Using walkthroughs

[houstonlibrarian]

Is there anyone here that just completely refused to use any walkthroughs?
I had as friend that used to get online and find a walkthrough any time he ran into the least bit of turbulence.
I always felt like I would just rather quit the game than to cheat like that.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

If I get stuck at a certain spot for two days, I find a walkthrough. There's always a chance I'll never find the solution. I had to do this a few times in Metroid Prime 2. It's just such a large game.

I actually know someone who uses walkthroughs as they play the entire game the first time. Just to clarify, he buys a game, turns it on, gets a walkthough out, and proceeds to finish the game very quickly.

[Gentlegamer]

I give a game "due diligence" to figure things out, but after trying diligently (time varies depending on the game) I can't proceed, I look up a walkthrough to see what I'm doing wrong. I'm playing through the Half-Life 2 games and I'm having to consult walkthroughs occasionally to figure out some of the puzzles.

[Voliko]

I feel kind of dirty if I have to resort to a walkthrough, but sometimes, if i am stuck on something for hours, it just has to be done.

Most of the time the things I get stuck on are insanely obvious. In these situations going to a walkthrough and finding out what to do makes me feel like an idiot. That "are you F**king kidding me!!", right under your nose kind of thing....

[graciano1337]

I usually will use a walkthrough after I've played the games a couple times. I usually end up missing something that's pretty cool and a walkthrough will make sure I don't miss it again.

[RP2A03]

I never use a walkthrough or a strategy guide for the main part of a game. The only time I will use them is for the optional stuff, such as hard to find heart containers, only after spending weeks (or longer if I'm feeling particularly stubborn) looking for it. Rarely will I resort to such vile tactics on the first playthrough unless it's something incredibly tedious and obtuse like "spray every square inch of the world to find randomly placed blue coins bearing no hints to their locations" as seen in Super Mario Sunshine.

[Steven]

Try not to (like the other poster said, I try to give each game its "due diligence") but I have, do and will.

Not worth wasting hours stuck on the same puzzle/bit from where I sit.

[ReTrO-pLaYeR]

I don't usually resort to walkthroughs. Unless it's REALLY becoming a problem- so much that I have to swear at the television (trust me, I have to be REALLY pissed to start swearing at video games) then I have to check something out.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I go to them if I can't find out the answer to a puzzle.

Sam and Max, I'm looking at you. T_T

[ryborg]

What the hell? If you're truly stuck, why would you simply refuse to get help when help is available? What kind of pathetic point are you trying to make to yourself?

[kupomogli]

I hate walkthroughs but there are times when I "may" use one on certain occasions. For example. I tried going through FF10 to find everything myself. Let me just say that finding everything on FF10 without a walkthrough is impossible. I mean sure. I hate FF10 and I think the game sucks, but I wanted to fully complete it.

Here are just a few examples of FF10's side quest bs. Dodge 200 lightning bolts. I never would have found the ultimate weapon for this sidequest. Back at the start of the game is either the ultimate weapon or a piece of the ultimate weapon for Lulu. It's an invisible chest underwater, hidden by some rocks, you just so happen to be in the right position to get it. Or the Chocobo racing part which you have to get 0.00 on it. I would have never found this one out solely on the fact that I got lucky and actually got 0.00 on the final game to begin with, but it gave me a potion. Anyways. Yeah.

Demon's Souls is another game that a guide is required to get everything. Certain characters will only appear in certain areas ONLY when in the right tendency. Or certain steps, stairways, and ladders will appear for secret items when in those correct tendencies as well. Great game, but the secrets are pretty much impossible to find without a guide.

Other than stuff like that I don't use them. Unless I truly get stuck.

[dayzed4life]

I usually don't unless I'm on a second play through or something like that, I do use them if I get stuck but even then only after I've given it all of got. Not worth getting all wound up and freaking out because you can't get past a certain part/puzzle. Sometimes it makes me even more frustrated when I use one and then the answer is really obvious, this usually only happens when I over analyze things and make it harder for myself.

[Smashed Brother]

The only time that I've ever consulted a guide in my 20+ years of gaming was for L.O.L. (DC), because first of all, it's all in Japanese, and second, it's still incredibly vague for those who speak Japanese. I've made it through some of the most difficult games with just blind perseverance or sheer dumb luck.

I used to laugh at my one of my former buddies who'd buy a game and the accompanying strategy guide on day one. He would be playing through the game with this book sitting on his table, wide-open, but when I'd call him out on it, he'd deny that he was using it to get through the game ("I'm just trying to find the secret stuff!").

I don't really find guides necessary, but I can understand their purpose, especially if you want to find 100% of everything in a game.

[Tron 2.0]

Usely i try to figure out the game on my own the only time i'll use a walkthrough is if i'm realy,stuck on the game.

The other being for me useing a walkthrough is on a import game.

[ryborg]

*buys new game*

*gets stuck*

*never plays game again, too macho (??) to look something up*

[ryborg]

or

*buys new game*

*gets stuck*

*spends 500 hours replaying same part*

[Drewskiwannabrewski]

*buys new game*

*gets stuck*

*never plays game again, too macho (??) to look something up*

hmm, your ideas intrigue me. i'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Zoltor]

What the hell? If you're truly stuck, why would you simply refuse to get help when help is available? What kind of pathetic point are you trying to make to yourself?

Because it builds char, not to mention nothing is more rewarding then getting stuck, and after busting your but, trying to figure it out, finally getting past it.

PS. Omg I have a friend that will use a walkthrough from start to finish, without even getting stuck first.

[Arkhan]

Is there anyone here that just completely refused to use any walkthroughs?
I had as friend that used to get online and find a walkthrough any time he ran into the least bit of turbulence.
I always felt like I would just rather quit the game than to cheat like that.

i dont use guides. Why play a game if you're having someone else tell you how to do it.

I do buy them to get the free posters in them though.

though I guess that makes the poster not free.....

the biggest disappointment was the star ocean 3 guide. The poster was a crafting chart. Bastards.

[HappehLemons]

*buys new game*

*gets stuck*

*never plays game again, too macho (??) to look something up*

Same. I'd rather not beat the game I'm playing then use a guide.

[JSoup]

Normally, I'll only look up a guide on a first playthough if I've spend a large amount of time on something that I'm just not getting. And even then, I'll read carefully or from works by authors I know, so as to only get a hint and not the entire solution (not always possible, but....).

[The 1 2 P]

I'll always try my first play thru without a walkthough but sometimes I get stuck and need some minor help. I don't mind a challenge but sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming with a full time job and social life also needing equal time.

[Arkhan]

one of the things I have done before is check a guide to see how far I am in a game. Incase I have to do schoolwork too.

I tend to sit at play RPGs for 10+ hrs at a time and then go "Oh crap" when its time for school, lol

[NayusDante]

I've had to look things up, but it's usually something silly. I have a horrible sense of direction, so I can get disoriented and need to find a map to consult. I'd rather just look up where that next path is than spend an hour running around in first-person, making myself sick.

Awkward game design is a good excuse for guide usage. When I played FF8 last year, I used the guide to make sure I was getting all the cards, weapon items, etc. I STILL missed half the crap, and at the end I was so screwed over thatI had to start again. I swear, some games have too much of the useful stuff hidden, and it really ruins the experience. I used the guide for FF10 to find most of the Al Bhed primers, but that was about it. I looked at a few boss stats, but it's by no means a difficult game. I didn't even bother with ultimate weapons in FF10, and it was still pretty straightforward.


Since I preorderd FF13, GameStop let me have one of the preorder-bonus sample guides last time I was in (they just put them out and I preordered last month). There's maybe two maps out of 20ish in there that would be remotely useful. Unless they pull the same "miss it and it's gone forever" crap, I see no reason to buy the guide.

I like finding guides for older games, because they have art and the maps are actually nice to look at. Now, maps are just blobs of color with text on them, and the information in the guide isn't even useful. The age of the strategy guide is long gone, but they seem to be selling better than ever. Hmmm...