The "I should keep playing [insert game here] because..." thread • Gaming • General Gaming • Eurogamer.net

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 17:12:42 10,778 posts
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Ever needed some convincing to give an abandoned game another try? Hopefully the EG collective will be able to persuade you to give that unfinished title another bash.

I'll bite first.

Chrono Trigger.

I was recently given a copy of this for the DS but Im struggling to see the greatness in it. The presentation is decidedly old school and the small DS screens make it hard for me to appreciate pretty much any game on the system.

So, to all Chrono Trigger fans...What am I missing out on here? Why should I invest my time in this title?

Deleted user 14 June 2009 17:15:13

You enjoyed the original version and want to relive the experience (rose tinted glasses and all that). Otherwise, don't.

JinTypeNoir 14 Jun 2009 17:22:13 4,368 posts
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Some people, for some reason don't start to really enjoy Chrono Trigger until the trial (which is about 2 hours in the game) or the End of Time (which is about 5 hours into the game). If after these 2 points you're still not enjoying it, then I think you just might not.

Since you bought the game, you should see whether you like it better running on a bigger screen.

Why should you forge on? It's been roughly 15 years since Chrono Trigger and there's only been exactly one game made that resembles it. You won't get a chance to encounter a game like it again, most likely.

Deleted user 14 June 2009 17:25:37

I should keep playing Fallout 3 because it was great and I was really getting into it. Sadly for some reason the utter futility of wasting hour after hour on something as pointless and unproductive as videogames recently hit me like a brick in the face, putting paid to that hobby pretty conclusively.

Well, except for Plants versus Zombies, and Sims 3. Lawl.

chopsen 14 Jun 2009 17:28:12 21,958 posts
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MrED209 wrote:
for some reason the utter futility of wasting hour after hour on something as pointless and unproductive as videogames recently hit me like a brick in the face, putting paid to that hobby pretty conclusively....except for Plants versus Zombies, and Sims 3.

Heh, *exactly* the same here.

(except I've now started playing QuakeLive instead of PvZ)

Obiwanshinobi 14 Jun 2009 17:47:15 870 posts
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Progguitarist wrote:
Chrono Trigger.

I was recently given a copy of this for the DS but Im struggling to see the greatness in it. The presentation is decidedly old school and the small DS screens make it hard for me to appreciate pretty much any game on the system.

Then play it on the SNES emulator (I recommend zSNES). I played Chrono Trigger this way for the first time a copule of years ago when it was already fairly old. Easily my favourite storytelling game of all time this. I even played through the entire PlayStation version (despite prolonged loading times), only to watch it on a TV CRT. Still, comfort-wise, SNES emulator rules (good to have a legit copy for the DS around, though).

UncleLou Moderator 14 Jun 2009 19:20:05 40,723 posts
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I am in the same boat, Prog. I bought Chrono Trigger on the DS ( never played it before) a few months ago, and downright forced myself to play it for quite some time, waiting for greatness, until I just gave up.

I found it just tedious, the time traveling not nearly as involving as I thought it would be, the plot and writing unremarkable, and the battle system annoying. Guess it's just not for me.

Jeepers 14 Jun 2009 19:31:34 16,616 posts
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I keep playing Disgaea 3 because I loved 1 and 2. I don't think I'm feeling the love for it at the moment tho'

thedaveeyres 14 Jun 2009 20:05:53 13,925 posts
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Jeepers wrote:
I keep playing Disgaea 3 because I loved 1 and 2. I don't think I'm feeling the love for it at the moment tho'

Man the hell up and keep grinding... you know you want to.

(The story is excellent)

Super_Zee 14 Jun 2009 20:22:10 2,105 posts
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I'm not a real RPG man but loved Fallout 3 so picked up Oblivion GOTY recently...but I'm not sure I can be arsed. I think the setting of FO3 overcame the boredom I get playing that kind of game. Worth persevering?

MrED209 wrote:
Sadly for some reason the utter futility of wasting hour after hour on something as pointless and unproductive as videogames recently hit me like a brick in the face, putting paid to that hobby pretty conclusively

Yeeeeeah, I'm kind of here too. I'm starting to wonder what great things I would achieve if the black, grey and white chucks of plastic underneath my TV were to disappear.

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 20:31:04 10,778 posts
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Ive often wondered that myself. I wonder if I'd practice more or record more but I honestly dont think I would. Gaming is downtime to me...I pretty much have the guitar in hand all day as its what I do for a living. I find escaping into games for a bit helps me be more productive as I can unwind and get the day out of my head (if that makes sense).

Anyway, I havent finished Fallout 3 myself but I'd say its probably worth persevering with. I find it can be dreary if I play for long periods of time so Ive reduced it to bitesize chunks for keep my interest.

Super_Zee 14 Jun 2009 20:46:41 2,105 posts
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Yeah, I've been playing Oblivion in little chunks, not through design but because it doesn't take long for me to get bored and turn it off. I love a good story but I think I need a bit more push in the right direction.

Re: gaming, I'm also seriously thinking about de-authorising my credit card from iTunes so I stop impulse buying iPod Touch stuff. The cheapness gets me, but I don't think of the bigger cost until the bill lands.

Slightly off topic, but do get to do cool guitar stuff or are you a session muso? I think laying down a rhythm track with a crappy artist might take away my guitar love completely.

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 20:52:44 10,778 posts
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I run my own little guitar school, gig (also as a drummer), record local bands and of course work on my own music. Trying to get into composing for games too...

Super_Zee 14 Jun 2009 21:01:09 2,105 posts
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/jealous

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 21:04:01 10,778 posts
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Super_Zee wrote:
/jealous

LOL...its not as great as you might think. Hell of a lot of work!

matrim83 14 Jun 2009 22:07:29 5,713 posts
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"I should keep playing CoD 4 on veteran because....."

Well I shouldnt. The game is bastard hard, its downright unfair at times and I am not even very good at it. So why the fuck cant I stop playing on veteran when I am getting my ass handed to me? Why is it weirdly addictive?

/Is on Safehouse and cant get past the halfway mark.
/Still have that playground bit in Priypat to look forward to.

/Shudders.

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 22:11:47 10,778 posts
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I gave up on veteran. I dont ever want to think about it again. Ever.

Fatiguez 14 Jun 2009 22:15:08 8,930 posts
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Haha, I did it on the difficulty before Veteran (can't remember what it was called) and it was hard, but fun. On Veteran, I died on the tanker level and decided I'd be better off not putting myself through that

Progguitarist 14 Jun 2009 22:17:38 10,778 posts
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Yes, I value my peripherals.

HiddenAway 14 Jun 2009 22:20:17 15,147 posts
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UncleLou wrote:
I am in the same boat, Prog. I bought Chrono Trigger on the DS ( never played it before) a few months ago, and downright forced myself to play it for quite some time, waiting for greatness, until I just gave up.

I found it just tedious, the time traveling not nearly as involving as I thought it would be, the plot and writing unremarkable, and the battle system annoying. Guess it's just not for me.

The time mechanics do get better and as for the battle system, it depends on what you're using. I had mine on Active for most of the game until I got to wait. then I found it a lot more manageable.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Especially the shock looks on the sprites when something went disastrously wrong.

faux-C 14 Jun 2009 22:54:16 11,204 posts
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Chrono Trigger is still the only game to make me cry

johnlenham 14 Jun 2009 22:55:42 4,000 posts
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Progguitarist wrote:
I gave up on veteran. I dont ever want to think about it again. Ever.

Doing the plane bonus one on vet was more than enough for me must have taken atleast 50 trys!

Deleted user 14 June 2009 23:01:46

I did veteran for COD4 on my first playthrough and completed it

I wish I didn't, it basiacally meant doing every single bit over and over and over again until you learned to abuse the respawn system (by charging forward a lot), got lucky, or started having ferris wheel nightmares

Frayed.Knot 14 Jun 2009 23:16:30 605 posts
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Call of Duty on veteran became not so much a test of skill as a test of memory (and no small amount of luck). I beat it, but to this day, I still haven't got my 'Mile High Club' achievement.

Triggerhappytel 15 Jun 2009 00:22:36 2,696 posts
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I am [ ___ ] this close to giving up on BioShock and trading it in. I appreciate the design and it has lovely visuals and so on, but I just can't be arsed with it. One of my friends literally implored me to keep at it though, so I s'pose I'll reluctantly crack on with it to see if the plot is as good as they say.

Fatiguez 15 Jun 2009 00:25:42 8,930 posts
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The plot isn't worth the drudgery of the gameplay, just trade it in

Progguitarist 15 Jun 2009 00:52:47 10,778 posts
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Triggerhappytel wrote:
I am [ ___ ] this close to giving up on BioShock and trading it in. I appreciate the design and it has lovely visuals and so on, but I just can't be arsed with it. One of my friends literally implored me to keep at it though, so I s'pose I'll reluctantly crack on with it to see if the plot is as good as they say.

I was in a similar position to you but I kept at it and it eventually clicked. It seems to have the same effect on alot of people. Loaned it to a mate and he didnt get on with it at all either.

Obiwanshinobi 15 Jun 2009 06:34:34 870 posts
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UncleLou wrote:
I am in the same boat, Prog. I bought Chrono Trigger on the DS ( never played it before) a few months ago, and downright forced myself to play it for quite some time, waiting for greatness, until I just gave up.

I found it just tedious, the time traveling not nearly as involving as I thought it would be, the plot and writing unremarkable, and the battle system annoying. Guess it's just not for me.

I'm guessing the ATB pisses you off. Although not as infamous as the random encounters in other jRPGs, ATB tends to annoy the hell out of many gamers, especially those who don't have a Final Fantasy background. I know about at least two games definitely worthy of getting over the ATB annoyance: Anachronox and Chrono Trigger.
Personally I didn't like the ATB as such and I still don't quite like it, yet I found the combat system in Chrono Trigger excellent. I'm positive it can become an acquired taste for everyone. Right from the beginning until the very end it constantly evolves from simplistic to increasingly deep and flashy. This game is really good in ensuring you that you are AWESOME ("young, hot and certainly talented", to quote the latest King's Bounty).
Wait mode should help you reach the clicking point. Played either way Chrono Trigger is an easy game, thus sticking to Active you won't prove you're hardcoreness.
As for the writing, I'm aware of the DS version having altered (or even retranslated) script compared to the SNES original. If (I say "if" as I can't really compare both translations to each other at the moment) they replaced Ted Woosley's rushed labour of love with something more antiseptic � la Symphony of the Night for the PSP, then it may be another reason to play ChT on the emulator. For me Woosley's job is the real thing, even if it's a massive compromise in fact. We're not talking Shakespeare here, but he did well enough, ribbit. Don't know about you, but for me there's something about sprites' "acting" that really makes up for the verbal clumsiness. Those wee beings seem so alive I empathize with them. You don't ditch Another World or Ico for the lack of remarkable writing after all. Chances are you have no soul (it's cool, nobody cares), but still, you should appreciate how powerful such modest means of expression used to be. And we totally traded it for H-L2 or Bioshock or whatever! The hell, insane we are.
Emphasis aside, I found this little story quite moving and really well told in peculiarly videogamey way.
Moreover, the game's such an eye-candy in places it really shouldn't have been sent into the handheld exile. I do believe Ocean Palace or Black Omen have what it takes to please any graphic whore, no matter how jaded and worn out by wanking over tech demos. People sentenced to LCD have to deal with the massive pixellation, but you can always use one of, you know, THOSE filters and keep it under the rose.
Last but not least, there's the music. You can beef the audio up beyond Sony SPC 700 capabilities (recommended for audiophiliac crowd), but the score itself is magic. Just listen to this (YouTube quality sucks, though). By the way, Yasunori Mitsuda's music for Xenogears was pretty much the only thing helping me almost literally crawl through that terribly broken game recently, which really says something.