"Wait, the game is already over?"

Originally Posted by VitaPup

I played Mario RPG for the first time a year ago and was surprised about how quickly I got through with the same. Damn that Smithy.

Any game with a level cap of 30 isn't destined to be very long, sadly. It's short enough that it's one of the few RPGs I've ever seen anyone do a speed run for (3 hours, 57 minutes).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Hmm, nobody mentioned Chrono Trigger in this thread? I think it is one of the shortest duration rpg in history. I forgot how many times I've beaten it already. maybe around 20 or something beyond that.

Final Fantasy VIII, my best record is 20 hours of gameplay. Just...too... damn short.

Parasite Eve, obviously. Only took around 12 hours to beat this great game. The customization and the level bonus is addictive though.

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

In a straight through game, Final Fantasy Tactics was pretty short. If you don't do any of the side quests and such, the thing can be beat in 1 day if you know what you're doing. It's a fun game though.


The Early Tony Hawk Pro Skater games were extremely short too. A playthrough once took about 30 minutes. The problem was doing it with everybody.

Of course, this isn't a thread of the most random endings so my post stops here, but there are a lot of candidates for most random endings.

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

Originally Posted by Spatula

I also found Mercernaries surprisingly short (about 30 hours) for a GTA type game. There's perhaps 10-12 missions per each Ace stage, so 45 some missions in total. If you have cheats, then a mission can easily be beaten under 3 minutes thanks to God mode. I also found the side challenges lacking in fun or innovation.

To be fair, you can't really complain about the length of a game if you cheat your way through it.

I wish Parappa haad been longer. It's barely an hour's worth of game (Although I have played it through many, many times).

Originally Posted by eriol

Final Fantasy VIII, my best record is 20 hours of gameplay. Just...too... damn short.

My first play through Suikoden took about 20 hours. You can get through much quicker as well if you aren't fucked about picking up all the characters.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Breath of Fire II. It ended waaaay too fucking quickly. I mean, you discover a

Spoiler:

LOST DRAGON UNDERWORLD-TYPE THING

and you're not even allowed to go exploring? Boo. I was expecting a

Spoiler:

second overworld-type thing.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'd say that if you're like me, and don't collect everything in a game, then Spider-Man 2 and Ultimate Spider-Man can be finished pretty quick. USM was almost embarassingly short, since it took about two sittings to complete the main quest.

FELIPE NO

Freedom Fighters was a total "..what?" for me.
I remember I got sick of it and had a little break. Some months later I booted the old log up and tried it again, and after 1 level played I get to some kind of movie. "Ooh, mid-story event... Is that credits?".

It ended so suddenly.

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

You people are mad! There's hardly an RPG that can keep me entertained beyond 20 hours, yet you claim this is too short? Final Fantasy 4, Chrono Trigger, Lufia 2, those were the days. Ah, when I could beat and enjoy an RPG in just a few days. When dungeons rarely took more than 10 minutes of my time.

Hell, I'm more than happy with a game that takes me about 10-15 hours to beat the first time through.

But if you want a recent game that's just too short that I've actually played then I'll say Gunstar Super Heroes.

It's not so much the length that bothers me (you can beat it in 20 minutes if you like), it's just that there's not a whole lot there. For a short game like this I want the levels to be packed with action, and yet for almost the entire game the levels are short and empty. It needed more challenging bosses and less stand around do nothing levels.

At least it wasn't too long like the original Gunstar Heroes (an hour through) where levels went on forever with little to no variation in design.

Ah, Alien Soldier, you did everything so well in comparison.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by VitaPup

Shadows of Destiny

I half agree and half disagree, the main game is pretty short, only a few hours, but that game had great replay value in getting all the endings.

Recently, SiN Episode 1 and Half-Life 2 Episode 1 were pretty short, but that was to be expected I guess.

Tomb Raider Legend was an excellent game which was just too damn short, I clocked it in just over 6 hours, but it did well and there was the cliffhanger ending so bring on another.

Both Resident Evil Outbreak 1 and 2 were pretty short, and Survivor was too. I could look past it with Survivor as it was a light gun game but I think Outbreak could have used a few more levels.

I can't help but feel I need to mention the opposite to these but, recently, Zettai Zetsumi Toshi 2 AKA Disaster Report 2 AKA SOS The Final Escape 2. That game went on and on, until you completed it, to unlock 5 more scenarios which meant that in the end it was a pretty long game.

Resident Evil 4 was damn long too, not that that was bad, until some of the replays

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Psychonauts. Already mentioned, but I think it's a good example. All the levels up to Lungfishopolis feel like warm-up stages (mostly since you're only there to learn a new move). Waterloo and Black Velvetopia were also very disappointing stages, but anything that comes after the hilarity of Boyd the milkman is destined to feel half-assed. I was really disappointed to see that you never go back to any of the old stages to deal with Razputin's personal problems, go into Dogen's mind (a Teletubby-esque place perhaps?). I thought for sure his mind would be a level because in the beginning of the game when if you kill the squirrels he acts traumatized. The biggest WTF for me was the fact that you didn't do anything at all about

Spoiler:

the hidden room in Milla's mind filled with nightmares which represents her dead children, unless I missed it

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. You find out that Abercrombie Fizzwidget was

Spoiler:

Captain Qwark (pretty obvious) and you just let him walk away after fighting the giant protopet?

At least one more level would have been sufficient enough to make the game feel complete.

Metal Gear Solid 2. It would have helped the storyline if they hadn't totally shit on it before and after the final boss battle. There's about 20 hours worth of plot twists (not that any of them were any good) packed into a pair of movies, where the cast conveniently assembles to make drama and die. Here's what the ending sounded like to me (spoilers, but since the story blows there's noting to spoil):

Spoiler:

Solidus: HAHAHA, you've all been pawns in my little game of chess.

Fortune: I knew you were going to say that since I orchestrated it from the beginning!

Solidus: Little do you know, even your reply was planned long ago, and you were merely my puppet.

Ocelot: Fools! The patriots have planned and executed everything you have ever done! Your little arguement was nothing more than a scene in a play for there amusement! Your entire lives have been running on their schedule!

(shit happens, Fortune dies, Ocelot runs away)

Solidus: Now, let me give a lengthy speech that has nothing to do with anything that happended in the game. Raiden, let's fight for a poory explained reason.

(Solidus crashes and dies in front of the capitol building, cue metal gear solid theme, this is supposed to be climactic?)

Snake: Since Solidus is dead let me take over with an extended speech about a an irrelevant subject which is really nothing in order to distract the player from the real storyline (which was crap) in order to make the plot look less anorexic. Something about passing genes onto your children and shit. Join us again for MGS4! COPYRIGHT KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS

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

Originally Posted by randomwab

Resident Evil 4 was damn long too, not that that was bad, until some of the replays

No way!!! By the end of the game I wanted more!!! It was IMO too damn short but I guess its probably because I wanted more of that "edge-of-your-seat" feeling that was present throughout my whole time playing that game.

And Zelda Wind Waker was too fast. I played it, beat two dungeons, stopped for 2 months, got back and defeated two dungeons before reaching Ganon. Don't give me the bullshit about exploring the sea, Aonuma: Where was the quality (and quantity) of the main quest?

How ya doing, buddy?

So Wind Waker has four dungeons and Ganon?

Spoilers. ;_;

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by chaofan

And Zelda Wind Waker was too fast. I played it, beat two dungeons, stopped for 2 months, got back and defeated two dungeons before reaching Ganon. Don't give me the bullshit about exploring the sea, Aonuma: Where was the quality (and quantity) of the main quest?

I don't think he posts here, but it was all hidden under the sea, with talking crabs and a city ruled by an old man with an novelty sized dinner fork. You must have missed it all!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Elixir

So Wind Waker has four dungeons and Ganon?

Spoilers. ;_;

Sorry, only JUST learnt how to do the spoiler tag -_-'

And Infernal Monkey, I do post in General Gaming and Mario Warp Pipe, only not as frequent as some members here.

And finally to clear myself up: Of course the game wasn't only just those dungeons but BASICALLY that was what comprised of the main quest. Add the undersea section, a few "side-main quests" (triforce hunting) and that was what an impatient gamer got.

FELIPE NO

No no! You were asking Mr. Aonuma why it was so short, but I don't think Eiji Aonuma posts at GFF. So I filled in.

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

No. Infernal was saying that Aonuma doesn't post here. (o shi! beaten)

Anyone here think that Golden Sun was too short? I thought when they sailed away at the end and after the credits it would suddenly open the second half of the game or something. No such luck. And because of that and a year or so of waiting I never got into the sequel. Good job, Camelot. Your next RPG better be long and awesome as possible. Seriously they've been working on one for like I dunno 5 or so years I think.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Infernal Monkey

No no! You were asking Mr. Aonuma why it was so short, but I don't think Eiji Aonuma posts at GFF. So I filled in.

Woops! Misquoted. Sorry dude -_-'

Metal Gear Solids are quite quick, as most have said in this thread.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm suprised Fable wasn't mentioned. It's possible to finish that game in less than 4 hours if you don't do any sidequests.

Oh and the Celebrity Deathmatch game. It doesn't take even an hour to finish that.

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

Someone once said that a good movie can never be too long, and a bad movie can never be too short. I think this holds true for games too; a lot of really good ones seem short because you don't want them to be over already.

That said, here are a few games I would really have liked to see some extra innings for:

Beyond Good and Evil Someone was totalling dungeons awhile back; this game has 3. That, plus the enormously endearing characters and terrific plot, make it a prime candidate. Too bad we'll never see a sequel :'(

Koudelka Not a great game, but one with potential. I hit the final boss after about 10 hours of gameplay, including level-up stops. This one probably holds a PS1 record for discs-to-playtime ratio.

Xenogears Disc 2 The beginning of the game was lovingly crafted and complex. Then, it's as if someone said "Oh shit! The game ships tomorrow and we're only half done!" The true inspiration for Xenosaga.

Monstania An obscure SNES strategy RPG that has a nice battle system and good characters. It can also be beaten in the time it takes to microwave a burrito.

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

I love the Sonic series, but I find many of the later 2-D games annoyingly short.

I beat all three Advances without emeralds in under 3 hours. Subsequent runs allow me to do perfect runs (get the emeralds and beat the lass boss) in under 5 hours playtime. The only perfectly long Sonic games are 3-K and Rush. -_-

2 is too long without a save feature.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Beyond Good and Evil Someone was totalling dungeons awhile back; this game has 3. That, plus the enormously endearing characters and terrific plot, make it a prime candidate. Too bad we'll never see a sequel :'(

I love it that way, so I can play it in two sittings and ride the rollercoaster.

The only thing that ended sooner that I expected was in fact a movie- the back of the case for Serenity said 180 minutes, I sat down ready for a good three hours of Firefly, and it ended after two. They included the extras in the duration, dammit.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Super Metroid. Of all the times I try to make it last for as long as I can, I always fail miserably. ;_; I can't help but try to beat the game in under three hours. >_<

Most amazing jew boots

i think GUN was pretty short, way short compared to Red Dead Revolver and also tomb raider legend.

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

Soemtimes if I have 50 minutes spare I might play through Lylat Wars / Star Fox 64. The game is ridiculously short so long as you avoid the Aquas mission.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

compare that to double dragon (NES) and mario bros 3. I could finish them around hour. the original mario bros still the hardest though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.