BLOODSTAINED - Koji Igarashi's Newest Project Unveiled

[Koh]

Basically it's like chess: it isn't a bad game just becuse the pieces are confined in a grid.

Highlighting this again

Tight controls doesn't mean giving the character a shitton of controls. It's giving enough controls to be played decently in a way you can predict.

I've finally thought of the words to use for my counter to this, so here goes~

It doesn't matter in regards to games like chess, checkers, or strategy games.  With those games, you literally have all day to sit there and plan each move.  If you leave the game for 3 hours, and come back, the game's state has not changed.

Stiff controls become a problem with real time games.  Games that require quick reflexes, always have continuous action, etc.  Input lag (not to be confused with an attack delay, where the character's winding up an attack, or recovering from just performing one) , awkward physics, tank controls, and etc. can be very detrimental to not only the overall experience, but to the current play of the game to the point the player dies or takes damage when they really shouldn't have. 

With chess, checkers, and the like, you have no fear of this.  There are no enemies actively trying to kill you, or some kind of ticking time bomb going off.  However, in games like Castlevania where you need quick reflexes to survive at all, and have to do a bunch of precise platforming, stiff controls are simply inexcusable, and will likely get you killed. The Medusa Heads and the Death fight on Castlevania 1 are only hard because of the terrible control. It's what we call Fake Difficulty.

Now, this all isn't to say you need a million controls, but rather, controls that keep the player in control of their actions, reflect common sense, and allow for self defense in any situation. This means, denying the ability to attack in midair, for example, not only violates common sense, but also denies self defense.

If you want an example of a game that has perfect control, but is still fairly difficult, look no further than the Contra games. You can shoot exactly like you'd expect to be able to, have full control of your character, and it's still very challenging.