So I have RCR:DX on the Vita, and I find the curve of difficulty and in general to be rather spiny.

As it stands, I understand the influences and time when RCR was made. Wave based survival was hot, I Wanna Be The Guy Was hot, Super Meat Boy was hot, and Bit.Trip. was also hot.

Now I've played Runner, IWBTG, and Super Meat Boy. These games and I, we have a mutual understanding that while we understand each other, neither is made for the other. (Read: Not my kind of games.)

So comes the progress though this pixel GTA, and I reach that stage, VHS Death Reel. I've read what the developer had to say about the outcry of people saying it was too hard, and to paraphrase, 'Get gud' isn't what I'd call a valid reply. This was one of the first points where I felt that I'd quit the game. But after a long slog through that terrible Smash TV style level, I eventually completed it.

Then came the fortress of Von Buttnick. Another slog level. After dragging myself through this, I see the game has pulled a sudden genre change to something more in the style of another mindbogglingly hard game, Mach Rider.

Ah. I have a bit of a policy about games that suddenly switch games on me. There's only one game allowed to do that, and its Warioware (with few exceptions.).

Anyway my question is perhaps to put simply: Is RCR too hard in your opinion, or is it a game of actual skill? Because I feel many of these deaths and levels are cheap.

Have played it about 2 years ago. Wasn't able to finish. Last boss with it's instant-kill rockets has DESTROYED me and my psyche. I think I tried eehh.. well about 50-60 times. Sweet Bomber level was also BEYOND frustrating, I have died more than 150 times while trying to finish it. Not my kind of game, not gonna play it ever again.

I heard somewhere that the final boss was made a little easier because of how it was seriously annoying.

I'm guessing that's one of the things the DX version of the game fixed.