Alternate ways of playing games

Inspired by SNESDrunk’s “Unconventional Ways to Play Classic Super Nintendo Games” videos. (You should definitely check SNESDrunk out).

Finding alternate ways of playing a game, whether by doing a self-imposed challenge, or just playing a game differently than it was intended, are a good way of spicing up games you’ve played hundreds of times.

I’ll start with the 30 Melon Challenge in Yoshi’s Story, where you try to get all of the 30 Melons in each level, and NO OTHER FRUIT. It’s basically like Hard Mode for the game. Particular Mushroom has a video that goes into more detail.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9enXcWdVqus

Evergreen5970,

Relevant TVTropes link, Not the Way It Is Meant to Be Played.

I am generally a video hater but this is very entertaining: a tutorial on beating Skyrim without ever using the left stick. The actual video title is misleading and just claims it’s beating it without ever walking.

AdmiralRob,

ymfah is a mad genius, and everyone should check out his other videos.

taylus,

I love retroachievements for this sort of thing

Zapp,

I like to play though GunStar Heroes (a terrific Contra style bullet hell) with a self inflicted “melee attacks only” rule.

The fact that it’s possible is one of the cool things about the game.

Didros,

If you like unintended ways to play games then check out all of the great OSRS youtubers like Settled who made an account in runescape where he locked himself to one region of the map and didn’t allow himself to use a bank. A lot of fun is had in self imposed challenges around those parts.

dQw4w9WgXcQ,

It’s a minor thing, but whenever I get into a pokemon game, I deposit my starter ASAP. I don’t want to rely on the pokemon which is spoon fed to me from start, it feels a lot better to play the game with whatever I’m able to catch along the path.

chunktoplane,

I tried to play Ultra Sun using only my starter Rowlet, and had to put it down when the game forced me into a double battle. I would have been okay with hatching a second Rowlet from an egg but it didn’t work.

deltasalmon,

My first time playing Pokémon Blue I did the opposite because I didn't realize you could change the order of the pokemon so my Bulbasaur was in my #1 spot and even if I knew the other trainer was going to use a fire pokemon i'd end up starting the battle and wasting a turn switching pokemon. Needless to say he was super overpowered by the end of the game from all the forced XP

dQw4w9WgXcQ,

I did the same way back when playing pokémon red. My Blastoise was up in level 60-70 when I approached the last gym. Being a small kid, I didn’t understand tactics of effective types - only that my pokemon was an awesome heavy turtle with cannons on its back. I never really tried to use other pokemon or switch out during battle.

Zapp,

I do the same!

I would love to hear people’s preferred early game alternate starters.

I usually go with the first non-Normal type Pokemon I encounter and build my team around it.

dQw4w9WgXcQ,

I try to stay open and switch out whatever seems logical to make a complete team with good coverage - both in types and atk/sp.atk distribution.

SevenSwell,

I love me an underrated Bug superstar. In Black I used a Leavanny as mine and it cleaned house. When I played Omega Ruby my Masquerain carried my team and took me totally by surprise.

TheFloydist,

If you haven’t had the joy of perusing it-he.org I highly recommend it for the various “anti-walkthroughs” as the creator of the website has dubbed them. I’m always on the lookout for modern games that are broken in the kinds of ways that allow an anti-walkthrough but it seems quality control has generally improved for most of the gaming industry and it is difficult to achieve such a feat in many games without speed runner like tactics and abilities.

verycoolusername,

Such a cool site! Very nostalgic vibes

SteposVenzny,

I beat Tears of the Kingdom without doing any main quests at all after getting to the surface, which I didn’t realize going in would mean beating it without the paraglider. It changes everything about how you approach movement and even a lot of the combat when you don’t have that crutch to lean on.

I accidentally created a speedster pacifist in Oblivion, building the crap out of my speed and acrobatics and neglecting the archery and stealth I had planned to specialize in so I just had to rush through dungeons stealing all the treasure and weaving between an ever-growing web of enemy attacks. By far the best Oblivion character I ever made.

ono,

beating it without the paraglider

Did you keep a tally of dishes and potions consumed? Because I’m guessing it was more than a few.

SteposVenzny,

The lack of paraglider didn’t have much of an impact on that. It’s more common to either die or be unharmed by a fall than to take survivable damage.

ono,

I was thinking more about stamina than health, from having to climb your way to high places without usable overhangs.

SteposVenzny,

I went more for tech-based solutions.

Zapp,

I did the speedster pacificst build in DnDOnline once, because I liked to kite most enemies while charming a few to fight for me.

It was wild how that character could solo some difficult dungeons, but then a solitary guard at the top of a ladder was nearly impassable.

verbalbotanics,

I won’t call it pacifist mode exactly, but I prefer to play games like Tears of the Kingdom or even GTA by just walking around slowly and taking photos, observing the scenery. GTA San Andreas (the old ps2 version) is weirdly great for this because it has so many hazy colors and jaggy lines.

Ser_Salty,

I love just cruising around San Andreas’ map, stopping at roadside restaurants, clothing shops, betting shops etc., just kind of going on a little roadtrip with K-Dust in my ear

audaxdreik,

One of my favorite examples of this was playing The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure on the Gamecube back in they day. Me and a friend were really into it, but had trouble rounding up extra players. We got his little sister and an unwilling third friend to join. After about 30 minutes the unwilling friend, Marcus, gets bored with the game and starts sabotaging the rest of us. He’d run around smacking us with his sword making us drop rupees or refuse to stand where we needed him. That’s honestly when it became fun for all of us, though.

The other three of us would plan out the room and then we’d figure out how to wrangle Marcus back into place. Someone would hold him so he couldn’t go rogue and hit us while the others got in place to pull some levers before the wrangler would toss Marcus onto a pressure plate or something. He got to continue being a little bastard while we (slowly) made progress through the game. He eventually came around and helped us when it was absolutely necessary, but it was always clear it was just so he could keep being a bastard again. I really enjoy that asymmetrical style of gameplay and wish more things capitalized on it.

Also on the Gamecube of notable mention was Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Always fun when someone would get the personal mission of “take the most damage” and become a suicidal maniac in every encounter, much to everyone else’s detriment. Ah the good old days.

buckykat,

I like rimworld, but I play it as a utopian anarchist commune simulator instead of a human leather war crimes simulator as intended

Vodulas,

That’s how I always play it too. Hell, 1/3 of my population is usually made up of converted raiders.

richyawyingtmv, (edited )

Here’s a fun one

Open up retroarch and apply the following as settings for a game:

  • adjustment filter to mirror the screen, I think it’s in an image adjustment folder but can’t check which one at the moment
  • swap left and right in the controls (in-game remap, not the menu controls)

Mirror mode! On any game! As long as you don’t care about text, it’s a fun way to add replay value. Great for platformers like Donkey Kong Country 2, Mario, etc.

If you really want a mindfuck, play a top down game like Zelda Link to the Past with the above but ALSO top down inverted too. I do that with the ALTTP randomizer sometimes.

Edit: hang on, I got Yoshi’s Story at launch and I 100% remember the ultimate aim of the game is to actually get all the melons. It’s not an alternative mode really, it’s the actual goal for 100%. At least, it’s how I played it in 1998.

Glaive0,

To your edit, OP said ONLY the melons, no other fruit.

richyawyingtmv,

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Getting ONLY the green melons on each stage has always been the goal to get 100%. I remember vividly filling up the records screen and even posting a results photo to N64 Magazine.

richyawyingtmv, (edited )

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Getting ONLY the green melons on each stage has always been the goal to get 100%. I remember vividly filling up the records screen and even sending a results photo in the post to N64 Magazine back in 1998.

I’ll try and dig up the issue that confirms the goal is to get the green melons. It’s hard mode yes, but it’s not exactly a hidden goal. Yoshi’s Story is very intentionally vague on providing any instructions or written goals to the player, but the instruction manual and guides do.

Edit: here we go. Instruction manual scan, page 18. Specifically tells you to collect all melons for the best score. It was always there and the game guides of the day made it very, very clear. <a href="">https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Nintendo_N64/Manual/formated/Yoshi-s_Story_-1998-_Nintendo.pdf</a>

Edit edit: this is a sore point for me as there are a lot of traumatic memories being bought back now of getting to 29 melons then accidentally eating a banana and having to start over! Was a fucking pain in the arse and I remember spending hours and hours on it.

BigBananaDealer,
@BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee avatar

trying to play lefty flip on guitar hero/rock band is such a mindfuck when youve only played right hand

Essence_of_Meh,

That's pretty much me with most (open world) games.

I always treated games as a different worlds to get immersed in and that's how I approach them to this day.
I'm also a weirdo who likes to makes games more difficult and realistic/tedious for myself which means stuff like limiting the amount of carried items, not using fast travel, acting like an actual part of the world, turning off the UI if possible and choosing fashion over min maxing.

I don't think I ever did any kind of "gimmick" challenges. Probably because it kind of contradicts with my usual way of play.
It is however always interesting to read up on them - it amazes me what some people come up with to spice up their playthrough.

supersonicstork,
@supersonicstork@beehaw.org avatar

I never got it until I got Skyrim VR

So many soothing moments beneath an aurora, in a bustling tavern or just walking along a path

Essence_of_Meh,

Yeah, it's definitely not for everyone nor for every game but it can be really fun and relaxing as long as you don't care about constant action or lots of progress.

Omegamanthethird,

Finding alternate ways of playing a game, whether by doing a self-imposed challenge, or just playing a game differently than it was intended, are a good way of spicing up games you’ve played hundreds of times.

Or in some cases, playing the game how it’s meant to be played. Like in a lot of RPGs, you’re not really supposed to grind.

I played Final Fantasy VIII without grinding cards, draws, items, or anything until end game content. It was relieving to not have to worry about any of it.

Zapp,

I had the opposite FF8 experience. I got lost like 3 times, and between over leveling and limit breaks, none of the bag guys ever got through their dialog trees during a fight. It was funny, but I don’t recommend it.

bermuda,

Playing GTA by following all traffic laws. There are even mods for turn signals and realistic traffic flows for GTA 5

RealAccountNameHere,
@RealAccountNameHere@beehaw.org avatar

🎶 “Obeying all the traffic laws In Grand Theft Auto 5…” 🎶

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