Are there games you really loved but shelf because you WANT to forget them to revisit them fresh?

[Emperor Megas]

If the title didn't make it clear, I'm talking about game you've spent good time with or completed, and enjoyed, and put away for a long time to revisit 'fresh' in the future. The mention of Dr. Chaos for the NES in another topic made me think about this, because I always forget what to do every time I revisit it (which isn't often).

I do this mostly with horror games. Even if I didn't have a ridiculous backlog of games to get to, I'd still only replay horror games several years after my last playthrough. Silent Hill 2 for example is one of my all time favorite games, and probably my number one favorite survival horror title. I've played through it 3 times over the past 15 years. While I never forget the plot, 5 years in between plays is more than enough time for me to forget where everything is, and the solutions to all of the puzzles. It's also long enough time from an earlier playthrough that I can use unlocked items without it feeling tacked on, or like I'm playing through again JUST TO use them, or to try for a different ending. I usually bump the difficulty up a bit, too to keep it fresh.

I've never replayed a Dead Space game, but I remember very little about each game besides how they each began and ended, so when I revisit them, it'll probably be almost as exciting as it was the first time around. As much as I loved Fatal Frame, it's been over a decade since I've played it and I remember almost nothing about the game besides how it's played. I don't recall the story, enemy or boss encounters, or where to go or what to do, so I know that if I revisited it now I would be every bit as creeped out as the first time.

Do you ever shelf games you really love to preserve the experience, even if it means waiting years to enjoy them again?

[celerystalker]

Yes. Mainly point and click adventures and horror games. A few that I play every few years:

Dr Chaos
D
Enemy Zero
Blazing Dragons
Maniac Mansion
Mansion of the Hidden Souls series (including Lunacy)
Resident Evil (the first one)

[Steven]

It's coming up on ten years since I beat Final Fantasy III. I beat it January 2008. Definitely forgot a lot and plan to replay it again at some point!

Chrono Trigger 2010 so that's been a good while, too...

[Emperor Megas]

Ah, Mansion of Hidden Souls; great mention. I think that'll be one of the games I'll add to my October playlist. I haven't played it in maybe 15+ years, so I don't remember much. I've never played Lunacy. I think I remember first hearing about it here. Where does it fit into the Hidden Souls series?

[bb_hood]

Yes. Mainly point and click adventures and horror games. A few that I play every few years:


Maniac Mansion


One of my personal favorites.. got it for Christmas the year it came out.
The solutions to this game have been branded into my memory because Ive played it so much.

Tentacle Chow, wax fruit & pepsi. Dont forget the microvable hampster..yum

[eskobar]

My brain doesn't keep much information and that is a blessing, I keep only the important stuff like mi CC PINs, the name and birthday of my wife and daughter and forget everything else really soon.

I love RPGs and being able to re-play some games almost fresh is really a blessing \\^_^/

[celerystalker]

Ah, Mansion of Hidden Souls; great mention. I think that'll be one of the games I'll add to my October playlist. I haven't played it in maybe 15+ years, so I don't remember much. I've never played Lunacy. I think I remember first hearing about it here. Where does it fit into the Hidden Souls series?

Back when I was brand new here, I posted a topic about the three games. I'll look for it and edit in a link in a bit. Anyhow, all three games were developed by System Sacom, and all three center around the concept of human souls being reborn as butterflies. The first two were published by Sega and Lunacy by Atlus, so I don't know if any references were downplayed between them, but here goes (possible spoilers):

Edit: http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?172663-System-Sacom-Butterfly-Trilogy&highlight=system+sacom -heheh, you posted in that one, too. :)

The Sega CD original follows a boy chasing his sister into the mansion, trying to save her from being turned into a butterfly to live there forever. A being called The Hunter is the one doing this, and the boy saves her after fending off The Hunter.

In the Saturn sequel, the player character from the original is actually the mansion elder, having reconciled with The Hunter and coming to see him as a benevolent, god-like being. He discovers a conspiracy to kill The Hunter, and sends you, a new "resident" in the mansion to find out what's happening.

Lunacy takes the player as an amnesiac named Fred in the City of Mist, which is somehow tied to a powerful place called the City of Moons. He meets a butterfly collector named Anthony who shares a resemblance with The Hunter in several ways, and in the City of Moons is aided by powerful sealed away souls as butterflies. There are a few indicators in the ending that Anthony and Fred were different from everyone else. There is no direct tie like in the prior two games, but System Sacom clearly intended it as a companion piece of sorts.

I wish there were some developer interviews out there, as I'd be curious to hear about any other intended ties or series plans. I tend to think of Lunacy as a prequel to the Hidden Souls games, and it seems that maybe Anthony or Fred may become the Hunter using the power of the City of Moons, but that's a lot of conjecture on my end. If you play them all, I'd love to hear your take on it. I may be grasping at straws, but the immortal butterfly themes really make me wonder, as there are tons of creepier ways to accomplish what happens in Lunacy, but the butterfly theme is retained.

[Tanooki]

I do have shelved games for that reason I guess, not so much by intent but lack of time to get back around to it. I suppose I could free the time stopping some stuff and stop buying new things too now and again from this generation (and greatly so from the past stuff) but I don't see it happening. I got rid of my DS stuff 10 years ago other the FF3 because I was tired of it, now I'm buying some of it back and it's fresh so that's a good thing.