I've got to go back where?

What's the worst part of having a huge open world, or conversely, a huge 2d world to explore and find new things? How do you add hours of play to a game that might be lacking in other areas? What are the two words guaranteed to wipe that smile off your face when you realize you're up against it?

Back-tracking.

So why has this outdated mechanic hung around and even thrived in the last twenty years of gaming history? If it's so hated, why do we put up with it anymore?

The first game, well, the first game that I remember that forced you to backtrack down it's paths was the first Metroid game. It's a brilliant example of what's right and wrong with the mechanic however. First, it adds play time to what, if you know where everything is after multiple playthroughs, amounts to a pretty short game. But that's what's so great about it, the fact that it takes multiple playthroughs to figure out where everything is and the best way to reach them in a certain order to achieve maximum power with minimal playthrough time.


Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Don't take mah weapons!!

Starting out weak and gradually gaining enough power to defeat enemies later on in the game is also a staple of backtracking games also. In Metroid, and later, the Castlevania series, this amounts to you starting out with an epic amount of powerful weapons and armor in the very beginning of the game, being stripped of said weapons and armor, and gradually gaining them back. So, the enemies in the beginning levels of the game are weak, enemies in later sections more difficult. So, how do you stop a weak player from getting into a more difficult section without putting up invisible walls or sectioning a game off into levels? It's simple. Instead of putting up an invisible wall, you put up a wall that can only be opened by a certain item or weapon, and put the item or weapon on the other side of the castle/ship/whatever. Here's where the hatred starts.

So, traversing the level the way the game designer wants you to you end up on another side of the level, probably much more powerful than you were before. You remember that said ice beam/magic spell/transformation will get you through where you were stuck before. However, that area is clear across the map, which is now filled with filler enemies. So to get back to where you need to be, you're now accosted by hordes of enemies too weak to tie your shoes/moon boots, but not too weak to accidently knock you into pits, spikes, water, or other general nastiness, not to mention if enough of the little buggers get together, they can still probably kill you.


I don't WANT to go back there!

Not only that, but by the end of the game, by the time you've aquired all the items and weapons you need, you still have to track down and find the boss in middle/bottom of wherever you are, which is usually convienently located in a flashing box much further away from you then you wish. So you have to go back through whatever dungeon you're fighting through, much to the pleasure of whatever weaker creatures are there, who have no thought except to weaken you for that final battle between good and evil.

Seriously though, as annoying as it is to find that your princess is in another castle, an even worse feeling is that your princess is back on the other side of the game where you started, you just didn't find that block hidden underneath that wall that needs to be destroyed with that gun. As great as the Metroidvania style of gameplay is, it's still a real pain in the ass to realize that you're on the wrong side of the game to continue.