# Video game pet peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 28, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070 "2000-11-28T19:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2000, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/41 "2000-12-01T08:32:00Z")
I’ve realized my biggest game Pet Peeve… POINTLESS DEATHS!!! In FF3 (yet again, turning to it as an example), there’s the part where you control General Leo. You fight a bit with him, he kicks ass, he’s a buff mofo… then he gets stabbed or something, and he dies. WTF?!?!? If you’re going to kill one of the toughest characters in the game, you’ve got to use something BIG… like a giant gun or a badass spell, or a combination of the two. Then there’re the games with VERY limited weapon selection. In, say, Chronotrigger, each character had his/her/its own weapon class… Chrono used swords, Marle used bows, Magus used scythes… so how come Chrono can’t use a bow? Or Magus use a sword? Why are they so friggin’ picky about what they use?!? ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2000, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/42 "2000-12-01T13:27:12Z")
General Leo’s death wasn’t pointless. It was _drama._ You know, “in war men die” and like that. **ACTING!!** 🙂 It’s kinda broad, but bad design. Like fallout/fallout2’s horrible interface, or BG2’s bizzarely overpowered classes and 16 item (a key is an item, too) inventory. Things that I can’t imagine slipping through any kind of development process, but there you are. I hate the required-by-law overpowered character/class/weapon that seems to show up in every multiplayer game. Ever since Blanka in SF2, there seems to be something in every multiplayer game that allows a button-pounding newbie to severly threaten someone who’s actually good. Bad plots are annoying, too. I’m willing to accept a reasonable amount of cleche and pretention, but many many games seem to make no kind of sense at all. Maybe Fallout has spoiled me, but it seems that while every RPG has some “stealth” characters, they’re only useful for dealing with specific situations that wouldn’t exsist if they’re wasn’t a stealth class to begin with. Like thieves in the BG games. Why are they there? To disarm traps and open locks. Why are there traps and everything locked? Because otherwise theives wouldn’t have anything to do. You can’t pick any locks with a key, cause that would mess up the puzzles. Is it that unthinkable to include encounters that you can deal with (meaning resolve, not just avoid) via stealth instead of combat? Same goes for “evil” rpg paths. Why are the material and experience rewards for theft and deception ALWAYS less, even in the extreme short term, than of being wholly honest and unbelivably generous? This dosn’t seem very accurate to me . . . – “God, I love Pac-Man!” ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2000, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/43 "2000-12-01T13:39:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*re: Lara Croft naked > > [http://www.game-revolution.com/download/lara.htm](http://www.game-revolution.com/download/lara.htm) > [http://www.adultgamereviews.com/nudepatches.shtml](http://www.adultgamereviews.com/nudepatches.shtml) > \*\* Damn! I play on playstation so the patch doesn’t help me! Oh well. One question though… Where does she carry all of her guns!!! ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2000, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/44 "2000-12-01T14:52:08Z")
My _Final Fantasy III_ had occasional glitches. During a couple of these glitches, General Leo appeared on my screen with other, regular characters (Terra, Edgar, etc.). I was unable to control _any_ characters during these episodes, but if I recall correctly, Leo would fight, or at least, swing his sword like he did in his skirmish with Kefka. I didn’t search any _FF3_ sites, but maybe there’s a way you _can_ get Leo as a playable character? ---
**Author:** ![Ranma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Ranma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranma)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/45 "2000-12-02T00:03:10Z")
This gripe is about RPG’s. How can anyone die with life spells around?!? Somehow they forget they have access to powerful reviving spells. At least in Phantasy Star 4, when Alys dies, it’s because she was hit by the Dark Force, and even healing spells couldn’t help her. But when General Leo dies, why can’t they raise him?? No reason. Posted by scratch1300: > [@](#): > > I didn’t search any FF3 sites, but maybe there’s a way you can get Leo as a playable character? There are rumors running around that you can get a “resurrection potion”(and the use it on General Leo’s grave in Thamasa) by fighting Brachosaurs in the “brachosaur forest” for a very very very… very long time, like killing 10 000 of them. (sounds like a “yeah, right” rumor) And if you do a quick search, you’ll find out that Final Fantasy 3 is VERY glitched. If you know how to trigger them. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/46 "2000-12-02T01:59:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > \*\*Games that are toooo haaaaard. Has anyone ever, ever finished Ghosts 'n Goblins or the first Castlevaina without a cheat code? And remember, this was a time when most video games were aimed at _children_. \*\* _Ashley eagerly raises a hand and waves it around_ I have! I _have!_ 😃 Well–not Ghosts 'n Goblins, but only because I don’t own it. Castlevania is really tough, but it’s possible. 🙂 It has one of those ‘crappy endings’ that people are moaning about, though. I, personally, enjoy the game more for the actual task of -getting- to the ending, rather then the ending itself. That’s why I don’t like to play games with gameplay that can become boring (I’m really sorry, ya big RPG fans, but \*\* Final Fantasy 8 \*\* should have been released under a different title. ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/47 "2000-12-02T02:21:58Z")
I know that in FFTatics they got around that by saying the dead were only dying:) Of course in that game they do actually revive the dead though:) My gripe is they are all too easy. All of them. Except for when you have to talk to this one person or stand in this one spot to do something in a rpg and you don’t know that. Also bugs, bugs suck. Oh yeah and sensitivity, mouses in most games are entirely too slow:) ---
**Author:** ![Ranma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Ranma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranma)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/48 "2000-12-02T03:55:07Z")
Posted by Ashtar: > [@](#): > > It has one of those ‘crappy endings’ that people are moaning about, though. C’mon! Castlevania is, like, circa 1986 AD? > [@](#): > > I’m really sorry, ya big RPG fans, but Final Fantasy 8 should have been released under a different title. As far as I’m concerned, FF8 should have never been released. Bad Story, bad love drama, bad character animations, bad gameplay, great summons(but after 5 times in the same fight you’ll be crying for a “skip the attack and get to the damage” button…), bad concepts (Gunblades? how can you shoot from that thing?? the blade is IN FRONT of the barrel, indeed blocking the opening; spells that you have to “steal” from the enemy?) Incredible FMV(full motion video). FF8 really lacks. One thing with the more recent FF games is that every character is the same. Everyone can have every magic and so on. FF2 (FF4 in Japan) was the best for that problem, everyone was radically different, and that is something that Square lost with their newer games… ---
**Author:** ![Jaakko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@Jaakko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaakko)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/49 "2000-12-02T04:17:34Z")
I always hate it when the sounds of a game are neglected. As the popularity of fancy sound systems in home and movie theaters testify, a good aural experience adds a lot to a game’s atmosphere. This is especially true with action and simulation titles. I’ve lost the count on how many times a race car engine sounds more like a hairdryer than a V10, or when a big-ass gun goes “plop”. BTW Zette, > [@](#): > > AMEN!! My husband just got done solving a flight simulator game (it took forever) and there was NO ending at all! Just like “Game Over”. Nothing!! What a rip off! As a flight sim nut I have to point out that sims in generally aren’t supposed to end, as such. It’s all about the gameplay, and you never actually finish a good sim (until the next Must Buy arrives, of course ;)). Of course, if he was playing Crimson Skies, then the lack of a proper ending does really suck, because it needs one… ---
**Author:** ![Tezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Tezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tezza)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/50 "2000-12-02T05:36:39Z")
Okay, who played Final Fantasy 8 and got frustrated to death with those lame-ass, non-skipable tutorials? And the ending! WTF!!! It’s not a bad idea, but they just went on and on with the stupid thing!! Hello, it’s dead, just let it die already!! -Tezza ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/51 "2000-12-02T08:59:34Z")
KJ - I went to that site just now. Frankly, Seanbaby sounds to me like a colossal whiner. Nothing but tiresome rants. I wouldn’t bother bookmarking it. Astar - Well. First time for everything, I guess. The point is, I’m so unbelievably sick of game after game that’s horribly, gut-wrenchingly, maddeningly difficult. Just played one now, Pac-Mania, on MAME. I still feel twinges of rage when I remember that companies used to pander to the microscopic minority of ultra-hardcore, degenerate, “challenge”-uber-alles addict players. (Memo to y’all: Jungly Steps is not “challenging”. It’s a programming error. The same goes for any other level which cannot be cleared by an actual human being.) Er, not that I’m saying anything about _you_ or anything. Really… Ranma - Hey man, when I finally beat Castlevania with the help of a Game Genie (what, you think I had _time_ to retry the final stage 999,000 times?), I was thrilled at the admittedly sparse ending…because I had _finished the game_. Sometimes, like when the final boss is about as hard to beat as a freaking demigod (which I suspected the Count may have been), _any_ ending is good. No matter what it is, and no matter how I got there. Speaking of which, to all you “honor” or whatever advocates out there: I’ll stop using my Gameshark as soon as you pry it out of my cold, dead fingers. Because, trust me, retrying a stage 999,000 times isn’t quite as fun as it sounds. SPOOFE - Well, at least those deaths are relevant to the story. You wanna talk _totally_ pointless, check out all the fighting game deaths. Street Fighter’s Charlie is the absolute worst offender in this regard. He’s been offed a _minimum_ of four times (including that thing in Cambodia which we never see), and every time Capcom found a way to get him back. I realize that they kinda miscalculated when they considered him a fringe character whom no one would miss, but you’d think that they’d at least have the decency not to repeat the mistake over and over. And now he’s in Gunspike, a game set in the _future_, so it looks like Guile had the wrong guy in his SF2 ending all along. :rolleyes: Really, now. Nearly as bad is Nakoruru’s “decorporealization” in Samurai Shodown 2. SNK went through considerable lengths to make sure she bought it in a highly tearjerking fashion (including inventing a “disaster renewal” that doesn’t happen in any of the other endings). Why, I dunno; there was never really any big push to bump her off…hoo boy, is _that_ ever an understatement…and she was fairly popular in the first and second game. What’s more, _she_ appears, totally alive and well, in Samurai Shodown 3, and without so much as a word of explanation! Oh yeah, and if you’re one of those purists who claims that SS64 is the “true” sequel to SS2, sorry, but she’s there as well. And now, inevitably, there are all these bogus explanations, such as her being a “maiden of light” or a “wandering spirit” etc. etc…look, guys, why not just go with “we screwed up; we didn’t realize at the time that it would become an issue” and be done with it, and you can also knock off that continuuity-wrecking Special Stage in Art of Fighting 2 while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2000, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070/52 "2000-12-02T09:37:17Z")
- - - This only concerns PC games: Tremendously Oversized Patches. - I have a current game that “needs” a 32.5 meg patch. I tried to load another game once that “needed” a 72 meg patch. Software companies need to learn that monstrous files simply aren’t practical to download on a 56K connection, which is what most of the internet is still using, like it or not. How big does a file have to be to graduate from a “patch” to another mod? 25 megs? 50 megs? 75 megs? - MC [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-game-pet-peeves/43070.md?page=2)