How do YOU play a RPG?
So this has been bothering me lately. In my case it applies to older games, but I don't think it matters either way.
When I go to start an RPG I am faced with a dilemma. Do I just read the manual and jump in? This is how I did it as a kid, obviously, and having no idea what comes next makes the game a lot funner. Exploring and discovering new things is great.
However, this results in a TON of time spent wandering around aimlessly in most games, and also results in missing a lot of content in some. This bugs me, as what happens is: I play for a few hours, get stuck on something, wander around, get bored, quit playing.
On the other hand is the use of a walkthrough. This saves a TON of time. No more missing anything, no more spending two hours wandering around a maze. You get the most out of the little time you have to play.
BUT, you always know whats coming up next, more or less, and it eventually ends up feeling like you're just putting together some Ikea furniture. Go here, do this, then this etc.. I play for a few hours, get pretty damn far into the game quickly, while having pretty much no fun, and quit.
So how do you do it when you play a RPG?
When I go to start an RPG I am faced with a dilemma. Do I just read the manual and jump in? This is how I did it as a kid, obviously, and having no idea what comes next makes the game a lot funner. Exploring and discovering new things is great.
However, this results in a TON of time spent wandering around aimlessly in most games, and also results in missing a lot of content in some. This bugs me, as what happens is: I play for a few hours, get stuck on something, wander around, get bored, quit playing.
On the other hand is the use of a walkthrough. This saves a TON of time. No more missing anything, no more spending two hours wandering around a maze. You get the most out of the little time you have to play.
BUT, you always know whats coming up next, more or less, and it eventually ends up feeling like you're just putting together some Ikea furniture. Go here, do this, then this etc.. I play for a few hours, get pretty damn far into the game quickly, while having pretty much no fun, and quit.
So how do you do it when you play a RPG?
Comments
2.Turn the power on
3.Press start
4.Set up character(s)
5.play
I usually don't look through the manual or at walkthroughs unless I really can't figure out what to do.
I agree with what you guys are saying. I try to balance walkthrough use (stupid mazes), but not spoil anything. I just hate beating a game then realizing I missed tons of cool stuff. Not enough time in life to play them again usually!
I'm getting ready to start Star Ocean, so this question popped into my head.
Seriously though, it kind of depends on the type of RPG. I don't play many of these but for a more-adventure-esque RPG like Super Mario RPG I just dive in carelessly. For a slower RPG like Gemfire I read the manual first (does Gemfire count as an RPG? I dunno. It kicks ass either way).
Oddly enough I read the manuals for most games, even when it's pretty unnecessary. I guess I like reading them as well.
dive at them headfirst with no manual or nothin till i get stuck, then to gamefaqs.com, then back to playing until the game is beat, then beat it again after reading every walkthtough and faq i can find on the internet with all the best stuff
This is probably the best strategy for me actually, thanks.
And Tanooki, I feel exactly the same way. Wandering around with no direction just isnt fun. I get MUCH farther into games with a guide, but lose a lot of the fun factor. Ill just have to develop a hybrid strategy. I guess its hard to get into RPGs when you are older.
I usually read the manuals a little bit before playing, but I'm less likely to do that for RPGs since they always spoil who joins the party.
Almost universally, I'll overlevel, either by virtue of fighting nearly all random encounters, through grinding, or both. I'll rarely complete all the side quests unless I literally have nothing better to do.
My biggest problem with RPG's is I get a little bit to obsessive with obtaining every little treasure, weapon and completing every side quest. Because of this I lose interest and hardly ever finish a RPG.
Edit: LP = Lets play which is a walk through on youtube, in case you didn't know
I actually like reading manuals. I guess it is part of why I love CIB so much.
Describes me exactly. I never play a game without at least thumbing through the manual briefly.
I tend to just start playing, then maybe consult a guide if I'm stuck in a spot or on a boss. Especially if the save feature is weak, and you go through an hour long dungeon just to die at the boss. In that case, I'd die once, then immediately check boss weaknesses on an FAQ, so I'm not wasting hours and hours in the same spot.
Like you said, as we get older, time is very precious. As a kid, you can have lots of fun learning through repetition. But as an adult, I want to beat games efficiently and then move to the next.
I actually like reading manuals. I guess it is part of why I love CIB so much.
I like reading manuals too.. Fortunately though you don't need to take up all that space with the stupid box just to get the manual
I don't like to walkthroughs, but I will look up an answer if I get really stuck and admit defeat. The answers are usually some wierd thing. Case in point, I was playing destiny of an emperor a bit ago and there is a part when someone asks you to ram down the door.. So I try ramming it with my characters (who don't look like they are ramming at all) for a while, then I try searching everywhere for more clues or something to ram with.. couple hours later I go back and try to ram the door again with no success. So I look up the answer, and apparently you have to ram the door with a specific sequence.. the game makes a bump sound when you run into any wall, and if you make that sound more than once without releasing the button, the ram doesn't work. You have to make the sound once, release the button, then make it again... 6 times.
Stupid game.Or MapTool, which allows me to emulate dice, pen and paper, and on top of all that, play with friends from Europe and US.
I am not found of cRPGs.
I guess I just have a touch of the old OCD. Because I just always think I am missing things when I play. I hate the "if you didnt talk to this random guy 3x in the first town you can never get the best sword in the game." shits impossible to know without a walkthrough, but then the walkthrough takes all the fun! Ugh, I guess I'll just pop a xanax before I play so dumb shit doesn't bother me!