The Official Staff Blog, as run by the Lead Administrator. This blog hopes to cover all the latest news in both the gaming and DS Ultimate world, and also my ramblings about stuff I like somewhat.
The Most Annoying Non Option in Most Video Games... Non Replayability
Posted 16th October 2009 at 09:38 PM by cheat-master30
Just recently as I was playing Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, it struck me, the one major element that is severely lacking from RPGs and adventure games in general, and has been missing since even the NES days. That is replayability.
Now to be fair, I'm not quite using the term the way many other writers may use said term, but I'm referring to the fact that three quarters of these kinds of games seem to be based around the first time video game player and seem to give you very few options to repeat interesting parts of the narrative.
Think of it this way, using the recent Mario and Luigi game as an example. When you play through the game, a good half the game consists of boss battles and mini games. Many of these are actually quite entertaining to play, and I know personally that I would want to retry for sure the Giant Bowser battles as well as some other sections. But you can't. When you beat a section the first time round, the mini game or boss gets marked as complete and can never be attempted again. Those Giant Bowser fights? You get to do them a tiny FOUR times, and after that, a whole interesting control system goes to waste due to how the game itself is designed. Same with the mini games, or about three quarters of the boss battles. You can't return and reanimate a boss you've beaten to fight it again.
Of course, this isn't the perfect example, it does have the gauntlet (7 remixed tougher versions of earlier bosses, 1 mode being all 7 in a row with no breaks), and you can battle the final boss as many times as you wish... but it's still so common elsewhere. Name an RPG, I bet this problem is in that game. Probably Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have this. Pokemon has this. Heck, even some action adventure games have this, see The Legend of Zelda series.
Talking of The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker (as well as Ocarina of Time and probably Twilight Princess) was major guilty of this. Half the game gets marked as 'complete' when the main mission is done, hence half the game ends up empty at said point. You can't for example fight most of the bosses again in said games, nor possibly many of the mini games, or explore the areas as they were before a major plot event hit. The Wind Waker for example had the Forsaken Fortress. Decent dungeon. Fairly cool to sneak around killing or dodging enemies with barrels. But unlike the temples and early dungeons, you can never really return after the second time around. Okay, you CAN, but it's permanently deserted. No enemies bar rats and keese remain. Considering the place had many, many interesting elements and some neat boss battles, it's actually rather depressing it all goes to waste once you're at the three quarter mark.
Majora's Mask probably did this best, you apparently have the areas and bosses reset when you return to the first day. That way, you can mess around with the sections both in the before and after crisis stage, and rebattle the bosses. Why don't other games do something like this?
Now, I admit there's a good reason for this type of game design, it shows you're progressing through the story as you go, and hey, retrying some stuff would be logically impossible according to the plot. But why not have some kind chapter menu which returns a chapter to how it is at a certain stage, but with you keeping items and experience if you so desire? How about a boss rush type mode which has every boss battle in the game rather than a select few? Why not some way to show friends and such like the interesting stuff in the game in an instant? Most people don't have the forty odd hours required for a second play through, and why the hell should they have to?
It's not even like some of these options would be too difficult to add anyway. Take the Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story example. Maybe have it so you can refight giant bosses by returning to the site of the boss battle and choosing an option. Maybe have it so you fight bosses that become friendly characters or still objects by returning to them and clicking an option to cause them to rebattle you? Same thing for the mini games and such like, going back to where these started should make it so that the mini games are playable again, not just give a pointless empty room.
Anyone agree?
Now to be fair, I'm not quite using the term the way many other writers may use said term, but I'm referring to the fact that three quarters of these kinds of games seem to be based around the first time video game player and seem to give you very few options to repeat interesting parts of the narrative.
Think of it this way, using the recent Mario and Luigi game as an example. When you play through the game, a good half the game consists of boss battles and mini games. Many of these are actually quite entertaining to play, and I know personally that I would want to retry for sure the Giant Bowser battles as well as some other sections. But you can't. When you beat a section the first time round, the mini game or boss gets marked as complete and can never be attempted again. Those Giant Bowser fights? You get to do them a tiny FOUR times, and after that, a whole interesting control system goes to waste due to how the game itself is designed. Same with the mini games, or about three quarters of the boss battles. You can't return and reanimate a boss you've beaten to fight it again.
Of course, this isn't the perfect example, it does have the gauntlet (7 remixed tougher versions of earlier bosses, 1 mode being all 7 in a row with no breaks), and you can battle the final boss as many times as you wish... but it's still so common elsewhere. Name an RPG, I bet this problem is in that game. Probably Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have this. Pokemon has this. Heck, even some action adventure games have this, see The Legend of Zelda series.
Talking of The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker (as well as Ocarina of Time and probably Twilight Princess) was major guilty of this. Half the game gets marked as 'complete' when the main mission is done, hence half the game ends up empty at said point. You can't for example fight most of the bosses again in said games, nor possibly many of the mini games, or explore the areas as they were before a major plot event hit. The Wind Waker for example had the Forsaken Fortress. Decent dungeon. Fairly cool to sneak around killing or dodging enemies with barrels. But unlike the temples and early dungeons, you can never really return after the second time around. Okay, you CAN, but it's permanently deserted. No enemies bar rats and keese remain. Considering the place had many, many interesting elements and some neat boss battles, it's actually rather depressing it all goes to waste once you're at the three quarter mark.
Majora's Mask probably did this best, you apparently have the areas and bosses reset when you return to the first day. That way, you can mess around with the sections both in the before and after crisis stage, and rebattle the bosses. Why don't other games do something like this?
Now, I admit there's a good reason for this type of game design, it shows you're progressing through the story as you go, and hey, retrying some stuff would be logically impossible according to the plot. But why not have some kind chapter menu which returns a chapter to how it is at a certain stage, but with you keeping items and experience if you so desire? How about a boss rush type mode which has every boss battle in the game rather than a select few? Why not some way to show friends and such like the interesting stuff in the game in an instant? Most people don't have the forty odd hours required for a second play through, and why the hell should they have to?
It's not even like some of these options would be too difficult to add anyway. Take the Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story example. Maybe have it so you can refight giant bosses by returning to the site of the boss battle and choosing an option. Maybe have it so you fight bosses that become friendly characters or still objects by returning to them and clicking an option to cause them to rebattle you? Same thing for the mini games and such like, going back to where these started should make it so that the mini games are playable again, not just give a pointless empty room.
Anyone agree?
Total Comments 0
