So I'm re-watching the excellent let's play of Metal Gear Rising by Chip Cheezum and General Ironicus and it reminded me of something. See, I don't normally play action games and I am just marveling at Chip's consistent S Ranks, a feat I could never hope to achieve. Anyway, what it reminded me of was a Chip and Ironicus podcast where they discussed "is there a wrong way to play a video game?"
It's a topic I see brought up a lot, in a roundabout way. How many times have people recalled anecdotes about playing something like FFVIII as a kid and not understanding how Junctioning works so they just spammed GFs? Also the last numbered FF game introduced an action game-like rating system after each battle, clearly saying "this is how you do it. If you are getting less than five stars, you are wrong." But this was something missing from all previous Final Fantasies and inded, most RPGs I've played.
And so I'm wondering...is there a wrong way to play an RPG? And I don't mean something simple like taking an hour to beat the first boss, I mean playing it "sub optimally." It's one reason I really dislike action games or action RPGs like Star Ocean. You get really competitive freaks who laugh at you if you take too long or play on easy and even the games themselves can trout on you. They don't do that in Final Fantasies besides XIII. You are encouraged to experiment and do as you please.