[General Discussion] RPGs, a sprint or a marathon?

Not to really dodge the question, but I'm somewhere in between the two, though I might be closer to the marathon runner rather than the sprinter, depending on your definition.

Assuming we're talking about the RPGs that I play (JRPGs to be specific), most of the games last me between 35 hours and 60 hours. Given the definition, I'm probably not a sprinter, but I don't consider myself someone who sets out to discover every nook and cranny the first time through. Unless absolutely pressed, I refuse to look up GameFAQs or any other guide for an RPG on my first pass through it, because from experience, it drains the fun out of RPGs for me. Rather, on any given playthrough of a game, should the game make any mention of a side quest or optional area, I typically go and do the side stuff before continuing. On the other hand, if the game makes no reference to the side area, then, unless I stumble onto it by accident, I won't do it.

To support this with some concrete examples, I'll use Final Fantasy VI.

After you get Setzer back in the World of Ruin, you could always just fly straight to Kefka's Tower and proceed to the final boss as the main story allowed you to do. But if my memory's not too fuzzy, you'll also run into a scene with the party on the airship running by with a carrier pidgeon, which ends up leading you from one place to another eventually to reunite with Cyan. This is what I consider an example where the game hints at a side quest that you can choose to do or not. This is the kind I would generally do on my first pass through the game.

An example of something not hinted at would be to bring Mog through the Lete River or the Serpent Trench to learn Water Rondo, the only dance that is learn-able strictly in the World of Balance. This is the kind I would be likely to skip on my first pass through a game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.