Bad habit of not finishing RPGs

[RokstaEnSweden]

Or, how I couldn't motivate myself to level up any further.

Does anyone else find it incredibly hard to break through the last 10 or so hours of an RPG? JRPGs, in specific. I'm at the last boss in Dragon Quest, the world of darkness in Dragon Quest 3, last dungeon of Persona 4, the last day in the World Ends With You, the final chapter in Dragon Quest IV, the grindery in Lunar, ultimecia's castle in FFVIII, the moon in FFIV, and Kuja's desert palace in FFIX. I've never beaten these games.

It's not as if I dislike the genre, or suck at it. I love RPGs, and have beaten a lot of the classics, in particular on the SNES. But sure enough, when I pop in the 4th disc for a PSX RPG, I'm simultaneously buying another one on Amazon. What made it so much easier to play these as a kid? Was I just younger then and could appreciate them more because I had nothing to really compare them to? Maybe just more time to grind?

I don't know what the deal is, but by the time I reach these end points I feel like, really, I've experienced most of what the game has to offer. If the story is well written then it may pull me through that last little bit, but by that logic I should've been done with Persona 4 wayyy back. And, in contrast, I was able to mentally force myself through FFXIII, regardless of the horrible story.

Similar experiences? Recommendations for which RPG to finish? Co-op Life Force?

[emwearz]

It use to happen a bit to me when I was younger, I love JRPGS but it is a pain in the ass when you can go from start to last boss without having to do grinding and wining fairly easy to not standing a chance and having to do hours and hours of grinding.

However you need to just push through it, a common mistake I use to make was playing more than one rpg at a time, just play one at a time and try your hardest to finish them.

[MrPopo]

Let's be fair, the first Dragon Quest goes beyond grind. The smart money is on avoiding every single encounter and just trying to overpower Dragon Lord before he wipes you out. It sounds like you just aren't intested in grinding. FFXIII requires basically none to beat the last boss (but it sure as hell needs it to do some of the post-game stuff). I've found the best tactic for grinding is to do something else at the same time. Usually I catch up on my reading while grinding.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

I'm all about telling a great story, it's the main reason I play video games.. I'm also a huge advocate for replay-ability.. But RPG's, (and yeah, JRPG's especially,) are too freakin' long.. Seriously, when I was a grade-schooler and high schooler, I could bang out FFVII or Chrono Trigger in a couple weeks easy.. But many of us are grown men and women, with jobs, families, and other important obligations.. I get bored with a game now after about 2-3 weeks of steady play, (although, the ADD might have something to do with it, as well.. )
They should really cut down the mandatory 80+ hour devotion time it takes to finish a story nowadays..

[emwearz]

RPG's are getting longer while every other genre is getting shorter and shorter.

[Bikeage]

In my mid teens and early twenties I grinded thru any RPG that came my way, but it's been almost 8 years since i've truly beaten one. I've slogged 40 hrs here and there, but my poor parties are still at the inn marching in place. Other games i've sought out and paid good money for but hardly played.

I think the years have condititioned me to appriciate pick up and play type games more nowadays. The real world demands so much more time and brainpower than it did back then that I can't spare several hours a day focusing on fictional statistics and characters.

The only way i'm ever going to finish any is to manage to play one game exclusively for around four or five hours a week and complete one every six months or so. The problem is staying motivated during short bursts of play, the enjoyment I got from these types of games was in spending so many hours on end immersed within them.

[RCBH928]

I am playing my first ever RPG , Final Fantasy 3 on SNES
I played mario rpg on snes, but that doesn't count really.

While the story and upgrading is interesting, I really feel like the developers make the game longer than it is on purpose just to make it sound like their game is big one and deserves all the money.

I am 25 hours into the game, and I really feel like they just want to make the gamer longer on purpose with no reason. A twist in the story happens that turns it all around.

A lot of people want a bang for their buck , but then when the game is too long people complain.
I guess people complain when they feel the game is longer than it should be, when you feel its stuffed with content that was unnecessary in the first place.

Other genre's should be longer though, especially FPS.

[lisalover1]

I have trouble finishing all the side-quests of an RPG when I'm nearing the end of the game. it just feels like I've gone through so much work to get to the end of the game, and now I have to go through some extra secret dungeon and beat some insanely powerful boss? Screw that! That's usually the point where I just beat the game.

[JohnBaxterly]

Dude, I've tried and tried to like RPGs, I really have, but something always makes me quit. Sometimes I'll just stop.

For instance, I bought Secret of Mana on the VC recently. I was liking it. Like, I was actually having fun. I thought it was the best RPG I'd ever played (haven't played many)! It was truly an excellent game.

I saved at an Inn, maybe only a dungeon into it.

I haven't played it since.

[noiseredux]

when I was a kid, I couldn't buy another new RPG for under $10. Instead, I had one game that I played for a while until I could save up for a new one or got one as a gift. Now I can hit up Gamestop and buy a handful of GBA games for cheap. So it's tougher to stay focused... BTW, this is why I get ecstatic when Together Retro picks an RPG.