So I finished Bayonetta and an odd thing happened . . . **Spoilers**

[SHMUPGurus]

I think games are getting easy today, and as much as I don't want to say this, it's really for the best.

Developers at the time used cheap tricks to get the most time out of their short games. Most of these cheap tricks had you restart the whole game because you wouldn't be fully powered up and it makes the later levels seem next to impossible (like in Gradius for example, especially to new players). Sometimes, they would make impossible spawn points at certain parts of a level after you die, and even worse...!

Now, games are built so you can at least try all the things the game has to offer. I think it's a good thing, and they're not filled with just some cheap ass design decisions. I've said it and I'll say it again, difficulty levels are great ways to satisfy many! I'm not talking about changing a few variables that make enemies throw more grenades in a minute or stuff like that. Things that actually change the gameplay, like in Bionic Commando Rearmed, where enemies get new move patterns and the levels change and you need to adapt your playstyle to all these innovative new things. One thing I like in some Konami games is that they make the game end at that one final boss... but when you play an harder difficulty level, there's always another extra form of the final boss that blows you away! That feeling is probably the best out there.