by arbayer2
2025 Edit: Hey, several of these games were finished at one point. Updated to reflect.
Like anyone else, I have a list of games I feel I need to actually complete once to understand both the value each game has had to the gaming community at large as well as its historical importance, and to provide for myself a complete memory to judge it from after the fact.
As I've grown up and so has my personal game collection, I've slowly adapted from re-attempting a game completion once every couple of days to cycling between a bunch of random or predetermined games I may or may not have already beaten just because of how much I enjoy their gameplay. I usually play for up to a couple of days and then move on unless I find myself with a ton of momentum for emergent gameplay or notable memories or accomplishments.
Here, in no particular order is a list of games, on any platform, I've started and never finished, either due to scheduling, ergonomic, interest or other reasons. It's a living list -- I'll try to update it more or less whenever I have to and am logged into the site. I hope for it to eventually be comprehensive as far as owned games go.
Feel free to give suggestions or feedback on how I might complete the game, given my (admittedly perhaps imperfect at times) reasoning for not going back and finishing the darn thing. I'd love to eventually use this list to base my game library's organization on or something. Thanks!
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Completed Ys I. Ys II incomplete basically at beginning due to burnout and the fact that I originally started playing it on PSP and battery limitations/save migration due to console modding prevented its completion back in the day. DO have it on PC via Steam, so I really have no excuse not to play it other than the fact that I've experienced over half of it already. But Ys II is gently calling... *Done: I.
Again, began it on PSP, probably made it about a third of the way, but burnout took hold since I wasn't using a walkthrough or FAQ (Yes, I'm /that/ kind of opportunist with RPGs sometimes). One of the more quality JRPGs on PSP and it's in a historic franchise, which already is motivating, but... meh. I feel like there's a large gap between Ys I and Ys Seven I'd need to cover chronologically, too, to get full enjoyment. *Done.
Roughly 50-70% through the campaign, if memory serves. Game's pretty fantastic, but as much as a perfectionist I am at open-world puzzle RPGs like this one, I'd probably have to use a walkthrough/FAQ to complete it, and that's just spoiler-y as hell.
Played a bit at a friend's house, and it's probably the one game I don't have access to yet from Rockstar's GTA-esque ludography (except Manhunt, I guess) since it was console-only. Damn shame, that, I have a 360 but can't update it since it's JTAG-able. Apparently. Maybe some day.
Recently made it further than I ever have -- the airport level. But damn, if that level design isn't open and treacherous as all hell when you make it to the hangars. I know there's a lot of game left, too... *Done. Bummer ending, but what an experience.
You know, it's got so much content, that I probably don't even need to worry that much about /how/ I approach a completionist playthrough as long as I do it, but that's a lot of time investment when you're not using mods to help facilitate it. No sense of direction for progression at all, which I lament every time I see the name in my Steam list.
Okay, this game's just massive. I'm sure if I had the inclination (which I might, now that it's summer 2015 as of writing) I could beat the campaign, but with ownership of only the Hearthfire DLC, I really /don't/ want to beat it yet. I bet there's a ton more I could experience and I could load a save just before the end of the campaign, but we'll see. It takes way too long to travel in this one early-game, and that's both a great and terrible thing.
Well, just X3 in general, if not the entire X series. X1's really damn difficult due to the archaic controls and X2's not much better in my opinion, but I bet there's great story there that ties into X3. I typically just play X3 to make oodles of money and try again in an abortive attempt to make a space station that puts all other commercial/industrial installations in-sector out of business. I always fail, though, because the game's depth is out of the league of my tiny, weak brain most of the time. Economic hegemony, mo'f'er. It's comin'. Eventually... may have to settle with just fast food joints
Pretty much every home console title up until Adventure 2 DX I'm considering, after that it's basically the occasional retro-pandery and portable classic-esque titles like Sonic Advance. It's weird how I managed to grow up playing this franchise all the time and I never beat a single one. Actually, it isn't, that happened a lot. For the record, this franchise ties with the Mario franchise (probably) for the first one I ever played in my life. Hooray for pointless trivia!
Boy... I might be incorrect but I think this is probably the one 3D GTA story I have yet to complete, with the exception of Liberty City Stories. It gets extremely difficult at times, though, partially hampered by its... "experimental" control scheme (especially camera), so I may have to get creative at some point *Done.