[General Discussion] Milking games for replay value.

I was just thinking about playing RE 4 on Gamecube and how many times I've played through that game (probably going on around 14 times). While it was fun earning the uber weapons and blowing the crap out of everything in one or two shots that began to get old.

My college suitemate told me about someone who went through the game with just a handgun on normal so I tried that.

Then I decided to take it a step further and go through professional using nothing but weapons that took handgun ammo and grenades. Which made for quite the challenge.

Then I think about playing playing through Contra and Super C on NES without dying.


So after you've finished with your games what new ways do you think of to play in order to breathe life back into them?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Years ago when I only had a few games, I always played each one at least three times after finishing it for the first time. A good example would be fighting games. I remember going through those on the hardest mode to see how far I could get. I also recall playing Metal Gear Solid without using weapons except during boss battles. It made the game a little more interesting.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, the oldest case I can think of was when I played Dino Crisis 2 to death. I have no idea why, for some reason the game was just fun, so I went through it like half a dozen times (luckly the game wasn't extremely long), trying different weapons and strategies. You discover some interesting uses for the weapons when you go through trying them on enemies you haven't before (like the shock cannon that creates a ball of energy can be used to "trap" the larger dinosaurs between two charges).

Most recently, I played through Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando to get all the skill points. Challenge mode didn't really seem to make the game much more difficult...in fact it seemed easier since you figure out all the uber weapon options the first time through the game. But, it provided me with another extended playthrough of the game, and now I can say that I unlocked the beach costume in it.

Generally if I REALLY like a game and it has some kind of optional goal or something to achieve, I'll take the time to do it (Medals on Star Fox 64). Otherwise, I did restrict myself from using certain weapon attachments in Panzer Dragoon Saga in a recent playthrough to keep the game from being too easy. It's more fun and challenging when your shots don't do 5x damage to weakpoints or drain BP from the enemy in every hit (I actually used ITEMS for the first time! *gasp*).

Oh yes, and I did play through Metal Gear Solid 2 on the Extreme difficulty setting. Now there's an excruciating experience, but boy was it satisfying to finally kill a boss after spending 2 hours trying to take it down.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Megaman X games are awesome in this regard. First you do it with no subtanks, then with no special weaponry except where mandated (curse you, X4 Sigma Reaper!), then with no armor whatsoever (well, excepting the boots you have to have in X1, curses again).

This sort of thing used to be VERY useful back when I was a dumb kid going on bended knee for the $50-60 needed to buy a new game, but now that I'm grown with expendable income I have the opposite problem: too much to play, too little time.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I used to play SNES RPG's with some self-imposed restrictions, such as "no magic during battles (really tough in some fights in FF3).

Personally, I would've loved to see more games that had a lot of unlockable stuff based on what you did in the game (rather than just using a password system to unlock it). The invincibility cheat in Goldeneye for N64, for instance, was a major pain in the butt to get (beat the 2nd level in 2 minutes, 7 seconds I think), and to date, I only managed to do it once (afterwards just using a gameshark if I wanted invincibility), although it was really worthwhile to get (particularly as the game was even "too easy" on 007 mode).

It'd be really cool if a game unlocked a secret campaign or sidestory after you beat it to add some replay to it. The only example I can think of atm is Suikoden III, where after you beat it, you can play as the bad guys, and see stuff going on from their point of view. While it was short, I did like how it changes your perspective on the game (although I hated having to fight the 3 heroes cause the bad guys whupped me in the game, and only because they had 3 monsters helping them. But when you play the bad guys, you don't get those 3 monsters, and you have substantially less hp).

I was speaking idiomatically.

My game collection is pretty small, so I do like to extract as much playtime out of my games as possible. I couldn't even count how many times I've gone through A Link to the Past, for example...and no, I still haven't gotten tired of it!

Most recently, I decided to completely beat Ace Combat Zero, buying all of the planes and special weapons, and getting S-rankings on Ace difficulty. Most recently, I decided to go through and beat the game on Ace difficulty using just the three starting planes. The added challenge of using the basic planes brought new life into the game, which I was getting pretty tired of (there's only so much to do after smashing The Gauntlet in under five minutes using the F-15S)...playing Zero using the Draken was probably the most fun I've had with an Ace Combat since my first time blowing up Megalith.

How ya doing, buddy?

I absolutely LOVE games with good replay value. RE4 was one, even the DMC series were awesome with all the unlockables. Replaying to buy better abilities and such. The best series ever would be the Rachet & Clank series. Besides the great humour, to complete the game again and again with the huge amount of unlockables, or to collect enough bolts to buy the best armor and weapons AND to level them up to the max.

Another game I really liked for the replay value is Way of the Samurai 2. I never played the first, but this one really got me addicted. 70 over swords, plenty of unlockable accesories, and 12 endings. Plus I get to customize the character skins everytime I start again. Awesome stuff.

To me, completing a game that doesn't reward the player after the credits roll is a waste of time. Of course, with the exception of a great plot, gameplay or the soundscore. I actually replayed Grandia 3 just to admire the background graphics.

Also, Wild Arms Alter Code F and Wild Arms 4. Good replay value too ^ ^

FELIPE NO

Meh, I'm obsessed with the 2D Metroid games, and wanted to try a few different Zero Mission runs, so I started small with a no energy tank, hard mode run. After clearing that, I did a couple of different low percent normal runs, then did a low percent hard run. Good times.

- WraithTwo -

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Gecko3

It'd be really cool if a game unlocked a secret campaign or sidestory after you beat it to add some replay to it.

That actually reminds me of Panzer Dragoon Orta. When you beat it once, you get access to 5 bonus missions (kinda small and simple, but still worth playing), and a full 7 mission mini-campaign with a new character and different controls, and it even had an ending cutscene. The entire original Panzer Dragoon is also included.

That's another game I played quite a bit of now that I remember. Trying to unlock more and more of the Pandora's Box options was very fun, and of course playing through it again in Hard mode. I had actually done the same for Panzer Dragoon Zwei, which required you to get 100% shot down percent on every level to unlock the final option in Pandra's Box (the option to go directly to the level bosses). Although if you have a Panzer Dragoon Saga save in your Saturn's memory, it automatically unlocks all of the Pandra's Box options, which would kinda remove any reward you'd get from playing the game for it (luckly I accomplished that feat before I even bought Panzer Dragoon Saga).

Deus Ex had me playing through it several times, not for a specific reason, but because every time I did I found something new. Holy crap they crammed a lot of stuff into that game, from side missions to alternate story elements if you did certain things (for example it took me 3 plays through the game before I realized you could -spoiler-save Jock-spoiler-). The second one did to an extent, but it had nowhere near as many "hidden" things as the first game, and wasn't quite as good in general so I gave up on it half way through. Although now that I've upgraded my computer quite a bit, maybe it would be worth going through again with those extra graphic quality patches...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If I play a game over again, it's never done with self-imposed goals, such as not using a certain weapon and such. I'm usually just looking for all sorts of secrets or side-quests. The exception to this is vertical shooters (Shmups in general), where the goal is to get a higher score.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I always play Ninja Gaiden (NES) without using the Jump and Slash technique. Takes the fun right out of it, unless you're feeling particularly vengeful/malicious. I should try 2 without spirits or 3 without the Dragon God sword. Otherwise, can't think of an example...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I will play a game over and over again until I get everything, but no for high scores or anuthing, just for unlockables and such. One of the reasons why I don't like Nintendo games much is because they don't take long to beat and get everything and they expect you to play their game over and over again. While I do enjoy alot of their games, I don't find many of them have much depth (smash bros. is somewhat an exception). But I'm getting side tracked and should save that part for another threads.

The only type of game that I play over and over alot even after getting everything are fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur and what not, not fighters like MK, DBZ and such... just not enough there to keep me interested.

*This post has not been spell checked*

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It is not so much that I will play games over an over, but I will put an insane amount of time into getting everything. I spent over 300 hours on my GBA copy of FFT: Advanced getting a full clan of members who had every skill in the game.

ES3: Morrowind. I spent 2000 hours exploring everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Even those places that just looked nice. It was pretty crazy.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Castlevania:CotM. I've beaten the game using the Fighter code and beat the game at a fairly low level. Currently, I'm trying to beat the game with only the homing knives with Shooter. Though, there probably have been people that have done even crazier stuff for this game.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I focus more on playing than replaying. For example, I try to find 100% of the secret areas, bonuses, etc. the first play through. (Nowadays I use FAQs due to time constaints.) After 1 play through I'm pretty much finished with the game.

Because of this, I actually like it when a game gives you a "god mode" or insanely powerful weapons on the 2nd play through. For example, in Silent Hill 3 which I beat earlier this year, you can get an uzi with unlimited ammo on your 2nd go-around. I have started to play through the game again because of this, but probably won't go through the whole thing.

FELIPE NO

I replayed MGS2 too much back in the days.. too bent on getting all the dog tags. Also Starfox 64 and Goldeneye were played to death. As for recent times, I've found myself going through the Sorrow duo for Castlevania quite periodically, just to satiate my appetite in between a lot of the newer, substandard games of late.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I usually use speed runs as a way to replay games often. I've played most Metroid games several times, trying for better times. I've played most Mega Man games through several times, too (getting under an hour on Mega Man 2 and 3).

I've also started trying minimal runs. I went through Metroid Fusion with 1% items. I've also played through Castlevania: SOTN with no equips, and then with no equips, items, relics (except necessary to advance the game) or max ups.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Only game I milked in the past was Fight Night 2004 I believe. I milked that sucker as if it was my own cow. I hate doing it, but it just became so addicting, that eventually I ended up hating that game.

What I really dislike about milking tho, is game producers doing it to a series. Like the current sports games. Adding no new features, or hardly. Promising new features, but don't follow through. Or just using the same engine, building nothing upon it, and expect us to worship it and buy every single one for what it's worth (Dynasty Warriors, :lolsign: )

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by TheKnightOfNee

I've also played through Castlevania: SOTN with no equips, and then with no equips, items, relics (except necessary to advance the game) or max ups.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is great for that "make your own challenge" kind of gameplay. I've beaten it with "naked Alucard" (no items, relics, armor, etc.) but I admit that I caved to frustration and cheated a few times.

I started a valiant attempt at beating Ace Combat 2 and shooting down all legend pilots using only the A-4, but I'm separated from my PS1 at the moment and can't finish it.

EDIT: I just remembered that I used to do a TON of this kind of thing back when I played Goldeneye for the N64. Aside from generally playing that game to death, I opted for weird challenges like "limb shots only," "no reloading unless the magazine is empty," and "no bullet holes allowed in walls (aka 100% accuracy)."

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'll usually only replay a game if 1) to challenge myself (set a higher difficulty) or 2) go back and discover all the 'extras' that I've missed. I've replayed Thief on expert mode, trying to acheive objectives. It is also a bit harder b/c of low health and the inability to kill others. Rainbow Six is another, where I only used pistols and flashbangs on a terrorist hunt.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

My friends and I used to play Goldeneye (N64) to death. When we were getting a little bit bored, we came up with some weird idea to play a 1vs1 game.

BUT the two who are controlling the characters were blindfolded with a scarf, and the other two gave directions to each player to kill each other. 1vs1 when actually was 2vs2.

Its been 9 years, and we still play that damn game. Talk about replay value.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Jayden

I've replayed Thief on expert mode, trying to acheive objectives.

Oh, god, Thief. As a huge fan of Thief 2, I became obsessed with "ghosting" for a year or so--basically, you have to complete the levels without anyone realizing you were ever there. No alerted guards, no guards suspicious enough to search for you, and no kills or knockouts. "Leave no trace." It's insanely hard on some levels, but a good challenge on others and gives you that feeling of being an AWESOME STEALTH NINJA when you succeed.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I replayed Parasite EVE like crazy! I have Aya at level 99 and her equipment stats is nuts!

I have also have everything in FFVII imaginable completed, I even has 10 kights of round materia. (Yes, i have no life)

Most amazing jew boots