I can think of plenty fun 3D collectathons from the late 1990s and early 2000s, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Gex 2, Gex 3, the Spyro games, and Jak and Daxter. That feeling of being dropped off in an open world filled with various missions that are just waiting to be completed by collecting certain items seems like it's only limited to Mario nowadays though. But even then, games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, while good, seem more streamlined in comparison to the first two 3D Super Mario games. Does anyone else have a similar feeling or do I just not have a wide enough knowledge of today's games?
There are quite a few old school collect-a-thons in the making right now on the indie side of the spectrum. Off the top of my head, there are Project Ukulele, A Hat in Time, Lobodestroyo, and FreezeME.
It was a boring mechanic used to add length to games literally blown up into it's own genre. It was a product of it's time because developers wanted to utilize the new fancy 3D.
There are quite a few old school collect-a-thons in the making right now on the indie side of the spectrum. Off the top of my head, there are Project Ukulele, A Hat in Time, Lobodestroyo, and FreezeME.
I'm familiar with A Hat in Time, but I was more so talking about first party titles. I wouldn't mind you or anyone else telling me about those kind of indie titles though.
It was a boring mechanic used to add length to games literally blown up into it's own genre. It was a product of it's time because developers wanted to utilize the new fancy 3D.
I didn't find it boring, at least in the games I played and I really don't mind how long a game is so long as I'm consistently having fun, and I was. I don't think that it's just a product of it's time, because any game can be timeless, so long as it's fun now just as much as it was fun then.
Backloggery. Now playing: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Donkey Kong, EarthBound Beginnings, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, and Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+.
It was a boring mechanic used to add length to games literally blown up into it's own genre. It was a product of it's time because developers wanted to utilize the new fancy 3D.
Whether a gameplay mechanic is boring or not depends solely on how well it is executed. And developers are still trying to utilize 3D - nothing inherently wrong with that.
There is nothing interesting or worthwhile about the collectathon genre part of the definition is it has to be monotonous to be part of the genre. (It has to involve collecting loads of something for basically zero benefit).
If playing the game is actually good e.g Mario 64 it is not a collectathon.
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Freedom of the press is for those who happen to own one.
It was a boring mechanic used to add length to games literally blown up into it's own genre. It was a product of it's time because developers wanted to utilize the new fancy 3D.
Whether a gameplay mechanic is boring or not depends solely on how well it is executed. And developers are still trying to utilize 3D - nothing inherently wrong with that.
To be fair, yes, whether it's boring or fun is completely subjective. I enjoyed having to collect extra stuff in games like Crash Bandicoot, but when collecting is the entire game it gets repetitive and boring for me.
Most games that could be considered legit collectathons looked at Banjo-Kazooie, and proceeded to do everything that game did right absolutely wrong. It was a genre that caved in under its own weight, and most developers found ways to do a lot of what B-K did in a more varied and streamlined fashion. Though, perhaps with 10+ years of hindsight, developers could make worthwhile games in that genre in the future.
(It has to involve collecting loads of something for basically zero benefit).
Playing a game isn't always about the reward, because it's more so about the fun you have with them. I don't know about you, but I have fun with collectathons, at least with the ones I've played.
Backloggery. Now playing: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Donkey Kong, EarthBound Beginnings, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, and Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+.
(It has to involve collecting loads of something for basically zero benefit).
Playing a game isn't always about the reward, because it's more so about the fun you have with them. I don't know about you, but I have fun with collectathons, at least with the ones I've played.
I wouldn't consider Mario 64 or Mario Sunshine "collectathons." 64 Had you collecting stars over the course of the game, each of which was obtained at the end of a level with a clear, platforming-based objective. The only other thing you collected was red coins, but those were relegated to one mission in each level, not gathered across the course of the game. Sunshine was similar, but with Shine Sprites instead of stars.
Games like these haven't gone anywhere.
The Banjo-Kazooies and Donkey Kong 64s, however, have died out because, like others said, a lot of people felt like it was more fun to have clear goals in mind when playing the game, rather than wandering around trying to find as many tokens and widgets and gears and blueprints and crystal pieces as you can.
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The Banjo-Kazooies and Donkey Kong 64s, however, have died out because, like others said, a lot of people felt like it was more fun to have clear goals in mind when playing the game, rather than wandering around trying to find as many tokens and widgets and gears and blueprints and crystal pieces as you can.
Isn't that called exploration? What would be the fun in knowing where every single thing was? Part of the fun is the discovery.
The Banjo-Kazooies and Donkey Kong 64s, however, have died out because, like others said, a lot of people felt like it was more fun to have clear goals in mind when playing the game, rather than wandering around trying to find as many tokens and widgets and gears and blueprints and crystal pieces as you can.
Isn't that called exploration? What would be the fun in knowing where every single thing was? Part of the fun is the discovery.
No. Super Mario 64 has tons of exploration, and only ONE thing to collect in the entire game that is mandatory: Stars. And you get them for a variety of tasks. Honestly, Sandbox games like inFamous and Assassin's Creed feels more like an evolution of the Collectathon than anything else, to the point where I often wonder if we really need a return to collectathons when it's actually a very limiting idea...
The Banjo-Kazooies and Donkey Kong 64s, however, have died out because, like others said, a lot of people felt like it was more fun to have clear goals in mind when playing the game, rather than wandering around trying to find as many tokens and widgets and gears and blueprints and crystal pieces as you can.
Isn't that called exploration? What would be the fun in knowing where every single thing was? Part of the fun is the discovery.
No. Super Mario 64 has tons of exploration, and only ONE thing to collect in the entire game that is mandatory: Stars. And you get them for a variety of tasks. Honestly, Sandbox games like inFamous and Assassin's Creed feels more like an evolution of the Collectathon than anything else, to the point where I often wonder if we really need a return to collectathons when it's actually a very limiting idea...
As an Assassin's Creed fan, I can tell you the large difference in actual memorable, interesting and consistently fun level design between (good) 90s collectathon platformers and increasingly large open world Assassin's Creed. It is pretty equal to the actual difference in size of these games, if not greatly favoring the platformers.
Even DK64 isn't as repetitive as trying to 100% an AC game. Not even kidding. Assassin's Creed is the key of useless collectables, I don't know how anyone had the patience for those flags or feathers before they made it possible to find equivalent items on the map in later games.
I've personally never been one to understand the hate for DK64. I mean, granted, I have no plans of returning to that game or trying to 100% it again, but I really enjoyed playing that one. It lasted me for years! I mean, I've heard the arguments, and while the backtracking is extremely noticeable, I felt that going through as a different character tended to change how you handled certain areas, and often there were tag barrels near any areas that branched off, depending on which Kong you were. And a lot of people complained about the confusing maps, but I feel like aside from Frantic Factory, I never really got lost, and seriously, Frantic Factory was supposed to be confusing. That was the point.
Really, the only complaint with the game I've ever heard that I really agree with is that it's way too friggen hard. You had to beat the original Donkey Kong AND Jetpac in order to beat the game. As a child, that was my stopping point. I couldn't beat the original DK twice to get the Nintendo medal, so I gave up. Came back three or four years later and found I could now beat that section, then went on to 100% the game (with some serious frustration in tow). DK64 is easily one of the hardest platformers I've ever played, and unlike most of them, there wasn't an easy way to skid by without taking on the harder challenges. You HAD to fight each boss. You were required to challenge the arcade machines. You were forced to get blueprints so you would have enough time to beat Hideout Helm. Each boss only got harder than the last, the dragonfly's reprise, Cutout K. Rool, and the king of crocs, himself in a grueling five-part final boss fight in which losing any section sends you back to the start. DK64 seriously pushed the limits of my gaming potential at the time, so I can see why some people saw it as being too hard.
Other than that, I really don't feel like it was as boring as people say it is. I greatly enjoyed exploring each new area, finding all the secret sections, and seeing everything the game had to offer. I just wish more people could've seen it that way.
Dear OP I really really hated games that had secrets and this and for getting every single item. Games like Metroid, and Super-Mario World started this bit, by where you had secret passages with hidden bosses and such. Personally every game has some sorta GET POINT system, where you might have to shoot an certain enemy or even do something to do go to an hidden area. It was really annoying and distracting to get things like that.
Take Mischief Makers, where I had to collect golden Gems just to see the entire ending, which keeps you in the game or even in Bomberman N64 to get all the power suits or see the secret ending, or boss battle. That is what those things were for.
I mean wow 100% and I get to see Yoshi in Mario 64. I mean that is just cruelty for some people but for children it is an way to keep them occupied.
Then take Castlevania for the PCE. You get this and that so you can unlock and bunch of extra scenes as well as an extra level just for fun. To make things worst the game was ported to the PSP but they changed up everything ( which makes it an completely different game. More censored and art direction derailed ). They even added an extra bosses ( which is just the same boss but more wings ).
Chrono Trigger extra boss is the boss from the Chrono Cross game.
Otherwise you could go back to collecting rocks in "Hamtaro" GBC. I mean hurray Hamtaro collect rocks. Poor girls omgsh....sad
Dear OP I really really hated games that had secrets and this and for getting every single item. Games like Metroid, and Super-Mario World started this bit, by where you had secret passages with hidden bosses and such. Personally every game has some sorta GET POINT system, where you might have to shoot an certain enemy or even do something to do go to an hidden area. It was really annoying and distracting to get things like that.
Take Mischief Makers, where I had to collect golden Gems just to see the entire ending, which keeps you in the game or even in Bomberman N64 to get all the power suits or see the secret ending, or boss battle. That is what those things were for.
I mean wow 100% and I get to see Yoshi in Mario 64. I mean that is just cruelty for some people but for children it is an way to keep them occupied.
Then take Castlevania for the PCE. You get this and that so you can unlock and bunch of extra scenes as well as an extra level just for fun. To make things worst the game was ported to the PSP but they changed up everything ( which makes it an completely different game. More censored and art direction derailed ). They even added an extra bosses ( which is just the same boss but more wings ).
Chrono Trigger extra boss is the boss from the Chrono Cross game.
Otherwise you could go back to collecting rocks in "Hamtaro" GBC. I mean hurray Hamtaro collect rocks. Poor girls omgsh....sad
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Topic: Whatever happened to the 3D collectathon genre?
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