Tiny, insignificant details in games that really bother you

Specter Von Baren

Annoying Green Gadfly
Legacy
Aug 25, 2013
5,632
2,849
118
I don't know, send help!
Country
USA
Gender
Cuttlefish
Rune Factory games putting town characters far into the game. Thankfully they've only ever done something as bad as Lynette from Rune Factory 1 (Who doesn't join your town till you BEAT THE GAME) once, but Leon in RF4 was pretty deep in and there were tasks that couldn't be completed without having all the townspeople in that game, which always led to me getting a sudden surge of tasks for things I'd already learned how to do a long time ago once I brought him to town. Yet again they've done it in RF5 with Ludmila and she's even in charge of the flower shop, so this is objectively the worst they've ever done with this since that's a whole shop that's not available till you beat the 7th dungeon.
 
Last edited:

Specter Von Baren

Annoying Green Gadfly
Legacy
Aug 25, 2013
5,632
2,849
118
I don't know, send help!
Country
USA
Gender
Cuttlefish
I read that as "Leon from RE4" and wondered what the hell Leon S. Kennedy was doing in a Rune Factory game. I need more sleep.
I wanted to make some kind of witty response that combines one of Leon's one liners from Resi4 with something contextual from the Rune Factory series but its been too long since I played Resi4, the only one I can remember is, "Your right hand comes off?"
 

Xprimentyl

Made you look...
Legacy
Aug 13, 2011
6,210
4,482
118
Plano, TX
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Been playing Jedi: Fallen Order lately, and for the most part I rather like it. But there's one thing that is really bugging me. When you first arrive in Kashyyyk, you help the local insurgents overrun an Imperial base. And the result is a hellish nightmare. The trees are burning, there's wreckage and bodies everywhere, the surviving insurgents are licking their wounds, the FPS drops off because of all the particle effects from the smoke...you get the idea. Circumstances later require that you leave the planet and come back some time later. Per usual for Star Wars, it's difficult to say how much time passed between visits, but contextual clues (such as certain parties becoming demoralized and packing up) suggest it was probably in the weeks to months range.

Here's what bugs me. Second visit, I run around the landing area, happy to see that they had stopped the fires, as that kind of thing is a corner I'm a little too used to seeing devs cut. I turn a corner, and what do I find? While the fires had been quenched and wrecked flier moved/scrapped, the scrap that used to be the imperial troop transport was still untouched and the dozen or so stormtrooper bodies that had been littering the area were still on the ground where they fell. And it's the bodies that bug me. I don't care whether it was the Imps or the Insurgents, it strains credulity to think that disposing of those corpses would be a reasonably high priority after the fires for reasons of sanitation, health, and smell. So to leave them out in the sun for what appears to be weeks? Ugh...it's entirely fridge logic, but it's so frustrating.
I have a similar irking nag with The New Londo Ruins in Dark Souls. The events of the lore preceding the game's start are ostensibly several (maybe hundred if not thousands of ) years prior to the game, yet the piles of bodies, having been submerged in water for however long are still recognizably intact and neatly piled up for dramatic effect. Never mind that bodies float, they'd have decomposed into mush long ago unless the epic and convoluted lore of Dark Souls were events from a couple weeks ago. Trust me, as someone who's hidden several bodies in several bodies of water, New Londo would be a funky, mushy mess within a few months let alone the span of time we're expected to believe have actually passed since the inexorable emergence of the Chosen Undead. Also, I'm not admitting to any crimes.

That said, given everything resets upon the death of a special someone, maybe the corpses down there are stuck in an endless loop, unable to decompose, but that's a stretch I don't think FROM wants us to think on too much... as is with most of the lore.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I have a similar irking nag with The New Londo Ruins in Dark Souls. The events of the lore preceding the game's start are ostensibly several (maybe hundred if not thousands of ) years prior to the game, yet the piles of bodies, having been submerged in water for however long are still recognizably intact and neatly piled up for dramatic effect. Never mind that bodies float, they'd have decomposed into mush long ago unless the epic and convoluted lore of Dark Souls were events from a couple weeks ago. Trust me, as someone who's hidden several bodies in several bodies of water, New Londo would be a funky, mushy mess within a few months let alone the span of time we're expected to believe have actually passed since the inexorable emergence of the Chosen Undead. Also, I'm not admitting to any crimes.

That said, given everything resets upon the death of a special someone, maybe the corpses down there are stuck in an endless loop, unable to decompose, but that's a stretch I don't think FROM wants us to think on too much... as is with most of the lore.
The answer is: Time in convoluted in Lordran. That's why those fires in the Lower Undead Burg burn forever despite civilization having long since fallen or something. Also the multiplayer.

Though I've heard that in Japanese the actual sentence is "Time is Stagnant in Lordran" which I feel explains the idea better, as in "Time is stagnant like a lake" rather then "flowing like a river". However, I have no idea if that's right because I know like 5 words of Japanese.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xprimentyl

Drathnoxis

Became a mass murderer for your sake
Legacy
Sep 23, 2010
5,433
1,892
118
Just off-screen
Country
Canada
Gender
Male
The answer is: Time in convoluted in Lordran. That's why those fires in the Lower Undead Burg burn forever despite civilization having long since fallen or something. Also the multiplayer.

Though I've heard that in Japanese the actual sentence is "Time is Stagnant in Lordran" which I feel explains the idea better, as in "Time is stagnant like a lake" rather then "flowing like a river". However, I have no idea if that's right because I know like 5 words of Japanese.
I could be wrong, but wasn't Dark Souls always in English? Pretty sure the Japanese version had English voice acting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I could be wrong, but wasn't Dark Souls always in English? Pretty sure the Japanese version had English voice acting.
I guess there was an original japanese script somewhere that people have looked at. I've seen videos talk about how some of the things in FROM games actually have a slightly different connotation in Japanese. For example, in Japanese the "Flexile Sentry" was supposed to be called "Sentry of Exile" in Dark Souls 2 and In Dark Souls 3 in Japanese, Yuria alludes to the idea of that Kaathe is Dead if you kill her whereas she says something a little more generic in English.
 
Last edited:

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,905
118
I have a similar irking nag with The New Londo Ruins in Dark Souls. The events of the lore preceding the game's start are ostensibly several (maybe hundred if not thousands of ) years prior to the game, yet the piles of bodies, having been submerged in water for however long are still recognizably intact and neatly piled up for dramatic effect. Never mind that bodies float, they'd have decomposed into mush long ago unless the epic and convoluted lore of Dark Souls were events from a couple weeks ago. Trust me, as someone who's hidden several bodies in several bodies of water, New Londo would be a funky, mushy mess within a few months let alone the span of time we're expected to believe have actually passed since the inexorable emergence of the Chosen Undead. Also, I'm not admitting to any crimes.

That said, given everything resets upon the death of a special someone, maybe the corpses down there are stuck in an endless loop, unable to decompose, but that's a stretch I don't think FROM wants us to think on too much... as is with most of the lore.
Yeah, what-doth-a-skeleton-make in the Soulsverse anyways? I guess maybe being undead to begin with transforms actual living tissue from corpses so there’s nothing to really decompose. They are basically walking screaming leather husks by that point lol.
 

NerfedFalcon

Level i Flare!
Mar 23, 2011
7,065
779
118
Gender
Male
That one was Luis, not Leon. The only other Leon one I remember that hasn't been mentioned is, when asked if he has a smoke, "Got gum."
"Since you're here, why don't I send 'it' to play with you? 'It' should keep you busy."
"Can't remember the name? A senior moment, perhaps."

Even Saddler thinks that's a good one.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,690
11,192
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Who the hell approved for the state of Double Dragon III (NES)? Forget the arcade version! Oh wait, Technos did not care for the quality for any of their Double Dragon games, as long as they sold something. Which explains the worsening quality as the years went on. Which explains partly why they went bankrupt and why Arc System bough them out. Best thing that could ever happen to the franchise. The NES version of III is not the worst version, but it still sucks. Absurdly difficult, you only get 1 life, with additional character acting as "extra lives", and you'll be spamming the same overpowered moves over and over again just to get through stages. Enemy design is repetitive for the first half of the game, and there is of course the platforming. Not the worst, but still unnecessary. Just give me the Sega Genesis version of III any day of the week.
 
Last edited:

XsjadoBlayde

~it ends here~
Apr 29, 2020
3,216
3,354
118
This happens in every damn game with character creation and head clothing...

ezgif.com-gif-maker-172.jpg

Time to put on new hat with useful higher defense stats, and, oh. Oh no...

ezgif.com-gif-maker-173.jpg

This is. It's not how hair works! Super curly hair does not magically become dull straight hair once hat is deployed. If only it were that simple. Plus it just looks awful like that.
 
Last edited:

thebobmaster

Elite Member
Legacy
Apr 5, 2020
1,990
2,024
118
Country
United States
This happens in every damn game with character creation and head clothing...

View attachment 5992

Time to put on new hat with useful higher defense stats, and, oh. Oh no...

View attachment 5993

This is. It's not how hair works! Super curly hair does not magically become dull straight hair once hat is deployed. If only it were that simple. Plus it just looks awful like that.

Along those same lines...well, Penny Arcade summed it up best.

1651097918600.png1651097931653.png
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
This happens in every damn game with character creation and head clothing...

View attachment 5992

Time to put on new hat with useful higher defense stats, and, oh. Oh no...

View attachment 5993

This is. It's not how hair works! Super curly hair does not magically become dull straight hair once hat is deployed. If only it were that simple. Plus it just looks awful like that.
I totally agree how stupid it is. It also begs the question why a Baseball cap raises your defense stats.

This is a great example of where "Clothing affects stats" in Video Games goes wrong.

That's not even getting into the whole "spend ages making character's face, then put on a helmet and never see that face again" systems.
Pretty much why I spend like 15 min total on the character creator in Souls games. 90% of the time my character is going to be completely covered in armor/helmet so why am I bothering with my face?
 
Last edited:

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
So as many of you know, I am a Souls and Elden Ring Enjoyer type person, therefore I've been spending a lot of time playing Elden Ring and occasionally rambling on about said things. And one of high points of these games for me is the level and world design. ER, for the most part, is no exception. I do appreciate the Lands Between feel compelling to explore and make me care about trying to find out what's over the next hill, even if it's often just something awful and/or terrifying. I also appreciate how the World, overall, feels like a place where people can live and get around(or could if the bridges were intact and such), which is always a plus for me. For example, there are roads that run across the world, there are bridges that link the roads(granted most of the bridges are collapsed but they're laid out correctly), forts and castles that command certain points of the map, chokepoints where you'd expect them and so on. Carriages are shown traveling the roads in certain places. You also have the grand lift that allows access between the Plateau and the lower parts of the world.

BUT.....that being said, there's one thing that bugs me. So while it's unclear just how the lands between relate to the rest of the world, it's implied some communication and transport is possible between the game world and elsewhere(The Tarnished are implied to be exiles, just now being summoned back to the Lands Between and there's a "Seafarer" race, who spent their life sailing). You see ships on the map, you see ships wrecked off the coast, Stormveil castle has big ass holes on the seaward side that could only have been fired from the sea(somehow), etc. And yet......as far as I can tell, there is not a single PORT or shipbuilding facility anywhere in the game world and it just bugs me, especially because this is the first FROM game that I can think of where this can't be handwaved somehow(Hell, Dark Souls 2 had a Port even if it makes no sense geographically). There's not even evidence of such a place and it's kind of a shame because a ruined port with half sunken ships would be an interesting place to explore.

Admittedly I haven't explored the whole map yet but I've explored almost all of the early game areas and the Altus Plateau, and from what I can tell, most of the game world I haven't visited at this point is higher up and thus would be ill-suited for a port, so If there wasn't one in Caelid, Luneria or Limgrave, there's likely not one at Mt Gelmir or the Mountains either.
 
Last edited: