Also known as Gradius Syndrome or R-Type Syndrome, this is a type of game where the difficulty is drastically connected to how powered up the player is. If the player has high to maximum power, then the game is generally very easy but if they lose their power then the game becomes incredibly difficult to finish. Although many games could technically fit this description as losing powerups generally makes a game harder, it is the fact that the game becomes almost impossible to continue on due to respawning at a difficult location with no ability to defend against the enemy onslaught.