Sidequest: Difference between revisions

 

Important to note that this trope appears in practically every game which gives the player even a slight amount of free rein, and is one of the best way for a developer to add more content and extend the length of a game.

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* Featured in every single ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' game since the beginning of the series. A well-known example is ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask|Majora's Mask]]'' for its sheer number of sidequests, which translates in several characters in need of help, more complex mini-games to play and more secret zones to explore. Other games in the series, such as ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap|The Minish Cap]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|Spirit Tracks]]'' follow a similar trend. In general terms, the availability of sidequests in a Zelda game is inversely proportional on how many dungeons exist.

* In ''[[Ōkami|Okami]]'', sidequests help Amaterasu to gain Praise units, which gradually enhance her health, paint storage, money and revival chance stats. Some sidequests also house Stray Beads, a bonus supply of Gold Dust (which will permanently power up one weapon) and even secret brush techniques.

* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' has a plethora of sidequests. They're optional, of course, unless you happen to need to be a slightly higher Hunter rank to take a plot-relevant quest. Not all quests will increase your rank, however.

 

* Even the ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' games are not immune. Collecting plates in the Classic series; the armors from ''[[Mega Man X]]'', the Cyber Elves from ''[[Mega Man Zero]]''; and the RPG games ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' and ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'' haven't even been mentioned yet...

 

* Most [[Command & Conquer]] games features optional objectives in missions, but Tiberian Sun went one step beyond and featured optional missions, unnecessary to progress further in the campaign but granting some sort of advantage in the associated main mission.

 

* ''[[Nethack]]'' has two:

** The Gnomish Mines, a [[Bonus Dungeon]] which has Minetown halfway down (with guaranteed shops and a temple) and a guaranteed {{spoiler|luckstone}} at the bottom.

** The ''[[Block Puzzle|Sokoban]]'' [[Bonus Dungeon]], four levels with lots of food, a guaranteed ring and wand on each level, and either {{spoiler|a bag of holding}} or {{spoiler|an amulet of reflection}} at the end of the final level.

 

* ''[[Final Fantasy X-2]]'' is a game constructed almost entirely out of sidequests.

* ''[[Xenosaga]] Episode 2'' was condemned for having what many have argued the vast majority of its gameplay be in the form of crappy Fed Ex sidequests and minigames.

* [[Might and Magic]] tended to have a fair number of sidequests. VI, in a minor twist, made a fair number of them connected to the main story... in ways that you don't find out until the end of the sidequest, and maybe not even then if you miss a single chest or fail to read that letter you found.

 

* ''[[Rune Factory]] 2'' has an optional sidequest composed almost entirely of fetch quests. The townspeople post requests on a message board that you fulfill to win their money and affection. Marvelous and/or Neverland apparently thought that wasn't enough, so ''[[Rune Factory]] 3'' adds a mailbox and a message-delivering owl in addition to the message board. (Each one can only have one request fulfilled per day, so a total of three can be done per day if each one has at least one request.)

 

* ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' and its sequel both have tons of sidequests (out of 300 missions, around 30 are mandatory to see the ending). The sequel has up to 400 missions if you count random encounters etc.

 

* The ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' games all feature numerous side-missions that are not essential for completion, but often give you abilities that will make the game easier, such as fireproofing (for completing the firefighting mission) or the ability to get out of jail for free (for completing the vigilante mission).

 

* [[Classical Mythology/Characters|Herakles]] makes this trope [[Older Than Feudalism]] as he frequently had unrelated adventures ([[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|like wrestling '''Death''' to return someone that had died]]) while performing his [[Fetch Quest|12 Labours]]. To the Ancient Greek tropers this was known as a Parerga

 

* ''[[Adventurers!]]'': Karn is obsessed with these, defending them with "Sidequests are an efficient way to increase experience", and once admonishing Ardam that he needs to get his priorities straight when he complains about the team going on sidequests instead of saving the world.

* [[The Order of the Stick|Roy Greenhilt]], on the other hand, hates [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0349.html wasting time] [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0134.html on sidequests].

 

 

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[[Category:CRPG Tropes]]