gaming 99 lives or unlimited continues?

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

In a lot of video games, you have lives and continues. For example, take the first two games in the Super Monkey Ball series. The first one has unlimited continues which means you get to play forever, but you get further if you don't continue. In Super Monkey Ball 2, you can use your Play Points to get up to 99 lives, so that you can play for a longer time before you have to continue, and since the levels are easier and having more lives makes it easier to get through and not continue, you can easily get further. I'm not only talking about Super Monkey Ball, I'm talking about every game that has continues and lives. What do you prefer? I personally prefer 99 lives because even though you can't play forever, it takes more deaths to have to continue, where continuing makes it so that you don't get any rewards and even lose stuff.

Edited August 11, 2015 by gamecubeguy214

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,975]

I think unlimited continuing is better, within reason. Unless the levels are insanely long to the point of extreme repetition then I prefer having unlimited continues. IF the levels are incredibly long, then 99 lives is far less tedious. So it depends on the game in question for me.

[Castle Bleck 19,391]

99 lives just seems all-around more pragmatic.

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

I think unlimited continuing is better, within reason. Unless the levels are insanely long to the point of extreme repetition then I prefer having unlimited continues. IF the levels are incredibly long, then 99 lives is far less tedious. So it depends on the game in question for me.

Based on your post, I'm adding ''Depends'' to the poll.

[Smarts 1,623]

I prefer unlimited continues myself, although I don't mind the lives system.

[Celtore 2,770]

If I'm making a rage game, easily unlimited continues. Nothing like forcing the player to try to get through the same jump 300 times. Most cases for me, I'd probably like 99 lives instead. I like being able to practice difficult areas without needing to go all the way back through the entire level.

[NotoriousSMALL 1,984]

I've played Super Monkey Ball but I'm not familiar with what you're describing. (it's been years since I've played it...)

Aren't lives and continues the same thing? They both let you play the game from where you died when you die, don't they? That's literally what continue means, you keep on going.

Edited August 11, 2015 by NotoriousSMALL

[Felix 1,363]

I prefer it like a Zelda game. You have your life meter and when it runs out you get to keep continuing from wherever you died until you beat it. Seems much more efficient to me.

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

I've played Super Monkey Ball but I'm not familiar with what you're describing. (it's been years since I've played it...)

Aren't lives and continues the same thing? They both let you play the game from where you died when you die, don't they? That's literally what continue means, you keep on going.

A continue is continuing the game after you lose all your lives, but if you continue, you don't get as many rewards or you might even lose stuff.

[Dark Horse 12,966]

I prefer unlimited continues. Lives always did seems a bit pointless to me, since a lot of platformer games I played I found it very easy to rack up 99 lives. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro spring to mind. Lives were easy to farm there.

[PoisonClaw 8,166]

Unlimited continues. 

 

In a surprising number of modern games that do include lives, I've found that either the lives are so numerous or easy to acquire they lose all meaning and value, or the game is easy enough that you will never ever come close to getting a game over.

 

Take Mario Galaxy or Catherine's easy/normal mode for instance. The former is so easy I have no idea what the game over screen even looks like and In both these games you can usually get 2-3 lives for every life lost, or in the case of Catherine, you can checkpoint right next to an extra life worth 2-3 lives. I also remember a few areas in Crash Bandicoot 2 where there were several secret areas that you could enter, get 2-3 lives, die and then go back in to get those same lives again, which made extra lives all but pointless.  

[Discordian 6,015]

The lives system is completely outdated. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to just continue endlessly from your last checkpoint until you get to the next one. Or have a hardsave option you can reload from at any point.

[Pastel 7,630]

Unlimited continues seems more challenging, and more fun when you get very far.

[mars 4,863]

I like unlimited continues better. I suck at video games, so I tend to die pretty easily.

[Time Shield 402]

I prefer roguelikes.  One life, no continues.  It puts the stress on and makes you actually care about the loss.

[Megas 27,919]

Unlimited continues. Personally lives are either pointless or a pain

[Side Bird 566]

Unlimited continues. I liked how it was like that in Zelda, you die and go back and have to keep trying.

[Jokuc 8,174]

I really don't understand what you mean with unlimited continues so I can't answer the question :L Could you explain a bit better? I haven't played any of the games you mentioned

[TFarrgon 57]

When you say 99 lives and unlimited continues I see one big difference between the two. When I think of lives, it means having the ability to get right back up and continue moving forward and with unlimited continues, you may not be able to unwillingly lose, but you don't just get right back up, you get teleported back to the last checkpoint you reached. Personally I like unlimited continues more, unlimited is bigger than 99 after all and if I have to back track a little, I don't care. I am a very patient man with my games and redoing some of the stuff again is far better than a potential "Game Over" and starting all over again. 

Edited August 13, 2015 by TFarrgon