Editor’s note: I prefer PC role-playing games to console RPGs because of the replayability I often find in PC RPGs (thanks mostly to mods). I’d love to see more console games have a feature similar to Chrono Trigger’s New Game + mode. How about you? -Jason
As an adult gamer, my time and money is precious. I have bills to pay, and I have work to do in order to pay them. My time for gaming’s limited, so when I set aside time to play, I want an experience that’s fulfilling. My dollar demands replay value. Many games nowadays provide nothing after the ending, but that’s not always the case.
This is a novel suggestion, but I’m going to remind developers of their history.
As a young elementary school student, I was thrilled to discover Chrono Trigger under the Christmas tree. I was delighted and shocked to see it, since I knew it was $85 at the time, which was a lot for a videogame. I played it for a long time, and I invested many hours in the story.
I was so addicted to this game that I actually gave it up for Lent, right at the end before I could beat Lavos. When I finished, I was sad because I knew that the experience was over.
Or was it?
Chrono Trigger did something that I’d never even seen before. They included a New Game + mode, which allowed players to carry over all of the great gear that they’d spent hours finding to a new game. Many point to the game’s multiple endings as the main reason for its replayability, but I was always more excited about New Game + because it allowed you to experience the story without forcing you into mundane tasks, like grinding and learning the techs all over again.
The current model for replayability in console games is the DLC model. DLC allows developers to sell new content or enhancements to older content for games. Tales of Vesperia is infamous for allowing the player to purchase their way through the game, which may be a topic for another musing.
RPGs specifically would benefit more from New Game +. Console RPGs are essentially story-driven experiences where the story’s broken — not broken as in not working, but broken as in interrupted by combat, leveling, exploring, etc. By allowing the player to play through the story again without these aspects would be doing gamers a favor.
This would not even be a programming problem. The data’s already there. This would add replayability to the game and would please gamers. I loved playing Dragon Quest 8, but it’s unlikely that I’ll ever play it again. The game’s great, but it took me forever to level up my characters and find my alchemy recipes. If I could take my gear and levels with me, I’d play it again in a heartbeat.
Other console games could benefit from this as well. How about an action game where you keep what’s in your inventory when you start a new game? You might need an item to do something earlier in the game, but you can’t get it until the end. Replay value has just been added. How about a first-person shooter where the arsenal from the end is available at the beginning? Those soldiers would never know what hit them.
Chrono Trigger’s New Game + idea isn’t used enough in other games. My time and money is limited, and I want value for my purchases. New Game + is an easy addition that would satisfy many gamers, and it wouldn’t raise the stink that DLC can potentially create.
So do you think New Game + is useful? Is it a waste? Let the world know where you stand.
