Favorite and/or Least Favorite "Replayable" Sections

[FPLOON]

Have you ever enjoyed a particular section of a video game so much that you couldn't wait to re-reach that section again the next time you complete the game in question? Or maybe you dreaded a particular section so much that you're not looking forward to re-reaching that section again the next time you complete the game in question? Well, this thread is here to mention your favorite and/or least favorite "replayable" sections in video games...

Now, the reason why the word replayable is in parentheses is because there's that chance that the section in question is not something you can select to play in particular or even just to have the option to skip entirely... Maybe you have to make a new save, if possible, just to get straight to the section or just making a save that takes place after the section in question so that when the time comes, you switch to that save and continue to play without having to replay that dreaded section again... Whichever's the case, that "replayable" section left a positive an/or negative impression that lead to your conclusion of even wanting to replay it in the first place...

For me, my favorite "replayable" section is the "Niflheim: Forbidden Anamnesis" sidequest in Tales of Symphonia... Granted, the sidequest only ends after you burn the book, but it was a cool place to level grind as well as another way of gathering certain items overall... However, my least favorite "replayable" section is the "Destroy ship at Drill Platform" mission in Jak 2 when played on Hero Mode... Granted, it's more of the first part of the mission that I dread the most, given how much damage you can give/receive, that can lead to "cheating" a bit in order to bypass it, but the mission in gereral has been something I never look forward to when replaying Jak 2 on Hero Mode, my favorite mode in that game specifically...

 

[Shoggoth2588]

In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion there's a quest for the Dark Brotherhood that I absolutely can't get enough of. Basically, you're locked in a mansion and can't come out until every other person in the Mansion is dead. You can straight-up murder the people in the mansion or you can stealthily murder them one-by-one. Everyone in the mansion is pretty interesting in their own way but as you kill people, they begin to confide into you who they believe the killer is. You can get to a point where the huge Nord guy is whispering to you about how afraid of a little old woman he is and how you and he should team up to kill her in vengeance of the other people who have so recently been killed. Out of every quest in the 3 ES games I've played, this is by far my favorite.

I love the original Knights of the Old Republic but I absolutely hate Dantooine. A lot of good story stuff happens here and I quite enjoy the Jedi Training bits but most of the time spent on Dantooine I always found myself in that odd place where my characters SHOULD be powerful enough to have no problems in the fights but I just keep rolling 1's and 2's and can't land a freaking blow.

I don't like Majora's Mask. The side-quests are fine but the meat of the game just doesn't do anything for me. I liked the finale of course but to get their you have to eventually go through The Great Bay Temple. People who complain about the Water Temple must have quit playing Majora's Mask long before getting to GBT...there are a ton of incredibly convoluted puzzles based on water level and while swimming is vastly improved from what it was like in Ocarina, throwing in high-current areas just seemed kinda dickish. I hated the Ikana Canyon temple too but it wasn't as annoying as Great Bay.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

The Strike Force missions in Black Ops 2. Truth be told, they made me give up on the game for a few months when it was released. They were soul-crushingly awful. I dread them when replaying.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Ah. had an answer brewing for this for a while. I can't think of a favorite section I want to replay in a game, but I can most certainly tell you about my least favorite: In Saints Row 3,about halfway through the game, your character gets plastic surgery to look like Cyrus Temple, the leader of a government anti-gang force in order to cause some trouble aboard his flagship. Thing is, I chose to play as a female character in the game, because I wanted someone that reflected myself. Cyrus, on the other hand, is a crusty old man, exactly not what I want to play as.

"But Val!" some cry. "you're transgendered! you should LOVE this!" First off, that's just rude and shortsighted. Second, I've spent 20 years trying to keep a masculine mask on things so I wouldn't outright get killed in my hometown full of hicks. In a game where I have the freedom to be what I want to be, the LAST thing I want to do is get forced to go and put on another hypermasculine mask to sneak about, even when it's played for laughs. And the thing is, it's not like they couldn't allow for a female character for the female player character to imitate: Cyrus has a female second in command that you could just as easily imitate, and just have the real Cyrus take her place in the mission instead. But nope, men are able to stay men in that part, while women are forced through a single-mission sex-change. And as a transgender girl who has had to live through the unique hell of existing in a body that is everything but their own, having that freedom that the game provides being yanked away, even for a single mission, is so deeply hurtful and insulting that it's unforgivable.

Sorry if that got a bit heavy.

 

[Synigma]

Baldur's Gate II: chateau Irenicus. OMG after playing through it a dozen times, at least, I dreaded doing it again in the enhanced edition that was released recently. I mean the first time it was awesome, a lot of good story... but after a couple times it becomes more like a very long cinematic that you just can't skip... I used to use a mod that skipped the whole section and started you outside but I don't know if they have that for the new version yet.

I can't think of a favourite off-hand.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

The Strike Force missions in Black Ops 2. Truth be told, they made me give up on the game for a few months when it was released. They were soul-crushingly awful. I dread them when replaying.

Same, I was so bad at those. Failed the first three or four, then I was like "sorry India, hope you like being Chinese"

 

[Itsuki93]

In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion there's a quest for the Dark Brotherhood that I absolutely can't get enough of. Basically, you're locked in a mansion and can't come out until every other person in the Mansion is dead. You can straight-up murder the people in the mansion or you can stealthily murder them one-by-one. Everyone in the mansion is pretty interesting in their own way but as you kill people, they begin to confide into you who they believe the killer is. You can get to a point where the huge Nord guy is whispering to you about how afraid of a little old woman he is and how you and he should team up to kill her in vengeance of the other people who have so recently been killed. Out of every quest in the 3 ES games I've played, this is by far my favorite.

I love the original Knights of the Old Republic but I absolutely hate Dantooine. A lot of good story stuff happens here and I quite enjoy the Jedi Training bits but most of the time spent on Dantooine I always found myself in that odd place where my characters SHOULD be powerful enough to have no problems in the fights but I just keep rolling 1's and 2's and can't land a freaking blow.

I second these 2, especially the Oblivion one. I'd also add the "An Unexpected Voyage" quest, took me completely by surprise when I first discovered it. It' quite fun getting all the options too.

 

[bliebblob]

Half-life 2 regularly had one-off segments that when brushed up a little more could be the core concept of a smaller game in and of themselves. Or at least a game mode. So I've had moments where I was so parched for entertainment (notably exam periods) where I went back and did exactly that: play those bits like they're hidden minigames.

Notable examples:

The swamp boat bit.

• I had a good few hours of fun practicing until I could pull off the full vehicular rampage just the way you'd see it in an action movie: full throttle at all times, no stops, no crashes, and using all the conveniently placed explody barrels to their full effect. Very satisfying.

Ravenholm.

• Specifically with gravity gun only, for that added survival horror feel. That and the fact the place was designed around the thing far more so than any other area to begin with.

The antlion "tower defence" bit.

• It's in episode 2, at the start of chapter "This vortal coil". Also quite satisfying to pull off perfectly, lots of different tools to play around with, and one of the better themes of the soundtrack plays at some point.

The episode 2 finale.

• A neat little open scenario that you can approach in numerous ways, so a lot of replayability here as well. At least until you've learned the strider spawn locations by heart anyway. Another killer musical theme though!

If I remember correctly each of those also came with an achievement, indicating said replayability was enitrely deliberate. Or at least noted during testing. Clever girl...

 

[GundamSentinel]

Favorite:

"All Ghillied Up" in Call of Duty 4.
Showing exactly how great CoD could be at the best of times. Shame they couldn't keep it up.

Fighting "The End" in Metal Gear Solid 3
Such an incredible boss battle. You can skip in by killing the old man beforehand, but why would you want to?

The 5th and 13th Colossus in Shadow of the Colossus (the flying ones).
The 5th is intimidating, the 13th is serene. Both were amazing.

Monsoon in Metal Gear Rising
I really loved this battle, thanks in large part to the music.

Fighting Metal Gear Ray in MGS4
And then out of nowhere: mech combat!


Least favorite:

The Fade in Dragon Age Origins
Thank god you can mod that out...

Palumpolum in FFXIII
I'm one of those weird rare people who actually enjoyed FFXIII, but Palumpolum is just tedious and annoying. Nothing to be gained, only annoying bullshit enemies. Get on with it!

Mexico in Red Dead Redemption.
Is didn't even like the map, much less what was going on in it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well, I know one of my least favourite sections is definately the elevator gauntlet in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. You have Farah with you, who has the durrabilty of wet tissue paper, and what seems like an endless supply of "elite" sand warriors spawn in brandishing long, sweeping spears. And all of this takes place in a smal confined area.

 

[Nazulu]

That's a hard one.

Making the trip down Upper Norfair is a blast since it makes you feel like you're going too far the whole time, especially with all the doorways making it confusing. And a boss hiding behind one of the doors puts the icing on the cake. Or just Draygon, they would be my favourites, because Super Metroid.

Now my least favourite is in a game I like to replay so it pisses me off especially, and that's the 'Follow Freeman' chapter in Half Life 2. Bloody pricks don't stay where you tell them, always getting in your way, and you can't even kill them yourself. Even Barney is blocking your exits, and then he tells you to hurry up. Grrrrrrrrrr!

 

[Shoggoth2588]

-snip-

I second these 2, especially the Oblivion one. I'd also add the "An Unexpected Voyage" quest, took me completely by surprise when I first discovered it. It' quite fun getting all the options too.

I've only done An Unexpected Voyage once or twice and yeah, it's a really cool quest! Man, as good as Skyrim was it just didn't have quests like Oblivion...It isn't quite a quest but I love how if you know exactly where to go, you can find a ton of 'back doors' into various dungeon end-points in Oblivion. They're there in Skyrim too but there's always a secondary locked door in the way...Oblivion though? Find a door in a tree and skip a schlep through an otherwise mediocre dungeon.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Can I just say Shadow of the Colossus? 'cause there isn't a fight in that game I wouldn't replay at a moments notice

 

[09philj]

I hate having to replay World 8-8 in New Super Mario Bros. The combination of enemies you can't kill with fire and raining debris that destroys blocks is hugely frustrating. I love replaying Coconut Mall on Mario Kart Wii.

 

[Evonisia]

I adore the opening section of Silent Hill 3. It's the intro to Heather who's always a joy, as well as Douglas, and I love how it so organically shifts from normal mall to monster infested shops and corridors beginning with your escape outside a girl's room window. Sometimes I start up a game and just play up until you first meet Claudia just for that section. I also love the standoff at the first village in Resident Evil 4 for similar reasons.

As for least favourite:
The Haunted Mansion section of Silent Hill 3 can go fuck itself.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

Favorites:
Syphon Filter ? Pharcom Expo Center Reception

Sonic Generations ? Rooftop Run

Tenchu: Punish The Evil Merchant/Exterminate the Manji Cult

Resident Evil ? beginning of the game surviving the mansion. Before leaving and going to the guard house and then encountering the Hunters

Spyro the Dragon ? Magic Crafters

Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks ? The Living Forest (I love and have been obsessed with this place since MK2 and finally being able to explore it a little bit was a dream come true. and god damn do I ever love the music!

Silent Hill ? Midwich Elementary School

Fable ? The Necropolis

Mega Man X ? Armored Armadillo

Bioshock Infinite ? Comstock Mannor O_O Lizzy no....

Least Favorite or Despised:
Gears of War ? Anything after coming back up from the Locust hive Especially Marcus?s old house! I don?t know why but I really hate that segment.

God of War ? Fighting off thousands of evil(er) Kratoses. Just....ffffffffuck that.

Crash Bandicoot 3: The Motorcycle and Airplane missions. So awful and infuriating!

Spyro 3 Year of The Dragon: Skateboarding sections. Fuck you that time in the early EARLY 2000?s when Skateboarding was massively popular!

Resident Evil 3 Nemesis: Fighting Nemesis at the Clock Tower. Unless you have mastered the dodge and have been masterfully conserving all your big guns, this fight mostly feels like a big stroke of luck most of the time. Then again maybe I am just an idiot.

Loaded ? Level 5. God damn heat seeking, super slippery, health eating, respawning RAAAAATS!

 

[The Madman]

The Asylum in Baldur's Gate 2 always gives me a thrill. It's pretty linear really but in terms of plot and ambiance it's just such a cool section of the game which continues to send chills up my spine. Also: The Underdark section that follows shortly thereafter. So amazing!

For pure gameplay thrill, there's this one mission in Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries where you're challenged to a straight up, no holds barred fight between your best mech and pilots and a group of Clanners, all wielding the biggest weapons on the heaviest mechs in the game. And then THIS music starts playing right from the start and you know you're in for one of the most awesome brawls in mechwarrior history!

...That mission where you need to protect an unarmored convoy through a full fledged city is also awesome. Hell the entire game is full of great missions, I really need to replay it again!

As for worst?

The sewers bit in Vampire: Bloodlines is so dumb. The game is great both before and after that section, but the little mandatory trip to the sewers in the middle just drags on wayyyyyyy past its welcome and isn't very fun at all, especially not replaying the game.