is it cheating to look up video walkthroughs?

I just beat Super Mario 3 on my NES for the first time in my life - but there's a catch. At the very last world I was down to 10 lives and I didn't want to get another game over after spending 3 hours getting this far.

So for world 8-1 I looked up a video walkthrough and found the secret pipe that contains 3 lives. After that I used a p-wing on World 8-2 since I saved up a ton of them and looked up another video guide to get through the castle before the very last level, since that place is like a maze.

I'm kind of OCD about my gaming accomplishments, and I know I should have this huge rush of dopamine from beating one of my all time favourite childhood games for the first time, but I don't feel it - because I'm worried my victory was tarnished by using guides.

So my question is this. Did I cheat by looking up a guide? Or is that an acceptable part of the experience? Like if you were 9 years old and you saw your older siblings beat a level and you learned a new trick in the process.

No, you still had to do it yourself in order to win. Cheating to me is using codes, hacks, or save states, and that's really it.

Exactly.

Exactlyx2

But like, do you think looking up videos to navigate a maze of a level or finding secrets takes away from the core experience of playing a game and discovering everything naturally? I know I didn't really do it until world 8 but I can't help but feel like I didn't do the right thing. Especially since I used a walkthrough to avoid an outcome [game over] that would have occurred because I wasn't skilled enough to do it naturally.

No, not at all, because finding items or lives, and navigating a path doesn't pertain to skill. The way I see it, the only thing looking up that stuff did was save you some time.

Touche. Thanks dude, that makes me feel better about the whole thing. :D

@mand0n: Yeah, that's cheating if you ask me, but who cares?

I should clarify that it's cheating yourself not really cheating the game.

Even if it is cheating, as long as you have fun that is all that matters. That's what games are for right? You shouldn't let a hobby be a source of stress. I used save states in LoZ and walkthroughs in other games when I got stuck and I had fun, that is all that matters, that is why I play games. If I get stuck for 3 hours and I get so frustrated that I want to quit, that is not a good way to spend my free time frustrated, so I do what I want. Not to say that I don't try for a while first before I decide to use them but not everyone is the same.

But to be fair, it's not much different than seeing an older sibling beat a level or reading the nintendo power game guide in the 90s though, right?

Even save states I wouldn't consider cheating if they aren't abused(ie only used to save progress not skip back after taking damage, losing a life, etc). Some older games could have really used a save feature. Super Mario Bros. 3 in the OP is a good example of that actually, if you want to beat the game without using flutes that's a lot of time to have to keep playing or keep the game running.

@mand0n: The game guide yes.... but seeing how someone else does something isn't really the same as researching the proper way to do something. It does take away some of the enjoyment of figuring something out for yourself but it shouldn't give you the bad feeling you get when you had to look something up, unless you watched with the intent of figuring out how to do it yourself.

Well the Nintendo Power game guide was basically a map of the game, showing where all the secrets and alternate routes were found. Essentially reading it back when the game came out gave the same outcome as watching a video guide. And honestly I only did it for two sections of the game, and only after trying numerous times and getting dangerously close to a game over.

lol why do you feel the need for someone else to validate what you did? if you feel guilty or uncomfortable about it, your mind is telling you that you cheated

for me, after trying something a couple of times and failing so i look up strategies. Its the same as if a friend was sitting next to me getting pointers.

and if i'm lost for awhile, i look up a walkthrough so i can find where i'm going. This is handy since most retro games dont always tell you where to go or i might have accidentally press the speech ffw button and missed the location im supposed to go to lol

It's part of my disorder. I have crippling OCD. lol. Even if I'm half-consciously aware that something isn't a big deal, I still get a sinking feeling and I need [like you said] some form of validation from others to snap out of my obsessive thinking. I just hold Mario 3 in such high regard that I was worried I cheated myself out of the true M3 experience, which I could never get back now that I know how to navigate world 8's castle. It even sounds stupid saying it out loud - so I can imagine how dumb this thread looks from the outside looking in.

I used to be like that. Then I thought why I was making a big deal about video games. It's not life and death. Just have fun. That is what games are for. If anyone tries to tell you that you aren't a real gamer or are weak minded for using help then they play games for the wrong reasons and are some sort of elitist. Have fun and have a good time. That is why we play. If you used a walk through and feel guilty just ask yourself "Did I enjoy playing the game? Did I have a good time?" If you say yes then mission accomplished.

I played LoZ for the first time and abused the save state option to get past the later dungeons. It was either that or stop playing the game. I had fun in the end, yes it may take some of the glory and pride that you might get from beating a hard game and you don't get the bragging rights of saying you did it yourself but is that what games are about? I remembered when I used to buy game guides (banjo-tooie came with 12 month subscription to nintendo power, my first exposure to gaming mags was because I wanted a guide) and use nintendo power when I was little and use them without any guilt or worry at all. I thought "Why am I taking games so seriously now that I'm older?" And I had no answer. So now I do what I want and have the time of my life.

With saying that, I still like challenge and will try for a bit (sometime hours) and run out of ideas on what to do before I use a walkthrough or look at a video. But some people only try for 30, 20, even 10 minutes before they go for help. Everyone is different and there is no "right" way to play. If I beat a certain game I'm not looking down on someone who used a walkthrough for a game that I didn't.

So don't feel guilty (guilt is for criminals, not someone trying to enjoy themselves). Don't feel like you need validation from other people. After all, you are on a video game website so I assume you like video games. So don't get hung up on one experience and go on, pick up a controller, and play some more of what we all love.

I think it is. I do it all the time but I consider it cheating.

Now back in the days when the Guide Books was still a thing, [when the internet wasn't that big] using guide books was never consider cheating cause your still playing the game by yourself and guide books wasn't always 100% right, just give you tips what to expect. But now in today's standards, new generation considers using books is cheating but it really isn't. I still kinda use books then going to the internet depending on the game that is but I rarely use them now. Games were harder back then but now, they are easy to a certain degree.

absolutely not cheating at all, when I was young everyone used walkthroughs but they were not found on the internet, they were found in Nintendo power and gossipped about during lunch. There is no shame in using a walkthrough.

I would also argue that conservative use of save states is not cheating either. I just recently played through adventure island 2 on the nes, it was a pretty easy game but it was also way to long to play through in one sitting, so I would play a few level,s save my progress, repeat for a few days until the end, I don't think that invalidates my playthrough of the game.

The only thing i consider cheating is use of codes to grant unlimited health/invincibility etc, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with playing a game like that if that is how you enjoy it. The only thing that matters is whether or not you are having fun.

Nope. Sometimes I come back and I'm completely lost so I end up reading the entire walkthrough to see how much I've missed.

It hasn't been a problem as of late with games holding your hand.

Its no different than looking up how to cook a certain food, or studying when you look at it. The more you know, the better off you are.

Doesn't matter if it's "cheating." You can play a game any way you want. Cheapening the experience? Maybe, the sense of discovery is one of my favorite things about the game! In any case, though, is it worth all of the wasted time? Up to you.

Nah. Mostly saves time but it's not cheating.

I don't think that this is cheating