Video game lessons learned the hard way

As a corollary: If a game gets a large markdown soon after its release, it's probably for a reason. (Bonus points if it's a $60 Triple-Eh game)

EDIT: New title unlocked

Edited by Reflextion on Apr 22nd 2021 at 8:08:17 AM

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time:

• Even on Modern, you can't afford to die too often.
• Unless you're doing a Time Trial or being chased, take your time and look around. Not all the boxes are on the main path.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate: Valstrax's scales, as well as Vastrax itself, start appearing in ALL ranks, including Low retroactively, once you complete that Valstrax scale quest in high rank. I wish I had seen that coming, beccause I got distracted by gathering them while a Cephadrome was attacking me.

World of Horror:

• If you're at zero or lower Stamina or Reason at the end of a mystery, you can still resolve the mystery normally - but you'll die as soon as you start the next one, unless you can get your zero-or-negative stat up before it starts.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time: If a time trial places at least 3 Aku Aku crates in a level, you better make sure to grab and hold onto all of them if you want a platinum relic. 9 times out of 10, the third one will be just before a set of obstacles you'll need to charge through without waiting or winding your path around to avoid losing any time.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time:

• Like the other games in the franchise, getting 100% Completion requires heavy backtracking. Not only are the colored gems back, but some stages have crates you simply can't reach the first time you play the level.
• Whoever designed the Grind Boots sections should be shot.
• Determine which button you're going to use for the Quantum Mask powers and then stick with it.

Dark Souls 1:

• That spiral tower in the Undead Burg you can get into with the Master Key is where Havel the Rock lives. Don't go downstairs unless you're ready for that.

None of the abilities you gain later in the the game are usable in areas before you get them though. I'm not sure what crates you're talking about that can't be reached.

There are a few stacks that just look like they require abilities I don't have yet. Maybe I'm just a bad player.

Tetris 99:

• Messy stacks can be fatal.
• Building primarily for Tetrises can work, but be prepared to switch gears on a moment's notice.
• Hang onto line pieces whenever possible.
• Early in the game, it doesn't particularly matter who you target. Once you reach the top 50, however, start evaluating who you need to take out.

Underhero:

• Haste makes waste.
• Palette Swap enemies likely have different timing windows for their attacks.
• You can't duck or jump over every attack. Learn to parry.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses: There are certain paralogues you just shouldn't do because otherwise you'll be driven mad.

Which ones?

Super Mario 64 (first-time player, Switch port)

• The default camera is surprisingly good, but the manual camera controls aged very poorly. Do not touch them and let the default camera work.
• The Wing Cap stage does a very good job at demonstrating how much the wing cap controls suck. You'll learn to hate Mario's "woo-hoo!" because it means he just went wildly off-course at high speed and you just missed those two red coins by a mile again, time to suicide and try the whole thing again. And again.
• You can only "Exit course" while standing on solid ground.
• Yes, the game wants you to reach that platform via a second jump followed by wall-kick. And you need to first-try or second-try it or your vanish cap will expire.

Edited by Medinoc on May 20th 2021 at 8:40:36 PM

Tetris 99:

• There is a time for building up Tetrises and big combos and a time for cleaning out your play area. Do not get these two times confused.

Final Fantasy VII: "Battle Square Up" Edition

• The Double Cut Materia and the Slash-All Materia are mutually exclusive. Either it's because the devs anticipated that combo being really strong in advance, or it's just because they both override the "Fight" command and thus only one can actually be active at a time.
• You're warned in advance that earned BP is only useable until you leave Battle Square, at which point your BP resets back to zero. With this in mind, make sure you enter Battle Square with enough GP to go more than two rounds.
• The roulette is mean if you don't try to manipulate it, and can create completely unwinnable scenarios. For example, "you can't use the Items command" followed by "your MP drops to zero" followed by "inflicted with the Frog status."

fredhot16: LEGEND. OF. THE FUCKING. LAKE. That paralogue drained me so badly I haven't been able to pick up the game for days since then.

Genshin Impact:

• There's apparently an alternate route to Draff's commission about his carrier pigeons by... killing said pigeons. Whoops!

Danganronpa 2:

-Just keep shooting randomly during Bullet Time Battle. Don’t worry about rhythm.

Edited by 123tbones on May 22nd 2021 at 1:18:20 AM

General:

• The "accept" button is the bottom button on the Xbox controller and Dualshock and the right button on a Switch. Do not mix these up.

This completely fucks me up on PC games. Had to use my GameCube-type controller to play Panzer Paladin anything close to acceptably because Xbox menuing scheme breaks my brain.

Edited by Medinoc on May 25th 2021 at 10:03:39 AM

Unless your Marianne is an absolute defensive tank, do not do Forgotten Hero on a first playthrough. EVER. You will fail and you will hate yourself.

A lot of games on Steam that support controllers display button inputs assuming you're using an Xbox controller inputs. These do not change if you're using Switch controller inputs, which can be kind of disorienting.

Sure you can change the button mapping, but nothing changes because there was nothing wrong with the buttons in the first place. As someone who uses her Switch pro controller to also play Steam games, muscle memory usually takes reign at first.

I eventually managed to memorize the PS4 equivalents to the Xbox controls when playing Steam games. It's a bit disorienting at first, but you can get there eventually.

Edited by lbssb on May 25th 2021 at 9:17:57 AM

I bought an Xbox controller exclusively for use with Steam (I don't own an Xbox) just so I didn't have to keep mentally remapping the buttons. (Also because it was $30 cheaper than buying another Dualshock.)

Mario Kart Tour:

Wait, you can further boost your points cap a second time? And it costs 5 of their respective ticket?

Huh.

Edited by AmethystLeslie on May 25th 2021 at 2:15:27 PM

Playing Shovel Knight is not like riding a bike. Practice before you go straight to the final levels after not playing for a few years.

Edited by lalalei2001 on May 26th 2021 at 4:49:29 AM