I would not disagree.
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"Just get on with it!": Games that drag at the start
- Thread starter oconnomiyaki
- Start date
DarkoMaledictus
Tier Whore
I know what you mean... I hate long intro tutorials that never end!
My vote goes to Okami.
I'm currently on my first playthrough of Persona 4 and I have to say that I actually enjoyed the long intro. That's linked to the fact that I'm playing P4G on Vita though, I have no problem staying interested while reading a lot on a handheld. I'm much more impatient when playing on a home console, for some reason.
I'm currently on my first playthrough of Persona 4 and I have to say that I actually enjoyed the long intro. That's linked to the fact that I'm playing P4G on Vita though, I have no problem staying interested while reading a lot on a handheld. I'm much more impatient when playing on a home console, for some reason.
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
Any rpg where it is only rational to level up and get the best weapon in the starting town.
Freezasaurus
Member
First thing I thought of. It just takes way too long to get into the meat of the game.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Twilight Princess for sure, and Zelda games in general. For games like OoT and Wind Waker, it just makes replaying harder but it wasn't so bad the first time around. For Twilight Princess I literally never got past the intro and still have the Gamecube version sitting in a box somwhere in my closet.
outunderthestars
Banned
I'd say Zelda: SS, but the whole game is a giant tutorial, so not sure if it counts.
You never played 2, didn't you.
You never played 2, didn't you.
RPGs for sure, I dread starting a new game in fear of not getting far enough into the thing to even be able to save my game before I need to quit, either from boredom or needing to do something else!
I started Ni No Kuni last night and they easily could have cut some of that start out, what about the whole tutorial for using the left stick to move..... WHAT... How do people even figure out how to put the game into the console and start it up without a tutorial these days?!?!?
I started Ni No Kuni last night and they easily could have cut some of that start out, what about the whole tutorial for using the left stick to move..... WHAT... How do people even figure out how to put the game into the console and start it up without a tutorial these days?!?!?
Emperor Bohe
Member
came in to post this. I am also glad that I stuck with it though..
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Pokemon Black/White 2
Shut up Prof. I've got this.
Shut up Prof. I've got this.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
This is why Phantasy Star IV is probably my favorite JRPG. You start with a competent party. The game can be beaten in like 10 hours. There isn't really anything I could describe as filler.
No, the opening several hours prevented me from enjoying the game...well ever? I think it sucks to this day. I sold my GC copy because I couldn't stomach spending HOURS before getting to any dungeons that felt remotely challenging.
You don't need a ton of abilities or items for the Zelda type gameplay to be challenging, but modern Zelda tends to hold your hand too much and make things TOO obvious instead of having an organic learning curve with each item or ability. Look at Alundra, a zelda clone that has great puzzles from the first dungeon, or any of the pre-N64 zelda games.
Along the lines of modern zelda games: Starfox Adventures. Baby's first Zelda for like 75% of the entire game, took me over a year to finally struggle through and beat and only the last couple dungeons had any creative puzzle design at all. What a waste.
Fixed.
Many RPG take their genre as an excuse for very laborious beginnings. I miss FF7 fast intro right in the action.
HiddenWings
Member
I guess some of my favorite games fall into this category, and Roxas Syndrome is a fitting name, as Kingdom Hearts 2 is the worst offender I think I've actually played.
Really they've been mentioned already, but Okami and Persona 4 both have this, but not in the same ways. Okami starts with 30 minutes of unskippable cutscene, but is mostly ok after that. It's a bit slow in introducing mechanics, but it still works out. On the other hand, Persona 4 is about 2 hours from "New Game" to "tutorial fight". I still think it's interesting, and it opens up immediately after that, but it isn't fast.
I've seen Oblivion and Skyrim mentioned less frequently, but they sure qualify. Both cases have important storyline points, but drag for a bit too long. Skyrim's intro would be faster if you could somehow skip the cart ride prior to character creation.
Really they've been mentioned already, but Okami and Persona 4 both have this, but not in the same ways. Okami starts with 30 minutes of unskippable cutscene, but is mostly ok after that. It's a bit slow in introducing mechanics, but it still works out. On the other hand, Persona 4 is about 2 hours from "New Game" to "tutorial fight". I still think it's interesting, and it opens up immediately after that, but it isn't fast.
I've seen Oblivion and Skyrim mentioned less frequently, but they sure qualify. Both cases have important storyline points, but drag for a bit too long. Skyrim's intro would be faster if you could somehow skip the cart ride prior to character creation.
Yup. Persona 4 demanded an absurd amount of time until it finally took the training wheels off. I see Kingdom Hearts 2, Assassin's Creed and the 3D Zeldas thrown around a lot here, but Persona's 3 and 4 are just as guilty of this.
Ninja Scooter
Member
The gamecube version of TP fetches a pretty good price these days. Sell it!
I keep telling my self I will get around to it, especially since I pulled out the Gamecube recently and have been replaying OoT and Wind Waker.
MGS3 for me. From the annoyingly long intro videos to the tutorial, I don't think I've ever made it into more than an hour of actual game play in that one and I have owned it since the day it came out.
Fully agree with KH and PS4 as well. I wanted to love both of those games based on all the internet love they get, but they just couldn't hook me soon enough.
Fully agree with KH and PS4 as well. I wanted to love both of those games based on all the internet love they get, but they just couldn't hook me soon enough.
gutter_trash
Banned
the forced unskippable tutorials kill all desire of 2nd replay throughs.
OKAMI!
OKAMI!
Monster Hunter Tri. As a series veteran the intro is painful but I've seen people give up on the game after a couple hours thinking it's nothing but gathering quests and fighting Jaggis. You're even locked out of several weapons initially.
And then you get online where you're forced to grind out super boring low rank monsters rather than just banging out a few specific quests and getting on to high rank. Thankfully Tri Ultimate seems to have done away with HR points and gives you every weapon from the start.
The problem here is MH has a steep learning curve so outside of holding your hand I don't know what they CAN do. Throwing you to the wolves (velociraptors?) sure didn't help its review scores in the past.
And then you get online where you're forced to grind out super boring low rank monsters rather than just banging out a few specific quests and getting on to high rank. Thankfully Tri Ultimate seems to have done away with HR points and gives you every weapon from the start.
The problem here is MH has a steep learning curve so outside of holding your hand I don't know what they CAN do. Throwing you to the wolves (velociraptors?) sure didn't help its review scores in the past.
Yeah, Skyward Sword...
I'm playing it now and as much as I like Zelda and Link interaction during the Intro the game takes foreeeeeeeeeeeeever to hit its stride...
Nintendo really needs to stop with this excessive hand holding. It's fine during some very specific moments, but in Skyward Sword is completely over the top. Unnecessary. And drags the experience down a bit.
I'm playing it now and as much as I like Zelda and Link interaction during the Intro the game takes foreeeeeeeeeeeeever to hit its stride...
Nintendo really needs to stop with this excessive hand holding. It's fine during some very specific moments, but in Skyward Sword is completely over the top. Unnecessary. And drags the experience down a bit.
In general, I feel as though games are trying to train me HOW to play them rather than, to, like, play them. Designers are so interested in making me memorize a bunch of stuff unique to their game (and otherwise useless elswhere) that I lose interest.
I don't want to spend hours learning how to play (looking at you in particular, Ubisoft games!). I just want to play.
It was cool when Halo did it back in 2001. It's kinda gone a bit stale since then.
When I want to replay the game (but I remember everything), going through training again is tedious. When I've forgotten the overly-complex controls (but they're implemented into the first five or six hours of the game--even worse if the only way to access them is to start the game over), being unable to figure out how to train is awful.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I really liked TP's dungeons and shit...but my god, I can't imagine suffering through that intro again
I gave up 3 hours into KH2. Fuck that noise.
CrazyArcadia
Member
This is why I seldom start new games outside of weekends - Then, it is a nuisance if it takes 30-60 minutes to really "get going", but I can bring up the patience without thinking "Oh, come on, I really don't have all day..." since... yeah, I usually really don't have all day and it sucks if the intro and tutorial take more time than I have on a day 
Wished games would put tutorials seperately or offer a pro-mode like "played a game of the series/a few games in the genre before"...
Nevertheless, yes, I agree with many in this thread, Persona 4 has a slow start. But it's so worth the wait and being a fan of Visual Novel-style games, I did not take too much offence. Zelda: Skyward Sword was a drag the fist hour or so as well and really becomes great afterwards.
Now for some games other than Persona, Yakuza and Zelda...
Ys Seven.
This is a game series all about running fast through dungeons killing dozens of monsters in seconds and fighting boss enemies which really test your reflexes all while eargasmic Synthrock motivates you to just play a bit more... It was a bit strange to have it start with about 30-60 minutes of introduction and talking to people in the city before killing your first monsters. Sufficient to say, later city visits were much shorter and the game rocks in almost every other way (I even liked the backtracking).
Trails in the Sky
This is also by Falcom. The game actually is about talking to people in the cities because the world and characters are really atmospheric - so slow pace is anticipated. But the first few hours feel like they start a bit too slow. Then, when the characters grow on you and the story picks up a bit, it's fantastic.
I really didn't want to pick on Falcom here, they produce some of my current favorite games. But I'm a big fan of in medias res-beginnings and I believe the beginning and the end of a game should be absolute highlights. The former to draw you in at once, the latter to make you want to replay the game again. (I also think Bayonetta had one of the best in medias res-beginnings ever)
Wished games would put tutorials seperately or offer a pro-mode like "played a game of the series/a few games in the genre before"...Nevertheless, yes, I agree with many in this thread, Persona 4 has a slow start. But it's so worth the wait and being a fan of Visual Novel-style games, I did not take too much offence. Zelda: Skyward Sword was a drag the fist hour or so as well and really becomes great afterwards.
Now for some games other than Persona, Yakuza and Zelda...
Ys Seven.
This is a game series all about running fast through dungeons killing dozens of monsters in seconds and fighting boss enemies which really test your reflexes all while eargasmic Synthrock motivates you to just play a bit more... It was a bit strange to have it start with about 30-60 minutes of introduction and talking to people in the city before killing your first monsters. Sufficient to say, later city visits were much shorter and the game rocks in almost every other way (I even liked the backtracking).
Trails in the Sky
This is also by Falcom. The game actually is about talking to people in the cities because the world and characters are really atmospheric - so slow pace is anticipated. But the first few hours feel like they start a bit too slow. Then, when the characters grow on you and the story picks up a bit, it's fantastic.
I really didn't want to pick on Falcom here, they produce some of my current favorite games. But I'm a big fan of in medias res-beginnings and I believe the beginning and the end of a game should be absolute highlights. The former to draw you in at once, the latter to make you want to replay the game again. (I also think Bayonetta had one of the best in medias res-beginnings ever
)The king of slow starts. I never made it past the 30 hour tutorial.
Yeah
Pretty much testing ones patience to the maximum, even more infuriating if you have played Link to the Past and remember just how blazing fast that Zelda game began. I have no idea why they feel the need to slow everything to a crawl at the start of the latest 2 Zelda games, no i do not want to hang out with the villagers and solve their minor problems, no i do not want to fish, no i do not want to find a cat or herd sheep. Just give me my sword and let me go, please god just let me be !?!
LttP spoilers:
No tutorials, get out of bed, go find your uncle, he gives you a sword, great! Lets go, chop chop!
The key for movies is: Show, do not tell
The key for games is: Do, do not show
Well at least you have the great story and acting to keep you busy.
I don't really know why I'm still playing. The battle system, I guess.
I don't know how much more Vanille I can take.
NowCutThatOut
Member
Resonance of Fate was a huge drag as the start as they drop you in the story at a very dull point and make you go through a ridiculously dry tutorial that covers every single one of the mechanics at once.
I really like the starts of Persona 4 and Ni No Kuni - I think I have a high tolerance for scene setting in a JRPG.
I really like the starts of Persona 4 and Ni No Kuni - I think I have a high tolerance for scene setting in a JRPG.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Infamous : 5 hours of chores before you unlock the powers that make the game enjoyable.
Far cry 3 : chores to unlock more weapon slots, ammo etc at the start of the game.
Far cry 3 : chores to unlock more weapon slots, ammo etc at the start of the game.
Pretty much every newly released game because they implement tutorial sections at the start of the campaign and design the start of the game for that, when they ought to have tutorials accessed separately.
And then developers moan about how quick players are dropping games and how you need to grab them from the get go.
And then developers moan about how quick players are dropping games and how you need to grab them from the get go.
I actually don't really have a problem with this in general. I certainly *recognise* when it's happening - particularly in those three examples, Skyward Sword, AC3 and KH2, but if it's a game I want to completely immerse myself in, which all three of those are, I quite *like* a slow-paced gentle start to things; easing myself into the ambience of the world. That said, KH2 takes it a little too far!
Haven't done Persona 4 yet, but I've heard about the start of that and I think I'd be fine with it as well.
Haven't done Persona 4 yet, but I've heard about the start of that and I think I'd be fine with it as well.
Twilight Princess and FFXIII have been the worst offenders for me. I actually stopped playing Twilight Princess because I was so bored playing through the extended hour(s) long tutorial. It didn't feel like I had even started to play FFXIII until it was almost over, which is a shame.
Edit: Almost forgot about Skyrim. The entire intro is trash and prejudiced the player before they can even make a choice (not that choices mean anything in Skyrim).
Edit: Almost forgot about Skyrim. The entire intro is trash and prejudiced the player before they can even make a choice (not that choices mean anything in Skyrim).
Terbinator
Member
AssCreed 2&3 thread.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Last weekend I replayed the entire introduction up until the first dungeon of TP on Dolphin. It was probably a combination of me having a vague memory of how to quickly deal with all the villagers requests, admiring the graphics at a much higher resolution for the first time and also having distanced myself from the release for long enough to genuinely care about the story, but I had a good time.
I agree with this. Hopefully they'll be including more medium rank monsters in the future so you have more stuff to do while you become skilled at the game.
As for the single player, there should always be a medium rank quest available from the start that you can choose to complete in order to skip all the stuff that comes before.