Just beat it

[TheLuckyOne]

A very happy afternoon to you all, boardlings! Today's question asks you to share with us your Moby Dick of video games. That is to say, was there ever a game that you played, got pretty far in, but just were never able to finish, either because it was too hard or you simply lost interest?

I have a few such games, but the one that sticks in my mind the most is Zelda II, The Adventure of Link, for the original Nintendo. Beat Zelda I, no problem. Beat the Super Nintendo Zelda, and the Game Boy one, and both of the N64 games. But for some reason, I just could never finish #2, and it continues to irk me to this day. I can get all the way to the last boss, so close that I can practically taste victory... and then I invariably get my ass handed to me. The problem is that you have to use almost all of your magic to make that damn bird thing vulnerable to attack, and while I can occasionally beat him, that leaves me with nothing left to cast Shield, so the Shadow Link just destroys me. (Come on, some of you have been there too.)

So anyway, that's my greatest failure as a gamer. (But I WILL do it before I die... just you wait and see.) Anybody else have any similar tales of woe?

-D

[PoolMan]

Jeez... you're bringing back nightmares of my childhood fighting Shadow Link. Brrrr...

I can't think of any games I just couldn't get by... but my memory only reliably goes back about 4 years, and games are getting easier and easier these days.

Ooh! Ikaruga! Dang, me and Madler are never going to finish that one.

[DARTHMADLER]

Someday Poolman, someday.

Operation Flashpoint comes to mind. I got as far as a scenario involving being a commando stuck in a house surrounded by enemy troops and a tank trying to smash down the wall (not a good scene).

[Al]

Metal Gear Solid (for Playstation) was the bane of my existence for most of my sophomore year in college. I got to the torture chamber and couldn't survive no matter how hard I tried, but I wouldn't let myself tap out because I didn't want the crummy ending. Then the year ended and the PS1 was whisked away to Long Island and never seen again. I eventually picked up MSG2 for the Xbox and got reasonably far, but I stopped, overcome with guilt about playing 2 without ever beating 1 (seriously).

On a lighter note, however, I'm currently playing MGS: The Twin Snakes, a Gamecube remake the PS game, and am hoping to redeem myself.

I also never beat any of the GTA games, which I own and enjoy, but would get 90% of the way through before tiring of them and moving on.

Al

[dajaymann]

Ninja Gaiden 1. I always had a hell of a time getting past a jump in the, like, next to the last stage with this godforsaken hawk that would swoop down on you and make you plummet to your death, and that always ate up my continues. Never got past his father, the next-to-the-last dude.

[Landatauron]

Final Fantasy IX

I finished all the other FF games I've played. Including VIII. Which I absolutely hated. But something about IX. I can't quite put my finger on it but I got about half way through and just went "Why am I still playing this?"

Also Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

I played for quite a while but simply lost intrest. It was too much like GTA 3. But with motorcycles. Once the coolness of the motorcycle wore off. I just didn't see the point.

[Charon]

For all of my trying I never beat could beat Gauntlet. Just hours and hours of nothung but the same. I got to level 145 on just quit. Still to thisday I wonder was there an end?

"Blue warrior has shot the food!"

[duckie]

Charon said:

"Blue warrior has shot the food!"

And with that line, you just opened up a floodgate of memories. Was there actually ever an ending for Gauntlet? Or Gaunlet II, for that matter? I never reached the end of either - they just seemed like endless journeys, of which you were supposed to eventually tire.

[DocD83]

Metal Gear Solid....I got to the fight with Metal Gear Rex and couldn't beat it, until I started from scratch a week ago and beat it handily.

There's nothing wrong with submitting to the torture in that game--sure the girl diies, but you get the camoflage suit when you play it again.

[PoolMan]

"Yellow wizard needs food badly."

I should say that more.

[siegeshot]

i often dont beat games that i like on purpose to help me not sell them later. but there was a few. ok... ok theres gunna be a few here anyway, about 1 for each system.

bionic commando for the nes. i got to the last guy one time, and uh, did something stupid like hit the end button instead of the continue button on screen. could never get to him again no matter how hard i tried.

also this fun platformer for the sega called alissa dragoon. could get to the last guy a million times, but he WAS SUCH A CHEATER. killed me every single time.

theres a gameboy advance game called castlevania, harmony of dissonance. and about half way through, i swear no matter where i went i couldnt advance to the next stage area. so i brought the game back and traded it in after about 3 hours, and i'd gone through like 5 different walkthrough guides i found on the net.

i gtg i have more DOWN WITH SHADOW LINK, HE CHEATS

[duckie]

"Warrior is about to die."

Now, I gotta pull out my Gauntlet: Dark Legacy" game for my PS2, and revisit it. Thanks, that will keep me busy for a bit...

[mysteriorockanova]

Mega Man X on super nintendo, a couple years back I was playing through it and got to the main bad guys level but couldn't beat it. I also recently started playing through it again and got stuck on the level with the boomerang guy.

[Al]

UPDATE: Like I said above, I've been playing The Twin Snakes lately, and I'm happy to report I have survived Revolver Ocelot's torture chamber! I don't know if they reduced the difficulty or if I'm simply a little older and a little wiser than I was four years ago, but it was relatively easy. Regardless of the reason, I can now finish the game (and the sequel) with a clear conscience. Whee!

Al

[PoolMan]

As a side note, I'd like to thank Drew for giving this thread a title that makes me think of Michael Jackson's music for an hour every time I read it.