Games you almost Finished but gave up on.

[wartoy]

I've always been bothered by some games that I got right to the end of and got destroyed by the last boss over and over till I quit. I would like to retry some of them but my saves are long gone now. And I fear I won't be able to beat the game again and waste my time. This is a list of some that haunt me. Do you have any games that haunt you too?

1.Iron Tank (nes) I remeber this game being hard as balls. I got to the last boss but could never put him down.
2.Mike Tysons punch-out (nes) they don't call him iron mike for nothing he kicks the crap out of me every time.
3.Extermination (ps2) love this 3rd person horror shooter but hate the last boss. I was so close to beating him many times it drove me nuts.
4.Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360) this one I beat but I find it impossible to beat on the hardest difficulty. One of the last levels has you in a tower and I get wasted every try.

And many others Helfire (Genesis) Actrazor 2 (snes) to name a couple more maybe I should try again? Or just admit defeat.

[emporerdragon]

For me, my big one is Warriors Orochi 2. The grind broke me in the end. I've got one achievement left, but that's to do every single stage in the game on every single difficulty. And the prospect of effectively having to replay the entire game 5 more times for one achievement just felt like too much. There's still a desire to go back and do it, especially as I've completed several other Warriors games with just as bad of grinds, like Dynasty Warriors 8, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, and Pirate Warriors 3, but the backlog's just too vast to make it a priority.

One game that almost would be like that too for me was Fable III. The issue was that I got locked into the worst ending completely by surprise. For context, you need to reach a deadline with so much gold in the bank, and how many people you save is based on your savings. And as you play through the story, the timer ticks down about 30 days per story event. Except for the last jump, which went straight from 121 days left to day of the attack. So, I had made my proclamation as per normal, then I'm jumped to the final boss fight, but everyone's now dead because all my money was in real estate at the time. Then the game autosaved. I just noped out, ejected the disc, and put on the shelf. Didn't bother finishing even though I had only like 10-15 minutes of game left. I did eventually go back and restart and beat the game a few years later, but that was still frustrating as hell.

[bikingjahuty]

Lunar: The Silver Star Story Complete (PS1): This one was from a very long time ago, probably around 2001 or so. i got to the final boss and could not beat him after probably a hundred tries. I eventually concluded as a 14-year old kid that it was impossible and the game was beyond cheap and gave up.


Metal Gear Rising (PS3): There were parts of this game that I absolutely loved, however the final fight against Armstrong broke me, particularly one part that relies heavily on the slash mechanic that seems woefully incapable of accomplishing the task at hand. I legit controlled raged while fighting him and after dozens of tries I gave up. I plan on trying to actually beat this game this year though.


Mega Man Legends (PS1): Other than the aesthetic of this game I have no clue why this game is so heavily loved and praised. It has awful controls, clunky gameplay, boring progression and dungeon design, and stupidly cheap bosses, especially towards the end of the game. I was so annoyed by the game that by the time I reached a specific battle towards the end where you have to fight multiple bosses at once I simply gave up and never returned to it.

[dhaabi]

Perhaps the best example of mine would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Playing blindly, I had so much fun exploring the world and discovering as much as I could before actually beating the game. I definitely had over 100 hours of playtime. Well, then I stopped playing because I became too busy. In my playthrough, I've yet to enter Hyrule Castle.

Other, much less notable instances of abandoning a game near its end despite having fun:
Child of Light
Final Fantasy V
Okage: Shadow King
Samurai Legend: Musashi

[telekill]

There have been four for me that I recall:

1. Judge Dredd (Genesis) -- I actually first started on Judge Dredd earlier than most. I got to participate in the Blockbuster tournament which also included NBA Jam TE. Loved the game and I actually almost got first place in the area I competed. My uncle bought me a copy of Judge Dredd as a consolation prize. I used to be pretty good at it but never good enough to beat it. This is due to the dev not providing level passwords after a certain point. Not even with a Game Genie could I beat it. The game was tough as nails.

2. Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness (PS2) -- Unlike the above, I gave up on AoD because the game was simply broken. There were so many bugs and glitches in the game that it became unplayable after a certain point. I remember playing a portion where I was shimmying across a ledge and Lara started floating right up off the screen. Ridiculous.

3. Final Fantasy X (PS2) -- Other than the first disc of FF7 on PS1, I had never played much FF before this one. I didn't understand the leveling mechanic as JRPGs weren't really my thing. I got pretty far, one of my roommates state to the last boss, but my character just wasn't powerful enough to beat them.

4. Metal Gear Solid V (PS4) -- I can't remember how far I got in this game. I enjoyed being able to sick the diamond dog on enemies. Then I simply got bored of the game and dropped it. The story wasn't making much sense... but the stories for these games were always pretty out there. I've only ever enjoyed the first game on PS1.

[aliensstudios]

• Castlevania Bloodlines - I got to the final battle against the funky purple cooter eater thing with John Morris but I ended up giving up and never going back. I played this after I saw that the countless YouTubers and retro gamers were sucking it off. I played it when I was on a Castlevania kick, right after I played through the original trilogy, Super Castlevania 4 and Rondo, and my God, after those games, I just thought it was an overrated piece of crap.
• Splatterhouse 3 - I play this one maybe once a year or ever other year. I always get really far, then I get frustrated and go back to the original or the second game which are much better in my opinion.

[Cartagia]

Any game that would qualify as me having "almost" finished I have actually finished.  I usually know pretty early on if a game is for me.  The only two games that might qualify are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ninja Gaiden on NES, but I don't think I even made it halfway through either of them because they are so damned hard.

[gummo]

Conan on the 360 . I got to what I think was the end boss battle and got so frustrated I put it down and never finished . I enjoyed that game way too much .

[pzeke]

I dropped Fighting Force after reaching the last boss and getting my ass handed to me, and also remember abandoning Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown after a SNAFU that essentially meant I had to start over. In a similar vein is Final Fantasy VIII, which I ended up beating using a friend's file after I realized I went about the game the wrong way. Another one is Xenosaga Episode I, which I put on hold after getting mentally drained by it and never returned to it; and there's also Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, which I was having fun with, but also got drained after a while and ended up bailing out. I've been meaning for the longest time now giving all these another try, but keep forgetting. Sometime, someday.

Other games I stopped playing after a while include Breath of Fire III and IV, Brave Fencer Musashi, Thousand Arms, Akuji the Heartless, and Donkey Kong 64; however, I can't remember exactly when and why I stopped. Oh yeah, and The Lion King for SNES.

[Cartagia]

Oh, wait KOTOR II.  Got a bug that made me unable to progress at about 3/4 through. I did beat it about 16 years later, though.

[burningdoom]

The Messenger

I love the game. The perfect retro aesthetic, gameplay, difficulty, and humor. But that final boss on the linear levels is ridiculous. Which drives me nuts because from what I understand it then opens up into a Metroidvania after that; which sounds awesome!

[undertakerprime]

I have abandoned games in the past that I was nearly done with, but over the years I’ve gone back and finished many of them. A major example is Final Fantasy IX. I’ve had a strange relationship with that game; I love the characters, music, setting, all that stuff. But about 2/3 of the way through, the story suddenly becomes “chase Kuja around the world” which came off as blatant padding and was so boring it made me quit. Started over a while after that, and got all the way to Memoria (just before the end), immediately lost interest and quit.

Finally got back to it around 2012 and completed it.

In a similar vein is Final Fantasy VIII, which I ended up beating using a friend's file after I realized I went about the game the wrong way.

I assume you’re referring to the junction system? That’s the same problem I had. The game’s instruction book and the in-game tutorial both do a lousy job of explaining what Junctioning is and how having more of a spell increases stats. Not understanding it was a major reason I abandoned the game (though I wasn’t anywhere near the end). Years later, after reading up about how Junctioning actually works, I came back to it around the same time as the aforementioned FFIX and pushed through to the end. Still can’t stand that game, though….the Junctioning system is stupid, the characters are dumb, the plot contrived…

[mastodon]

I beat Ghost of Tsushima, but in the DLC I'm at the VERY last boss. Gave up.

[pzeke]

In a similar vein is Final Fantasy VIII, which I ended up beating using a friend's file after I realized I went about the game the wrong way.

I assume you’re referring to the junction system? That’s the same problem I had. The game’s instruction book and the in-game tutorial both do a lousy job of explaining what Junctioning is and how having more of a spell increases stats. Not understanding it was a major reason I abandoned the game (though I wasn’t anywhere near the end). Years later, after reading up about how Junctioning actually works, I came back to it around the same time as the aforementioned FFIX and pushed through to the end. Still can’t stand that game, though….the Junctioning system is stupid, the characters are dumb, the plot contrived…

I over-leveled, and when my friend told me that I was doing it wrong and missed on certain junction bonuses, I just took it as a sign and moved to another game; I wasn't enjoying myself to begin with, so I didn't see the point of continuing with it...and what's funny is that I was using the guide, but wasn't really paying attention to it. One of the things I do happen to like about the game is Triple Triad, and I actually think the designs for the monsters and Guardian Forces are great, but I honestly think it's one of the weakest entries in the series. Now, when I got FFIX you couldn't get me to drop it; I was hooked and didn't dare play anything else.

[chexmixbreath]

I sunk over 70 hours into Twilight Princess for the GameCube back in the day. Was very thorough and completed every side quest and tracked down all the collectibles and upgrades and heart containers. I got to what I assume is the end of the game, Ganon's Castle, but I never finished that part even though I was SO close.

I still consider it my second favorite Zelda game and one of my favorites of all time. Maybe this year I'll finally put a lid on actually finishing the game once and for all.