My least favorite way to play

RPGs are my least favorite kind of video game. I still like them, but they're my least favorite. Again, they're good and all, but when compared to all the other genres of games out there, they just fall dead last for me.

Let's take a look at the different genres that make up all video games:

Action
Adventure
Shooters
Puzzles
RPGs
Strategy (Real time and turn based)
Simulation

Now I'm going to rearrange that same list from best to worst, in my opinion:

Action
Shooters
Puzzles
Adventure
Strategy
Simulation
RPGs

Yes. Even simulation came before RPG. Just in case you don't know, simulation type games are just what they sound like. They give you a virtual experience of some activity that you probably won't be able to do in real life. An example of this is Harvest Moon, a series where the main objective is to grow vegetables and raise livestock on a farm. And yes. It's fun.

So what makes RPGs my least favorite out of all the genres out there? Several things. First of all, the actual game takes a very long time to complete. Every RPG I've ever known had a save feature. If they didn't, the game would be pretty much unplayable, as you probably couldn't sit down for HOURS at a time to play through it.

Leveling up is a minor problem, but it's still a problem. I mean, how come it has to take so long? You fight the same monsters over and over again, and the game becomes slightly tedious and repetitive. It doesn't make the game BAD, it just makes it stale. In general, I don't like leveling up systems. So, you finally get enough EXP to gain a level and now you're stronger. YAY! So now you'll have an easier time killing those same monsters, right? Uh, no. You'll have to tackle even STRONGER monsters to gain the same amount of EXP that the lower monsters provided before. Fux. You don't really feel strong at all, because you keep going at monsters with the same strength as your party.

I think I'd need a pencil and paper to count the number of secrets in an RPG. There are a lot. What makes it worse is that the "secrets" are sometimes vital in order to pass through a certain part of the game. It may not be necessary, but it sure makes things a hell of a lot easier. It's time to go searching. I don't know, but searching every inch of a vast area to get some sword or some armor is really not worth it. But it makes you regret it when you go fight the boss without strong equipment. So keep searching.

Buying stuff is pretty much a staple in any RPG, or any other adventure game, for that matter. It's no problem, as long as you have a plump wallet. But what happens when you go broke? The only sources of money are probably those secret treasure chests or fighting monsters. Searching, like I said, is not worth it. So sharpen your blades, it's time to kill some dragons. It may take 15 battles to gain enough money to buy whatever you need, and that's overkill.

The way I'm talking about RPGs right now may lead you to think that I hate them. But if you were paying attention, you'd read up there that I still like them. Why? Well, as many problems as there are, the good parts of RPGs totally make up for the bad parts. For example, there's usually turn based battle modes, and I like that. It allows you to think strategically and plan out your attack. I also love the feeling of being high level. It just kicks everyone's ass. And when you max out your stats, you can pretty much go back to any part of the map and just rape everything in your way. There are a lot of puzzles to figure out during an RPG and that brings an enjoyable element into the gameplay.

There are many RPGs out there, and a few notable and popular ones, such as: Final Fantasy, Golden Sun, and Earthbound (now that I think about it, Pokemon kinda seems like an RPG). So it's not a bad series. I'd just rather play something else if I could.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to play through Final Fantasy 1 (GBA remake) for a second time. So there might be a VG review on that.

School starts soon, huh?