Amazing first play-throughs

[Hyzenthlay]

I re-played FFIX recently and I have to be honest; it wasn't all I remembered it to be. The storyline was just as fun but I think I'd lost the spark that made me love it. I remembered when I first played it and I got up to Dali. Even though it was only a short way in I felt like I'd accomplished so much. As the story unfolded I really got into it. I felt for characters, I really went out of my way to explore and find items. In this recent play-through I breezed through. I found all the best items right away and beat bosses using techniques I had learned (Such as potions for zombies and such). It just really wasn't the same and never will be.

Another of these was Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In my first play of it I got to Jabu Jabu and thought the game was nearly over. I was excited but sad. Then I found the temple of time and became an adult and was amazed. I felt like I had a whole other game to explore. That's why I consider it one of my all-time greats. Yet, recently, I can't play it. Not because it isn't great any more, because it is. It's just that it's all so familiar. There's nothing I haven't done on it so the adventure isn't as fresh.

Does anybody have similar experiences/ problems?

Hyz.

[SuperSabin]

I feel like I made a huge accomplishment for a first playthrough in DQIX for leveling up to 20 within like 2 days. I'm also impressed with how fast my characters get powerful. When I first started, I was hard-pressed into battling it was really addicting and I just fought and fought and fought until I was at the level I wanted to be at.

[Zargabaath]

Perhaps the cause of the "spark" being lost is because you got older; childhood memories or first impressions tend to be quite strong. Therefore when you played it a second time FF IX didn't give off that raw emotion as it did on your first run.

When I replay a game that I loved the first time I may experience something similar to what you did Hyz, however, because I'm replaying the game I get to experience the magic all over again even though I know what will happen and what to do. A prime example for me is Shadow of the Colossus. When I first played the game it was a grand experience where I was pulled into the game when fighting the colossi. When I picked the game up after some time had passed I still got drawn in as I did previously. The battles were just as fun though I knew how to vanquish my foe(s).

For me, if I loved a game when I first played it I will love it when I during the any replay. Why would my feelings change about just because I'm experiencing it again. I love pierogies so how would my perception of them change just because I've had them another time. If anything the magical feeling should be enforced when you replayed FF IX, if not perhaps it was a "one-night stand" game.

[Hyzenthlay]

Perhaps the cause of the "spark" being lost is because you got older; childhood memories or first impressions tend to be quite strong. Therefore when you played it a second time FF IX didn't give off that raw emotion as it did on your first run.

When I replay a game that I loved the first time I may experience something similar to what you did Hyz, however, because I'm replaying the game I get to experience the magic all over again even though I know what will happen and what to do. A prime example for me is Shadow of the Colossus. When I first played the game it was a grand experience where I was pulled into the game when fighting the colossi. When I picked the game up after some time had passed I still got drawn in as I did previously. The battles were just as fun though I knew how to vanquish my foe(s).

For me, if I loved a game when I first played it I will love it when I during the any replay. Why would my feelings change about just because I'm experiencing it again. I love pierogies so how would my perception of them change just because I've had them another time. If anything the magical feeling should be enforced when you replayed FF IX, if not perhaps it was a "one-night stand" game.

I see what you mean. I think the main problem is my perception of it. I still view it all as something new and exciting when it isn't. Maybe I'm expecting it to be exactly the same as when I first played when it won't be. I still consider it as one of my all-time greats and I'll still re play it some time.

A game that I have similar to your Shadow of the Colossus is Skies of Arcadia. I still love playing it. I haven't even done everything in it even after like 20 play-throughs. I think that one will be timeless for me. It is sad that FFIX hasn't had this effect for me.

Hyz.

[loaf]

FFIX, FFV, FFVII and FFX all had that childhood amazinness to it the first playthru. That is why FFIX became my favorite, just beating Disc1 felt like such a huge task. I still love the game and play it all the time and never get bored, but the amount of excitement I get from it isn't the same. I remember when I was playing Ocarina of Time for the first time and I just got the Master Sword, I thought to myself "I am never going to complete this game." I did and it took awhile but it was the shit!

[Taco-Calamitous]

The Legend of Zelda: LttP, I have similar sentiments for anymore. I loved it the first couple times I played it, but after that, it became very old hat rather quickly, especially the first few dungeons. I think the sense of exploration and discovery was gone, and that was one of the big things the first time playing it. "This is a world filled with unknown fantastic settings and elements! ...I know what they all are now... eh."

Something similar happened, I think, when I got Morrowind earlier this year and played it again for the first time since like 2004. Also, both Morrowind and Oblivion just seem to be more fun when played with a controller in hand rather than a keyboard and mouse.

I'm sure there are others. Maybe I'll edit some in later. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Xanatos]

Of course it's not the same compared to the first playthrough, it never is, you already know what's gonna happen and how to react in some situations, but that shouldn't really stop you from enjoying the game once again. I myself don't like to replay games quite often, not even my favorite, I've beaten Final Fantasy IX maybe three times so far, but only when my memory starts to fade away regarding some parts of the game, that's why I probably enjoy it even more as I get to remember the particular events when I do the replay.

Taking another approach at game could make you appreciate it even more and to feel a completely new experience and thrill you haven't felt so far, by doing a lvl one challenge I felt a sense of accomplishment and completely new level of thrill Final Fantasy IX hasn't showed me so far.

[DragonHeart]

One thing I've noticed with RPGs in particular is the first playthrough, I always feel like it's this huge, sprawling world. I'll end up spending hours wandering around, getting lost or seeing how many places I can get to early, just to see what's there. I do sidequests midstory and poke around in areas I'm not equipped to handle just yet. It's all part of the fun, right?

Then I complete the game and move on, playing other games and maybe not coming back to that one for a few years. By the time I do, the world I thought was so immense feels much, much smaller. Final Fantasy VIII is a prime example. It used to take me up to 20 hours to finish just the first disc. These days it takes me barely 5 or 6. The game holds no more mysteries, no more surprises. I know where every boss is, every sidequest, every twist and turn of the plot. A game that used to feel never-ending now feels short.

I still enjoy it but in a different way. The first time is always magic and a bit of awe. By the second, third, nth playthrough it's more like coming back to say hi and hang out with old friends. It's familiar and comforting, like that one movie you watch every time you're sick as a child.

That's how I feel, anyways. Even so, there's always something I can do differently, some new side to an old game I haven't seen. That's why I don't trade my games in and keep going back to them, year after year.

~DragonHeart~

[Xithor]

I had a similar experience with my first experience with the Final Fantasy series and it just so happens that FF IX was also my first and will always be my favorite. I just recently replayed through it again and I loved every minute of it. Although I was much younger when I first picked up the game and didn't fully understand all that such a vast RPG game could offer, since it was my first such game, I've been able to enjoy the game even more by being strategic when playing through it, getting the best equipment, making sure not to miss out of vital things such as the Namingway Card in Kuja's room or even some weapons that are needed to synthesize greater weapons later in the game that are only available for a brief time. I loved my first play through of IX and still enjoy going back and enjoying the game again.