I Wanna Be the Guy!

By: Xander

On: January 13th, 2008

I Wanna Be the Guy is hard. It’s really really hard, and what’s shown in this screenshot is one of the easiest sections of the game. If anyone is curious there are 87 spikes on that one screen, and each will kill you if you even scratch it. Not even a simple death either; You will blow up in a shower of messtacular gibbination. And I love it.

IWBTG is a 2D-Platformer from hell, via Kayin Nasaki, where you play ‘The Kid’ on his Metroidvania-lite quest to become ‘The Guy’, eponymous hero of platformerdom. I say Metroidvania-lite, because unlike many exploratory platformers this lacks any kind of character upgrades, meaning you’re stuck the way you are for the entire game.

It’s actually pretty lengthy even without considering how often you’ll have to repeat screens over and over again. Save points are placed pretty generously throughout if you’re playing on ‘Medium’, but that doesn’t do much to alleviate the frustration. Everything will kill you; Spikes, Moons, Bullets, Fire (Naturally), Blanka, Celings, floors, walls, walls-with-wheels-AND-spikes, Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku (But no shoryuken? Yet..) and heat-seeking apples (Well, they’re more like giant cherries – Kayin).

It’s a game of madness, memorisation and hatred. And I love it. The deathtraps are often-times hilarious, and boss fights are the height of precision and persitence. It’s not perfect, but then it was never meant to be, and any glitches are encouraged to be exploited just for the game breaking the laws of common sense to blow your carcass across the screen in wonderous fury. I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy it, but I can guarantee it’s something you wont be forgetting anytime soon.

There’s a few download mirrors on the site, and for the sake of saving their bandwidth it’s encouraged for you to download the demo version which is smaller (and most players won’t pass the demo area before they lose their minds probably), and saves are compatabile with both versions anyway.

PROTIP: Use ‘S’ to skip cutscenes. Provided you make it to a boss, it’ll save yourself a lot of manly tears.

Posted in Action, Adventure, Highly Recommended, Metroidvanias, Platformers

JW

Insane, got into the second room and died. After that didn’t find out how to complete the first one again. Might try again later… Might.
rz.

i think this is pretty old news. or it is to me atleast. shame, xander, shame.
Constantine

Haven’t seen it on the front page, and poking through the forums only shows it in a ‘Very frustrating games’ thread.
Xander

It’s only about a month old really, and technically still in beta.. but I am pretty ashamed to have not known about it soone, gaah…
Lim-Dul

Back on topic:

OOOooo…k. Next please. :-D
Monothu

This game is brilliant; I beat it just yesterday. Anywho, they aren’t apples, cherries, or chapples. They are delicious fruit. Also, I recommend watching Cloud8745, UltraJman, and PerpetualAscent’s playthroughs of this on Youtube. They are hilarious, save you from the pain of getting caught by one of the game’s numerous “fuck you” traps, and showcase a slew of glitches you can use to give yourself an edge against the game.
Jimbob

Have people tried out Lazrael’s demo for Satan’s Hell Fortress? It looks very similar (not in graphical style, but in number of spikes) and seems to have an emphasis on difficulty, but it’s pure platforming. And fun.

I’ll have to try this out.
Koholint

I found the creator’s playthrough to be very entertaining.
cradmazy

he didnt quote homestar runner for naming the game after their stinkoman joke…
O..O~

At cradmazy- Look at the faq and that will answer your question

When did the masochist platformer genre become so popular?
Victo

Woot! Another platformer to kill myself for!!
CMspice

how do I beat the first level D:
Obscuritan

I’ve seen this a while back, but it’s worth telling others about. It’s not my kind of difficult – I prefer games that are more forgiving and less a matter of memory and timing.
Biggerfish

This game is pure hate. It took me about a month of trying occasionally to get past the first screen, then I found out that you couldn’t get to the bottom.

It’s good, in a sick, evil kind of way.
Splinter of Chaos

CMspice:
You beat the first level by opening you preferred word processor, writing a suicide note, waiting three days until you’re a legal gun owner, and SHOOTING YOURSELF!
http://digitaltools.node3000.com Digital Tools

What I maybe like most is the title of this game “I wanna be the guy!”
cactus

Despite being based on other games, this one and Syobon Action are two of the most creative releases I’ve seen in quite a while. Truly inspirational :)

I just wish I had the patience, skill and time to actually beat them…
squish

IWBTG is an ….. I’d say ok platformer. If finding suprise traps every 2o pixels is your idea of hard then this game is HARD! What saves this game and what keeps you going is the sense of humor, this game had me rolling over every time I found a new trap.
Captain

Sweet Jesus vampire hunter Batman!
This is the single hardest platformer I have ever played…..and I’m hooked…
Daiz

Biggerfish: Actually you can get to the bottom of the first room right at the beginning of the game. But I’d say it’s better to go up.
grabladon

i downloaded this a couple of days ago and LOVE IT! it’s everything i could ask for in a game! sure, the first boss is annoying me right now, but it’s still great!

don’t go to watch any of the playthroughs. figure it out for yourself. it’s more rewarding that way.
meepmeep

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg
OrR

After trying this game I can safely say that I have no desire to ever play it again. I loved watching UltraJMan’s complete playthrough, though, and the creator’s after that. YouTube is full of this! :)
MrMan

FUCK THIS GAME AND THE DEMONS FROM THE DARKEST PITS OF HELL WHO SPAWNED IT!
http://www.mawsoft.com/blog Impossible

This game is hilarious, probably one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. What should be extreme frustration usually turns into laughter because of how ridiculous it is.
Amour

I agree on the hilarious factor of this game. I’m not too far in, but I crave games like this, because I know that with persistence comes victory.

One moment that I found particularly enjoyable is only in one of the first few levels where you’re bouncing around on clouds. So, I navigate spikes and death until I find a nice stable cloud. So, it’s just a jump up, and then another, and then I get a save point. But, as soon as I hit the first of those platforms a spike bar falls from the sky and splats me. I haven’t laughed that hard at a game in ages.
kashwak

hi guys, i need help and i hope you guys can help me, after beating Tyson, and gettin that red ball in the next scene, i cant go any further, i cant operate in with the direction buttons. please help, idk what to do , but i cant stop playing it XD HELP!!!!!!
Kabob34

There are nearly 87 references in this game