Community Playthrough Suggestion Thread

[singlebanana]

i think an occasional 30 - 35 hour game wasn't too bad last year, Phantasy Star and Chrono Trigger were both that length and it went pretty well for most people, participation was fairly high. i definitely can't see anyone playing a 40+ hour game in one month, and 2 month playthroughs are always hit and miss because some people will finish really early, and over that long a time people tend to get bored and drop out.

20 hours is really reasonable for 1 month, and that covers a lot of great games. anything above that might be better if it's limited to 1 or 2 playthroughs a year.

Yeah, it depends a lot on the games played and the time it takes. If the title is pretty well-loved and the community really wants to play it (and the other hosts are up for it ), then I could see a 30-35 hour game. However, we had a few people struggle with finishing Phantasy Star and I think a few never finished Chrono Trigger. If anything gets into the 40+ range, we'd have to break it off into 2 months for sure.

[douglie007]

we could handle Persona 1 or 2, but I don't see a 3 or 4

[singlebanana]

we could handle Persona 1 or 2, but I don't see a 3 or 4

Once again, I'm looking at howlongtobeat.com and the issue is that these games are too long (both average over 40 hours). I know that original copies of 1 & 2 are also on the expensive side, but I am taking into consideration that these are more affordable on the PSP, so at least that aspect of it would be suitable. Not my call, since these are modern games, but I want people to be aware of what factors we look at before choosing our games each month. Just because some of you might have 40+ hours to dedicate to a month, doesn't mean everyone does and we would like to keep participation high. Price and length hurt participation in a few of our RPG playthroughs last year and we do not want a repeat of that. Please take these things into consideration when making your suggestions. Thanks

[GrayGhost81]

Not my call, since these are modern games,

Don't worry, we're not going to do it. Go play these games on your own, people. They are some of the best RPGs of all time and I would not recommend anyone play them on anyone else's schedule. They're too open ended for a community playthrough.

[SirPsycho]

We did Suikoden II too early.

[GrayGhost81]

We did Suikoden II too early.

That, and it should have been two months. Having said that I maintain that a Persona game wouldn't work. They're open-ended in a completely different way.

[MetalFRO]

I have a ton of original PlayStation games I've hardly touched, some I just got, some I've had for years and just have never put any real time into.  Same with some of my Saturn games.  I'd love to do something like Spyro 2 or 3 - I've had those for years and just never finished them.  I also never finished Metal Gear Solid.  Not entirely sure how far into it I got, but it was one where I was having fun with it, then hit a wall, got distracted by another game, and it fell by the wayside.  This might be too obscure for some, but I never finished Silhouette Mirage, either.

[douglie007]

I was going by the Main story around 30 hours, but I understand time being a factor.

[GrayGhost81]

@MetalFRO Metal Gear Solid has been thrown around as a suggestion many times. I can almost guarantee we will do it eventually, hopefully during a month when I can guest host on the retro side .

[singlebanana]

We did Suikoden II too early.

That might be true, but that's what the community wanted after the Suikoden playthrough. The people who spoke up wanted to keep the story fresh and if you recall, they wanted to play it immediately (though we waited a few months in hopes of a DLC release). It's fine and was a lesson learned by our staff.

Though everyone may not be happy that we don't choose a particular game or series, our choices reflect games that we can all enjoy and talk about within the confines of a month. We take a good deal of time kicking titles back and forth for these playthroughs and ultimately make our choices in terms of what we want to play (because we don't have the choice of sitting one out) and what will likely garner the most participation.

I agree with GrayGhost. There is way too much open-ended gameplay associated with the Persona series. Sure, those who know what they are doing can finish it in around 40 hours, but first timers are going to go far beyond that mark. We want our playthroughs to be fun and not arduous time-sinks that people stress out about finishing. We encourage all of you to play the Persona series because it has a fantastic reputation, but it's highly unlikely you will see a playthrough of any of these games because they do not fit well into our format.  

[singlebanana]

I was going by the Main story around 30 hours, but I understand time being a factor.

Again, that's a finish time for people who are very familiar with the game, if you click on the game in howlongtobeat and look at that actual average (not the median) you'll get a more accurate picture of the time-sink. With that number, you still have to factor in several hours for first timers.

[singlebanana]

@MetalFRO Metal Gear Solid has been thrown around as a suggestion many times. I can almost guarantee we will do it eventually, hopefully during a month when I can guest host on the retro side .

Great game! I concur and think you'll see this title in the future.

[Fleach]

@MetalFRO Metal Gear Solid has been thrown around as a suggestion many times. I can almost guarantee we will do it eventually, hopefully during a month when I can guest host on the retro side .

Great game! I concur and think you'll see this title in the future.

We're all pretty excited to play Metal Gear Solid at some point. It'll surely happen one month.

[MetalFRO]

Another game I'd love to do again would be Syphon Filter.  It doesn't get the same praise that MGS got back in the day, but I think it holds up and is still fun to play.  I've beat it a half dozen times or so, but would love another go

[GrayGhost81]

Worth it just to tazer some fools...for just a little too long...