Walkthroughs: Yes or No?

[Betamax001]

I like them. Print guides are especially nice because they have pretty pictures and whatnot. Great for when I get stuck. Which can be quite a lot.

[Yancakes]

I will use a walkthrough when I get bored trying to figure out a puzzle or where to go. This usually takes around an hour, though.

I do use item checklists though, and if it's not immediately obvious I will try to look in to the types of dungeons a game has. If I'm on a second or more playthrough I will sit with a strategy guide though, just for the sake of 100 percenting a game. Even though I've beaten it numerous times, for instance, I still use the strategy guide for FFVIII (best strat guide ever, thing is like 280 pages).

[Retrozoa]

I use walkthroughs all the time. I play a lot of old rpg's, which usually have confusing, borderline nonsensical methods of progression at times. Walkthroughs are the only reason I'm able to play Illusion of Gaia without chucking it through a window in frustration.

[synbiosfan]

No - ruin the game, definitely okay on your second quest though.

I agree with you!

The first time through tough it out. Keep telling yourself a bunch of 7 year olds beat it so you can too

[Stark]

I am of the opinion that I am too old to be wasting my time being stuck on a problem in a game. I used to think it was ruining the game, now I think to myself, if I don't get through this game I can't move on to my stack of games that I want to play.

[Hatta]

I use walkthroughs sparingly. Only if I'm completely out of ideas.

[MrPopo]

If I'm aware of some awesome item that requires a ton of steps to get, I'll use one. If the game is using obtuse mechanics, I'll use one. If I'm concerned about missables, I'll use one. If it's the second to last dungeon of Dragon Quest 2, I'll use one. But I try to avoid them for just getting through a game.

[EVOLghost]

Yes and no....There are certain games which I do feel like I need to. For instance Pokemon, I didn't need the walkthrough, but I wanted to catch all the pokemon I can, so I referred to a guide to avoid having to backtrack a lot, just to fill up my pokedex.

As for RPG's....yes and no again. Sometimes it's a necessary thing(for me) because I become so clueless or I miss something. SO yeh...just to avoid frustration mainly...

[o.pwuaioc]

I typically use walkthroughs for games with missables. It sucks to have to start a game over again if you missed some item, especially if it's a forty plus hour rpg.

If I like the game enough, I'll start using a walkthrough for special items or alternate endings. I was just a few battles away from beating the final boss on Ogre Battle 64 when I decided to pull out a walkthrough in order to get special items. Usually, I only do this when it's the second time through a game, though. I do enjoy to experience it firsthand, even the pain coming from losing a character with some awesome special/rare/expensive items.

[elmagicochrisg]

No walkthroughs for me...

Except for second runs, and Ecco the Dolphin...

Ecco the Dolphin on Dreamcast was an exception though. I tried to keep it to a minimum, but that game was just too friggin hard to finish without at least some guidance...