The best side quest in a game?

[TheXRatedDodo]

The Witcher 2 had damn good side quests. Despite their optional nature they completely enriched the rest of the experience and gave it more context, so I couldn't bring myself not to finish or to fail any of the side-quests I took.

Props to the guy who said the Majora's Mask side quest about re-uniting the couple too. Everything about that game was generally beautiful.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

The loyalty missions in ME2 were the most I've ever been engaged in a sidequest and by far the best addition to that game imo, although admittedly I'm not sure if they qualify as side quests given their ties and heavy consequences to the main story.

 

[Cheesus333]

There was also a quest in Fallout 3 that I really liked called trouble on the homefront. Those who have done it will know which quest I am talking about, and for those who haven't I haven't spoiled anything for you.

That was a good one. It was nice to revisit the Vault, even in its horrible state, and see the effects of your actions after you left.

I thought the ending to 'Come Fly With Me' in New Vegas was brilliant, but the quest itself was such a drag. 'Power of the Atom' - assuming you chose the "I'm a dick" route - also had a similarly spectacular finale.

It might have just been me, but I always liked to keep a separate save file, so whenever I was pissed off, or just wanted to blow shit up, I would load the save and have a bit of fun

I know what you mean there, I kept a save file in Fallout 3 on Tenpenny's balcony so I could just go nuts with exploring the many various ways to kill him and terrorise the people below. Eventually it got into a game where I would hurl myself off the ledge and try to kill people by landing on them in Power Armour. Bonus points if you can throw plasma grenades and blow them up on the way down.

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

Mordin's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2. Never has any game had me questioning right and wrong like that mission did.

 

[Owlslayer]

Also, I was a big fan of the Dark Brotherhood quest in Oblivion where you entered the house party and picked off each guest one by one, until the other guests would start killing each other.

Loved that one as well.
Also, the sidequest in Oblivion where you go into a painting and the world inside was all paint-like, really awesome.
And some of the Mass Effect 1 side quests for companions, too... damn awesome.

 

[Maleval]

My vote goes to the Dark Brotherhood as well. The Whodunit quest was pretty fun. but my favorite was the one where you have to kill a guy in Bruma and make it look like an accident

Spoiler

by dropping a minotaur head on him

 

[Layz92]

There was also a quest in Fallout 3 that I really liked called trouble on the homefront. Those who have done it will know which quest I am talking about, and for those who haven't I haven't spoiled anything for you.

That was a good one. It was nice to revisit the Vault, even in its horrible state, and see the effects of your actions after you left.

I thought the ending to 'Come Fly With Me' in New Vegas was brilliant, but the quest itself was such a drag. 'Power of the Atom' - assuming you chose the "I'm a dick" route - also had a similarly spectacular finale.

Did you ever see what happened to Amata? Girl gets ruined, I found her beheaded at a trainstation (assuming you take the "make them leave" route").

The painting sidequest in Oblivion was fun. The "invisible people" from neverwinter nights 2 was quite amusing in it's punchline.

 

[internetzealot1]

Ocarina of Time, Biggoron's sword.

 

[WonderWillard]

I honestly really enjoyed most of Dragon Age 2's sidequests. Yes there were the short and simple, "give this item to a person in this area", or visiting the same old dungeon, but still. All of the companion quests were really well done, and it added depth to the city of Kirkwall.

 

[snave]

The Lovers side quest from Majora's Mask, where you needed to reunite the couple after the man was turned into a boy.

Beaten to it. This.

Although I always called it the Angel mask quest because the final reward looked like the skinned face of one of those creepy angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Notable mention goes to the sword rebuilding mission in Betrayal at Krondor, for making use of an entire graphical set and roughly 20% of the map that you'd otherwise blitz through in 5 minutes along a predetermined path.

Also, Julius Mode from the underpublished Castlevania DS for being every bit of fan service necessary in a game, plus some, plus some damned fine gameplay to boot. Sure beats a mirror mode.

Actually, balls to all of that. The Ancient Cave from Lufia 2. Never before and never since have I seen Roguelike in my JRPG. Nor that level of sheer polish and the well thought out and dare-I-say mischevious workaround to Nintendo's famous "never a lost opportunity in our games" trope. Yeah, sure, you missed out on that hidden item by not bombing the wall back at point X, but you can always get a second chance... by playing this 10 hour roguelike 10 times more, mwahaha.

 

[spartandude]

Mordin's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2. Never has any game had me questioning right and wrong like that mission did.

i completely agree, but i didnt like how they still defined some views on that as "good" or "evil"

 

[spartandude]

My vote goes to the Dark Brotherhood as well. The Whodunit quest was pretty fun. but my favorite was the one where you have to kill a guy in Bruma and make it look like an accident

Spoiler

by dropping a minotaur head on him

Whodunit was brilliant, i really enjoyed it

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

Mordin's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2. Never has any game had me questioning right and wrong like that mission did.

i completely agree, but i didnt like how they still defined some views on that as "good" or "evil"

I don't know. I feel that agreeing with the genophage fits perfectly into the "at all costs" Renegade mindset, while disagreeing with it fits into the "we have to be better than that" Paragon mindset. I never got the feeling that either option was pitted as the "evil" one.

 

[Pearwood]

My vote goes to the Dark Brotherhood as well. The Whodunit quest was pretty fun. but my favorite was the one where you have to kill a guy in Bruma and make it look like an accident

Spoiler

by dropping a minotaur head on him

I liked that quest but I made it in the house but had to wait half a day without resting because I didn't want to screw it up. Was annoying.

 

[Kryzantine]

Final Fantasy VII... the cross-dressing side quest. Didn't you have to barter for your lady clothes, too? Loved it.

 

[Furioso]

I dunno if its best, but first comes to mind is the sidequest in Oblivion where you enter an oil painting to rescue an artist. Its not long, its not hard, but its so amazing looking and so different from the rest of the game aesthetically.

Oh yea that is a really good one, I always ended up doing that one early on

OT: In Infamous 2 there's one that starts with some lady giving you crap and wishing for your death, meanwhile a giant monster walks up and as soon as shes done talking it eats her. Not the best by a long shot but the only one that stands out in my mind, seeing as it is so recent

 

[sorpaqq]

I like the side quest in Fallout 3 where you find the town Andale and discover it's dark secret.

 

[ChillzMaster]

The House Party Oblivion Quest DEFINITELY ranks high, along with third, final, and "real" ending to Red Dead: Redemption which is in the form of a side-quest. Fallout 3 had a lot of good ones, but I was so bad at the game and so many of them took place in the Mall that I don't remember much, except Big Trouble in Big Town, that's a favorite.

I dug the evil option for Goodspring's fate in that New Vegas side-quest, Saint's Row 2's Fight Club is awesome fun, and I'll have to say, Fable has a knack for being a bit off at times, but the sidequests absolutely KICK ASS.

-Chillz

 

[JaceArveduin]

There was also a quest in Fallout 3 that I really liked called trouble on the homefront. Those who have done it will know which quest I am talking about, and for those who haven't I haven't spoiled anything for you.

That was a good one. It was nice to revisit the Vault, even in its horrible state, and see the effects of your actions after you left.

I thought the ending to 'Come Fly With Me' in New Vegas was brilliant, but the quest itself was such a drag. 'Power of the Atom' - assuming you chose the "I'm a dick" route - also had a similarly spectacular finale.

Which end? If you had a high enough science you could actually make them crash into each other and explode, I thought it an appropriate end for such a bunch of ghouls, and that one idiot, who decided to be a pain in the ass.

My personal favorite would have to be the one in Oblivion where you had to sneak into the castle and use the de-clothes spell on all of the royals, who Whodunit was also fun.