You can do that in Hamtaro: Ham ham heartbreak.

...What? It is a good game.

Chrono Cross
Chrono Trigger

ugh, I don't remember others. haha.

Really?! Then I have got to play those games.

Since I just saw it like 2 days ago, I might as well mention The Dark Knight. What happens when an immovable object meets and unstoppable force, indeed.

Are there any good games that let you continue playing through the game world with all your stuff/moves even after you beat the main story? I was pretty pissed that you couldn't do that in Beyond Oasis, FFVIII and FFIX (iirc, they cut off most of the game world in FF9 like they did in FF8. BOOOOO!!!!)

[FUCK YEAH!FUCK YEAHFUCK YEAHFUCK YEAHFUCK YEAH]

FUCK YEAH!FUCK YEAHFUCK YEAHFUCK YEAHFUCK YEAH

SAMURAI JACK IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CARTOON!!!! It was just all around great. A big name like J.J Abrams should guarantee that this movie will actually be a reality!!!!!!!! FUCK YES!!! THIS MOVIE BETTER DO BIG AT THE BOX OFFICE AND THEN BRING NEW EPISODES!!! I CAN't WAIT TO SEE THE SCOTSMAN ON THE BIG SCREEN!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOITU LOVE 2

Different playstyle/ story
same level
awesome

Really? Guess who just got another sell..

The first few chapters of Mother 3 did this very, very well.

I still have to play that game.

I've been wondering, are there any games that unlock characters you see later in the story and have their story play out from their point of view?

Resident Evil 2's A/B scenario system is fantastic if that's the kind of thing you are talking about.

I've only had and played Leon's A scenario so I have no clue how that works.

I really like how much of a gameplay difference your character class makes in Diablo 2. A lot of the depth in that game was derived from that.

On the other hand, in a lot of games, the multiple character thing seems insubstantial and tacked-on. For instance, playing as Richter in Symphony Of The Night was a nice touch, but it didn't feel like the developers put a lot thought/effort into it. Same goes for the already mentioned Super Mario 64 DS. I almost exclusively played as Mario except when I had to play as someone else. I mean, the whole (original N64) game was designed from the ground up around Mario's abilities, why you would want to introduce other characters with different abilities is beyond me.

Yeah, it didn't feel like they put too much effort in putting Richter in SOTN. It would have been cool if he retained his villain role.

I guess in games where you can pretty much just choose your character(s) it increases the chances that there is one or more you like and can identify with. Think party selection in FF, everyone has his favorites. In this case it also ties in with the story.

Yeah, in FF8 I liked using Irvine and Quistis and sometimes Zell and I almost never had Rinoa and...what's her name in my party.

So two old school games come to mind:

Zillion (Sega Master System) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oshnUB1qguc
Altered Beast (Arcade or Genesis) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izUwzTuyLw4

Zillion is much more of an adventure/puzzle game, but you recovered two more characters as time went on. The characters were not that different from your own character, but it was incredibly useful to use them in tight spots where you thought you might die. And they behaved slightly different, like the girl was much faster.

Altered Beast was interesting because every round you powered up, then eventually became your beast form. So if you were not quick in killing those damn white wolves, you did not get the power up and remained under powered until the next round. This also extended how long you played the game (hence, quarter muncher.) So if you did not kill the wolves perfectly, you would be forced to play through the round twice or even three times, causing you to lose a lot more lives.

I personally love the mix-up, Megaman X3 you could call in Zero and be all bad ass for a bit. It helps a lot when there is a section of the game generally too difficult for inexperienced players, they call in help/a different character and defeat the problem.

Some games have WAYY too many characters though and they use that as a gimmick, such as Suikoden. I remember watching my brother play through that entire game, and he had something like 64 unique characters. As cool as that is, who has time to level/grind ALL those characters for the final battle...   

Oh yeah, Altered Beast is a very good example. I have both versions thanks to Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (360) I enjoyed trying to power up and see what different beast the character would turn into.

And yes too many characters can be a bad thing. Balance is always very important.

I just remembered a similar example.
In Chrono Cross, you play a part of the game as the main hero. Then some events happen and you play with the villain for a while.
Similar thing happens in BREATH OF FIRE IV. You play with the hero some scenes, then you play with the villain. It keeps alternating for a good portion of the game.

Not only this changes the way the player acts toward the game, it also allows you to see the point of view of different characters. In BOF IV, you see how Fou-lo (the villain) acts "behind the scenes". Not many games show what the villains do behind the scenes.

In Chrono Cross, because you are on the body of the villain, a lot of enemies act friendly towards you. You get to see the point of view of the villains too.

That's very interesting. I've never played non-multiplayer game that lets you play as a villain. Well except for Legacy Of Kain...2 I think, which I barely got to play. But anyway, I need to check out those games.

You guys ever tried Megaman and Bass? Or Muramusa the demon blade? Or most brawlers like TMNT 4? Multiple playable chars were quite common in the arcade era. You could do the same game twice or more times just by using different characters.

I've played the Megaaman/Bass demo and I've definitely played TMNT 4. I miss the arcade era...

It gives a sense of variety.
I'll use Proto Man in MM9/10 as an example. For years we played as Mega Man, and now we can play as Proto Man too. The gameplay varies, he can slide and has a shield (i think?) and that makes a good change. Mario <-> Luigi works kinda like that too (Luigi = higher jump).

Depending on the game, it doesn't change the gameplay but change the player's attitude towards the game, like in MGS2. For a while you play with Solid Snake, then play with Raiden. It's the same stuff but it's different. Haha, that's the way I see it.

I kinda deviated from the main topic, sorry.
So, getting back to it:

Multiple characters can be just an appearence bonus (the gameplay remains the same but you play with different graphics) or actually change the gameplay. The latter can be an annoyance if not done right.

The video I saw a day or two ago had projectiles bouncing off of Proto Man's shield in Mega Man 9. Like you said, variety in games can be good if done right. Oh and you weren't off topic about what you said about Snake and Raiden. That was a great point.

[EDIT: You probably meant multiple characters simultaneously, though.]

Well, depends on the game.. Mario 64 DS's "you've got to be character X to get into level Y" was very annoying, otherwise it managed to do it rather well - I like Yoshi, I use Yoshi. EDIT: You probably meant multiple characters simultaneously, though.

Also, most jrpg's would be more boring with only a single character.

I didn't...sorry for the confusion. You were right about what I meant in the beginning.

I've been wondering, are there any games that unlock characters you see later in the story and have their story play out from their point of view? Sonic Adventure is the best and only example I can think of. Also, are there any games that change characters throughout one storyline? I've played Breath Of Fire, Final Fantasy 8-10 and seen videos of Shadow Of Rome and Eternal Darkness. Those are the only examples of that that I know of.

What do you think about how multiple characters are used in certain games' single player modes?

EDIT: I'm not talking about using multiple characters simultaneously. I'm referring to games that let you play 2/many different characters in campaign(s).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1BdmGvpFYI&feature=player_embedded#

Sheep Man stage! I am pleased by the direction they went!

Me too. That cursor enemy and Octobulb was great and seeing Inafune there was better. The easy mode was a joke though. I wish they didn't waste space for that. Oh and I'm glad that let you switch weapons/types without the menu. Even in Anniversary collection you couldn't switch to Rush coil without a menu.

I took this test in one of my classes earlier this year. I forgot what I was but the papers are in my room.

Proto Man wit slide FTW!!!1

@Theo & Lime - What is this "Megas XLR" and why would it make a good game?

Your life is unfulfilled without knowing the awesomeness of Megas XLR.

Zelda discussion? In my Megaman 10 thread? We have new info, now let's get back to topic.

http://www.themmnetwork.com/2009/12/11/meet-a-robot-master-commando-man/

"A sewer stage is filled with slug-like Mets, while a stadium features foes of different sports, including baseball-throwing robots and soccer ball platforms that rise when shot, plus a soccer goal mid-boss who acts as its own goalie."

That's too fucking awesome!! 

I'm still waiting for Gasoline Man and Fry Man (or woman).

GASOLINA!!!!!!