There's a general rule that, within a difficulty level, when a player encounters an easier route to progress, he's most likely to take it. After all, it's the easier one.
An ability to quicksave at any moment removes the tension the player gets when faced with a challenge, as there's no punishment for it. If you fail, you press a button and you can try again, literally just before e.g. pressed the wrong button. That's the thrill of playing games, if you don't focus, you can lose. If you instantly try again with no consequences, do you really lose? It's like playing chess with another player and being able to rewind that one fatal move that has possibly made you fail the game. It removes any meaning from the game.
There's one particular secret area that I absolutely love in AO, and it's not an easy one: The first one in Stockyards, with a scrab. Not only it's very atmospheric (sillhouettes, the music, the everything), but it requires perfect precision. I have a vivid memory of trying it over and over as a 6-7 year old, eating peanut butter sandwiches, and never getting it perfectly done. At the time, I got my dad to help me, he liked the game but he didn't play it as long as I do so he didn't do much better. But hell, it was tons of fun, and one of the very rare cases where we actually played games together. You had to do it perfectly at least four times in a row to finish it, there's no chance that you do this just being lucky. It's hard to even describe my satisfaction when I finally did it. I think it's one of the best memories I had with the game.
In NnT not only you don't have to be precise while running, as the platforming section is much easier, not only you take all muds at one (there's a zapper in front of them as a cheap replacement), but you can just save each time you go one side to the other. If you fail, you can just rewind it a few steps back. You skip through this and won't ever remember it.
You skip through entire NnT and won't ever remember it. Maybe the broken parts, like saws and mines. What's even the point of playing it, if you're not going to remember this?
For me it's a really big deal.
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