As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
We're funding a new Acquisitions Incorporated series on Kickstarter right now! Check it out at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pennyarcade/acquisitions-incorporated-the-series-2

I got to Stage X in Game Y before I knew you could Z

11011121315

Posts

  • darunia106darunia106 J-bob in games Death MountainRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Wait a second...

    You can use the D-pad to swing bowser around in SM64!?

    darunia106 on
    pHWHd2G.jpg
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    darunia106 wrote: »
    Wait a second...

    You can use the D-pad to swing bowser around in SM64!?

    DS.

    SimBen on
    sig.gif
  • GSMGSM Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I got to the first flying collossus in SOTC before I discovered I had a bow. (This made the one where you have to damage the feet very difficult, because I was slashing the feet as they stepped on me!) Also, I don't think I saved untill after that one, mostly because I didn't have a memory card. I just left the console on untill I got to a gamestop to buy one.

    GSM on
    We'll get back there someday.
  • DVGDVG No. 1 Honor Student Nether Institute, Evil AcademyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    scorcho wrote: »
    Not a stage X in game Y, but on the Gamecube, I realized last month that if you pressed down on the center of the spinner thing that holds down the game disc, the disc will pop out.

    Amazing.



    ...

    WHAT?

    That's pretty awesome. If I still had a GC I'd try it out.

    DVG on
    Diablo 3 - DVG#1857
  • ZackSchillingZackSchilling Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I made it up to Death in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin before I learned how to do the team magic attacks. I accidentally skipped the explanation and was having too much fun to go look it up anywhere. I also thought the only one I had was the back to back spinning attack thing, which was useless most of the time. After Death handed my ass to me a couple times, I tried every button combo until I found it. Also, I found 1000 blades and the game got a lot easier. Especially boss rush mode.

    ZackSchilling on
    ghost-robot.jpg
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    DVG wrote: »
    scorcho wrote: »
    Not a stage X in game Y, but on the Gamecube, I realized last month that if you pressed down on the center of the spinner thing that holds down the game disc, the disc will pop out.

    Amazing.



    ...

    WHAT?

    That's pretty awesome. If I still had a GC I'd try it out.

    Pretty much every disc-using machine that isn't a sliding tray does this.

    Evil Multifarious on
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    DVG wrote: »
    scorcho wrote: »
    Not a stage X in game Y, but on the Gamecube, I realized last month that if you pressed down on the center of the spinner thing that holds down the game disc, the disc will pop out.

    Amazing.



    ...

    WHAT?

    That's pretty awesome. If I still had a GC I'd try it out.

    Pretty much every disc-using machine that isn't a sliding tray does this.

    The PS1 and slim PS2 don't.

    You may not understand that the center of the spindle in the GC drive is actually a button that props your disc up when you press it. Kinda like the Eject button on the SNES.

    SimBen on
    sig.gif
  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    4) Super Mario 64 - This one's mine. We got this game along with the system back when it first came out. While attempting to get the first Star for the first time, I interpreted something King Bomomb said to mean that to beat him, I'd need to throw him off the mountain. And that's exactly what I tried to do. I'd pick him up, and walk him a little ways down the mountain path and then throw him over the edge. Of course, I was very surprised when he kept jumping back up to the summit. Common sense dictated that throwing a huge bomb over the side of the mountain = boom, end of bomb. But not in this case. When I finally figured out what I was doing wrong (a revelation that occured the next day or so), I was disappointed, primarily because I thought my way was so much cooler and more awesome than the actual method for beating him. hehe

    This is, word for word, what happened to me as well.

    Ballman on
  • darunia106darunia106 J-bob in games Death MountainRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SimBen wrote: »
    darunia106 wrote: »
    Wait a second...

    You can use the D-pad to swing bowser around in SM64!?

    DS.

    Oh. I feel dumb

    darunia106 on
    pHWHd2G.jpg
  • coldbird.coldbird. Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Got to the dinosaur boss in Chrono Trigger before realizing you had to equip the weapons/armor you bought...

    coldbird. on
  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    coldbird. wrote: »
    Got to the dinosaur boss in Chrono Trigger before realizing you had to equip the weapons/armor you bought...

    I can't remember whether CT is one of those RPGs that throws up a big sign at some point saying "Equip your goddamn armor when you buy it!"

    After years of RPGs, I have a hard time not expecting to have to go to an equipment menu after buying armor. But yeah, hindsight's perfect.

    Ballman on
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Ballman wrote: »
    coldbird. wrote: »
    Got to the dinosaur boss in Chrono Trigger before realizing you had to equip the weapons/armor you bought...

    I can't remember whether CT is one of those RPGs that throws up a big sign at some point saying "Equip your goddamn armor when you buy it!"

    After years of RPGs, I have a hard time not expecting to have to go to an equipment menu after buying armor. But yeah, hindsight's perfect.

    CT lets you access your equipment screen right from the shops, but does not offer to automatically equip what you buy.

    SimBen on
    sig.gif
  • BallmanBallman Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SimBen wrote: »
    Ballman wrote: »
    coldbird. wrote: »
    Got to the dinosaur boss in Chrono Trigger before realizing you had to equip the weapons/armor you bought...

    I can't remember whether CT is one of those RPGs that throws up a big sign at some point saying "Equip your goddamn armor when you buy it!"

    After years of RPGs, I have a hard time not expecting to have to go to an equipment menu after buying armor. But yeah, hindsight's perfect.

    CT lets you access your equipment screen right from the shops, but does not offer to automatically equip what you buy.

    Well, I meant in a tutorial kind of sense, but I didn't really make that clear.

    Ballman on
  • coldbird.coldbird. Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Hey, I was like, 10.

    coldbird. on
  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Playing FF12 right now. At about 35-40 hours in, I discovered how to switch the party leader using the D-pad. Before, I just waited until my leader died, or did it by switching party members in and out on the menu screen. Keep in mind I don't have the booklet, since I'm borrowing the game.

    I knew there had to be a quicker way to do it, I just couldn't figure it out until I finally decided to just fiddle with the buttons during a battle.

    Makes things much easier. Wish I had known during that damn elder wyrm fight.

    Nerdtendo on
    IHZR47b.png
  • Shooter McgavinShooter Mcgavin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SirUltimos wrote: »
    jimenex wrote: »
    Castlevania DoS: didn't know there were potions to restore HP :?

    I got halfway through Julius mode before I realised you could switch characters.


    Wait wait wait. I just picked up DoS and I'm about 50% of the way through. You can switch *characters*?

    Shooter Mcgavin on
    banner.gif
  • jclastjclast Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SirUltimos wrote: »
    jimenex wrote: »
    Castlevania DoS: didn't know there were potions to restore HP :?

    I got halfway through Julius mode before I realised you could switch characters.


    Wait wait wait. I just picked up DoS and I'm about 50% of the way through. You can switch *characters*?

    You can in Julius mode. I'ts essential to access some parts of the castle.

    jclast on
    steam_sig.png
  • AceCoxswainAceCoxswain Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Probably wouldn't make sense unless you were following the Red Star thread, but I just realized how to switch weapons and use shields, and I'm on stage 15. Of course, playing as Kyuzo, that means I had to get very good at running through bullet patterns dealing with the Pashtuns in Al'Istaan.

    On a more mainstream note, when I first played Fallout, I chose the skill trait that precluded you from using called shots. Mind you, I didn't know what targeted shots WERE when I was building my character, so extra AP sounded like a good trade-off. Needless to say the replay value was far greater when I picked different traits the second time through and realized I could aim my shotgun straight at some poor miscreant raider's groin.

    AceCoxswain on
  • SerrawolfeSerrawolfe Registered User new member
    edited June 2007
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.

    Serrawolfe on
  • Psycho Internet HawkPsycho Internet Hawk Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    In FF7, I got stuck on the boss in the Cave of the Gi. No matter what I did, I couldn't beat him, so eventually I just decided to run around and level for a few hours.

    By the time I left Cosmo Canyon I was drastically overleveled and had a ton of level 2 spells. By the time I got to Mount Nibel I had most level 3 spells and killed the materia keeper in two turns. Needless to say nothing posed a remote threat to me until I go to the final dungeon.

    Years later I mention this to a friend of mine. "Hey, you know you can kill him with one X-potion or like two pheonix downs right?"

    My mind was blown.

    Psycho Internet Hawk on
    ezek1t.jpg
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    In FF7, I got stuck on the boss in the Cave of the Gi. No matter what I did, I couldn't beat him, so eventually I just decided to run around and level for a few hours.

    By the time I left Cosmo Canyon I was drastically overleveled and had a ton of level 2 spells. By the time I got to Mount Nibel I had most level 3 spells and killed the materia keeper in two turns. Needless to say nothing posed a remote threat to me until I go to the final dungeon.

    Years later I mention this to a friend of mine. "Hey, you know you can kill him with one X-potion or like two pheonix downs right?"

    My mind was blown.

    Don't most FF have a boss like that?

    Couscous on
  • DeswaDeswa Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.
    Wait, you actually beat the first battle with just the those two? I call shenanigans.

    I also didn't know that until I talked to my friend the next day.

    Deswa on
    gobassgo wrote:
    "It ain't rape, it's surprise sex!"
    wii : 3788 3264 2419 8070
  • Psycho Internet HawkPsycho Internet Hawk Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    titmouse wrote: »
    In FF7, I got stuck on the boss in the Cave of the Gi. No matter what I did, I couldn't beat him, so eventually I just decided to run around and level for a few hours.

    By the time I left Cosmo Canyon I was drastically overleveled and had a ton of level 2 spells. By the time I got to Mount Nibel I had most level 3 spells and killed the materia keeper in two turns. Needless to say nothing posed a remote threat to me until I go to the final dungeon.

    Years later I mention this to a friend of mine. "Hey, you know you can kill him with one X-potion or like two pheonix downs right?"

    My mind was blown.

    Don't most FF have a boss like that?

    Yes, but I was like 10 and it was my first RPG. I knew you could do that to ghosts (since the manual said so), but it didn't occur to me there would actually be a boss you could kill like that. Besides, as far as FFs go, 7 is actually one of the more balanced ones in that there are very few "USE THIS PARTICULAR ATTACK/MAGIC/WHATEVER TO WIN EASILY" sort of battles. You're pretty much given the freedom to use whatever strategy you want, taking stuff like resistances/status/trapped characters etc into account of course.

    Psycho Internet Hawk on
    ezek1t.jpg
  • Shrimp_SaladShrimp_Salad Registered User new member
    edited June 2007
    I got to the final boss in Doom 3 before realizing I could sprint and use that rubics cube thing.

    Shrimp_Salad on
  • Disco BanditDisco Bandit Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Deswa wrote: »
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.
    Wait, you actually beat the first battle with just the those two? I call shenanigans.

    I also didn't know that until I talked to my friend the next day.

    Uh, no shenanigans. I know a couple people who've beaten it that way, myself included. I didn't do it that way my first play through, but I have subsequently gone back and done it just to see if i could. It's actually not very difficult if you've played the game before.

    Disco Bandit on
    Pokemon Diamond: 5412 9146 7564
  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I got the "do not fire for 60 seconds" achievement in geometry wars because I couldn't figure out how to fire.

    Also, X-Men for the Sega Genesis. It had a bunch of levels you could beat in any order, and a friend and I had invested a great deal of time into the game but there was one level we could never beat, it was Mojo World or something similar. We could beat the boss no problem, but after defeating the game would spout something like, level self-destructing, and Prof. X would tell you to restart the computer. So we'd jump around like mad and try and punch and kick every computer looking thing on screen but the countdown would always run down and we'd always lose the game.

    Years later I read somewhere that restarting the computer meant hitting the restart button on the Genesis. I'd honestly like to slash the tires of the developer that came up with that shit.

    Uselesswarrior on
    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • Evan WatersEvan Waters Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    TacoMan wrote: »
    I don't know if this counts because I had played Ocarina of Time way before this but:

    I was playing the lovely bonus disc of OoT that came with Wind Waker to catch up on old times and resolved to FINALLY finish the game..... when I realized that I was REALLY tired of running around everywhere and that I should be getting Epona like REAL soon right?

    Fast Fwd 2 hours later and I'm at the Goron Temple and I still don't have Epona. Let me also say that I think I was even adult Link already.

    "This is kinda f'd up, I must have done something wrong....but I couldn't have, I went back to the ranch, wtf?"

    Course, I went back and got Epona, but was waaay too ticked off to finish the game :(

    I haven't finished that game yet because of it...

    I finished the damn thing sans Epona. Never worked out the exact sequence of actions, said "Screw it", used the songs to get everywhere.

    Evan Waters on
  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    TacoMan wrote: »
    I don't know if this counts because I had played Ocarina of Time way before this but:

    I was playing the lovely bonus disc of OoT that came with Wind Waker to catch up on old times and resolved to FINALLY finish the game..... when I realized that I was REALLY tired of running around everywhere and that I should be getting Epona like REAL soon right?

    Fast Fwd 2 hours later and I'm at the Goron Temple and I still don't have Epona. Let me also say that I think I was even adult Link already.

    "This is kinda f'd up, I must have done something wrong....but I couldn't have, I went back to the ranch, wtf?"

    Course, I went back and got Epona, but was waaay too ticked off to finish the game :(

    I haven't finished that game yet because of it...

    I finished the damn thing sans Epona. Never worked out the exact sequence of actions, said "Screw it", used the songs to get everywhere.

    That's impossible, you can't cross the bridge to gerudo valley without her.

    Blake T on
  • AroducAroduc regular
    edited June 2007
    Blaket wrote: »
    TacoMan wrote: »
    I don't know if this counts because I had played Ocarina of Time way before this but:

    I was playing the lovely bonus disc of OoT that came with Wind Waker to catch up on old times and resolved to FINALLY finish the game..... when I realized that I was REALLY tired of running around everywhere and that I should be getting Epona like REAL soon right?

    Fast Fwd 2 hours later and I'm at the Goron Temple and I still don't have Epona. Let me also say that I think I was even adult Link already.

    "This is kinda f'd up, I must have done something wrong....but I couldn't have, I went back to the ranch, wtf?"

    Course, I went back and got Epona, but was waaay too ticked off to finish the game :(

    I haven't finished that game yet because of it...

    I finished the damn thing sans Epona. Never worked out the exact sequence of actions, said "Screw it", used the songs to get everywhere.

    That's impossible, you can't cross the bridge to gerudo valley without her.

    Actually, you can... with some useful clipping. It's not something you'd stumble upon through anything approaching normal play though.

    Aroduc on
  • PeewiPeewi Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Blaket wrote: »
    TacoMan wrote: »
    I don't know if this counts because I had played Ocarina of Time way before this but:

    I was playing the lovely bonus disc of OoT that came with Wind Waker to catch up on old times and resolved to FINALLY finish the game..... when I realized that I was REALLY tired of running around everywhere and that I should be getting Epona like REAL soon right?

    Fast Fwd 2 hours later and I'm at the Goron Temple and I still don't have Epona. Let me also say that I think I was even adult Link already.

    "This is kinda f'd up, I must have done something wrong....but I couldn't have, I went back to the ranch, wtf?"

    Course, I went back and got Epona, but was waaay too ticked off to finish the game :(

    I haven't finished that game yet because of it...

    I finished the damn thing sans Epona. Never worked out the exact sequence of actions, said "Screw it", used the songs to get everywhere.

    That's impossible, you can't cross the bridge to gerudo valley without her.

    You can use the hookshot to do it.

    Peewi on
  • ZenitramZenitram Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Peewi wrote: »
    You can use the hookshot to do it.

    Yeah, I thought so too. Well, longshot to be precise.

    Zenitram on
  • AntishowAntishow Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Deswa wrote: »
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.
    Wait, you actually beat the first battle with just the those two? I call shenanigans.

    I also didn't know that until I talked to my friend the next day.

    It weep a little when I think about how many hours I must have spent playing FFT before I realized that the game pre-estimates the hit rate and damage on every attack you do.

    Antishow on
  • SerrawolfeSerrawolfe Registered User new member
    edited June 2007
    Antishow wrote: »
    Deswa wrote: »
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.
    Wait, you actually beat the first battle with just the those two? I call shenanigans.

    I also didn't know that until I talked to my friend the next day.

    It weep a little when I think about how many hours I must have spent playing FFT before I realized that the game pre-estimates the hit rate and damage on every attack you do.

    Like I said, I died...alot. It took a week of constant playing and alot of luck for Delita to stop being a retard and getting killed in the first two turns, but it is possible.

    Serrawolfe on
  • matt7718matt7718 Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    Antishow wrote: »
    Deswa wrote: »
    Serrawolfe wrote: »
    So mine is for Final Fantasy Tactics. The first time I played through the game I had rented it, and therefore found myself without a game manual. So here I am playing through the first couple of battles with no idea that I had more than just Ramza and Delita as my team. Suffice to say, I died...alot. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting the game a year or so later and it finally dawned on me that the little "L1, R1" buttons on either side of the screen might actually be trying to communicate some vital piece of information, so I hit the button....you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I found out I had more than one controllable character because I had honestly believed that Square hated my existence by forcing me to go through those battles with one controllable character.
    Wait, you actually beat the first battle with just the those two? I call shenanigans.

    I also didn't know that until I talked to my friend the next day.

    It weep a little when I think about how many hours I must have spent playing FFT before I realized that the game pre-estimates the hit rate and damage on every attack you do.

    Like I said, I died...alot. It took a week of constant playing and alot of luck for Delita to stop being a retard and getting killed in the first two turns, but it is possible.

    It's completely possible. I've played through a significant portion of the game using only Ramza.

    matt7718 on
    mattsig.jpg
  • MooreningMoorening Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    darunia106 wrote: »
    SimBen wrote: »
    darunia106 wrote: »
    Wait a second...

    You can use the D-pad to swing bowser around in SM64!?

    DS.

    Oh. I feel dumb

    Add me to the dumb feeling list. Still not going back to play it again though, the controls for that just annoyed the hell out of me.

    Moorening on
    It would appear there ain't no rest for the wicked...who knew?
  • DirtyDirtyVagrantDirtyDirtyVagrant Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    In Gears of War, I got to the big battle after the gas station and the driving part, on insane mode (my 3rd playthrough of the game), before I realized that you could zoom in with certain guns. The longshot was no longer completely useless.

    DirtyDirtyVagrant on
  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Whoa! Replaying through FFVII, was I the only person who didn't know that L1/R1 make you walk diagonally?

    UnbreakableVow on
  • BetaflameBetaflame Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Sploozoo wrote: »
    I made it to chapter 5 in RE4 on gamecube before I realized you could run.

    you can run? well i'll be damned...

    Betaflame on
  • MooreningMoorening Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Whoa! Replaying through FFVII, was I the only person who didn't know that L1/R1 make you walk diagonally?
    What the? You can walk diagonal? I guess it wasn't all that important to me, but still...I did not know that.

    Moorening on
    It would appear there ain't no rest for the wicked...who knew?
  • joshtothemaxxjoshtothemaxx Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I got a few hours into FF Tactics before I relaly got what the job system was. Everyone in my group was either a squire or a chemist. Granted, it was the 3rd RPG type game I'd EVER played after FF7 and Super Mario RPG, so the concept of job switching was completely weird and foreign to me.

    In WoW I got to level 25 or so before I realized I could use Griffin towers. Now that was annoying. (I quit playing for good around level 35 [Griffins made it too easy]).

    joshtothemaxx on
Sign In or Register to comment.