Feelings of accomplishment in games.

[boatofcar]

I was playing Super Mario Sunshine, well, just now, and I finally finished one of the platforming sections, you know, the ones where you don't have your water pack? Well, I finally finished it and I felt like a BAD ASS. I mean, I haven't gotten that feeling after beating a section in a game in a long time. It seems like most games now just can't muster up that feeling in me.

When was the last time you felt such a since of accomplishment after finishing a game or a section of a game?

[Haoie]

There's nothing like finishing something for the first time ever.

It's been a while since that's happened to me, I'm hoping I can actually complete Parasite Eve 2 this time, after giving up and restarting.

[JJNova]

I think this feeling is the reason Legend of Zelda is the most anticipated game of the year. Each time I complete a Zelda game, I feel that another chapter has closed, and I await the decade when a decendant of Links, must find the courage to defend the new Hyrule, from the same fucking warlock/wizard/witch that has broken free from his locked box, to kidnap a descendant of Zelda, whom bares the sacred mark. The Triforce Tattoo of DEATH!

[njiska]

I was some satisfied when i finished ninja Gaiden. Although i'm still working my way thru very hard mode.

[jdc]

There have only been a few times that I've ever felt a sense of true satisfaction when finishing a game. Three great ones would be Ocarina Of Time, Jade Empire and the other? Lord Of The Rings The Third Age. Seriously. An incredible game that got bagged on by the media, ensuring that no-one would buy it. For shame.

[squidblatt]

Skies of Arcadia was the last one to do that for me. I started it and abandoned it so many times because of all the random encounters, but I stuck with it long enough to get the engines that allow you to avoid most of them and started to really enjoy the story.

[heybtbm]

The greatest feelings of accomplishment usually come from RPG's with cheap end bosses that take 1-2 hours to beat. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne comes to mind.

I also was pleased with myself after beating Devil May Cry 3 after reading how difficult the game was...

...even if it was on "easy" mode.

Aaron.

[PDorr3]

While I didnt beat the game, I felt like I had accomplished alot putting 18 hours into riviera on GBA. Why? these days I simply find it very difficult to find an rpg that holds my interest for more than 2 hours, and putting 18 hours into a GBA RPG was a huge accomplishment for me.

[BrokenFlight]

I was playing Super Mario Sunshine, well, just now, and I finally finished one of the platforming sections, you know, the ones where you don't have your water pack? Well, I finally finished it and I felt like a BAD ASS. I mean, I haven't gotten that feeling after beating a section in a game in a long time. It seems like most games now just can't muster up that feeling in me.


That's pretty much what I've just done. TWICE! 8-)

Mario Sunshine seems like one of those games. It gets really frusrating, trying to get past one tiny little section over and over again. I left it alone for a day then did them first attempt both times. It always feels especially good when you do it first time after a lot of frustration.

[tuxedojoe]

Getting the Biggoron (sp?) Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Period.

[Nirvana]

I remember beating SaGa Frontier with all 7 characters...not a lot of people were able to do this because one of the characters, Riki, had a boss that you can only defeat using move combinations, and they didn't know you could just use DSC on him. No one probably knows what I'm talking about, but trust me, there were definetly some difficult bosses in this game that made me feel great when I accomplished the task of beating all of them.

Another one is 100%ing Grand Theft Auto 3. I don't really have a story on that, though. It was pretty straightforward. :)

[PDorr3]

I remember beating SaGa Frontier with all 7 characters...not a lot of people were able to do this because one of the characters, Riki, had a boss that you can only defeat using move combinations, and they didn't know you could just use DSC on him. No one probably knows what I'm talking about, but trust me, there were definetly some difficult bosses in this game that made me feel great when I accomplished the task of beating all of them.

Another one is 100%ing Grand Theft Auto 3. I don't really have a story on that, though. It was pretty straightforward. :)

I just bought saga frontier in a trade, which character is easiest / most interesting to start with? and how long does it take the beat the game with 1 character?

[ShinobiMan]

The feeling of accomplishment that rushed through my veins the moment I blasted Sigma with that final charge blast in Mega Man X.... pure gaming bliss. How about when I finally put to rest Ghaleon in Lunar: The Silver Star? I had a tear in my eye.

I know this feeling you speak of. I know it all too well. ;)

[369WIERDO369]

Guitar Hero 2: "Woman" on Hard...

And when I captured a Missingno-like thing in Pokemon Ruby.

Not sure if this counts, but also when I beat Bubble Shooter.

[sebastiankirchoff]

When I got 5 star ranks with all characters and all levels on the Mercenaries Mini-game in RE4. I spent many hours perfecting my skills, and it all paid off when I got the Handcannon and that sense that I accomplished something that only a few people have mustered up the patience to achieve. Was it worth it? Yes, it was fucking worth it.

[Game Freak]

i feel that way a lot as well. Especially when i beat a zelda game, most notably with Majora's Mask last month or so (The first zelda I beat in almost a year, and second to last I have left.) Now, I have Adventure of Link left (sitting CIB on my shelf, my first CIB NES game and I am very proud of owning it, even if it isn't rare.) I also had the feeling of accomplishment after completing Luigi's Damn Purple Coins in Super Mario Galaxy.

Only time I felt like a badass though was when i got an S on Sweatin on Jumpin Jack Flash in EBA.

[lazyhoboguy]

Beating Rez on ps2 always makes me feel like I accompished something. That game is just so amazing.

[NESGamer24]

There have only been a few times that I've ever felt a sense of true satisfaction when finishing a game. Three great ones would be Ocarina Of Time, Jade Empire and the other? Lord Of The Rings The Third Age. Seriously. An incredible game that got bagged on by the media, ensuring that no-one would buy it. For shame.

Ocarina of Time for me as well. I remember I got stuck in the one temple where the center fills with water and I thought once you fill it up you couldnt remove the water. So I stopped playing. About 2 months later I picked it back up and found you can lower the water as well as raise it. Beating that game gave me a sense of achievement.

[carlcarlson]

Beating Braid felt pretty good. I'm sure a lot of people accomplished this but it's such a good game and I got stuck more than once. Of course I had to look at a walkthrough to get all the stars my second time through!

Getting the scarab gun in Halo 2 also felt pretty darn good. That took a looong time.

[Draven]

Alot of love for Zelda here. So, in that vein, I've got to say the last time I felt like I accomplished something was in Twilight Princess. It's nothing major, but for some reason my buttons weren't working. I was trying to close up 3 twilight monsters in a black circle (I was the wolf in the beginning of the game) and everytime I pressed B nothing happened. Finally, after going through the same level about 8 times it worked. WTF?!? I thought Zelda games were known for their control, but this game has some of the most unresponsive control ever. It's very disappointing to feel accomplishment only due to the programmers shortcomings.

[kaedesdisciple]

I just finished RE5 last night with a good friend of mine. Notable accomplishment because he's played VERY few current-gen games and I had waited for him to be available to continue in the story, so we essentially finished it together. Can't remember the last time I played through the story of a game like that with someone else for the first time. Since I had to wait for us to be able to get together, I felt like I enjoyed it more and didn't just blaze through it like I probably would have had he not been there with me.

[AB Positive]

I felt this way just a few days ago when I finally... FINALLY got a character newly rolled to her first weapon in Alternate Reality: The City.

You want to play a hard RPG? Get an A8 emulator and try AR. Have fun. Awesome soundtrack and ambiance and now that I have a weapon I think I'll get to enjoy the game! :D

[The 1 2 P]

Beating Bullet Witch on normal. Not because the game as a whole was super hard but because that last boss battle will take anywhere between 20-40 minutes each time, so if you die you have to start the timer over again. I shudder to imagine how long it would take on the last three difficulties.

On Nes I was proud of beating TMNT, Ninja Gaiden 2 and Pro Wrestling.b And Super Castlevania 4 on Snes because it was a pain in the ass.

[kupomogli]

I remember beating SaGa Frontier with all 7 characters...not a lot of people were able to do this because one of the characters, Riki, had a boss that you can only defeat using move combinations, and they didn't know you could just use DSC on him. No one probably knows what I'm talking about, but trust me, there were definetly some difficult bosses in this game that made me feel great when I accomplished the task of beating all of them.

To tell you the truth, I've never once gotten the DSC. I never wanted to put the effort into getting it. Though I've beaten Virgil with Riki. How is the the special ending though?
--

Anyways. Beating each colossus on Shadow of the Colossus really felt like you did something great. Of course this is really only the first time. After you've beaten the game, sure it's fun to do it again, but you don't have the same feeling of accomplishment that you did the very first time since you already know what to do.

Castlevania Lament of Innocence when I beat the boss rush on Crazy mode. I would have said beating Crazy mode was an accompmlishment, but going through every boss in the game one after another without dying just beats that.

Devil May Cry 2 and 3 on Dante Must Die. The first game is alot harder and I usually quit DMD halfway through. I really need to go through DMD on that one to the end.

Street Fighter 4 when I finished Ryu's hard challenges.

Unfortunately I don't really feel like I accomplished anything special on most games unless I do it in a harder mode.

[rbudrick]

That last couple fo things I did that gave me major satisfaction was beating Guitar Hero 2 on Expert and beating Holy Diver for Famicom with no cheats. Holy Diver was far more rewarding, since the game is almost fucking impossible. That took so much practice it was ridiculous. As the OP described, I felt like a total badass when I did that.

-Rob

[shopkins]

Definitely at the end of Ocarina of Time. They had a party for me to celebrate all my hard work! More games should end in parties in my honor.

Also, this is a slightly less usual one, but I felt a nice sense of accomplishment at the end of Codename: Viper for the NES because when I beat the final boss I was down to my last sliver of health and my last bullet. I thought he had me and I would have to start over, but at the last second I pulled off a desperate final shot and took him out.

Blowing up Hitler's head at the end of Bionic Commando felt real, real good, too, because I had struggled mightily with the tough boss just before that.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I was some satisfied when i finished ninja Gaiden. Although i'm still working my way thru very hard mode.

I'm going to have to agree with this member, who was probably banned for one or a combination of the following: racist, sexist, homophobic, or mean spirited comments.

While I love video games, I've never thought of myself as very good at them. But when I beat Ninja Gaiden on Xbox, I felt like a real ninja. I only beat it on Normal, but after hearing how so many gave up on the game I felt pretty good about myself.

Then a few months later I was put back in my place, by a latter stage of Sniper Elite. Fuck that game. It now sits on my shelf unfinished.

[Mimi Nakamura]

Contra III.

[Coleman]

Man this is a great topic for discussion...

I think that you have gotten right to the heart of why we hardcore gamers are hardcore gamers! I mean if you don't feel like you have accomplished something at the end of your gaming session then you pretty much wasted your time... Unfortunately it seems like after reading most of your posts that you are all chasing after that feeling of accomplishment rather than experiencing it.

There are so many games that i can think of that give me a sense of accomplishment that it seems a little depressing that none of them are on the newer systems that everyone seems to be playing. And after reading these posts i think that most of you would agree...

Sure we can all point to Zelda and say those games are great - 0f course they got a great begining on classic systems! The newer games have such a legandary status to live up to that they tend to get delayed for a couple of years while the greates programmers in the buissness try to tweak it up to that same level of perfection that seemed to come so effortlessly back in the days of 2d gaming. And the last game that i can think of (other than guitar hero) where I really felt a sense of accomplishment was Alundra on the PSX - which felt an aweful lot like Zelda - Link to the Past on the SNES.

I don't mean to say that games now a days are not enjoyable - I enjoy lots of current gen games. Bioshock was a lot of fun to play through. I enjoyed Mass Effect, Gears of War, Oblivion - they create a fun distraction that looks incredible but I don't feel like I have accomplished verry much.

However If i plop in a Mega Man game on the NES (even if i beat it a hundread times) It feels really good to beat a level and get a new upgrade. When I play the original Metal Gear or Snakes Revenge and i finaly get a Key Card that opens up all the doors I have been unable to get into... well its exciting!

Even going back further - its incredible fun to have someone come over who can compete with me on some Atari stuff... Clearly the sense of completion is not what drives the feeling of accomplishment but when you put up a great score that your friends cant beat, or vice versa and then you practice for a couple weeks and finaly beat someone elses score it's just good stuff.

Maybe this is why the current gen systems are finding such success with the retro games or there "Arcade" games. I did feel a sense of accomplishment going through Marble Blast & Wik but these are not the Marqui games that companies are spending hundreads of millions of dollars on developing.

Something seems a little out of balance here and if you don't know what i am talking about here than do your self a favor - go out and get your self a NES system and a copy of Super Mario Bros. The system and the game will combined will cost you less than a new game on a current gen console and i will bet that you have more of a sense of accomplishment and better enjoyment with it than any of the new stuff thats out there anyway! Once you get past the 8-bit graphics and standard stereo/mono sound... oh and don't worry that controller is only supposed to have 5 buttons - your not missing anything ang there are no 47 button combos to worry about!

[megasdkirby]

Klonoa for me.

When I saw that ending, and the music that played throughout, I burst into tears uncontrolably. Never have I ever felt such emotions as in that game. Sure, I remember playing Illusion of Gaia and loving the ending, but it was no where near the emotional level I had when I finished Klonoa.

And even now, while pre-ordering the game for the Wii, I almost cried, remembering the ending that once brought me a new level of emotions.

IMO, if a person cries in a game, then it trully is one helluva game.

[Mimi Nakamura]

Klonoa for me.

When I saw that ending, and the music that played throughout, I burst into tears uncontrolably. Never have I ever felt such emotions as in that game. Sure, I remember playing Illusion of Gaia and loving the ending, but it was no where near the emotional level I had when I finished Klonoa.

And even now, while pre-ordering the game for the Wii, I almost cried, remembering the ending that once brought me a new level of emotions.

IMO, if a person cries in a game, then it trully is one helluva game.

Oh dear.

[Coleman]

Can a videogame make you cry?.


Question answered...

[PentiumMMX]

One of the best feelings of accomplishment I got out of a game was when I finished Donkey Kong 64 over summer break, circa 2003. I remember spending many, many weeks trying to get all the really important collectible stuff in the game so I could get the perfect ending, and after much struggling, I managed to beat King K. Rule. Outside of missing one item thanks to a glitch in the game, I did feel very good that I finally managed to beat DK64.

Another one would be when I first finished Diddy Kong Racing. I remember playing it very frequently (Out of my collection of games at the time, it was as high traffic as Mario Kart 64), and eventually getting stuck on the first race against Smokey the Dragon. Eventually, I made it all the way to the final race against the game's main villain; Wizpig. After much struggling and getting used to the layout of the track (figuring out where I can cut corners and where items are), I finally beat him; just narrowly, though (Had I been a second too late using the speed boost item I was saving, I would have lost the race...again).

One that needs little explanation would be Mega Man on the NES. So far, it's the only one out of the 6 on the NES I've actually gotten around to finishing.

Out of more recent games, the one thing I got the greatest feeling of accomplishment out of was when I finally beat Skeith in .hack//Infection. After surviving the area before the fight, I made it to the battle against Skeith. Using some buffs on my party and checking my equipment, I charged in, and was slaughtered in minutes by his over-powered attacks. Adding insult to injury, my PS2 died with them, and it tried to take the game disc with it. The aftermath left me with a nasty circular scratch on my disc, a PS2 that could no longer read DVDs, and a burning desire to finally defeat Skeith. Once I got a working PS2 a few months later, I planned out a strategy around who will be in my party and what the basic battle plan is, and began to level up my party and build up plenty of supplies. By late January 2009, I finally managed to defeat him, and I felt great about it.