I agree. A lot of it for me is the quality of the time spent. I'd rather pay $10 for high quality six hours of gameplay, then play $40 for 60 hours of gameplay but like 30 of those hours are very low quality.
I’m not sure why this became popular. I’ll easily spend £8 to watch a 1.5 hour film so why would I limit myself on a game I could enjoy if it’s short. I just play games I think I’ll like. I’m not picking up a 100 hour multiplayer because it’s better value
Since getting married, I’ve been popping in and out of multiplayer games more often as well as more closely curating what single-player games I purchase.
I enjoy longer narrative-driven, single-player games; they’re like a good book and I aim to be just as bummed out when the game ends as I would be at the end of a work from my favorite novelist.
But I cook, I clean, I do the shopping, and so I end up with a lot of short periods of free time throughout the day. The newest (but not franchised) multiplayer game is usually what I’ll play if I can come and go at my leisure without provoking the ire of other players.
I’ve never really wanted to 100% a game, pretty sure that was just FOMO, but every now and again I will want to replay an old game.
They are completely disconnected, with the exception of the occasional spinoff or direct sequel, but those are easy to identify. The last game is probably the easier one of the series to pick up and play (this statement has been true for the whole existence of the series)
Where to start? Depends. Everyone of them is a huge game and a big time investment.
Taking into account you have no nostalgia for the series, I’d say your options, in order of what I think would stick are:
Option 1: the last one. If you just want to play a modern action/rpg game with AAA sensibilities but weird enough, is not a bad option. You have no need for any previous knowledge, the gameplay is completely different to the one in previous entries, etc. Haven’t played so I do t know if it’s any good.
Option 2: the 7 remake. One of the biggest milestones in the series retold for modern audiences, with updated graphics and narrative.
Option 3: 16bit retro experience: FFVI, SNES or GBA version. The pinnacle of the formula for the 8 and 16 bit consoles. Upcoming titles in the series are way different. Great in every way a game can be good.
Option 4: the 7 vanilla. The first international massive mainstream success for the series and one of the more influential video games in history. After this one, if you loved it:
Option 4a: the PSX trilogy. Go for FFVIII and FFIX for the full pre-render backgrounds and 3d models god killing trio.
Option 4b: the complication. If you are really into the setting and characters you have a few games complicating this one under the “Final Fantasy VII Compilation”. Some aren’t even RPGs.
If you go completely Final Fantasy insane after any of those, start with FF, the first one from the NES and make your way through them all. Prepare a couple thousand hours.
Not quite the same puzzley aspect but check out etrian Odyssey. It’s premise essentially is that you have a dungeon crawler and you have to make the map yourself. There are tools in game for making the map as you go.
I’m playing through the Switch re-releases now and they’re great. The mapping controls leave a lot to be desired versus the DS originals, but it was never gonna be as good as that magic.
DS flashcarts are great and cheap, and the DSi can be soft modded to work directly from an SD card. If you can afford it, get a DSi XL for the best DS experience.
I gave away my NES, 3DS, Dreamcast, N64, and all related games and peripherals a few years ago cause they were taking up too much room for stuff I barely ever used.
I’ve already played these games on (3)DS back in 2013 or so, so I agree it’s the best way to play em. But I just don’t have the time, money, or space to be a retro game collector (outside of Evercade) anymore so I’ll make do with playing these games on Switch.
Yes it’s fantastic. I’ve been playing some old school RPGs like chrono trigger, ff6, earthbound, and mother 3.
If you haven’t already you can run fpga cores for basically any console up to the snes/gba, then you can just load roms onto it. Check out this guide: retrogamecorps.com/…/analogue-pocket-jailbreak-gu…
I really enjoy long games but I'm very picky about which ones I choose to play. I usually don't have a lot of time to play all at once, but I play after work a few days and sometimes a couple of extra hours on the weekends.
Games with a really good story always interest me. I've had good recent experiences with things like final fantasies, tlou/2, horizon games, etc. I don't mind that it could take me a month or two to finish a game as long as it's enjoyable.
I just got my notes out a month ago because someone was sharing their FFXII collection. It has so many switch names, one-way markings, and strike-throughs where I messed up and realized I went in a big circle. I’m so glad I didn’t use a guide for that.
I don’t think I’m alone in this, but what I’m really wondering is if this is a result of getting older? Or is it because the gaming space itself has changed?
Both. When you’re older you don’t have as much time to play video games so you want that time to be more meaningful and for the games you play to be more concise. In addition, a lot of games have added “hundreds” of hours of content by large and relatively empty open worlds that are full of worthless autogenerated side quests and collectible trinkets, which is undoubtedly a worse gameplay experience.
a lot of games have added “hundreds” of hours of content by large and relatively empty open worlds that are full of worthless autogenerated side quests and collectible trinkets, which is undoubtedly a worse gameplay experience.
I loved the first game but I had significantly more spare time back then. I picked up TOTK on day 1 but I just couldn’t connect with it because it’s too big. The map is too big, there’s just too many options it overwhelms me now. I maybe can spend one or two hours a day playing and I really enjoy it now if the game just takes me by the hand and guides me. These massive open world games are not for me any more I’m afraid.
Yep, kids changed it for me too. Picked up RDR2 on sale and just can’t get into it. I have like an hour to play a game at a time, and I don’t want to spend 20 minutes riding a horse to a destination.
I always check howlongtobeat.com before investing in a game. 10-20 hours is perfect. 80+ sounds terrible to me.
I am a student and can’t get into rdr2 either, because I know that I have to play for a few hours to get to a big, epic, story mission. I gave up after the first two missions. For me, the game would’ve been better if it didn’t have an open world, bur rather, you just get send from mission to mission. Like Call of Juareze Gunslinger (which is also western themd), where it’s just a bunch of story missions. Nice 5-6 hour adventure iirc.
As someone who loved BOTW, there’s no way I’m playing TOTK. Just for so many reasons.
I hate crafting and building. I can’t deal with such a massive world right now. And I think what it really comes to is that, while I can enjoy periods without narrative, I’m just not the kind of person who thrives in a “make your own fun” situation. Sandbox games never appealed to me, and TOTK is even more of a sandbox than BOTW was.
I think I was just lucky to be in the right frame of mind when it came to BOTW.
I'm always juggling 2-3 games of various time commitments for this reason. It's works well for me tbh. I just stopped caring about my "backlog" or finishing a game. Video games have been way more fun for me ever since.
Me too. Definitely comes from having less flexible free time now compared to when I was younger. Having a kid (and wife, and responsibilities) really sees me only having about an hour a day that i truly can kick back. And then I am too tired to do anything.
Backlog: finish Elden ring (I am 110h in). Finish BoTW (I am 100h in). TLOU2, God of War 2, Cyberpunk, finish Persona 5 (I’m in 50h in), crosscode, mass effect trio,
Want to play: Metroid dread, a plaque tale requiem , nier replicant. Armored Core, Hollow knight silk song
Look, I am not complaining, things are great. Just need to find a way to play all this inmensive quality. Maybe when I am stuck in a retirement home.
Kinda unrelated, but retirement homes will be way better in the future than they are right now. Imagine all the VR equipment, video game consoles, and PCs. With the right neighbors, it could be like a LAN party all the time
It’s definitely both for me, time management and responsibilities definitely play a part in what I’m able to dedicate to a game and some games definitely have subjectively useless filler for me.
I’ve definitely moved from playing RPGs and competitive shooters to just RPGs as I’m done with grinding for the most part and don’t want to spend my limited time that way lol. Totally get that a lot of people like rogue likes and souls type stuff where the grind is more the point, but it’s not really my cup of tea anymore.
I also see that there’s a trend for studios to just pack their games with a lot of content (Red Dead Redemption 2 having had some more interesting filler, to me, and stuff like Assassin’s Creed getting more grindy).
I find my gaming is more like how I consume books, now. I’ll have a couple RPGs going at a time (usually a replay of something I’ve enjoyed and want to reexperience and another that I’ll be trying out of my backlog) and just play what strikes my fancy.
I get what you’re saying with the bundle kinda thing where you may just skip a game if it’s not something that really grabs you.
I’ve definitely had a few false starts and games where I just kinda saw what they were about and didn’t want to continue or wasn’t super interested.
There are definitely games I’ve put on my docket that I’m more interested in because of their history and relation to the gaming industry, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and S.T.A.L.K.E.R for example.
I think most of it is that I’ve needed to extend my playthroughs to make them work with my life as I’m no longer able to just come home from school and game for like 3 hours a day. I mostly want to either get into (or back into) a cool plot or story and/or consume some older gems I had not been exposed to earlier as I definitely don’t have as much free time.
I’m in a similar boat. I like to focus on more unique and interesting games nowadays (e.g., Outer Wilds), and let me tell you, Vampire The Masquerade is surely one them. I loved that game despite the jank, even if it won’t be your cup of tea, there’s nothing like it. (and STALKER is great too)
Haha I actually kind of loved the jank at points. It was also delightfully early 2000s campy (love those kinds of movies and still show 10 Things I Hate About You in my Shakespeare unit).
Big fan of STALKER so far and I’m slowly getting through the trilogy lol.
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