History Main / IrrelevantSideQuest

*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': also has the assignment where the Normany's mess officer asks you to do his grocery shopping. Although he [[LampshadeHanging points out that it's a ridiculous thing to ask of his commanding officer.]]

* Have you ever wanted to find a banana, cure recurring nightmares, take a picture of snow, or give unsolicited weight loss advice? Well, then ''MegaManStarForce 2'' is the game for you!
** ''MegamanBattleNetwork'' was only slightly better because it had a valid reason for them to be given to the PC (he accepted them via a job board)

-->'''Sten''': Are you planning on running until north becomes south and you sneak up on the Archdemon from behind?
-->'''Warden''': I'm not running.
-->'''Sten''': No, you're not. [[AntiMutiny I'm taking command.]]

* ''BaldursGate'' has lots of them, where you need to pick up rings, gems, books, nymphs... whatever, for no real reason that has anything to do with the plot. Fortunately, many provide experience, gold, and reputation, as well as making your journal quite an interesting read.
** ''BaldursGate 2'' is much better about it: the sidequests are ''just'' as irrelevant, but you either a) have a personal stake, b) make it clear that you're looking for a large sum of cash for a personal quest, or c) given to you ''because'' you're an ass-kicking demi-god. Throne of Bhaal is also significant in that there are ''no'' irrelevant sidequests ''per se'': some seem that way, but end up being relevant later.
* Particularly jarring in ''{{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.

* ''KingdomOfLoathing'': "Get me some fingerless hobo gloves!" "Can't I just cut the fingers off of the hobo gloves I already have?" "No."
* In ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' you play a Jedi trying to save the galaxy from evil, but along the way you get to resolve a family feud, act as the defense lawyer in a murder trial, and return a runaway droid to its master (amongst other things).

* ''{{Persona 3}}'' justified these by having the sole questgiver wishing to test your resourcefulness and power (or just indulge her curiosity about the outside world). Meanwhile, in ''{{Persona 4}}'' all of the side quests fit this trope to a T - random people needing random problems solved and items gathered. One questgiver notes that she wouldn't bother you except you've gained a reputation as being able to find anything people ask for.

* ''{{Nier}}'' lampshades this quite thoroughly. [[DeadpanSnarker Weiss]] often complains about the inanity of some of the sidequests you take on, while Nier claims he's grateful for whatever work he can find. In the latter half of the game, Nier's actually become somewhat famous for this, and a few NPC questgivers will greet you with something along the lines of "Hey, you're that guy who'll do anything for money, no matter how demeaning! Find my boyfriend for me!"

*** The sequel has probably the most irrelevant irrelevant sidequest ever: finding out if there are fish in the Presidium lake. That's it. True, nobody actually ''asks'' Shepard to do this, but they still seem to find settling what amounts to two tourists arguing to be a worthy use of their "preparing to save humanity" time anyway.[[note]]Note that, while this quest seems completely irrelevant, if you do it right, it's less a sidequest and more "While I was there, I happened to find out X". Shepard is, in fact, going all over the Zakera Wards, trying to prepare for his/her mission, and while in a bar on an unrelated side-trip, s/he runs into the person that happens to know the answer.[[/note]]

*** Averted, however, in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', where every 'sidequest' is simply a mission to recover stuff that will help people who are trying to fight the Reapers. More over in that most if not all side quests come in the form of walking past people and over hearing their conversations over their needs. You just sorta... present what they want to them after (often reacting just as confused as you'd expect them to).

** Speaking of ''New Vegas'', ''Honest Hearts'', unlike the other the DLC's, has no tie-ins with the main storyline.

->'''RGN''': But how? None of us -- hang on, why is everyone looking at me?
->'''JUHANI''': Because you always do this sort of thing.
->'''MISSION''': Yeah, we just kind of tag along while you do all the work.
->'''RGN''': Look, I hate to disappoint you all, but I don't actually have any form of legal training.
-->-- RGN is GenreBlind after being asked to be a defense lawyer in ''[[http://hawk.kotorfanmedia.com/node/1771 Yet Another KotOR Parody]]''.

* Most (side)quests in ''DragonQuestIX''. [[{{DLC}} Downloadable ones]] include a lot of story-related ones, but the others tend to be about things such as getting mushroom for someone and whatnot. There are also, however, quests related to the class system.

** Shepard frequently [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this, to which the quest-giver usually responds "I can pay you", which makes it all fine and dandy, since [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts shopkeepers have no time for galactic saviours]].

* In ''MassEffect'', many of the Citadel sidequests are like this. At one point your character (a soldier) can intervene in an argument over whether a pregnant woman should get gene therapy for her unborn child. Meanwhile, almost every other instance of this is a JustifiedTrope; the Spectres are free-range commando/police/diplomat hybrids with a sort of high-octane diplomatic immunity. Shepard's immediate priority may be saving the galaxy, but helping out where any of these functions is needed (or just abusing the immunity for personal gain) is still his/her day job.

*** ''MassEffect2'': also has the assignment where the Normany's mess officer asks you to ''do his grocery shopping''. Although he [[LampshadeHanging points out that it's a ridiculous thing to ask of his commanding officer.]]
*** Averted, however, in ''MassEffect3'', where every 'sidequest' is simply a mission to recover stuff that will help people who are trying to fight the Reapers. More over in that most if not all side quests come in the form of walking past people and over hearing their conversations over their needs. You just sorta... present what they want to them after (often reacting just as confused as you'd expect them to).

*** '''MassEffect2''': also has the assignment where the Normany's mess officer asks you to ''do his grocery shopping''. Although he [[LampshadeHanging points out that it's a ridiculous thing to ask of his commanding officer.]]

*** Averted, however, in ''MassEffect3'', where every 'sidequest' is simply a mission to recover stuff that will bribe people into helping you fight the Reapers. More over in that most if not all side quests come in the form of walking past people and over hearing their conversations over their needs. You just sorta... present what they want to them after (often reacting just as confused as you'd expect them to).

** The Dunwich Building, notorious for being the [[NightmareFuel scariest location]] in the game, has no relevance to any of the core game quests, although one of the Bobbleheads is found here, and if you have the ''Point Lookout'' DLC installed, you can burn the Krivbeknih book here as part of the Dark Heart of Blackhall quest from that.

* The ''QuestForGlory'' games take it one step further and have "adventurer" as an actual job title. You can even earn a diploma in adventuring by correspondence course.

* There are several in ''DragonAge: Origins'', but they tend to pay well and so usually worth doing in a game built on AntiGrinding and [[AnEntrepreneurIsYou anti-gold farming]].

* ''DragonAgeII'' is absolutely brimming with these, as the focus is less on any overarching threat and more on [[PlayerCharacter Hawke's]] rise to glory. However, there are a lot of quests that appear to be irrelevant, but later are revealed to tie into the main plot. An example would be [[spoiler:the serial killer story arc, which suddenly comes to the fore just before the climax of Act II, then again at the climax of Act III]].

* Justified in the ''{{Ultima}}'' games, from IV onward, where your character is explicitly a role-model for the population and helping people out boosts the KarmaMeter. In VII, Lord British encourages you to mingle with the citizens and solve their sidequests.

* ''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...

* ''FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has a lot of these. There's an in-game justification for it in that the main character is held in this world by a book that fills up by having adventures, so irrelevant side-quests are still relevant to him getting back home (in theory-- you can only see the ending by clearing the final story mission). Also helped by the main story not usually being much of a danger.
* Many sidequests in ''PlanescapeTorment'' can be safely ignored if one so wishes, but few are truly irrelevant - many expand upon the universe or reinforce the game's themes, while links and clues to The Nameless One's history can be found in the oddest places. One really does get a sense that The Nameless One's endless quest has been going on for untold years and has had countless unintended (and [[MagnificentBastard very intended]]) consequences on the lives of those around him.

* 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 Affectionate Parody]] of Roguelikes and RPGs in general.

*** The sequel has probably the most irrelevant irrelevant sidequest ever: finding out if there are fish in the Presidium lake. That's it. True, nobody actually ''asks'' Shepard to do this, but they still seem to find settling what amounts to two tourists arguing to be a worthy use of their "preparing to save humanity" time anyway[[hottip:*:Note that, while this quest seems completely irrelevant, if you do it right, it's less a sidequest and more "While I was there, I happened to find out X". Shepard is, in fact, going all over the Zakera Wards, trying to prepare for his/her mission, and while in a bar on an unrelated side-trip, s/he runs into the person that happens to know the answer.]].

This trope is useful in that it allows for more varied gameplay, but when taken to extremes you can end up feeling more like a glorified errand boy (or girl) than a hero. It can also lead to some pretty major GameplayAndStorySegregation, especially when your main quest would appear to be considerably more urgent.