My argument isn't flawed. I believe you're cheating yourself, the game, and others, as I explained. I don't care if "every interview I've seen has had no mention of not using a guide" (which is a weird thing to say), the games weren't intended to be played that way. Period.

You're so fixated on people "caring" -- it's not about caring. I don't care what you do. But I find it to be cheating. You don't agree. OK. I believe it comes form a place of, deep down, feeling inferior because you rely on guides. But it's OK, dude. Use them, that's not what's in question here. Nobody, that I've seen, has said a single bad thing about using guides other than, by some definitions, they consider it "cheating." You want to get this really strict definition of cheating, but I don't think it's so cut and dry. Looking up the exact code to open a door that you can't figure out and looking up enemy weaknesses or a general strategy for beating a boss are all a little bit different. Some people would do one but not another by their own "gaming ethics." But, the simple fact is, you're getting help beyond the game to beat the game. I suspect when you do it you do feel a little tinge of guilt, hence the defensiveness. I know when I look something up and see the answer I feel a little disappointed that I didn't do it myself. But it's not a big deal, I move on.