No reason, just feel like asking
So, what game has had you so much in it's grasp, that you basically couldn't move your butt away from the screen without your brain shutting down?? 

My answer:
Ultima VII, Might and Magic VI, Final Fantasy Tactics

runner up: The Legend of Zelda (original)

********************************************************
Also, what's the game that you've spent the most hours on?  This of course is not the same as the above poll, but there may be a strong correlation...

My answer:
Ultima V (great game, but it felt as if it took forever!)
Final Fantasy Tactics (loved that game, took 80 hours (with all the sidequests !!

cheers,

-avatar!

World of Warcraft (My main character is a level 54 human Mage on the Llane server)

Other than that... the last game I totally devoted my life to was Final Fantasy X.  I think I played the entire thing through in under a month, which is a record for me.  Star Ocean: Till the End of Time ran a close second.

Were my husband to answer this, he'd probably say "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" ...he's played it every night for 4-5 hours for the last week or so. Doing that crazy thing where you don't level up until you can become a Jedi or something like that.

------

As far as most hours go, I'm pretty close to 100 hours on Dragon Warrior 7, and I'm still on the first disc.  I haven't picked that game up in ages... probably need to get hopping again.  I'm missing one dang shard that I need to work on finding.  Other than that, I think I've maxxed the clock on at least two separate occasions in Final Fantasy VI (3 on SNES) when I was a kid, but I was completely batshit insane, making sure to get all of Strago's Lores, all of Gau's Rages (impossible anyway due to some bugs) ... oh god, it's going to be middle school all over again once FFVI comes out for GBA.   I can't wait.

Advance Wars DS...9 months and 170 hours later, I'm still playing it.

When I was younger, probably Ultima VII (and Serpent Isle). I was addicted to those games. At an older age, I played through Suikoden V in about a week, averaging about 6-7 hours a day.

Well, of course. DW7 is by far the longest game I've played. It took me 103 hours to finish that sucker and there aren't that many diversions. It's simply a LONG LONG LONG game. I stopped 15 hours into DQ8. I think I got tired of the series in general.

Hmmm....Any response I make will probably be edited later as my long-buried memories make their way to the surface. ^_~ Probably a tie between FF6, ChronoTrigger and one of the Zelda games. I know for a fact that I used to wake up at 6 a.m. and play FF6 until 10 a.m., just leveling my characters. That was of course when I actually had time to devote to games. I think I spent the most time on that game...when I finally defeated Kefka, I had put in more than 80 hours. Although, FF1 did hold quite a lot of sway over me, as did the original Zelda -- I know I used to play those for hours at a time. Then of course are the Paper Mario games...I remember playing the first one late into the night and the second one from early in the morning to late in the morning. ^_~

Gosh, all of a sudden I can't wait for Twilight Princess. Just remember how cool Ocarina of Time was is making me all antsy for a new Zelda and what kind of new features it will have, heh.

I'm sure that a puzzle game is also in the list somewhere...I used to play the Tengen Tetris quite a lot when I was a kid. And has anyone ever played "Fire and Ice"? We played that for hours simply because that's how long it took us to solve some of the stages!

Oh, and then there are the 2-player games that my bro and I were forced to play for long periods of time since you couldn't save your game. Snow Bros. (before we discovered the warp points), Bubble Bobble (ditto), Life Force (thank god for the infamous Konami code), and that stupid game I'm trying my derndest to remember even though we both hated it.

Ohhhh yes, then the ABSOLUTE infamous hours-long game (well, aside from things like Ultima Online and such): Rampage 64. 200-plus levels, all the same after a very short while, unlimited continues...me, my bro and my cousin started playing around 8 p.m. I finally dropped out of the game, and they stayed up til about 3 a.m. finishing it. Although I will say that it was probably intertia rather than any compelling gameplay or storyline that held their attention for so long.

Marvel vs Capcom 2. 2000 hours is probably not an exaggeration...Considering how easy it was to simply play with a group of people for 10-12 hours at a time or just to practice 1-2 hours at a time and considering I did that non-stop for more than 2 years and I'm still not completely burned out on it says something of the quality. I do wish Capcom would release another game like this (even if they don't have access to the Marvel license, I'd love to just see the 26 or so characters for 2, then add 10-20 more from their side...Screw Marvel!)

Guilty Gear XX#Reload would chime in at a cool 1000 hours or so, but only because there isn't a local demand for it and much of that was put together online or in practices. Still, I feel like I've only scratched the surface of the gameplay.

Outside of fighters, La Pucelle got me during finals week and I somehow managed to put 40 hours into it over the span of a week, while studying, going for exams and writing a paper. Only reason I haven't gone back to do more with it is because I can't go back from a save point near the final battle. Still, that was probably the single most addictive experience I've had with a game. Nippon Ichi SRPG's are dangerous if not used properly...There's always something to do in them. Must've worked...I pulled straight A's that semester.

Also, Cardfighter's Clash earned more than 40 hours several times...I doubt the DS's battery life will be able to keep up once the new version is out (the Neo Geo Pocket's battery life was around 40 hours). And I played through FFVI probably 10-12 times back when it was new...30-40 hours each time. And 114 hours to clear Suikoden 5 (that's for 2 playthroughs) earlier this year was nothing to sneeze at either.

No clue how much time I've logged on Tetris Attack/Pokemon Puzzle...I don't want to know.

Final Fantasy VIII, for most hours. I know I've said I dislike the game compared to other FF's, but it had so many sidequests. I put well over 100 hours into just levelling up.

I also put in a similar number with Xenogears and FFVII.

Don't know if this would count, but I've spent a lot of money on Initial D, and Wangan Midnight in the past, as well. So maybe not the most time, but definitely the most money.

As for simple addiction, I'd have to say DDR. And I still can't do some 9 footers!

Hey look at this:

http://altpop.com/stc/forum/message.mv? … read=14565

Um, maybe addictive games make people addicted to making threads about addictive games?

Besides, remember that threads on STC can actually be bumped now, so maybe this one will stick around longer than a couple days...

On that note...Yeah, 18 months later, my main responses haven't changed. It's all about consistancy.

This is almost exactly the same for me, except for Final Fantasy 5.  I put well over a hundred hours into the original Super Famicom version, maxing out all the character levels, their job classes, gil, Blue Magic list, and obtaining the secrets weapons.  FF5 Advance beckons this fall.

Other addictions include Ouendan, which remains to be THE BEST ON THE DS, iNiS's other prodigy child, Gitaroo Man, the original Front Mission for Super Famicom (I had a happy stroke when I heard FM 1st was coming for the DS), and the Advance Wars series.  The twitch gamer in me makes me go into withdrawal symptoms if I don't fire up Ikaruga every once in a while, but I've gone back to trying to master Gradius V now. 

The Super Mario Bros series, of course, is a fine form of addiction in itself, with NSMB being the front runner nowadays; I've completed the game quite a number of times since May.  And yes, Wario Ware.  All of em.  Then Rhythm Tengoku arrived and was passed the torch.  I've stopped doing DDR these days, but back then, that was a major lifestyle for me.

As for my MOST addictive game, there's no contest: the original Contra for NES.  I'll play that till the ends of time.

Well, there's no law against reposting a poll...  Besides, this one is slightly different (I also ask how many hours people put into a game), and it's nice to know I've been consistent

cheers,

-avatar!

I've always been one to go back to my older systems when nothing new was out and catching my attention. That said, I'm totally on a Dreamcast kick lately. Rez, Ikaruga, Cannon Spike, Under Defeat, Zero Gunner 2, Bangai-O and any fighters on the system.

When I'm on my PC and I get the gaming itch, I throw on some Ys 1 & 2 Complete, Einhander, Intelligent Qube, Deception 3 or Silent Bomber.  MAME and Magic Engine are godsends for me.

Since my PS2 bit the dust, I've been missing Gradius V, Napishtim, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, and Disgaea. There are others, but none that come to mind off the top of my head. I'd like to try Okami and Disgaea 2, but can't until I buy a slimline PS2. There's no way I'll be buying a PS3 anytime soon... more out of principle rather than just financial reasons. Sony is a screwy company and I haven't bought a product from them that has lasted more than a few years.

As far as hours go, who knows? 2 or 3 a day on my DC, on various games. I'm more sporadic about it on my PC (I do my work on it as well).

Generally, I find myself drawn to games that just have good production values (and gameplay).

I guess the answer would be any of the online games I've devoted hundreds of hours to over the years. Phantasy Star Online, Final Fantasy XI, EVE Online and World of Warcraft. That's a special kind of addiction though - and one that's not neccessarily to do with enjoyment.

Of games that I've played for pure pleasure and genuinely been unable to pull myself away from, or spend the day thinking about getting back to... I might go for Frequency. I used to get up in the morning and play a few tracks before leaving for work - something I never did with any other game. At work I'd be thinking about the tunes and tapping out the sequences, then as soon as I got in I'd be on it for a couple of hours before doing anything else. That only lasted for the few months I was intensely playing it, but really I can't think of any other game that compelled me to play so much over a certain period.

There were other games that I played intensively until they were complete (FF VII and VIII, Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story, Resident Evil 2 for example), but once they were done they were done, so to speak. Frequency was partly about completion but mostly about the obsession with highscores.

Well, when the girlfriend got Oblivion for the PC, she couldn't tear herself away from the game.  I laughed and mocked her because it was the first time I saw her get swallowed up by a game like that.  Then she let me play it.

I had to call in sick the next day.  I suppose I could have gone to work, but I got less than two hours of sleep that night.  Within the following week, I had to call in sick again because of that game.

Right now, I'm playing La Pucelle for the fourth time (although this is the first time I got past the third chapter).  I'm at 120 hours now.  I think I'm at about 220 hours in on Disgaea, and have only gotten two endings.  After I finish La Pucelle, it's on to either Phantom Brave, Phantom Kingdom, or Disgaea 2...and another 200-hour sentence.

Oblivion *is* oddly addicting... but after 12 hours, I got a bit tired of it. I found Disgaea to be too difficult and I put it down.

Wow, really? I only trotted through the item world a couple of times and I ended up far ahead of the main storyline levels. Now that I have a number of strong characters, it's fun fighting more powerful characters because I can pull off some insanely long gang-up combos.

Think Crash has me beat in regards to Nippon Ichi...I'm not sure I can go 200 hours on Disgaea (I'm at 25 now and I'm on the 6th Episode).

TETRIS ATTACK! (Panel de pon) The best tetris game ever, really better than the original, it just never caught on or got as much attention.

I dig the Snow Bros. mention, how about Kickle Cubicle?

FF Tactics gets my vote for most addictive FF game

And finally Counter-strike, upon which I waste far too much time.

I think FFT made me bitter towards the genre. Disgaea's story and characters amused me but I didn't care for the battles.

That's like calling FF Legend II the best FF ever.

-Joshua

Spelunker for NES

(I liked FF Legend II. It pissed me off a lot but when I was that young, I was just happy for something to play).

Most hours is easy.  Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Final Fantasy Tactics.  I've surely spent between 800 and 1000 hours on each over the years.  I actually started playing SSBM again recently.  Everyday this past week I've been playing a few of my usual five stock tag team matches.  I've also played through FFVI, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Super Mario RPG many times.  They're timeless classics for me.  I also poured who knows how many hours into both WWF No Mercy and Syndicate Wars.

Most addictive I'm not sure about.  I remember that I was totally addicted to Metroid Prime until I finished it...twice.  Metroid in 3D for the first time was quite the experience.  I also remember firing up SMB3 again not too long ago in All-Stars and finding myself playing through the entire thing again.  I didn't want to use any warp whistles because the sheer variety and short length keeps every single stage fresh and enjoyable.  Maybe it's one of those two games, but all of my favorite games have had me hooked at one point or another.

Man...that Spelunker game was damn hard...I remember playing that after being used to the control of super slick games of the time (Super Mario Bros, Mega Man, Castlevania, etc.). It was shockingly bad in comparison...kudos to anyone who stuck through that...

Anyone else remember Might Bomb Jack?

- Brandon

While I'm totally with you on that, I played Stella Deus inbetween FFT and Disgaea and Stella's the game that got all of my unfair "this-isn't-ff-tactics" hate.

I loved Stella's artwork and graphics, though.

edit: ... or did you mean that you didn't like FFT either...? Because I played the hell out of it once I got past the curve of learning.

Oh yes.  I remember being impressed that the game punished you for being greedy.  It was a shitty game, but I'll never forget it because of that.

Well, my answer probably wouldn't change a whole lot from this: http://altpop.com/stc/forum/message.mv? … read=14565 but I can now add Ouendan and the two Katamari games to that list.

Still, GoldenEye is king.

Again, GoldenEye.  I must have put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into multiplayer during college.  10-year anniversary is next year, folks!

I don't know...I have Stella and I got annoyed with it about 3 battles in. Something about the game design of having you park your characters next to your opponent and wail on each other back and forth doesn't seem geared for long-term play. It may get better, but I don't see it approaching the addictiveness of either FFT or any Nippon Ichi title.

For me...I WAS hooked on FFT, but the game felt less rewarding the more I went into it, so I stopped (and that's not counting the one section where I didn't prepare right for the end of chapter 3 and had to start over...The battle you basically can't win without Auto-X Potion and you can't go back to an earlier save point). The combos and insane amounts of options of the Nippon Ichi games refired my love of SRPG's (as did Fire Emblem), plus I liked the non-serious storylines more (for the most part...La Pucelle got pretty grim near the end. Laharl was a riot though.)

I got addicted to levelling up in FFTactics, which kind of ruined the rest of the game for me. Once I had in mind what I wanted for my characters I simply played the same map over and over and over again until I'd trained them in all the skills I wanted. I then had a bunch of stupidly powerful guys with which to waltz through the second half of the game.

But then again, SRPGs are cheating buggers

I thought Joshua's comment was more because FFL2 wasn't actually a Final Fantasy at all. And Joshua was responding to someone else's comment that called a non-Tetris game the best Tetris.

I enjoyed the FFL games too. I especially liked #3, although for the life of me I can't remember why. FFL1 took me a long time to finish, and I got a little ticked at the weapons and armor having only limited uses. I fought the bejeezus outta that King's stuff since it was unlimited. Too bad that came so early in the game and I wasn't able to store up that much gold for later levels.

Well, in FFT there was that infamous battle sequence (3 battles I believe) where the first is moderately hard, the second is a real pain unless you plan things out (basically, if you're not really careful and don't know what's coming up you'll get your ass kicked big-time!) and the third you have to big quick about otherwise a main character dies and that's the end of the game!  In other words, be prepared to go back to a previous save...unless you didn't save somewhere else in which case you are majorly screwed.  Of course some time after that battle (which ranks amongst the hardest ever in video game history), you get this super powerful swordmaster who makes the game too easy...

cheres,

-avatar!

I liked FFT quite a bit. It was hard as hell (at least the first half) and translation was hysterical but what a game! And what music!

FFL3 was probably the best of the three, overall. I liked the plot and the way you'd go to the past and future. In that regard, it was rather CT-esque.

With FFT, my biggest problem was the Golgorand Execution Site (if I remember the name correctly). The game isn't exactly easy up to that point but that battle is absurd. I leveled up for hours to beat it...

Yeah, that was what I was talking about. Not hard...Just completely unfair if you haven't read ahead and know what's coming. "Hard" proper would be dying a few times, then making some minor adjustments and barely pulling out a win...Not possible at the end of Chapter 3, since no Auto - XPotion = dead (and I never used Auto Potion). I was a lot less enthusiastic about FFT after that encounter (I think I stopped a battle or two before getting Cid afterwards...Of course, that's AFTER starting a new game and preparing enough to clear Chapter 3).

Edit: I remember the battle Wanderer was talking about above. THAT was definitely hard, but not terribly unfair. I think I got it on the 4th try...I just adjusted my tactics a bit from what I was trying and finally nailed it with...3 members still standing. Heh.

I quit at a desert level in Chapter 4, where I remember there were a lot of gun users for enemies. I probably could've cleared it after a few more tries, but that was it for me.

Yeah, that's the point at which I initially gave up for several weeks, before going back and doing my levelling spree. It was still a tough battle, but I had dual-wielding Ninja by that point so it was a lot less painful than it could have been.

I don't trust SRPGs though, on the whole. I mean, you're playing against a computer opponent - the same opponent which decides whether you land a blow or miss? The amount of times I've missed at an absolutely crucial moment really winds me up.

Still, I can't stop playing them!

I'm a completionist at heart, so I've definitely spent way too much time on games in the past. In recent years I've had less and less time to devote to dozens of hours to a single game, but that all changed with Advance Wars DS. I've never even played the first two (although my brother was a huge fan of them), but so far I've logged about 85 hours on it since I got it last month. The game is just so damn addictive, with way too much to do. I'm just getting started on the War Room maps, yet I already can't wait for a sequel.

Somehow, I ended spending ~130 hours on Samurai Warriors and SW: Xtreme Legends combined. I don't want to know how long I've been playing all of the Dynasty Warriors games combined.

3D platformers have sucked up a lot of my time, too. Donkey Kong 64 was an absolute nightmare to complete. I also spent quite a bit of time on the Ratchets and Slys. Jak II was just a nightmare in general.

I remember spending 120 hours on Final Fantasy X, 30 of which were devoted to Blitzball alone (and I hated Blitzball). I'd say another 30-40 hours were spent reconfiguring the Sphere Grid and maxing out stats as much as possible for 3 or so characters. FF X-2 was less addicitive, mostly because there was no way in hell I was going through Blitzball again, especially w/o being able to control the characters.

FFIX consumed my life just because of the Chocobo digging (still my most favorite Chocobo mini-game ever). FFVIII came pretty close just because of the card game.

Going back a bit more, FFVI definitely took up a lot of time. I didn't quite max everything out, but I remember coming pretty close. I remember trying to get the Paladin Shield, but lost track of how many battles I fought and so gave up on it. I'll make sure that changes for the GBA version

Writing FAQs pretty much necessitates playing through a game multiple times. So many times, in fact, that I'm now sick to death of the Zelda Oracle games, Sword of Mana, and pretty much any game I've ever FAQed. The only exceptions to this, however, are the Wario games. I must've played completely through Wario Land 3 at least 4 or 5 times, but I'm still not tired of it. And, of course, the Wario Ware games are so quick, fun, and random that I'll never ever tire of them.