The Importance of Side Quests

I really don't mind sidequests and the lack thereof. I play the game for the story, the characters and the thrill of being part of their world. I feel that long-winded sidequests often detract from the game and might as well be separate from the story (when you can go on a day-long trek right before an all-out war, it's not very believable). That being said, it gives you a reason to replay the game - I often revisit games purely for the sidequest aspects because, on my initial play through of any game, however hard I may try, I never fulfil any bonus quests.
 
It depends on the sidequest really. Sometimes the side quests are just fun to do and they may even add to the story. And besides, while waiting for meteor to hit the Earth, what better thing to do then breed birds? ;)

Sometimes sidequests are handy if you needs to level up and said side quest requires you to enter a monster infested cave.

So yeah, side quests are fun. They offer a break from the main story, and are nice if you are in a very slow streatch.
 
It is really hard to get a balance of good sidequests and story in a game. I don't mind sidequests, as long as they aren't long-winded or repetitive adn I get some decent stuff for the work. I agree that it's fun to get the back stories in sidequests, and it sometimes helps for understanding the story better too.

I'm so impatient though, and if something gets too repetitive, I lose -interest. That's one of my few few complaints with CC so far- the missions are all nearly the same!!!! Wander through the same areas, find the monster, kill it, get stuff. Pah!!

I didn't mind the hunts on FFXII so much, because they weren't all the same, you had to use different tactics for each. Although I have to say there are a few too many for my liking :P

FVII was disappointing for sidequests, and some of the FFX sidequests were good, like the monster arena and finding extra aeons, but AAAARGH!!! celestial weapons :mad:
 
I LOVE SIDEQUESTS!

I think since FFXII was the last main FF game I played, I can say I enjoyed the sidequests in it almost as much as progressing through the main story.

Sure the main story can be beaten by anyone, but some of these sidequests take quite some time invested in them with some dedication, skill, and patience while doing what you gotta do to complete and conquer.

My favorites have been the Optional Esper's in FFXII, the Mark Hunts in FFXII, and then the Monster Arena in FFX.
 
Sidequests are best when you not only end up with cool equipment or w/e, but when they also expand upon the story & add to character development. Otherwise, what's the point? I mean, if it doesn't do that then that means the sidequest has to work at being FUN to play...and that's just so rare that RPGs should focus on the former more than the latter.
 
V_Translanka said:
Sidequests are best when you not only end up with cool equipment or w/e, but when they also expand upon the story & add to character development. Otherwise, what's the point? I mean, if it doesn't do that then that means the sidequest has to work at being FUN to play...and that's just so rare that RPGs should focus on the former more than the latter.
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Bwah, I don't even know if I mentioned that, but that's a good point as well. Sidequests that also have a bit of character development and/or interaction is always a plus, and it makes it feel as if the quest isn't detracting from the main storyline as much. For example, the aeon sidequest at Remiem Temple allowed for some development in Yuna as she went head to head with that one summoner lady (whose name I can't remember right now), so it didn't annoy me nearly as much as the legendary weapon mini-games.

Now that BustaMo has mentioned it, I think FF12 would have been a bit more successful if all of their sidequests were more geared towards character development instead of just having something extra to do. A number of the mark hunts did just that though, such as the
Ba'Gamman
one, so I'll give credit where it's due. ;)
 
I never really bothered with sidequests, until I needed them, which is usually getting rare equipment or getting destroyed by a boss, and loooking for an interesting way to level up.

The most annoying side quest ever: Spherebreak in X-2! I just played it to get the dressphere, and then left it :mad:
 
I usually don't go into games trying to beat them 100 percent. I always assume there will be at least a couple of quests or items too difficult for me to bother with, but if a sidequest is fun or interesting enough, I'll get into it. FF12 was heaven for me. I'd spend hours doing marks before coming back to the storyline, and I didn't mind a bit.

I think of sidequests in two ways. There are the really fun ones I do because, well, they're fun, and not to get a specific item. For example, Triple Triad and Blitzball were so fun that I would have played them without all of the rewards you get. Then there are the others that are so annoying or difficult you get a special sense of achievement after completing them. Two of those are beating the Trickster Chocobo mark from FF12 and dodging the lightning on Thunder Plains in FF10. You know. You just want to walk up to your friends and say, "Yeah... I did it."
 
Cecily said:
Then there are the others that are so annoying or difficult you get a special sense of achievement after completing them. Two of those are beating the Trickster Chocobo mark from FF12 and dodging the lightning on Thunder Plains in FF10. You know. You just want to walk up to your friends and say, "Yeah... I did it."
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It took me 4 days to beat that chocobo!

"Yeah... I did it!" :cool:
 
Sky_Pirate said:
It took me 4 days to beat that chocobo!
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The Trickster was awful! I just kept thinking, I can't die, because I don't want to do this all over again! The thing had Palings up all the time so you couldn't hit it, it was gigantic, it was fast... no wonder it merits its own Sky Pirate's Den trophy.
 
Cecily said:
The Trickster was awful! I just kept thinking, I can't die, because I don't want to do this all over again! The thing had Palings up all the time so you couldn't hit it, it was gigantic, it was fast... no wonder it merits its own Sky Pirate's Den trophy.
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Yeah. I tried so many different tactics. The Seeq that helps you was a pain, eventually I gave up healing him :mad:
 
I didn't find the Trickster all that hard to be honest >_<
I think that sidequests are pretty important to the FF series though, it can expand the playing time by quite a bit and like Reality stated its nice to just have a break and have sime fun if the story is boring and slow :monster:
 
It took me 4 days to beat that chocobo!

"Yeah... I did it!"
shades.gif
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I still can't find it!

"Yeah I didn't do it...":(
 
I love sidequests. My favorite ones are the superbosses, like Emerald and Ruby, Omega, the Monster Arena and Yiazmat. I just feel a sense of accomplishment when I beat them.
 
Yeah, haven't versed yiazmat yet... Don't know what i'm going up against. Heard that it was just tedious, not hard.

Thanks for the tip Sky_Pirate ^_^
 
I like to play side-quests in any game. I always like to face extra bosses, which sometimes are really hard to beat. (ex. KH/KH2 Sephiroth, FF4 Advance Lunar summons)
 
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