Truth be told, most DS games don't take
too long to beat. It's when we start feverishly collecting and completing, though, that our time gets sucked into a vacuous hole. Do you fancy yourself an item collector? Will you usually aim to complete everything you possibly can before beating a game?
If you're not sure whether you're a completionist or not, here are some signs:
- You still refuse to beat Phantom Hourglass until you get all the ship parts
- You'll continue to play Geometry Wars until you have every drone leveled up to the maximum, even the ones you never use
- You just gotta catch 'em all
Or, does getting the full 100% not interest you? Is beating a game with the minimum requirements necessary a-okay by your standards? Then again, maybe you fall somewhere in between?
{ Apr 13th 2008 at 10:30AM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Morose @ Apr 13th 2008 10:51AM
I fall somewhere in between in that it depends on the game. for RPGs, I'm not, as it would just take too long and be too repetitive. for platformers, i usually am a completionist (particularly Kirby games). for Professor Layton, I had to solve them all.
C02M0 @ Apr 13th 2008 10:54AM
im the kind thet finish the games , not collect stupid stuff after it .
its less fun , take for example kirby games ,
I finished the 8 godamn levels and the boss , why whould i wanna go over ALL of them agin ?
Roto13 @ Apr 13th 2008 10:54AM
It depends on the game and what I have to do to get 100%. For example, I finished Wind Waker with all of the figurines, heart pieces, sea charts, and everything else. All in a first-playthrough. (I got all of the figurines in one run instead of getting some of them in one run and the rest in the new game plus)
GatorSax2010 @ Apr 13th 2008 11:07AM
I'm a completionist, definitely (or I try to be, at least). It still irks me that I don't ave the last Cheato page in Banjo-Tooie. I can't beat stupid Canary Mary in her second race in Cloud Cuckooland!
WhatIsThatThing @ Apr 13th 2008 12:26PM
Get a turbo controller. Or take a coin or spoon and rub it on the button repeatedly. I personally used the turbo controller method. And I feel no remorse about it.
rosemo @ Apr 14th 2008 8:50AM
I agree with morose. I fall in between. I completed Zelda: The Minish Cap almost all the way, and usually complete games like Spyro or New Super Mario Bros. that do not take a long time to beat. However, for RPGs I usually just try to get through the story. I probably will not complete Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (the game I am currently playing) since getting all of the statues in the museum for every monster in the game is extremely repetitive and boring.
Neo Senku @ Apr 13th 2008 11:16AM
depends on the game
Tyler @ Apr 13th 2008 11:29AM
I tend to try to complete the game fully... Pokemon, Metroid, Final Fantasies, Tales of games... I usually try my hardest to get "100%"
tamriel @ Apr 13th 2008 11:40AM
I don't switch games often: once I pop one in that I like, it pretty much stays there until I'm tired of it for a good while. For many games, this means I am not a thorough completist, as once I've beaten the game on some path, I have a satisfied feeling of being able to pull away from it. However, while I'm playing the game through, I tend to explore and grind a fair share: I don't play in a hurry if I like the game.
NomadFox @ Apr 13th 2008 11:51AM
I can be, but really only with Castlevania.It's just fun to experiment with all the equipment
ArmiMaan @ Apr 13th 2008 12:00PM
I never used to be a completionist because I spent a lot on gaming and there was always something else to play. I'd just quickly wrap up one game and move on to the next.
These days, however, I've severely cut back on the number of games that I buy, and now I play until I 100% everything before buying something new. It really helps keep the budget in check.
Jay Walker @ Apr 13th 2008 12:06PM
I also buy very few games so I go for completion often. Right now I am trying to get to rank two star on 150 cc at the Special Cup in Mario Kart DS. I play this grand prix over and over again and I restart if I get any bad time or get hit by like three lightning bolts or blue shells.
ILPC @ Apr 13th 2008 12:15PM
I'm a completionist, definitely, that's the fun part for me.
Alex Gorzen @ Apr 13th 2008 12:19PM
I always go for 100% because I don't want to miss anything game/story wise, but this usually makes me bored with the game after a while. I usually lose interest after beating the main story of the game. If friends are playing the game at the same time as me, then this usually keeps my interest longer than it would have otherwise.
hvnlysoldr @ Apr 13th 2008 12:20PM
Depends on the game. I put in 100 hours into FFTA before resetting in order to get those blasted Goblins for my monster tamer and blue mage and now have 300 hours. Combined I've put in over 500 hours into Pokemon at the least. My Blue version had reached 255 hours twice I think.
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Apr 13th 2008 12:21PM
I rarely finish games.
Usually last levels made very hard. And as and award for winning ... you are getting "The End."
But it depends. There are some games which tell a story - finishing them might be interesting. There are some games which are all about process - RTS, TBS, RPG - there are really few incentives to finish them completely. If you are happy with particular levels you will be playing them until complete boredom induce brain damage.
But then again, many games try to increment complexity level so much that even story telling games end up being about process: do { block, block, block, jump left, stab } while (!boss->is_defeated); If game overloads me with the boring repetitive tasks - and i do not enjoy process - finishing game is more of punishment than of excitement.
Even less compelled am I about "completing" games 100%. It's just to boring. And since I'm soft-core gamers - not interested in achievements - I probably never really even considered completing a game. Exception is CivIV which I accidentally won using all nations using every win scenario available. But I were enjoying myself, not trying to complete 100% score table of the game. Talk about adult gamer.
Chazz @ Apr 13th 2008 12:47PM
It really just depends on the game. I tried to get every pokeman, but i stopped at about 300. I'm currently trying to complete everyone of brawl's challenges, but i don't think i will ever beat them all. some of them are just too hard and i wasted all of my hammers already. Sigh
gukid @ Apr 13th 2008 1:50PM
I liked to be a completionist back in the day... but nowadays games drag drag drag with the useless content, it's almost intolerable. Specifically speaking, the Tales games, newer Final Fantasies, and even the DS Castlevanias are getting to be this way. The Battle Network games are probably the worst offenders. So much stuff you would NEVER find without using gamefaqs really ruins the experience of doing it yourself... I'd much rather a game that allows you to complete it in a reasonable amount of time (say 20-30 hours for rpgs, around 15 hours for anything else) and is fun enough that you would want to play through it a 2nd or 3rd time.
dustin @ Apr 13th 2008 2:37PM
I used to be a completionist way back when... but the interest fizzled when I finally caught all 151 pokémon in pokémon red... and got practically nothing in return.
I forget... what exactly do you get? A Congratulations and a diploma or something? well, it was lame
Mr Khan @ Apr 13th 2008 3:35PM
depends on the type of game
Smash Bros games i always go for the 100%, same with Metroids. Pokemon, though, i haven't "Caught 'em all" since Pokemon Blue, and that was only through liberal use of the Missingno family of glitches, to get infinite Master Balls and to get Safari-Zone exclusive monsters to appear outside of it
Platformers i go for the 100%, Racing games too, Zelda games (and most other adventure titles) yes, strategy games no, FPSes yes, Puzzle games i never play anyway
Puddles @ Apr 13th 2008 3:47PM
I'm absolutely not a completionist. I like to have fun with a game and play it through to the end. If the gameplay is really great, then I might put in some extra hours getting more stuff - and in fact, that's the ideal situation - but way too often by the time I've finished, the gameplay has gotten somewhat repetitive and so there's not much incentive to get extra stuff.
FFX was an example of a game that I played a LOT more than I had to, just because it was fun.
Haohmaru @ Apr 13th 2008 3:48PM
This is totally me. I have to do EVERYTHING, or I feel like I haven't "really" finished the game.
Ivan @ Apr 13th 2008 4:29PM
I tried to be a completionist once, it was in metroid hunters (the only DS game I had at the time), I tried to get 100%, but instead finished with 99% after that I never really bothered to get 100%.
Chris.- @ Apr 13th 2008 6:54PM
heh even my friends mock me because I try to collect every coin in Mario titles!
I am a completionist and an 'in-game' collector, and I'm somewhat proud of it.
Finally! This topic needed to be discussed : )
Take that, Matze!
John B. @ Apr 13th 2008 6:57PM
I'm a completionist, but really only after the fact. The most recent example I can think of is Twilight Princess - I finished the game with 12 heart containers and about 35-8 hours of play. I couldn't sleep, though, until I got all 20 heart containers, every last bug, the magic armor, all the upgrades, etc.
Homerun @ Apr 13th 2008 7:53PM
Depends....
Super Mario Galaxy Like Games (Heck yeah)
Brawl Yes
Sports? Not really...
manaman @ Apr 13th 2008 7:51PM
Well,
The precedent I've set for myself in DS gaming is that I get everything. "Phantom Hourglass" is a gotta collect 'em all deal. "Sonic Rush" is a gotta get an S on every level and awesome time trials on every level deal. "New Super Mario Bros." is a collect every freakin' last thing and then do it all over again playing as Luigi even though it makes no difference deal. "Feel the Magic" is . . . well, you get the idea!
Peace,
manaman
ssrgc @ Apr 13th 2008 8:36PM
Now adays I rarely want to get everything. It's the rare game that's really sucked me in with it's asthetics and story. I have to become attached to the world. For instance I really loved everything about Ar Tonelico. I just thought it was a great world, and I fed off that wanting to "see" it all by doing everything in the game thereby extending my playtime on a game world I wasn't ready to leave.
algarcia @ Apr 13th 2008 11:07PM
is not enough to beat the game, you must be able to change all wallpapers on NSMB!
Jacksons @ Apr 14th 2008 1:31AM
If it's a game I really like, of course I'll gather up all the collectibles. Platformers I'll nearly always get everything, as that's a pretty big part of most of them. Portrait of Ruin I went as far as to make each enemy drop their items to fill out the monster catalog thing. In hindsight, I can't believe I bothered doing that. Didn't take long, but still ridiculous.
MidnightScott @ Apr 14th 2008 1:40AM
With most games finishing the story is enough to satisfy me in calling the game beat. But with Pokémon games, I gotta fill that Pokédex with every Pokémon, which I haven't done in years, and finally did it on Diamond =D
MidnightScott @ Apr 14th 2008 1:46AM
Recently I took up the feat of finishing Ouendan on Very Hard mode and I did. I even felt good when I did it, sorry for the second post.
However I tried to do the last song on Hard mode on Ouendan 2 and couldn't get past it.
I'm still not 100% complete with Pokémon. I don't have one of every form of Pokémon in my box and I haven't even done the contests. (even though I've had the game since launch in the US...which is almost a year ago in a few days...O_o)
It really just depends on the game. Some games like music games I try to get S Ranks but give up after a while, I try to get S Ranks in Sonic and other games. Sometimes I'll try to collect everything in an RPG (which is rare, like with Golden Sun I made sure to get all the Djinni)
I mean honestly I'm not much of a completionist because these days I rarely play a game past the main story. I don't know why I do that, but maybe its cuz I have like a 23 DS game backlog? I need to just pick one and stick with it till I finish, don't I?
Mike_NJ @ Apr 14th 2008 9:58AM
I used to be a completionist.
Now I'm mostly reformed, but still I feel the "tug" of "gotta do it all."
The first game I remember was Chrono Trigger for SNES. I got every ending, and did New Game + several times for that reason. Of course, this was back when I actually had the ability to put 14+ hours into a game every day.
That said, recently the games I've been most "completionist" with are: Pokemon Diamond (260+ poke', 130+ hours, but I hate the contests), NSMB (all but worlds 6+8 100% before my first copy got stolen), MKDS, and two of the GBA Castlevania games.
I got Digimon Dawn but lost interest quickly - the back and forth digivolving got on my nerves.
Oh and can't forget Smash Bros Brawl. And FF3. And...