That One Sidequest: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

An optional, nonessential, usually out-of-the-way part of a video game that is extremely difficult and/or time consuming to complete, yet is nonetheless required for [[100% Completion]]. These are generally far more difficult than anything else in the game, and, in extreme cases, may be classified as nigh impossible.

Casual players of the game do not even bother with this. Most serious players of the game attempt to do this, fail miserably, give up and move on. Only the truly dedicated [[100% Completion|Hundred Percent Completionists]] remain, but even many of them fail and inevitably accept defeat. In the end, many players wind up hopelessly stuck at 99%, and give up before ever reaching the coveted [[100% Completion]]. Why? They've been derailed by '''That One Sidequest'''.

 

 

 

 

See also [[That One Level]], [[That One Boss]], [[Last Lousy Point]].

 

 

== [[Action Adventure]] ==

* ''[[Metroid]]'' games have quite a bit of these on their paths to [[100% Completion]].

** The only game in the series, it seems, that relents is [[Metroid Prime]] 3: Corruption. It still had its own brand of That One Sidequest, however.

* ''[[Onimusha]] 3'' has an optional training mode that you unlock along the way. The training sessions are in no way easy, but they are completely doable, at least until you reach Critical training. It requires either almost superhuman reflexes or huge amounts of dumb luck to get through, especially in the PC port. Passing it gets you a neat item and unlocks the good ending.

** To help a little, using the [[New Game+]] lets you keep your figurines, and starts you off with a Deluxe Picto Box...even though you still can't develop the pictures until you reach the second dungeon. So choose wisely on what pictures you take.

** It is just barely possible to complete the entire gallery without having to use the [[New Game+]]. [[Guide Dang It|Apparently]], if you take a picture of Link's grandma, you also get a picture of his sister, and if you get a picture of Tetra on your first visit to Hyrule, you get the entire pirate ship's crew. And, you can take pictures of the first two dungeon bosses while you're fighting them again in Ganon's castle. And to top it all off, you can take a picture of the final boss ''during the battle'', save, then go have it made.

** If there's any consolation, it's that there's one figurine that ''isn't'' required to get a complete gallery. ''However'', said figurine is only obtainable through a That One Sidequest of its own that requires a [[Game Boy]] Advance and a GBA/GC link cable, and since Carlov disappears after you get a "completed" Nintendo Gallery, you can't obtain {{spoiler|Knuckle}}'s figurine if you've gotten all of the others.

* Getting all 20 hearts in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'' includes not one but two [[Luck-Based Mission|luck based missions]].

** This can be made considerably easier by just waiting in the spots where they spawn, they will respawn there after a little while and you can shoot them as soon as they appear. Finding the right spots is still tricky though. Most of the spots are on fairly easy-to-remember, because of them being certain landmarks.

*** This can still be tricky no matter what, as some of the Poes, like the one near the crossroads leading into Gerudo Desert and the one on the small outcropping over the river have a nasty tendency to spawn inside walls and disappear about a full second later.

** There's also the Piece of Heart you get by racing Dampe a second time. You have to do it in less than a minute, which is extremely hard ''even if you use the Longshot to speed through the last room.'' Thankfully, there is a way to cheat; playing any warp song pauses the timer for about two seconds (so you'll have to do it a lot).

** Getting the Biggest Quiver from the Horseback Archery Range in the Gerudo Fortress. ''Very'' little room for error. It's ''incredibly'' hard to get the 1500 points required, and for [[Sarcasm Mode|extra fun]], it's entirely possible to end up with ''1,490 points.'' When something like that happens, it feels like the game is taunting you.

** Also, the race against the Deku Butler after beating Woodfall Temple. You follow the Butler through a long tunnel, and if you mess up once, there's a good chance you'll have to start the entire thing over again, and at the cost of a whole heart.

** Other example will be the Swamp Shooting Gallery. This particular challenge gets you the largest quiver and a piece of heart, but is impossible without superhuman reflexes or repeating over, and over, and over, and over, and over...

** The Gilded Sword's increased power and reach makes it worth getting, but it can be tricky to do so. Basically you have to go swordless for a night, beat the boss of Snowhead Temple, win at the Goron Race Track before the second day is out, and go swordless for another night. The Race Track is the hard part, as the high speed steering can take some getting used to, you have to watch your magic, especially if you didn't get the meter upgrade, and [[Scrappy Mechanic|if another goron bumps into you on an incline, you lose your spikey rolling]]. For [[Self-Imposed Challenge|extra fun]], try doing this all on your first visit to the zone. The temple is doable without a sword, though getting all of the stray fairies takes some finesse.

*** Compared to other items in the game, the Gilded Sword is actually EASY to get. You can play the song of time and Goron Race over and over until you get the gold dust, go swordless and play the Song of Double Time twice, give the sword back again, and play the Song of Double Time two more times. Of course, this does waste an entire three days.

** Don't forget the Dark Ore sidequest. Not only is Dark Ore 200 rupees a pop, you also have to have opened a couple of specific warp gates, and also have to go through what must be the temple of [[Goddamned Bats|Tektites]], with their god [[Boss in Mook Clothing|Rocktite]]. Oh, and did we mention that you can only get hit '''''once''''', otherwise you won't make it with enough? And if you're one short? Then it's all the way back to the Fire Realm to shell out another 200 rupees for you!

*** That one is a bit broken, as if you manage to kill Rocktite just before fetching the Dark Ore, [[Guide Dang It|it will not respawn when you pass through the tunnel]].

** At least the reward is useful—more so than other Zelda examples, at least. If you kill all 60 poes, he'll give you 200 rupees every time you talk to him, essentially making him a free power source for your magic armor.

*** Of course, by that point in the game your wallet is perpetually filled to the brim from all the enemies you've killed, and the only point in the game you might actually need your armour would be the final battle, in which case there is a nice huge treasure room to raid instead.

** And don't forget the Cave of Ordeals. FIFTY FREAKING ROOMS WITH EVERY KIND OF ENEMY IN THE GAME. The final room even has three Darknuts (see [[Boss in Mook Clothing]]). Oh yeah, and there is next to nothing in terms of healing items, and the rooms are small. Let that sink in.

** Really, to gain all 64 rings across both ''Oracle'' games has to be the most extraordinary feat in the Zelda series. You have to play both games at least twice (four playthroughs in all) in order to account for unlinked and linked versions of both. And there are some (like the Rang Ring L-2) that are so laughably rare that you can go through all four playthroughs and never see them. They're that badly randomized.

*** Special mention to the linked game Hero's Caves, each of which contains an exclusive ring as its final prize. Each of them is itself that one sidequest.

*** Easy to get but hard to find is the Gold Joy Ring. It can only be found by bombing an unmarked spot on a literally random wall in the Goron caves in Ages. How anyone was supposed to find this one is beyond comprehension.

** The [[Minecart Madness|Rickety Coaster]]. Getting a Piece of Heart requires [[Timed Mission|going really fast]], which isn't too much of a problem. The problems is that the motion controls don't work to well and interpret "lean left" as "lean right" from time to time, making it a [[Luck-Based Mission]].

** One of the Heart Pieces comes from a minigame where you must shoot tossed pumpkins with your bow. This is ''extremely'' difficult, since you have to hit almost every pumpkin to earn the prize, requiring very careful aim and shot-leading with a really drifty and wobbly motion controller. It's especially frustrating because the pumpkins aren't worth fixed amounts of points—their value goes up as you hit more of them in a row, and [[Rage Quit|drops back to the lowest level if you miss one]]. As if that's not bad enough, some of the pumpkins are worth double points, but they show up purely randomly (you could get several 2X-kins or none at all in any given round). Plus, the guy throwing them often waits an irritatingly long time between throws (it's a [[Timed Mission]]!). ''[[Up to Eleven|And]]'' he throws them farther and farther later in the game, [[Fake Difficulty|often over the top of the screen so you can't even see the damn things for half of their trajectories]], but sometimes he'll switch back to throwing them a short distance without warning just to mess with you. Good lord...

 

 

* Lord Recluse's Strike Force in ''[[City of Villains]]'', especially if you're going for the "Master of Lord Recluse's Strike Force" badge that requires completing it with no defeats on your team and all temporary powers disabled.

** Not to mention the fact that the third mission of said Level 45-50 Strike Force awards a badge needed for an accolade power whose Hero equivalent can theoretically be achieved at Level 7 (Level 1, if you're lucky enough). And all it does is bump your Endurance up by five points. Yeah. That's balanced.

** Getting all the dogs in ''[[Suikoden III]]''.

* In ''[[Pokémon]]'', of course, the biggest goal for completionists is that you [[Gotta Catch Them All]]. But this requires so much work that only the most dedicated players will be able to do it... And you have only a limited time before the next gen comes out, making you do it all over again with an even bigger number of Pokemon.

*** No longer do you have to have the correct nature! Game Freak has heard your pleas and has included in HG/SS an upgraded massage, which both increases happiness and beauty. If you do it 8 times, you can max out your beauty and that's that.

*** At least with Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, you have to manually change the phrase yourself to trigger a tile change. Diamond/Pearl/Platinum are even worse; they change ''every day''. Thankfully, Feebas appear very often on their designated tiles, so once you lock on, you can just keep fishing on that tile.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:That One Index]]

[[Category:Scrappy Index]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Videogame Culture]]