dtgreene: I wouldn't call level scaling to be related to handholding, particularly since there are a few games where level scaling can screw you over (Final Fantasy 8 and TES: Oblivion come to mind). I think one would have trouble completing either of those games, or Wizardry 8 (another challenging game with level scaling) for that matter, blind.
Either way level scaling is curse. I used it as example, when game's difficulty is automatically adjusted to player, so he could feel free to ignore actual exploration and world. Initially it as used as means to let player avoid grinding and so he'd always had challenging fights. Which kind of totally defeats the very fun in RPGs.
dtgreene: It's also worth noting that being able to be completed with closed eyes does not mean the game is necessarily easy or poorly designed; in fact, it may be a symptom of excellent sound design. Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been completed blindfolded because the audio design is good enough that one can use audio cues to get through the game.
It was a figure of speech, I am not native English speaker, so perhaps it has some additional meaning in English language. Good thought-out RPGs became a very rare thing on PC, most of them are some watered down hybrids. Nowadays people don't like to explore game mechanics, to take breaks in big dungeons and such, they just want to go though it on the train. Or at least that's how current PC game developers see it. Thanks to gaming gods, that Japanese gaming scene still keeps the old RPG spirit intact :)
