I felt Metroid Prime went too long, not because of the nature of the gameplay, but that they ran out of ideas and turned into fetch quests; that's when it's time to pack it in.
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Yodariquo said:The answer is this: However long it can be while maximizing entertainment. If a game can push 70 hours and keep me immersed the whole time like Persona 4, all the better. If a game is best when it's superbly designed and only be an hour end to end like Super Mario Bros. that's fine too.
I felt Metroid Prime went too long, not because of the nature of the gameplay, but that they ran out of ideas and turned into fetch quests; that's when it's time to pack it in.
This, I agree with.
If I had to average it all out for me it would be 10-12 hours for non-RPGs and 20-40 hours for RPGs.
The key to me is non-repetitive engagement. If a game is throwing something new at me all the time, through a good story (Yakuza) or by changing the setting (Uncharted, Stranglehold, Shadow Hearts 2), then I can play endlessly. I really get sick of games that just rehash the same setting or taxing the same play skills over and over again.
A game's length isn't that important to me. I've always been more focused on the experience that a game can provide for me.
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God of War taught me that length ultimately doesn't matter in a game. I finished that in 9 hours. Once upon a time the very idea that I'd play a game that was less than 15 hours was just ludicrous, but that game was a nice reminder that an excellent short game is better than an average long one.
And then on the other side of the spectrum we have Dragon Warrior VII - the game that would not end. That game took me over 100 hours to complete (and I still could have done many more of the side quests). And while I did enjoy it, I was ready for it to be over by around hour 60.
It's completely dependent on the game.
Some games could use cutting many hours off the playtime. Others you want to be long because the experience is so good.
Replay value is right up there. I think if you have an action game it needs to be replayable.
Listen to Iced Earth and play Doom
angrymonkey said:Whenever I see this question come up it's usually about games that aren't long enough or just long enough. Are there any possible games people liked but thought were too long? Or would have been better shorter?
I already mentioned Metroid Prime, throw Persona 3, Final Fantasy XII, Forza, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, and Spyborgs in there as well.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileangrymonkey said:Whenever I see this question come up it's usually about games that aren't long enough or just long enough. Are there any possible games people liked but thought were too long? Or would have been better shorter?
Almost every game I've ever played... scratch that, every game I've ever played has been too long.
Foolz said:I'll second FFXII. The first 20 hours were a lot of fun. if it had ended there it would have been great.
The best part of FFXII is the guy who sounds like a terrible Bill Cosby impression
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I remember that guy!
You see the kids, they listen to the rap music...
Anyway, here's how I feel game lengths should be for these genres:
First-Person Shooters/Third-Person/Shooters/Other shooters, Etc.
12-15 hours single player.
When I played FEAR for the first time, it was about 10 hours. Afterwards, it left me wanting more. Than I played the expansion pack which added another 5 hours. After that, I got sick of the game.
So for me, 15 hours is just right to give me complete satisfaction for FPS single player campaigns. Far Cry, Half-Life 2, and Bioshock are good examples.
Another good example of great game design with a satisfying single player campaign was Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 5 felt too short but with those expansions coming, it'll make the game just right. That's why I think 15 hours is perfect for shooters.
But there's an exception. If a game's primary sell is multiplayer, than I guess single player doesn't really matter. I haven't even touched Modern Warfare 2's single player. Multiplayer is so important to shooters. Like Uncharted, the first one was too short and didn't have any multiplayer, even though I'm sure the game was still fun. But part 2 is a great complete package because of the multiplayer.
Action/Adventures
15+ hours
As mentioned above, I think anything less than 15 hours feels too short for action/adventure games. As for Zelda games, since it's Zelda, I think it should be longer like about 25+ hours. I clocked in over 50 hours for Twilight Princess, and I had a blast every minute.
Than there are artsy games like Shadow of the Colossus. It was only like 8 hours long, and even though I loved the game, I felt it could've been longer with more giants to fight, secret areas, etc. Brutal Legend is another example, which is why I waited for a price drop. Even then, I felt it wasn't worth it since the game is only 6 hours long. I returned it without opening the game and got Darksiders instead, which is worth it because of the lengthy single player campaign.
Than there are games that are too long for its own good. Okami comes to mind.
Zelda is always the exception. I always felt that for Zelda games, the longer the better. I guess it's because Nintendo designs these games so fun, even Twilight Princess felt short because I couldn't get enough!
JRPGs/WRPGs/Action-RPGs
For me, JRPGs should be at least 40 hours in length. 30 hours is okay too, but 40 feels like the default minimum. Than they should give you the option to either finish the game within that time or clock in more hours with side-quests, secrets, etc. I clocked in over 100+ hours with FFXII, and that's how I feel a JRPG should be.
This is just how I feel. I'm sure opinions will vary. Some don't mind paying full price for a 5 hour long game, but for me, it does matter. I want my money's worth and in my mind, it makes no sense to pay $60 for a 6 hour long game.
What do you guys think.
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns