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Deshrill 08-04-2004 05:55 PM

Most Frustrating Puzzle in an Adventure Game?
 
As any Adventure Gamer knows, some games are just full of puzzles that are either illogical, frustrating, or both! What are some of the most frustrating puzzles you have encountered in an adventure game?

I am going to toss in one of the more common ones: the part in GK 3 where you must make a disguise to make Gabriel Knight look like Mosely. Cat hair, syrup, and hats do not a disguise make! :)

Captain Blondebeard 08-04-2004 07:21 PM

The puzzle in Monkey Island 4 where you have the clock on the boat and you go through the time warp and have to talk to yourself in the future drove me absolutely crazy. That was the only puzzle I have ever cheated.

Ripley 08-04-2004 07:36 PM

Since I'm a Tex Murphy fan, here are 2 puzzles that made me crazy. :crazy:

Elijah Witt's Puzzle Box in Pandora Directive. It's a timed puzzle that'll drive you crazy.

The Alcatraz Bricks puzzle in Overseer. That one is like a blind person trying to put together a 100,000 piece jigsaw puzzle together.

Another strategy in Overseer that took me almost a month to complete is in the Gideon's Gallery. It's not really a puzzle....it's more strategy where you have to time yourself to get out of the Gallery before being zapped.

Jony 08-04-2004 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard
The puzzle in Monkey Island 4 where you have the clock on the boat and you go through the time warp and have to talk to yourself in the future drove me absolutely crazy. That was the only puzzle I have ever cheated.

Strange, that was maybe the only puzzle that I was able to beat in MK4. I would say trying to get a perfume that smells like Peghose Pete was the most rediculous puzzle ever created by a human being.

Jakek 08-04-2004 08:05 PM

I think I've mentioned it before, but using the clamp and rubber duck with a bandaid from a pair of gloves to get a key in a subway always seemed silly. That's from The Longest Journey, by the way.

Krazy 08-04-2004 11:01 PM

Runaway. Maybe not quite illogical but I have got to say TO many pixel hunts :( It kept pissing me off that I had to resort to hints all because I didn't notice a 5 pixel item that looked like part of the background :crazy: :pan:

Eddy 08-05-2004 12:59 AM

Black dahlia with that crystal thing.

LeisureSuitedLooney 08-05-2004 04:15 AM

re-assembling the broken coffee mug in Ripper ....that one was annoying to manipulate onscreen.

Ninth 08-05-2004 04:51 AM

I said it already, but... the puzzles involving dogs in MI2 and Simon the Sorcerer 2.

Spoiler:
Taking the dog in MI2. And using it (without anything, just using it) in STS2.

Tabula Rasa 08-05-2004 05:29 AM

From recent memory it was Uru where you had to push those buckets around to step over the water. Made me so frustrated, I was shouting at the damn computer "JUST PICK THE DAMN THING UP!!" Seriously, who kicks stuff around attempting to place it in just the right spot? Drove me nuts...

Cellardoor 08-05-2004 05:52 AM

I still don't see what people find illogical about the disguise puzzle in GK3. To me, the objective and resources were very clear in that part of the game.

Now, that cuckoo clock puzzle in GK2... I still don't know what that one's all about. :eek:

adfegg 08-05-2004 06:17 AM

One of the many annoying puzzles in Black Mirror:
You're in this room, the only way out is the wire frame door. You try to use wire cutters on it, but it isn't interactive. So, you do some other stuff until you notice a key on the other side of the door. You think, 'Well, they can't be expecting me to use the wire cutters because I already tried that.' Wrong!

rtrooney 08-05-2004 06:45 AM

Two that come to mind are the 3D maze in Space Quest 5, because none of the standard maze-solving rules applied. And the tile puzzle at the end of Rhea. I recall the solution required over 160 moves, and would have been impossible without a WT.

Tim

Captain Blondebeard 08-05-2004 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jony
Strange, that was maybe the only puzzle that I was able to beat in MK4. I would say trying to get a perfume that smells like Peghose Pete was the most rediculous puzzle ever created by a human being.

That games puzzles were rediculously hard but the game had a brilliant story bested only by its beautiful 3d graffics.

bysmitty 08-05-2004 01:46 PM

The rotating peg door puzzle on the Lyra ship in Mysterious Journey 2. The objectives where so simple and at first glance it looked like it would take 5 minutes. 4 hours later I was seething in fury. Finally looked at a damn walkthrough. And after all that, the room that it opened triggered short cutscene. That's it. No other reason for the room what-so-ever. And the cutscene had nothing to do with the room either. After that I went right back out the door to continue the story elsewhere. My headache is coming back just thinking about it. Am loving the rest of the game though. ...bysmitty

SoccerDude28 08-05-2004 01:48 PM

Lately Runaway peaked the most ridiculous puzzles in my opinion. The wrench (or was it a screw driver?) that you desperately need falls in a trough full of mud. So can you go down to the trough and just pick it up? OH HELL NO. Your hands would get dirty. So instead you go to the top of the balcony, throw a pot into the trough and then the splash throws the wrench out of the trough. All that while you are running out of time trying to save the day. Now that is ridiculous. Just pick up the goddamn wrench and wash your hands.

Krazy 08-05-2004 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoccerDude28
Lately Runaway peaked the most ridiculous puzzles in my opinion. The wrench (or was it a screw driver?) that you desperately need falls in a trough full of mud. So can you go down to the trough and just pick it up? OH HELL NO. Your hands would get dirty. So instead you go to the top of the balcony, throw a pot into the trough and then the splash throws the wrench out of the trough. All that while you are running out of time trying to save the day. Now that is ridiculous. Just pick up the goddamn wrench and wash your hands.

AGREED!

Royal Fool 08-05-2004 02:14 PM

Yes, I hate it when puzzles expect you to do something you would not usually do in real life. Of course everyone would just go grab the wrench if they were in a real hurry. It's not like you can't just wipe off the mud on something else later, like your shirt? But the designers didn't realize that and instead thought up some silly method of getting the wrench while still managing to 'lengthen' the game.

morriss 08-05-2004 02:21 PM

Working out the day, race and track no. in Grim Fandango to make the bet to get the picture :crazy:

Grey 08-05-2004 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jony
Strange, that was maybe the only puzzle that I was able to beat in MK4. I would say trying to get a perfume that smells like Peghose Pete was the most rediculous puzzle ever created by a human being.

It took some time, but I was able to figure out the Mystes O' Tyme and the Perfume puzzles.

The diving contest is where the game ended for me (I don't do walkthroughs). I never could figure out how to impress one of those three judges. The game is still on my hard drive, but I'm about to uninstall it since I'm all out of ideas. It's been over two weeks since I've touched it. It'll be the first adventure game I've left unfinished.

guybrush_guy 08-05-2004 07:14 PM

i think everyone here is going to change there mind on what the hardest one is once i post it...


MONKEY COMBAT!!!!!!!

i hated that damn puzzle, it was utterly point less.


eek eek oop
oop eek ook
SHUT UP YOU DAMN MONKEY AND JUST LET ME THREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eddy 08-06-2004 03:01 AM

I liked monkey combat.

Zanthia 08-06-2004 08:05 AM

Monkey wrench puzzle from 2 MI. I had no idea how was thatr thing called.

SamNMax 08-06-2004 08:56 AM

I can't belive no one's said it.




Microscope puzzle; 7th Guest

arczangel 08-06-2004 09:53 AM

Quote:

Microscope puzzle; 7th Guest
Haha, that's where my game stopped 10 years ago when I played it. And then last year I tried the game and got to the same place and was stuck again. So sad. :frown:

I guess the most frustrating thing in recent memory was playing the Sherlock Holmes demo. The entire experiment and quiz section, ugh. I am NEVER buying that game.

Antrax 08-06-2004 09:56 AM

It's funny. Many of the puzzles listed here I found quite cute, and one of them (Grim Fandango's "Kitty Hat Day" puzzle) I think is brilliant. However, I have to concur with all criticism on Runaway's puzzles - they're some of the worst the genre has ever seen. When you want to reach through the screen and choke the lead character to death, something's wrong with the game.
One I really hated wasn't really a puzzle, but rather a misdesign IMO -- the Fax thingie on Gabriel Knight 2. When you enter the house, it shows the same video clip of you hanging your coat or whatever, but they appended a "btw you have a fax go pick it up yo" part, which you, having skipped the boring video you've seen 20 times already, miss. Then you get to wander around aimlessly until you get so bored you talk to everyone and voila, fax.

SamandMax 08-06-2004 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morriss
Working out the day, race and track no. in Grim Fandango to make the bet to get the picture :crazy:

Even after cheating I didn't understand that puzzle.

Captain Blondebeard 08-06-2004 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanthia
Monkey wrench puzzle from 2 MI. I had no idea how was thatr thing called.

I'm replaying that game and I just encountered that last night. I had fogotten every puzzle in the game so I'm glad you tapped my memory.

guybrush_guy 08-07-2004 02:52 PM

i found the kitty hat puzzle to be very fun and well thought out.

Captain Blondebeard 08-07-2004 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grey
It took some time, but I was able to figure out the Mystes O' Tyme and the Perfume puzzles.

The diving contest is where the game ended for me (I don't do walkthroughs). I never could figure out how to impress one of those three judges. The game is still on my hard drive, but I'm about to uninstall it since I'm all out of ideas. It's been over two weeks since I've touched it. It'll be the first adventure game I've left unfinished.

You have to get some dirt on him. You might have something in your inventory that he might not want people to see.

Grey 08-07-2004 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard
You have to get some dirt on him. You might have something in your inventory that he might not want people to see.

I figured out that one. My problem is with the judge who tells me that my splashes are too big. I'm sure it has something to with the lox-flavored baby seal oil and the hungry seagulls, but I couldn't figure it out. Maybe someday I'll think of something new to try.

I wasn't more specific in my earlier post because I didn't want any spoilers.

Captain Blondebeard 08-07-2004 08:06 PM

Let me know if you need a hint.

The Silent Dude 08-08-2004 05:37 AM

Almost instantly a word popped up in my mind: Floyd! This damn arcade games (which you had to win in order to gain a token!!) gave and still giving me the creeps.

This turned me off so much that I never considered to play this (all in all) excellent game again.

Sly Boots 08-08-2004 07:29 AM

Well, of the QFG series, I only played QFG4 and it took me three walkthrougs to realise that I had to click with the "mouth" icon on yourself if you want to say something. Without knowing this, I did manage to play halfway through. Now I'm finishing it.
In Nightlong, the combine mouse with skate was really strange, but rewarding.
In Syberia, I just couldn't make the damn cocktail, not even with the walkthrough. Eventually, it worked, but it took me an hour.

ConcreteRancor 08-08-2004 02:11 PM

The pinball puzzle in Shivers was by far the most frustrating puzzle I've ever played, even though the game itself is one of my favorites. A close second is the monastery maze in Riddle of Master Lu, especially if you wanted to take those long detours to get to the oddities hidden in the maze. I resorted to a guide on both of these puzzles.

Isak 08-08-2004 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deshrill
As any Adventure Gamer knows, some games are just full of puzzles that are either illogical, frustrating, or both! What are some of the most frustrating puzzles you have encountered in an adventure game?

I am going to toss in one of the more common ones: the part in GK 3 where you must make a disguise to make Gabriel Knight look like Mosely. Cat hair, syrup, and hats do not a disguise make! :)

The goat puzzle in Broken Sword 1. Not even a real puzzle! :frusty:

RLacey 08-09-2004 03:05 AM

You can count the number of puzzles and dialogues that AREN'T frustrating in The Mystery of the Druids on the fingers of one hand. So many puzzles that you have to solve before you knew that there was a puzzle there...

Amaerlyn 08-09-2004 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamNMax
I can't belive no one's said it.




Microscope puzzle; 7th Guest

Hehe, well. I had my share of this one too :) The one with all the green and blue bacterias.

edlglide 08-09-2004 05:34 AM

I know exactly what you mean about the cocktail puzzle in Syberia -- I figured it out, but the drink was always wrong anyways. So I finally went to a walkthrough only to read that the solution was what I'd already figured out and had been trying to do. And finally it worked............I don't know if it was a bug in the game or what.

Fairygdmther 08-09-2004 05:59 AM

For me the worst was the timed underwater maze in Cameron Files-Loch Ness. I did that so many times that I actually found a way to bypass it:

Spoiler:
If you go one step out from the door, then go back to the door, you will undo the clock mechanism and you can take yor time finding your way back without dying.


FGM


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