Video Games You Appreciated More After Your First Playthrough

[bigstinkie]

when i finished final fantasy vii rebirth i thought to myself, 'well that was an improvement in every way to ffvii remake part 1' but that was all i thought
playing the game on the mix of new game plus/hard mode (hard mode in the game functions similarly to a new game plus with additional little quirks like the inability to use items the entire playthrough), i am engaging with all of the mechanics more deeply, experimenting with materia set ups much more aggressively, exploring everywhere for addtional helpful gear, and so on
really at this point i am very impressed with the game and its mechanics, and my opinion on the game has improved quite a bit compared to how i felt after initially completing the game

i find myself curious if anyone else has has such an experience whilst playing the great large gamezors

 

[DEH]

What do you think of the end of Rebirth ?

 

[bjork]

The Witness, because the first time through I didn't really get it. "Okay, so you do some mazes...?" No, dummy. There's way more to it than that.

 

[Tonberry]

Monster Hunter World.
It wasn’t my first MH game technically, as I owned Freedom Unite as a kid, but only played a bit because it was intimidating and multiplayer didn’t work for me, but I bought World on release on PS4 and struggled a lot with understanding the game and mostly got frustrated.

Then after it had been out on PC for a while a friend gifted me a copy (World was their first MH) when it was on sale, and at that time I went in with an open mind and picked Hammer and the game instantly clicked, and we played for a million hours.

 

[Your_Homie_Gale]

Like usual, I got a few.

Dark Souls 3:
Believe or not I actually didn't like this game, and it took until like my 5th playthrough to truly enjoy it. I was upset the game was now fast paced like Bloodborne while not feeling as good as Bloodborne. I much preferred the slower combat akin to Dark Souls 1 & 2, and on top of that I really did miss how the magic system was like in those games. While going for the platinum achievement I just changed how I played, got better and used to the game's speed. Before I knew it I started liking it probably because this whole time I played like I was playing Dark Souls 2. Once I got gud the game really opened up for me.

Hotline Miami 2:
Another game I didn't like initially. In fact I hated it. It kept bouncing between different levels with different characters while its difficultly felt unbalanced. Like levels 11 and 12, Dead Ahead & Death Wish, are 2 of the hardest levels in the game; and they're the mid point of the game. Not to mention I just didn't understand the story. As to why I kept going back was because I liked the game's presentation. It's story played out like a Quentin Tarantino film, and I realized there were a lot of key details I missed. When I went for 100% completion I began to appreciate how smart some of the level design was despite being huge. I changed up my playstyle by using more guns, understanding where certain enemies were, and how to keep the combo streak going. Now I really enjoy Hotline Miami 2 and think it is on par, if not better, than Hotline Miami 1.

Sonic Adventure 2:
I loved this game as a kid but never finished it. I played it as a teenager, finished it, and hated it. But as an adult, I think I love this game no matter how flawed. It could be because I got better at the treasure hunting stages, or because I've learned to appreciate it for what it is. Also the soundtrack is far better than I remembered.

 

[KaiserMk7]

I've found that, in general, I better intuit the rules and best practices of the games of my youth than I used to and think more about the technical implementation of the mechanics and visual effects than I ever had an eye for in the past.

 

[χKai]

The events of Chrono Cross unfolded several times to me, opening more to my young mind each time I played through as I understood the story better with each clearing.

Don't get me wrong, I read the dialogue thoroughly, but it was of complicated matters which was a lot to take in at my young age back then.

But as I did, it continued to blow my mind over and over again repeatedly and I became addicted to the sensation.

 

[bigstinkie]

chrono cross is the wine that keeps my life in love

 

[Zerohour2k12]

The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy
Trials of Mana
Samus Returns/AM2R
Tomb Raider 2013
Wild-9
Silent Hill Series
SRW Series
Jedi Outcast
Parasite Eve
RGG Zero
Valkyrie Profile 1 and 2

 

[RetroDrew]

Shadow Warrior 2013. My first playthrough I was shocked by how bad the game was optimized for a shooter. Never gave me enough ammo, found myself using the sword more than my guns, never felt powerful enough to take down enemies, etc.

Decided to revisit it after Shadow Warrior 3 and was pleasently surprised at how much better of a time I was having this time through. My issue was I did not realize you had multiple skill trees you could upgrade. If memory serves me right, the game doesn't do the best job introducing all of that but once I realized there were skill trees to give you more ammo, to buff your guns, sword, and other mechanics, it completely changed the feel of the game and made it much more palatable. Over all not a bad FPS for the time, but I do think 2 & 3 are better games. And the classic shadow warrior from 97 is still blast to playthrough as well

 

[BigHairyMarty]

Escape from Monkey Island.

Having waited three years to finally be able to play it, I found myself really disappointed at a certain plot twist near the end of the game, due to how much it contradicts the backstories of two different characters from the previous games.

There's also a mandatory minigame with overly complex mechanics that'll grind the game to a halt, but I was able to soldier on through that.

In recent years, I've been more forgiving towards it. If you ignore the plot holes, it works well enough as a standalone story.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

For me... It was Loom.

I was so genuinely unimpressed by it at first, but then the awesome gameplay mechanics, engaging storyline and sublime score really hit me in full.

What an underrated masterpiece.

 

[Carlnshake Carlnshake]

Way of the Samurai in general but that is kind of a cheat answer as it's meant to be played over and over. But every time I play a different faction or something in that game I get more invested in the world, and you see everyone's different perspectives on matters (some are nuanced, some are just inherently bad or good). Great series

 

[χKai]

For me... It was Loom.

I was so genuinely unimpressed by it at first, but then the awesome gameplay mechanics, engaging storyline and sublime score really hit me in full.

What an underrated masterpiece.

I've been wanting to play that for  years, and this statement of yours only reinforces the urge.
I gotta find a way to play it..

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I've been wanting to play that for  years, and this statement of yours only reinforces the urge.
I gotta find a way to play it..

Fairly sure it's fully playable on ScummVM

 

[BigHairyMarty]

Loom is an old favourite.

It's been years since I last played through it all, but I was quick to download it at the first opportunity because I enjoyed the Passport to Adventure demo so much.

 

[bigstinkie]

i have been using scummvm in order to play the longest journey on modern hardware, i will put loom on my to-do list

 

[trickybus]

A Garry's Mod addon called Watching Paint Dry: The Game. Saw it in the Steam Workshop, thought it was a shitpost. Booted it up and initially, I 100 percent believed it was a shitpost because I couldn't leave the first room despite the featured screenshots displaying other rooms. I dropped it for several months.

Once I figured out that the game was about subverting expectations and secret-hunting, I realized that there was waaaaay more to this than I originally thought there was. It's still kind of shitposty but in a creative and entertaining way.

Also, the 1985 Oregon Trail and Oregon Trail 3rd Edition. I loved the idea of the games as a kid but I was Death incarnate and never saw a victory screen. Once I replayed them as an adult, I realized I just sucked

 

[Questless Knight]

So many games I would be here all day and bore people to death naming them.
Daggerfall
C&C 95
Warcraft 2
Ar tonelico 2 "rely had a huge impact on me"
Mass effect 2 "which was the first game I played then I finished 1 and 3"
Yakuza series
FFX and FFX-2