What Game Did You Love When You First Played It but Can't Play Anymore?

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

So Gamespot has another interesting Q&A article up. This one is titled "What Game Did You Love When You First Played but Can't Play Anymore?" I thought that question here might spark some interesting answers or conversation.

My answer, as I commented in the article:

With the exception of one of my all time favourites - Final Fantasy IV - I find I don't have the patience for RPGs like I used to. I used to spend hours grinding and levelling up characters to fight the next or last boss. Now, I find it a slog just to get through all the atrociously long cut scenes some of those games have.

Also, I've tried revisiting old platformers like Mario or especially Mega Man. My reflexes or gaming skills aren't what they used to be, because now I can't even make it to the boss in many of the Mega Man stages.

And while I grew up on Sierra adventure games (another all time favourite: Gabriel Knight 1), I find I don't have the patience to replay them, given how many chances you have to die throughout them. Especially after being spoiled of auto-saving in most games today, and forgetting to save my game every few minutes, thus losing a lot of my progress.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Black & White (the first one).
But the reason I can't play it is mostly hardware-related. I don't have my older computer set up at the moment to be able to play it. Also I can't find the disc, it's in a box somewhere.

--Patrick
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
MMORPGs. I was addicted to them since Everquest back in the day. Now I can't stand the thought of grinding mobs or doing fetch and kill quests.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Daggerfall. Loved it to bits, still think it's the best Elder Scrolls game, but...Good LORD those graphics.
Also, quite a few RPGs. I just don't have the time to invest in some games that require 100 hours to complete. I probably won't finish Witcher 3 and haven't finished Pillars of Eternity for this reason. It takes months and frankly, even if it's an amazing game, I do get bored eventually.
And of course all kinds of reflex games. Was never really good at them, but now I downright suck :p
 
Frank

Frank

Man, there isn't much from when I was younger I can't play now. Mostly it's just the archaic old CRPGs of yore that are all but unplayable now.

Stuff like Knights of Legend, which was a personal favorite.

 
Gruebeard

Gruebeard

My fondest memory was of R-Type, but recently playing it I still enjoyed it. So uh, yeah.



Oh wait. Alex Kid. That I tried playing again recently.Losing a life to Rock, Paper, Scissors is pure bullshit.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

So many ...

Largely because really big on JRPGs when I was an adolescent, and these days RPGs tend to be so much better made to avoid needless grinding that I just don't have the patience for that tedium. So it's not that I can't play the genre, just most of the ones I liked as a kid. Rare are the ones that have aged well, like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, and Parasite Eve, versus all the Final Fantasy games, Legend of Dragoon, Breath of Fire ... honestly, a lengthy list. I was hooked on those.

Another thing is Sonic the Hedgehog. Not because I don't like the older Sonic games anymore, but I don't think my sensory input is set for the kind of speed. I tried to play Sonic 2 years ago and I felt like a slug compared to how I used to zoom through those levels.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

GasBandit said:
MMORPGs. I was addicted to them since Everquest back in the day. Now I can't stand the thought of grinding mobs or doing fetch and kill quests.
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Honestly, the only MMO to hold my interest at all was City of Heroes. The superhero setting helped a lot, especially since it was the first superhero MMO. And that longevity was largely due to goofing around as Doug the Troll.

But I tried both Champions and DCUO and neither grabbed me like CoH did.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
You think Parasite Eve aged better than the SNES era RPGs? I do not share that opinion.
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I'm thinking less SNES and more PSX overall. I played so many PSX RPGs. Did you ever play Jade Cocoon? Digimon World? Vanguard Bandits? So much crap ...

But if must do that comparison, in some cases, yes. I'd rather play Parasite Eve again than Final Fantasy V. FFV is a great game, but the time it takes to grind AP for each job and the combinations you need is just not fun. I just don't have the interest in doing that as an adult. So in this sense, I'd also rather play Final Fantasy X, because you don't really need to grind. By time time you reach the next boss, the encounters you'd naturally face will be enough to push you ahead to the strength you need to be at. (FFVIII doesn't count because I never liked that game.)

It's really the grind that I take issue with in these games. That's the preventative issue for me, so RPGs that don't require a grind are going to hold up better for me. I don't have the patience anymore to let the game come to a complete stop so I can dance in random encounters for an hour or two. And of the three I mentioned, I'd put it under Earthbound, and I'd put Chrono Trigger above them all.

I mean, if we want to look at what still holds up for us against what doesn't for other people--I just got into Mega Man last year, so I can't share Nick's issue there. These aren't old skills I'm trying to revive, but new skills I'm now acquiring, so I'm loving Mega Man like I never got the chance to as a kid.

Super Mario RPG is also fun still. Maybe my problem is just Final Fantasy games.

But another for different reasons--Xenogears. I'm so happy I played this when I was younger, because I don't think I'd want to sit through half-hour cutscenes anymore. Also, Metal Gear Solid, because I am absolutely terrible at them now. Wretched in a way that would probably make for a funny let's play. I can't even get past the beginning of Metal Gear Solid 3, so I've never seen what everyone raved about.\

And getting away from kid stuff, L.A. Noire was fun the first time, but after solving the mysteries, my attempt at a second playthrough just felt pointless.
 
CynicismKills

CynicismKills

To be fair FFVIII scales with your level so grinding can actually be dangerous without a shitload of the game's real grind, Drawing magic.

I don't know that there's a type of game/specific game I'm not interested in anymore. I guess WoW would be the major one, as I played it for about 9 on and off years before finally realizing it wasn't fun anymore. Granted I play FFXIV, nowhere near as often/hardcore as I was in WoW. The raider lifestyle of MMOs is definitely behind me.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

What I hated about FF VIII was you pretty much needed a guide book or FAQ in order to do well in the game. There were certain enemies you needed to steal specific items from in order to get the best weapons in the game. I believe Squall's final sword required an item you could only get from an enemy during the prison part of the story. Only that part is locked off after you've completed that section, so you're completely screwed if you didn't get it then.
 
Frank

Frank

ThatNickGuy said:
What I hated about FF VIII was you pretty much needed a guide book or FAQ in order to do well in the game. There were certain enemies you needed to steal specific items from in order to get the best weapons in the game. I believe Squall's final sword required an item you could only get from an enemy during the prison part of the story. Only that part is locked off after you've completed that section, so you're completely screwed if you didn't get it then.
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They all did that. I swear Square had a deal with Brady. 12 is the most egregious example with it's random treasure chest that if you looted early in the game, the best weapon in the game was not available later on.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Frank said:
They all did that. I swear Square had a deal with Brady. 12 is the most egregious example with it's random treasure chest that if you looted early in the game, the best weapon in the game was not available later on.
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I think from 8 and on they did crap like that that. I don't think 7 had anything that bad. Or would the Knights of the Round summon fall count? It's been a LONG time since I've dived back into FF7, mind you. I'm very certain nothing egregious like that was in FF6.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

ThatNickGuy said:
I think from 8 and on they did crap like that that. I don't think 7 had anything that bad. Or would the Knights of the Round summon fall count? It's been a LONG time since I've dived back into FF7, mind you. I'm very certain nothing egregious like that was in FF6.
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Getting Knights of the Round certainly counts, because it requires chocobo breeding. Beating Emerald and Ruby is stuff you can come up with on your own, but figuring out the kinds of chocobo that should make more chocobos isn't really intuitive or explained.

FF6 has plenty of secrets ... I don't know. I wouldn't have kept Shadow without being told that I had to wait for him. Someone with a better recollection of the game's extra bits would have to weigh in.

FF5, I only played once and don't recall.

FF4 definitely didn't have any bullshit. You could 100% that game without any assistance.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Zero Esc said:
Getting Knights of the Round certainly counts, because it requires chocobo breeding. Beating Emerald and Ruby is stuff you can come up with on your own, but figuring out the kinds of chocobo that should make more chocobos isn't really intuitive or explained.

FF6 has plenty of secrets ... I don't know. I wouldn't have kept Shadow without being told that I had to wait for him. Someone with a better recollection of the game's extra bits would have to weigh in.

FF5, I only played once and don't recall.

FF4 definitely didn't have any bullshit. You could 100% that game without any assistance.
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Riiiiight, Shadow. I forgot all about him. Yeah, I'd say that counts. And you're spot on with the chocobo breeding and Emerald & Ruby. To this day, I've yet to beat either of them.

And the distinct lack of bullshit in FF4 is likely why it's one of my all time favourite games.
 
Frank

Frank

The Shadow thing isn't game guide fodder. That's one of those secrets I remember hearing from somebody. Those have existed since the dawn of games.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Frank said:
The Shadow thing isn't game guide fodder. That's one of those secrets I remember hearing from somebody. Those have existed since the dawn of games.
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Yeah, but there were guides even back then. I imagine that's where it started. Fortunately, having Shadow or not wasn't a huge game-breaker like not being able to make the final weapons in FF8.

There was also his dreams/flashbacks, which were only discovered by visiting different inns before and after the world ended. From what I remember, there was absolutely no reward for doing that, which is a little disappointing.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
The Shadow thing isn't game guide fodder. That's one of those secrets I remember hearing from somebody. Those have existed since the dawn of games.
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You could hear about any of these things from someone else.

The Shadow thing sits on the line in my opinion. It's hard to discern with FF6 when almost half of the game's content is optional.[DOUBLEPOST=1437312045,1437311911][/DOUBLEPOST]
ThatNickGuy said:
Yeah, but there were guides even back then. I imagine that's where it started. Fortunately, having Shadow or not wasn't a huge game-breaker like not being able to make the final weapons in FF8.
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Depends. I can't stand the idea of FFVI's ending without all the characters :p. That escape montage after beating the final boss was beautiful.

As for Emerald and Ruby--you didn't miss anything but bragging rights. Technically you get some rewards in the form of master materia, but if you're strong enough to beat either of those two, then Sephiroth will go down pretty fast. I'm sure the remake will have an achievement.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
. I'm very certain nothing egregious like that was in FF6.
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Because of the flaky numbering scheme, I'm not sure which game I'm thinking of (all I know is that it was pre-VII), but there were still things like, "in order to get the best weapon for [blah] you have to click on this otherwise unremarkable piece of wall in this specific room" with no lore or anything to point you there, it's just something that was probably hidden by a programmer and then spread by oral tradition.

--Patrick
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

PatrThom said:
Because of the flaky numbering scheme, I'm not sure which game I'm thinking of (all I know is that it was pre-VII), but there were still things like, "in order to get the best weapon for [blah] you have to click on this otherwise unremarkable piece of wall in this specific room" with no lore or anything to point you there, it's just something that was probably hidden by a programmer and then spread by oral tradition.

--Patrick
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VI was the one with Kefka, the world ending, and a yeti. Personally, I just go by the Japanese numbering from now on. I think most (or all) of the games have been ported over by now, so it's safe to just go by that system. I get why they did at the time, but I haven't thought of it as "III" in decades.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

PatrThom said:
Because of the flaky numbering scheme, I'm not sure which game I'm thinking of (all I know is that it was pre-VII), but there were still things like, "in order to get the best weapon for [blah] you have to click on this otherwise unremarkable piece of wall in this specific room" with no lore or anything to point you there, it's just something that was probably hidden by a programmer and then spread by oral tradition.

--Patrick
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That was the case in an Atari game, which is certainly pre-VII, but I can't recall anything for a Final Fantasy game.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

My biggest issue with playing my old games is I need a proper upscaling tool in order to play them on their native systems on my TV. Without them, I don't get a true depiction of their graphics... but I'm going to need to spent like 500 bucks to get a GOOD upscaler if I want a true experience. I'm literally thinking about pirating my entire collection (that I already own) and playing them on PC because I can get a truer visual experience that way without spending hundreds of dollars.

Zero Esc said:
FF4 definitely didn't have any bullshit. You could 100% that game without any assistance.
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Getting the Pink Tail for additional Adamantium so you could make the best armor. This required you to farm a rare spawning enemy in a single room in the last dungeon, without any clue that it was where you had to do it.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

ThatNickGuy said:
...huh. I didn't even know about that.
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Later versions of the game also have extra hidden bosses. For instance, in the DS/PC version, you can find a Giant of Babel to fight on the Moon. You can also return to Mt. Ordeals and interact with a location on the top of the mountain to fight all 4 Elemental Fiends combined into a single form, which is nasty as hell.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

AshburnerX said:
Getting the Pink Tail for additional Adamantium so you could make the best armor. This required you to farm a rare spawning enemy in a single room in the last dungeon, without any clue that it was where you had to do it.
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Same as Nick--I've never heard of that until now.

Stuff added in later versions shouldn't count; I know FF6 Advance added stuff I wished was in the PSX version I played. I did everything you could do in that version, but for some reason it didn't feel complete because there was no optional super-boss. Which was okay, because really even with getting every character, esper, weapon, etc., Kefka's Tower and that incredible final boss fight were still challenging and rewarding.

I just don't ever want to do it again.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

This game is easily one of my favorite rpgs of all time, but it's too jrpg-ey. Even with its meta humor to keep things fresh, and the epic scope of the story (seriously, it's amazing) I just can't do jrpgs anymore.
 
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