“The first 50 hours of Final Fantasy 14 suck, but the expansions afterwards are worth it!”
“The game starts at max level!”
I can’t stand it. And it’s not like the game magically gets much better, it just feels pretty okay for someone who just wasted months of their time on the bad parts. Of course you’ll enjoy mediocre parts later on after suffering through that crap.
A game has to start being fun ten minutes after the tutorial tops. Why play it otherwise?
Nah, Diablo 4 is much more fun when leveling from 1 to 70 or so. 70 - 100 is just doing the same things over and over with barely any rewards. It’s the other way around there, leveling is fun, endgame is dogshit.
Usually “game starts at max level” is used for MMOs like WoW. Where all the leveling is seen as annoying bullshit fetch quests and at max level you do dungeons and raids.
Ironically what got me into Diablo was my then-girlfriend now-spouse insisting that I go back to Diablo 1 with her and experience it for the story, and damn if that didn’t hook me quick. Endgame D2 and D3 are great and all, but what makes something great even greater is having any sort of emotional connection to the story the game takes place in.
Also hot damn the ambiance of D1 is just something else.
This is not true for D4 unless you’re trying to max level as fast as you can. I took my time and did most of the side quests, and I intend to go back and finish them all. The quests are interesting and engaging and voice acted all the way through.
D4 is quite a good leveling experience if you don’t play it zoom-zoom.
Same. Even on the rare occasion where I’ll do a free to play MMORPG, I avoid PVP and otherwise dealing with other players as much as I can and of course eventually get sick of the grind and return to single player games
Conversely, too many good games get bad reviews because of lacking endgame. So go play the next thing in your overflowing backlog. Some games do what they came for, and that’s fine.
It’s like giving a bad movie review because the concession stand was closed when you left the cinema.
Ehhh, Final Fantasy I’ll give a pass to on that sort of thing. They were telling good enough stories at least up till FF 10 that a two hour tutorial was ok, because the rest of the game was going to take you a minimum of 60 hours to complete. There are a few other RPGs that would get a similar pass. Baldur’s Gate would get the pass, but unless they changed something in 3 I expect less than a half hour tutorial in that game as well
Ugh, ARR is horrible for that. It really is a good game after all that bullshit, but it doesn’t excuse the bullshit existing in the first place. Plus it’s so weird for Final Fantasy, a story driven RPG, to have so many low quality quests in the first place (both story and side quests). I can’t fault anyone not wanting to deal with that.
Best thing it has going for it is that the dungeons are really fun even when the story quests suck. But it’s been years since I’ve played and my knowledge may be stale. Someday I’ll go back, but no way I’ll start with a new character lol.
The story or the gameplay? Because all I wanted to do was play a fun MMO, get items and do dungeons with other people. Instead I did quests like hit 3 rocks with your basic ability. Great! Hit 3 more rocks with the same ability. Done? Now run between 4 NPCs and talk with each of them. Great, now kill 8 enemies over there. Run back, talk with 2 more NPCs. Run through the city and interact with 8 lamp posts, the interaction takes several seconds each, because why not? …
I really tried to power through this absolute bullshit, but after a few hours I simply gave up. It only got worse, not better.
As you say Heavensward, I still hear that there is a ton of dumb quests then. Like the story is right at a critical point and they send you off on hours of fetch quests before you can continue?
I honestly don’t care about the story that much in games. A good story is nice, if the gameplay is there. If the only thing that is actually good about the game is the story… I’ll just read a book instead.
The grind is kind of an MMO thing, it’s not for everyone. Personally I enjoyed the gameplay while chilling with a friend and listening to music on the background
That’s why I don’t play japanese rpgs despite liking them. You have to “play” for 10 to 15 hours before the game actually starts. And during this time it’s a whole lot of cinematic and dialogs with minimal gameplay. Sometimes it gets ridiculous. I can’t remember which game, but after few minutes of dialog you’d be walking for less than a minute to then have dialog again… I want to play and have fun damn it.
I can’t remember which game, but after few minutes of dialog you’d be walking for less than a minute to then have dialog again… I want to play and have fun damn it.
Sounds suspiciously like Final Fantasy 13. I swear that game was basically an 8 hour FMV that was broken up every 5 minutes for the first 8 hours of the game.
Yeah no I can’t do games like that. I don’t have as much time for ma vidja games as I used to or as much as I would like these days I can’t afford to wait 50 hours for enjoyment to start. If it takes that dn long for a game to be fun its just bad game design
Not to be that guy, but once you get past the first 35 levels of story in FFXIV (which is a lot faster than 50 hours) it really picks up quick. Like a lot.
The story or the gameplay? Because all I wanted to do was play a fun MMO, get items and do dungeons with other people. Instead I did quests like hit 3 rocks with your basic ability. Great! Hit 3 more rocks with the same ability. Done? Now run between 4 NPCs and talk with each of them. Great, now kill 8 enemies over there. Run back, talk with 2 more NPCs. Run through the city and interact with 8 lamp posts, the interaction takes several seconds each, because why not? …
I really tried to power through this absolute bullshit, but after a few hours I simply gave up. It only got worse, not better.
Not just for series, this is the same with games.
“The first 50 hours of Final Fantasy 14 suck, but the expansions afterwards are worth it!”
“The game starts at max level!”
I can’t stand it. And it’s not like the game magically gets much better, it just feels pretty okay for someone who just wasted months of their time on the bad parts. Of course you’ll enjoy mediocre parts later on after suffering through that crap.
A game has to start being fun ten minutes after the tutorial tops. Why play it otherwise?
“The game starts at max level!”
Diablo 4 fans be like
Nah, Diablo 4 is much more fun when leveling from 1 to 70 or so. 70 - 100 is just doing the same things over and over with barely any rewards. It’s the other way around there, leveling is fun, endgame is dogshit.
Usually “game starts at max level” is used for MMOs like WoW. Where all the leveling is seen as annoying bullshit fetch quests and at max level you do dungeons and raids.
That would not.apply at all to EvE Online. Levels? What levels? Game content? Only if you make it happen. Lol.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the game, but it certainly isn’t for everyone
Ironically what got me into Diablo was my then-girlfriend now-spouse insisting that I go back to Diablo 1 with her and experience it for the story, and damn if that didn’t hook me quick. Endgame D2 and D3 are great and all, but what makes something great even greater is having any sort of emotional connection to the story the game takes place in.
Also hot damn the ambiance of D1 is just something else.
This is not true for D4 unless you’re trying to max level as fast as you can. I took my time and did most of the side quests, and I intend to go back and finish them all. The quests are interesting and engaging and voice acted all the way through.
D4 is quite a good leveling experience if you don’t play it zoom-zoom.
2 and especially 3 too, though
For PvP centric games they absolutely get better at max level. You finally are at parity for numbers, and so skill plays a larger role.
I find PvP games with unlockables and grindables to be the opposite of a good time.
Same. Even on the rare occasion where I’ll do a free to play MMORPG, I avoid PVP and otherwise dealing with other players as much as I can and of course eventually get sick of the grind and return to single player games
This is exactly why I hate PvP games with unlockables. Just put everyone on a level playing field from the start, à la CSGO etc.
Conversely, too many good games get bad reviews because of lacking endgame. So go play the next thing in your overflowing backlog. Some games do what they came for, and that’s fine.
It’s like giving a bad movie review because the concession stand was closed when you left the cinema.
Also the tutorial shouldn’t take an hour.
Ehhh, Final Fantasy I’ll give a pass to on that sort of thing. They were telling good enough stories at least up till FF 10 that a two hour tutorial was ok, because the rest of the game was going to take you a minimum of 60 hours to complete. There are a few other RPGs that would get a similar pass. Baldur’s Gate would get the pass, but unless they changed something in 3 I expect less than a half hour tutorial in that game as well
My brother is 100% this…”ohhh you just have to get through the fetchquests of ARR and then the story is SOO good”
Ugh, ARR is horrible for that. It really is a good game after all that bullshit, but it doesn’t excuse the bullshit existing in the first place. Plus it’s so weird for Final Fantasy, a story driven RPG, to have so many low quality quests in the first place (both story and side quests). I can’t fault anyone not wanting to deal with that.
Best thing it has going for it is that the dungeons are really fun even when the story quests suck. But it’s been years since I’ve played and my knowledge may be stale. Someday I’ll go back, but no way I’ll start with a new character lol.
I’ve said that about FFXIV lol
It gets so much better though when Heavensward enters, it’s insanely good
The story or the gameplay? Because all I wanted to do was play a fun MMO, get items and do dungeons with other people. Instead I did quests like hit 3 rocks with your basic ability. Great! Hit 3 more rocks with the same ability. Done? Now run between 4 NPCs and talk with each of them. Great, now kill 8 enemies over there. Run back, talk with 2 more NPCs. Run through the city and interact with 8 lamp posts, the interaction takes several seconds each, because why not? …
I really tried to power through this absolute bullshit, but after a few hours I simply gave up. It only got worse, not better.
As you say Heavensward, I still hear that there is a ton of dumb quests then. Like the story is right at a critical point and they send you off on hours of fetch quests before you can continue?
It’s true that it’s very grindy with lots of fetch quests, but the actual story gets really good from then and on
I honestly don’t care about the story that much in games. A good story is nice, if the gameplay is there. If the only thing that is actually good about the game is the story… I’ll just read a book instead.
The grind is kind of an MMO thing, it’s not for everyone. Personally I enjoyed the gameplay while chilling with a friend and listening to music on the background
That’s why I don’t play japanese rpgs despite liking them. You have to “play” for 10 to 15 hours before the game actually starts. And during this time it’s a whole lot of cinematic and dialogs with minimal gameplay. Sometimes it gets ridiculous. I can’t remember which game, but after few minutes of dialog you’d be walking for less than a minute to then have dialog again… I want to play and have fun damn it.
Sounds suspiciously like Final Fantasy 13. I swear that game was basically an 8 hour FMV that was broken up every 5 minutes for the first 8 hours of the game.
Yeah no I can’t do games like that. I don’t have as much time for ma vidja games as I used to or as much as I would like these days I can’t afford to wait 50 hours for enjoyment to start. If it takes that dn long for a game to be fun its just bad game design
Not to be that guy, but once you get past the first 35 levels of story in FFXIV (which is a lot faster than 50 hours) it really picks up quick. Like a lot.
The story or the gameplay? Because all I wanted to do was play a fun MMO, get items and do dungeons with other people. Instead I did quests like hit 3 rocks with your basic ability. Great! Hit 3 more rocks with the same ability. Done? Now run between 4 NPCs and talk with each of them. Great, now kill 8 enemies over there. Run back, talk with 2 more NPCs. Run through the city and interact with 8 lamp posts, the interaction takes several seconds each, because why not? …
I really tried to power through this absolute bullshit, but after a few hours I simply gave up. It only got worse, not better.