Ever quit a game at the very last boss? I may do just that with Zelda II. What games have done it to you?

Video Games
#1

Ladies and gents, the final boss of Zelda 2, Dark Link is kicking my ass. I’m very close to calling it quits on the game which is a shame.

The biggest issue is that after losing all your lives the game forces you to navigate the entire last dungeon again. And if you reset the console, you start from the opening palace and have to navigate through the entire map to get back to the final dungeon again which can take a little while. This is one example where playing on original hardware is a pain if you need to step away.

After a few losses,I’m really tempted to just watch the ending on YouTube and be done with it since I’ve got other games calling my name. A big reason why is the fact that there are 2 bosses you have to fight it quick succession, and both are fairly difficult. The need to redo so much of the game every time is the biggest bummer since it’s a very long and difficult sequence where so much can go wrong.

I’m going to give it another shot today, but if it doesn’t happen, it may end my playthrough. Wish me luck.

So, what games have done this to you?

#2

I never did the final boss in BotW. I didn’t even go to the castle.

#3

That castle was so cool though :slightly_frowning_face:

#4

I’ve still got time!

I had so much fun in the overworld. I didn’t feel like I needed closure.

TBH I could have quit after Eventide Island and been happy with my experience. That was perfect.

#5

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I ended up beating it on my first try this morning. Funny how that happens. It didn’t even seem hard today. And I haven’t played it in over a week. :sweat_smile:

I gave it a shot right after making the thread and everything went perfectly.

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#6

Gave up at Shao Kahn in MK9 such a cheap fight I gave up completing the story mode at that point. Normally I give up way before that point but that is one of the rare games I made it right up until the end and threw in the towel.

#7

Congrats! Better than I managed, I ended up cheesing the last boss by using a known ‘cheat’ where if you stand in a certain area in the arena you’re guaranteed to win.

Castlevania seems to be a series where this happens often for me, I managed to get to the final boss in Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania: The Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge and Castlevania Bloodlines, but I was never good enough to finish the job.

I also quit Twilight Princess at the last boss, not because it was difficult but because I didn’t really feel like going back to the game to beat it, I must have been playing it to finish it rather than because I was having a great time.

#8

Congrats.

If you just stand in one corner and duck attack non stop he becomes the easiest boss in the game.

Currently I think I’m going to quit Celeste without completing Farewell. Shit is really hard after the last heart door.

#9

Not the last boss, but I quit at the last dungeon in FFIII DS. Not being able to save just killed my by then diminishing interest in the game.

#10

I do this every now and then. The satisfaction of completing a thing is great but if I have tried several times and it’s the last boss and a visible spike in difficulty it’s ok just to drop.

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#11

Yea, I agree. At that point, you’ve already experienced the entire game. Having a final boss that’s too hard sometimes isn’t worth it when you know there’s nothing but an ending waiting for you afterwards.

#12

Interesting thread.

I didn’t finish Metroid Prime.

After the semi boss rush at the end of the game, I gave it a solid hour of grinding back to the final boss, and just felt too deflated to continue.
I think I was just fed up with the visor and beam swapping gimmick by then.

I’ve had similar walls in Dark Souls (which I completed late last year for the first time. I should compose some thoughts here.) but which were more rewarding to grind out. More that each attempt of Ornstein and Smough, or Gwyn left me with some measure of better game sense, technical skill, or tactical option to consider. So I kept going and pushed through.

#13

I quit playing Final Fantasy X at the last boss (played the Vita remaster) and ended up watching the ending on YouTube.

I regretted going that route but I didn’t want to grind to get my characters up to snuff for the final confrontation. It’s all about available time unfortunately… not always easy managing a full time job, kids, having tons of other games to play, etc.

Sometimes, you just need a short cut! :slight_smile:

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#14

If something is super hard I am too stubborn to quit and let the game ‘beat’ me. This is a little childish maybe but I can’t help it!

I’m certainly not afraid to give up on games though, and if I play through a large portion of the game I will still stop when the sense of wonder/discovery/accomplishment is diminished.

I did this with Dark Souls as well @Eccles . I never really sat down and played the original game but later on I fell in love with DS3 and Bloodbourne, so I went back when Remastered dropped to really give it the chance I felt it deserved. I gave it until I got the Lord vessel, partly because O&S is a hailed as one of the best and most challenging boss fights and partly because I heard the world design goes downhill after that. I realized I just wasn’t getting the same challenge or feeling of accomplishment from DS as I do with DS3 or Bloodbourne. I do somewhat regret it now and I had enough fun to make me think I will eventually revisit it and see it through. I liked the Darkroot areas and the depths a lot.

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#15

Oh man exactly the same for me. I put down BOTW just as I was preparing to enter the castle. I’ve tried to pick it back up but I clearly don’t have the armor I need and I will also have to spend a lot of tedious time making food and potions to take with me. And I’ve totally forgotten the controls. I need to try again. The game is soooo good. I am ashamed if haven’t followed through. Ugh.

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#16

Tiny Barbarian.

I saw how I had to have perfect technique and attempt it like another 30 times and decided watching online was fine for that.

Great game otherwise.

#17

I came back to Dark souls remastered after spending around 8 hours on the original a few years ago, and it not clicking at all.
I think playing Hollow Knight really helped me adjust to the kind of game mechanics seen in the Souls games.

I’m currently playing DS3 blind-ish, and it’s a step up in difficulty for sure.
I’ve just gotten past Abyss Watchers, which were the first real road block for me.
But I’m loving the difference experience it offers, coming from DS1. It is hard to see myself giving this one up.

I can see how going back would feel a bit clunky, and it’s a common complaint from those who started with Bloodborne and DS3.
It’s a shame it didn’t grab you that far in, but you got to experience the best of the world design, and it’s clever connectivity.

I’ve just ordered Demon’s Souls for PS3, having heard there’s private servers still active.
I’ll see how I go with the original.

#18

I’m not ashamed. I had a great time with it and didn’t feel the need to go any further.

Philosophical question: what is finishing a game?

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#19

A game is never finished, it’s simply abandoned at some point.

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#20

I think matt’s post above sums up how I feel these days, I’m happy to move on from a game - even a long RPG - if I don’t finish it, provided what I played up to that point was enjoyable or even interesting if the game was flawed.

So while I wouldn’t say I finished a game like Shining in the Darkness since I made it about 5/6ths of the way into it, I was finished with it and had a great time with it. And I’m still open to coming back to it one day, as equally as I am still open to playing games that were beaten.

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