Once upon a time, video games used to be difficult. Now, I’m
not talking about difficult in terms of faulty controls or infuriating design.
I’m talking about the fact that gameplay used to actually be a challenge. Let’s
face it, today’s gamers are soft because today’s games are too easy. (With the possible
exception of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls) Gone are the days when you had to
spend hours trying to master a game, progressing inch by slow inch through an
area as hordes of enemies tried to end your character’s puny existence,
replaced with games that baby you, and the only danger is that you might accidentally
fall to your death. Strategy and intricacy have taken a back seat to beautiful
graphics and brute force, and even when you beat a game, it doesn’t seem to
mean as much because you didn’t really have to try too hard. So let’s take a
look back at one of the hardest games I recall from my childhood, Jet Force
Gemini.
