Vidcapping woes + Quick Castlevania:LoI Review

[roushimsx]

I noticed my Mark of Kri and Killzone images didn't look too hot but I couldn't really place my finger on why...until today. I was playing Lament of Innocence and DScaler was shitting out some video subsystem errors or some such, so I decided to shut it down, fire it back up, and tick options until I figured it out.

While ticking options, I realized that I still had it to read over the Composite input instead of the SVideo input (I switched it to Composite for my Saturn when I was shooting some screencaps of Panzer Dragoon Saga)

Toggled it back and it's like night and day :\

Computers = 1
Me = 0

composite 01:


svideo 01 (other side of the room)


composite 02 (title screen):

svideo02 (title screen):


composite 03 (Drawbridge):

svideo 03 (Drawbridge):


Quick review of the game:
Starts off dull and directionless as you try to hash out a way through the game. You're given the choice of 5 levels that you can play in any order, and each one contains plenty of backtracking. None of the levels require you to beat any of the other levels, though there's hidden items about that can unlock secret doors in other parts of the mansion. After completing all 5 levels you unlock a 6th level that leads you up to your final battle.

A lot of classic Castlevania staples are here and it does a really nice job of bringing them to life in ways the Castlevania 64 never could (let's face it, the N64 was a woefully underpowered system). Unfortunatly, the game just feels a little stale, as if it's all stuff you've done before...the only real driving reason to finish off the game is to find out the full reason of why the Belmon clan is dedicated to hunting the night.

The soundtrack is amazing. Fucking amazing. Hands down the best part of the game.

Losing the experience building from NitM/SotN and its children was a sad loss, as i loved making my character a little minigod, but it did help bring it back to its roots. Camera control was pretty good overall...perspectives were pretty easy to get used to and there were only a few points where I thought, "Jesus fucking christ, I wish they gave me control of the fucking camera". Jumping was nowhere near the pain that it was in Castlevania 64.

Overall, I'd say that it made the translation to 3d much better than Metroid did, though this is (more or less) the third attempt whereas Metroid has only had two chances to get it right (and somehow screwed it up both times, way to go Retro!). For $20 new? Sure, get it. You'll get your $$'s worth out of the music alone, and if you're willing to spend the hour or so it takes to get into the game, you'll find it a rather enjoyable romp.

Took me about 7 hours and 14 minutes to beat the game, but I've still got a little left to explore and an unlocked character to play through with.

[sethsez]

Overall, I'd say that it made the translation to 3d much better than Metroid did, though this is (more or less) the third attempt whereas Metroid has only had two chances to get it right (and somehow screwed it up both times, way to go Retro!).

I didn't know it was possible for me to disagree with a statement this much until now.

Oh, and LoI is a third-rate Devil May Cry ripoff with some Castlevania-isms tacked on. The soundtrack (which is fantastic) is the only thing that doesn't have something blatantly poor about it.

[Gydocker45]

Overall, I'd say that it made the translation to 3d much better than Metroid did, though this is (more or less) the third attempt whereas Metroid has only had two chances to get it right (and somehow screwed it up both times, way to go Retro!).

I didn't know it was possible for me to disagree with a statement this much until now.

Oh, and LoI is a third-rate Devil May Cry ripoff with some Castlevania-isms tacked on. The soundtrack (which is fantastic) is the only thing that doesn't have something blatantly poor about it.

I concur with sethsez. Also Metroid Prime is a much better game than this. I really tried to like LOI but I came away bored and unimpressed. Like sethsez said, the music was the only good thing about the game. Hopefully the next one will be
much better, but right now it's not on my pre-order list because of the bad taste LOI left. I'm definitely waiting for the reviews before I buy the sequel.

[Dartagnan1083]

I personally enjoyed LoI enough to beat it twice.
The battle system takes a little getting used to, but mixing and combining combos makes for some really fun battles. It also feels much better if you try and see it as a classic castlevania update rather than a metroid-vania.

However, I must also agree with the others in that Metroid Prime was a far better game.

[sethsez]

It also feels much better if you try and see it as a classic castlevania update rather than a metroid-vania.

The problem is that those classic Castlevanias had great level design. That was what made them so fun. In LoI, about 95% of the game is either a repeated hallway or a repeated square room (possibly with different textures than the one before... probably not, though).

Really, every major game in this genre (Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Rygar, God of War, you name it) is a better overall game, despite whatever faults they may have. LoI is just able to coast by on its legacy.

[Dartagnan1083]

True...
but somewhere along the line I got lost in the combat, graphics, and music.

I didn't really mind the long hallways, and repetitive rooms.
There was plenty of room for improvement, but I was easily able to get lost in the game and stop caring. I did however need to take breaks between levels. So it was never completely ZEN.

It also wasn't nearly as boring as the 16bit renditions of the franchise. . .but let's not pour lye into that wound again

[BrianC]

Umm. I haven't played the N64 Castlevanias, but I don't think them turning out much different from other Castlevania games has anything to do with the hardware. The N64 is hard to develop for and has limitations, but underpowered it was not. Some games look almost as good as Dreamcast games.

[BUHA]

BrianC, you are crazy

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Some games look almost as good as Dreamcast games.

Here's the UFO version: "Some Dreamcast games look almost as bad as N64 games."

[BrianC]

Some games look almost as good as Dreamcast games.

Here's the UFO version: "Some Dreamcast games look almost as bad as N64 games."

Another smart-alceky comment? Seriously, one person called me crazy and another tries to be "clever", but nobody offers real proof that the N64 is underpowered. Seriously man, please try to back up your info with facts. Snide comments prove nothing.

But, seriously, why the sinde remarks? You guys always talk about me disrespecting your opinion, but always make remarks when people defend systems. But, all I said is that some N64 games look almost as good as DC games and that it isn't underpowered. Seriously, some FPS games had some really slick textures (though I do admit that many games with the better textures do have framerate issues and that despite looking almost as good as DC IMO, running as good would be a whole different issue). The system is underpowered compared to the PS2 and DC, but that's an unfair comparison. But, the N64 does have limitations that the Saturn and PSX don't have.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I love being smart.

Edit: ah, so now you come up with some evidence after calling me smart (thanks for that) and not offering any evidence yourself. I won't let you get smarter than me. I think the PS2 graphics are just as good as the PS3's. Minus the anti-aliasing, gazillion polygons, and bumpy textures, the PS3 is just a PS2 in a PCE case with a batarang controller.

Minus the million polygons, clear textures, and blazing frame rate, the Dreamcast is just a N64 with a barely-better looking design. Of course, the N64 is underpowered when compared to the Dreamcast, but that didn't stop me from comparing the N64 to the Dreamcast in the first place!

[BrianC]

So does LoI have any traps like the classic castlevanias?

[Specineff]

Roushi, what are you using to capture the video? I have a Pinnacle Systems Analog board, and regardless of what I input into it, it ends up looking like ass.

[roushimsx]

Roushi, what are you using to capture the video? I have a Pinnacle Systems Analog board, and regardless of what I input into it, it ends up looking like ass.

Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP Deluxe and DScaler, though for the actual video capturing I use Winfast PVR straight from Leadtek's site. For video capturing purposes it's quite nice, but when I like the visual quality of DScaler a good bit more for when I'm just generally playing.

[Dartagnan1083]

So does LoI have any traps like the classic castlevanias?

There are a few similar obstacles (swinging blades)...and whip swinging makes a return (although in a much simpler form). Skull Pillars must now be navigated around in an odd puzzle-like grid (limited to a few rooms). There's some platforming to be done, but nothing too complex (and some is a little annoying).

But as for TRAPS in the traditional definition.
not really.

[PFG 9000]

So does LoI have any traps like the classic castlevanias?

Like Dartagnan mentioned, the classic platformey trap sections aren't too common in LoI, but then, it really depends on just what you're looking for in a "trap." There are too rooms in the game with truly bottomless pits, but falling into one just tosses you back to the beginning of the room with no other penalty. There're several rooms with falling/crushing spike things that you'll need to navigate, and these get extremely difficult (but always fair) in Crazy Mode, i.e. Super-Hard Mode. And there are also a few sections that have poles which you can sorta swing from with your whip a la Super CV4. There are some rooms that have spikes coming up from the floor that you'll have to avoid, and others with strange spike-creature things that rush up underneath you if you step on them. All in all, there is some platforming/trap navigation, but the focus of the action is far and away on combat more than platforming. All these platforming parts make up 10% of the game at the most.

As for the Metroid/CV 3D transition, I would agree that Metroid Prime is a better game overall than LoI, but I think Prime lost 85% of what was Metroid in the transition. While LoI may not be a fantastic game, it's certainly decent, and very true to the CV series. But Prime dumps the whole "where the heck am I supposed to go next?" pursuit, and (most importantly, IMhO) loses the horrible feeling of being lost under miles of rock. So much of Prime takes place on or near the planet's surface, that it feels almost completely un-Metroid to me. I'll take the original, Metroid II, or Super rather than Prime or Echoes any day.

[sethsez]

I think your description fits Echoes, but not Prime. Assuming you turn off the hint system as soon as possible at any rate.

Echoes was an embarassment.

[PFG 9000]

I think your description fits Echoes, but not Prime. Assuming you turn off the hint system as soon as possible at any rate.

Echoes was an embarassment.

True, but I evaluate games based on their default set up (apart from control configuration). If a game's default difficulty is rock-hard, I consider it to be a difficult game, even if I can make it easier by switching to the "I'm a Wimp" difficulty setting. None of the earlier Metroids offered a hint system, and this had an important impact on their gameplay.

On a different note, I hate how some people insist LoI is a DMC ripoff. I've played through both games completely (though I never played through Dante Must Die mode of DMC), so I think I'm reasonably equipped to compare them. (Yes, I'm sure many of the LoI haters are equally well-equipped.)

I think they're really far enough removed that you can't call LoI a DMC ripoff. Every single element (save one - see below) that LoI has in common with DMC is inherent in the CV series itself, and thus if LoI is a DMC ripoff, then DMC is far, far more a CV ripoff. The only thing that LoI shares with DMC that is NOT inherent in CV is the combo system, and LoI's is far more intricate than DMC's, IMhO.

Devil May Cry's basic gameplay consisted of normal attacks, special attacks, and hidden combos, none of which were essential to success in the game. LoI's basic gameplay IS a combo system, and its combos are an absolute necessity in the later areas. LoI is non-linear, DMC is very linear. Item hunting plays a huge part in LoI, but in DMC, items are little more than rewards for reaching the end of an area, defeating a boss, or collecting enough orbs. In LoI, it is highly unlikely that you will find every item on your first playthrough, in fact I've known several people to play through the game without finding most of the major items and hidden bosses. I honestly don't understand how anybody can give LoI an honest chance and then declare it to be a "third rate DMC ripoff." To each his own, I suppose.

For the record, I think DMC is a top-notch game, and I certainly don't believe it to be a CV ripoff. And I'll readily admit that LoI has some major flaws, namely the flatness of the level structure and the repetitive rooms. And while that does detract from my enjoyment of the game, I find level design and appearance to be only two of many important elements in game design.

[BrianC]

Sometimes games are far better without using their default setup. Metroid Prime, Blazing Lazers, Metroid Zero Mission, Fire Shark, and a few others are much better when not played at their defaults (though the defaults have to be used in Zero Mission before playing the hard mode). Personally, I feel that all setups should be evaluated in a review.

[PFG 9000]

I agree completely, but I still judge a game based on its defaults.

Example: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is extremely easy if you make use of the many, many advantages the game affords you. But you can make it fairly difficult by limiting the equipment, attacks, paths, and spells you allow yourself to make use of. None of that changes the fact that it's a rediculously easy game (and one of my favorites).

[sethsez]

But that's different. Metroid Prime gives you the option to turn off hints in a menu right at the beginning. If they were required and you had to look away whenever they popped up, the comparison would make more sense. But turning on hard mode and artificially crippling yourself to make the game harder are two different things.

I see no point in judging a game based on its default settings unless it's an arcade machine, which players have no control over. Settings can be changed because the developers know some people won't like certain things. If you think a game is too easy, play on hard mode. If you think it holds your hand, turn off hints. If you hate pounding a button in a shmup, turn on auto-fire. If you think text moves to slowly in an RPG, turn the message speed up. If you want to use the R button to shoot in Gradius III, then by God, you can make the R button shoot. That's why settings exist.

[PFG 9000]

The default settings are the "normal" settings for a game to be played on. If this is inaccurate, then why is the default difficulty setting often labeled "normal?" This is why I judge a game by these settings.

Even if I disregard the Hints feature of Prime, it still has an atmosphere completely different from that of the first three Metroids. Too many areas are either outdoors or close to the surface, and too many of those areas that ARE deeper underground are too large to provide the claustrophobic Metroid feeling. The whole "scan everything" part of the game is completely foreign to Metroid as well. I always figured it was supposed to tie into the Scan Visor upgrade of Super Metroid, but that feature was integrated into the general gameplay in a much more fluid manner, IMO. You could scan a whole room in a matter of seconds, but more importantly, you didn't really need to. If you had played through the first two Metroid games before Super, you knew where to look for many of the secrets just by the look of a certain wall, and you could confirm it with the Scan Visor before wasting a Super Missile or Power Bomb. Scanning in Prime takes up a significant amount of gametime, and I thought it really interrupted the flow of the game. I agree that Prime is a well made game. I just don't think it's a good Metroid game.

[sethsez]

The default settings are the "normal" settings for a game to be played on. If this is inaccurate, then why is the default difficulty setting often labeled "normal?" This is why I judge a game by these settings.

Then why do you think the other settings exist? For show? If you don't like normal, you have the option to change it. Judging a game based on something that is easily changable makes no sense. It's like complaining that a game doesn't have 5.1 sound because it defaults to stereo in the options menu even though 5.1 is supported, or complaining that a game with brightness and contrast control is too dark. If you weren't meant to have the choice of playing the game on an easier or harder difficulty, it wouldn't have been included.

Even if I disregard the Hints feature of Prime, it still has an atmosphere completely different from that of the first three Metroids. Too many areas are either outdoors or close to the surface, and too many of those areas that ARE deeper underground are too large to provide the claustrophobic Metroid feeling. The whole "scan everything" part of the game is completely foreign to Metroid as well. I always figured it was supposed to tie into the Scan Visor upgrade of Super Metroid, but that feature was integrated into the general gameplay in a much more fluid manner, IMO. You could scan a whole room in a matter of seconds, but more importantly, you didn't really need to. If you had played through the first two Metroid games before Super, you knew where to look for many of the secrets just by the look of a certain wall, and you could confirm it with the Scan Visor before wasting a Super Missile or Power Bomb. Scanning in Prime takes up a significant amount of gametime, and I thought it really interrupted the flow of the game. I agree that Prime is a well made game. I just don't think it's a good Metroid game.

You know, I remember when Super Metroid first came out, a bunch of my friends didn't like it, and even I thought it was a bit iffy.

You know why?

It had the audacity to include a map.

Is there any better way to kill Metroid than with a map? I mean, Metroid had always been about exploring huge, black caverns and finding your way around by yourself. Then Super Metroid came along and pissed all over tradition. Not only did it include a map, the caverns you explored often weren't even dark! They were colorful, bright, animated... what happened to the traditional Metroid darkness? Talk about killing the atmosphere. And the X-ray visor? Man, as if it hadn't been neutered enough, now there was an item to show you hidden passages and breakable blocks? That did it, it was a good game, but not nearly the game Metroid was. All the mystery was gone... now the game was brightly lit, with a map to show you around and an item to show you all the secrets.

Of course, now many people back on that game as if it was the only Metroid game to ever exist. Everything before it was a trial run, and everything after wasn't true enough. Nobody complains that the map ruined it anymore. Nobody thinks the x-ray visor was a boneheaded move. Nobody thinks the graphics are an embarrassment to the series... quite the opposite, really.

So, yeah. I think Prime is a great Metroid game. However, just like Metroid, Metroid II and Super Metroid, it has its own unique identity within the series. Those three games looked, played and felt different from each other, and Prime is no exception, but I defintiely disagree that it doesn't feel like a Metroid.

[Ataru]

the only metroid games I've played extensively are Metroid 2, Metroid Fusion, and Metroid Prime.

Using 2 as my reference for what a "real" metroid game is, Prime feels more Metroid-y to me than Fusion did. Too much hand holding in Fusion.

[PFG 9000]

Then why do you think the other settings exist? For show? If you don't like normal, you have the option to change it. Judging a game based on something that is easily changable makes no sense. It's like complaining that a game doesn't have 5.1 sound because it defaults to stereo in the options menu even though 5.1 is supported, or complaining that a game with brightness and contrast control is too dark. If you weren't meant to have the choice of playing the game on an easier or harder difficulty, it wouldn't have been included.

Obviously the other settings exist to give you the option of configuring a game to your liking. Nobody ever denied this. But that doesn't mean you should judge the game by the settings you configure it to. If you put a game on the easiest setting, would you be justified in accusing the game of being too easy?

Your example of 5.1 sound is rather invalid, as somebody who says that a 5.1-supporting title doesn't support 5.1 is clearly defying blatant logic. I'm not saying "A weakness of Metroid Prime is that it forces you to see where the next goal is," because it doesn't. That's the default option. You have to actively turn off the hints function. Zero Mission gives you a reward for completing the game on hard mode with less than 15% of the possible items - an extremely difficult task. But the game itself, played under the default settings, is still ridiculously easy (especially compared with the original version, but let's not go there), and therefore I consider it an easy game.

Gradius IV is fairly easy under the "Easiest" difficulty level, but it's got a very balanced challenge level under "Medium" difficulty (which happens to be the default as well), and therefore I don't consider it an easy game. In another topic here, some people criticized R-Type Final for being too empty. Another member here replied back that you can fill up those empty spaces by changing the difficulty to "Bydo" - the toughest setting. But that doesn't change the fact that the game has a very empty feel, and apparently the majority of members involved in the discussion here agree.

Doom on the PC has some very dark areas, and these were intentionally programmed to enhance the puzzle element in some areas, as well as to make the game more challenging and frightening. But you can fix this "problem" easily by going to the game's settings menu and turning up your gamma settings. But that completely destroys the intended gameplay. You would be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks the original Doom didn't have dark areas, even though you can make it not have dark areas by messing with the gamma.

I agree that the map in Super did kill off a good deal of the "hopelessly lost" part of the first two Metroids. The X-Ray Visor doesn't come in until late in the game, when you've been through most of the areas and had a chance to find the secrets out the hard way, so I don't have much of a problem with that. I also think Super Metroid had plenty of dark areas. Just because you can see the back wall of most of the passages, it still isn't a bright game at all. Either way, it still gives me that claustrophobic feeling like I'm far below the surface of some weird alien planet, and this feeling is extremely important to me in my experience of the series. I also agree that Fusion isn't very Metroidish, though I do like the game more than many Metroid fans seem to. The constant computer directives detract an enormous amount from the exploratory element of the series. But Fusion hadn't entered into this discussion until now, so I didn't feel the need to address it.

The original Metroid was one of the first NES games I saw and played back in the 80's. I didn't play Metroid II and Super Metroid until several years after they had been released, when Super had already achieved its legendary status. So it's very possible that my experience of it is skewed. However I think that once again, most long-term Metroid fans consider Super to be very faithful to the Metroid formula.

[sethsez]

Obviously the other settings exist to give you the option of configuring a game to your liking. Nobody ever denied this. But that doesn't mean you should judge the game by the settings you configure it to. If you put a game on the easiest setting, would you be justified in accusing the game of being too easy?

No, I wouldn't, because I'd have the option to change it. If I find the game too hard on normal, I might set it to easy. If I find the game too easy on normal, I might set it to hard. If I find it just right on normal, I'll leave it there. If I left the game on easy and then complained it was too easy, I'd be stupid because I have the option of changing that. Likewise, if I leave the game on normal and complain it's too easy, I'd be stupid because I could just switch it to hard. If there's a braindead fix for a "problem" included right in the game that takes two seconds to change, it's not a problem unless you make it one. You might choose to play the game on normal and then complain that it's too easy, but that's not the game's fault... it gave you the choice.

Your example of 5.1 sound is rather invalid, as somebody who says that a 5.1-supporting title doesn't support 5.1 is clearly defying blatant logic.

But how is it different from what you're saying? If you complain that a game is too easy when there's an option to make it harder right in the menu screen, then you're ignoring something blatant that fixes your complaint. It doesn't require you to play the game differently or make up aritificial challenges for yourself, it just requires you to change a single option.

I'm not saying "A weakness of Metroid Prime is that it forces you to see where the next goal is," because it doesn't. That's the default option. You have to actively turn off the hints function.

And it takes three seconds to do so right at the start of the game, so to me it seems like a ridiculous complaint. Much like the 5.1 example... if you don't like the default setting, change it. Simple and easy.

Doom on the PC has some very dark areas, and these were intentionally programmed to enhance the puzzle element in some areas, as well as to make the game more challenging and frightening. But you can fix this "problem" easily by going to the game's settings menu and turning up your gamma settings. But that completely destroys the intended gameplay. You would be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks the original Doom didn't have dark areas, even though you can make it not have dark areas by messing with the gamma.

Different monitors have different gamma settings and lighting conditions. As such, most games with dark areas include gamma control out of necessity... there's no way the developers can predict the lighting conditions and monitors that everyone is going to be using. With that said, most games are developed with this in mind, so areas that are supposed to be dark are still dark (crank the gamma as high as you want in Doom, if the lights go out in-game you still won't see shit, by design).

I agree that the map in Super did kill off a good deal of the "hopelessly lost" part of the first two Metroids. The X-Ray Visor doesn't come in until late in the game, when you've been through most of the areas and had a chance to find the secrets out the hard way, so I don't have much of a problem with that. I also think Super Metroid had plenty of dark areas. Just because you can see the back wall of most of the passages, it still isn't a bright game at all. Either way, it still gives me that claustrophobic feeling like I'm far below the surface of some weird alien planet, and this feeling is extremely important to me in my experience of the series.

And my point is that, at the time, there were those who felt otherwise (you can still find some of them scattered here and there on Metroid boards). However, the vast majority felt it managed to live up to the series and retain the atmosphere despite the more colorful graphics, the x-ray visor, and the map. Likewise, most people feel the same about Prime, despite the scanning and the focus on more above ground areas. I personally always felt that Metroid was more about the feeling of loneliness than claustrophobia, and in that regard Prime succeeds with flying colors.

The original Metroid was one of the first NES games I saw and played back in the 80's. I didn't play Metroid II and Super Metroid until several years after they had been released, when Super had already achieved its legendary status. So it's very possible that my experience of it is skewed. However I think that once again, most long-term Metroid fans consider Super to be very faithful to the Metroid formula.

Most long-term Metroid fans were also extremely pleased with Prime as well. The speed-running community certainly accepted it with wide open arms.

[PFG 9000]

Fair enough: I appeal to the Metroid community on Super, and you do so on Prime. I suppose the claustrophobia vs. loneliness issue boils down to personal interpretation on the series.

What about arcade Gradius III for the difficulty issue? It has a difficulty option, and the PS2 version even makes things extremely easy (on the first four levels, at least) with an additional play mode. Yet just about everybody agrees that it's too difficult a game.

As for Doom, even in the pitch-black areas, you can see in the dark quite capably by turning your gamma settings near the max. Monitors differ, but not anywhere near the extremes that the in-game gamma adjustments allow for. Supposing you would need to turn your settings to one extreme or the other just to see normally, then it is certainly time to buy a new monitor, as yours is broken. And you can't tell me ID Software designed Doom to accomodate broken monitors.

[sethsez]

Arcade games are a different beast, because individual players don't have control of the setties, so the defaults have to be balanced. However, with Gradius III on the PS2, I do think people are being ridiculous... if you find it too hard to be fun, you can either complain about the game, or turn the setting down a few notches to the point where it's actually enjoyable. Why people refuse to do the latter baffles me... if I buy a game, I want to enjoy it, not suffer it. Though personally, I enjoy playing Gradius III at the defaults, so there you go.

As for Doom, I guess I don't know what areas you're talking about. In E1M3, for example, getting the blue key shuts off the lights, and no gamma adjustments will make them come back on. However, it's been a long time since I played the original .exes. But if I found that made the game too easy, I'd just turn the gamma down... much like a difficulty adjustment. Though I will say that monitors can vary that much... I had to make some major gamma adjustments to the Silent Hill games when I got my new TV, because it was so much darker than my old one (which was far too bright).

And speaking of Doom, that's actually a good example of a game where the default options are not a reflection of how it's "meant" to be played. The game is designed for Ultra-Violence difficulty (as are most fan-made maps), but the default is Hurt Me Plenty.

[PFG 9000]

You may have a point with Doom. I'm a huge fan, and I always play on Ultra Violence (except for the rare bout of Nightmare when I'm feeling particularly sadistic). But how do you know that that's how it was meant to be played?

[sethsez]

Every map is designed with it in mind, and every guide, even the official ones, are written assuming you're playing at UV. Speedruns all assume UV, and whenever you're looking up level stats, that's the mode they're taken from. Hurt Me Plenty isn't the "intended" difficulty, it's just the middle one, which is why the cursor defaults there.