Get me over my fear of "missing out" in games!

[VACRMH]

I've been browsing the PS2 collection for a bit (Warrior Within is just not fun, time to try something else), and I came across Ar Tonelcio. I started for a little while once but got distracted with something else.

Anyways, I'm hesitant to start because of the "Dive System" and "Grathmelding".

I guess what turns me off from this and some games are the fact that either I have risk losing precious items by tinkering with alchemy in some games, and that if I screw something up in one part, I lose out for the rest of the game. Same goes for dating sim type parts. My biggest fear is hitting a brick wall and having to start over.

But tons of people seem to enjoy the alchemy aspect of games, and I almost never hear complaints about having to start over. So, people who play and enjoy these types of games (and games with similar aspects)...

Am I overreacting? Should I just press on and enjoy the games?

This also goes with my "fear" of strategy games that you can't rank up in. I had to stop Vanguard Bandits and Vandal Hearts because I spent too much time with certain characters, and couldn't finish the game.

[Clownzilla]

I've been browsing the PS2 collection for a bit (Warrior Within is just not fun, time to try something else), and I came across Ar Tonelcio. I started for a little while once but got distracted with something else.

Anyways, I'm hesitant to start because of the "Dive System" and "Grathmelding".

I guess what turns me off from this and some games are the fact that either I have risk losing precious items by tinkering with alchemy in some games, and that if I screw something up in one part, I lose out for the rest of the game. Same goes for dating sim type parts. My biggest fear is hitting a brick wall and having to start over.

But tons of people seem to enjoy the alchemy aspect of games, and I almost never hear complaints about having to start over. So, people who play and enjoy these types of games (and games with similar aspects)...

Am I overreacting? Should I just press on and enjoy the games?

This also goes with my "fear" of strategy games that you can't rank up in. I had to stop Vanguard Bandits and Vandal Hearts because I spent too much time with certain characters, and couldn't finish the game.

I can relate to your situation exactly. As a matter of fact, it's the main reason why I don't enjoy playing complex RPG's. I am worried that I will pour several hours into a game and get to a point and figure out that I leveled up wrong or didn't get the right item combinations. This time wasted factor is also the reason why I hate timed games. Spending 20 hours on a game and then miss the "good ending" by a few minutes would piss me off to no end. *Sigh* I guess some people enjoy these aspects but they just zap the fun out of a game for me:(

[SpaceHarrier]

I kinda felt this way playing through Persona 3. Sometimes a Social Link would reverse or I'd pick the wrong option when it seemed like the right option and the relationship would sour. Sometimes I'd fight an enemy and waste a ton of one-time use items, sometimes I'd get through it clean with no problem.

Save often, I'd say -- if possible. Remember, you are playing this game to have fun, not just to reach an ending. Experiment a little. I saved frequently and played through different scenarios (in P3, never played Ar Tonelico) -- and though I logged around 93 hours on the memory card, I had closer to 115 hours total, just from exploring different paths. I feel like I experienced more of the game while still completing the main narrative.

Apologies if P3 is not a good match-up against Ar Tonelico, comparison wise. :)

[Half Japanese]

My method is to simply avoid JRPGs like the Bubonic plague. This method has the added benefits of not having to pick my attacks from a menu, not having to see cliched anime characters, avoiding a poorly slapped-together mish-mash of cliches under the guise of a narrative as well as decreasing the number of effeminate, laughably-dressed protagonists in my games.

[b0ub0u]

I had a problem similar.

I didnt want to miss anyting in a JRPG, I had to talk to everyone and hear everything they had to say, and everytime something changed in the game, I had the feeling I had to go back to all the towns to speak again to everyone to make sure I don't miss a dialogue line. I am sure this is due to OCD, but this is what made me stop playing JRPGs, because it took way too many hours doing all of this and being "afraid" of missing something. It just ruined the fun for me.

Now I changed my taste completely, as I am now heavily into Shoot'em ups and twitch games.

[boatofcar]

My method is to simply avoid JRPGs like the Bubonic plague. This method has the added benefits of not having to pick my attacks from a menu, not having to see cliched anime characters, avoiding a poorly slapped-together mish-mash of cliches under the guise of a narrative as well as decreasing the number of effeminate, laughably-dressed protagonists in my games.

What kind of games do you like? I'm sure I can come up with a list of stereotypes to "cleverly" put down that genre too...


Sometimes this bothers me in JRPGs, but as the OP said, it rarely ever results in having to restart the game. In fact, that has never happened to me. I try and explore extra things in RPGs, do the side-quests, etc, but if the game doesn't provide an in-game list of things to accomplish (like the ?s in the blanks in the monster lists in DW games) I don't do them. Didn't get the ending you like because you took too long to finish the game? Watch it on Youtube. It's probably not that great anyway.

[Berserker]

Just remember that no matter what you do, the World will turn, the Sun will rise and set, and in the midst of all of this your time will be spent. Now whether you spend part of that time enjoying playing through a game, or spend it absorbing yourself in the particulars of discovering every single last alchemical formula in a game is up to you. It's your time, and you should spend it doing what you enjoy.

tl;dr, If it feels important to you then stick with it, and if feels like a compulsion then drop it.

[boatofcar]

Good advice, Berserker. Whenever I start to feel that guilt of incompletion set in, I always remind myself I'm playing this game for fun and it's not my job to find every last thing.

[Half Japanese]

What kind of games do you like? I'm sure I can come up with a list of stereotypes to "cleverly" put down that genre too...


Sometimes this bothers me in JRPGs, but as the OP said, it rarely ever results in having to restart the game. In fact, that has never happened to me. I try and explore extra things in RPGs, do the side-quests, etc, but if the game doesn't provide an in-game list of things to accomplish (like the ?s in the blanks in the monster lists in DW games) I don't do them. Didn't get the ending you like because you took too long to finish the game? Watch it on Youtube. It's probably not that great anyway.

That came out a little more mean-spirited than I meant for it too. Generally I don't play a game if it has too high of a learning curve or feels like work instead of play. For instance, I'll always prefer the Ridge Racer series to Gran Turismo, and I'm just fine playing Guitar Hero on medium and sometimes hard (beyond that the game is no longer fun).

[djbeatmongrel]

this thread makes me think of my recent play through of Rogue Galaxy. It was my first time beating it and i totally ignored the factory to make items, the insect mini battle game and the extra dungeuns after finishing the game. I wasn't bothered to much by missing it.

[Aussie2B]

Don't fear strategy RPGs because of stuff like Vandal Hearts; it's an exception to the norm. Vandal Hearts is a totally brutal game, and I can tell you that you didn't do anything "wrong" if the game is slaughtering you. :P There were a couple battles in that game I just got through by the skin of my teeth after more attempts than I want to remember.

[XYXZYZ]

I never worry about little things you tend to need strategy guides for, like collecting all seven rainbow crystals to get the magical fairy bazooka or whatever, if I can finish the game without it I obviously didn't need it.

Now, if it was a game I had a whole lot of fun playing I might go for all that stuff the second time around, but very few of them are that good. (to me)

[josekortez]

I think I've said this before, but creating multiple saves on the same memory card is a good solution to the potential problem of missing out and not being able to return.

[SpaceHarrier]

I think I've said this before, but creating multiple saves on the same memory card is a good solution to the potential problem of missing out and not being able to return.

Such good advice. I still have a memory card with approximately 9-10 Final Fantasy X saves on it from 2001. And that was one of the most linear RPGs of all time!

[VACRMH]

Thanks for the advice everyone. And yes, Persona 3 is a great example because I had the same problem.

"What if I'm not strong enough in time?"
"What if I do bad in the classes? What will I miss"

And so forth.

I'm going to start a game soon, and just make sure to enjoy it and not worry about all the extra junk. And who knows, if I enjoy it enough, maybe I'll play again for the extras.

[roxybaby]

I have a similar issue in almost any game that I play: I have a hard time moving onto another area before I'm sure I've explored every nook and cranny of the area I'm in. This causes quite a dilemma when I get to a fork in the road. I go one way but feel a compulsive need to backtrack and check out the other way too.

[Zing]

I used to have the same feeling. At some point I just decided to play through the games without being too concerned about doing something "wrong". I have a personal rule against reloading my game if something "bad" happens. I also stay as far away from FAQs/walkthroughs as possible. Sometimes, after I complete a game, I will go back and read a FAQ for fun, but I never ever read gameplay spoilers of any type (even just charts of items, etc) because it is a slippery slope.