• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

ugh something I hate with RPGs

SantaC

SantaC

Member
What is the pleasure of having time or event-based sidequests in RPGs? I mean like that there are only during a certain time you can get X item and, if you miss it, too bad for you. I like taking my time with my RPGs, and I like the option to do the sidequest through-out the whole game. Sure, if you use a guide from the begining you wont have that problem, but I dont like guides since it takes away the sense of accomplishments.

either way, I really hate it when they implements so you can't finish 100% at some point of the game.
 
SantaC said:
What is the pleasure of having time or event-based sidequests in RPGs? I mean like that there are only during a certain time you can get X item and, if you miss it, too bad for you. I like taking my time with my RPGs, and I like the option to do the sidequest through-out the whole game. Sure, if you use a guide from the begining you wont have that problem, but I dont like guides since it takes away the sense of accomplishments.

either way, I really hate it when they implements so you can't finish 100% at some point of the game.
Click to expand...

It's for people who like to do everything there is to do in a game. And I doubt there is a game where if you don't get one of the sidequest items you can't finish so it's not really a problem unless you make it so. The only problem iv'e ever had is how absurd some sidequests are like not opening certain chests until a certain point. Sidequests should always be reasonable imo.
 
Time based suck, I dont wanna have to rush through a game to get the best weapon, but event based isnt bad. It challenges and forces you to explore everything you can before you go off and rush through the story specific events.
 
Enduin said:
Time based suck, I dont wanna have to rush through a game to get the best weapon, but event based isnt bad. It challenges and forces you to explore everything you can before you go off and rush through the story specific events.
Click to expand...

event-based is okay as long as you KNOW there is an important sidequest going on.
 
*Stares at Tales of Symphonia*

Yeah that stuff gets annoying. What's worse is the "You have to get here quick" type. *Stares at FF9*
 
I totally agree with you (FFIX, I loved it but those damned mokas... and the excalibur II etc...). That's the main reason I really like the Zelda series, you can decide when going searching for heart pieces etc and you can be sure that whenever you decide it you won't lose anything (as long as you don't take the hearts the bosses drop on purpose :P). Not to mention those games where it's impossible to find everything in a single playthrough and you have to decide what to leave behind.
 
CrushDance said:
*Stares at Tales of Symphonia*

Yeah that stuff gets annoying. What's worse is the "You have to get here quick" type. *Stares at FF9*
Click to expand...

Exact two games I was thinking of. Though Tales wasnt too bad since it had a good replay system so it was worthwhile going through a second or third time.
 
FFXII's "guaranteed" Zodiac Spear.

The only way you could have possibly known to go against your instincts and avoid particular sets of chests in the game is by means of the internet. Or a guidebook.

It's not exactly what you're look for, but it's annoying all the same.
 
I think it is getting ridiculous though with RPG's there is so much crap to collect nowadays. So much that you NEED a players guide to get all of ir (or some walkthrough online).

I like playing RPGs without walkthroughs, so I discover stuff on my own. And lost-forevers bum me out. One reason I stopped playing ff7 and never finished. I missed some stuff early on in the game, some important materia, and I always regretted it, to the point of putting the game down entirely.
 
probune said:
I hate lost forevers. It makes the completionist in me cry
Click to expand...
Let's cry together.

FFChris said:
I started FFX again because I realised I'd missed the chance to get Anima and the Magus Sisters. Damn you Square.
Click to expand...
I did as well. And Suikoden 5. Good thing both are such great games.

But seriously, the problem are not time-based events, it's lost forevers. I never use FAQs unless I absolutely have to, so some of those are hard to avoid. A related thing I'd like to see is making all cutscenes (in-engine or not) rewatchable.
 
Agreeing with Durante; Suikoden was made for this topic. I didn't have any trouble getting all the characters in III. Maybe it was better game design or pure dumb luck. But in V I later found out that I had lost any chance of obtaining a particular character within 10 hours of starting. Probably finished that game with 15+ playable characters forever lost. Never went back for a second runthrough.

On the other hand FF Tactics Advance was so fun that I did start a new file after I fell one mission short because I sold a crucial item away.
 
I hate this kind of game design. A game should never punish the player for not using a walkthrough. Not exactly the same situation the OP is talking about, but I just played through Valkyrie Profile 2, and I was pissed that after pumping a ton of stat-pumping consumable items into a certain character, I find out he leaves the party permanently.
 
hockeypuck said:
Agreeing with Durante; Suikoden was made for this topic. I didn't have any trouble getting all the characters in III. Maybe it was better game design or pure dumb luck. But in V I later found out that I had lost any chance of obtaining a particular character within 10 hours of starting. Probably finished that game with 15+ playable characters forever lost. Never went back for a second runthrough.

On the other hand FF Tactics Advance was so fun that I did start a new file after I fell one mission short because I sold a crucial item away.
Click to expand...

pretty much all suikodens are guilty of this. II and V especially, though I admit I skipped IV and tactics.

how did this topic go for this long without someone mentioning X-2? That game is chock full of time based missable sidequests, and the best ending is impossible without 100% completion.
 
Azrael said:
I hate this kind of game design. A game should never punish the player for not using a walkthrough. Not exactly the same situation the OP is talking about, but I just played through Valkyrie Profile 2, and I was pissed that after pumping a ton of stat-pumping consumable items into a certain character, I find out he leaves the party permanently.
Click to expand...

eh, kinda a spoiler

every story based character you lost can be gotten back at the levels they left you in the seraphic gate. This includes Silmeria, Hrist, Lenneth, Dylan, what's her name with the black hair, and even Lezard. I'm not entirely positive about whether or not they retain the stat boosting items you gave them, though it's almost a moot point with the incredibly overpowered items you get there.
 
I get so pissed off when I realized that I missed über-weapon X because of a sidequest I cannot do anymore.
 
Man, Romancing Saga would piss you off then. Every battle you fight adds to an invisble counter, and as the counter gets higher, side quests continue to open and close.
 
On the one hand, ultimate weapons, rare characters and such SHOULD be difficult to obtain. I don't mind if it's something a player is unlikely to do their first time through the game.

However, I hate the trend of needing to do obscure, counter-intuitive things that a player would almost certainly never think of doing without a walkthrough. It's a cheap ploy designed to sell strategy books. The recent Final Fantasy games are terrible in this regard.
 
What the heck? You want everything handed to you with no consequences for your actions (or lack thereof)? Where's the challenge in that?
 
Catchpenny said:
On the one hand, ultimate weapons, rare characters and such SHOULD be difficult to obtain. I don't mind if it's something a player is unlikely to do their first time through the game.

However, I hate the trend of needing to do obscure, counter-intuitive things that a player would almost certainly never think of doing without a walkthrough. It's a cheap ploy designed to sell strategy books. The recent Final Fantasy games are terrible in this regard.
Click to expand...

terrible? FFXII has one weapon in the entire game like that, and it's not substantially more powerful than any other high end weapon in it's class- the masamune+genji glove is actually better in terms of damage output.

It's a throwaway bonus for completionists, nothing more.
 
Catchpenny said:
On the one hand, ultimate weapons, rare characters and such SHOULD be difficult to obtain. I don't mind if it's something a player is unlikely to do their first time through the game.
Click to expand...

Difficulty does have to involve 0% chance if you forgot to do/not do something.

If the player does not want to commit to X number of steps to obtain a rare item, that's his/her choice. But the option should always be available, IMHO. Exceptions to this that I can think of off the top of my head right now are mutually exclusive items (e.g., branching story paths and Pokemon, allegedly to encourage trading).
 
140.85 said:
What the heck? You want everything handed to you with no consequences for your actions (or lack thereof)? Where's the challenge in that?
Click to expand...

You missed the point. There should be a challenge to do the sidequest, but not during a specific timeframe. That's just lame.
 
It's horrible when you want to complete a game on your first try. I enjoy being rewarded for constantly exploring on consecutive playthroughs, however.
 
Jon_Danger said:
I missed some stuff early on in the game, some important materia, and I always regretted it, to the point of putting the game down entirely.
Click to expand...


I think Ifrit is the only missable materia.
 
If the world was right there would be "non-spoiler missable game FAQs" for every RPG that contains those. Better yet, don't have missable ones at all. Just make them tricky to get. Like most of you, I hate the thought of missing something cool after I've put 30+ hours into a game.
 
I agree with the OP. The arbitrary, missable sidequests in most JRPGs disgust me. If I need a FAQ, ridiculous completionism, or obsessive and boring exploration to beat a sidequest, it probably shouldn't be there in the first place.
 
The only thing I hate in RPGs are:
-"Normal" turn based battles (at least Active Time makes them more interesting)
-Random battles
-Save Points too far from each other
 
The Xenosaga series was always good on that front. You could go back and acquire just about any item you missed via the EVS system.

The most annoying are FF9 and Suikoden II's speedruns and Suikoden IV (just because it took SO long to move around on the world map, and the game sucked too much to replay).
 
If this is about missing something on Tales of the Abyss, just keep playing it. TotA is awesome either way, and you get some of the best weapons in the last dungeon.

As for the topic itself, I don't like timed sidequests, but they usually doesn't bother me much. If I want to get them all that badly I'll just use a FAQ or replay the game.
 
Also one thing that bugs the crap outta me are NPCs that don't move out of the way in 2d rpgs. Move your fat ass peon or I'll FIREGRA your ass!
 
Talk about annoying RPG elements:

Final Fantasy XII- Zodiac Spear Quest the easy way

It was just about the only thing about the game that I really hated, cause there's absolutely NO way you could know not to open those chests without checking a strategy guide.
 
tokkun said:
The Xenosaga series was always good on that front. You could go back and acquire just about any item you missed via the EVS system.

The most annoying are FF9 and Suikoden II's speedruns and Suikoden IV (just because it took SO long to move around on the world map, and the game sucked too much to replay).
Click to expand...


ACCEPT FOR THE DRILL MINI GAME IN THE FIRST ONE!!

I missed that
 
It depends on your mindset, too.

If you're completing the game just for the sake of completing it, such design can be annoying. But for those completionists with no sense of urgency, it matters little. In the former case, I'd question why it's such a big deal if you're not enjoying the replay of the game. I've been there before myself, and eventually I just realized I shouldn't give a shit.

Typically now, I only complete games I actually enjoy completing, and whether it takes 3 serious months or 3 casual years, it really doesn't matter. So such time sensitive elements don't bother me.
 
I have no problem with them as long as their is a way to figure it out without looking at a guide. Stuff shouldn't just be waiting for you, especially in RPGs were the the world can become something completely different throughout the course of the game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sega is teasing something with Crazy Taxi
35
839
IAmRei replied
  • Poll
RPGs from my backlog
20
586
PeteBull replied
I hate games that only have like 5% voice acting and nothing more
2
69
330
AeonGaidenRaiden replied
Why are developers so lazy with dungeon design in RPGs these days?
Opinion  2
56
1K
Hudo replied
The Lack Of Star Wars RPGs Disturbs Me
2
57
913
simpatico replied
Top Bottom