/v/ - Video Games

I like acquiring new customizations in mario kart, the more coins you get the more things you unlock.

Rewarding a player for completing things is good. However, I do not usually like it when difficulties have to be unlocked.

>>15969356

I used to love the shit out of games that had a good amount of unlockables if you played regular paths (because they would be teaching you about the different ways to be effective with the base game) and then went out of their way to shove in hidden unlocks that you had to fulfill specific tasks that weren't really that easy to guess i.e. in SA2:Battle you get a new menu theme if you faff about in the menu flavor select screen.

It's good in singleplayer when the unlockables are obtained by completing difficult objectives and is a reward for good players. I don't have any preferences for what kind of unlockable we're talking about. It can be anything from end game plus content, higher difficulties, new maps, even cosmetics. As for multiplayer, I haven't seen a good unlockable once. Not that it is impossible, just that I haven't seen a good one. Paid unlockables are pure cancer. Right up there with loot boxes, booster packs, DLC, keys and every other money milking jewery.

>>15969356

Megaman Battle Network 3. That game for me was the best way to execute unlockables. The other BN games were similar, but 3 did it best.

>Secret Codes, Hidden Items in scenery

>Optional areas for secret chips and bosses.

>S-Ranking Bosses for better chips.

And then the aftergame, goddamn the aftergame was a second game unto itself. It was the first time I actually felt like 100%-ing a game with collectibles(like chips and items) wasn't a hot load of garbage.

I love unlockables; costumes, gametypes, unlockable art, joke items alternate modes, anything that the game can put some weird little challenge in for me to get it and I'll feel inclined to do it even if the unlockable item is something I won't even use. Breaks my heart that these things are getting picked apart for DLC. It directly impacts replay value which sucks major dick

>>15969694

You forgot:

>NaviCust codes, which could imitate lategame chips, eg AirShoes or +200 HP

>Codes which could allow you place an off-color program early

>Codes that ignored a bug

>Numberman Lottery

>Secret inputs that would compress Navicust pieces into smaller sizes

>Codes that were only available in Japanese media, eg the TV show

Unlockables can be a progression system or a way of obtaining new content, right? I guess if you want to decide if its good or bad then you would have to compare it to the alternatives. One that comes to mind is the lootbox system which can gargle on the devil's taint along with anything else that requires money after the initial purchase. I'll take unlockables any day.

>>15969739

The whole game was a grab-bag of goodies that kept things fresh. Was there anything to the Fan-games that people made?

>>15969356

Unlockables are alright if you unlock Extras, not shit that should be mandatory in the game from the beginning.

For example, in Guacamelee you only get Hard Mode if you beat the game once. Same in Guacamelee 2.

rewarding a player for completing things is good. unlocking things can be used as a means to design the time of progression in single player games, like banjo kazooie.

unlockables are fine too when it comes down to customizations or songs like in smash

it's NOT ok when you need to pay actual money to be able to play the game, like in hearthstone or any kike scheme

>>15969587

I don't mind if they let you play hard then unlock bullshit hard after. But having to play normal to get to hard is just useless padding.

Unlocking difficulties is always garbage. Basic unlocking of items/characters through gameplay can be good if it's not overdone. A game I feel where it's horribly overdone is Binding of Isaac where you have to beat every boss and do every event with every samey character to unlock everything, it's a pure waste of time.

>>15969797

Trading Card games in general are straight up pay2win

The only unlockables i hate are DLC and weapons/armor that you get only after trashing the bonus dungeon/boss and there's no new game+, like why even bother when the only thing i can do with them is kill low level mooks and go back to beat the final boss in mere seconds? I'd prefer a BGM test or even a gallery of sorts.

Depends on what the unlock requirements are.

If its "Beat the game on x difficulty" "complete this bonus challenge" or "find this secret" thats fine.

If its like "Play over 1000 hours" or "Collect all 1000 hidden possum testicles" or other tedious bullshit shit like that, it can fuck right off.

>>15969694

Fuck me, im going to play this series again. I loved battle network

>>15969840

More like payforachance2win, some cards are just bullshit rare just to milk people for cash from buying booster packs.

t. a former goodgoy who is still asshurt over never getting a charizard in the pokemon card game

>>15969936

Fuck You, I'm going to play this series again.

You down for some VBALink on Gregar/Falzar?

>>15969936

Unlockable costumes and weapons are always nice. I also like model viewers and art galleries, so if a game lets you unlock stuff for those it's always a nice bonus.

>>15969587

I'm fine with having to unlock difficulties if they're meaningfully different and change more than just damage values. For example, I think having to unlock the harder difficulties in games like The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta or DMC is a good idea since they significantly change up enemy placements, making you fight enemies before they get introduced in the default difficulties. They also introduce elements which would be pretty bullshit for a first time player, e.g. taking away Witch Time/the Wonder Liner's slow-mo and giving enemies Devil Trigger.

I think Multiplayer games should still have unlocks, but only if it's as simple as "do X mode, unlocks Y". I think those are still fine.

Any multiplayer game that unlocks rely too much on random grinding is dumb. Smash Bros for the Wii U Custom Moves is the prime example of this. Don't do that ever.

>>15969356

not in fighting games.

So long as they feel like you earned them they're great. Like finding them at the end of a challenging room. But when they're a matter of running on the threadmill for hours… pass. Content gating is ok if you let the more advanced players get the stuff without having to farm xp or whatever for several hours, that kind of shit kills any excitement to replay a game.

You know what's bad? When you can only play on 'normal' until you beat the game, and then 'hard' is unlocked. That shit is absolutely retarded.

If you ask me, ingame unlockables are just fine, so long as it's awarded for clearing actual content , following various plotlines, or actual feats of skill, rather than just "clock 300 hours" or "bring Cockmongler six hundred dicks to exchange" where they're just a carrot on a stick for time. Unfortunately companies would often rather just ask money for such formerly unlockables these days, some starting out as just offering the choice to pay up and get immediate access, but have moved with greater frequency towards "it's paid DLC only, goy!"

Mostly bad because they detract from gameplay and shift the focus to lameplay and grind mechanics. (See: WoW)

Games that did unlocks well: Planetside 1

I find it hard to think of any others. Maybe Rainbow 6 Vegas 2

There is nothing wrong with locking content in multiplayer

>>15970659

>Beat on normal to unlock hard

>Beat on hard to unlock easy

>Beating a harder difficulty doesn't count as beating easier difficulties

>>15969356

What? do you mean those extra stuff you get for the game? silly anon, that's DLC.

>>15969788

There are "hard modes" unlocked this way that really are just meant to be played on a New Game+, because of massively increased enemy stats a fresh character is going to get hosed. Japs are fond of these and when they DO leave them unlocked from the outset (fuck you RC Rival Showdown) you go and bang your head against the wall for 30 minutes before realizing you're meant to start at "Normal". This is more an issue of terminology, dont fucking call them Hard modes, call them second quest, new game+ or whatever

>hard mode unlocked

>it's actually ridiculously hard but fun

>harder mode unlocked

<actually fucking shit mode, makes you wonder if the devs play their own games

>>15970385

Yeah but what if you lose your saves or a port of a game you know comes out and just want to jump back into the game on the hardest difficulty or something. These kinds of games should at least have a code or something to unlock difficulties off the bat.

>>15969752

>Shanghai battle network will never be completed

Beat Resident Evil, receive infinite ammo rocket launcher, never use infinite ammo rocket launcher because what's the point in making a game you're already good at trivially easy?

Extra costumes are neat though, when Capcom isn't making them DLC.

>>15971958

I got crippling depression when saints row 3 had cheats as DLC

>>15971950

>No New Game + to carry your new item to the main game and do everything again with said item

>>15971479

The problem with Guacamelee is that there's no change outside of the game other than enemy stats, and seeing how Guacamelee 2 is just Guacamelee 1 in a different setting, having to play through "normal" right after finishing the first one on hard mode fucking sucks.

In shit like Dante Must Die it is understandable to be unlockable, but even then, what I like about DMC is that easy mode is unlockable only if you die a lot.

>>15972526

I would kill for a remaster of Dark Legacy with online multiplayer.

Any game that has multiple ways to unlock the same thing, like SSBM any character can be unlock from either a single player feature or playing X number of multiplayer matches.

Mario Kart Wii would unlock Rosalina early (like completing one Grand Prix) and thank the player if they had Super Mario Galaxy save data but players who didn't have that could still unlock her just later on.

>>15969356

>Which games do it right and which ones don't?

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

>Right

Awards you "friend tokens" for finding funny things in combat/limited events, Eg: freezing a enemy after it throws a boomerang at you, misses you and comes back and shatters it's frozen self. Bowling over Steambots as a Morph Ball, destroying a creaking platforms sole load bearing support so the enemies fall to their deaths.

Basically giving you an achievement token for doing cool stuff (not that different to other consoles achievements really).

>Wrong

Those "friend tokens" have to then be sent to someone on your Wii's friend list via internet (and they have to send some to you in exchange) for you to actually use them in game to unlock things like concept art/character models.

MP3 and MP Trilogy version of 3 are not compatible with one another (and MPT already had a smaller release resulting in a smaller userbase) and the Wii's Nintendo Wifi Connection was shut down in 2014 meaning you can't even exchange them and have to use someone else's SD save data to unlock them.

The only possible reason for this insanity was to possibly slap the WiiConnect 24 feature into the game features list.

>>15969694

Never played it but your description has gotten my interest in it, Anon.

>>15972526

too bad all the secret characters are just animal versions of the non-secret characters with higher starting stats

>>15972526

home ports of this game were botched pretty bad but it's such a great game. If you can play the Xbox version over all the others, it's really a fantastic game.

Unlocking characters in fighting games suck, and putting too many unlockable mechanics/modes that it feels like a chore to unlock them is also bad. Costumes and collectables are always welcome. Unless they're just a jpeg.

unlockables are usually more fun than not having them

in multi games, cod 4 set the tone for how unlockables should be earned: thru gameplay, and skill, and nothing else. all games that have a pay wall, or don't reward you for leveling with anything good are doing it wrong

>>15969587

Unlocking difficulties isn't that bad, what is bad is having fun shit locked behind collectibles.

Bonus points for the collectibles and their respective reward ALSO being locked behind the difficulty, meaning you can't collect everything on hard and then have it transfer to normal.

Isn't that a version of the Tox icon?

>or multi-player

Depends on the game, if it's got local multiplayer it better have cheat codes or something so I don't have to unlock everything if I'm playing on somebody else's console or have a fresh memory card or something when I somehow find myself playing with real people.

>>15969748

>Unlockables can be a progression system or a way of obtaining new content, right?

Yeah, only way that isn't shit that I can think of