Side Quests

Today I do a mini-rant on sidequests, an RPG staple.

I consider myself a bit of a side-quest addict when playing an RPG I take it upon myself to do just about every single side quest I can and will search frantically for them before even touching the main quest if possible. Fortunately in the modern world of RPG’s the side quest has become a many complex thing with some side quests being more fun and involved than a games overall plotline, but even in games like Mass Effect or Two Worlds where the side quests are fairly dull and unrewarding I end up doing them.

 

Side quests can be broken down into several varieties, the simple “explore and kill”, “explore and collect item” and the JRPG style “complete a 500 floor optional dungeon”. What matters is how these quests are executed and the storylines driving them along with the twists and turns to these mini stories. Looking back into older RPG titles you can see how the most basic versions of these side quests have evolved into increasingly complex and involving quests in recent years. Playing titles such as Diablo II, or some of the Kings Quest games give a good idea of how basic side quests can be while when you look at something like Oblivion you can see how complex and involved they can be.

 

On the subject of Oblivion what you have in my opinion is some of the greatest side quest ever created in a video game, unfortunately these take place at the cost of the main story but hey they are still shining examples of gameplay. The Theives Guild and The Dark Brotherhood plotlines in Oblivion stand out more than any previous games side quests as being the best there is. Quests such as “WhoDunit?” and “Boots Of Springheel Jack” in particular remain in my mind as fantastic examples of storytelling inside a simple side quest both operating off one of the simple premises of “explore and kill”/ “explore and collect item”.

 

JRPG’s of course have their own brand of side quests more along the lines of “optional content” really than anything hugely plot driven. There’s always the optional massive dungeon with super loot and enemies to beat should you be a masochist or have too much time on your hands. There’s also the quite often occurrence of a trade chain where you trade items from person to person to receive a super mega item at the end. Now while I love sidequests I rarely enjoy JRPG ones, they demand a HUGE time sink and often replaying a game (something which I rarely do) not only that but they are rarely as involving as their western counterparts.

 

For a side quest to be fun it needs to be short (15-20mins at most), involving and be a challenge without being too difficult. A truly good side quest will have you think things through, investigate thing thoroughly but ultimately won’t be too straightforward or too frustrating. In my honest opinion the only game I have played so far with perfect sidequests is Oblivion but hopefully this year shall deliver a lot more.