Five Ways to Get Over an Awesome RPG

The best and worst feeling in the world is when you sit back in your seat after defeating the final boss in a game and watch the credits roll. You feel elated that you've surpassed all of the odds and have come out victorious, but at the same time, you feel regret for leaving such loved and familiar characters behind. I find that this latter feeling is more pronounced when I reach the end of an RPG than in any other game. Perhaps it's because of the 80+ hours that normally go into them, perhaps it could be that I just create a stronger connection with the characters in the game. Whatever the reason, when I finally come to the end of a difficult RPG, I always feel regret. Player One is currently going through this difficult time as she just completed Tales of the Abyss this past week, and in order to help her through this, I've complied a list of helpful ways to wade through your grief.

How to Grapple with Completion Grief 

1.) Play the Game Again
The best way to quickly get over your grief is to pick up the game and play it all over again. Most RPGs offer some kind of New Game + mode, where they allow the player to bring over a select arrangement of things from the previous file. This is a great way to remember what happened 40+ hours earlier in the game, and you'd be surprised with how much foreshadowing you catch the second time through. Not only that, but it's great to see how far the characters have progressed throughout the progress of the game. If you're like me, you'll inevitably get tired of the game about halfway through your new file. It's not that you don't love the game anymore, but at that point you've reached the material that you know well, and that new game on your shelf starts looking really attractive. Don't worry about putting the game down at this point, your saved game will still be there for you when you (inevitably) pick it up again.

2.) Watch the Anime Adaptation of it.
Let's be honest, most JRPGs have an anime version of them. Granted, not all of them are stupendous (Tales of Symphonia was a train wreck from start to finish), but they dull the ache of never seeing the characters interact again. Besides, it's always interesting to see the difference between your interpretations of the game's events and the writer's interpretations of the game's events. Sometimes in the anime character relationships are more concrete, or entire segments that you thought were extremely important were skipped. In short, if you watch a bad anime adaptation, shouting at it is the best way to reduce pent-up stress and despair. If you watch a good anime adaptation, then it's nothing short of magical to watch your beloved game brought to life again before your very eyes.

3.) Make Your Friends Obsessed with the Game
Oh man, this is definitely one of my favorite methods. Feeling guilty that you want to play a game over again that you just beat? Show it to a friend of yours that you know will like it and convince them to play it. Chances are, they will become so hooked that they won't mind you sitting in on their gaming sessions and vicariously relieve the experience of the game through them. Believe me when I say that there's nothing quite like seeing someone else experiencing that one character's death, or that other character's dramatic past finally being revealed. It definitely gives the game a new depth that you would have never experienced just playing it by yourself.

4.) Try to Get Hooked on Another RPG
Convinced you'll never find anything better than the game you beat? Well, that may be so, but there's no harm in trying to find something in the gaming world that will surpass it. I mean, I thought that Tales of Symphonia was the RPG to end all RPGs... But then I got my hands on Final Fantasy VII and Tales of the Abyss, and now Persona 3. Playing different games will definitely open your eyes up to the endless possibilities that this genre offers, and don't discount the worth of a game until you've tried it (I mean, unless it looks horrible and you know you're going to be slamming your head against the wall within the first thirty seconds of playing it.)

5.) Mourn Your Loss by Writing a Sad Poem in Your Journal and Move On
...At least for a couple of years. Then, come back and find the game on your shelf, put it in, and experience the magic all over again. After you beat it again, repeat steps 1 through 5 as much as necessary.

So do you guys have any methods for getting over an awesome game? I'd love to hear them! (Especially because I'm dangerously close to beating Persona 3, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to deal with it, even with these handy steps.)