Personal Progression

[MrEco]

We all know about Achievements and Trophies and such. And of course, beating a boss or seeing the credit's roll on a game always tell us that we're progressing.

But what about more odd, personal things, that you measure your progress in a game by?


For example, in JRPG's, I really feel like I've progressed once all of my part member's have a total HP in the quadruple digit's, 1000+.

Additionally, in all types of RPG's I feel accomplished when I can backtrack through a slightly earlier area of the game and kill the enemies there in just one or two hits.

[BoneSnapDeez]

When I have a huge surplus of money in RPGs.

The point where I can afford to stock up on 99 tonics in Final Fantasy.

I can't be the only who does that.

[Ack]

You're not, Bone. I do this too. In fact, I distinctly dislike using items, so I tend to gather a large supply quickly. In FF6, I tend to end up with 99 Phoenix Downs, 99 potions, 99 tents, 99 echo screens, 99 green cherries, 99 antidotes, 99 eyedrops, so on and so forth.

I also measure progress by my level numbers. Levels on a base ten system always make me pay attention to the next -0, and I constantly compare my progress to the max level.

[jinx]

Collecting items.

In most RPGs, I have this weird OCD thing about keeping rare items. I love the .hack// series, because I can bank these items when I get back to town. Games that give me limited inventory and no way of keeping rare/valuable items really tick me off.

Iunno, I think it's kind of weird that I do this. They're only virtual items, and shouldn't really matter all that much. I'd probably be better off selling them, since most "rare" items are pretty useless later on in the game. Just can't bring myself to do it...

This was sort of my "Trophy System" back before PSN or Xbox Live.

[Gamerforlife]

I always try to never use consumable items in any game with an inventory, like most rpgs. It's both an obsessive thing (because I like hoarding things in both video games and real life) and an ego thing (if I can't get through a battle without that healing potion, then I'm not playing well enough)

I OBSESS over permanently missable items in RPGs, leading me to often play them with faqs. I also rarely sell items for fear of not being able to get them back. I want at least one of EVERYTHING in my inventory. Being this sort of gamer, I HATE RPGs with restricted inventories.

I also have this weird obsession with playing through certain types of games without taking a hit. I like to finesse my way through a game whenever possible. I'm probably one of the few people who has actually managed to get through every Ratchet and Clank game, including combat arenas, with no damage. I'm the sort of guy who'd get pissed when some lucky punk would get in a lucky shot on me in any fight in Batman Arkham Asylum. I finished many combat challenge rooms in Batman: Arkham City with a perfect no damage bonus. I actually get pretty mad when I'm unable to do this in some games and will find myself cursing the poor game design. I felt right at home playing The Red Star since its level ranking system was built around how many hits you take. No hits = guaranteed S rank. I make exceptions for some games where I just know that the style of the game makes "finesse" impossible, like a Dynasty Warriors game or something like that. Not taking hits just isn't possible in some games, but I'll always try.

I'm also one of those Resident Evil 4 players who obsessively re-arranges the inventory case to make everything organized. I blame an old friend for that though. He kept doing it while we played through it, and any time I played the game myself afterwards I found myself doing it too

I'm OBSESSED with level rankings or battle rankings. I would keeping fighting enemies over and over again in each area of Final Fantasy XIII and FF XIII-2 until I could defeat all of them with the highest battle rank and wouldn't progress with the game until I did. Incidentally, this made me appreciate the depth of that combat system. I also replay levels in any game with a ranking system until I get the highest rank like Lollipop Chainsaw, The Red Star, etc. I S ranked every stage in Shinobi on the PS2 on all difficulties, and got Master Ninja on every stage of Ninja Gaiden on Master Ninja difficulty. I'm a perfectionist. One of the reasons I don't play Devil May Cry games anymore is that I find it so damn HARD to get the best rank in a level, especially on the higher difficulty settings, and I won't accept anything less. That's the kind of gamer I am. So I just don't play them.

I'm also a collectible freak. I'll scour every stage in a game until I find them all and get that 100%. It's one of the things that makes platform games so addicting for me.

[jinx]

I'm also a collectible freak. I'll scour every stage in a game until I find them all and get that 100%. It's one of the things that makes platform games so addicting for me.

I share this obession. Sometimes it can be a curse...

[Xeogred]

Considering I'm doing a lot of the final side quests and stuff in Lost Odyssey now... yeah some of the stuff you guys have mentioned kind of crack me up since I notice I do the same. Especially with the items usage, even though 99% of the time in JRPG's you can very easily consume them up a lot, it's always kind of a last resort thing for me. Lost Odyssey at times is far tougher than Final Fantay's ever were, so being felt like I'm forced to use items more often than I normally would almost borders annoyance for me, haha.

Hitting level 50 in anything always feels amazing.

Games like Devil May Cry are what hold me over the edge. Extremely limited inventories, using that one healing item in your inventory could potentially ruin your entire playthrough, yet is that boss so hard that you can't get by otherwise? New Ninja Gaiden and the likes were pretty similar too. I still love these games though and they feel extra rewarding getting through, because of the difficulty, and how careful you have to be with your items and what you upgrade. Definitely some strategy attached.

In games that give you a briefcase-like inventory system, I always absolutely love and feel amazing when you get them fully upgraded. Then from there on I spend minutes on end throughout the games constantly organizing the inventory and making it look (what I think) nice haha. Think RE4 or Deus Ex HR, etc.

[soul_hacker]

I will completely restart Castlevania: Symphony of the Night if I die in it once.

[Ack]

Lately for RPGs I've also begun comparing my progress against the various longplays that appear on Youtube. For instance, I am currently playing Breath of Fire. There is a six-part longplay of the game that I am comparing my experience to on YouTube, in which each part is broken down to a two and a half hour snippet. My current progress is comparable to someone about 40 minutes into the third video, so I can estimate I am somewhere slightly over 1/3 of the way through the game. Perfect? No, not by a long shot. This is, at best, a rough estimate. But I like having such a tool to compare myself to.

[Cronozilla]

When I start recognizing areas and remember my way through them without the aid of a map. Mostly happens in Action and Action-Adventure games.