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[mastahcheese]

Poorly-designed chat censorship

Not that anybody uses text chat anymore since the advent of headsets, but it's still majorly annoying when half the words you say are censored because they happen to spell out a swear word as part of the word's correct spelling.

Like assassins, particularly when it's an actual class in-game

[Knight of Fools]

I can't use my go-to in-game name of Knightly in a lot of games because of the three letters after the K. 

[ConsUme]

(IMO) inferior predecessor, Wind Waker:

"I can't explain now!"

. Legend of Zelda always manages to deliver exposition really well (I still get chills from the Goddess cutscenes in OoT), so it's baffling that they had such slipshod narration for most of Wind Waker.

Artificially inflating a world by putting everything really far apart

The 3D Legend of Zelda games have a reputation for doing this, and (rightfully so) get criticism for it. But for some reason, everybody I ask absolutely loves sailing in Wind Waker. At least in other 3D Zeldas, you get to have some part in the journey from A to B across Hyrule Field. In Wind Waker, there are moments when I have literally put down the controller, gotten something to eat, sat down, and not been at my destination yet. I'm not joking or being hyperbolic, I have literally made a sandwich in the time it takes to sail from one island to another.


Not to mention gripes that are specific to Wind Waker. Any time you want to change direction, you have to pull out the wand, play the song, pick a direction, turn the boat, and finally get going. I have never felt less inclined to adventure in a Zelda game.

A little bit of info...
both problems are actually there because Wind Waker ended up being rushed. There where TRIFORCE DUNGEONS being cut. Supposedly it was to have TWICE as many Islands. The Dialouge at the end was kinda weak though...(IMO)

[miauw62]

lets you carry, for instance, six magazines' worth of SMG bullets, but only three (much smaller) magazines of Magnum rounds.

I think this was done because the Magnum was supposed to be a fairly powerful weapon, and that it should be saved for when it's really needed.

[Telgin]

Poorly-designed chat censorship

Not that anybody uses text chat anymore since the advent of headsets, but it's still majorly annoying when half the words you say are censored because they happen to spell out a swear word as part of the word's correct spelling.

Like assassins, particularly when it's an actual class in-game

Not quite as bad, but I'm reminded of the fun of talking about cockatrices in Everquest.  In particular, many players who pulled would set up macro keys to let group members know they had an NPC incoming to kill.  So, they'd have something like "Look out, we've got %n incoming!", which would replace %n with the NPC's name.

I spent a few days in groups of "Look out, we've got a oiherhf incoming!",  "Look out, we've got a poeheurb incoming!", etc.

[scrdest]

Mary Sues

God damn Emma Emmerich. I can't remember exactly what she was doing on Big Shell or why you have to escort her to the computer room (Otacon can break into the Pentagon's secure network, he doesn't need help) but every second she was on-screen lowered my opinion of MGS2 a little bit more. Everybody just dropped everything over her.

She's a magical super-hacker who's supposedly 18 years old (according to the MGS Wiki) but looks more like 13. She's afraid of god damn bugs (which were never there before you got her), which is supposed to make her cute or sympathetic but it's just annoying. She can't walk on her own, which would make a real human being sympathetic, but as a video game character that has already failed miserably to endear herself to me, it just makes her more of an annoying, overly-talkative burden.

Spoiler: Actual spoilers for MGS2 (click to show/hide)

When Vamp stabbed her, I felt more relieved than anything. All I could think of was the fact that I wouldn't have to drag her with me for the rest of the game.

What is it with Japan and characters whose skills are surreally inappropriate for their age?

Poorly-designed chat censorship

Not that anybody uses text chat anymore since the advent of headsets, but it's still majorly annoying when half the words you say are censored because they happen to spell out a swear word as part of the word's correct spelling.

Like assassins, particularly when it's an actual class in-game

Buttbuttins. Nevar forget.

[itisnotlogical]

What is it with Japan and characters whose skills are surreally inappropriate for their age?

That and the age thing, which I see fairly often in Japanese games. She's somehow 18 despite being less than half any other adult character's height, having incredibly small proportions and behaving like a stereotypical 14-year-old. It makes me wonder if they say she's 18 so that certain segments of the fan base can "fire the Stinger" and have a plausible excuse.

[hector13]

What is it with Japan and characters whose skills are surreally inappropriate for their age?

That and the age thing, which I see fairly often in Japanese games. She's somehow 18 despite being less than half any other adult character's height, having incredibly small proportions and behaving like a stereotypical 14-year-old. It makes me wonder if they say she's 18 so that certain segments of the fan base can "fire the Stinger" and have a plausible excuse.

Indeed. The first thing that went through Kojima's head when pondering the character for Emma was "Let's give the boys something to enjoy."

[Tsuchigumo550]

That happens quite a bit, but it could have been to dodge any possible backlash. Fourteen year olds in ANY war scenario are generally frowned upon.

[itisnotlogical]

That happens quite a bit, but it could have been to dodge any possible backlash. Fourteen year olds in ANY war scenario are generally frowned upon.

But then why not just make her look and behave like an adult as well as supposedly being one? And Jack is explicitly confirmed to have previously been a child soldier in a cutscene very near the endgame, so it's not like they haven't at least brought up the idea.

[hector13]

That happens quite a bit, but it could have been to dodge any possible backlash. Fourteen year olds in ANY war scenario are generally frowned upon.

But then why not just make her look and behave like an adult as well as supposedly being one? And Jack is explicitly confirmed to have previously been a child soldier in a cutscene very near the endgame, so it's not like they haven't at least brought up the idea.

I think, and this is just opinion here, that it might have something to do with Otacon/Hal showing up again. Obviously the character history between them (he slept with her (his step-)mother, while their father drowned which Emma was watching) might be reminding her of those times, and that's what the writers were thinking when they thought up the mannerisms of her character.

Or I might just be being ridiculously defensive of the game because it's one of my favourite series of ever. Even though MGS2 is my least favourite of the games so far.

Quite a few of the characters are alleged to have been child soldiers in that series. Frank Jaeger/Grey Fox/Ninja/

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Null

in... several games. Raiden, like you say, Mistral from Rising and Drebin from the fourth one. Chico in Peace Walker is probably the only actual child soldier though. Then there's all the children that Big Boss saved way back in Metal Gear 2, though they weren't actual soldiers, afaik.

[Neyvn]

Poorly-designed chat censorship

Not that anybody uses text chat anymore since the advent of headsets, but it's still majorly annoying when half the words you say are censored because they happen to spell out a swear word as part of the word's correct spelling.

Like assassins, particularly when it's an actual class in-game

My personal Fav with this is from the Uncharted Waters Online MMO...
HOOKER. This word is both censored AND an actual ship that can  be purchased and used in game...

[Scoops Novel]

That the mocking of athletic past-times boils down to aesthetics. If the gaming industry had less wasted money used on it, or poorer developers, or less devoted players, then maybe there would be an argument.

[itisnotlogical]

Princess characters are automatically a bad demeaning utterly despicable horrible thing that no game should ever do ever

This obviously has to do with people who talk about games instead of games themselves, but I think it bears talking about. Even in the very first Legend of Zelda game, way before there was ever a discussion about gender issues in games, Zelda was a good depiction of a princess who wasn't entirely helpless. Even when she was captured, she was thinking on her feet and shattered the Triforce so that Ganon couldn't have it. Later editions of the story have had better or worse depictions, but there's a very strong case to be argued that a "damsel in distress" princess can still be a strong, admirable character.

[nenjin]

There needs to be a game where you go to rescue a princess, and the levels are you walking through the aftermath of her destroying everything. All the weapons and upgrades are stuff she found and didn't take, or her discards. Enemies are shell-shocked and scattered. Bosses are beaten up.