Why do you choose RPG...?

[Budsmoka]

hey generally take a while to beat and a lot are collectibles now.

[Limewater]

One thing that I don't think has been clearly mentioned on this thread, though it appears to have been somewhat hinted at, is the certainty of beating RPGs. I disagree with the idea that RPGs are particularly mentally challenging, though perhaps I have been playing the wrong ones. If you want a head-scratcher, play a graphic adventure game.

There are a lot of things I enjoy about RPGs. I like the characters. I enjoy turn-based combat. I like leveling up my characters. I'd hardly call leveling-up realistic, though, given how superpowered one can become. However, another thing that gets me to start RPGs is knowing that I will be able to finish. In most cases, if you're willing to put in the hours, you WILL finish an RPG. These days, this is the case for most games, period. However, in my youth, playing the NES, most games did not have a save option and were purely skill-based. That meant that you could spend hours and hours on a game and still never become skilled enough to beat it. If, like me, you care about finishing games, RPGs provide a nice opportunity to play a "sure thing."

This may not be true of modern RPGs. I stay well behind the curve.

[pepharytheworm]

To be honest I just like going to new villages/towns and talking to the people and buying new armor and weapons. If there are no puzzles I hate dungeon crawling.

My favorite RPGs have puzzles to solve, mute main charecters, and non random battles.

[RemyC]

another thing that gets me to start RPGs is knowing that I will be able to finish. In most cases, if you're willing to put in the hours, you WILL finish an RPG

For which game is this statement not true? If you put the time into any game, you will eventually finish it.

in my youth, playing the NES, most games did not have a save option and were purely skill-based. That meant that you could spend hours and hours on a game and still never become skilled enough to beat it.

Back in the 8bit and 16bit days, games were so short, that save options weren't necessary. They were designed to be beaten in under an hour.
Games played out the same back in those days, as well. Your tasks were always the same, and each level would provide a new obstacle, slowly prepping you for the finale. If you aren't good enough to complete the final level, a save option wouldn't help. It'd be wiser to start from the beginning, and become more proficient at basic tasks, before the taking on the final culminating task.

[MrPopo]

another thing that gets me to start RPGs is knowing that I will be able to finish. In most cases, if you're willing to put in the hours, you WILL finish an RPG

For which game is this statement not true? If you put the time into any game, you will eventually finish it.

In most RPGs if worst comes to worse you can grind to max level and beat the game easily. When you compare with a game like Ninja Gaiden 2, at some point your ability to react to what's on the screen might plateau and you find that the game is just too fast for you.

[RemyC]

another thing that gets me to start RPGs is knowing that I will be able to finish. In most cases, if you're willing to put in the hours, you WILL finish an RPG

For which game is this statement not true? If you put the time into any game, you will eventually finish it.

In most RPGs if worst comes to worse you can grind to max level and beat the game easily. When you compare with a game like Ninja Gaiden 2, at some point your ability to react to what's on the screen might plateau and you find that the game is just too fast for you.

Understandable. However, with enough time devoted to the game, you will anticipate what is going to happen, and will develop better motor skills.

[MrPopo]

In most RPGs if worst comes to worse you can grind to max level and beat the game easily. When you compare with a game like Ninja Gaiden 2, at some point your ability to react to what's on the screen might plateau and you find that the game is just too fast for you.

Understandable. However, with enough time devoted to the game, you will anticipate what is going to happen, and will develop better motor skills.

True, but there's still that plateau, especially with more modern games which don't rely on memorizable patterns. With most RPGs there's a level where you eventually just out-math your opposition and reaching it is a well-defined function of time.

[Limewater]

another thing that gets me to start RPGs is knowing that I will be able to finish. In most cases, if you're willing to put in the hours, you WILL finish an RPG

For which game is this statement not true? If you put the time into any game, you will eventually finish it.

Examples: Ghosts n' Goblins, Silver Surfer, Battletoads, etc...

Heck, Super Mario Bros., if you're one-handed.

You have physical and mental limits in terms of things like reaction time, endurance, and amount of visual information you can process at once.

Saying this is like saying, "If you try hard enough, you can run a four minute mile." Some people are physically capable of running a four minute mile. Most are not.

Some people really are better at games than others. Some people, no matter how hard they try, will never beat "Silver Surfer" on the NES.

Back in the 8bit and 16bit days, games were so short, that save options weren't necessary. They were designed to be beaten in under an hour.
Games played out the same back in those days, as well. Your tasks were always the same, and each level would provide a new obstacle, slowly prepping you for the finale. If you aren't good enough to complete the final level, a save option wouldn't help. It'd be wiser to start from the beginning, and become more proficient at basic tasks, before the taking on the final culminating task.

Playing through all six robot masters in Mega Man over and over again until you can beat all six bosses with just the mega buster doesn't help you when you keep failing at the rock monster/cyclops at the end of the first Dr. Wily level, for example. A "save" option of some sort helps immensely in lots of longer platformers, as evidenced in the later Mega Man titles, Super Mario World, Kirby's Adventure, Donkey Kong Country, etc...

You're also neglecting the limited continues that were so prevalent in the NES days. If you get a game over on a later boss in "Astyanax," you have to go play for twenty minutes before you can even take a second shot at the boss. This makes learning the boss's patterns that much more challenging.

[RemyC]

In most RPGs if worst comes to worse you can grind to max level and beat the game easily. When you compare with a game like Ninja Gaiden 2, at some point your ability to react to what's on the screen might plateau and you find that the game is just too fast for you.

Understandable. However, with enough time devoted to the game, you will anticipate what is going to happen, and will develop better motor skills.

True, but there's still that plateau, especially with more modern games which don't rely on memorizable patterns. With most RPGs there's a level where you eventually just out-math your opposition and reaching it is a well-defined function of time.

Keeping with Ninja Gaiden as the example; yes their is that plateau that most people reach, where they just say, "forget about this game, it is too much". I would see the "too much" as that one really difficult boss in an RPG, where you realize the programmers actually put some thought behind him. In an RPG, you can then back track, spend an hour leveling up until you can out-live the boss. Where as with Ninja Gaiden, I would compare it to street fighter, where you would spend a few hours in training mode learning how to maneuver your character, or just get better at the control system.
The bottom line is: with more time spent, you will eventually accomplish your goal.

"If you try hard enough, you can run a four minute mile." Some people are physically capable of running a four minute mile. Most are not.

Currently, I can't accomplish this task. I just don't have the lungs...but If i were to train for a few months, I could definitely do it.

A "save" option of some sort helps immensely in lots of longer platformers, as evidenced in the later Mega Man titles, Super Mario World, Kirby's Adventure, Donkey Kong Country, etc...

Super Mario World takes a lot longer than an hour to complete, and so I agree with it having a save feature. Donkey Kong Country, as well can take up to an hour to complete, unless you've played the hell out of it like myself, and finish within a half an hour (not to toot my own horn or anything). I have not played a mega man game with a save feature, or a Kirby game...So I can not comment.

You're also neglecting the limited continues that were so prevalent in the NES days. If you get a game over on a later boss in "Astyanax," you have to go play for twenty minutes before you can even take a second shot at the boss. This makes learning the boss's patterns that much more challenging.

I rarely utilize continues. The more frequently you play a game front to back, the better you get. The more frequently you get a game over, and start from the beginning, the better you shall become at the early stages...So you will lose less lives progressively, and will obtain a higher score, then gaining more lives...Thus giving you more chances to fail in the later stages. The more time you spend in the final stage, the better you will become, and will soon be able to accomplish with a higher score. Continues aren't necessary.

[Limewater]

The bottom line is: with more time spent, you will eventually accomplish your goal.

You haven't actually provided any evidence that this is the case. You aren't saying things that are difficult to understand-- you are saying things that just aren't true. People have limits in their abilities, and those limits are different for individuals. Just because you set a goal does not mean that it is possible to achieve that goal. Some challenges are beyond anyone's abilities. Others are beyond the abilities of some, but not others. Additionally, some people may try their hardest, but focus their efforts incorrectly, attempting over and over again to accomplish their goal with a strategy that is designed to fail.

"If you try hard enough, you can run a four minute mile." Some people are physically capable of running a four minute mile. Most are not.

Currently, I can't accomplish this task. I just don't have the lungs...but If i were to train for a few months, I could definitely do it.

OK. So, there are three options here.
a. You are a world-class athlete who can train for just a few months and run a four-minute mile.
b. You don't know crap about running.
c. You're just trolling for an argument.

My money is on it being either options b or c. But, if you are so sure of yourself that you are willing to put money on it, I'd be willing to make a wager.

But, since we're on the topic of achieving one's goals, what about a 3:40 mile? If you can get down to 4:00 minutes in a few months, how long do you think it will take you to run a 3:40?

Super Mario World takes a lot longer than an hour to complete, and so I agree with it having a save feature. Donkey Kong Country, as well can take up to an hour to complete, unless you've played the hell out of it like myself, and finish within a half an hour (not to toot my own horn or anything). I have not played a mega man game with a save feature, or a Kirby game...So I can not comment.

There are lots of older games that can take an hour or more to complete that don't have any sort of password or save function. Golgo 13:Top Secret Episode, M.C. Kids, Jurassic Park (SNES), Zillion (SMS), Lord of the Sword (SMS), etc... Also, I'm pretty sure that just about every Mega Man game except for the original has a save function either through a real save function or a password system.

I rarely utilize continues. The more frequently you play a game front to back, the better you get. The more frequently you get a game over, and start from the beginning, the better you shall become at the early stages...So you will lose less lives progressively, and will obtain a higher score, then gaining more lives...Thus giving you more chances to fail in the later stages. The more time you spend in the final stage, the better you will become, and will soon be able to accomplish with a higher score. Continues aren't necessary.

Until you reach your plateau, as MrPopo originally said.
But again, often the skills you use in earlier stages are not the same skills needed in later stages. If you can already get through the first few stages of Castlevania without taking a hit, playing them over and over again is just tedium.
I say all of this with the understanding that I am a fan of 8-bit game. My NES collection is an order of magnitude larger than my collections for any other systems.