The Walkthrough Conundrum.

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

Sometimes the temptation is just too great.

I never set out playing an RPG with the intention of reading a walkthrough, but I can’t remember the last time I didn’t use one. Chances are it was in that nebulous couple of years after the Sega CD squelched my need for keeping current with the gaming world. Back then there was no Gamefaqs. Phantasy Star II had a hintbook included with it, but for everything else you were out of luck.

I do remember when I finally broke down. A roommate in college had a Playstation and Final Fantasy 7. I remembered enjoying II (SNES) and decided to give this new one a shot.

I loved it. My buddy had the strategy guide, but I wasn’t going to have anything to do with that. Why ruin the game that way? I had soldiered trough a dozen of these things on the old systems. I knew I could handle it without any help. And I did. I made it about three quarters of the way through without even being tempted to cheat.

One night during a party at the apartment a few of us were getting blazed in my buddy’s room and I picked up the guide just to look over the parts of the game I’d already been through. Here’s where my fall from grace takes place. I couldn’t believe the amount of shit that I’d missed. There were all sorts of sidequests, rare weapons, and out of the way summons that I’d completely blown past. All the old RPG’s I’d played didn’t have this stuff. You just got strong enough to beat a dungeon, or boss and then moved on to the next one. I’d missed half of the game so far.

Well I didn’t plan on missing any more. I’d try and avoid plot points and maps so as to keep from ruining the game entirely, but I wasn’t about to miss out on all this other cool stuff.

That’s been my relationships with walkthroughs ever since. Recent games have only gotten worse. It’s gotten to the point with many RPG’s that you’d have to be completely Autistic to track down a lot of this extra content. If you managed to track down all the rare game in Final Fantasy 12 without the help of a strategy guide then you’re a better gamer than I.

Well here I am coming off another short period of reduced gaming. I just picked up Dragon Quest 8 at TRU for $9.99. I had heard that it was a throwback to a more classic style of grinding and exploration. I’m loving it so far. I’ve made a promise to myself to avoid any guides, or even reviews for that matter. I’d forgotten how much that the exploration of a created world can be its own reward. I’m staying strong so far, but Trode just gave me an alchemy pot.

Dammit.

Item creation?

I mean son of a bitch. This is the reason guides were created. They’re for those of us who don’t want to try mixing every possible combination of every item in the game engine. Oh you mean the weapon I need beat that boss is made my mixing the rat crap with an herb and some boxer shorts. How did I not think of that?

Even so I’m still not looking at a guide. I’m staying strong. I swear… Pray for me.

[Krook]

I usually get tempted too.
Specially on RPGs. I don't wanna sit there after i played for 50 hours and wonder why I keep dying when I've been grinding like a bitch for hours just cause i missed like 3 secret über weapons along the way.

[Sudo]

I use FAQs for the majority of games I play these days. I'm the type of person who generally doesn't replay a game unless I REALLY loved it, which seldom happens. I'd rather get everything out of a game in a single playthrough and move onto another one than be frustrated that I missed something really cool and have to play through it a second time.

[YoshiM]

Actually magazines were usually a great source for tips if you got stuck on the hot games, so one wasn't always out of luck. I remember when I couldn't figure out how to find Darkfalz in the original Phantasy Star until I read about the directions you needed to take to get through the dungeon. Each month at least one mag had a walk-through for some popular game. During this time there were the regular strategy guides for loads of NES games (most memorable are the Game Player's Guides) and later Genesis games (can't recall strict SNES guides but I'm sure they were available). Granted you had to wait for your info but that was a different time when patience was in abundance :) .

I didn't and generally don't play a lot of RPGs. I was more into platformers and adventure games. Generally the hints worked in reverse: I'd play the game and I'd remember reading about something and either I or a friend would rifle through my mags to find the info. I will admit having to use the pseudo-walkthrough for Phantasy Star III that some mag published over a span of two months.

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

Yeah. My kryptonite with Phantasy Star was that damn Larema Nut that you had to find on some random tree on Dezo. That had me hung up forever.

Still, at least that was just a matter of finding the right tree. You didn't have to kill eight zombies first and then visit the tree between the hours of 4 and 9.

I mapped every dungeon of the original Phantasy Star on graph paper. I seem to remember that if you did that it seemed pretty easy to guess where Falz was hiding. Either that or I wandered the dungeon looking at every wall until that door appeared. It was awhile ago.

Man they need to make a REAL sequel to those games. Bring on Phantasy Star V.

[Jorpho]

Some of the stuff in the Final Fantasy games is simply absurd. I have previously noted that in FF8 you'd probably have to play cards with everyone in the world in order to get a complete deck before reaching disc 4. (Of course, after that it's fairly trivial.) By the time you're starting to resort to something like playing cards with everyone in the world, it's time to consult a walkthrough, says I.

Still, I think by this time I've nearly forgotten all the stuff I read about FF3/6 in Nintendo Power that I'm ready to give it a go. (Let your party get sucked in by the Zone Eater! Kill Curly first because he knows Life 3! Cast Life 3 when fighting the Magemaster! Bid the Striker in the Colusseum to get Shadow back!)

[skaar]

Dragon Quest 8 was the first time I REGRETTED using the guide. I bought it when I got the game, and I think the whole thing was a lot easier because I was crafting all my super awesome gear way early... ruined a chunk of the game for me. Going back I'd do it differently.

I used a FAQ for Eternal Sonata pretty early in the game recently. I was supposed to find some kid in the town and was getting annoyed at going in circles. It's amazing how patience shortens when you know there's a shortcut available...

[wufners]

The time I have to play games is so limited these days, I don't have the luxury of being stuck in one place for long. There's too many other games I'd like to play and too little opportunity. So if I get stuck in a game and can't figure out what to do in a couple of sittings, then it's time for a quick FAQ check. At this point in my life, I'd rather spend my time enjoying a game, rather than be frustrated by it.

[crazyjackcsa]

I use them on a regular basis. I never used to, but then again I never used to have a house a job and a family. If you think I'm going to be spending days looking for some random person your wrong. And with the size of the worlds, back tracking for literally an hour because you "may" have missed something. No thanks. Before the advent of the "camera" in a 3d game it was harder to miss something on screen, because it was "on screen" now, if you happen to not look in the just perfect direction at just the right spot in the room, you may miss the switch for a door. Happened to me today in Twilight Princess. I spent 4 days trying to figure out how to turn on a fan in the Sky city.

[otaku]

I don't see a problem with using them I usually do so to help me with maps and finding my way around etc but in the end you still have to have skills to succeed in the game(s) sometimes even with faqs I can't beat the damn things!

[Pantechnicon]

When I play RPG's of whatever stripe I'm all about completing the primary mission. I'm only interested in acquiring whatever weapons or equipment I need towards that end. If there are some enhancements or extras to be found along the way then so be it, but I'm not interested in spending too long on tangents. Therefore the only time I resort to consulting the walkthroughs is if I'm in a really bad impasse: I can't find the key, or my boss strategy isn't working, etc. But believe me: I'll put in the effort to deduce these things on my own anywhere from five to twenty times before running to the FAQ.

And I'm definitely not a believer that you have to have done every task and acquired every possible item in the game in order to say it's been completed. I think I've only done this once (Destroy All Humans 2), actually. At the point after you've accomplished the main objectives and when you're using a walkthrough to gather every magic nut from every magic tree...well, I have a hard time seeing how this is fun. Seems more like drudgery to me at such a point and towards what end? Is it truly a gaming challenge anymore when you're spending hours following the prompts of a script?

[Greg2600]

I try to play the game as it was intended, but I don't have time to replay a level 100 times anymore. I use the guides. I do not bother with secondary objectives or unlocking things anymore, because they are almost always a waste of time.

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

The time I have to play games is so limited these days, I don't have the luxury of being stuck in one place for long. There's too many other games I'd like to play and too little opportunity. So if I get stuck in a game and can't figure out what to do in a couple of sittings, then it's time for a quick FAQ check. At this point in my life, I'd rather spend my time enjoying a game, rather than be frustrated by it.

That's the attitude I've had for the longest time. It's especially true for those into classic gaming since we usually have a huge backlog of games and only so much time to get around to all of them. I'm going to continue going guideless with DQ 8 because I'm enjoying the experience so much, but for the most part the time saving capabilities of guides just outweigh the alternative.

[skaar]

That's the attitude I've had for the longest time. It's especially true for those into classic gaming since we usually have a huge backlog of games and only so much time to get around to all of them. I'm going to continue going guideless with DQ 8 because I'm enjoying the experience so much, but for the most part the time saving capabilities of guides just outweigh the alternative.

Yes, DQ8 should be savoured. Take your time and do it right.

Achievements + RPGs = evil. I was thinking about that the other day.... how evil could they get with THAT?

[James8BitStar]

Usually I only look at a guide if I'm absolutely stuck and can't figure out what the eff I'm supposed to do.

Was playing Bard's Tale (the original) recently and Kylearan's Tower is a case in point. I got past the dark rooms, got past the riddle, got past the huge dark area where you have to find the magic mouth that asks you to name a street... then I got stuck in the area with the doors, spinners, and teleporters.

[Lemmi_Is_God]

humm i can only think of 3 games right now that i needed help in and used a guide book or magazine, and i have no problem using one if i have it handy, i usually only use a website if i remember to look for a game im having a problem with but i usually forget

the first one was nes maniac mansion, and the 2nd was 3do Dragon Lore (the flytrap plant kept eatting me)

i got stuck in these 2 games pretty far into them and i needed alittle guide help to get me over the part i was stuck at for way to long

the 3rd game was nes shadowgate but i didnt use a guide or book for this but a friend i knew who beat the game, i was stuck at those damn levers, which was the only help i needed in the entire game

oh thought of a 4th
final fantasy whatever (i think the first one on the system) for the playstation
i started off using a magazine walkthough, then i started playing the game without it after i got used to it, but i never finished the game

[winniethepujols]

For me personally, I don't like using guides. It ruins the experience for me. I'm not saying there's something wrong with using them (after all, everyone has their own opinions!), it's just not for me.

The way I look at it is this: if I use a guide to get a "perfect" file on a game, I'm going to be less inclined to play the game again in the future. Even if its a great game, there won't be as much incentive to play it again down the line.

The other problem is that if the game isn't that good to begin with, I might not want to come back to it at all. I was playing some old games from my youth a couple months ago and I found things that I had never discovered before. It was unbelievable, because I thought I had the game nailed down completely (I can't remember what it was). I would have never experienced that if I resorted to a guide though.

Ultimately, I think it's a lot more enjoyable to find things on your own. It encourages exploration and whatnot. But as has been mentioned... I think some games are so damned complicated that they're designed to be played with guides.

Usually what I do is try and play a game without guides at all, but will limit myself to technical guides that explain the complex aspects of the enginges behind the game; an example of this would be using a Monster FAQ for SaGa Frontier. The only time I really use a walkthrough at all is if I'm stuck for hours and feel I'm in jeopardy of losing interest in the game all together (the last red/yellow block puzzle in Lufia II almost made me stop playing).

[FantasiaWHT]

That's the attitude I've had for the longest time. It's especially true for those into classic gaming since we usually have a huge backlog of games and only so much time to get around to all of them. I'm going to continue going guideless with DQ 8 because I'm enjoying the experience so much, but for the most part the time saving capabilities of guides just outweigh the alternative.

Add me to that mindset. I do not have the time to be stuck. I never buy walkthroughs though, I just have a computer handy and check gamefaqs IF I get stuck.