So I picked up Fire Emblem Awakening

Yeah, I raised him up and he cleans up but... his kid
dear god

 

Oh, I know. I've got one right now. Haven't even needed to use him much though.

 

If I choose not to reset, it's me opting out of optimal conditions. Which no player would. You wouldn't opt to not take down a queen in chess. It comes down to the same choice. Resetting is a skill in the arsenal of the player. Meanwhile, "casual mode" allows me to feel comfortable with not resetting, but I can still mess up enough to lose. In fact, because there's no long term loss for making an error, you're prone to make more errors and give the game more chances to win. A reset isn't a loss, it's a redo. I could continue without the death, but why should I as a player of games? There's no benefit other than not having to redo the battle. Something that "casual mode" also allows without having to just accept a disadvantage. Again, because I don't have to repeat the same turns for perfection, I can actually lose the battle.

 

But you're not playing chess, you'r playing a video game, with story and stuff. The only goal isn't to make an optimal team and win, there's more to it

 

Because it's a video game on a video game system, I have all the options that the system includes. These are valid strategies to winning the game.

And what are you even implying? That story and dialogue is the more to it? No, those are rewards for winning, and you only get the full canon if you are optimal and don't lose anyone. Those also are part of the video portion rather than the game portion.

 

That is clearly incorrect because there are entire sets of players who resolve to keep what they roll out of integrity. When you miss the chance to take down a queen, you don't ask your opponent to allow a restart to the match. You keep playing and accept that you got the short straw due to your own mistake.

Resetting the game is not a tool that the game developer intended. You can reset any game on any console. Choosing to reset the system and keep trying until the dice roll in your favor is not gaming in any kind of game. It's being a sore loser.

Note: If you do ask your opponent to restart in Chess, you may have a problem with adapting to sub-optimal conditions. You may profit from prolonged exposure to the long term consequences of your careless actions. In other words, not giving up until you get a game over.

 

The first time around I played Easy and Classic, and my second time, I chose Normal and whatever the other mode is. Though that was a rough decision on my part. But still, it's not like there's a right or wrong way to play it, and with the two modes, there's a happy silver-lining for everyone

 

no you didn't because there is no easy​

 

He's right. The easiest mode on Awakening is Normal Casual.

 

Yeah, the rest was point missing gibberish (chess doesn't come with a reset button, systems do, design around it) but this needs to be addressed. Let's say I reset in Super Mario RPG because I missed a timed hit. What did I gain? Nothing, I didn't lose the fight, there were no long term losses from the mistake, I had plenty of time to win the fight. If I reset, I gain nothing except the ability to redo that critical hit. If I want to beat a part in Metal Gear Rising with an S rank and don't get it and reset, what do I earn? Just a chance at that S rank, but the story and the rest of the game progresses the same even if I chose to reset and try again. I didn't gain anything or lose anything. In Dark Souls, if I had a bunch of souls and died, and reset to the last bonfire, then what do I gain? A chance to redo without losing those souls. If I don't reset, then I have the chance to claim those souls and DOUBLE my soul count by accepting that the game beat me. That's designing around it. In Fire Emblem, optimal strategy is retry until you do everything perfect, lose nothing and can save again so you have all the options in the next chapter.

Denying yourself optimal strategy is as much a self-imposed challenge as playing blind-folded or attempting a "no damage" run. If the game isn't imposing the challenge and the player is, that's a problem with the game. Design around it. "Casual mode," again the terrible name, is an attempt designing around it. Even if it wasn't the reason, it's still makes resetting pointless to the player. I didn't lose anything long term. This makes every battle like a game of chess where if I lose a piece, I try to counter and win and do better next time. Rather than if I lose a piece, that piece is gone for the next twenty rounds of play.

Also, saying a strategy RPG is nothing like chess is actually dumb. Wait, you mean it's a game based around war strategy that involves positions and each piece having dynamic movement and attack styles based on what type of piece they are? NOTHING LIKE CHESS GET OUT DUMB.

 

I think it depends. Plus, it just saves frustration in general.

In Darc's fourth chapter in Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, there is an equipable missable item for Delma that an enemy drops in the only event battle in that chapter. The chances of it dropping are about 20%, so if you want to get it, you'll have to do resets.

In Arc the Lad: End of Darkness, you can obtain character cards at the lottery. The lottery costs 10 mystery cards to play, and if you don't get the character, you can just reset. There are two ways to obtain mystery cards: completing the hunter exams until Edda reaches the maximum class, each of which are one-time only battles, or by racing the clock in time limit challenges -- one pod will earn you one mystery card every time you beat it, the other five mystery cards, and the other ten mystery cards.

In Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, you can play at the casino to earn tokens, which in turn can be used to buy some pretty awesome things, such as the Gringham Whip, Jessica's best whip. The best way to earn tokens is by playing the roulette wheel. If the ball doesn't stop on a number or numbers you bet on, simply reset the game. The only way to earn tokens is by betting tokens to win tokens or by purchasing them for 20 gold a piece, which can become expensive. It's not that easy to accumulate gold.

All three games above have soft-reset available.

 

I am just as certain that the developers of those games intended for you to accept your losses and move on instead of reset.

 

I edited the post a few times after posting it. All of those games have soft-reset available, and they wouldn't have put it in if they didn't want you using it.

 

Wait... You want them to make it impossible to restart the system so that you don't feel tempted? Aren't you doing yourself a disservice rather than the devs doing you one at that point?

Who said that it was nothing like chess?

 

No, I don't. I want them to make it that restarting the system isn't an optimal solution. Again, the Dark Souls example. Respawn mode (I'm not calling it casual anymore) makes it much easier to take a temporary loss and and actually accept a loss and retry because you lost. Not because you lost one piece and now you need to reset or you'll never see that piece again. It's not optimal strategy in respawn mode to reset. You'll lose and gain nothing.

And Hatok said "This isn't chess, it's a video game"

 

That would defeat the point of making you live with sub-optimal moves. Living with sub-optimal circumstances is a valuable experience; that's the whole point. I'm getting the message that living with them in the long term is all around bad. Is that what you think?

Oh. Didn't see it.

 

Listen all I'ma say is

I'm glad you can run from bosses in Chrono Cross

because fuck sitting through that cutscene every time I wanna fight Miguel again

 

Did you run from Miguel, and then save, and then go back and fight so you wouldn't have to rewatch the cutscene?

 

Coming as a person who does reset, I simply view it as a game over. Like if Chrom dies, but applied to every mission. It raises stakes significantly and ultimately made me a better player who makes less mistakes and thinks ahead

 

Exactly.

Another way to play is to accept your losses and continue until you get a game over, then restart the whole game. Give it a try. It drives it home even harder.