Longest wasted time spent on a game.

eldergamer

eldergamer

CAGiversary!
My wife might say it's all been wasted, but I dispute that.

I just mean the most hours you've put into a game w/o ever finishing it.
I spent about 70 hours with dragon warrior 7, and had to quit because I got stuck in a spot where I couldn't switch my classes, so I was stuck fighting a boss really depowered.

I put in 50 hours into star ocean 3 than sold it because I never grew to like the combat and weapon/invention system. I was so close to end of this game until I just realized that this wasn't fun any more and I had many more rpgs to play.
 
Guess I wasted all my time playing Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox, I thought I was pretty good until some pink bat-lady wiped her ass with my corpse.

I'm not sure I ever even hit her, and I've still got the game sitting on my helf. That was the most dissapointing.

Edit: I just remembered Diablo 2, and I know a lot of us got sucked into endless hours of cow-runs.
 
It's happened a few times in an rpg, where I get close to the end and the last dungeon or boss rapes me. I either lose interest, or don't want to level up and say screw it.

Though, i'd say Xenogears. I'm still working on it actually, think i'm 74 hours in and on the last dungeon.
 
yeah i have that problem with the recent FF games..but i return to them later just to finish it off. although thanks to CAG i have a huge backlog of games now to go through because insane deals always get posted here..which i will never pass up.
 
Final Fantasy 8. Got like 3/4ths through it, 40 or so hours... and got stuck cuz I was under levelled, stuck inside a dungeon. I had saves before I entered that dungeon, but somehow they got deleted. Fun fun.

I eventually just deleted the save out of pure disgust. I prolly coulda' killed the monsters near the savepoint for 5 or so hours to level up. But ya know what? I think FF8 is the worst in the whole damn series. So I said fuck it and deleted the save. Hell with it.
 
[quote name='Aleryn']Final Fantasy 8. Got like 3/4ths through it, 40 or so hours... and got stuck cuz I was under levelled, stuck inside a dungeon. I had saves before I entered that dungeon, but somehow they got deleted. Fun fun.

I eventually just deleted the save out of pure disgust. I prolly coulda' killed the monsters near the savepoint for 5 or so hours to level up. But ya know what? I think FF8 is the worst in the whole damn series. So I said fuck it and deleted the save. Hell with it.[/QUOTE]

o_O

I don't understand how you can be underleveled in FF8 since the monsters level with you.

Anyway, I'd say I've spent more time in Quake 3 than any other game. Hundreds and hundreds of hours.
 
Would BF2 count. I have 100 hours online play but never finished the campaign.

If that doesn't count then GTA III I'm near the end but never finished it I think I have 40 hours into it.
 
Metroid Prime 2=60h and didnt finnish because the ending boss sucked. First time to make it that far in a game then get mad and trade it.

Azurik=25h and then saved in a spot I was trapped in. Also a first. I wasnt starting over.

Yoshi's Island 2=19h lvl 5 right before the castle, played it like 20xs and now I am trading it because its so ubber sucky.

FFIII=30h Played the last lvl about 5 times before quiting due to the ending boss killing me in one blow. I recently found that I had to kill several other bosses before moving on so that sucks that I didnt know this before. I still dont want to see this game again though.

God as I am reading through this and thinking of all the others in recent years, I realize I am a quitter. Blah
 
Ive probably wasted thousands of hours playing online shooters like Counterstrike, Team Fortress Classic, Quake III, Call of Duty, etc.
 
Probably Castlvania 3 on the NES. I have no idea how many hours, but I played it a shit ton and never beat it, I don't think.
 
Pokemon 1. Played it well past when the counter quit counting, and I never beat it. I don't think I was playing it right-I kept trying to level every single Pokemon. Needless to say, I never bought any of the sequels. (Plus the capturing animals to fight them thing sort of creeps me out.)
 
Your wife is pretty much right, hell now that I think about it i've blown tons of hours on rpg's I never finished, same with shooters. I know you feel that hey you had fun so those hours weren't wasted because that is my knee jerk reaction as well. But really thinking about it, nope complete waste of time that could have been spent doing something much more productive, or sleeping at the very least.
 
The game I wasted the most time playing was Marvel Nemesis for DS. I ended up beating that game with every charecter in short, medium and long story mode. Probably of 40 hours of playtime. It was wasted, because that game is horrible.

The most time I ever spent on a game without beating it was Omnikon for the DC. I eventually got to some puzzle that I could not figure out how to beat it.
 
Golden Sun and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. Got to the last boss in both, couldn't beat them, and said screw it. I also did this in the first GBA Fire Emblem, but I liked the game play so I would keep trying to beat it every couple of months and I finally succeeded. Now it's one of my favorite game series.
 
Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X and Pokemon. In GTA III I got to the second to last mission and kind of got tired of it so I pretty much kept going on rampages and shooting everything in sight. Final Fantasy X was the first RPG game I ever tried on the ps2 and I was hooked. I put about 70 hours into this because the first time I played through I got kind of far into it and out of nowhere my memory card corrupted all my game saves so I had to start over.
 
Seconded on the Final Fantasy VIII, but my problem was a glitch. The PC version had a mini game that you could play that looked like a Dreamcast DMU...it was like a Chocobo battle or something. But if you could find Potions and stuff, you could import it to the actual game. Well, I got some error while playing the mini-game that corrupted my main game save files. I couldn't load it anymore, and by that time I was 30+ hours into it and didn't feel like going through all that again.

Other game was Morrowind...Just too long. But so good! Wasted time because I never finished it.
 
Well, I guess I "wasted" some 200 or so hours on Morrowind, since there was a glitch in the game and I couldn't beat it.

Though, honestly, I don't regret it. I don't feel like coolsteel here, I had tons of fun on the game (and others I never beat) and many of them, I'd go back and play again, even if I knew I wouldn't beat them.

I played through FFVIII twice, even though I can't beat the final boss (I get annoyed after my fourth or fifth try, and give up).
 
25 hours into Baiten Katos before I realized it just sucked TOO much to bother finishing it (the upside down garden was a biatch)

I played through Diablo 2 about 10 times. None of those times were wasted though.

30+ hours into Fire Emblem. Never completed

30+ hours into Final Fantasy X. Never completed

30+ hours on Advance Wars DS before I decided I really hated it and traded it.

plenty more...I quit more games than I actually finish if truth be told. Ah well... such is life. Although handheld games I tend to ostick it out with regardless.
 
I guess for me, I hate games that have hard/cheap endings. Like if I invest a lot of time in a game, I want to be able to beat it fairly easily. Metroid Prime ticked me off because the final boss was way too hard. I beat it, but really just be luck as much as anything, and it soured my feelings about the whole game (I ended up selling it, which I wouldn't have done had it been a reasonable fight).

[quote name='lordxixor101']Well, I guess I "wasted" some 200 or so hours on Morrowind, since there was a glitch in the game and I couldn't beat it.[/quote]

That stinks. Which version? I'm going to start my copy pretty soon (Windows).

I played through FFVIII twice, even though I can't beat the final boss (I get annoyed after my fourth or fifth try, and give up).
Click to expand...

I blew through the last boss, but probably was completely overpowered from leveling.

[quote name='kittycatgirl2k']
I played through Diablo 2 about 10 times. None of those times were wasted though.[/quote]

:hot: I gave up on it in the third act.
 
[quote name='Puffa469']Ive probably wasted thousands of hours playing online shooters like Counterstrike, Team Fortress Classic, Quake III, Call of Duty, etc.[/QUOTE]

That's not wasted time...it's "training"...hehe.

*****

I don't waste as much time now as I have in the past mainly because I just don't have the same kind of time to play games I used to as a younger gamer (with few responsabilities). Due to not having as much time to play, a game has REALLY got to grab me to keep me playing for a longer time. So, I've sort of honed a skill of being able to tell fairly early on in a game whether or not more time put into it will end up being rewarded or wasted.

The first part of this (skill) is how much fun I'm having playing the game. If it's not fun, I'm not spending time with it. The second part focuses on not simply playing to "beat the game", it's just not of interest to me any more. So many games have "tricks" required to beat them. Once you learn the trick/pattern/etc...the point of playing (at least that part of the game) is moot. This point can also be hurt even more by tricks/etc. in games that are too hard (either compared to the others in the game or simply put there by some sadistic programmer...lol). Sorry, I just don't have time to spend HOURS figuring out some obscure pattern/trick needed to beat a boss/etc. There's a fine line between challenging and frustration.

The third and final part relies on the pick up and playability aspect of a game. Even if a game is one that I want to spend a lot of time with, I NEED the ability to save at any time or after a short timeframe (like after a single race/etc.). If I only have a few minutes to play, or, may get interrupted and have to stop, I don't want to have to give up the progress I've already made and replay those areas. I've played a LOT of games I would have stuck with but gave up on because they required you to beat an entire level (made up of longer term gameplay or several parts) before being able to save progress.

Perhaps this type of stuff is why game guides sell so well. Most people don't have the tenacity/patience to stick with games that include stuff like this without some kind of help. If you think about it, the fact that so many people do buy game guides is pretty much a telling statement on the game industry. It's the design of the games that leads to people needing the guides. And, even with a guide, that doesn't mean some players won't reach a part of the game they can't beat. Well, as the saying goes, ya can't please all of the people all of the time. :}
 
Final Fantasy VIII. I suffered through this game's complicated-as-all-hell Junctioning system and ridiculous exploring (you have almost no clue where to go or what to do when you get there without a strategy guide), stopped playing on disc 4 and said fuck it for 8 months, finally decided to beat it, got spanked by the final boss countless times, and when I finally did beat it, what happens? My PS1 craps out and freezes on me in the middle of the ending.

Biggest waste of time ever.
 
[quote name='dothog']WoW. Right before I quit last spring, I wasted a few days of playtime on 40-man raids.[/quote]

I was gonna say where are all the WoW players! A few days is nothing in that game. It ruined my life (or rather little over a year). I feel like such an asshole, I clocked in at little over 30 days playtime (over 720 hours) before I sold my epic'd shaman on ebay for shitload of money to buy GOOD games.
 
My time felt most wasted with FFX. I think I had 40-50 hours clocked, couldn't beat the final boss cuz I was too weak, and that was it. I pretty much hated the game most of the way, so I wasn't very motivated to grind, find ultimate whatevers, or really try anymore by the time the game was remotely open-ended. I thought getting to the end would at least make the game worth my time, but I gave up when I got to the boss. Ugh, I dunno why it took me like 5 JRPGs to make me realize it's not my genre.

I never beat FF7 or FF8, but I at least enjoyed some of what I played with those. FF7 went through too fast and couldn't beat final boss. FF8 I went through half of the game when I got by butt kicked by some mini-boss... and then I found out apparently I was supposed to be drawing summons from bad guys (which I hadn't done at all). I spent countless hours playing Ultimas 4-7, never beat any of them, but I still loved them... so not really wasted.
 
[quote name='ChaoticClimax']I was gonna say where are all the WoW players! [/quote]

Probably playing WoW. ;) I know I havent seen my wife since the Burning Crusade came out.
 
Magna Carta - 49 hours. I beat it, but the time was still wasted miserably. My girlfriend made me keep playing it since she liked the story. :(

Also great boatloads of time were blown playing MoHAA and later CS:Source. CS was a big waste since it took me quite awhile to get good at it, but when i finally was good, all the guys i played with had quit...and i had to sell my graphics card shortly thereafter so i wouldn't be tempted into playing games all the time during school semesters.
 
[quote name='judyjudyjudy']My time felt most wasted with FFX. I think I had 40-50 hours clocked, couldn't beat the final boss cuz I was too weak, and that was it. I pretty much hated the game most of the way, so I wasn't very motivated to grind, find ultimate whatevers, or really try anymore by the time the game was remotely open-ended. I thought getting to the end would at least make the game worth my time, but I gave up when I got to the boss. Ugh, I dunno why it took me like 5 JRPGs to make me realize it's not my genre.

I never beat FF7 or FF8, but I at least enjoyed some of what I played with those. FF7 went through too fast and couldn't beat final boss. FF8 I went through half of the game when I got by butt kicked by some mini-boss... and then I found out apparently I was supposed to be drawing summons from bad guys (which I hadn't done at all). I spent countless hours playing Ultimas 4-7, never beat any of them, but I still loved them... so not really wasted.[/QUOTE]

I originally gave up on Final Fantasy 8, and only came back to it years later because my brother kept insisting I had to play it. I think what threw me on it is how different the "system" is, at least superficially, from other games in the series.

Once I finally "got" how it worked, it clicked and was fun. I basically just have every character Draw all the magic they can. It doesn't take as much time as it sounds. You combine that with the characters to raise stats. Other than that, it's a fairly normal RPG system.

I loved Final Fantasy 7, 9, and 10 though (although I think I occasionally cheated on a few bosses to find out their weaknesses).
 
Final Fantasy XII > 120+ Hours in just haven't finished it off. Doing Misc Side quests and equally leveling the whole party 56 + for everyone.
 
[quote name='blueaurora']Final Fantasy XII > 120+ Hours in just haven't finished it off. Doing Misc Side quests and equally leveling the whole party 56 + for everyone.[/QUOTE]

OMG I cant believe this but I am at the same lvl and hours. Not close but those exactly. lol I am on like the 40th floor of this tower area right now. I love this game but its draggin a little right now.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']I guess for me, I hate games that have hard/cheap endings. Like if I invest a lot of time in a game, I want to be able to beat it fairly easily. Metroid Prime ticked me off because the final boss was way too hard. I beat it, but really just be luck as much as anything, and it soured my feelings about the whole game (I ended up selling it, which I wouldn't have done had it been a reasonable fight).[/quote]

I didn't even bother. I read how cheap the final couple bosses were, and I was already at the fatigue point with that game, so I gave up. I'm not proud, but gaming is supposed to be fun. It doesn't have to be easy, but I hate things that are irritating. To me there is a difference between things that are hard but doable and satisfying to do, and things that are simply frustrating and unnecessarily cheap. I enjoyed some of Metroid Prime, so I don't think the whole thing was a waste.

MP2 was a waste. I bought it for cheap, started playing it, and remembered all the things I hated about MP1. A few hours in I just had to stop playing. Traded it, haven't looked back.

Had no problems with FFX. I didn't do any of the ultimate whatevers, but I did finish the game without too much problem.

Everquest -- all of the jobs, now that was a waste. Practice boring and repetitive time wasters that fail as often as they succeed.
 
Only ToS. I beat it, but was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Probably around 40 hours.... or 50. Besides that, nothing.

Oh ya and I've clocked a lot of hours on online games. I bet like 100 hours on some...but usually they're for stress relief cause I like shooting things and being first...so I dont consider it time wasting xD
 
I'd have to say Final Fantasy 7. I didn't even finish the first disc and traded it in. A year or two later I regretted it and bought it again, made it to the second disc, and then traded it in again after realizing I just wasn't enjoying myself.

And Final Fantasy XI. That was a huge waste of time. I played it well past the point of having fun. It was also the biggest waste of money EVER (PS2 hard drive).
 
Pirates of the Black Kat (sp.) on XBOX.

I tried for a perfect (get all items, etc. etc.) and at the very end I missed a treasure chest that I couldn't go back and get. I got pissed and turned the thing off, never to play again.

God knows how many hours I pissed away on that game. Also, I spent a lot of time with PGR2. I beat everything except the lame cone challenges. I didn't have the patience to cheat like most people do to get those ridiculously high scores, so I never got all Platinums. Cone challenge is fucking lame.

I always hate games that don't let you go back and get items you missed. I have to play every damn game with a FAQ these days to make sure I don't screw myself out of something. I aboslutely abhor it.
 
about 700 hours in Guild Wars+ Factions. I still never beat either campaign. The weapons I have are decent, but I would think all that time I spent I would have been rich and have near perfect weapons, but I spent a lot of time on stupid things and just wasted time running around.

And, I just about quit playing, since my computers crapped out on me pretty much.
 
Well Im at 78 hours with Advanced Wars DS and Starcraft pretty much owned me for a few years, but I dont even have a ballpark figure for that one.
 
I played Final Fantasy Tactics one summer when I was home for college, around five years ago. I'm not sure how many hours I put into it, but I got my characters up to level 92 and was around 2/3 of the way through the story when I had to go back to school and didn't have time to finish it. I tried to go back and play it six months ago, but I couldn't find the memory card with my save file on it.
 
So why exactly do we do this to ourselves, when we're obviously not having a good time? For me I think it's a pride issue. I guess I feel I need to get my money's worth. I should go by Cheapy's "2 Hour Rule" he mentioned in the latest CAGcast. If I only paid $20, and I've played for 2 hours, I got my money's worth:)
 
Viewtiful Joe for me on the GC. With the lack of the option to save or checkpoints having to play the level over and over to get to the boss again made my fingers raw! I tried to finish it but gave up after a while. To this day, I refuse to play games that don't have checkpoints or allow you to save along the way.
 
48 hours into FFIX, started final disc, and saved in this one little area outside of a cave.. problem? If I take one step, I fight some random ass superpowered dinosaur that wipes out my party preemptively with one move. Tried at least 50 times to get a single hit in -- no dice. Tried to run -- can't run. Still bitter.. :lol:
 
I would say Baten Kaitos took me 50 hours, Zelda TP took me 71:21, but Phantasy Star Online, I have logged in 268 hours. Geez, where has my life gone. At this rate, my kids will be in college before I know it!
 
[quote name='Wet Ninja']I played Final Fantasy Tactics one summer when I was home for college, around five years ago. I'm not sure how many hours I put into it, but I got my characters up to level 92 and was around 2/3 of the way through the story when I had to go back to school and didn't have time to finish it. I tried to go back and play it six months ago, but I couldn't find the memory card with my save file on it.[/QUOTE]
This is the first instance of "wasted time" I feel sorry for.

I remember pumping ridiculous time--by my standards--into Secret of Mana a long time ago (over 10 years) to get all the spells completely leveled, and if the battery in the cart had failed or the save had crapped out, I'd have felt pretty low.

If it's any consolation, leveling builds character. ;)
 
[quote name='foundation']48 hours into FFIX, started final disc, and saved in this one little area outside of a cave.. problem? If I take one step, I fight some random ass superpowered dinosaur that wipes out my party preemptively with one move. Tried at least 50 times to get a single hit in -- no dice. Tried to run -- can't run. Still bitter.. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Wow. Thank goodness I never encountered that thing!

That's part of the reason I tend to have two save files in RPGs (though a lot of the time one of them doesn't get updated for a dozen hours or more).
 
Biggest wastes of time were Legaia 2 and Tales of Symphonia. Both games I really didn't like, but still had the urge to finish them? I chalk it up to boredom, plus Legaia 2 was so bad I somewhat enjoyed it also. Finshed em, but it was wasted time none the less.
 
i usually finish games because i like closure, no matter how lousy i think something is. i've finished a lot of weak games for that reason, and if there are side quests, i feel like i have to do them, too. i certainly get my money's worth on all of them...usually end up paying less than $1 per hour in the end, but it's still absurd.
 
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