We've all got 'em, collecting dust on a shelf, or lying on the floor behind the couch. Maybe they're forgotten in a drawer or tucked away in the car. Wherever they are, they're those poor, abandoned games you played a little and then forgot about. Maybe something else came along and you got distracted, or the game required a lot of grinding or otherwise repetitive play and you just weren't in the mood. Maybe something else came up in your life and you just haven't picked it up again, but something's kept you from selling it or trading it off. Tell us about your level three characters and half-built towns.
We've all got 'em, collecting dust on a shelf, or lying on the floor behind the couch. Maybe they're forgotten in a drawer or tucked away in the car. Wherever they are, they're those poor, abandoned games you played a little and then forgot about. Maybe something else came along and you got distracted, or the game required a lot of grinding or otherwise repetitive play and you just weren't in the mood. Maybe something else came up in your life and you just haven't picked it up again, but something's kept you from selling it or trading it off. Tell us about your level three characters and half-built towns.
Reader Comments (28)
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 9:43AM TheC0A7S said
lets see where to begin........
1-i need to finish LoZ PHG I just got so sick of playing through the same dungeon....maybe todays a good day to finish?
2-Starfox I played it for a grand total of 15 minutes before i decided it wasn't for me.....anyone else get that feeling?
3-Dementium I got half way through and to the boss that is the green walls and got so sick of restarting.....any suggestions anyone?
4-Transformers online......I Just Miss It.....I quit right after i unlocked the jet at a download station (pro tip-find a download station with transformers demo (might be gone by now) put transformers in and download the demo, that gets you jet)
5- all the rest of them (includes-simcity, diddykong racing and so many more)
1-i need to finish LoZ PHG I just got so sick of playing through the same dungeon....maybe todays a good day to finish?
2-Starfox I played it for a grand total of 15 minutes before i decided it wasn't for me.....anyone else get that feeling?
3-Dementium I got half way through and to the boss that is the green walls and got so sick of restarting.....any suggestions anyone?
4-Transformers online......I Just Miss It.....I quit right after i unlocked the jet at a download station (pro tip-find a download station with transformers demo (might be gone by now) put transformers in and download the demo, that gets you jet)
5- all the rest of them (includes-simcity, diddykong racing and so many more)
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:25AM (Unverified) said
I have this Electroplankton that fascinates everyone I show my DS off to, but it can't seem to keep my interest. Also, I have loved Contra 4 for the time I played it but decided it wasn't for the commute (too much disturbance); hence, it doesn't get played, as playtime at home is pretty scarce. There's also Worms Open Warfare II which I decided would be very good if I got to play it with someone. However, I have been unable to hook up to Game Night and I don't have gamer friends who are also in the DS.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:40AM (Unverified) said
I bought contact once because it was going for cheap. Anyway, played a short while, got stuck, haven't picked it up since. Not saying it's a bad game, I honestly haven't played it enough to tell, it's just slipped through the cracks.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:58AM (Unverified) said
Honestly i will say the phoenix wright games, i played the first one got to the final scene or the third one and just gave up on it. Mario Party DS is another one, i was so hyped about that game only to find out there is about only 40 minigames and no wifi. So i got to bowers castle and lost my winning streak. Then it was like CBF!!
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 11:32AM (Unverified) said
I can't finish Phoenix Wright either! I got all the way to the first trial of the last case. It's just not holding my interest!
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 12:50PM (Unverified) said
Uuuuff... PW2 was my first game ehen i goto the ds, I really was expecting hours of fun... but i got sick of the game and i changed it for FIFA 2006&7 which were almost as bad as phoenix wright.
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 11:17AM (Unverified) said
Phantom Hourglass, bloody Temple of the Ocean King killed the game for me. I'd rather stick my stylus through my eyes then slug through there again.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 12:18PM (Unverified) said
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way. I was having loads of fun taking my time with this game but on the fourth time through Temple of the Ocean King I set it aside....and haven't picked it up since. When it stops being fun, when I am NOT looking forward to picking it up again, that's when I ask myself, "What exactly AM I doing with my game time?" and let a game go. Maybe I'll get back at it, who knows, but for now it's on my Ugh List. SimCityDS has also been languishing for several months....I just got so far and...blech. And I'm a SimCity fan since the day the original came out too.
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 11:50AM Jacksons said
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Fun game, but I set it down near the end. I tried picking it back up, but I had no idea what I was doing before.
Second is Children of Mana. So repetitive... Sure, the tileset changes every once in a while, but it's still the most boring, lifeless dungeon hack I've ever played.
Second is Children of Mana. So repetitive... Sure, the tileset changes every once in a while, but it's still the most boring, lifeless dungeon hack I've ever played.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 12:40PM (Unverified) said
Oh, man, that's the worst, when something comes up and you're almost done. Then, when you get back to it, you've got NO idea what's going on, but you don't want to restart. I feel your pain there.
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 11:58AM (Unverified) said
Magical Starsign and Mario & Luigi...I played through and loved the gba Mario & Luigi, so I asked for it for the holidays 2 years ago. Since then I've tried to get into it 5-6 times since, but to no avail. Magical Starsign's character art just bugged me, but recently I've started up again and am in about 16 hours or so. It has its charms...
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 12:02PM treeofmana said
Honestly,
I'm very surprised so many people are leaving "Phantom Hourglass" behind. That was the game that took my attention away from everything else!
Anyway, most of the games that I've left behind but haven't abandoned are older games (mostly for my NES) that have such a high difficultly level and lack any kind of password of save feature so that I can't bring myself to play them much. Occasionally I'll emulate them so that I can have the benefit of save states. That gives me the feeling that trudging through the game will be worth it because I'll have my collection of states to go back to. Plus, it makes some of those darn-near impossible levels a little bit easier in a pinch.
As for my DS games, I find that I continually go back to all of them depending on my mood. Currently the list is only up to six games, though, so I guess that's probably the reason. But they're a balanced six games, so I have options for whatever mood I'm in.
Later,
manaman
I'm very surprised so many people are leaving "Phantom Hourglass" behind. That was the game that took my attention away from everything else!
Anyway, most of the games that I've left behind but haven't abandoned are older games (mostly for my NES) that have such a high difficultly level and lack any kind of password of save feature so that I can't bring myself to play them much. Occasionally I'll emulate them so that I can have the benefit of save states. That gives me the feeling that trudging through the game will be worth it because I'll have my collection of states to go back to. Plus, it makes some of those darn-near impossible levels a little bit easier in a pinch.
As for my DS games, I find that I continually go back to all of them depending on my mood. Currently the list is only up to six games, though, so I guess that's probably the reason. But they're a balanced six games, so I have options for whatever mood I'm in.
Later,
manaman
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 12:59PM dditto74 said
I have several that I have put down for awhile, even though I still intend to finish them all.
I purchased Contact because I heard it was a good game published by Atlus, but I put it down when an early boss wouldn't let me fight him unless I spent time leveling up. It's ridiculous. There was dialog built-in to the effect of "You're far too weak. Go away and come back later."
I go back and forth on the Phoenix Wright games because I really want to enjoy them to the fullest. When I am neck-deep in a trial, I sometimes get bogged down in the repetitive nature of Investigate, Examination, Cross-Examination, Objection!, Hold It!, and such. After awhile I realize that it is not fun and there is no replay value if I just trudge through it, so I put it away until I'm hankering for legal action at a later date.
Drawn to Life has a poorer reason to the effect that I am a poor artist and I don't enjoy seeing my unsightly scribbles prance around all over the place. Perhaps I'll use the included, well-drawn examples one of these days, but I'm too distracted by Custom Robo Arena.
There are other games on many systems, but I'm far too long-winded as it is.
I purchased Contact because I heard it was a good game published by Atlus, but I put it down when an early boss wouldn't let me fight him unless I spent time leveling up. It's ridiculous. There was dialog built-in to the effect of "You're far too weak. Go away and come back later."
I go back and forth on the Phoenix Wright games because I really want to enjoy them to the fullest. When I am neck-deep in a trial, I sometimes get bogged down in the repetitive nature of Investigate, Examination, Cross-Examination, Objection!, Hold It!, and such. After awhile I realize that it is not fun and there is no replay value if I just trudge through it, so I put it away until I'm hankering for legal action at a later date.
Drawn to Life has a poorer reason to the effect that I am a poor artist and I don't enjoy seeing my unsightly scribbles prance around all over the place. Perhaps I'll use the included, well-drawn examples one of these days, but I'm too distracted by Custom Robo Arena.
There are other games on many systems, but I'm far too long-winded as it is.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 2:30PM chispito said
You know, with the proper flash cart equipment, not only can you take a large assortment of games with you, but you can use ROMs and save files backed up from your own carts, completely removing unsavory websites from the equation.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 2:33PM chispito said
You know, it shouldn't _have_ to be this way, but if you pay close attention (maybe take extensive notes or something) you'll see there are a lot of shortcuts that become available the last few times you slog through the temple. Also, as a light at the end of the tunnel, the last time you go through, there is a save point immediately before the final boss fight.
I enjoyed the entire game far too much to let my distaste for the TOK to keep me from passing it. Also, I keep dreaming of the day when somebody I play online actually trades something with me.
I enjoyed the entire game far too much to let my distaste for the TOK to keep me from passing it. Also, I keep dreaming of the day when somebody I play online actually trades something with me.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:57PM (Unverified) said
I gotta say that after reading, and replying, to this one I sat down a bit earlier tonight and played LZ:PHG a bit. I redid TOK4 to the point of the yellow light, a half way point I gather, with a MUCH MUCH better time than I currently had and stopped there, feeling a LOT better about it all. I think now I'll actually get back in it as I've enjoyed it overall so far. Over the years I've given up on a LOT of games but at one point I decided to go back and revisit a bunch of them and I found that I was really glad I did! Let's hope I stick with this now as it's a fun little game.
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 4:40PM (Unverified) said
I thought I must be the only person in the DS world who had problems with Phoenix Wright... Contact as well. And I got stuck at one of the boss battles in Pac'n'Roll and gave up after about 50 attempts. Hopefully I'll come back to all of them, as otherwise I'll feel like I've wasted my $.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 6:51PM (Unverified) said
I just got a DS earlier this month, so I haven't had it long enough for me to really have a "left behind" game. Although it is kind of looking like Phoenix Wright might be one... mostly because the inane shortcuts in the legal process bother me.
Although, incidentally, on my other systems the "left behind" games often turn out to be favorites when I end up going back to them... Resident Evil 4, for example.
Although, incidentally, on my other systems the "left behind" games often turn out to be favorites when I end up going back to them... Resident Evil 4, for example.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 7:31PM (Unverified) said
I'm also still getting through Zelda. I'll finish it eventually.
The other 2 games I really should finish but haven't yet are Luminous Arc and the complete Lego Star Wars trilogy.
The other 2 games I really should finish but haven't yet are Luminous Arc and the complete Lego Star Wars trilogy.
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:55PM (Unverified) said
I left Brain Age after less than a month of dedicated playing. I also happen to suffer from Animal Crossing syndrome, in that get tired of forcing myself to pop the cart in day after day.
Also, Trauma Center. It gets neglected in half-year intervals until I think I can beat Savato :(
Also, Trauma Center. It gets neglected in half-year intervals until I think I can beat Savato :(
Posted: Jan 24th 2008 10:59PM (Unverified) said
Funny, I go in cycles with Brain Age and have since the day I got it, when it first came out. I do enjoy it a lot though, when I play it. AC:WW and Mario Kart were the reasons I got a DS in the first place. I went in cycles with AC too until I got a LITE after Thanksgiving and now I keep my AC in my old DS, or DS Phat as I see it is also called, and pick it up every day for a short time. Of course, that's cuz right now the hubby isn't playing with the DS at all and I can do that :)
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Posted: Jan 24th 2008 11:46PM (Unverified) said
Seriously, people just don't GET the Temple of the Ocean King. It's a very elaborate and well designed dungeon. It takes very little time to actually get through the entire thing, and when you revisit it, there's bound to be new ways to get through it if you ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION. There must be at least a dozen shortcuts in that dungeon.
People just assume the place sucks. They trudge through it exactly the same way without really noticing anything new about it.
The first time I went through that dungeon, I couldn't help but go, "Hey, how do I get up there! Hey, what's this hole? I don't have any items to hit that switch! What's going on?"
Why did nobody else think this and then notice those parts again once they WALKED RIGHT BY THEM AGAIN with the appropriate items?
People just assume the place sucks. They trudge through it exactly the same way without really noticing anything new about it.
The first time I went through that dungeon, I couldn't help but go, "Hey, how do I get up there! Hey, what's this hole? I don't have any items to hit that switch! What's going on?"
Why did nobody else think this and then notice those parts again once they WALKED RIGHT BY THEM AGAIN with the appropriate items?
Posted: Jan 25th 2008 1:11AM chispito said
The dungeon was a bad design move. I think if they would have broken it down into two trips before the save point and two trips after the save point, people wouldn't mind so much. As it is, it's just too stinking long, too many times, especially if you are coming back to it from a hiatus. It begins to feel like filler.
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Posted: Jan 25th 2008 3:42AM (Unverified) said
I have to disagree. The dungeon is not very long at all. You can get through the entire thing in around 10 minutes if you utilize shortcuts, and none of the shortcuts are very difficult to spot if you pay attention.
Again, I simply believe people don't "get" the Temple of the Ocean King. To me, it personifies the explorative spirit of Zelda, because every time you come back with new items, new paths can be opened. By simply taking a short bit of time to examine something I hadn't noticed previously, I could practically skip entire rooms and blaze through to the areas I had not seen yet.
Dare I say I had a lot of fun revisiting the Temple, using my new items to investigate ways to cut through rooms in seconds, which previously took me several minutes.
That's pretty excellent design if you ask me. A lot of effort was obviously put into the layout of the Temple of the Ocean King, and it saddens me when people call it filler, and all that effort is ignored.
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Again, I simply believe people don't "get" the Temple of the Ocean King. To me, it personifies the explorative spirit of Zelda, because every time you come back with new items, new paths can be opened. By simply taking a short bit of time to examine something I hadn't noticed previously, I could practically skip entire rooms and blaze through to the areas I had not seen yet.
Dare I say I had a lot of fun revisiting the Temple, using my new items to investigate ways to cut through rooms in seconds, which previously took me several minutes.
That's pretty excellent design if you ask me. A lot of effort was obviously put into the layout of the Temple of the Ocean King, and it saddens me when people call it filler, and all that effort is ignored.
Posted: Jan 25th 2008 11:52AM (Unverified) said
I see what you're saying there. It's not I didn't notice the new paths I could take. My distaste for that particular area is part in due to the repetition and part because of forced stealth sections. I saw it as a bad design move, personally, because it artificially extends the game length.
I find it more restrictive than encouraging exploration because it's still fairly linear, yes there are a -small handful- of options to get through an area, but it still feels very much the same. Wind Waker encouraged more exploration in my opinion.
I think the temple could've been handled better... removed forced stealth or instead having to return to previously passed floors... a central/hub chamber and have a new path open up... I just don't understand why they chose to do it this way.
I'm not saying it's a bad game at all. In fact, it's probably my favorite hand-held Zelda, they just make it hard for me to love it -sometimes-.
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I find it more restrictive than encouraging exploration because it's still fairly linear, yes there are a -small handful- of options to get through an area, but it still feels very much the same. Wind Waker encouraged more exploration in my opinion.
I think the temple could've been handled better... removed forced stealth or instead having to return to previously passed floors... a central/hub chamber and have a new path open up... I just don't understand why they chose to do it this way.
I'm not saying it's a bad game at all. In fact, it's probably my favorite hand-held Zelda, they just make it hard for me to love it -sometimes-.
Posted: Jan 26th 2008 1:16AM Garst said
Is that the guy from Growing Pains?
Posted: Jan 26th 2008 7:13PM (Unverified) said
The second half of Z:PH goes pretty quick. And the Ocean King's Temple gets quicker as soon as you power up to be able to kill the guards.
I agree with Contact, it was fun at first but became quite lame. Same with Lunar Knights. And FFIII as well, Revenant Wings is much better. The list goes on...
Hunters
RE
P:Ranger - the slimes became pretty tedious early on
Portrait - not as fun as Dawn of Sorrow
I agree with Contact, it was fun at first but became quite lame. Same with Lunar Knights. And FFIII as well, Revenant Wings is much better. The list goes on...
Hunters
RE
P:Ranger - the slimes became pretty tedious early on
Portrait - not as fun as Dawn of Sorrow
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