Getting Properly Stuck

I'm not talking "help, I need to use the Internet". I'm talking, "there is no way I can complete the game now unless I restart". This is possibly an RPG-exclusive trope, because you can reach an inescapable place while underlevelled, but glitches or sequence breaking might make it apply to other genres. Anyway, has anyone else experienced this?

As said in the FF thread, I have, twice. Both RPGs. One was reaching an inescapable dungeon in FFIV with a hideously underlevelled squad, such that I had to run from even normal enemies. Needless to say, I couldn't get past the boss at all.

The other was in DS RPG Infinite Space, where killing enemies can only get you so far: you need ship parts to really improve. And I was stuck in a place in the galaxy, between a boss I couldn't beat and an escape portal with no shops in between the two, and returning to the portal resulted in, "I can't leave this backwater until I've sorted this problem." Never have I wanted to break a videogame hero on the wheel so much.

I'm stuck on Ni No Kuni, I could do it if i backtracked and maybe level up some more and buy some more coffe.

Lost Magic on the DS, I loved that game, it helped start my love for strategy games but sadly its one of the few games I've ever had to permanently rage quit because at a certain point you have to make a choice, I chose the one that drops me right at a hard boss fight with nowhere to level up and I didn't save for a while before the choice never finished that game and now probably never will

The genres I love aren't usually affected by this problem, though I have occasionally started a game, got so far in, got sidetracked and/or bored, not returned to the game for years and then started again for the story's sake. Last time I did this was with Epic Mickey, which I now consider to be one of my favourite Wii games.

Balladeer wrote:

As said in the FF thread, I have, twice. Both RPGs. One was reaching an inescapable dungeon in FFIV with a hideously underlevelled squad, such that I had to run from even normal enemies. Needless to say, I couldn't get past the boss at all.

This was me in FFIII DS, last area, and last boss. Still haven't beaten the bloody game.

I think I've done it with ZombiU. I've accidentally managed to skip an objective, and now the game won't progress.

Not sure I've ever been game-breakingly stuck, although there was one time I thought I was in Pulseman when I dropped into a pit that was too big to jump out of normally. I reset the game and almost instantly discovered a different jump that could have got me out of the situation.

Balladeer wrote:

As said in the FF thread, I have, twice. Both RPGs. One was reaching an inescapable dungeon in FFIV with a hideously underlevelled squad, such that I had to run from even normal enemies. Needless to say, I couldn't get past the boss at all.

I managed this on Ragnarok Online, the first time around I played that- managed to get myself into a cave where I could only just take down one basic enemy without dying, but then had to sit off and wait for my heath to recharge (which would take upwards of two or three minutes) before taking on another.

I couldn't leave the cave, because I'd somehow managed to walk straight past all the much more powerful beasties outside the cave on the way in and couldn't repeat the feat on the way out, and levelling was utterly glacial because not only was the EXP a bit unbalanced in that area, being an MMO meant you lost EXP whenever you died. Which, given my impatience and frequent lag spikes, was a regular occurrence.

beemoh wrote:

...being an MMO meant you lost EXP whenever you died.

I am pretty sure that this files away under "flipping stoopid gameplay mechanics".

Balladeer wrote:

beemoh wrote:

...being an MMO meant you lost EXP whenever you died.

I am pretty sure that this files away under "flipping stoopid gameplay mechanics".

The reverse of "What cannot kill you only makes you stronger", I suppose! *is never touching MMO's - I like my EXP, preciousssss*

Balladeer wrote:

beemoh wrote:

...being an MMO meant you lost EXP whenever you died.

I am pretty sure that this files away under "flipping stoopid gameplay mechanics".

Oh nonono- the flipping stoopid mechanic is that it doesn't stop when you lose all that levels EXP.

While you wouldn't level down, you would still have to grind back up to 0 EXP in order to progress through that level.

Suffice to say, it wasn't long before I gave up.

You mean - you get minus EXP?

I've always thought you should get experience when you lose. After all in real life, we learn from our mistakes.

The only RPGs I've played to completion are Pokémon and Xenoblade so I rarely get stuck by a game's mechanics.

Buskalilly wrote:

I've always thought you should get experience when you lose. After all in real life, we learn from our mistakes.

I preferred Oblivion's take, where you level up by doing, win or lose- although it's kind of an acceptable break from sense, a game where the point is to lose wouldn't be a lot of fun.

(Before anyone gets cocky, "preventing a character from winning" qualifies as winning.)

Balladeer wrote:

The other was in DS RPG Infinite Space, where killing enemies can only get you so far: you need ship parts to really improve. And I was stuck in a place in the galaxy, between a boss I couldn't beat and an escape portal with no shops in between the two, and returning to the portal resulted in, "I can't leave this backwater until I've sorted this problem." Never have I wanted to break a videogame hero on the wheel so much.

That's the bit I'm on. Even though I did save before you have to make a decision as to what side to take, it seemed like too much work for me to follow on from it.