When do you need to take breaks from games?
Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 3:27 pm
I've been playing Trails in the Sky: SC and thoroughly enjoying it. I'm not usually a completionist, but I find that my habits of talking to every NPC are rewarded by finding and completing various sidequests, so I've been taking the extra step and trying to get every recipe, sidequest, and chest I can. I love the main characters, and think Estelle is my favorite protagonist in recent memory. (I'd put her above Alex and perhaps Hiro.) If I had played these games 10 years earlier, I would probably have sought out a community just to talk about this game.
However, I'm close to taking a break with TS: SC. I just played a half-hour portion that culminated in my facing a mini-boss that I absolutely could not beat, even after restarting the battle a few times. I don't resent the need to level characters or change my equipment to be more optimal for the fight, but knowing I have to repeat that half hour took the wind out of me. I feel like breaking for a few weeks and playing some other game (like Persona 5, which I just ordered) will allow me to come back more enthused about grinding a bit to get further into the story.
This sometimes works. I did this with the first Trails in the Sky at a couple of points. I've done it with previous playthroughs of Lunar games, with Chrono Cross, and with several other long, story-based RPGs. On the other hand, this usually represents the death of any given Final Fantasy playthrough, and I never did beat Alundra after setting it aside. For some reason I find it more difficult to return to those games, perhaps because I'm returning at a point where I can see where the story is going, and I don't find the prospect of grinding for the final dungeon or two worthwhile.
Anyway, I'm curious. When do you need to take breaks from games? How often do you return? Do you start where you left off, or do you need to start the game over again?
However, I'm close to taking a break with TS: SC. I just played a half-hour portion that culminated in my facing a mini-boss that I absolutely could not beat, even after restarting the battle a few times. I don't resent the need to level characters or change my equipment to be more optimal for the fight, but knowing I have to repeat that half hour took the wind out of me. I feel like breaking for a few weeks and playing some other game (like Persona 5, which I just ordered) will allow me to come back more enthused about grinding a bit to get further into the story.
This sometimes works. I did this with the first Trails in the Sky at a couple of points. I've done it with previous playthroughs of Lunar games, with Chrono Cross, and with several other long, story-based RPGs. On the other hand, this usually represents the death of any given Final Fantasy playthrough, and I never did beat Alundra after setting it aside. For some reason I find it more difficult to return to those games, perhaps because I'm returning at a point where I can see where the story is going, and I don't find the prospect of grinding for the final dungeon or two worthwhile.
Anyway, I'm curious. When do you need to take breaks from games? How often do you return? Do you start where you left off, or do you need to start the game over again?