History Main / IrrelevantSideQuest

** Often lampshaded,as there's a radio station on which the DJ periodically gives news reports about the various side-quests your character accomplishes (i.e. if you help the settlement of Arefu in the Blood Ties quest, he'll praise you for doing so). One quest involves collecting 30 bottles of a limited edition soda for a cola addict. When you finish the quest, the DJ's news report is simply "The Lone Wanderer is done collecting ''soda bottles''. Sheesh, talk about your slow news days".

* The main character of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' games is extremely community minded, which seems to be a open invitation to provide him with ridiculous requests for help. "Please, you have to stop my corrupt boss by becoming a male escort!", "Please, you must run my Hostess Bar while I go to see my sick mother!".

* Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', when the player character, on his way to killing demons that threatened a small town or destroyed it and overran the world, also can collect medicinal herbs for people suffering from random diseases, recover heirlooms with purely sentimental value, seek out treasure troves completely unrelated to demons, and ''help a not immediately hostile demon because he offers you a reward''. Mostly averted in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', which generally has a tighter plot.

* Lampshaded hilariously in ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'' where players can accept tasks from Inconsequentia, the "Goddess of Sidequests". True to her name, any quests she offers have absolutely no outcome on the game aside from a minor reward. Most of these quests consist entirely of placing a randomly generated artifact onto a randomly generated shrine. Fitting for an AffectionateParody of Roguelikes and [=RPGs=] in general.

* VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}, which provide the fastest route for experience to level up your characters. They're less important late-game.
* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', some of these are MANDATORY. Despite having no plot relevance. Somehow, things just happen afterwards, not always explained why.

* Humorously [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', which has a radio station on which the DJ periodically gives news reports about the various side-quests your character accomplishes (i.e. if you help the settlement of Arefu in the Blood Ties quest, he'll praise you for doing so). One quest involves collecting 30 bottles of a limited edition soda for a cola addict. When you finish the quest, the DJ's news report is simply "The Lone Wanderer is done collecting ''soda bottles''. Sheesh, talk about your slow news days".
** Surprisingly subverted in the first two games, though. No matter how irrelevant they may seem, many of the sidequests you can undertake can, and often do, directly affect the game's ending depending on how you completed them. This is also the case in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', which came after ''Fallout 3''.
*** The above is true towards the end of the game, where your now [[SequenceBreaking (supposedly)]] experienced and well equipped character is entrusted with all sorts of important tasks by the various factions. Throughout the early game on the other hand, most of your quests still involve inconsequential things such as guarding cattle or saving some nobody, [[TakeYourTime despite the fact that any delay may very well lead to the destruction of your entire tribe]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation (from a storyline standpoint at least)]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'''s adventurers are never explicitly stated to do anything... just "adventure". Said adventures somehow include collecting stamps and grocery shopping. Apparently the little kid definition is what comes to mind to these people...

* Particularly jarring in ''Videogame/{{Earthbound}}'', in which Ness, a fourteen-year-old boy, performs exorcisms and corporate espionage, overthrows a cult, and enters a partnership in a startup mining venture.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' has a lot of these. Especially in the form of mail delivery and Koopa Koot's favors. [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor The sequel]] justified it a bit better by accessing them from an "trouble center" where you could specifically take on jobs for extra cash and items.

*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': also has the assignments where the Normandy's mess officer asks you to do his grocery shopping and the engineers ask you to obtain an engine part. Although they [[JustifiedTrope only bring it up if Shepard explicitly asks if they need anything]] and [[LampshadeHanging they also point out that it's a ridiculous thing to ask of his commanding officer only for Shepard to volunteer anyway.]] [[FridgeBrilliance But then, Commander Shepard would have a personal interest in insuring that the mess hall where they eat has decent food.]] It's not completely ridiculous in either case; the food is luxury ingredients too expensive to get on the kitchen's normal budget, while the engine part is a rare out-of-production piece that Shepard randomly comes across at a scrap dealer.

*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': also has the assignments where the Normandy's mess officer asks you to do his grocery shopping and the engineers ask you to obtain an engine part. Although both [[LampshadeHanging point out that it's a ridiculous thing to ask of his commanding officer only for Shepard to volunteer anyway.]] [[FridgeBrilliance But then, Commander Shepard would have a personal interest in insuring that the mess hall where they eat has decent food.]] It's not completely ridiculous in either case; the food is luxury ingredients too expensive to get on the kitchen's normal budget, while the engine part is a rare out-of-production piece that Shepard randomly comes across at a scrap dealer.