Board 8 > Games you have started the most times without finishing?

(+) Yeah! (+)

FFVIII unless we're counting games I'm literally incapable of beating
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Do Elder Scrolls games count?

I feel like they break this question.
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Do Elder Scrolls games count?

I feel like they break this question.

Only ES1 and ES2 have strict "you beat the game" conditions, so I'm personally not counting them.

To be honest, Morrowind onwards isn't a game to be beaten, but experienced.
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Oblivion.
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I've started FFX-2 3 times, and each time a major life event has happened which caused me to put the game down

Broke both my knees in 2005
Started a job while going back to school in 2008
Moved to a new city when I finished college in 2014 (This time the HD remastered edition!)

BowserCuffs posted...

To be honest, Morrowind onwards isn't a game to be beaten, but experienced.

Definitely true with Morrowind. I've played at least 500 hours worth of characters in that game, and only beaten the final boss with one of em.
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I'm a chronic restarter, but I usually don't do that very intensely until after I've finished a game once.

I was going to say FF8, coming into this thread, but I realize the correct answer is probably Morrowind. I've never even come close to finishing any of the major quest lines in Morrowind, whereas I've turned Oblivion and Skyrim inside out. I've created tons of new characters in Morrowind, though.

Divinity: Original Sin is also a very decent candidate. What I notice about restart-ism is that I hate picking up old save games, so I sit down one day and start playing, but then I tend to save that day and not continue the playthrough beyond one session. There are certain games where I seem to consistently abort at the same point every time because of that. (Diablo 2, for instance, always ends right at the entrance to the monastery.) Sometimes I get a little farther than that with a game in D:OS, but I seldom finish act 1.

SMB 3 easily.

I played the crap out of worlds 1-4 as a kid but never did finish even as an adult.
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azuarc posted...

Divinity: Original Sin is also a very decent candidate. What I notice about restart-ism is that I hate picking up old save games, so I sit down one day and start playing, but then I tend to save that day and not continue the playthrough beyond one session. There are certain games where I seem to consistently abort at the same point every time because of that. (Diablo 2, for instance, always ends right at the entrance to the monastery.) Sometimes I get a little farther than that with a game in D:OS, but I seldom finish act 1.

Oh yeah, this is totally me.

I did the same thing with Divinity too. Started once, did some missions in the first town, decided I want to try a new class, and repeated that about 10 times.
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FFVI or Tactics probably
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Eddv posted...

SMB 3 easily.

I played the crap out of worlds 1-4 as a kid but never did finish even as an adult.

Oh.

OH!

This. Absolutely 1000% this. I think I only ever got out of world 2 once, not counting warp whistles. And I could never beat the stupid airships level, so it's not like warp whistles helped much.

CassandraCain posted...

Pokemon games in general. Although I have beaten them, but every time I start a new game I quit once I get to the Elite Four because I get bored. I've done it numerous times, especially with Fire Red.

So late in the game to quit lol
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Oh yeah, this is totally me.

I did the same thing with Divinity too. Started once, did some missions in the first town, decided I want to try a new class, and repeated that about 10 times.

The problem with Divinity, in particular, is that there's so much run-around-the-town stuff you have to do with a new game before you can start on the second real leg of your journey. By the time you go through all of it, you're exhausted. I mean, it's neat to explore and discover the first time, but it's a total drag on replays.

Tetris the Grand Master 2. I've started it thousands of times, and only truly beaten it maybe 20 times, maybe like 50 if you count getting to 999 but failing the credit roll.

excluding that, during the course of speedrunning Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake I must've started hundreds of games and discarded maybe half.
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FF IX I think.
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Pffftt, it's so much Twilight Princess it's not even close
4 times I made it to the last dungeon (I think?) and then I decided to go back and collect everything but the overworld is so damn boring I lost interest every single time
Then I would come back 2 years later, say "I will start it again but THIS time I will finish it" but nope lol
Good game otherwise, but damn collecting stuff here is the worst
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In a pure technicality, it's Super Mario 3 (though I've beating it many many times)

That was my buddy and me's pre-bar ritual back in the day. After a while, in order to spice the game up, we made it where we had to drink everytime we got a coin. Was actually interesting to see where you could and couldn't avoid getting coins. I haven't tried to play that way in a while, so I could be wrong, but I think the first coin we couldn't miss was the first ice level in world 1 (1-5), where you have to get, like FIVE in a row.
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Easily Seiken Dentensu 3. I've played through each of the six character's prologue but I've never made it to the first classupgrade.
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wait no, FF1

I've started that game so many times
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definitely civ and other grand strategy games - no fun to finish these after you have a clear win ahead of you

HeroicGammaRay posted...

definitely civ and other grand strategy games - no fun to finish these after you have a clear win ahead of you

Agreed, I am always curious how other players approach a clear victory in a game like Civ. Personally, sometimes I finish and sometimes I don't. There is no rhyme or reason. Other times, like when I know I'm going to win an X-type victory, I'll see if I can win a Y-type victory instead

Also, I will bail on a clear loss!

As a side note, does being demolished in a Civ/4x game count as finishing? Because that might've happened a time or two for me
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Super Mario Brothers. It's actually a really difficult game.

I'm surprised more people aren't answering NES or SNES platformers.
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OliviaTremor posted...

I'm surprised more people aren't answering NES or SNES platformers.

because

CasanovaZelos posted...

Let's exclude classic arcade style games where the idea is to keep doing this...

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Xuxon posted...

OliviaTremor posted...

I'm surprised more people aren't answering NES or SNES platformers.

because

CasanovaZelos posted...

Let's exclude classic arcade style games where the idea is to keep doing this...

Think this post was referring to live donkey Kong and pacman not smb
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I think it's referring to any game that you're not supposed to beat on your first time playing it
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I also gave up on FFVIII 3 times because I hate that game with passion

I will still try and beat it the fourth time..when i'll do my FF marathon (I guess it will happen when and if FFXII get released on Steam)
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Used to be Majora's Mask and Wind Waker but I've beaten both of them and now they are two of my favorite Zelda games haha

I think now it's Ogre Battle 64.

1) First played on Wii VC, took too long of a break and didn't remember anything so I restarted
2) Somehow lost my save data, so another reset, however I lost interest again
3) Bought it again for Wii U VC, got far, took a long break...yeah

I really like this game but I don't know, something keeps preventing me from finishing it!

Morrowind.

I've started close to 2 dozen characters and never come close to beating the game.

I just really like making characters in that game.
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The original Sonic the Hedgehog
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I think TC was talking about abandoned playthroughs, not "playthroughs that ended because I got a game over or the game doesn't save".
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