I've only played the first couple of stages. It hasn't drawn me in yet, but I'm definitely going to give it more time.

I'll definitely pick this up at some point, based on the cult hype. Most likely in the near future, to get another $5 eShop card from the Digital Deluxe promotion.

Andrew, the game doesn't tell you when you've cleared a level 100%, but unless you've taken two completely different paths through a level, you can assume you're not done with it/will have to come back later when you get a new power-up.

Some paths are definitely tougher than others. You're encouraged to try all the levels to find whatever you can (health power-ups, bottles for potions, talismans) and try again one of those difficult paths/bosses.

God damn I hate these obtuse progression mechanics in games. Just let me enjoy playing without trying to figure out what the F is going on.

@Zero

I don't see the problem. It's similar to Mega Man X progression. A level is too hard? Visit various levels, gain health upgrades, try again. Or get to a boss, get new weapon, try that weapon against other bosses.

Exact same thing.

The only difference is that basically every level in Demon's Crest is 2 levels in 1.

It's not very clear which levels I have and haven't gotten through though, so I keep ending up going back to levels I have already been to, and since my memory is horrible, playing through them again just to realize I already did. It's also not very clear from the map what level is what, so I often have to enter it to remind myself which level it is again. And it's not initially clear which levels I have finished twice, if any (nor would I have even known that was a thing if you didn't tell me.)

It's not necessarily WRONG to build a game like this, but it is confusing and doesn't really fit what I want from games nowadays.

Press start when hovering over the map. The levels are clearly labeled. You can even align yourself with one while in that view.

I don't think remembering which level you've finished twice is a problem for most people. I think it's fairly easy to see that, for instance, there's water in the town level, so you should go back to it once you have the Water crest. It's real basic stuff.

Do you see what you have and haven't done in this secret press start view? Maybe you think most people have no trouble keeping track, but most games like this let you know what you have and haven't done for a reason.

It's not a secret view. It's in the manual.

No, it doesn't tell you what you have and haven't done, but given the game has like 8 stages, only 5 of which are accessible at the beginning, I don't think "keeping track" is a serious issue for most people. Again, it's like Mega Man X. Which makes sense, since it's mostly made by the same people.

It sucks to hear you're struggling with it, but in my opinion, revisiting a stage and unexpectedly finding a new secret is part of the fun of this game.

So I got it! Played for maybe two hours already. It was pretty confusing at first, especially since every level after the first just sort of wrecks you until you get the Buster fire upgrade so you can actually attack things at a decent rate. I am not too proud to admit I used some restore points to save time on replaying through stuff.

That said, I've now beaten the first(?) four stages, some of them several times to get extra upgrades. I have one full row of health, plus one more. Two magic thingies, two bottles (maybe three?) and a Skull talisman, which if I understand right gets me more money from drops?

Anyway, after a rough start, I'm enjoying it a good bit.

So, in order to get the True Ending, apparently I have to find every single upgrade? I'm missing one health upgrade and one magic scroll thingy, and I've gone through every stage several times. It's getting old. Maybe I'll just look up a password with everything unlocked.

I repurchased this game on the 3DS vc and am enjoying it a lot more than I did on Wii U (That's probably a timing thing though.) It's great.

@pokepal148

All things are better on 3DS!

This is a good game for sure.

I'm kind of torn about grabbing it, because I want VC stuff on the Switch!

3DS purchases might carry over, though...

It looks fantastic in pixel perfect mode, or whatever it's called, on 3DS. Plays great, too, since the shoulder buttons aren't used, and the circle pad works just fine.

Your 3DS is more portable than the Switch, Anand. Do it.

@Guillaume
Damn you, Gui!!

I did it.

I'm glad that it plays well with the circle pad, too, because nuts to that D-Pad! (No offense, Grant.)

Now, to start up Gargoyle's Quest...