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Post by Sarge on Mar 26, 2019 15:05:05 GMT -5
Alright, folks, I know we've all had some game in our illustrious gaming careers that has taken quite some time before we "got it". Games that require a significant time investment before they get good, games that didn't click when you first played, but repeated attempts made them fun, games that were brutally difficult and unfair... I'm interested in which games fall into those categories (or others!) for you. A couple of examples from my standpoint! Games that took a while to really get into: - King's Field: The Ancient City - I'd not really given this game a concerted effort until first-person dungeons month over at Racketboy, run by our very own bonesnapdeez. It also came very highly recommended by Ex; he's been trying to get me to play one of the series for a while now. It wasn't that great for the first ten hours, and then something just snapped into place. I actually looked forward to getting home from work and booting it up first thing! It was a crazy turnaround, and has the other entries on my list to play eventually. - Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled - I have a long article on this game here. But again, slow burn, terribly balanced until a given point, then it actually got fun. - Suikoden II - I know, I know. This is considered to be an absolute classic. But it does take quite some time to get going, probably ten hours as well. The first game really starts quickly and doesn't let up, but this one sets the stage a lot more. It's a bit like a Tom Clancy novel: the first 150 pages can be pretty boring, but once it takes off, you're just hanging on for dear life. Games I didn't care for: - Street Fighter II - I know this really sounds weird, but there was absolutely a time I didn't care about tournament fighters. But with a concerted effort on my part to at least learn to pull the requisite motions (I would literally practice dragon punches even when not playing), it all fell into place, and I started loving the series. Games that were really tough, and I didn't care for: - Contra - No, really. Seriously. I was much more of an RPG guy when I was a teen. While I would play something like Contra, I didn't think it was amazing, and I thought it was ridiculously difficult compared to something like Mega Man. I appreciated the 30-life code, but I don't think it ever became special until I started playing it legitimately. Now I consider it to be a 10/10, unquestioned giant of the NES library. I would probably also add fellow Konami compatriots Super C and Jackal to that list as well. So, what's everyone else's story? |
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Post by anayo on Mar 26, 2019 18:25:16 GMT -5
I didn't "get" Dragon Force for the Sega Saturn at first. My copy didn't come with an instruction manual, there's no in-game tutorial, and it has some ponderous personnel management aspects to it with administrative menus full of options, and the significance of these options isn't obvious to a newcomer. I think I just asked my younger brother to figure it out for me. After thirty minutes or so he made sense of it and explained it to me. Once I understood it I got addicted and put maybe 50 hours into my campaign, playing as many as 8 hours on one Saturday (yay for being a teenager).
Just for clarification, how long does a "slow burn" have to take by the standards of this topic? It doesn't bug my conscience to include Dragon Force cause it's an interesting story and I don't think I've posted it before. But it wasn't like I slogged through 10 hours before the game "clicked" for me.
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Post by Sarge on Mar 26, 2019 18:45:14 GMT -5
Honestly, I'm okay with anything that doesn't immediately click and takes a few real shots at trying to figure it out before it all makes sense.
And along those lines, I've found Dragon Force incomprehensible every time I've tried to play it, just like you did. I need to sit down and just read the darn manual.
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Post by Ex on Mar 26, 2019 21:13:07 GMT -5
Games that require a significant time investment before they get good A few that come to mind... Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis = An incredibly deep and super serious military simulation. Took me a long time to figure out how to become competent at it. (If only @tsumuri could stand realistic FPS, this would be his huckleberry.) I don't even know if today I'd have the patience for a game like this, but once you get into the experience you'll never forget it. I still remember missions from this game in fine detail, and that was almost 20 years ago. Battlezone (1998 PC version) = Super complex RTS with a big learning curve. Took me a few missions before it started being fun. Once it started being fun I could not stop playing it. Fallout Tactics = This has to be the most criminally underrated SRPG ever. There's a LOT to learn before it all starts coming together. Once it does come together, oh man what a ride. I beat this game in five days and it's a 60 hour game. (Couldn't do that today... that was back in 2002 and I was unemployed at the time.) games that didn't click when you first played = I just didn't understand what the point was, or how the game was even fun. Then I finally learned how to fly the plane well enough to go through rings and land. I got it after that, loved the rest of the game. Tenchu: Stealth Assassins = Played this shortly before Thief (back around 1998), was my first introduction into the true stealth genre (MGS was pseudo-stealth). I just didn't have the patience the first time I rented this game. Rented it again a few months later, and it clicked. I had a great time with the game, but unfortunately couldn't beat the final boss back then. Another White Whale. King's Field IV = First KF I played. Like everybody, I didn't understand what the hell. Game seemed so slow and aimless. I put it away and shrugged. A few years later, I was on RHDN, and GideonZhi was talking about how he tried to play Eternal Ring but couldn't do it because of the controls. He implied the game was so controls-antiquated as to be unplayable in modern times. I took that as a challenge, and played through Eternal Ring, and very much enjoyed the experience. I figured since I enjoyed ER so much, that I'd give KF4 another chance. So I came back to KF4 years after my first try, and decided I'd give it an entire evening to prove itself. After about three hours I understood. I was one with the King's Field. I'm so glad I gave KF4 a second chance, because it lead me into the rest of FromSoftware's FPDCs... one of the greatest gaming experiences of my life. Recently that would be Demon's Souls and Urban Reign. Both of those made me seriously question if I even had the chops to beat them. Thankfully I did, and came out the better gamer for it. ALL OF YOU need to play through Demon's Souls before you die. It's just glorious. Urban Reign is simply the best 3D beat 'em up ever made IF you value a sincere challenge (on Normal difficulty or above). If you want the funnest 3D beat 'em up ever made; God Hand. Wow that game was a blast. Another recent-ish example would be Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl. It was my first EO, and I beat it entirely on Expert difficulty with no walkthrough or strategy guide. Now THAT was brutal. Said EO1 remake is too new to really explain why, but it was no joke I promise thee. (Although surely easier if you use tactics and tricks found on the internet as opposed to actually figuring it all out yourself.) Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter ( PC version) = Hardest FPS I've ever beaten. Holy shit is this game hardcore. It'll sprout chest hairs out of your chest hair. I could think of games that fit this category from the 8-bit and 16-bit libraries, but this post is getting long. |
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Post by Sarge on Mar 26, 2019 21:15:44 GMT -5
Oh, man, Battlezone was so good. I played a decent amount of it, but (surprise, surprise) my brother played it to completion. I watched him play most of it!
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Post by bonesnapdeez on Mar 27, 2019 9:56:28 GMT -5
I thought Atari (and similar consoles) were passé and weak. That era of gaming didn't click with me until I was an adult, and now I can't get enough. (I was born in '83 for reference).
As for a specific game... The 7th Saga felt like several hours of torture, and then suddenly it was like the world opened up and I felt compelled to binge-play the game. I can't even explain it.
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Post by Ex on Mar 27, 2019 14:08:47 GMT -5
The 7th Saga felt like several hours of torture, and then suddenly it was like the world opened up and I felt compelled to binge-play the game. That makes me want to give The 7th Saga a second chance. I did absolutely enjoy its unique aesthetic, OST, and overall dark atmosphere. But man I blew it when I chose Lejes, which the game forced me to solo him. I got about 2/3rds of the way through before I threw in the towel. I think The 7th Saga wouldn't be so hard if you had the right team. Produce also developed Brain Lord, which was another SNES RPG I loved - and actually beat. Masanao Akahori is a helluva composer. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2019 14:16:23 GMT -5
If only Tsumuri could stand realistic FPS, this would be his huckleberry Well, I can stand them, I did play a couple of SWAT games last year after all. But yeah, it's true they're not on top of my list. Never say never though. As for games that took awhile for me to click, probably Shadow Tower. It's not that I hated the game, but I was quite lost at first. I eventually made it to the bottom of the tower, right in front of the area where you get to face the final boss. I thought I'd be smart by rushing and just cheesing my way out of the final boss fight. Turns out I had to kill all the bosses on the floors above, otherwise the gate to the final boss wouldn't open. I put the game down for 1-2 weeks, but then I got back to it, I retraced my steps and barely managed to return to the very top. Then I patiently started to hunt down each and every boss. Great game. |
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Post by 20thcenturygamer on Mar 27, 2019 17:57:28 GMT -5
I also didn't like Contra much as a kid. Everyone I played with always insisted on using that code and it was just boring. I didn't play it legit until 2017. Now I adore it and I pull off a 1CC with little issue.
The big one for me, though, is the whole shooter genre. I thought they were too pointlessly difficult and samey for the longest time. A playthrough of The Guardian Legend a few years back set me straight and now I can't get enough of them.
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Post by Ex on Mar 27, 2019 20:21:18 GMT -5
That one really is amazing, agreed. It's easily as good as anything Nintendo themselves made on the NES. |
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