Picking up and continuing from an old save file

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

The other day I was reading about Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy and I discovered there were 2 hidden characters that I had not unlocked yet, so for the past couple of days I've been playing the game and I have unlocked Prishe and Gilgamesh.

I went to check the date of my last save on the game and it was in December of 2011. It doesn't feel like it's been that long since I last played!

Have you ever picked up a game and continued from a save file you haven't used in a while?

Given that Dissidia is a fighting game, by its very nature it has a "pick up and go" kind of feel to it, so loading up an old save file isn't a big deal. I think it will be especially interesting to hear stories from people who played their old RPG save files, having to remember where you are in the story and where you were going next, trying to figure out if you're at a good level or if you need to grind...etc etc

[Shoeberto]

I do it a lot with Bethesda games, which is always fun since I get to re-learn what all my equipment was from my old character and take a new approach to the world since I'm no longer attached to any particular quest chain. Generally RPGs have become games I revisit over time because I just can't sink 60 hours into a title over a few weeks anymore; it's not particularly time efficient, and I don't really want to just get into the world for 20-30 minute chunks and pull myself back out. Sometimes being an adult sucks.

[Faris]

Not with story based games like FF, I forget what I'm supposed to be doing, going, what I've achieved, have yet to learn... I just start all over again.

[Jinx]

No. It seriously bugs me to do that.

Especially if it's a game where I control the character...I need to start back at easy mode and work my way up.

[Bolivar]

^ wow, that's really nice, I'll be sure to check out the website in your sig since you seem like a nice guy.

I was somewhere bored and had my PSP, and loaded up my FFVIII file. I was somewhere on Disc 2 or 3 near Trabia and about to start the Laguna dream sequence where they film him fighting dragon on the mountain. I just couldn't get into it. I like FFVIII a lot, but I think you just need to get the momentum going.

Picked up a Tactics Ogre file I started before the craziness of the summer with the bar exam started... I hesitated to go back since I got my ass kicked the few times I tried to pick it back up. Then I realized I just needed to buy new equipment, owned the opposition, and then got hooked on a couple 4-hour sessions of bliss... before Call of Duty: Black Ops II came out.

[Jiro]

I'm about half and half as to whether I pick it back up from where I left off or just start over. Sometimes it's hard to remember where I was up to, or sometimes I just want to go through it all again anyway

[Pheesh]

This is the exact reason why I haven't finished Resonance of Fate. Too far in to want to start over, but can't remember what the hell is going on in the story or how any of the game mechanics work >_<

[Heath]

I used to have a terrible habit of playing games, particularly RPGs, and stopping them just before I finished them. Usually I'd get side tracked doing optional quests and move onto another game or something, forgetting to finish the original game. Notable examples include FFXII and Fallout: New Vegas. I usually remember to go back and finish them. I also often pick up Pokémon games out of the blue, which I've recently done with Diamond and Soul Silver, though I only had a short play around with them (on Soul Silver I did the Lance-Clair double battle).

[Formalhaut]

I still haven't finished XII for the very same reason. Especially when your attempting to get Danjuro and taking a "small break". That same break lasts for months, then when I decide to reboot it, I'm left in the same situation.

I'm with Heath, I have a strange habit of getting halfway through Pokemon games, then stopping. Perhaps it's my annoyance over never being able to truely "catch em all!" and my perfectionism kicks in, so I stop.

[NorthernChaosGod]

I typically hate doing this unless it hasn't been long enough for me to forget where I was and what I was trying to do. I'd prefer to start over.

Especially if it's a game where I control the character...I need to start back at easy mode and work my way up.

Which games do you not control the character? o_O

[Formalhaut]

I know, I'm perplexed.

I do have to say though, not all games have this difficulty. The Sims 3 for example is just so easy to pick up again. I love it for that very reason.

[Jinx]

I typically hate doing this unless it hasn't been long enough for me to forget where I was and what I was trying to do. I'd prefer to start over.

Especially if it's a game where I control the character...I need to start back at easy mode and work my way up.

Which games do you not control the character? o_O

I meant like a Zelda type game. Kingdom Hearts. Something like that.

[Raistlin]

Rarely, but it's happened. In FFXII and Suikoden V, I was either right outside or able to immediately go to the last dungeon and finish the game, and had a save file there for about a year before I finally got around to beating it. For any JRPGs that I cared enough about completing that I'd go back to an unused save and I wasn't just before the last boss, I'd probably just restart the game (as I've done with a few games).

[Aulayna]

I can't do it. It's one of the reasons I never finished Skyrim is I stopped playing it for a few weeks, booted it up again and found myself in Solitude, couldn't remember what the smurf I was doing - looked at my quest log and was like neeeergh, turned it off again. (yet ironically I manage to do this just fine with MMORPGs)

FPS games on the other hand are far more pick-up and continue. But with RPGs once that immersion has been broken for whatever reason I lose interest and find it very hard to continue and usually end up starting over or playing something else entirely. I think the only game I can ever really do it with is Zelda games because you have a very clear objective and not much changes mechanically gameplay wise from A to Z - if there's any sort of sandbox or non-linearness I often end up boring myself on side content or forgetting what strategies I need to use for certain encounters. (Hence how I got burnt out on Skyrim in the first place)

TLDR:

I do it a lot with Bethesda games, which is always fun since I get to re-learn what all my equipment was from my old character and take a new approach to the world since I'm no longer attached to any particular quest chain. Generally RPGs have become games I revisit over time because I just can't sink 60 hours into a title over a few weeks anymore; it's not particularly time efficient, and I don't really want to just get into the world for 20-30 minute chunks and pull myself back out. Sometimes being an adult sucks.

This!