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Post by Xeogred on Jan 1, 2023 14:08:42 GMT -5
Moulinoski: Kind of like Ex's experience, I didn't like the sidequests in XB1 at all and basically ignored them entirely after a point. The final stretch was probably tougher than it should have been because of that but I enjoyed getting pretty good with Melia. I don't think I contributed at all to that colony you can help build in this one too. XB2, they worked out the kinks a bit and I didn't mind doing some side quests at times, or along the way. But I still main lined it for the most part. I won't say I speed through everything, like I just want to get a game over with asap, but I guess I tend to be a bit more efficient and focused than the average gamer haha, since yeah it's been an amusing trend that I typically beat modern games hours faster than most. But then stuff like Elden Ring or Xenoblade 3, I submerge myself in them and take my time.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 1, 2023 14:42:37 GMT -5
It took me 99.5 hours to finish, myself. I did all the missable side quests, which upped my time. It's also why I have no real interest in playing the Switch remaster, unless I can pull my old save game over somehow.
There's a balance with modern games for sure. Some are worth smelling the roses, others are better sticking to the critical path and key sidequests. My enjoyment of Horizon: Zero Dawn, for example, improved immensely when I abandoned all but the most effective sidequests and stuck to the critical path otherwise.
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Post by Moulinoski on Jan 1, 2023 15:22:17 GMT -5
I don’t think that I spent a lot of time doing the side quests in XB1 but I’m pretty sure I still clocked in around 100 hours. Maybe some of that time was me leaving the game idle? I don’t think that’s too likely; I would’ve closed my 3DS in that case (this was the 3DS version of XB1). Maybe I did do more side quests than I remember. Or level grinding?
Still, I shudder at the 70+ hour minimum of modern games. I suppose it may also depend on the pacing of the game. I remember being done with Persona 5 before it was done with me (I felt fatigued by it by the part on the cruise ship). I remember feeling similarly about XB1. Interestingly, I didn’t feel this way about Dragon Quest XI until after I reached the post game and did a bunch of the side quests, but in that case I was able to say “I’m done” and fought the absolutely final final boss so the feeling didn’t last as long. I don’t remember if I beat the post game on the 3DS. I think I didn’t. I should go back and do that; I doubt it’ll be too hard.
Oh, since following Basement Brothers, I’ve gotten interested in Legend of Heroes and the Trails series but then I check the minimum clear time for these games and again I shudder! I honestly think that 30 hours is the sweet spot for RPGs. Chrono Trigger can be beaten once in around that time or less! Having a lot of optional side quests and super extra hard bosses and dungeons might be a better alternative, in my mind, to a game where everything is virtually part of the critical path. People who want to experience the story can get it and people who want to immerse themselves in the world can do so too.
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Post by Sarge on Jan 1, 2023 17:20:25 GMT -5
Tend to agree. For a while, 50 was fine, but now I pine for the days where RPGs got the lead out, and finished up in 20-40. The SNES era got this right.
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Post by Ex on Jan 1, 2023 17:48:59 GMT -5
I honestly think that 30 hours is the sweet spot for RPGs. Completely agree. For me it's 20-30 hours, that's the magic range. After 30 hours unless an RPG is doing something special, I'm ready to be done with it. For 16-bit and most 32-bit, that time frame was applicable. But the sixth gen's DVD sized JRPGs shifted the time frame more to 40-60 hours. Then seventh gen was 50+ on average it seems like. I don't mind a game being super long, as long as it's super awesome. I get irritated when I'm 30 hours invested into an RPG, and its quality starts to drop off. The whole sunk cost fallacy kicks in then. I do appreciate HLTB very much though for getting an idea of what you're signing up for. |
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Post by Moulinoski on Jan 1, 2023 23:07:15 GMT -5
I honestly think that 30 hours is the sweet spot for RPGs. Completely agree. For me it's 20-30 hours, that's the magic range. After 30 hours unless an RPG is doing something special, I'm ready to be done with it. For 16-bit and most 32-bit, that time frame was applicable. But the sixth gen's DVD sized JRPGs shifted the time frame more to 40-60 hours. Then seventh gen was 50+ on average it seems like. I don't mind a game being super long, as long as it's super awesome. I get irritated when I'm 30 hours invested into an RPG, and its quality starts to drop off. The whole sunk cost fallacy kicks in then. I do appreciate HLTB very much though for getting an idea of what you're signing up for. Yeah, HLTB is why I hesitate to start any Trails game. I just checked Trails in the Sky and the whole thing is like 140 hours altogether! Technically it’s three games but the first two end in cliffhangers or something. |
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bosh
HRG Enthusiast
Posts: 207
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Post by bosh on Jan 1, 2023 23:08:20 GMT -5
Sarge - I make a card template based of a baseball card design and then slot stuff in sometime after I beat the game. Doing a 61 Fleer design for this year.
Xeogred - I had played all the games previously besides the original. I would say for the most part they still all hold up. If you are going to play them, definetly go in order as the series does build upon itself well. The new trilogy are easily the best games (If you own all three you can also get them all into one game including campaigns). Before new trilogy I had always considered Blood Money a holy grail (Which it still is), IOI has just done a great job with the new stuff. Original game does have a lot of jank and some really hard sections, but some of its levels are phenomenal and intense knowing the game could screw you over any second for the smallest mistake. If I had to rank the series I would go:
1. New Hitman Trilogy ( I actually rank these games by the levels not the number titles) 2. Hitman Blood Money 3. Codename 47 4. Hitman 2 5. Hitman Absolution - (This did introduce contracts mode which is fantastic, I didn't enjoy it on replay as much as I did originally) 6. Hitman Contracts - (In a way, some new stuff and some stuff remade from previous games. I don't think remade sections hold a candle to original levels though since they don't have insane difficulty)
Ex - Love the Hitman series! They are, but they really push the amount of things you can do from Blood Money to a wild level. Each level has multiple achievements on completion (scenarios, outfits, ways you executed them...etc) as well as "The Classics" which are suit only, sniper only, not being spotted...etc. After playing new trilogy a bunch, last years playthrough was doing "The Classics" but all in one go for new games which was pretty interesting and fun way to re-tackle the game.
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Post by Ex on Jan 2, 2023 0:02:52 GMT -5
last years playthrough was doing "The Classics" but all in one go for new games which was pretty interesting and fun way to re-tackle the game So are you saying you played the original early 2000s PC games? |
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bosh
HRG Enthusiast
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Post by bosh on Jan 2, 2023 2:18:47 GMT -5
last years playthrough was doing "The Classics" but all in one go for new games which was pretty interesting and fun way to re-tackle the game So are you saying you played the original early 2000s PC games? Yes! The only ones I have not played in the series are the spinoff mobile games (Go & Sniper) |
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Post by Sarge on Jan 10, 2023 14:14:17 GMT -5
I realized I didn't talk about the modern games I finished, so here's my favorites from this past year.
Ys IX - Not as good as Ys VIII, but still a worthy followup. Just wish that engine was better optimized. No real excuse for its performance - it's not pushing a tough visual target.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - I've played more Mario Kart in the past year than in my whole life, haha. I've gotten quite good at it, too, although I'm sure I don't stack up against the best.
Astalon: Tears of the Earth - My choice for game of the year last year (that was new to me). Exploratory platforming with a heavy NES slant, sort of Legacy of the Wizard vibes. Or maybe some Maze of Galious. Dunno, regardless, it was great.
Axiom Verge 2 - Very different from the first game, but still quite fun.
Quantum Break - The most modern-feeling game I played, and I enjoy Remedy's output. This one was no different. Not spectacular, but extremely well-executed.
Inmost - An odd, horror-adjacent cinematic platformer with a Game Boy-plus aesthetic (think Octopath Traveler). Not long, but fun while it lasts.
Chasm - Very, very inspired by SotN. Not as good, obviously, but still very fun. Each room is designed, but they can be arranged differently per each run. Interesting idea for speedrunners, anyway.
Bloodstained: CotM2 - Perhaps not as good as the first game (requires way too many replays for the real ending, and much longer, compounding the issue), but still a concentrated blast of not-Castlevania.
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