Trophies that help you to see more of a game

[Crispy_Oglop]

I had a discussion with some friends recently about trophies and achievements - while our opinions differed on how important they are to the completion or choosing of a game - one thing which we talked about alot was how some trophies allowed us to experience parts of the game that we'd never normally experience.

 

My most recent example would be Dishinored 2 - I'm currently going for the Well Funded achievement - which means I need to get about 18k gold in total across one playthrough. In the case of Dishonored, this gold comes from physically sniffing out and looting individual coins, gold/silver bars, expensive paintings etc. So you really really have to delve into every cabinet, drawer, room, tunnel and corner of the game to contribute to that 18k. This single trophy has lead me to see so much more of the game than I knew was actually there. I can finish most levels in this game in about 20-40 mins, but this has really made me take some time and absorb everything there is to see.

 

What about you all? Do you have any examples of how one or more trophies have nicely pushed you into seeing more of a game than you'd ordinarily have seen? I'd love to hear about them

[fabmorais_2011]

I like the trophies on the first Gravity Rush, since I probably wouldn't have completed all challenges and go after all rare Nevi if it weren't for them. Or go after all the mysterious couple sightings. Also, no bullshit trophies there, everything is pretty straightforward -- they just push you to do everything in the game within reason.

Edited September 25, 2017 by fabmorais_2011

[AtroxBR]

Hatoful Boyfriend (BBL and Epilogue). Most of the reviews of this game don't even mention the BBL part, which is basically where the game truly is. 

 

If it wasn't for the trophies, i would probably never know about this. To activate this part, you have to get all endings first. 

 

 

[Crispy_Oglop]

1 hour ago, fabmorais_2011 said:

I like the trophies on the first Gravity Rush, since I probably wouldn't have completed all challenges and go after all rare Nevi if it weren't for them. Or go after all the mysterious couple sightings. Also, no bullshit trophies there, everything is pretty straightforward -- they just push you to do everything in the game within reason.

 

I really enjoyed the first Gravity Rush, agreed that the trophies really push you into every corner of the game there. I wonder if the sequel has a similar dynamic

 

 

10 minutes ago, AtroxBR said:

Hatoful Boyfriend (BBL and Epilogue). Most of the reviews of this game don't even mention the BBL part, which is basically where the game truly is. 

 

If it wasn't for the trophies, i would probably never know about this. To activate this part, you have to get all endings first. 

 

 

 

I still haven't gotten around to playing this game, even though it's in my download list, it's such an interestingly weird looking game.

[madbuk]

tbh trophies as a whole opened up gaming for me; before them I would replay the same couple of games over and over. I probably would never have even heard of Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Arkham, Tales, Kingdom Hearts, etc. without them.

 

Individual cases though, Yakuza games are good for this I believe. Never played them but generally they make you play all the minigames and experience the hardest difficulty mode.

Going for Furi S ranks showed me just how well-done the combat systems in that game really are, if I had simply rushed through the story I would never have learned how to parry, effectively dodge, etc. and would simply think the game was 'okay'.

There's also Kingdom Hearts, where the trophies make you experience all the optional bosses. Ni no Kuni, where you had to do all of the sidequests. RPGs in general, really.

The trophies in the Batman games reward you for trying out the combat/predator challenges, which, with the exception of Asylum (which feels unpolished and bullshit in those combat challenges), highlight how good the combat system is and how satisfying it is to successfuly takedown an entire room with pure stealth.

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince requires you to get every crest scattered throughout Hogwarts; I explored that place top to bottom to try and find them all (eventually had to use a guide for one of them.. which was in plain sight ) and Hogwarts is masterfully done in that game so exploring is a pleasure you otherwise wouldn't have to really do if you just wanted to blaze through the story.

 

I could go on and on because there are so many cases where trophies let you experience content you otherwise wouldn't. The better question is what trophies don't push you to try content you otherwise wouldn't.

Edited September 25, 2017 by madbuk

[gazdavis11]

Most recently 'Severed' was a game I platinumed but could have completed the game without the full story or some important collectables.

[Dragon-Archon]

Without trophies, I'd never try to complete Metal Gear Rising Revengeance on the hardest difficulty with only S ranks or complete the speedruns and time trials in Mirror's Edge. In fact, I'd probably just play every game on the normal difficulty and then move on to the next game, unless I really enjoyed it.

[Crispy_Oglop]

1 hour ago, madbuk said:

tbh trophies as a whole opened up gaming for me; before them I would replay the same couple of games over and over. I probably would never have even heard of Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Arkham, Tales, Kingdom Hearts, etc. without them.

<>

The trophies in the Batman games reward you for trying out the combat/predator challenges, which, with the exception of Asylum (which feels unpolished and bullshit in those combat challenges), highlight how good the combat system is and how satisfying it is to successfuly takedown an entire room with pure stealth.

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince requires you to get every crest scattered throughout Hogwarts; I explored that place top to bottom to try and find them all (eventually had to use a guide for one of them.. which was in plain sight ) and Hogwarts is masterfully done in that game so exploring is a pleasure you otherwise wouldn't have to really do if you just wanted to blaze through the story.

 

I could go on and on because there are so many cases where trophies let you experience content you otherwise wouldn't. The better question is what trophies don't push you to try content you otherwise wouldn't.

 

I think for me considering how pricing of videogames in general is so unregulated - ranging from 100 euros to 5 euros - trophies have also been a way for me to squeeze (or at least feel like i'm squeezing) out the money i've put into them.

 

What games don't push me? that's a really good question. I think the most recent would have been Undertale, you can actually get the platinum without actually seeing the final boss. And there is so much more to see too even after you finish to see the true ending, plus the opposing good/bad run depending on what your initial alignment choices are.

[DrBloodmoney]

4 hours ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

I had a discussion with some friends recently about trophies and achievements - while our opinions differed on how important they are to the completion or choosing of a game - one thing which we talked about alot was how some trophies allowed us to experience parts of the game that we'd never normally experience.

 

My most recent example would be Dishinored 2 - I'm currently going for the Well Funded achievement - which means I need to get about 18k gold in total across one playthrough. In the case of Dishonored, this gold comes from physically sniffing out and looting individual coins, gold/silver bars, expensive paintings etc. So you really really have to delve into every cabinet, drawer, room, tunnel and corner of the game to contribute to that 18k. This single trophy has lead me to see so much more of the game than I knew was actually there. I can finish most levels in this game in about 20-40 mins, but this has really made me take some time and absorb everything there is to see.

 

What about you all? Do you have any examples of how one or more trophies have nicely pushed you into seeing more of a game than you'd ordinarily have seen? I'd love to hear about them

 

I think that Arkane games in particular are made much better by trophies - going for the plat in Dishonored and Dishonored 2 really forces you to see how well hhose games are made, as you need to play a variety of different ways. 

 

Prey (my favorite PS4 game) is certainly like that - 3 playthroughs required, and it feels like 3 different games depending on the powers you choose. 

 

A few others that spring to mind are Hitman, Syndicate and Deus Ex

[dadoudelidou]

Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor

 

The trophies pushed you to try different approach on killing the orks, making you discover new mechanics of the game besides of using always the same tactics.

 

One of the most enjoyable Platinum to get.

[AndresLionheart]

For me trophies are like how taking pictures in places is for the usual people. Getting to keep a record of the day and time when I did something in a game (especially now on PS4 with the screenshots. Although sometimes it takes them at bad times).

Every now and then I go back and look at them and remember the times when I was doing them as if I was visiting somewhere in the world.

 

Having a reason and a record of experiencing something optional in a game is great, and its also the cause for me not caring that much about completing Nintendo games. I used to get everything in Zeldas and Marios, but now I'm much less likely to do so because I can't keep a record of such feats.

 

My only problem is when there are bullshit trophies in the way of the platinum. Stuff that its uneeded and just inflates play time. Like killing X amount of enemies well over what you would normally kill in your playthroughs or gaining experience well over the amount needed to max lvl every character (especially if there isn't a good way to grind for them. 5+ hours of a grind for no reason sucks)

[Evil_Joker88]

I too see trophies as a positive mostly... in many cases i chose the high difficulty playthrough only to get a trophy. Looking around more carefully getting collectibles. Even though that may take several hours like in AC IV or Far Cry 3.... thinking about the latest games i've got the plat i like Uncharted 4 most. There's several level specific action you can do and i would have missed 99% of them without a trophy guide i be honest with that but going through this was a nice experience... really in contrast to some hard trophies i earned like the Gold Standard in GT5 or I Am Bad Company in Battlefield Bad Company... but even those trophies indicate what the devs say is possible. And i am glad i achieved so many plats until now...

 

Edit: i add the fact that without the motivation of trophy collecting i probably wouldn't have touched the mp part of literally games that did have... saw no reason to play games like AC, Lost Planet 2 or Bf Bad Company online in the early days of ps3 gaming

Edited September 25, 2017 by Evil_Joker88

[IntroPhenom]

Grim Fandango Remastered.  The majority of the trophies reveal little jokes or situations that regular game play wouldn't, and that's really what great trophies do: find an enjoyable way to introduce the player to all of the game.

[Bartolomeus]

As the OP says, sometimes trophy hunting makes you play through parts of a game that you wouldn't normally explore for various reasons. Back in the day when I played games like Skyrim and similar RPGs I rarely 'completed' the game. I would do a few Thieves' Guild quests until I wanted to try something new and then never complete it, only doing a few of the Daedra quests etc. I was just less inclined to search in every nook and cranny, instead only wanting to do the fun bits until it became less fun. I bet if I'd played The Witcher 3 before starting to hunt trophies, I would probably not

kill King Radovid, romance Keira Metz, crown a new king/queen in Skellige etc.

. The same thing goes for most open world games; I probably wouldn't complete any of the Assassin's Creed games, just do the side stuff until I felt satisfied and leaving the game after finishing the main story.

 

Another thing is also how I play the games. Had it not been for the trophy to complete Witcher 3 on Death March difficulty I would probably have completed it on the medium difficulty setting (DM being something like very hard). Playing on DM has made the game much more fun IMO. When playing on medium - as I did on my first playthrough - I never really learned the combat system, didn't bother with alchemy etc. I just dodged and swirled, drank health potion when low on health and tanked hits all over the place. It's much more fun now playing with signs, decoctions, oils etc.

[AlienSteam]

3 hours ago, madbuk said:

tbh trophies as a whole opened up gaming for me; before them I would replay the same couple of games over and over. I probably would never have even heard of Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Arkham, Tales, Kingdom Hearts, etc. without them.

I can most definitely relate to this, back in the day I only played Fifa, Fight Night, and Tiger Woods golf, I would just rinse and repeat those 3, and now and again a game that caught my eye would get some love. 

 

Trophys definitely broadened my gaming horizons, I used to dislike FPS to the point I wouldn't play a game of it wasn't 3rd person...now if I play a 3rd person shooter/adventure game im like, 'meh, this is good but id prefer to play as a gun'

 

I know for certain I would have played Sound Shapes if it wasn't for trophys ?

 

 

[starcrunch061]

4 hours ago, AtroxBR said:

Hatoful Boyfriend (BBL and Epilogue). Most of the reviews of this game don't even mention the BBL part, which is basically where the game truly is. 

 

If it wasn't for the trophies, i would probably never know about this. To activate this part, you have to get all endings first. 

 

 

 

The BBL part stinks, though! The rest of the game is so much better.

 

Anyway, for me, the king of this is MGS4. There were so many trophies associated to little things that I never would have seen on my own. Snake and Ocelot kissing? We got it. Snake seeing a boss dance? We got it. Snake pulling the dong off of a statue? We got it.

[MosesRockefeller]

25 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

Anyway, for me, the king of this is MGS4. There were so many trophies associated to little things that I never would have seen on my own. Snake and Ocelot kissing? We got it. Snake seeing a boss dance? We got it. Snake pulling the dong off of a statue? We got it.

The irony there is that the game didn't have trophies when it came out; Kojima put all that stuff in because he knew superfans would find them. Trophies just gave people more motivation for doing so (and no I'm not a superfan and I didn't go for the Platinum either). 

 

I'm slowing way down on trophy hunting but it definitely still affects my gaming. The biggest way it still affects me is that I typically start on the hardest first-run difficultly level if there is a trophy associated with it. 

[Elvick_]

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is that way. The director in his commentary even mentioned why the trophies are the way they are, to show these extra parts of the game you might not otherwise see.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Elvick_

[FarSideOfSaturn]

It was actually GTA V's trophies that got me into this. Collecting the spaceship parts and murder mystery letters kept me playing the game long beyond the point I normally would, along the way I discovered a ton of pretty cool things, saw a lot of sights and side missions I wouldn't have seen otherwise. I'm the polar opposite of some players who say trophies ruined games for them, for me trophies reminded me to explore and try out things I normally wouldn't do otherwise and I've been playing that way ever since. I'm back to the way I was when I was a teenager, when I wanted to see what's round the corner or try out stupid shit to see what happens. 

 

Most games I own are an example of how much I like to explore the game and different options, experiences. From Fallout 4's multiple endings to the old games I never got to play on the Mega Drive Collection. Even if I fail it's usually good fun. I went for the Metal Gear Rising platinum (failing spectacularly) but it was good fun playing through the game on revengeance mode. Years ago before I started doing this I probably would've played through it once, gotten maybe 5 or 6 hours out of it. Instead I got 20+ hours out of three totally different playthroughs.