Games you gave up on a while ago then finally got back around to beating

[DeimosMasque]

Oddly enough when I think about it they are always my favorite games:

Mass Effect 1 - Got bored with the Mako exploration so gave up for 8 months. Picked it back up because ME2 was coming out and played it through twice before ME2 was released. Played through it 12 times since.

WET - I think with this one I just got another game, plus I was getting drunk constantly because of the drinking game I made. Take a shot of whiskey whenever Rubi does.

Bayonetta - Stopped about 2/3rds through for some reason. Came back months later and restarted and played all the way through in two weeks.

Saint's Row 2 - Stopped around 1/2 way through and picked it up to finish before SR3 came out. Have since played it all the way through four times.

 

[King Billi]

I made it all the way up to the final boss of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and finding I just couldn't beat him stopped playing the game for nearly a year.

My brother came to visit one day and I remembered this and asked if he could help me finally finish it. I played through the final level to get up to the Emperor intending to hand it over to him when I did but ended up just going on my own and beat him on the first try..! It wasn't even really that difficult..?

 

[The Enquirer]

I made it all the way up to the final boss of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and finding I just couldn't beat him stopped playing the game for nearly a year.

My brother came to visit one day and I remembered this and asked if he could help me finally finish it. I played through the final level to get up to the Emperor intending to hand it over to him when I did but ended up just going on my own and beat him on the first try..! It wasn't even really that difficult..?

I think it was one of the Star Wars Dark Forces games, it is impossible to kill the final boss. And I literally do mean impossible. How you beat him was by turning your lightsaber off. I know right? You can just leave it off and as soon as the scripted dialogue stops you win... I feel like Star Wars games have a really weird difficulty curve to them.

 

[DeimosMasque]

I made it all the way up to the final boss of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and finding I just couldn't beat him stopped playing the game for nearly a year.

My brother came to visit one day and I remembered this and asked if he could help me finally finish it. I played through the final level to get up to the Emperor intending to hand it over to him when I did but ended up just going on my own and beat him on the first try..! It wasn't even really that difficult..?

I've had that happen a few times too. I've always attributed to me improving as a gamer. I mean there was a time that a modern FPS was impossible for me to play. And while I'm not an expert by any means, I can still play any FPS and easily handle it.

 

[Doom972]

I played through System Shock 2 and finished it after getting it on the Humble Weekly Bundle. I tried to get into it in the past, but the ugly graphics (which didn't bother me at all this time) and difficulty put me off before I even finished playing through the demo.

After that, I decided to give Vampire: The Masquerade: Redemption another shot. I tried to finish it several times before, but gave up due to the awful party AI. This time I was finally able to finish it.

After that came the reviews of GTA V, which reminded me that I never finished Vice City, so I decided to give that another shot as well and I finished it.

These last weeks were great for my gaming backlog.

 

[GOWONZU]

I only just finished The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask a few months I got that game years ago when it first came out.

 

[krazykidd]

Fallout new vegas . I beat that game about 4 months ago despite buying the game at launch . I got bored the first time through.

That's all i can think of . I usually force myself through games to justify buying them . And difficulty is not really a turn off for me .

 

[Anachronism]

It took me a while to get around to finishing Icewind Dale II. Bought it off GOG a couple of years ago, played the first two chapters, and then Mass Effect 2 popped up on Steam for 75% off.

After that I forgot about IWD2 for quite a while. I'm really glad I got around to finishing it, it's a great game.

 

[b.w.irenicus]

The final boss is 100% based on precise parries, not hard you would think. You would be right if the 360 hardware didn't decide to give that area random as fuck fps drops to ruin your timing entirely

Ohmm, no? I beat him with a greatshield (no parry possible) and a great sword -> piece of cake. And I don't say that to prove my manlyness, just to point out that there are different approaches to him

But to stay on topic: Demon's Souls. My first experience with it was almost identical to Yatzee's in his review. I beat the first level and all five world opend up. I was like "I'm gone beat the first world first, it's probably the easiest" -> Owned by the red dragon, then countless times owned by the Tower Knight -> Then I quit.

Few month later Dark Souls was released and despite my frustration with Demon's Souls I gave it a try. Now it's my favourite game of this generation. And when I had beaten DS I gave Demon's Souls another try an beat it too (after realizing that its clever to switch between the world if you get stuck). I still prefer Dark Souls, but love Demon's Souls as well.

 

[Daniel Janhagen]

Not for myself, but when I found out my wife never beat Zelda 2 - The Adventure of Link for the NES, we sat down and played it through. It's not a terribly hard game, but a lot of people have given up after failing a few times.

 

[LostCrusader]

Ha, I was debating about making a similar thread earlier this week when I finally went back and finished Dragon Age 2. I remember when I first tried it, I hated the changes to the combat and definitely had the difficulty higher than it should have been with the enemies spawning on all sides of the party. I decided to pick it up again, and was surprised to find that I didn't hate the story/combat as much as I originally did.

Right after that I picked up the new Tomb Raider again. It has been a good couple weeks for my backlog.

 

[DanielBrown]

Only gaves I've given up are Yakuza 3 and Brütal Legend. That was probably three years ago and I still don't feel like starting them up again at all.

I guess Final Fantasy IX counts though. Played it for a shitload of hours when I was a kid, but I also started over again way too often, so I never really got anywhere. Did this with all Final Fantasy games I had. A few months ago someone on this site told me to try it again and I did. Finally managed to stick through it and beat the game!
Also found out I actually quit right before the final boss during my last playthrough over ten years ago. -_o

 

[Starik20X6]

After dying countless times at the hands of Bowletta (the final boss of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga), I gave up and just stopped playing it.

Months later I decided to give it another go... Beat it on the first attempt.

[hr]

There are so many JRPGs that I have 'on hiatus' because I don't feel like grinding... I'll get back to them one day.

 

[Revolutionary]

I have a steam library so yeah this is pretty much the only way I finish games.
Recent Examples:
Castle Crashers
Hitman Absolution (Not as bad as everyone said it was)
GTAIV - BOGT

 

[shogunblade]

Only gaves I've given up are Yakuza 3 and Brütal Legend. That was probably three years ago and I still don't feel like starting them up again at all.

I can understand Brutal Legend, but in all honesty, you really should beat it. It's a game that is still marred by the typical issues of the RTS, especially if you suck at them (I suck at them), but I got to the end of the game, and I LOVED IT. The soundtrack alone is worth finishing it, and it's so different and funny in parts that I can't give it anything less than an 8 out of 10, maybe a 9, if I am feeling generous.

OT: Uncharted 2. I did the same thing with the first Uncharted, and I didn't feel really compelled to finish the first one, and then I beat it, and felt sort of empty towards it, especially since I was on the last chapter, the snipers are all dicks, and it took me almost an hour and a half to beat the last chapter, which is ridiculous, honestly. Uncharted 2 and presumably 3 will be this for me for all time.

 

[Adept Mechanicus]

Skyrim. The lack of structure and sheer amount of stuff to do made it hard to actually commit to advancing the main plot, so I stopped. I went back in, determined to actually play through the game, and I finally saved Whiterun from the dragon 25 hours of gameplay after it attacked the town.

 

[Artina89]

For me it was Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I bought it when it first came out and played it religiously. Then, I started high school and sort of forgot about it. Then when I was 15 or 16, I decided to play through it again and completed it. It was a proud moment for me