Beating the Game

[DerMißingno]

I've talked to a few people about this, and it seems that many people have different opinions about what constitutes as "beating" a Pokemon game. Personally, I'm still not sure what I consider it to be.

Until recently, my goal has been to fill the National Dex on Platinum, and when that was done, I figured I'd consider the game beaten. But I'm starting to rethink that now, since there seems to be such a ridiculous amount of things to do in game.

On the other side of the coin, I've talked to people who consider their game beaten when they beat the Elite 4 the first time.

What do you consider "beating the game" to be?

 

[Falconwing]

Usually, beat the Elite 4. In GS, Beat Red.

 

[Luxio]

In my eyes, the game is completed when the credits are rolled.

So I believe it's after the E4.

 

[NPR]

Technically to completely beat the game you have to get all of the above and then even rank 50th in the world for a certain amount of time. That way you can have the trainer Black Card. That gives you 5 stars meaning you have done everything you can do.

 

[Shinx3000]

In my eyes its beating everything that can be done... complete pokedex and national dex, win all contests at master level, get 100 wins in battle tower/frontier (Basically get all stars on your trainer card)

 

[RexRacer]

I consider the game beaten when everything possible has been done.

*though I suck at the Battle Frontier, so everything 'cept that*

 

[Happy Mask Man Jr.]

The game is complete when I save the game and shut off my DS.

 

[Zephy]

I consider it beat after getting a Master Rank in every category since I'm more of a coordinator than anything else.

 

[Hector]

I think of it as completing every thing that I can reasonably do with the time I'm willing and able to commit to the game. So for me, in Platinum it's going to be gold prints in the entire Frontier.

I don't really do contests, so I don't consider that a requirement. And since I don't own any Gen III games, and I've missed a lot of events and the like, I'm not even going to attempt to complete the Dex.

 

[Magmaster12]

I usually just zoom through the games so quickly I uasually just do all of the above

 

[AiedailEclipsed]

I consider it done when I have done everything in my power to complete the game.

 

[Covet]

In the case of Pokemon, I consider "beating" the game after the E4 since that's when the main story line ends and you're then "free" to branch off into other things.

Does that mean I believe I've "completed" the game? No. That's something entirely different.

 

[Nicoleta01]

I've beaten the game when I beat the Pokemon Champion/Elite Four; Afterwards, I finish getting anything I may have missed and basically do what I want. Mainly breeding. >_<

 

[NPR]

In my eyes its beating everything that can be done... complete pokedex and national dex, win all contests at master level, get 100 wins in battle tower/frontier (Basically get all stars on your trainer card)

Since I feel really picky today I think that maybe to COMPLETE the game you need every nature of every Pokemon of every gender including shinys at least once at one point during your game and all of them must have reached level 100. Also you need to do the same thing over AGAIN accept those instead of being super happy must all hate you. You can never win! :evil::boom:

 

[HOL4E]

I think it's when you complete the dex, thing that I never done

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

I keep playing until A) I get bored, or B) a new Pokémon game is announced. I play Platinum sporadically now.

 

[Fig]

I think there is a distinction between beating the game and completing the game.

For example, in Super Mario World:
Beating the game = Beating Bowser, no matter by which road.
Completing the game = Finding and finishing all 92 words by all possible ways.

Similarly , in The Elder Scrolls IV
Beating the game = Completing the main quest and ending teh demon invasion.
Completing the game: finishing or refusing most every quest, increasing all your stats to the max, and mostly, running out of things to do without rolling a new character.

In effect, a game is beaten when you complete its main quest (and in pokemon, that's clearly the league quest), and a game is complete when there is no "quest" for you to do you haven't already done.

So, in Pokemon, you beat the game by beating the League Champion, except perhaps in GSC where the quest sort of goes on with the other eight gyms after the League (so beating the game = beating Red).

 

[DerMißingno]

I don't like to think of it as beating the game when you beat the Elite four, just because beating the Elite 4 is just so easy. Even if you have the most terrible pokemon in the game it's only a matter of time before you level them up enough to beat the Elite 4.

Completing the dex, however, is a challenge that I can accept. Therefore, I will have beaten the game when I complete the dex, and I will have completed the game when I've gotten 5 stars on my trainer card.

 

[Sleet]

I'd say to beat the game you need to beat the Elite 4. Everything else is sidequests.

 

[RJ x JC]

I voted for "All of the above", but seriously, Pokemon is a game that doesn't have an ending in sight for me. I suppose I can consider it beaten if I've defeated everyone in the game up to their best team levels, finished all side quests, gathered all items in existence, and got all Pokemon in the National Dex to Lv. 100... but I doubt that would satisfy me for long...