star levels are super challenging, the riding platform level of world 2, the flying level of world 3, the DKC level from world 4 and the athletic level of world 5.
Finally the endgame is really tough as well, especially the VIP 1 Dream Castle which brings back the hardest parts of VIP 1 in one super long castle level and a really tough true final level.

While VIP 3 has some crazy endgame levels it's former worlds are all very well playable with the one or other exception (though the Inaba level from world 5 can be simply passed by flying with a cape, something you cannot do with most of the previously mentioned levels in VIP 4).

[CM30]

They mostly seem to get harder each game, but I'd agree with you that VIP 4 is the hardest title of the series. Lots of annoying levels like Thorn Labyrinth (or whatever) and Trauma Tower, and the Abyss of Death just seems more brutal than most of the other final levels in the series. Requires a lot of quick reactions and kills you near enough immediately if you mess up.

[Sugar]

While VIP 3 has some crazy endgame levels

Essentially huge castle level normal exit, tank level both exits, Bowser's Castle, and the Truth level. Possibly Poison Gas House can count too. Rest of levels in the game are actually fairly easy compared to those. And Inaba level, I guess, but that's because the level is so broken. Compared to other VIPs, it's not that bad, although it's noticeable how those levels are in endgame.

The truth level is definitely the hardest level of VIP1-5 (I do say VIP1-5 for a good reason). Nothing else of VIP1-5 really compares to that, not even Missingno. (I guess it's fair, considering both truth and Missingno. were made by TSC). VIP4 true final level doesn't even try to be as crazy as truth level, it's much more fair than that (and it has two Midway Points at that... yes, they bothered to implement multiple Midway Points specifically for this level). Don't get me wrong, true final level of VIP4 is crazy, but it's nothing compared to the truth level.

However, the hardest level doesn't say much about general difficulty of a game, and in this category VIP4 does really well. VIP3 had... dunno, 4 crazy levels? VIP1 had 9 levels. VIP2 had about 12 levels (but everything else in the game is noticeably very easy). VIP4 loosely I would say has 16 of these (but even outside of those, there are hard levels). VIP5 was noticeably easier and had 7 crazy levels at best (although I was generous here with a definition).

[Bean]

From watching raocow play, VIP4 was the most consistently hard game of the bunch.

[Ashan]

I'm pretty sure Vip4 is the only one I've finished (at the very least, finished without save scumming)
I did it MoltovMarioWorld style, putting savestates down at checkpoints to eliminate the need to farm lives. It got pretty tough, but I don't really know how it compares to the other games in the series.

[lolyoshi]

Where's

VIP6

? I would say that one is the hardest in terms of endgame.

[Slit08]

Where's

VIP6

? I would say that one is the hardest in terms of endgame.

True, but we haven't seen the true final level of that one yet as well as the bosses (though I do hope that Carol will still change his mind and deliver us two amazing costum bosses again just like in VIP 5).

I have to say though that VIP 5 is my favourite VIP so far (might change with VIP 6, but also depends on the fact if we will receive as amazing bosses as in VIP 5) and also the easiest of those and also the one with the best levels. Again VIP 6 is on a good way to beat VIP 5 but for me a few important things are still missing - which would be Carol bosses and a few more levels might not be bad.. is it me or is VIP 6 currently the smallest of them?).

[Sugar]

Where's

VIP6

? I would say that one is the hardest in terms of endgame.

It is, this is the reason why I specifically said VIP1-5. But yes, a spoiler-ed game is likely to be the hardest after it will get released (endgame is ridiculous).

[CM30]

Oh, VIP 6 is certainly a trickier game than usual. Seems like it was designed for experts first and foremost, likely because those are the only people still contributing.

As for carol and custom bosses for the game... it would be interesting, but I suspect he realises that Brutal Mario needs to be done at some point, so much of his effort is probably focused on that. And my own hack too, since he said he'd make some bosses for Mario's Nightmare Quest in an email a while back.

[Slit08]

Oh, VIP 6 is certainly a trickier game than usual. Seems like it was designed for experts first and foremost, likely because those are the only people still contributing.

As for carol and custom bosses for the game... it would be interesting, but I suspect he realises that Brutal Mario needs to be done at some point, so much of his effort is probably focused on that. And my own hack too, since he said he'd make some bosses for Mario's Nightmare Quest in an email a while back.

I think Brutal Mario will be amazing once it is finished. I think there won't be much left from the very barren level design of the old version. If every single level will receive an overhaul like that it'll be one of the best hacks. I just hope that the finished game will wrok, that the ROM will be able to have all the ASM functional. If every level ends up being an ASM fest I wonder if there won't be too many bugs to bother with in the finished version.

Since Carol was working on the final world I wonder if that one is finished now. He wanted to finish it previous autumn. Either he has finished it indeed and is now working on revamping the rest of the game or something happened and progress was slower than anticipated.

As for VIP 6:

Surprisingly there are still some of the wacky levels. The overall level design is way better since there are less filler levels but as I said they are still there. Honestly, I'm not a fan of world 1. Aside from the very first level and the castle it has some very strange levels. The world 2 castle is not a castle, no idea what was happening there as all of the other castles are really great. Oh and that world 6 level were you swim upwards wins the proce for ugliest level.

[aterraformer]

I think Brutal Mario will be amazing once it is finished.

It will never finish.

[CM30]

Don't know about that. Carol seems pretty confident he'll get it done eventually.

[Slit08]

Don't know about that. Carol seems pretty confident he'll get it done eventually.

Yep, the most important thing is to actually finish the final world. After that he can go and revamp all of the old levels. :D