Playing your games

A response I made had me think of this. There's so many different ways that you can play games, and even then it depends on the game that you play. For games with replay ability (or where you have to replay to get 100%) how often do you find yourself replaying said games? How do you go through your first run compared to your second run? Do you play the story and then go back and do extra things? Or do you take your time and get everything the first go around? Does it depend on the kind of game?

For me it really depends on the game. Games like the Tales of Series I tend to do mostly story and important sidequests, and then during my second playthrough onward (as Tales of Games love to make some things second playthrough onward only) I'll slow down and be more thorough since I've already played through it once. Allows me to catch things I missed the first time, as well. Kingdom Hearts is another game for me to where I go through it first to enjoy the story, and then I'll go back and be more thorough in a second playthrough (or on the same one since unlike Tales of Games you don't need a second playthrough to get everything lol).

Meanwhile there are some games I don't intend on restarting/there isn't a new game+ so I try to get everything I can first time around. Pokemon comes to mind with this.

Such a huge topic to get stuck in to. Firstly, there's this to consider:

Is it the first time you are playing the series/franchise?

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Why is that the case? Well let's use the example Ash has used in their post. The Tales of Series, as much as it has changed its battle mechanics, universes and the like, still has some common trends throughout that a player well-versed in the series such as myself will look out for or attempt in any playthrough. New players however would have no idea and therefore approach the game in a different way. So I'll look to answer as best as I can in both scenarios.

If I am generally new to the game/series, I will generally plod through on my first playthrough and follow the story, deviating a little (especially in RPGs) to go and do something like powerlevel or go explore places I shouldn't necessarily do so at that point in time. A perfect example I can think of is Octopath; I'm currently running around in areas that are 20-30 levels higher than myself, however I have managed to find such a way that I can abuse this for levelling and gain access to the stronger equipment etc via the higher-level cities here. Once I've discovered said strategies, I will probably stick to these for a while before progressing towards the end. Once I've beaten said game, I will probably have a good idea of what is/isn't good, where to skip and that and generally streamline my experience. Another example is Disgaea here, where I've managed to go from obtaining access to Baal in around 600 hours of playing, to just over 100 hours and next time I know for a fact I will be able to probably halve this again.

Now of course, natural 20+ years of gaming instinct kicks in and I will check every nook and cranny in a town, I will try every technique available to me etc etc etc.

However, in the case of a series/game I am very aware of, I behave differently. For example in the Tales series I know new/secret artes can be obtained through using other artes a certain number of times, so I will try to evenly spread out my usage. Generally I will try to employ strats I picked up from previous games and see how far they go in this one, before then adapting and carrying on. I will ALWAYS go through everything with a fine-toothed comb here as I know what to expect from the get-go.

I feel like as I've gotten older, my desire to replay games goes away with my free time, and with games that warrant replaying, I would be more likely to just do my best to find and do everything I can on the first run, and then just turn on a playthrough or 7 afterwards to see other people catch the things I missed, see a different approach, etc. It's not really "me" 100%ing the game, but I guess I do it vicariously that way so I'm also free to do other stuff while I experience more of the game, lol.

I'm also the kind of person to just rub every corner and check every bin the first run to make sure I don't miss anything the first time anyway - I usually don't get everything, but I'm not really the kind of person to be able to just continue with the story and progress to the next area unless I feel like I already did everything I could there (unless I know I can return to that area later in the same playthrough, at least).

oh boy i love a topic like this

For games with replay ability (or where you have to replay to get 100%) how often do you find yourself replaying said games?
Depends on the game really, some games I want to replay just cause I enjoyed them so much, some not really cause I have other games I want to play during the moment. I tend to get back to certain games at times out of pure nostalgia though.

How do you go through your first run compared to your second run?
Differs per genre really. In a strategy game I like to take my time and build up properly, in a shooter due to how aggressive i play in shooters i tend to rush through them.

Do you play the story and then go back and do extra things? Or do you take your time and get everything the first go around?
Usually just the story, then hop into multiplayer (if there is one). I usually don't have the dedication to hunt everything down for a 100%

Does it depend on the kind of game?
Yes, very much so, I have different styles in different games that clash with one another.

StormFiber said:

whats happening there?

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Who is this question directed at and what specifically do you want to know?
It's not really clear from just that.

I used to have a really bad habit of just speeding through the main story just to get the game over with. I've learned this kind of makes the game less fun, so I've tried to do as much as I can the first go around because I'm not sure if I'm ever really going to have the time to replay them.

I get really attached to main story lines quickly, but I still try to make the game last as long as possible. So I do lots of side content, but it's usually not because I want 100%.

If I enjoyed the game enough, I'll go back and replay later for 100% completion.