Alright, here''s yet another thing that bugs me about modern RPGs. They seem to always have at least one part where something is hidden, and that something is the best of it''s type (the best sword, the best armor) and to get it you have to do some secret thing that you would never think to do and if you don''t do it at a specific time, you can never go back and do it again. I hate this. Let''s not fool ourselves, RPGs like FF don''t have good replay value. If you''re playing for 30 hours and you realize that not only did you miss the coolest thing in the game, but you''ll have to start over again to get it, that is a bad design. All this does is encourage someone to use a strategy guide from start to finish in fear of missing something.

Yep.

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Yeah, that can be a real pain in the butt. Being able to run around the world and tie up loose ends and max out your stats and inventory is the very definition of RPG replayability. If you burn a bridge halfway through, and there''s no other way to achieve that goal, then you''re hosed, and nobody likes that.

*yawn* I guess im bored of all games atm

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reminds me of lion heart. I missed one small area at the begining which meant I didn''gget to touch the magic stone, and about halfway through you can''t go back anymore. It was a real pain since I missed out on that bonus.

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Writer, Programer, Cook, I''m a Jack of all Trades
Current Design project: Ambitions Slave

what are you guys talking about? don''t be so foolish about rushing through the game. I take my time, seriously! All this talk about 40 hours to play a game, HAH try 70 hours and being half way through! I AM INVINCIBLE, none shall defeat me! I am the supreme ruler.......yep video games have gotten to my brain.

*shrug* I don''t usually expect to play a perfect game, to grab all the loot. Missing out on an object is really no big deal.

I think the problem is not with the design but with the players. ''Back in the day'', getting a secret was a big deal. Something that not everybody did. Being able to beat the game was an achievement, to do so with a perfect score (all items, special whatever, etc) was an INCREDIBLE feat. It wasn''t something everybody did, and that made it special.

Now, secrets are just dark corners with overpowered items, which makes them not so special.

One way to "solve" this problem would be to have more places where you have to make a decision between multiple cool items/characters/plot points. Like in FF6 (weak example), you can''t get it all. You have to choose between getting the Ragnarok Esper, or the Ragnarok sword. Both very cool, but you can''t have both. Also, if I remember correctly, there''re some rare/unique items at the colosseum that you have to trade rare/unique items for. Further, I don''t think you can max your stats (if you don''t use HP/MP boosting Espers by a certain point, you can''t even get 9999/999 at level 99). Sure, at the time it bothered me a little that I couldn''t get a "perfect" game, but that was eased a lot by the fact that there was no "perfect" game. You''ll always be missing something.

Or Fallout I&II. You can''t do everything. Certain things aren''t available if you''re good (likewise for evil). Some things aren''t available if you''re not smart enough, not strong enough, not agile enough, etc. You can''t be perfect. And because you can''t be perfect, you get over it and have fun even if you missed something.

If you missed it, thats your fault. You can''t complain because you read a walkthrough after the game and learned about some of the things you missed.