Delicious Fruit
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by spawneable
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Creator's Comments:
ActualKale [Creator]
The most influential needle game
[20] Likes
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: 85 85
Nov 12, 2018
91 Reviews:
xva
this game is best described in one word: mess
i played this game on the original, non-speedrun version, which meant i got to experience the authentic and original crimson needle experience. a good chunk of this game is needle of the most painful variety, yet the remainder is pretty good and hard needle; which is quite difficult to pull off at times. maintaining a good balance of difficulty and quality is often where games like this meet their undoing. this game often completely fails at this, with random difficulty spikes all throughout. usually this isn’t too much of a problem, however this game’s difficulty spikes are very noticeable and hard to overlook. 80 and 92 are the screens that come to mind first, as i personally found those two screens the hardest screens in the entire game.
the 80s are likely the best part of this game, with the archfoe screens being the most fun; also 86. 90s are definitely something else though. early game is very fun, however deceiving - as the game’s early quality is not representative of its later rooms, as they will get progressively more and more painful and difficult. something about this game feels painful - maybe the word “crimson” has an effect here, meaning a deep, dark red color. red, being the color of blood, is also often associated with pain or hurt. i may be reading too deep into it actually
not recommended, you will suffer
[2] Likes
i played this game on the original, non-speedrun version, which meant i got to experience the authentic and original crimson needle experience. a good chunk of this game is needle of the most painful variety, yet the remainder is pretty good and hard needle; which is quite difficult to pull off at times. maintaining a good balance of difficulty and quality is often where games like this meet their undoing. this game often completely fails at this, with random difficulty spikes all throughout. usually this isn’t too much of a problem, however this game’s difficulty spikes are very noticeable and hard to overlook. 80 and 92 are the screens that come to mind first, as i personally found those two screens the hardest screens in the entire game.
the 80s are likely the best part of this game, with the archfoe screens being the most fun; also 86. 90s are definitely something else though. early game is very fun, however deceiving - as the game’s early quality is not representative of its later rooms, as they will get progressively more and more painful and difficult. something about this game feels painful - maybe the word “crimson” has an effect here, meaning a deep, dark red color. red, being the color of blood, is also often associated with pain or hurt. i may be reading too deep into it actually
not recommended, you will suffer
Rating: 3.5 35
Difficulty: 85 85
Jul 6, 2024
YaBoiMarcAntony
Rating based on non-speedrun version. After around the 60s you basically say goodbye to fun saves - some time in the 80s, you say goodbye to fun jumps for the most part. There are exceptions, but not enough. I can't speak to it, but I recall Kale commenting on how Hiddow felt frustrated by Crimson Needle due to it seeming to him to have a focus entirely on difficulty and not on being any fun to play. As far as I'm concerned, that is pretty much the best assessment of this game I've heard.
Funny thing is, I think you absolutely can put some focus on difficulty while also keeping some fun in the mix. In my eyes, Magnificent Stumble is a wondrous game that executes high level platforming on a consistently excellent level, to compare to Hiddow's work. Why does Crimson Needle fail? Because part of its difficulty relies specifically on using maneuvers that are uncomfortable or dissatisfying to execute as one of its core methods of heightening difficulty. While this may stand out as a watershed occurrence (a stolen phrase, but simply the best one for this game), it is one that also comes across to me as a collection of needle's worst qualities in the distant past.
Nevertheless, it's not all bad. As said, the problems begin with about the 60s, and after that they become downright untenable, but there are the bits and pieces of quality here and there. CN2 amazingly chooses ALL of the best screens from this back half for its needle rush, though it leaves behind floor 100 which is a fairly enjoyable save on the tougher side that utilizes well the older design philosophies which ran rampant in needle. All the same, it's a bit simple compared to some contemporaries, but that is no real negative mark on the test for me. And hell, a lot of what you play up to the 50s is itself fairly good too. Kale at this time did have something of an eye for needle design, he just became far too preoccupied with making the game more difficult and did not quite understand how to do this in a satisfying way.
My recommendation? Leave the game behind right about the time you get to the 60s, but that is just my experience.
Funny thing is, I think you absolutely can put some focus on difficulty while also keeping some fun in the mix. In my eyes, Magnificent Stumble is a wondrous game that executes high level platforming on a consistently excellent level, to compare to Hiddow's work. Why does Crimson Needle fail? Because part of its difficulty relies specifically on using maneuvers that are uncomfortable or dissatisfying to execute as one of its core methods of heightening difficulty. While this may stand out as a watershed occurrence (a stolen phrase, but simply the best one for this game), it is one that also comes across to me as a collection of needle's worst qualities in the distant past.
Nevertheless, it's not all bad. As said, the problems begin with about the 60s, and after that they become downright untenable, but there are the bits and pieces of quality here and there. CN2 amazingly chooses ALL of the best screens from this back half for its needle rush, though it leaves behind floor 100 which is a fairly enjoyable save on the tougher side that utilizes well the older design philosophies which ran rampant in needle. All the same, it's a bit simple compared to some contemporaries, but that is no real negative mark on the test for me. And hell, a lot of what you play up to the 50s is itself fairly good too. Kale at this time did have something of an eye for needle design, he just became far too preoccupied with making the game more difficult and did not quite understand how to do this in a satisfying way.
My recommendation? Leave the game behind right about the time you get to the 60s, but that is just my experience.
Tagged as: Needle
[2] Likes
Rating: 4.5 45
Difficulty: 85 85
Jan 21, 2024
cLOUDDEAD
the reason your favourite needle game exists
[2] Likes
Rating: 9.7 97
Difficulty: 75 75
Jul 12, 2022
popop614
went from based to cringe to based to cringe to based again
then to 100f
[2] Likes
then to 100f
Rating: 7.0 70
Difficulty: 84 84
May 29, 2021