When is a game beaten?

Inspired by the other topic. When do you consider a game beaten? So say you're playing through a game, you beat the bad guys credits roll. Then another route opens up. You play through that, credits roll again. Then a new post-game dungeon opens up. You beat that dungeon, but there's still achievables to get.

So where do you draw the line in general? Beating the first route, the main story? Beating all the stories? Finishing the post-game? Doing everything there is?

Anyway, I consider a game beaten after all the routes have been done. Going through the story as a different perspective or in some cases a completely different story with different gameplay.

For the vast majority of games (mainly JRPGs in my case) I consider the game to be completed when you beat the final story boss and see the credits for the first time. Sure there may be some bonus post game content or things you can only unlock during a second playthrough, but as the game could stand alone perfectly fine without those I think it's fair to say credits = beaten. People who try to 100% all the achievements and 2nd playthrough content and ultra hard mode bosses are insane in my opinion; it's just not enjoyable enough for me to be worth all that work. The exception in my case is visual novels as routes are usually vastly different from each other, and previously seen content is easily skipable so I don't feel like I'm wasting tons of time trecking through stuff I've already seen or done. Any achievements or post game stuff is generally relatively easy to get as well, so it's not too much additional effort to completely 100% the thing. For VNs I'd say they're completed when you've seen all routes, though I personally try to grab all achievements as well for them. Though I'm sure there are certain games that are exceptions to the credits rule that I haven't played. (NieR: Automata maybe?)

As a general, beaten=last boss defeated and credits rolled.

But that doesn't mean there isn't more stuff to do. It might come down to semantic definition.

I beat Final Fantasy XIII, then I went on to put hours into the post game. I wouldn't consider "beat" a synonym for "perfect playthrough".

There's room for nuance, for example in a game like Nier:Automata where a second playthrough is different.

Sometimes credits roll near the beginning of the game, so not then, but basically if you've completed the main story objective, it's over. There's more to do, sure, but that's just bonus. You can go ahead and check off the game as finished.

Normally I would say it's when the final credits roll and the main story boss is beaten. The route section does create a bit of conflict here but it depends on how much the main game story changes based on the different routes. For something like MegaTen where the different routes are just variations of each other, I would say a game is beaten whenever you finish any path, completed when all paths have been seen. Yet for a game like NieR or certain VN's where second and third routes drastically change the plot and sometimes unlock a true ending, then you have to beat all those as well.

For example, I would say you have not finished NieR: Automata until you've seen ending C or D, whereas I'm actually content to have said I've beaten DQVIII despite never touching the Dragon Trials or finishing a MegaTen game despite only completing the Neutral path. The route sections really depends on how much new content is present to me.

It really depends on the game, like others have said. Most of the time it is when the final boss is defeated/ending credits roll. Games like Chain of Memories I feel are only beaten when both stories are completed though. Nier I wouldn’t consider beaten until you’ve gotten at least 3 of the endings. Visual novels wouldn’t be beaten until most/all of the routes are completed.

Then there are MMOs where I feel like you can never really beat, but an argument can be made for beating all of the main story content released up to the point you are playing. Games like FIFA I feel are kind of unbeatable too outside of story modes, but I don’t play sports games too much. Racing games without a story mode or games like smash bros I probably consider beaten when you’ve unlocked most everything or gotten first place in every track.

Yeah, it varies per game. in NieR Automata's case for example, none of the poll options actually apply in my opinion because there are 26 endings, but I consider it beaten when you've seen the main 5. (an ending for each letter in the alphabet, A-E are the main ones)

Then there are some games where the "all the credits" option would apply in my opinion, such as DQ11 and Trails of Cold Steel 2, where the main story continues after the first credits roll but once you've done the main story you've seen all the credits.

Basically, I consider a game beaten when you've gone through the entire main story. In games with multiple routes but no "true" ending, that means yeah if you've seen the end of one route, i'll consider that beaten. If it has a true ending, I'll consider it beaten when you've achieved that. Fate/Stay Night would be an example of the former, Ever17 an example of the latter.

Something like the Zero Escape series (can't remember if credits even roll for the bad endings), just getting an ending without going through the various routes isn't sufficient. Having multiple endings is actually part of the plot of those games and, while you might not need to go through every single route, you really do have to follow the arc to its real conclusion to finish the game, so there is an example where just getting to an ending is not sufficient. I suppose you could make an argument that "bad" endings never count as completing the game, but I won't, especially given how nebulous the term "bad" ending is. Losing to Lavos definitely does not count as completing Chrono Trigger, but in a game where you can finish the gameplay aspects and still get a "bad" ending because you failed to tick off some boxes? I'm still counting that as finishing the game. Suikoden games are finished regardless of whether you got the 108 stars and saved whoever for example, so long as you beat the final boss, and got to the part where they show the fates of all the characters you've collected. I'd never be satisfied that I've done what I wanted with the game without getting all 108 stars and the best ending, but I still think that it's completing the game (and I usually do a run where I just get all the stars I manage to on my own and then a run where I make sure to get all 108 - except Suikoden IV where I made bloody sure to get all 108 the first time because I knew I was never playing that POS again).

When the narrative of the game is complete. When it's finished telling its story to you, be it told through main plot, sidequests, gameplay, etc. It can change greatly from game to game. For most games it'd be enough for me to do the main storyline, but in games like FFX-2 I kinda feel like most of the Episode Completes are an important part of the game's overall narrative (plus the Den of Woe quest is probably the best portion of the game's original storyline, and it's hidden away in an obscure collection quest).

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Originally Posted by WarZidane

Basically, I consider a game beaten when you've gone through the entire main story. In games with multiple routes but no "true" ending, that means yeah if you've seen the end of one route, i'll consider that beaten. If it has a true ending, I'll consider it beaten when you've achieved that. Fate/Stay Night would be an example of the former, Ever17 an example of the latter.

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Bit of a tangent, but I question putting Fate/Stay Night as an example of a game you've beaten if you see the end of one route; all three routes in that game are equally part of the overall F/SN narrative and even though none of them are the 'true ending' (although I'd argue Heaven's Feel really does close out the overall narrative arc) I really can't consider the game beaten until you've read all of them. Also you only unlock the second and third routes after beating the previous ones so it's not like you can pick and choose which route you want from the getgo.

An interesting one to consider is Umineko though for example, which is a linear story but the first half of the story reads *very very differently* when you've finished the game once. So it's perfectly viable to consider the narrative incomplete until you reread the first half again, lol. I'd say it gets very subjective at this point though.

I can't choose between credits scene and 100% mark because it really depends which genre you play. In games like GTA there is clear way to check you completion percentage, but in sandboxes there is no such thing. For example, I've been playing Slime Rancher lately where plot exists, but it seems just like a nice addition to a gameplay. According to https://slimeranchergame.net/ most quests are just tutorials and guidelines in such types of games. Here's another example, strategies, where finishing thousands of maps and scenarios doesn't define completion status.

Beating a game = you defeat the final boss, you see the ending, the credits roll

Completing a game = you get all the secret items treasures characters etc and do the above.

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That's how I generally think of it, unless the game has multiple, distinct story paths, like, say, Tenchu 3 did. In situations like that I'd consider finishing just one of the paths beating a leg of the game, rather than beating the game as a whole.

It depends on the game.

Super Mario Bros: When you rescue the princess
Pac-Man: When the screen glitches out at level 256
Conker's Bad Fur Day: When Conker starts drinking again
Alien Isolation: When you find a Ripley-sized locker to hide in, save the game and never put it on again
Ghosts N' Goblins: When you finish the game and it puts you right back at the f***ing start again and you destroy your NES in a rage

When you beat the main plotline, generally involving what maybe said.

When I finally crash it for good. :bigsmile:

Despite being a completionist, I consider the game's end to be the canon story ending. Sometimes I'm so distracted by my "completionist mentality" that I completely avoid finishing the game until I've done everything else. But on the other hand, if I own a game, I tend to try to beat it at least once. The exception to this is my copy Thief which will not allow me to save past a certain point and so I've given up since I don't do speed runs.