What's your personal pet peeve in gaming?

[Exhuminator]

So, gaming pet peeves.

I realized today a big one for me is forced late game globe trotting key hunts. This drudgery has caused me to drop games I was previously enjoying before. A few examples:

The Sky Temple Keys hunt in Metroid Prime 2, the Starstones hunt in Terranigma, and most recently the Gem Keys in Survival Kids. I enjoyed those games up until that point, and then dropped them like lead weights into the abyss of bad gaming ideas. This sort of game design just pisses me off because it feels so lazy.

"Oh no, the player is about to beat our game. They might think the experience hasn't been long enough yet! (It has.) So guys, what can we do to artificially lengthen the game time? Oh I know! Dudes let's make the player go on a wild goose chase all over the game world seeking out hidden keys for a while. That will totally add a few more hours to the game length, and upper management says that matters based on demographic research. Now go hide those keys guys!" -Inept game director.

So yeah, late game key hunts = backtracking bullshit.

What about you guys? What's your gaming pet peeves?

(Dsh: As far as I can tell this thread has only been done once before, and it was a long time ago.)

[fastbilly1]

Mandatory escort missions where the escortees are squishy, stupid, and if they die it is game over.

[MrPopo]

Pit bats.

[Exhuminator]

Pit bats.

Gonna need a bit more info to understand you there chief.

[Hazerd]

Long intro's and complex battle systems, or combo systems. (hence i like the idea of fighting games, but dont play them)

I cant stand an RPG that doesnt get you right into the action, id rather have the intro/prologue after playing for a bit and getting a hang of the game.

As for complex battle system, it seems now a days every RPG has its own unique battle system, or whatever system (like every Final Fantasy) i just like a more traditional level up, get new items/spells/weapons/armor from dungeons/monsters.

The Story and Flow of RPG's is what matters to me most, if the battle system gets in the way it can ruin it for me. Most recently i would say i love the graphics and environments/atmosphere of Xenoblade Chronicles, but i really dislike the battle system and skills.

Not sure if these are pet peeves or what, but they bother me.

[Ack]

I have a couple from RPGs:

Splitting XP and balance issues - I know many RPGs split XP between characters to try and make up for the shifts in balance over gaining a new party member. In some cases, this situation is handled well, such as Final Fantasy VI, where you rarely have only one character, experience bonuses are relatively large, and the amount necessary to increase your level doesn't make huge leaps and bounds as you progress but instead feels like a smoother transition.

My issue is when it feels like experience points were balanced based on a one-person party, so the eventual split means it will take forever to gain levels. The Breath of Fire series has this problem, and the games bog down and feel like a slog through the mud as a result.

New characters are level 1 - This annoys the hell out of me, especially late game where the character is now way behind the party, way weaker than the enemies he or she will be facing, and the experience split hurts the progression of the other party members who are now tasked with keeping that character alive long enough to beef them up. Instead of becoming a joyous moment of party expansion and potential story exposition, the new character is a liability who drags everyone else down, at least for a while.

[prfsnl_gmr]

So, gaming pet peeves. I realized today a big one for me is forced late game globe trotting key hunts.

You must never, ever play Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The game is mostly great, but a lengthy late-game series of fetch quests is infuriating.

[MrPopo]

Pit bats.

Gonna need a bit more info to understand you there chief.

Have you ever wanted to jump over a pit, only for a bat to smack you in the face mid jump?

[Ack]

Pit bats.

Gonna need a bit more info to understand you there chief.

Have you ever wanted to jump over a pit, only for a bat to smack you in the face mid jump?

Also see Castlevania's flying medusa heads.

[Exhuminator]

Let's not forget...

You must never, ever play Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The game is mostly great, but a lengthy late-game series of fetch quests is infuriating.

As an owner of that game who has not yet played it, that makes me sad man.